Chapter 551: Final Boss

"Absolutely not!" a frantic voice cried out. Immediately after, a white-haired elder, surrounded by a crowd, quickly approached.

"Bigan?" Zuan frowned, glancing back. His lingering memories recognized this person: Royal Uncle Bigan.

He had the appearance of someone deeply concerned for the nation and its people, much like a typical loyal minister seen in TV dramas before Zuan's transmigration.

"Why not?" Zuan felt a surge of dissatisfaction. This man, it seemed, was not on his side.

Bigan stood in front of Ji Chang and anxiously stated, "The Marquis of Xibo is the leader of the western lords. How can he suffer such a severe punishment without cause? Wouldn't this make all the lords in the realm feel insecure?"

"Without cause?" Zuan sneered. "They killed my sister... Aunt Sancai. How is that 'without cause'? A life for a life is only natural and just!"

Bigan was startled, clearly not having anticipated this. At this point, Pei Mianman briefly explained Sancai's situation. She knew that Royal Uncle Bigan held very high prestige in the court, and if they could win him over to their side, future matters would be much easier to handle.

Bigan was clearly aware of Sancai's marriage alliance years ago and frowned deeply as he listened.

Nevertheless, he continued, "Your Majesty, things have come to this point. Killing the Marquis of Xibo now will not bring Princess Sancai back to life. Furthermore, Sancai's marriage alliance back then was precisely to ease relations with Western Zhou. If we kill the Marquis of Xibo now, wouldn't Sancai have died in vain? And strictly speaking, Sancai took her own life; it wasn't the Marquis of Xibo who killed her."

Zuan chuckled. "According to Royal Uncle, Sancai's death is her own fault then?"

Bigan replied, "That's not what I meant. I merely wish for Your Majesty to prioritize the greater good and not act impulsively."

Zuan said coldly, "Royal Uncle keeps talking about the 'greater good,' but we have already completely fallen out. Even if we release Ji Chang, he will not appreciate our kindness. Once he leaves, he will surely prepare meticulously to destroy Shang. This is like letting a tiger return to its mountain. Royal Uncle is truly too pedantic."

Having said this, he no longer bothered with Bigan and directly ordered, "Where are the executioners? If you delay any longer, you'll be minced into paste along with the Marquis of Xibo."

His heart was filled with extreme rage at this moment. He was too angry to consider the greater good or long-term plans, and he wasn't afraid of changing history by doing this. The only thing he wanted to do now was avenge Sancai.

The jailers dared not delay. They hastily dragged Ji Chang out for execution.

Bigan paced frantically. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, absolutely not! This will surely bring great disaster!"

Zuan grew impatient. "Are you a Royal Uncle of Great Shang or a Royal Uncle of the Zhou people? You're constantly siding with outsiders." He then ignored Bigan and left the prison directly with Pei Mianman.

"You... you..." Bigan trembled with rage, choked into silence.

Rage value from Bigan +733 +733 +733...

Ji Chang was ultimately killed. The next day, the entire court was in an uproar, and countless ministers submitted memorials to remonstrate.

Ji Chang had an excellent demeanor, possessing the wisdom of an elder, and maintained good relations with the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital.

Throughout the process, Zuan secretly observed the factions in the court. He noticed that one faction was led by Royal Uncle Bigan, and another by the other Royal Uncle, Jizi. Their attitudes were quite similar, making it seem difficult to divide and dismantle them.

There was also a faction led by his own elder brother, Weizi Qi. Weizi Qi was rather unlucky; though they shared the same parents, their mother was not yet queen when Weizi Qi was born, making him a concubine-born son. By the time his younger brother (Zuan) was born, their mother had become queen, so the younger brother became the legitimate heir and inherited the throne.

Knowing this relationship, Zuan understood that Weizi Qi's relationship with him couldn't be good. Sure enough, in court, Weizi Qi, along with Bigan and Jizi, had previously lambasted him severely.

Prime Minister Shang Rong and Vice Prime Minister Xin Jia, in particular, led the entire court in various attacks against him.

Another faction was led by Crown Prince Wu Geng. It was a bit awkward to think about, as in this world, Zuan already had an adult son.

Naturally, he felt no particular affection for this "cheap" son, but fortunately, Wu Geng was relatively filial and one of the few who spoke in his defense.

Wu Geng was born to Queen Jiang, whom Zuan had seen in the imperial harem before—a gentle woman. However, Zuan was not in the mood for romantic dalliances now. All his energy was focused on avenging Sancai and completing this trial with Pei Mianman.

Seeing almost all the civil and military officials contradicting him, Zuan couldn't help but despise how utterly failed King Zhou truly was. He even had to personally engage in disputes. It seemed it was time to establish a new group of loyalists.

After a day of chaotic arguments, the court finally began to address a practical problem: how to deal with the Zhou people's counterattack.

It was conceivable that with Ji Chang and his son minced into paste, such a deep-seated hatred would cause the Zhou people to turn against them completely.

Thus, for the next period, Zuan and Pei Mianman continuously reorganized military affairs, awaiting the Zhou people's retaliation.

However, several months passed, and the anticipated Zhou army did not arrive. Just as Zuan wondered why, an urgent military report suddenly came from the northwest: the state of Li in the Taihang Mountains had been breached by the Zhou.

Li was the northwestern gateway to the Shang capital, having maintained good relations with Shang for generations, yet it had been destroyed by the Zhou people.

Zuan was furious. He had received no news of this from beginning to end.

He ordered a thorough investigation and discovered that Li's plea for help had been forgotten by Prime Minister Shang Rong.

Although Shang Rong offered a very plausible explanation claiming he was not involved, Zuan, having been an emperor for so many years in the trial, could already see through everything. It was clearly Shang Rong's doing; no one else besides the Prime Minister held such significant authority to intercept an urgent military report of this kind.

Just as he was about to imprison Shang Rong, the latter received news in advance and fled the capital with his direct subordinates, becoming a bandit in the Taihang Mountains. He then declared that he had been persecuted by King Zhou and the enchantress Daji, welcoming all those who could no longer tolerate King Zhou's tyrannical actions.

Vice Prime Minister Xin Jia was also deeply displeased by this. He publicly lambasted Zuan in court, then resigned his post. Later, it was heard that after leaving the capital, he fled directly westward and became a highly esteemed guest of the Zhou people.

Zuan was infuriated. These people had clearly betrayed the nation, yet public opinion now painted him as overly cruel, forcing out loyal ministers. After all, control over public opinion rested with the royal nobles led by Bigan and Jizi.

He couldn't help but sigh at how utterly failed King Zhou's character had been over the years, leading to such widespread abandonment.

However, he did not attempt to reconcile with Bigan and the others, knowing that their interests were inherently irreconcilable.

Having served as several Shang kings during the trial, he had clarified many fundamental issues. The conflict between the fraternal succession (brother succeeding brother) and paternal succession (father to son) methods had led to considerable tension among various royal factions. Simultaneously, the position of Grand Priest was often held by princes and nobles, who used the power of divine authority to contend with the Shang King's royal power.

Therefore, he began to re-establish his support base from other social strata, choosing minor nobles, impoverished scholars, and even some impoverished slaves.

Finally, after Pei Mianman's observations and selections during this period, a group of talented individuals was chosen.

There were Feilian and his son Elai: Feilian was exceptionally swift-footed, while Elai was incredibly brave, virtually a match for ten thousand men on the battlefield.

Fei Zhong, whose personal ethics were terrible, but he was resourceful and clever, making him a rare talent.

Jiao Ge, an Eastern Yi captive, was highly skilled in commerce and accumulating wealth.

Seeing these familiar names, Zuan's expression turned strange. He vaguely remembered that, except for Jiao Ge, these seemed to be infamous treacherous ministers from history books. He hadn't expected to follow in King Zhou of Shang's footsteps after all.

But now there was no other choice. With no one else available, he could only employ these individuals as a desperate measure.

Fortunately, these individuals were truly capable. With their combined efforts, the severely weakened national strength of Great Shang gradually began to recover.

Zuan had already begun to discuss with Pei Mianman the grand plan of actively eliminating Western Zhou.

Unfortunately, problems arose in the court again. Fei Zhong and others rose rapidly to power, entering the center of court authority, which provoked dissatisfaction among the old nobles, led by Bigan.

They then collected a large amount of evidence of these individuals exploiting the common people and engaging in various forms of corruption and bribery to impeach them. They also subtly criticized the king for employing such petty men.

Zuan also had a headache. Fei Zhong and the others indeed had poor personal ethics. Furthermore, having risen from humble origins and suddenly gaining power, it was easy for them to seek personal gain.

It wasn't that Bigan and these old nobles weren't corrupt; rather, their family foundations were so deep that they didn't need to resort to unsightly methods. Their ways of profiting were more subtle and skillful, accumulated over centuries of heritage – something people like Fei Zhong, who lacked such deep roots, could never learn.

In the past, Zuan might have slowly resolved the animosity between the two sides, but now he had no such leisure. His sole objective was to defeat Western Zhou and pass the trial.

Although Bigan and his ilk possessed noble character, they were unfortunately destined to be unusable to him. In contrast, while Fei Zhong's group might have had questionable personal ethics, they were dedicated to serving him. Zuan finally began to understand why so many incompetent rulers in history employed treacherous ministers...

Next, he acted decisively, using Fei Zhong and his kind to discredit Bigan. For these scoundrels, undermining others was what they did best.

Soon, Bigan resigned in a fit of pique. Fearing he might defect to Western Zhou, Zuan sent men to confine him to his residence. After all, he wasn't so ruthless as to kill a minister of such unblemished personal integrity.

However, due to Bigan's house arrest, various rumors circulated outside, some even outlandish, claiming that Daji suffered from a heart ailment and needed Bigan's "seven-aperture exquisite heart" for a cure, leading to Bigan's death by evisceration.

Zuan was utterly speechless. He sent people to thoroughly investigate who was spreading such rumors, but unfortunately, the source could not be found, and the rumors only intensified.

The other Royal Uncle, Jizi, seeing Zuan's drastic measures, feared suffering the same fate. He resigned from his post and pretended to be insane in his hometown.

Zuan naturally knew his trick, but with these people gone from the court, it became easier for him to act, so he did not try to keep him.

For the next period, he and Pei Mianman worked tirelessly, one reorganizing state affairs and the other training the army, with very little rest from dawn till dusk, as they knew time was running out.

Not long ago, Ji Fa of Western Zhou convened a great assembly of eight hundred lords at Mengjin, appearing ready for a decisive battle with Shang.

Western Zhou's network of alliances, cultivated over a century, unleashed terrifying power. Most of the vassal states in the realm had good relations with them, and many were dissatisfied with the Shang dynasty's rule, so a great number attended this assembly.

However, Ji Fa did not lose his head. He also realized that Shang's strength seemed to have improved somewhat, and he wasn't entirely confident, so he abandoned the decisive battle, waiting for the opportune moment.

Zuan paid no attention to the "eight hundred lords." He knew his true opponent was always Western Zhou; once the powerful Zhou people were defeated, the other vassal states would naturally surrender at sight.

Both sides tacitly and intensely prepared for the decisive battle.

After some time, the Eastern Yi suddenly launched a large-scale invasion of Shang territory.

Since its establishment, the Shang dynasty had spent its existence campaigning both east and west: against the Qiang people in the northwest, the Guifang in the north, the Eastern Yi in the east, the Huaiyi in the southeast, and the Bafang in the southwest...

From a later perspective, such constant warfare laid the foundation for unifying the realm, but at the time, it might have seemed somewhat bellicose and wasteful of resources.

Among them, the Eastern Yi were the most tenacious of all Shang's enemies. They had been defeated several times over hundreds of years of warfare but had never been fully subdued.

Originally, Zuan had specifically paid attention to his relationship with them and put great effort into winning them over, but unfortunately, they still rebelled.

The entire court proposed sending troops to the Eastern Yi. Zuan did not refuse, instructing General Feilian to take the main army to the east to deal with them.

Ji Fa, who had been waiting for an opportunity, was overjoyed. He mobilized all national forces and advanced directly eastward to attack the Shang capital.

Because the main army was far to the east, the capital was extremely vulnerable. In haste, Zuan could only organize a slave army with a small number of his direct subordinates, promising them freedom after victory.

He then personally led the campaign with Elai and Fei Zhong, and the two sides engaged in a decisive battle at Muye.

Seeing the hastily organized slave army, Ji Fa felt victory was within grasp. He opened his formation to surround the Shang army, just as he was about to completely annihilate them.

However, at the crucial moment, the situation suddenly changed. Feilian, leading the main force of the Shang army, suddenly appeared and surrounded the Western Zhou army instead.

Ji Fa was greatly shocked, as all intelligence indicated that this army should be in the east, engaged in battle with the Eastern Yi.

Zuan sneered. He had known all along that the Eastern Yi were merely a minor affliction; Western Zhou was the deadly threat.

So, while he publicly sent the army to the east, he secretly ordered Feilian to make a detour and bring the troops back.

After a brief moment of confusion, Ji Fa quickly composed himself and said coldly, "What are you waiting for, gentlemen? Attack!"

No sooner had he spoken than chaos suddenly erupted within the Shang army ranks. Weizi Qi, leading his own forces, had suddenly turned against them, attacking Zuan's troops.

Additionally, another new army burst forth; it was Prime Minister Shang Rong's former troops from the Taihang Mountains.

These sudden developments at a critical moment caused the scales of victory to gradually tip toward Western Zhou.

Zuan sighed. "I had anticipated all of this."

Ever since learning that Weizi Qi had missed out on the throne, how could Zuan not be wary of him?

With a wave of the command flag, Pei Mianman charged out with an army.

The world had not expected Daji, renowned for her seductive charms, to be so ferocious. But they had no idea that this woman was, in fact, Fu Hao, the female war god of the Shang dynasty.

Watching the tide of battle gradually turn in his favor, Zuan still felt a vague sense of unease. Ji Fa was too calm. Could he have another trick up his sleeve?

Moreover, he had always felt as though he was overlooking something. He closed his eyes, completely shutting out the sounds of battle, and began to review all the details. Suddenly, he remembered the murals he had seen earlier in the secret realm and some past events that Mi Li had told him about. His mind instantly cleared.

He turned to look at the Crown Prince, who was not far away. He saw the Crown Prince's hand slowly rising, as if about to make a gesture.

Zuan said clearly, "Wu Geng, let's talk."

Hearing his words, Wu Geng was startled and clearly hesitated, but he still drove his chariot next to Zuan and bowed respectfully. "Father, do you have any instructions?"

Zuan waved his hand, signaling those around to leave, then sighed. "In truth, we both know we are not father and son. Why bother with this pretense?"

Wu Geng's expression changed. "Your son does not know what you are talking about."

Zuan glanced at the fierce battlefield nearby and said calmly, "Were you just about to have your subordinates turn against me?"

Wu Geng remained silent, offering no reply.

Zuan looked at him. "Should I call you a betrayer of the Shang Dynasty, or the architect of this trial realm?"