Wu Qi Wu Qi ( , 440 - 381 BC ) was a Chinese military leader , Legalist philosopher , and politician in the Warring States period . Biography . Born in the State of Wey ( 衞 ) , he was skilled in leading armies and military strategy . He had served in the states of Lu and Wei ( 魏 , not to be confused with Wey , as in previous note ) . In the state of Wei he commanded many great battles and was appointed Xihe Shou ( Mayor of Xihe county ) . Xihe was the area between the Yellow and Luo Rivers that Wei had just taken from Qin . Later , after he was estranged from his lord and forced into exile , Wu Qi went to the State of Chu where he was appointed Prime minister by King Dao of Chu ( 楚悼王 ) . His reforms made Chu a strong state at that time . The reforms he instituted enraged the old nobility in Chu and he was killed after the death of King Dao of Chu . Wu ' s reforms , which started around 389 BC , were generally aimed at changing the corrupt and inefficient government . The nobility and officialdom were terribly corrupt and the government was burdened with the costs of paying them and a horde of other minor officials . Wu first lowered the annual pay of the Chu officials , then dismissed officials who were useless or incompetent . He also eliminated hereditary privileges after three generations . The money saved by cutting costs was used to create and train a more professional army . Another of Wu ' s deeds was to move all the nobles to the borders , away from the capital : it could reduce their power and at the same time it could populate those areas , making them more useful to the Chu government . He is also credited with thinking up a set of building codes in Ying , in order to make the city look less " barbaric " . Although his reforms soon started to make Chu a powerful country , the nobles and Daoists of Chu hated him . Nobles accused him of trying to change the old ways , and even managed to find fault with the building codes . Daoists accused him of being a " warmonger " and an " admirer of force and weaponry " , even going as far as to say that he was " a threat to humanity " . He was accused of not returning to mourn when his mother died and for murdering his own wife ( who was the daughter of a noble from the rival state of Qi ) in order to gain trust from the ruler of the state of Lu . It is uncertain historically whether either of these charges are true , or whether they were created by Wu Qi ' s political enemies to slander him . Chu ' s prowess was quickly seen during that period : Chu defeated the Yue state in the south and the Wei in the north , dealing with each in quick succession . However , King Dao died that same year . Old nobles plotted to assassinate Wu Qi at King Dao ' s funeral , where he would be separated from the army . Wu Qi spotted the assassins armed with bows , and rushed to the side of King Dao ' s body . He was killed , but many arrows struck the dead King . The new King Su ( 楚肃王 ) , furious at his father ' s body being mutilated , ordered all nobles involved to be executed , along with their families . Depictions in Popular Culture . He and Sun Tzu are often listed in the same sentence ( Sun - Wu , 孙吴 ) as great military strategists . His military work , " Wuzi " was included in the compilation " Seven Military Classics " . Wu Qi is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game " Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI " by Koei .