The Battle of Julu (Chinese: 钜鹿之戰) was fought in Julu (in present-day Pingxiang County, Xingtai, Hebei, China) in 207 BC primarily between forces of the Qin dynasty and the insurgent state of Chu. The Qin commander was Zhang Han, while the Chu leader was Xiang Yu. The battle concluded with a decisive victory for the rebels over the larger Qin army. The battle marked the decline of Qin military power as the bulk of the Qin armies were destroyed in this battle. Background In the ninth lunar month of 208 BC, at the Battle of Dingtao, the Qin general Zhang Han defeated a force from the insurgent Chu state led by Xiang Liang. Zhang Han then led the Qin army north across the Yellow River to attack another rebel state, Zhao, and defeated the Zhao army. He then ordered his deputies Wang Li () and She Jian () to besiege Handan (Zhao's capital) while he garrisoned his army at the south to maintain a route for supplying the troops attacking Handan. Zhao's ruler Zhao Xie () sent a messenger to request aid from King Huai II of Chu. King Huai II dispatched two armies. The first, commanded by Song Yi, with Xiang Yu (Xiang Liang's nephew) as his deputy, was to relieve the siege on Handan; the second, led by Liu Bang, would proceed to attack the Qin heartland of Guanzhong. The king promised that he would grant whoever conquered Guanzhong first the title of "King of Guanzhong". Song Yi's army reached Anyang, some distance away from Julu (in present-day Pingxiang County, Xingtai, Hebei), where Zhao Xie's forces had retreated to. Song Yi ordered his troops to lay camp there for 46 days. Xiang Yu was eager to engage Zhang Han and avenge his uncle Xiang Liang, so he urged Song Yi to issue an attack order. Song Yi declined Xiang Yu's suggestion and remarked that Xiang was a foolhardy man, and gave instructions that "anyone with barbaric, defiant, fame-seeking behaviour that leads to a violation of orders will be executed". Song Yi later sent his son Song Xiang () to the Qi state and threw a lavish banquet at Wujian (無鹽; east of present-day Dongping County, Shandong) to see his son off. At the time, there were heavy rains and Song Yi's soldiers suffered from cold and hunger. Xiang Yu made use of the situation to incite the men's