伍子胥 / Wu Zixu
伍子胥 / Wu Zixu enters the wiki through 《资治通鉴·周纪》80丨诸葛亮的偶像 到底有多厉害？ as the historical warning 乐毅 uses in 《报燕惠王书》. The episode says Wu Zixu helped King Helu of Wu build major achievements, but later 吴王夫差 ignored his advice, gave him a sword, forced him to die, and threw his body into the river.
The source does not develop Wu Zixu as a full biography. His role is comparative: he shows why a minister cannot assume that service under one ruler remains safe under a successor. For Le Yi, the lesson is that honoring 燕昭王 does not require returning to 燕惠王 after suspicion and removal have already made the court dangerous.
《资治通鉴·秦纪》119-1｜拆解荆轲刺秦必败的秘密 adds Wu Zixu to the 白公胜 comparison chain. The source says Wu Zixu carries 太子建’s orphan through exile into Wu and later avenges his father and brother through the Wu attack on Chu, before dying under 吴王夫差. Here he is background for the episode’s argument that revenge, loyalty, and courage need 仁义为本的信勇 rather than becoming self-justifying.
Connections
- 乐毅 - later minister who cites him as a warning.
- 《报燕惠王书》 - text where the comparison appears.
- 吴王夫差 and 吴国 - ruler and state in the warning case.
- 忠臣去国的退场伦理, 靠山更替暴露风险, and 权力退场困境 - concepts made sharper by the analogy.
- Qinji 119-1, 太子建, 白公胜, and 仁义为本的信勇 - revenge-line background for Sima Guang’s assassin-politics critique.