Upon hearing his words, Wu Geng's previously calm expression instantly changed. He had been bowing respectfully, but quickly straightened up, exuding an inexplicable aura of kingship.
He looked at Zu'an and said calmly, "When did you find out?"
As he spoke, the surrounding environment suddenly changed. The battlefield, which had been a scene of bloodshed and fierce fighting, vanished in the next second.
The place they were in was not the battlefield of Muye, but the Deer Terrace built a few years ago.
Pei Mianman also appeared here. She was completely confused and hurriedly came to Zu An's side: "Azu, what's going on?"
Zuan gave a wry smile: "The person in front of me is the creator of this trial, the real last Shang king, Wu Geng."
Pei Mianman looked to the side in surprise. This usually taciturn crown prince, who often paid his respects to her, was really hard to connect with the final boss.
Wu Geng frowned: "You haven't answered my question yet."
Zu'an then replied, "Actually, after I entered this secret realm, I've always had a question: when King Zhou was defeated at Muye, he fled to the Deer Terrace and burned himself to death. He obviously didn't have time to build this secret realm. So the most likely two remaining people are: one is King Zhou's half-brother, Wei Zi Qi, who later founded the State of Song; the other is King Zhou's crown prince, Wu Geng, who later became the King of Shang."
"Wei Zi Qi fought with King Zhou for the throne, and to some extent he can be considered a traitor to the Shang Dynasty. Moreover, he was the founding emperor of Song and had good relations with the Zhou people, so it is really unlikely that he built such a secret realm."
"Then you are the only one left. After King Zhou burned himself to death, Zhou became the ruler of the world, and you became the last Shang king. After temporarily submitting, a few years later, taking advantage of the young age of the new Zhou king, you directly led the Shang people to counterattack. The war with the Zhou people lasted for three years, but unfortunately you failed in the end."
After listening to his analysis, Wu Geng's eyes flashed with surprise: "You seem to know a lot about this past event, but the people of this world don't know about this history. Who exactly are you?"
Zuan sighed: "He's just someone who's destined to be with us."
Wu Geng clearly had no intention of delving deeper. He turned to look at the deer platform beside him, his voice somewhat heavy: "Do you know what happened after the defeat at the Battle of Muye?"
Zuan shook his head. Seeing that the other person seemed to want to say something, how could he possibly interrupt?
Wu Geng waved his hand, and ripples appeared in the air before him, like a mirror, quickly revealing images.
A tall and imposing man fled back to Lutai, looked up to the sky and sighed. Unwilling to be humiliated by the Zhou people, he set himself on fire and died.
This was none other than King Zhou of Shang, and Daji died alongside him.
Not long after, the Zhou army entered the Shang capital. After rewarding their merits, they began to offer sacrifices to Heaven to thank the gods.
The best offering for the Heaven Worship Ceremony was a human sacrifice, and nowadays human sacrifices are readily available.
One hundred of King Zhou's favorite ministers were led to the foot of the altar, where their hands and feet were chopped off with axes, leaving them to writhe and struggle in the blood. The louder their cries and the more violent their struggles, the more abundant the offerings to the gods.
The warriors who resisted on the battlefield of Muye, and the forty clan leaders of the core merchant clan, were stripped naked and thrown into a large cauldron of boiling water.
King Zhou's remains were found. His head, along with the heads of his wives and concubines, and the ears of enemy soldiers severed during the war, were piled on a huge pyre and burned. The fragrant smoke was the gods' favorite food.
...
Having spent so long in this trial and having served as King and Queen of the Shang Dynasty, Zu'an and Pei Mianman's expressions changed drastically upon seeing the cruel scenes in the video, and they were filled with immense anger.
At this moment, Wu Geng said, "The main reason I established this secret realm is to restore the truth of what happened back then, and at the same time reflect on why the powerful Shang Dynasty perished."
He paused, then turned his sharp gaze to Zu'an and Pei Mianman: "After going through these trials, have you figured out the reasons for the downfall of the Shang Dynasty?"
Zu An's heart skipped a beat. Was this the final test? He dared not be negligent and quickly organized his thoughts before replying, "In my opinion, there are four main reasons. First, of course, is the rise of the Zhou people. Back then, the Qiang people in the northwest were defeated, and the Zhou people took advantage of the power vacuum in the Guanzhong region to seize control of the area. Throughout history, Guanzhong has been a place where dragons rise to power. If managed properly, it would be unstoppable. Unfortunately, at the beginning, the Shang Dynasty was surrounded by various powerful enemies and had no energy to deal with this area. By the time the Shang Dynasty had dealt with its other enemies, the Zhou people had already risen to power. The Shang Dynasty could only try to win them over with a combination of force and persuasion, such as killing Ji Li and forming a marriage alliance with the Sancai people. Unfortunately, the Zhou people were scheming and determined to destroy the Shang Dynasty for generations. In the end, the Shang Dynasty could not escape its fate of being destroyed."
Wu Geng asked expressionlessly, "Anything else?"
Zu'an continued, "The second reason is the issue of the Shang king's succession. Throughout the Shang Dynasty, the conflict between the two factions of succession by brother and succession by father was irreconcilable. The royal family was always in a state of infighting and turmoil, which greatly reduced the country's strength and made it impossible to unite against external forces."
Wu Geng sighed: "That's right. During the 500 years of the Shang Dynasty, the royal family was always in turmoil, which is why the capital was frequently moved throughout history."
Relieved by his approval, Zu An took Pei Mianman's hand and continued, "The third reason is the struggle between royal power and divine power. In reality, the rituals only fool the common people. As the Shang king, he certainly knew that there were no gods. However, the high priests could use the name of the gods to check the royal power. No ambitious Shang king could tolerate this situation. Both sides used their strengths to fight for power. In fact, this is similar to the second reason, since those high priests were also members of the royal family who had lost their right to succession."
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