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Le Yi
Warring States commander who led a five-state coalition for King Zhao of Yan, took more than seventy cities of Qi, and fled to Zhao when King Hui of Yan replaced him
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
Also known as Wang Zhujun
- Roles
- Commanders
Le Yi descended from Le Yang, the Wei general who conquered Zhongshan and was enfeoffed at Lingshou. He served in Zhao and then came to Yan as an envoy from Wei, where King Zhao made him a senior minister. In 284 BC the king made him supreme commander, and Zhao gave him its chancellor's seal as well; leading the armies of Yan, Zhao, Chu, Han and Wei, he crushed Qi west of the Ji River and pressed on with the Yan army into Linzi, becoming Lord of Changguo. Over five years he took more than seventy cities of Qi, leaving only Ju and Jimo. After King Zhao died in 279 BC, his successor, deceived by Tian Dan, replaced him with Qi Jie, and Le Yi fled to Zhao as Lord Wangzhu. His reply to King Hui of Yan survives in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), and the young Zhuge Liang compared himself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; mid to late Warring States