At that time, Empress Lü's brother, Marquis of Zhou Lü, was stationed as a general in Xiayi with troops for the Han State. The King of Han took a small path to his military camp and gradually gathered the fleeing soldiers. When they arrived in Xingyang, the defeated armies gathered together. Xiao He also conscripted all the old and the weak in Guanzhong and sent them to Xingyang, then the spirit of Han army was greatly lifted and boosted again. The Chu army set out from Pengcheng and took advantage of the victory to pursue the defeated army. They fought with the Han army between Jing and Suo south of Xingyang. The Han army defeated the Chu army, and the Chu army could not cross Xingyang and continue westward.
When King Xiang came to rescue Pengcheng, he pursued King Han to Xingyang. Tian Heng also took the opportunity to recapture Qi and made Tian Rong's son Tian Guang the King of Qi. When King Han was defeated in Pengcheng, the princes defected to Chu and betrayed Han. The Han army was stationed in Xingyang and built a corridor to connect to the Yellow River to transport grain from Ao Cang. In the third year of Han (204 BC), King Xiang repeatedly invaded the corridors of the Han army and seized food. The King of Han was short of food and felt afraid, so he asked for reconciliation and demanded that the land west of Xingyang be ceded to the Han State.
King Xiang wanted to agree to this condition. Fan Zeng, the Marquis of Liyang, said, "The Han army is easy to deal with. If we give up now and don't take it, we will regret it later." So King Xiang and Fan Zeng surrounded Xingyang in a hurry. King Han was worried, he adopted Chen Ping's strategy to alienate King Xiang and his ministers. King Xiang's envoy arrived and they prepared a rich meal and was ready to offer it. The person delivered the meal saw the envoy and pretended to be surprised and said, "I thought it was the envoy of Yafu, but it turned out to be the envoy of King Xiang!" He took away the meal and replaced it with a coarse meal for King Xiang's envoy. The envoy came back to report it to King Xiang, who then suspected that Fan Zeng had colluded with the Han army in private and gradually deprived him of his power. Fan Zeng was very angry and said, "The situation in the world has been determined. Please take care of yourself. Please allow me to retire and return home." King Xiang agreed. Fan Zeng died of a poisonous sore on his back before he reached Pengcheng.
是时吕后兄周吕侯为汉将兵居下邑，汉王间往从之，稍稍收其士卒。至荥阳，诸败军皆会，萧何亦发关中老弱未傅悉诣荥阳，复大振。楚起于彭城，常乘胜逐北，与汉战荥阳南京、索间，汉败楚，楚以故不能过荥阳而西。
项王之救彭城，追汉王至荥阳，田横亦得收齐，立田荣子广为齐王。汉王之败彭城，诸侯皆复与楚而背汉。汉军荥阳，筑甬道属之河，以取敖仓粟。汉之三年，项王数侵夺汉甬道，汉王食乏，恐，请和，割荥阳以西为汉。
项王欲听之。历阳侯范增曰：“汉易与耳，今释弗取，后必悔之。”项王乃与范增急围荥阳。汉王患之，乃用陈平计间项王。项王使者来，为太牢具，举欲进之。见使者，详惊愕曰：“吾以为亚父使者，乃反项王使者。”更持去，以恶食食项王使者。使者归报项王，项王乃疑范增与汉有私，稍夺之权。范增大怒，曰：“天下事大定矣，君王自为之。愿赐骸骨归卒伍。”项王许之。行未至彭城，疽发背而死。
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