Less a year into his reign, he was arrested in Chen (state) at the behest of Wey Minister Shi Que [zh] and killed.
When Duke Zhuang was still undecided on which one of his sons to succeed him, Shi Que [zh], a Wey minister, remonstrated him to either settle on Zhouyu as the heir if he intended on doing so or stop him from further military pursuits, as he could pose a threat to the heir later on.
Eventually, in 735 BC, Prince Wan, Zhouyu's elder brother, succeeded Duke Zhuang.
To consolidate his power, Zhouyu tried to make use of prior animosity between Wey and Zheng as well as the support of other states.
Further, Zhouyu secured the casus belli of helping Gongshu Duan to take the Zheng throne.
Another attack on Zheng in the autumn of the same year, this time joined by troops from Lu, accomplished no major victory either.