To Collapse Like an Earthen Wall
Explanation：
To suffer a crushing defeat from which one can never recover.
Story：
Liu Bang， the founder of the Han Dynasty， was originally a minor official in Peixian County in the later part of the Qin Dynasty. He was ordered to escort a large group of laborers north to work on the Great Wall， which was just being built at that time. Because he was not a harsh disciplinarian， large numbers of the laborers took advantage of this to escape， and Liu Bang， knowing that he would be punished harshly when he reached his destination， decided to free the rest of the laborers and flee himself.
With only about a dozen companions， Liu Bang became an outlaw. He gained a reputation for courage when the band came across a giant snake lying in their path. None of the other outlaws dared to approach it， but Liu Bang strode fearlessly forward and drove it away with his sword.
一敗涂地
解釋：
形容失敗到不可收拾的地步。
故事：
秦朝末年，劉邦是沛縣一名亭長（管理十里以內(nèi)的小官）。他性格豪爽，樂于幫助別人。有一次，劉邦奉命押送一批民夫到驪山去做苦工。在路上，每天總有幾個民夫逃走。有天晚上，他對大家說：“你們到驪山做苦工也是累死，你們都走吧！”當時就有十幾個民夫情愿跟隨劉邦。
劉邦帶這十幾個人正往別處逃走，忽然有條大蛇擋在路上，別人嚇得不敢前進，劉邦手提寶劍，把大蛇趕走，大家很佩服他這種勇敢精神。
At that time the Qin Dynasty was collapsing under the pressure of widespread rebellion. Xiao He and Cao Can， respectively secretary and prison governor of Peixian County， admired Liu Bang and had secret contacts with him ，urging him to help overthrow the corrupt and tyrannous Qin Dynasty.
As the first step， they occupied the county seat of Peixian. The local people chose Liu Bang as their leader， and his acceptance speech contained the following words： "To overthrow the Qin Dynasty will be a most arduous task . If we fail we will be like an earthen wall which has collapsed-there is no way that it can be put together again."
Starting with a rag-tag army of only 3，000 men， Liu Bang went on to overthrow the decadent Qin Dynasty and establish a new and vigorous dynasty， that of the Han.
那時候秦朝政治腐敗，各地百姓紛紛起來造反。沛縣衙里的文書蕭何和監(jiān)獄官曹參知道劉邦是個好漢，便經(jīng)常暗地與他來往，商量準備起兵反秦。
在蕭何和曹參的幫助下，劉邦決定起義，他們首先攻下了沛縣。大家推舉劉邦為起義軍的首領(lǐng)；劉邦說：“抗秦大業(yè)是艱巨的，如果一敗涂地，就要賠上性命??！我劉邦愿帶領(lǐng)大家大干一場！”
劉邦從這天開始，便率領(lǐng)沛縣的三千弟子展開反抗暴秦的斗爭，最后終于*了秦朝，建立了漢朝。
Explanation：
To suffer a crushing defeat from which one can never recover.
Story：
Liu Bang， the founder of the Han Dynasty， was originally a minor official in Peixian County in the later part of the Qin Dynasty. He was ordered to escort a large group of laborers north to work on the Great Wall， which was just being built at that time. Because he was not a harsh disciplinarian， large numbers of the laborers took advantage of this to escape， and Liu Bang， knowing that he would be punished harshly when he reached his destination， decided to free the rest of the laborers and flee himself.
With only about a dozen companions， Liu Bang became an outlaw. He gained a reputation for courage when the band came across a giant snake lying in their path. None of the other outlaws dared to approach it， but Liu Bang strode fearlessly forward and drove it away with his sword.
一敗涂地
解釋：
形容失敗到不可收拾的地步。
故事：
秦朝末年，劉邦是沛縣一名亭長（管理十里以內(nèi)的小官）。他性格豪爽，樂于幫助別人。有一次，劉邦奉命押送一批民夫到驪山去做苦工。在路上，每天總有幾個民夫逃走。有天晚上，他對大家說：“你們到驪山做苦工也是累死，你們都走吧！”當時就有十幾個民夫情愿跟隨劉邦。
劉邦帶這十幾個人正往別處逃走，忽然有條大蛇擋在路上，別人嚇得不敢前進，劉邦手提寶劍，把大蛇趕走，大家很佩服他這種勇敢精神。
At that time the Qin Dynasty was collapsing under the pressure of widespread rebellion. Xiao He and Cao Can， respectively secretary and prison governor of Peixian County， admired Liu Bang and had secret contacts with him ，urging him to help overthrow the corrupt and tyrannous Qin Dynasty.
As the first step， they occupied the county seat of Peixian. The local people chose Liu Bang as their leader， and his acceptance speech contained the following words： "To overthrow the Qin Dynasty will be a most arduous task . If we fail we will be like an earthen wall which has collapsed-there is no way that it can be put together again."
Starting with a rag-tag army of only 3，000 men， Liu Bang went on to overthrow the decadent Qin Dynasty and establish a new and vigorous dynasty， that of the Han.
那時候秦朝政治腐敗，各地百姓紛紛起來造反。沛縣衙里的文書蕭何和監(jiān)獄官曹參知道劉邦是個好漢，便經(jīng)常暗地與他來往，商量準備起兵反秦。
在蕭何和曹參的幫助下，劉邦決定起義，他們首先攻下了沛縣。大家推舉劉邦為起義軍的首領(lǐng)；劉邦說：“抗秦大業(yè)是艱巨的，如果一敗涂地，就要賠上性命??！我劉邦愿帶領(lǐng)大家大干一場！”
劉邦從這天開始，便率領(lǐng)沛縣的三千弟子展開反抗暴秦的斗爭，最后終于*了秦朝，建立了漢朝。