Wu Zixu, a guy from the state of Chu, originally named Wu Yuan, was the son of Wu She and the older brother of Wu Shang. Their ancestor, Wu Ju, was famous for his bold criticisms and frank advice to King Zhuang of Chu, which made the Wu family well-known in Chu.
King Ping of Chu had a crown prince named Jian, and he appointed Wu She as the Grand Tutor and Fei Wuji as the Junior Tutor. Fei Wuji wasn't loyal to the crown prince at all. Seeing the exceptional beauty of the women from Qin, Fei Wuji hurried back to the king, reporting, "The women of Qin are incredibly beautiful, Your Majesty. You should marry one yourself and choose another for the crown prince." King Ping then married a woman from Qin, doted on her, and they had a son named Zhen. A bride was then chosen for the crown prince.
Gaining favor by presenting the woman from Qin to King Ping, Fei Wuji abandoned the crown prince and served the king instead. He feared that when King Ping died, the crown prince would kill him upon ascending the throne, so he constantly spread rumors about the crown prince in front of the king. The crown prince's mother was from the state of Cai and did not receive King Ping's favor. Gradually, King Ping distanced himself from the crown prince, sending him to guard Chengfu and oversee the border defense forces.
After some time, Fei Wuji kept slandering the crown prince in front of King Ping, saying, "The crown prince must be very resentful about the woman from Qin; Your Majesty, you must be careful! The crown prince is in Chengfu leading troops and contacting other feudal lords, probably planning to rebel!" King Ping then summoned Grand Tutor Wu She for questioning. Wu She knew that Fei Wuji was framing the crown prince, so he said, "Your Majesty, how can you distance yourself from your own flesh and blood because of the slander of a villain?" Fei Wuji replied, "If Your Majesty doesn't take action now, things will get complicated, and you will be implicated too!" Enraged, King Ping locked up Wu She and sent Chengfu's commander, Fen Yang, to kill the crown prince. Before Fen Yang arrived at Chengfu, he sent someone to warn the crown prince, "Crown Prince, you must escape, or you will be killed!" Crown Prince Jian escaped to Song.
Wu Ji said to King Ping: "Wu She has two sons, both exceptionally talented. If we don't kill them, they will pose a serious threat to Chu. We can use their father as a hostage to lure them back. Otherwise, they will surely bring trouble for Chu in the future." King Ping sent someone to tell Wu She: "Bring your two sons here, and I will let you live. If not, prepare for the worst!" Wu She replied: "Shang is the more upright of the two; he will definitely come back. Yuan is strong-willed and capable of great things. If he sees his brother being captured, he will certainly not return himself." King Ping did not listen and sent people to call Wu She's two sons, saying: "Come at once! I will release your father; if you don't come, he dies now!" Wu Shang wanted to go, but Wu Yuan said: "They don't want to save Father; they're using him as bait. They're afraid we will cause trouble for them again after we escape, so they deceived us into coming. If we go, all three of us will die. What good is that for our father? We won't even have a chance for revenge! It's better for us to escape to another country and get help to take revenge. Even if we all die, it's better than this!" Wu Shang said: "I know that going there won't save my father, but I feel uneasy in my heart! My father asked me to save him, but I didn't go, and I won't be able to seek revenge in the future. In the end, I will only become a laughingstock!" Then he said to Wu Yuan: "You can go now! If you can avenge our father's death, I will go back and die." Wu Shang was captured, and Chu sent people to capture Wu Xu. Wu Xu drew his bow and arrow at those people; they dared not approach, so Wu Xu escaped. He heard that Crown Prince Jian was in the Song country, so he went to find him. When Wu She heard that Wu Xu had escaped, he said: "Chu's going to regret this!" Upon arrival in Chu, both Wu Shang and Wu She were executed.
Wu Zixu arrived in the State of Song during a rebellion by the Hua family. He fled to the State of Zheng with Crown Prince Jian. The people of Zheng treated them well. Later, Crown Prince Jian went to the State of Jin. Duke Qing of Jin said, "The Crown Prince is well-regarded in Zheng, and they trust him. If he can help us as an insider in Zheng, we can attack from the outside and definitely take Zheng! Once we've taken Zheng, we'll make him a vassal!" Crown Prince Jian returned to Zheng. Before they could act, Crown Prince Jian wanted to kill his followers. His followers discovered the plot and reported him. Duke Ding of Zheng and Zi Chan together killed Crown Prince Jian. Crown Prince Jian had a son named Sheng. Fearing for his life, Wu Zixu fled to Wu with Crown Prince Jian's son Sheng. When they reached Zhao Pass, the guards wanted to capture them. Wu Zixu and Sheng escaped on foot, nearly captured, with the pursuers hot on their heels. They reached the river, where a fisherman rowed a boat and, seeing their plight, took them across. After crossing the river, Wu Zixu took out his precious sword and said, "Here, take this sword; it's worth a hundred gold pieces." The fisherman replied, "The Chu law says whoever nabs Wu Zixu gets fifty thousand bushels of rice and a fancy title. A measly hundred gold pieces? No way!" So he confiscated it. Wu Zixu fell ill on the road to Wu and had to beg for food. When they got to Wu, King Liao was in charge, and Prince Guang was the general. Wu Zixu requested to see King Liao through Prince Guang.
Years later, King Ping of Chu was angry because the people of Chu's border city Zhongli and Wu's border city Beiliang clashed over mulberry trees needed for silkworm cultivation, sparking a war between the two states. Wu sent Prince Guang to attack Chu, capturing Zhongli and Juchao before returning. Wu Zixu advised King Liao of Wu, "Chu is vulnerable! We should send Prince Guang back to attack." Prince Guang told King Liao, "Wu Zixu's family was murdered by Chu; his urging of an attack is purely for vengeance. Attacking Chu now might not succeed." Wu Zixu knew that Prince Guang had ambitions and wanted to kill King Liao to become king himself, so he couldn't discuss state matters with him just yet. He recommended Zhuan Zhu to Prince Guang. Then, he took Prince Jian's son, Sheng, to work the fields.
Five years had passed since King Ping's death. King Ping had taken Qin Nuosheng's son, Zhen, after her husband's death. After King Ping's death, Zhen surprisingly became king—King Zhao of Chu. Taking advantage of Chu's mourning, King Liao of Wu sent two princes to attack. The Chu army cut off their retreat. With Wu in turmoil, Prince Guang had Zhuan Zhu assassinate King Liao and seized the throne, becoming King Helu. Once king, Helu summoned Wu Yuan to discuss state affairs.
The State of Chu killed two ministers, Xi Wan and Bozhou Li. Bozhou Li's grandson, Bo Pi, escaped to the State of Wu, where he was made a minister. Previously, the two sons of the King of Wu who were sent to attack the State of Chu were never heard from again. Later, it was heard that Helu killed the King of Wu and took over as king himself, so he surrendered to the State of Chu with his army, and they were granted estates in Shu. Helu ruled as king for three years and then led his army, along with Wu Xu and Bo Pi, to attack the State of Chu. They captured Shu and also caught two generals who had previously defected from the State of Wu. Helu wanted to march directly to the capital of Chu, Ying, but the general Sun Wu said, "The populace is exhausted; it's not possible now; let's wait." So the Wu army withdrew. Four years later, the State of Wu attacked Chu again, occupying the regions of Liuhu and Ling. Five years later, Wu attacked the State of Yue and defeated them. Six years later, King Zhao of Chu sent Prince Nangwa with an army to attack Wu. Wu sent Wuyuan to meet them, and they defeated the Chu army at Yuzhang, also occupying the Chu stronghold of Juchao. Nine years later, King Helu of Wu asked Sun Wu and Wuyuan, "Is now the time to attack Ying?" The two generals replied, "Chu's general Nangwa is rapacious, and the states of Tang and Cai both resent him. If the king insists on launching a major attack, we must first take down Tang and Cai." Helu listened to their advice, gathered his army, and together with Tang and Cai, attacked Chu. The armies faced off along the Han River. Wu's younger brother, Fugai, requested to join the battle but was denied by the King of Wu. As a result, Fugai led his own 5,000 troops to attack the Chu general Zichang. Zichang was defeated and fled to the State of Zheng. The Wu army pursued and fought five battles, eventually reaching Ying. On the day of Jimo, King Zhao of Chu fled. On the day of Gengchen, King Helu of Wu entered Ying.
King Zhao escaped to Yunmeng Marsh; but halfway, he was attacked by robbers, so he fled to Yundi. Yundi's brother Huai said, "King Ping killed my father; shouldn't I kill his son?" Yundi was afraid that his brother would kill King Zhao, so he took King Zhao with him to Suidi. The Chu army declared that all Zhou descendants in the Han River valley would be annihilated! The people of Suidi wanted to kill King Zhao, but Prince Qi secretly hid him and pretended to be him. The Suidi people consulted the oracles about King Zhao and Wu; the signs were bad, so they told Wu they wouldn't hand King Zhao over.
Wu Zixu and Shen Baoxu were buddies. When Wu Zixu was on the run, he said to Shen Baoxu, "I'm gonna wipe out Chu!" Shen Baoxu replied, "I'm gonna save it!" When the Wu army hit Yingdu, Wu Zixu couldn't find King Zhao. So he dug up King Ping's grave and gave the corpse a good thrashing – three hundred lashes! Shen Baoxu hightailed it to the hills and sent word to Wu Zixu, "That's a bit over the top, isn't it? I reckon people power can beat anything, but sometimes fate just screws you over. You used to be King Ping's right-hand man, always kissing his arse, and now you're doing *this*? That's going against the grain, innit?" Wu Zixu said, "Tell Shen Baoxu thanks, and that I was pushed for time and had a long way to go, so I had to do what I had to do." Shen Baoxu then went to the State of Qin for help, but they refused. He cried in the court of Qin day and night for seven days and nights. Duke Ai of Qin was moved by his sincerity and said, "Although the State of Chu is tyrannical, with such loyal subjects, how can we not help it?" So he sent five hundred chariots to help Chu out and take on Wu. In the sixth month, they defeated the Wu army at Jidi. While the Wu king was in Chu hunting for King Zhao, Holu's brother Fugai nipped back to Wu and crowned himself king. Holu heard about it, ditched Chu, and went back to sort out his brother Fugai. Fugai got his backside kicked and ran off to Chu. Seeing the mess in Wu, King Zhao went back to Yingdu. King Zhao gave Fugai a new life in Tangxi, and a new name to go with it. Chu and Wu clashed again, Chu won, and the Wu king finally went home.
Two years later, Crown Prince Fuchai of Wu led troops to attack the Chu State and captured the territory of Fandi. Fearing another large-scale attack from Wu, the Chu State abandoned its capital of Ying and moved its capital to Ruo. Thanks to the strategies of Wu Zixu and Sun Tzu, Wu defeated the powerful Chu State in the west, deterred the Qi State and Jin State in the north, and conquered the Yue State in the south.
Four years later, Confucius became the chief minister of the State of Lu.
Five years later, Wu attacked the Yue State. Goujian, King of Yue, fought back and defeated the Wu army at Gusu, even managing to wound King Helu of Wu's fingers. The Wu army retreated. With severe injuries, Helu said to Crown Prince Fuchai before he died, "Have you forgotten that Goujian killed your father?" Fuchai replied, "I dare not forget." That night, Helu died. Fuchai succeeded to the throne, appointed Bo Pi as the chief minister, and rigorously trained in warfare and archery.
Two years later, Fuchai attacked the Yue State again and defeated the Yue army at Fuqiao. Goujian fled with the remaining five thousand troops to Mount Kuaiji and sent the minister Fan Li with many gifts to bribe the Wu chief minister Bo Pi, requesting peace and offering to submit to Wu. The King of Wu was inclined to agree. Wu Zixu advised, "Goujian is cunning, resilient, and hardworking. If we don't eliminate him now, we will regret it in the future!" The King of Wu did not listen, accepted the advice of Chief Minister Bo Pi, and came to terms with Yue.
Five years later, the King of Wu heard that Duke Jing of Qi had died. The ministers of Qi were scrambling for power, and the new ruler of Qi was a weakling. Therefore, the King of Wu sent his army north to attack Qi. Wu Zixu advised, "Goujian can't even enjoy a meal, often consoles mourners and visits the sick. He is biding his time! If this man does not die, he will surely become a disaster for Wu. The relationship between Wu and Yue is like a thorn in his side. Attacking Qi before dealing with Yue is madness!" However, the King of Wu did not listen and attacked Qi, defeating the Qi army at Ailing, then returned after scaring the lords of Lu and Zou into submission. The King of Wu became even more distant from Zixu's advice.
Four years later, the King of Wu prepared to march north to attack Qi. King Goujian of Yue, upon hearing Zigong's advice, led his troops to help Wu and sent many treasures to Wu's chief minister, Bo Pi. Bo Pi accepted many bribes from Yue and grew fond of them, praising Yue constantly to the king. The King of Wu truly believed Bo Pi's words. Wu Zixu advised the King of Wu, "Yue is the great danger at the heart of our Wu! Despite their flattery and lies, you are focused on attacking Qi. Conquering Qi is a waste of time and effort. Moreover, the *Pan Geng* Proclamation says to wipe out anyone who's disloyal, leaving no survivors. That's how the Shang built their empire. I hope the King will abandon the attack on Qi and first destroy Yue. You'll regret this!" However, the King of Wu did not listen and still sent Wu Zixu to Qi.
As Wu Zixu was leaving, he said to his son, "I've advised the king plenty, but he wouldn't listen. Following Wu into the ground won't do you any good." So, he entrusted his son to Bao Mu of the Qi state and then returned to Wu.
Wu's prime minister, Tai Zaiji, had conflicts with Wu Zixu. He began to speak ill of Wu Zixu in front of the king, saying, "Wu Zixu's got a fiery temper. He holds grudges, is suspicious, and jealous. He's got a serious grudge, and it could blow up in our faces! In the past, when the king wanted to attack the Qi state, Wu Zixu thought it was not feasible. However, the king still attacked and won, achieving great merit. Wu Zixu was gutted his strategy was ignored, and he's been holding a grudge ever since. Now that the king wants to attack the Qi state again, he's dead set against it, hoping we lose. Now that you, the king, are leading the army to attack the Qi state, Wu Zixu's advice is not needed, so he's faking sick and skipping court. Watch out, this guy's practically begging for a reason to rebel. I've had him watched, and his son's got ties to the Bao family in Qi. He's disgruntled, plotting with other states, thinking he's some big shot from the old king's court. Now that he's been sidelined, he's furious. It’s best for you, the king, to be on guard against him."
King Wu said, "If you hadn't said something, I'd have been suspicious!" So he sent someone to give Wu Zixu a beautiful sword, saying, "Kill yourself with this." Wu Zixu looked up to the sky and sighed, "That weasel Pi's messing things up, and now the King wants *me* dead! I helped your father seize the throne! Before you became the king, other princes were fighting for the throne. I risked my life to help the late king, so you could succeed smoothly. I wouldn't have even dared to dream of you giving me a piece of Wu. But now you actually believe the treacherous minister's slander and kill a loyal minister!" Then he said to his subordinates, "Plant catalpa trees on my grave – they'll be useful someday; gouge out my eyes and hang 'em on the east gate – let me watch Yue destroy Wu!" After saying that, he committed suicide.
King Wu, upon hearing this, was furious and put Wu Zixu's body in a sack and threw it into the river. The people of Wu felt sorry for him, built a temple for him by the river, and named the mountain Xushan.
After killing Wu Zixu, King Wu attacked Qi. The Bao family of Qi killed Duke Dao of Qi and enthroned Yang Sheng as the ruler. King Wu tried to punish Qi's rebels, but got his butt kicked and retreated. Two years later, King Wu summoned the rulers of Lu and Wei to a meeting at Tuogao. The following year, he convened a meeting of vassals at Huangchi, trying to boss around the Zhou states. However, King Goujian of Yue took advantage of this opportunity to attack and kill the prince of Wu, defeating the Wu army. King Wu rushed home and sent envoys with big gifts to make peace with Yue. Nine years later, King Goujian finally destroyed Wu, killed King Fuchai of Wu, and also killed the prime minister of Wu, Bo Pi, because Bo Pi was a traitor, taking bribes from Yue and secretly working with Goujian.
Wu Zixu, who fled with the son of Prince Jian of Chu, Gongzi Sheng, was living in the state of Wu at the time. When King Fuchai of Wu was in power, King Huai of Chu wanted to summon Gongzi Sheng back to Chu. Duke Ye advised, "Gongzi Sheng is very brave and is secretly recruiting elite troops. He may have other intentions!" King Huai of Chu did not listen to the advice and still summoned Gongzi Sheng back, installing him in Yancheng, a border town, and making him the Marquis Bai. Three years after Bai Gong returned to Chu, the King of Wu killed Wu Zixu.
After Bai Gong Sheng returned to Chu, he still harbored resentment against the state of Zheng for killing his father, so he secretly trained elite troops to prepare for revenge. Five years later, he requested Chu to attack the state of Zheng, and Chu's Prime Minister, Zi Xi, agreed to his request. However, before the army set off, the state of Jin attacked Zheng, and Zheng sought help from Chu. Chu sent Zi Xi to rescue them, and after making a treaty with Zheng, he returned to Chu. Bai Gong Sheng was very angry and said, "This isn't Zheng's grudge, it's Zi Xi's!" He began to sharpen his knives with grim determination, and when someone asked him what he was doing, Bai Gong Sheng said, "I want to kill Zi Xi!" When Zi Xi heard this, he smiled and said, "Bai Gong Sheng's a lightweight, what can he do?"
Four years later, Bai Gong Sheng and Shi Qi attacked and killed Prime Minister Zi Xi and Commander Zi Qi of Chu. Shi Qi said, "If we don't kill the King of Chu, this is going nowhere!" So they kidnapped the King of Chu and took him to Gaofu. Shi Qi's subordinates Qu Gu carried the fleeing King Huai of Chu to Lady Zhao's palace. When Duke Ye heard that Bai Gong had rebelled, he rallied his people to attack Bai Gong. Bai Gong's subordinates were defeated and fled into the mountains, and Bai Gong committed suicide. The Chu army captured Shi Qi and asked him where Bai Gong's body was, but Shi Qi refused to say. Shi Qi said, "If the mission succeeds, I am your minister; if it fails, it's my job to die for this." He never revealed the burial place of Bai Gong's body. So Chu had Shi Qi executed and then got King Huai back on the throne.
Sima Qian said: Man, resentment is a killer! Even emperors can’t handle their subjects’ resentment, especially between colleagues. If Wu Zixu had died with She back then, what difference would it have made? He ditched the small stuff to get the big revenge, and his reputation has lived on through the ages—what a waste! Just think about it: Wu Zixu, down by the river, begging for food along the way—did he ever forget his desire for revenge against the Chu state? That’s why he was able to tough it out and come out on top. No guts, no glory, right? And Bai Qi? If he had established himself as a king, we’d be talking about him forever! Basically, Sima Qian's saying that holding onto resentment is dangerous, but if you're gonna do it, do it big.
