Chapter 237

Just as tensions were reaching a breaking point outside the city walls, the Great Zhou had already turned a new page. Three major factions had been vying for the throne, alongside a lingering pro-monarchy group, creating deep fissures within the court of the Great Zhou. Yet, with the Hexi Army approaching, they were forced to settle on a final candidate for the throne. Prime Minister Xin Shang, nearly seventy, was a man of white hair and beard but remained remarkably upright. A wise and principled official, he had earlier stood in fierce opposition to the Emperor’s campaign against Hexi. Later, he was the first to propose the enthronement of a new ruler, but the intoxicating lure of power had led to a chaotic struggle among multiple factions for the throne.