King Wu of Zhou, Ji Mingfa, was the founder of the Zhou Dynasty and the son of King Wen of Zhou. He inherited his father's legacy and devoted himself to overthrowing the Shang dynasty and establishing a new dynasty. In order to achieve this goal, he reused a group of talented people, such as Tai Gongwang, Zhou Gongdan, Bi Gonggao, Zhao Gongxiao and others, and asked them to assist him in handling political affairs. At that time, the king of Shang was tyrannical and unreasonable, refusing to accept the advice of Bigan, Weizi, Shang Rong, Zuyi and others. The rule of the Shang Dynasty was already mired in chaos and crisis. In the ninth year of King Wu of Zhou (some say the eleventh year), he led a large army to the east and joined forces with 800 princes in Mengjin (now Mengjindong, Henan). However, he decided that the time was not yet ripe and decided to return for the time being.
Two years later, the tyranny of the Shang king became even more serious, he cut open Bigan's belly, imprisoned Jizi, and fled to Zhou with Taishi and Shaoshiyi. At this time, King Wu of Zhou thought that the time was ripe, so he once again led his army across Mengjin and launched a final attack on Shang.
In the early morning of Jiazi Day, the Zhou army and the Shang army fought a decisive battle at Muye (southwest of present-day Qi County, Henan). During the battle, the Shang army turned against each other, and the Zhou army won a complete victory. Seeing that the general trend had gone, the king of Shang had no choice but to climb the Lutai ** and die. King Wu of Zhou led a large army to occupy the Shang capital, destroyed the Shang Dynasty, and established a new Zhou Dynasty.
During the reign of King Wu of Zhou, he pursued many policies that benefited the country and the people. He attached great importance to the development of agriculture and encouraged the people to work diligently to increase grain production. He also implemented the "well field system", which divided the land of the whole country into the shape of "wells", so that the distribution of land was more fair and reasonable. In addition, he enacted many laws and systems to regulate social order and safeguard the rights and interests of the people.
In terms of culture, King Wu of Zhou also made many contributions. He advocated the "culture of etiquette and music", advocated moral ethics and etiquette norms, and made the social atmosphere more civilized and harmonious. He also collated ancient documents and preserved many precious cultural heritages.
However, King Wu of Zhou died of illness after only two years of reign. His death brought some uncertainty into the future of the Zhou dynasty. Despite this, he was still revered as the "Martial King" by later generations and became a great historical figure. His deeds and spirit will forever be engraved in the long history of the Chinese nation.