Collection of Short Stories on Chinese History 34

[The Achievements of Xiao He]
While the Han dynasty inherited various systems from the Qin, it also introduced its own unique features, such as the adoption of the commandery-kingdom system, which combined the commandery-county system with feudalism. Despite the Chu-Han Contention being a massive conflict that split China in two, the administration of the state after the unification of the realm leaves the impression of having been relatively smooth.
This was the achievement of Xiao He, who later became the first Chancellor and Prime Minister. When Liu Bang entered Xianyang, Xiao He was the first to run to the archives and remove all the records. Since Xianyang was later burned by Xiang Yu, it is believed that if Xiao He had not used his quick wit to save those records, the administration of the state after the chaos would have been much more difficult.
Another of Xiao He's achievements was ensuring that the supply of provisions and personnel never faltered while Liu Bang was fighting Xiang Yu. This was likely possible because he had been able to remove the Qin records intact, allowing for the smooth control of land and population.
Thinking about it this way, Xiang Yu, who burned down Xianyang, was shallow. I cannot find anyone among Xiang Yu's retainers who seems to have had administrative skills like Xiao He, and even if there were, it is doubtful whether Xiang Yu could have managed the state after unifying the realm (I cannot imagine him governing). Given that he murdered the Emperor Yi, whom he had enthroned, it seems he intended to stand above as a hegemon, but because he was a soldier to the core and a one-man ruler, it seems the state administration would have reached a dead end sooner or later. In that sense, was it the right decision for Xiang Yu to adopt feudalism?

[On Li Xin]
Li Xin, who became famous overnight after being adopted as the protagonist of 'Kingdom', is different from Wang Jian and Meng Tian, who were active during the same period; although he appears in the 'Records of the Grand Historian' (Shiji), he does not have a biography dedicated to him.
According to the account in the 'Biographies of Bai Qi and Wang Jian' in the 'Records of the Grand Historian', when he conquered Yan as retaliation for the attempted assassination of King Zheng of Qin (Qin Shi Huang) by Crown Prince Dan of Yan, he achieved a great feat by successfully capturing Dan, the mastermind (there is a discrepancy in the 'Records of the Grand Historian' regarding this part, as the 'Annals of Qin Shi Huang' states that 'Dan was killed when the capital fell').
However, in the subsequent conquest of Chu, Li Xin suffered a major failure.
At that time, King Zheng of Qin consulted on how many troops were needed to conquer Chu. While Wang Jian gave a cautious opinion that '600,000 are needed,' Li Xin replied with '200,000,' and Li Xin's opinion was adopted. Li Xin divided the army into two with Meng Tian and overwhelmed Chu with consecutive victories, but at the moment the two forces joined, they were suddenly attacked from the rear by Xiang Yan, who had gathered the remnants of his army, and suffered a crushing defeat. It is thought that they were careless due to their string of victories. This likely caused enough damage to offset his previous achievements in Yan, but Li Xin was not punished and participated in the final conquest of Qi.
I have always been curious about how the war against Chu, which can be called Li Xin's greatest failure, will be depicted in 'Kingdom', along with the final moments of Hojo Tokiyuki in 'The Elusive Samurai'.
By the way, Li Guang of the Han dynasty is a descendant of Li Xin.