Before Hangu Pass.
This mighty pass no longer possessed its former strategic advantage, where one man could hold off a million troops. Besides, the strongest fortresses were always breached from within. Righteous armies were everywhere in Shandong, the Qin Court's armies had been all but annihilated, and Guanzhong had likewise fallen. Great Qin had perished. What could a single mighty pass accomplish?
No one wanted to resist at all. As soon as Xiang Yu's army arrived, the Qin general guarding the city opened the gates outright. As for the commander who refused to surrender, he was naturally killed on the spot. Blocking everyone's path to survival naturally led to that end.
Xiang Yu laughed heartily and said to Luo Ling, "Duke of Luo, please enter Guanzhong."
Luo Ling understood that this was an aftereffect of his earlier Commanding Wind and Rain and successive breaches of Zhang Han's and Meng Tian's mighty passes. Xiang Yu was now questioning his understanding of life somewhat and had become very deferential.
Luo Ling shook his head. "After you, King Xiang. You are the Sovereign of All Under Heaven."
After they each yielded to the other for a while, Xiang Yu finally stepped forward, leading the Shandong Lords' Allied Army through Hangu Pass and then straight toward Xianyang.
He had already learned that Liu Bang had taken Xianyang. Before, he would certainly have flown into a rage. This was the great achievement of bringing down Qin, yet someone else had claimed it.
What galled him even more was that the two had pledged to be brothers and campaign together against Meng Tian and Zhang Han, only for Liu Bang to turn around and enter Guanzhong. To Xiang Yu, this was a betrayal of trust.
He had crushed the main force of the Qin Army. The