A Chinese military strategist who lived in the early Western Han dynasty and contributed greatly to the establishment of the Han. Starting in 206 BC, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu engaged in a four-year-long power struggle for supremacy over China. Zhang Liang proposed a strategy to Liu Bang to counter Xiang Yu, known as the "Xiayi Plan". Liu Bang followed Zhang Liang's advice. By late 203 BC, Zhang Liang saw that the tide had turned in favour of Liu Bang, as Xiang Yu had been surrounded on three sides. Together with Chen Ping, Zhang Liang suggested to Liu Bang to renounce the Treaty of Hong Canal and use the opportunity to eliminate Western Chu. Liu Bang followed Zhang Liang's advice and granted lands to Han Xin and Peng Yue. As Zhang Liang predicted, Han Xin and Peng Yue arrived with their armies and formed a coordinated attack on Western Chu together with Liu Bang's force, defeating Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia in 202 BC. Zhang Liang contributed greatly to the establishment of the Han dynasty and became one of the most famous strategists in later generations.