Wu Geng’s expression grew downcast. “My father doted on Daji greatly. Because my mother, the queen, was constantly losing favor, I felt that she might be abandoned at any time. If Daji gave birth to another son, then my position as the crown prince would become unstable. As such, I thought that it would be better if I made the first move. I did not truly wish to betray the Shang Dynasty. I merely wanted to use the people of Zhou to force my father off the throne. Unfortunately, I never predicted that the Zhou State would be so ambitious, and that they were planning to completely eradicate the Shang Dynasty from the very beginning.”

Zu An sighed. “You all let the wolf right in.” All these Shang nobles had been so busy struggling amongst themselves that they had let the predator right in, with no idea how dangerous it could be.

“By the time we realized this, it was already too late. The broader situation was already set in stone, and the Zhou State had already assumed lordship,” Wu Geng said through gritted teeth. “The Zhou State was too strong, so we could only bide our time. Later on, after Ji Fa’s death, his young son succeeded to the throne,...