The three-article covenant
In 206 BC Liu Bang entered Guanzhong first, and the Qin king Ziying surrendered. His generals wished to loot; Liu Bang sealed the treasuries, pulled his army back to Bashang, and summoned the elders and worthies to declare: the harsh Qin laws are all abolished, "I make with you elders a covenant of three articles only — he who kills shall die, he who wounds or robs shall be punished accordingly." The people of Qin rejoiced and vied to bring oxen, sheep, wine, and food. Xiang Yu then entered the pass and burned and looted — the standing of the two armies in the hearts of the people of Guanzhong was settled, and told four years later.
The Feast at Hong Gate
Xiang Yu held four hundred thousand troops at Hong Gate, Liu Bang a hundred thousand at Bashang — the disparity vast. Liu Bang went in person to Hong Gate to apologize; at the feast Fan Zeng thrice raised his jade ring to signal the kill, and Xiang Yu did not answer; Xiang Zhuang danced with his sword aiming at Liu Bang, and Xiang Bo shielded him with his own body; Fan Kuai burst into the tent with sword and shield and glared at Xiang Yu in rebuke. Liu Bang excused himself to relieve himself, abandoned his carriage, and fled home alone on horseback by a back road. Fan Zeng smashed the jade cup in fury: "The one who takes the realm from the King of Xiang will surely be the Duke of Pei."