Editing Chu–Han Contention (section)

=== Battle of Wei River ===
{{main|Battle of Wei River}}

In 204&nbsp;BCE, after the Kingdom of Yan had surrendered to him, Liu Bang made Zhang Er the new King of Zhao. Xiang Yu constantly sent his forces to attack the Kingdom of Zhao, but Han Xin and Zhang Er managed to hold their ground. Xiang Yu then turned his attention towards Xingyang, where Liu Bang was stationed. Liu Bang was forced to retreat to [[Chenggao]], but he eventually abandoned Chenggao and headed north of the [[Yellow River]] to where Han Xin was. In a surprise move, Liu Bang seized control over the troops under Han Xin's command and ordered Han Xin to attack the Kingdom of Qi.

Just as Han Xin was preparing to attack Qi, Liu Bang sent [[Li Yiji]] to persuade [[Tian Guang (Eighteen Kingdoms)|Tian Guang]], the King of Qi, to surrender. However, Liu Bang had not informed Han Xin about what he had sent Li Yiji to do. Meanwhile, Tian Guang had decided to surrender to Liu Bang so he had pulled back his forces from Lixia ({{zhi|c=歷下}}; present-day [[Jinan]], Shandong). However, as Han Xin did not know that Tian Guang had the intention of surrendering, he followed Kuai Tong's advice and launched an attack on the retreating Qi forces, conquering Lixia and attacking the Qi capital [[Ancient Linzi|Linzi]]. Tian Guang thought that Li Yiji had lied to him to distract him from Han Xin's attacks, so he had Li Yiji boiled alive. Then, he retreated to [[Gaomi]] and requested aid from Xiang Yu. In the meantime, Han Xin conquered Linzi and continued to pursue the retreating Qi forces to Gaomi.

Xiang Yu sent [[Long Ju]] to lead 200,000 troops to help Tian Guang. After Han Xin defeated Long Ju in battle, Long Ju was advised to focus on strengthening his defences and getting Tian Guang to rally support from the fallen Qi territories. However, Long Ju decided not to heed the advice, and insisted on attacking Han Xin. On the night before the battle, Han Xin sent his men to dam the Wei River ({{zhi|c=濰水}}; in present-day [[Weifang]], Shandong) with sandbags.

The next morning, after a skirmish with Chu forces, Han Xin feigned defeat and retreated to lure the enemy to follow him. After about a quarter of the Chu forces had crossed the river, Han Xin signalled to his men to open the dam. Many Chu soldiers drowned and Long Ju was isolated with only a fraction of his forces. Taking advantage of the situation, Han Xin launched a counterattack. Long Ju was killed in action and the rest of the Chu forces disintegrated as Han Xin continued pressing the attack. Tian Guang fled while Han Xin pursued the retreating Chu forces to Chengyang ({{zhi|c=城陽}}; near present-day [[Ju County]], Shandong).

After his victory, Han Xin swiftly took control of the Qi territories and sent a messenger to Liu Bang, requesting that Liu Bang make him the new King of Qi. At the time, Liu Bang was under attack by Xiang Yu in Xingyang and was eagerly awaiting reinforcements from Han Xin. Initially, he was furious when he received Han Xin's request. However, he eventually acted on the advice of [[Zhang Liang (Western Han)|Zhang Liang]] and [[Chen Ping (Han dynasty)|Chen Ping]], and reluctantly approved Han Xin's request. At the same time, Xiang Yu felt worried after losing Long Ju, so he sent Wu She to incite Han Xin to rebel against Liu Bang and declare himself king. However, despite Kuai Tong's urging, Han Xin refused to betray Liu Bang. Han Xin later organised an army to move southward and attack Xiang Yu.