watched the battle from their camps. After seeing Xiang Yu defeat the 400,000-strong Qin army, the other insurgent forces came to join him out of admiration for his martial valour, thus increasing the size of his army to 400,000. When Xiang Yu received them at the gate of his camp, the rebel commanders were so afraid of him that they sank to their knees and did not dare to look up at him. Qin surrender After his defeat, Zhang Han sent his deputy Sima Xin to Xianyang to ask for reinforcements and supplies. The eunuch Zhao Gao deceived the Qin emperor Qin Er Shi and falsely accused Zhang Han of military failure and conspiring with the rebels. The emperor dismissed Zhang's request. Zhao Gao even sent assassins to kill Sima Xin on his return journey, but Sima survived and escaped back to report to Zhang Han. Just as Zhang Han was in a dilemma whether to retreat or surrender, Xiang Yu's forces completely surrounded Zhang Han and prevented the Qin army from withdrawing. In dire straits, Zhang Han, along with his deputies Sima Xin and Dong Yi and his 200,000 men, eventually surrendered to Xiang Yu in the summer of 207 BC. Live burial of Qin soldiers In the 11th month of 207 BC, Xiang Yu led his army to the city of Xin'an (新安; in present-day Yima, Henan) and made camp. He perceived the 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers as disloyal and suspected that they might start a mutiny, so he had them all buried alive at the south of outside Xin'an. Another reason for the massacre was that Xiang Yu saw the Qin soldiers as a liability because they would put a strain on his army's food supplies. Aftermath Although Xiang Yu had the 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers buried alive, he spared the three generals Zhang Han, Sima Xin and Dong Yi. The three were later respectively appointed as "King of Yong", "King of Sai" and "King of Dai" when Xiang Yu divided the fallen Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms. The three were collectively known as the Three Qins and their domains were located in the former Qin heartland of Guanzhong. After his victory at Julu, Xiang Yu led his forces towards Guanzhong and prepared for an invasion of the Qin heartland. In the winter of 207 BC, the last Qin emperor Ziying surrendered to Liu Bang in