李源 / 李元 / Li Yuan (Warring States)
李源 / Li Yuan enters the wiki through 《资治通鉴·秦纪》109-1｜历史上最著名的皇帝被“绿”了 as a 赵国 man who becomes a retainer of 黄歇 / 春申君 during 楚考烈王’s childless late reign. His initial goal is upward mobility through his sister: he wants 李源妹妹 to enter the Chu king’s palace and make him a royal in-law.
The episode’s Li Yuan is not satisfied by ordinary palace favor. Because Mi Wan may remain childless and because his sister might fail to bear a son after entering the palace, Li Yuan creates a higher-yield path: draw Chunshenjun into taking his sister first, wait for pregnancy, then have her persuade Chunshenjun to present her to Mi Wan. If the child is treated as Mi Wan’s son and made heir, Li Yuan gains court status while Chunshenjun’s biological son can become king.
After the plan succeeds and his sister becomes queen, Li Yuan still treats Chunshenjun as a threat. The source says he secretly keeps assassins and prepares to kill Chunshenjun, either because the pregnancy secret could destroy the new power arrangement or because Chunshenjun remains the only senior actor capable of constraining Li Yuan’s future control.
《资治通鉴·秦纪》109-2｜春申君被皇帝大舅哥全族灭门 completes that threat. The source markdown renders his name as 李元, but the page keeps the same Li Yuan node because the role and plot are continuous. After 朱英 warns Chunshenjun that Li Yuan will enter the palace first and kill him, Li Yuan does exactly that when 楚考烈王 dies: he posts assassins inside the palace gate, has Chunshenjun killed and beheaded, destroys Chunshenjun’s family, and then controls the court through his sister and the newly enthroned 楚幽王.
Connections
- 黄歇 / 春申君 - patron and target of Li Yuan’s scheme.
- 李源妹妹 - sister whose pregnancy is used as the succession vehicle.
- 楚考烈王 and 楚国 - king and court whose succession is manipulated.
- 孕身继承替换 - mechanism Li Yuan helps initiate.
- 朱英 - adviser who detects the later danger to Chunshenjun.
- 楚幽王 - young ruler whose accession gives Li Yuan court control after the killing.
- 未定继承人风险 and 靠山更替暴露风险 - succession and court-risk concepts framing his opportunity.