伍子胥列传 — Shiji

When King Ping of Chu had a Crown Prince named Jian, he appointed Wu She as the senior tutor and Fei Wuji as the junior tutor. Wuji, however, was not loyal to Crown Prince Jian. King Ping sent Wuji to select a bride for the prince from the state of Qin. The Qin princess was beautiful, but upon seeing her, Wuji hastened back to report to the king: "The Qin princess is exquisite. Your Majesty may take her for yourself, and we shall find another bride for the prince." King Ping accordingly took the Qin princess for himself, and became deeply enamored of her. She bore him a son named Zhen.

Before long, Wuji was day and night speaking ill of the crown prince to the king: "The prince, because of the Qin woman, cannot help but harbor resentment. Your Majesty should take precautions. Since the prince has been at Chengfu, he commands troops and maintains ties with the princes of various states—what is this but preparation for rebellion?"

King Ping summoned his senior tutor Wu She to question him. Wu She knew that Wuji had been slandering the prince, and so he said: "How can Your Majesty allow a slanderous minion to alienate flesh and blood?" Wuji replied: "If Your Majesty does not control this matter now, it will be accomplished. Your Majesty risks being seized."

Thereupon King Ping flew into a rage, imprisoned Wu She, and dispatched the commander of Chengfu, Fen Yang, to kill the crown prince. Fen Yang had not yet arrived when he sent word ahead to the prince: "Leave quickly, Your Highness, or you will be executed." Prince Jian fled to Song.

Wuji said to King Ping: "Wu She has two sons, both men of talent. If they are not eliminated, they will become a source of worry for Chu. You might summon them by holding their father as hostage. If you fail to do this, they will bring disaster upon Chu."

The king sent a messenger to Wu She with these words: "If you can bring your two sons here, you shall live. If you cannot, you will die." Wu She replied: "Wu Shang is a man of benevolence—he will certainly come when called. Wu Yuan, however, is a man of iron will and fierce determination, capable of accomplishing great things. When he sees that his father has been seized as a hostage, he will by no means come."

The king refused to listen. He sent men to summon the two brothers: "Come, and I shall spare your father. If you do not come, Wu She dies now."

Wu Shang said: "I know that going will not preserve our father's life. But I resent that our father summoned us, hoping we might save him, and that I would not go. If I cannot avenge the humiliation, I shall be laughed at by all the world." He turned to his brother: "You may go. You can avenge our father's murder. I will return to die."

When Wu Shang was seized, the emissaries tried to capture Wu Yuan as well. Wu Yuan drew his bow and aimed an arrow at the messenger, who dared not advance. Wu Yuan then fled.

Hearing that Prince Jian was in Song, Wu Yuan went to join him. When Wu She learned that his son had escaped, he said: "The rulers and ministers of Chu will now suffer the scourge of war."

Wu Shang arrived in Chu, and the state executed both Wu She and Wu Shang together.

Before their plans could be realized, the prince's own desire to kill one of his attendants precipitated a crisis. The attendant, aware of the plot, reported it to Zheng. Duke Ding of Zheng and Zi Chan executed Prince Jian. Prince Jian had a son named Sheng.

Wu Yuan, fearing for their safety, fled with Sheng to Wu. When they reached the Pass of Zhao, the guards sought to seize them. Wu Yuan managed to escape with Sheng by foot, barely evading capture. Their pursuers followed close behind. They came to the river, where a fisherman was poling a boat. Seeing Wu Yuan's dire straits, he ferried him across. After crossing, Wu Yuan offered his sword: "This blade is worth a hundred pieces of gold. I give it to you, Father." The fisherman replied: "According to Chu law, whoever captures Wu Yuan receives fifty thousand bushels of grain and the rank of Noble of Rank. Why would I exchange that for a sword worth a hundred gold?" He refused the gift.

Wu Yuan fell ill before reaching Wu and stopped halfway, reduced to begging for food. When he finally arrived in Wu, King Liao was in power, and Prince Guang served as general. Wu Yuan used Prince Guang's influence to secure an audience with the king.

The Grand Steward of Wu, Bo Pi, already bore a grudge against Wu Zixu, so he slandered him, saying: 'Wu Zixu is by nature harsh and cruel, lacking in kindness, suspicious and vicious. His resentment and discontent may well become a grave disaster. Some days ago, when Your Majesty wished to attack Qi, Wu Zixu deemed it inadvisable, yet Your Majesty ultimately attacked and achieved great success. Wu Zixu was ashamed that his counsel was not adopted, and so he instead harbored resentment. Now Your Majesty is again planning to attack Qi, and Wu Zixu stubbornly and obstinately offers vehement remonstrance, hindering and undermining Your Majesty's undertakings, merely hoping that Wu will suffer defeat so that his own stratagem may be vindicated.'

Now the king is going in person, deploying the entire military force of the state to attack Qi. Zixu's advice was rejected, so he excused himself, pretending to be ill and not joining the campaign. The king must be on his guard; it would be easy for him to stir up disaster. Besides, Bo Pi sent men to spy on him secretly. While on a mission to Qi, he entrusted his son to the Bao clan of Qi. As a subject, when thwarted at home, he relies on the nobles of other states. Considering himself a former adviser to the late king and now neglected, he constantly harbors resentment and complaint.

The King of Wu should have planned this long ago. The King of Wu said, 'If not for your words, I would still have been suspicious.' He then sent an envoy to give Wu Zixu a sword called Zhulou, saying, 'Use this to die.' Wu Zixu looked up to heaven and sighed, 'Alas! The slanderous minister Bo Pi has caused chaos, and yet the King instead kills me. I made your father a hegemon. Before he was established, the various princes vied for succession; I fought to the death for your father before the former king, and it was almost impossible for him to succeed. After he was established, he wished to divide the state of Wu and give part to me, but I did not dare even hope for that. Yet now you heed the words of flattering ministers to kill an elder like me.' He then told his retainer, 'You must plant catalpa trees on my tomb, so they can be used to make coffins; and gouge out my eyes and hang them on the eastern gate of Wu, so I can watch the invaders from Yue enter and destroy Wu.' Then he cut his throat and died.

Wu Zixu urged King Liao: "Chu can be defeated. I ask that you send Prince Guang again." But Prince Guang told the king: "Wu Zixu's father and brother were executed in Chu, yet he encourages Your Majesty to attack—that is merely so he can settle his personal vendetta. Chu cannot be conquered." Wu Zixu realized that Prince Guang harbored ambitions to seize the throne for himself and could not be moved by appeals to external affairs. So he introduced Zhuan Zhu to Prince Guang, then withdrew to the countryside with Sheng, the son of Prince Jian, to work the fields.

Five years later, King Ping of Chu died. Earlier, King Ping had taken the Qin princess intended for Crown Prince Jian and borne a son named Zhen. When King Ping passed, Zhen succeeded him as King Zhao of Chu. Seizing the opportunity of Chu's period of mourning, King Liao dispatched two princes with troops to attack Chu. Chu mobilized forces that cut off the Wu army's retreat, leaving them stranded. With Wu's capital now vulnerable, Prince Guang ordered Zhuan Zhu to assassinate King Liao, and he seized the throne as King Helü of Wu.

The two princes King Liao had sent against Chu, stranded by the severed supply lines, eventually learned of Helü's seizure of the throne. They surrendered to Chu, which granted them territories in Shu.

Three years into his reign, King Helü launched a campaign against Chu with Wu Yuan and Bo Pi, capturing Shu and capturing the two Wu generals who had rebelled. They sought to push on to Ying, but Sun Wu advised: "The people are exhausted. We must wait." They withdrew.

In the fourth year, Wu attacked Chu and took Liu and Qian. The fifth year brought conflict with Yue—Wu was defeated. In the sixth year, King Zhao of Chu sent Prince Nangwa to attack Wu. Wu dispatched Wu Yuan, who shattered Chu's forces at Yuzhang and took Juchao.