At the beginning, Liu Bang did not have a smooth journey, but after several battles, he advanced westward step by step and defeated the Qin army.
In October 206 BC, Liu Bang led his army to Ba Shang (east of present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), not far east of Xianyang. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, King Ying Ziying of Qin had no choice but to surrender the city and personally hand over the imperial seal to Liu Bang. The Qin Dynasty thus came to an end after a period of twenty-five years.
Another powerful force emerged during the peasant uprising at the end of the Qin Dynasty: Xiang Ji, a descendant of the former Chu nobility, and his uncle Xiang Liang. They raised an army in Wuzhong (present-day Wushi, Jiangsu Province), and their strength quickly reached nearly ten thousand men. After Xiang Liang's death, Xiang Yu decided to join Liu Bang in marching westward into Guanzhong.
In October of the first year of the Han Dynasty (206 BC), Liu Bang, after destroying the Qin Dynasty, declared himself King of Guanzhong. In December, Xiang Yu led his army to break through Hangu Pass, intending to annihilate Liu Bang's army. Knowing he was no match for Xiang Yu, Liu Bang personally went to Hongmen (northeast of present-day Lintong, Shaanxi) to apologize. Soon after, Xiang Yu entered Xianyang, burned the Epang Palace, and killed King Ying Ziying of Qin. In the spring, Xiang Yu outwardly honored King Huai of Chu as Emperor Yi, but in reality, he exiled him to Jiangnan, proclaimed himself Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and established his capital at Pengcheng (present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province). At the same time, he enfeoffed 18 vassal kings, granting Liu Bang the title of King of Han, ruling over Bashu and Hanzhong. He also deliberately enfeoffed the Qin generals Han, Sima Xin, and Dong Yi as Kings of Yong, Sai, and Zhai, respectively, ruling over Guanzhong, in order to contain Liu Bang. Liu Bang had no choice but to accept the titles in silence. In April, he led his army into Hanzhong and burned the plank roads (roads made of planks laid on cliffs) to show that he had no intention of sending troops again, thus lulling Xiang Yu into a false sense of security. Xiang Yu also led his army eastward. In May and June, Tian Rong, a descendant of the Qi nobility, dissatisfied with the enfeoffment, drove out the King of Qi, killed the King of Jiaodong, and declared himself King of Qi. Taking advantage of the chaos, Liu Bang returned to Guanzhong, defeated Handan, forced Sima Xin and Dong Yi to surrender, and tricked Xiang Ji into believing that he was satisfied with Guanzhong and would not advance eastward again. Xiang Ji, feeling at ease, went to attack Tian Rong and did not strengthen defenses on the west. In October, Liu Bang led his army eastward, appointed Han Xin as general, and openly repaired the plank roads while secretly crossing Chencang (east of present-day Baoji City, Shaanxi Province). Under the pretext of mourning Emperor Yi, he sent people to contact the feudal lords and openly denounced Xiang Ji, thus beginning the Chu-Han Contention.
In April, taking advantage of Xiang Yu's stay in Qi, Liu Bang led a coalition of 560,000 troops to capture Pengcheng in one fell swoop. Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu hastily led 30,000 elite troops in a surprise attack, annihilating more than 300,000 of the coalition forces. Liu Bang escaped with only a few dozen horsemen, and the anti-Chu alliance collapsed.
In May, Liu Bang arrived at Xingyang, defeated the pursuing Chu troops, and was able to rest and stabilize his position. He then reorganized his army and, relying on the Guanzhong base and advantageous terrain, waged a protracted war against Xiang Yu. In June, Liu Bang sent troops to attack Feiqiu, forcing Han to commit suicide and eliminating any worries about his rear. He sent envoys to persuade Ying Bu to rebel against Chu and to contact Peng Yue to harass Chu's rear. He sent Han Xin to open up the northern battlefield, attacking Wei, capturing King Bao of Wei, defeating Dai, destroying Zhao, and killing Chen Yu. In the winter of the third year, Xiang Yu launched a counter-offensive, besieging Xingyang, and the situation became extremely critical. Liu Bang used Chen Ping's counter-espionage strategy to make Xiang Yu suspicious of Fan Zeng and reject his advice, forcing Fan Zeng to angrily return home. Liu Bang then sent Ji Xin disguised as himself to the Chu army to feign surrender and escape from Xingyang. Xiang Yu intensified the siege of Xingyang and captured Chenggao.
To relieve the pressure on Xingyang from the Chu army, Liu Bang led his troops through Wuguan, Wan (present-day Nanyang, Henan), and Ye (south of present-day Ye County), hoping to lure Xiang Ji south. To coordinate with the Han army's actions, Han Xin also led his troops to the north bank of the Yellow River to reinforce Xingyang. Peng Yue was attacking Xiapi (south of present-day Pizhou, Jiangsu). Xiang Ji was forced to lead his army back to relieve the siege, and Liu Bang seized the opportunity to recapture Chenggao. In June, Xiang Ji launched a fierce offensive, capturing Xingyang and then retaking Chenggao.
After the Battle of Xiang Yu and his concubine Xiang Yu, Liu Bang ordered the Han army to hold the line in the Gongxian area to block the Chu army's advance. At the same time, he ordered Han Xin to form a new army to attack Qi and sent people into the heart of Chu to assist Peng Yue in attacking Suiyang (south of present-day Shangqiu, Henan) and Waihuang, forcing Xiang Yu to return to the rescue once again. In October of the fourth year, Liu Bang used a stratagem to recapture Chenggao.
After defeating Peng Yue, Xiang Ji sought a decisive battle with the main Han army but failed. He then stationed his troops at Guangwu (north of present-day Xingyang), creating a stalemate with Liu Bang. Soon after, Han Xin annihilated the combined Qi and Chu forces in the Battle of the Wei River, completing a strategic flanking maneuver against Chu. He then dispatched Guan Ying with a portion of his army directly to Pengcheng. Xiang Ji, besieged on both sides and with exhausted troops and supplies, made a pact with Han, dividing the empire along the Honggou Canal, with the east belonging to Chu and the west to Han. In September, Xiang Ji led his troops eastward.
After the Chu-Han alliance was formed, Liu Bang initially intended to withdraw his troops, but upon the reminders of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, he ordered a full-scale pursuit of the Chu army. In October of the fifth year, the two armies clashed at Guling (northwest of present-day Huaiyang), where Xiang Yu achieved a minor victory. Liu Bang then used rewards to win over Han Xin, Peng Yue, Ying Bu, and others, and in the Battle of Gaixia, he severely damaged the Chu army, forcing Xiang Ji to commit suicide at the Wujiang River (present-day He County, Anhui Province), thus finally ending the four-year Chu-Han War.
In the first month of 202 BC, Liu Bang fulfilled his promise and enfeoffed Han Xin as King of Chu and Peng Yue as King of Yue. Han Xin and Peng Yue, along with the former Kings of Yan (Zang Tu), Zhao (Zhang Ao), and Changsha (Wu Rui), jointly petitioned Liu Bang to ascend the throne. Liu Bang initially feigned reluctance, but Han Xin and the others argued, "Although Your Majesty comes from humble origins, you led the people to overthrow the tyrannical Qin, punish the unjust, and bring peace to the realm. Your achievements surpass those of all the other kings; your ascension to the throne is the will of the people." Liu Bang readily agreed, saying, "Since you all think this way and believe it is beneficial to the people, then let it be as you say."
On the third day of the second month in 202 BC, Liu Bang held his enthronement ceremony on the south bank of the Sishui River in Dingtao, Shandong, and established the Han Dynasty.
On the third day of the third month in 208 BC, the Eastern Zhou royal family surrendered their weapons to Liu Bang, who then declared himself king of Dingbei. Liu Bang then moved the capital to Dongsheng Shenzhou, thus unifying the two continents and bringing peace to the human race.
After Liu Bang's death, and following the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, the Han Dynasty gradually grew stronger. After Emperor Jing's death, Liu Che, Liu Bang's great-grandson, ascended the throne as Emperor Wu of Han. During his reign (141 BC – 87 BC), Emperor Wu implemented a series of reforms, demonstrating great ambition and making the Han Dynasty more powerful politically, economically, and militarily. Politically, Emperor Wu strengthened imperial power, adopted the suggestion of Zhu Fu Yan, and implemented the "Decree of Grace," weakening the power of the vassal kings. From then on, the vassal kings no longer posed a threat to the central government. Later, on the grounds that the gold presented by the vassal kings was of impure purity, he revoked the titles of over a hundred marquises, an event known in historical records as the "Loss of Marquisate for Gold" incident.
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