The merchant was a people who "knew no day, no sacrifice every day", and the sacrifice scenes of the merchants were cruel and bloody: animals and prisoners of war, freemen and scholars, and even high-ranking nobles would become sacrifices to the gods and ancestors.

In order to appease the wrath of the heavens, his successor, Taiding, constantly held grand sacrificial ceremonies. The sacrifice of devotion is first of all those who flatter Wu Yi and actively participate in the desecration ceremony, and then those who passively participate.

When the heavens still did not forgive, Tai Ding killed the attendants and soldiers who were watching and sacrificed them; So much so that some people later said that Taiding was the only one left who had seen Wu Yi perform a ridiculous ceremony.

As the dynastic order gradually returned to normal, people believed that their sins had been atoned for and that the wrath of Heaven had been extinguished. However, once panic has spread, it can easily recur; Therefore, when there is another great calamity after the dynasty, panic will flare up again.

While the Shang Dynasty's strength was gradually shrinking, the Zhou State was stepping up its expansion of its power.

The father-in-law had three famous sons, namely the eldest son Taibo, the second son Yu Zhong, and the third son Ji Li. The father-in-law buried the intention of destroying the merchant deep in his heart; Because he knew that as long as he leaked this secret to anyone, the Zhou State might suffer a catastrophe.

He hated businessmen in his heart, but on the surface he did the opposite: he spared no effort to flatter the great merchant. The ministers were puzzled by his flattery, and even doubted his ability to govern, and the ministers were distressed and gratified by their performance.

The father-in-law felt that his fate was short, but he was still torn over the choice of the crown prince - he wanted to choose a son who could understand and carry out his strategic intentions as his heir.

He examined each of his sons individually and asked them what they thought of the current situation, but neither the eldest nor the second son was satisfied with their answers. When he asked Ji Li a question, Ji Li just said a very simple sentence: "Zhou's weakness is due to the strength of Shang, and if Shang is not destroyed, Zhou will die." Then his father-in-law embraced him with tears in his eyes, and then proclaimed Li Ji Li as the crown prince.

The father-in-law did not dare to waste a little time, did not dare to miss a moment; The last major decision he made during his lifetime was to order Taibo and Yu Zhong to lead an army north across the Yellow River from Rui (near present-day Sanmenxia), to expel Rong Di from the Pinglu area of Shanxi, and to occupy the area.

Subsequently, the father-in-law moved some of the Zhou and allies to Pinglu and established the Guyu Kingdom. Taibo and Yu Zhong were the first and second monarchs of the Yu Kingdom.

Sima Qian used the "Zuo Biography" as the basis for the Taibo and Yu Zhong as the founders of the Wu State. However, even the account of the behavior of the two men in the "Zuo Chuan" is inconsistent (one is the establishment of the Yu state, and the other is the establishment of the Wu state). This book adopts Mr. Yang Kuan's view and identifies the brothers as the founders of the Yu State, for reasons that will be explained later.

The significance of the establishment of the Yu State lies in the fact that the Zhou division could open up the land of Shanxi to the north and reach the dynasty of Gyeonggi to the east; If the Shang army marched west or Rong Di went south, the Zhou people would be able to use Yu as a fortress to block the enemy army. Rui (near present-day Sanmenxia) was an ally of Zhou, and Yu and Rui faced off between the Yellow River, blocking the westward advance of the Shang Dynasty's royal divisions.

In view of the chaos in the world and the rebellion of Rong Di, Wu Yi needed the support of the Western Zhou, so he acquiesced to the expansion of the Zhou State, and pushed the boat down the river and ordered the Zhou people to attack the ghost side in the north.

The surname of the ghost party is Kui, which is the predecessor of the Spring and Autumn Chidi, and is entrenched in most areas of Shanxi. The ghost side has existed as early as the Five Emperors period. Since the establishment of the Shang Dynasty, the ghost party has become a lingering nightmare for merchants. It took three years for Wu Ding, the king of Shang, to conquer this huge tribal group. But when the dynasty weakened, the ghost side became the first mutineer.

Ji Li's conquest of the ghost side began in the thirty-third year of Wuyi, and it took Zhou Shi three years to conquer the ghost side. The war against the ghost side was quite tragic, and in the thirty-fifth year of Wuyi alone, the Zhou army killed and captured more than twenty leaders of the ghost side tribes.

Ji Li's exploits shook the government and the opposition, and he received a huge reward from Wu Yi. After the Zhou State conquered the ghost side, it expanded its power to the vast areas of southern and central Shanxi.

After Wu Yi's death, Tai Ding ascended the throne.

In the second year of Taiding, the Zhou division conquered Yanjingrong north of Qi County and along the Fen River. The overconfident Western Zhou army underestimated the enemy's strength and wisdom to the point of suffering an unprecedented crushing defeat. However, Ji Li did not slow down the pace of the conquest, and two years later, the Zhou division conquered Yu Wurong, who was entrenched in the area of Tunliu in the northwest of Shanxi.

Taiding held a grand ceremony for the Ji Li, which was originally a patent for the Shang kings to put gold on their faces, and now it is used to curry favor with the Zhou people. Taiding also canonized Ji Li as a "priest", the priest was of the same rank as Xibo, and the ceremony of giving the life was more solemn and complicated than that of Zhenlu.

At the ensuing banquet, Tai Ding raised the wine lord, faced the courtiers, stared into Ji Li's eyes, and said: "The widow today gives the priest a ritual of revitalization that only the previous king can enjoy, and the widow is also willing to govern the country with the priest. Now that Rong Di is in order, the four seas are peaceful, and the subjects need peace. The widow hereby declares to the princes of the Quartet: The world is at peace, and no one should start a war again! ”

Tai Ding bestowed the highest honor on Ji Li, hoping that he would stop in moderation and not expand his power again; However, Ji Li's advice to Taiding took a yang and yin attitude.

Because of the fear of war, Rong Di in the West showed a low-eyed and pleasing posture to the Zhou people, which made Ji Li lose the reason for the war. Ji Li applied the method he stole from Wu Yi to sow discord on Rong Di.

These tricks were surprisingly effective at first, and the instigated tribes did not know the truth, and they became one again. As soon as the turmoil broke out, Ji Li sent out to fight without waiting for the Shang king's order, and the Zhou division often suppressed the murderer and the victim together.

After a long time, the little tricks played by Ji Li were exposed. As a result, the leaders of Rongdi, who had been exiled from place to place due to the defeat, poured into the Shang capital in gangs, and wept at the feet of Taiding.

The exiles complained fiercely about Ji Li's atrocities, and Tai Ding was furious and immediately sent an envoy to warn Ji Li that it was forbidden to use troops outside the country without his orders. But Ji Li not only turned a deaf ear to the king's order, but even began to openly disobey it.

In the last four years of his short life, Ji Li led his division to break through the Rong of Hu and the Rong of the Disciples, and expanded the territory of the Zhou State to the area around the Hutuo River.

Taiding's health was not optimistic at this time, he considered that the prince was not a very domineering person, and he could not leave the unruly priest to the successor, so he took advantage of the opportunity of Ji Li's dedication to the royal family, put Ji Li in shackles and threw him in prison. Ji Li could not bear the great humiliation of being reduced from the chief of the princes to the prisoner of the rank in an instant, and died in grief a few days later.

For his part, Taiding wants to put Ji Li under house arrest until he submits or dies of old age; He believed that the hostages in his hands would make the dynasty gain great benefits in the game with the Zhou state, and compress the Zhou state's sphere of influence back to the Hexi region. But Ji Li's sudden death completely disrupted his plans - Taiding was going crazy when he heard the news of his death.