Song Yi later sent his son Song Xiang () to the Qi state and threw a lavish banquet at Wujian (無鹽; east of present-day Dongping County, Shandong) to see his son off. At the time, there were heavy rains and Song Yi's soldiers suffered from cold and hunger. Xiang Yu made use of the situation to incite the men's anger towards Song Yi. On the morning of the 47th day, Xiang Yu burst into Song Yi's tent, took the latter by surprise and killed him. Xiang Yu then announced to the army that Song Yi was plotting with the Qi state against Chu, and that he had received a secret order from King Huai II to execute the traitor Song Yi. The other subordinate generals feared Xiang Yu and allowed him to be the acting commander. Xiang Yu sent a messenger to inform King Huai II and the king was forced to retroactively approve his command.