After Xiang Liang was killed in battle in 208 BC, Xiong Xin attempted to assert his authority through Song Yi, whom he put in charge of Chu's armed forces.
He promoted Xiong Xin to a more honourable title – Emperor Yi of Chu – and made him the nominal sovereign ruler over all the Eighteen Kingdoms.
In 209 BC, the Dazexiang Uprising broke out under the leadership of Chen Sheng, who proclaimed himself "King of Zhangchu" (張楚王; lit.
[notes 1] King Huai II was effectively a puppet ruler because the power of Chu was concentrated in Xiang Liang's hands.
Xiang Yu took Song Yi by surprise in a meeting, falsely accused him of treason, killed him and usurped his command.
Emperor Yi was aware that Xiang Yu wanted to force him into exile, so he feigned illness and used that as an excuse to postpone his trip to Chen County, but to no avail.
At the same time, he secretly ordered Ying Bu, Wu Rui and Gong Ao to kill the emperor during the journey to Chen County.
In 202 BC, the Chu–Han Contention concluded with victory for Liu Bang, who became the sovereign ruler of China and established the Han dynasty.