Ying Bu (died November or December 196 BC[2]) was a Chinese military general, monarch, politician, and warlord who lived during the early Han dynasty.
[3] When he became older, Ying Bu committed a crime and under the laws of the Qin dynasty, he was sentenced to qing (黥; a form of punishment which involved branding a criminal by tattooing his face), but he laughed and said, "A fortune teller once told me that I would be convicted before becoming a king.
Ying Bu was later sent to Mount Li to do hard labour by constructing Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.
After the uprising was crushed by the Qin general Zhang Han, Ying Bu led his followers north to attack the Qin left and right flanks and defeated the enemy at Qingbo (清波; southwest of present-day Xincai County, Henan), and then moved east.
Ying Bu fought bravely in battle and assisted Xiang Liang in defeating other insurgent leaders such as Jing Ju and Qin Jia (秦嘉).
Xiang Liang was killed in action against Qin forces at the Battle of Dingtao (定陶, in modern Heze, Shandong province) in the winter of 208 BC, and King Huai II moved his capital to Pengcheng (彭城; present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu).
After the battle, at Xin'an (新安; in present-day Yima, Henan), Xiang Yu had Ying Bu oversee the execution of Zhang Han's 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers by burying them alive.
After his victory at Julu, Xiang Yu led his forces towards Guanzhong (the heartland of the Qin dynasty) and prepared for an invasion.
Xiang Yu later occupied Xianyang and divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms, each ruled by a vassal king.
In 205 BC, Tian Rong (田榮) started a rebellion in Qi so Xiang Yu led an army to attack him.
"[5] One of Liu Bang's advisors, Sui He (隨何), asked why, and Liu Bang replied, "Who can help me go to Huainan and persuade (Ying Bu) to betray Chu, and keep Xiang Yu occupied in Qi for several months, then I can easily take control of the empire.
However, although Chu is powerful, Xiang Yu has lost the people's trust and support when he implacably broke his promises and murdered Emperor Yi, and now he still thinks that his state is strong enough and he can win any battle.
Ying Bu was furious because he felt that Liu Bang was treating him with contempt, and he regretted joining Han and wanted to commit suicide.
When Ying Bu was shown to his living quarters, he was surprised to see that everything was similar to Liu Bang's and he was delighted.
He entered Jiujiang together with Liu Gu (劉賈) and persuaded Zhou Yin (周殷) to defect from Chu to Han.
Ying Bu became a vassal king of the Han dynasty, under the title King of Huainan (淮南王), with his capital at Lu (六; present-day Lu'an, Anhui), and the commanderies of Jiujiang (九江), Lushan (廬山), Hengshan (衡山) and Yuzhang (豫章) under his control.
In early 196 BC, Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin (淮陰侯), was executed on Empress Lü Zhi's order.
Ying Bu was terrified and was worried that he would end up like Han Xin and Peng Yue, so he started gathering his forces and paying closer attention to happenings in the nearby areas.
[14] When news of Ying Bu's revolt reached Chang'an, Emperor Gaozu pardoned Ben He and appointed him as a general.
Xiahou Ying consulted Xue Gong (薛公), a former lingyin of Chu, and asked him, "The emperor granted him a fief and the title of a vassal king, allowing him to enjoy luxuries and rule over thousands, why does he still want to rebel?
"[15] Xue Gong replied, "Peng Yue and Han Xin were executed in the past two years.
Attack and capture Wu, Chu, Qi, Lu, Yan and Zhao, and the Han dynasty would lose the Shandong region as a result; 2.
Attack and capture Wu, Chu, Han, Wei, rely on supplies from Aoyu to block Chenggao, the outcome of this move was uncertain; 3.
Attack Wu, Xiacai, return to Yue and Changsha, there was nothing to worry if Ying Bu made this move.
[17] Gaozu put Xue Gong in charge of 1,000 households and installed his son Liu Chang (劉長) as "Prince of Huainan" to replace Ying Bu.
Chu sent its forces to intercept Ying Bu between Xu (徐) and Tong (僮), with three armies ready to come to each other's aid if any came under attack.
Ying Bu then advanced west and encountered the Han army led by Emperor Gaozu in Qixi (蕲西; south of present-day Su County, Anhui) and they battled at Zhui (甀).
Ying Bu believed Wu Chen and followed the messenger to Poyang (番陽), where he was killed by peasants in Zi Village (茲鄉).
[22] Ying Bu is sometimes venerated as a door god in Chinese and Taoist temples, usually partnered with Peng Yue, other Han general.
He is also featured under the name "Qing Bu" as a playable character of the "Muscleman" class in the action role-playing game Prince of Qin.