黥布列傳

Ying Bu, also known as Qing Bu, was a man of Liu, surnamed Ying. In Qin times he was a commoner. In his youth, a physiognomist told him: "You are destined to be branded and then become a king." When he grew up, he was convicted and branded on the face. Bu laughed with delight, saying: "A fortune-teller said I would be branded and then become a king — is this the start?" After being sentenced to hard labor at Mount Li, he organized his fellow convicts, escaped, and became a bandit leader on the Yangtze. When Chen Sheng's uprising began, Bu joined the Lord of Fan and led his followers in revolt against Qin. After Zhang Han destroyed Chen Sheng, Bu led his troops north and defeated Qin forces. Hearing that Xiang Liang had established himself east of the Yangtze, Bu crossed the river and placed his forces under Xiang Liang's command.

In the third year of Han, the King of Han said to his entourage: "Who can go as my envoy to Huainan and make him turn his army against Chu?" Sui He said: "I request the mission." At Huainan, Sui He talked his way in through the chief steward and gained an audience with the king. He argued: "Chu's forces cannot be relied upon. If Your Majesty raises his army and turns against Chu, Xiang Yu will be pinned down for months, and Han can secure the realm." The King of Huainan agreed and secretly consented to defect. Sui He then went directly to where the Chu envoy sat, took the seat above him, and announced: "The King of Jiujiang has already gone over to Han. What right has Chu to demand troops?" Bu was stunned. He killed the Chu envoy and launched his forces against Chu.

In the eleventh year, Empress Lu executed the Marquis of Huaiyin. Bu grew fearful. That summer, Han executed the King of Liang, Peng Yue, pickled his flesh, and distributed it to the lords. When the jar reached Huainan, the King was out hunting; upon seeing it, he was terrified and secretly began mobilizing his forces. Bu then revolted.

The Lord of Xue analyzed: "Bu's rebellion is no surprise. If he follows the best strategy, everything east of the mountains will be lost to Han. If the middle strategy, the outcome is uncertain. If the worst strategy, Your Majesty can sleep in peace." The Emperor asked why Bu would choose the worst plan. The Lord of Xue replied: "Bu was once a convict laborer at Mount Li who raised himself to rule ten thousand chariots. Everything he does is for himself alone — he does not think ahead for the people or for posterity. Therefore he will choose the worst plan."

Bu indeed struck east against Jing, seizing its army, then turned west. The Emperor met him in battle west of Qi. Seeing Bu's formations arrayed like Xiang Yu's army, the Emperor was dismayed. Bu's army was defeated; he fled south with a hundred followers. The people of Fanyang killed Bu at a farmhouse in Zixiang, and so Ying Bu was destroyed.