A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

What could the Wei family do? Of course, they generously gave it to them.

The feudal lords of various countries looked at the blueprints in their hands and saw the required amount of steel marked on them, and their scalps tingled with fear.

Given the size of their country, emptying the entire country wouldn't be enough.

Moreover, not all countries are ruled by wise rulers. Many vassal states are currently in an era where powerful ministers hold sway, and these incompetent rulers and ministers naturally won't spend their own money to develop the country.

Being able to refrain from taking anything from the country's coffers is already a sign of having a conscience.

The railway construction took 10 years. During these 10 years, Yang Jian basically took over his father's power in the court and controlled the direction of the entire empire.

Emperor Qianyang's patience had reached its limit. He was getting old and didn't have many more 10 years to wait.

"Otomo, how are the preparations going?"

Emperor Qianyang's murderous gaze fell upon the eunuch beside him.

"Your Majesty, everything is ready."

"However, the process was exceptionally smooth, with almost no resistance. I suspect..."

"Don't worry about it."

Emperor Qianyang interrupted, saying, "The Yang family has maintained control of the government for so many years, naturally some people are unhappy about it."

The favors owed back then have long been repaid.

None of the major clans wanted to have another family over them besides the Wei family.

The Wei family is a force that even if everyone joined forces, they couldn't defeat; there was simply no other way. But your Yang family doesn't have that kind of strength.

I'll get you if I say I'll do it.

Emperor Qianyang and these forces hit it off immediately. Although they did not have any direct contact, they all had their own tacit understandings.

It's just a pity about the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

Emperor Qianyang sighed inwardly. This elite force, which should have been protecting the Cao family, had actually turned against them.

I'm afraid even Emperor Gaozu didn't expect that.

From this day forward, regardless of victory or defeat, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will never be seen again in history.

At midnight, the night was dark and windy, with dark clouds covering the sky. A bolt of lightning streaked across the horizon, and large raindrops began to pelt the heavy earth.

"A dark and windy night for murder."

Emperor Yang of Sui and Emperor Jian of Yang Jian raised their heads at the same time, reached out to catch the raindrops, their eyes were equally indifferent, but deep within their eyes were equally turbulent.

Who was Yang Jian?

A rare talent, appearing only once every few centuries, he was the first emperor in the original history to subjugate the nomadic regimes of the north.

Even a powerful emperor like Emperor Wu of Han could only defeat the Xiongnu to the point that they dared not invade southwards, and there was no royal court south of the Gobi Desert. However, the two countries remained at odds, and the Xiongnu never surrendered.

Even during the reign of Emperor Xuan, when the Xiongnu split into the Northern and Southern Xiongnu, with the Southern Xiongnu submitting, the Northern Xiongnu, who inherited the Xiongnu orthodoxy, remained hostile to the Han Dynasty.

Even after the Xiongnu fled to other places, the newly emerging Xianbei on the grasslands never submitted to the Central Plains dynasties.

Needless to say, the Jin Dynasty was even worse.

Until Yang Jian unified the country, he continuously attacked the Turks. Through strategy and constant attacks, he caused the Turks to split. Later, he even subdued the Eastern and Western Turks and was revered as the Holy Khan.

He accomplished what no previous emperor had ever done.

After him, only Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji) in his early reign, and Genghis Khan, the future great conqueror, accomplished the same thing.

Under his rule, the Sui Dynasty became richer than ever before. Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was able to achieve such success largely based on the accumulation of wealth by the Sui Dynasty.

Just considering the accumulation of grain, the Tang Dynasty was at its peak during the Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong, when all nations came to pay tribute. However, even at that time, the country's grain reserves were only half of those at the peak of the Sui Dynasty.

Most of this grain fell into the hands of the Tang Dynasty after the end of the Sui Dynasty, becoming one of the foundations upon which Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, rose to power.

How could such a peerless and ruthless ruler not have noticed Emperor Qianyang's subtle actions?

Even if they were protected by powerful families, they would have nowhere to hide in his eyes.

However, he also needed such an excuse: the emperor was unrighteous, so that he could act unjustly.

Otherwise, if he wanted to usurp the throne, it wouldn't make sense, let alone explain his actions.

But if the emperor forces him to rebel, then he can stand firm.

Not only was Emperor Qianyang waiting, but he was also waiting.

The major aristocratic families are also waiting.

This pool of water has long been muddied.

Even though he and Emperor Qianyang considered themselves chess players, in this situation they could only go with the flow, and a slight misstep could lead to their downfall.

"Let's do it!"

Emperor Qianyang said sternly.

Many dark figures emerged from the darkness, their shapes obscured by the clouds.

After Emperor Qianyang issued his order, the shadowy figures disappeared one by one.

Each of these shadowy figures was a carefully selected assassin.

In order to deceive the Yang family, he even went so far as to disguise himself as a eunuch and sneak out of the palace to find a daredevil.

However, the Yang family kept a close watch on him, so even if he disguised himself as a eunuch and left the palace, he could only stay for a short time.

Otherwise, there is a risk of being discovered.

He has accumulated less than three thousand assassins over the years.

In a direct confrontation, these three thousand elite soldiers scattered into Luoyang would not even cause a ripple.

But what he wanted to do was not to fight the Yang family head-on. He was the emperor, and Emperor Qianyang naively thought that as long as he wiped out the entire Yang family, he could seize all power in the court and become the emperor who had the final say.

His goal was to send these assassins to wipe out the entire Yang family.

As long as the core members of the Yang family are all dead in the capital, the Yang family will be leaderless and at his mercy.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the most important force protecting the Yang family in the capital, had already been crippled by him.

The Yang residence.

"Changsun, have the guards at the manor been arranged?"

Yang Jian looked at the torrential rain in front of him and said calmly.

Changsun Sheng's face was pale. "This is bad. All the Tiger and Leopard Cavalrymen have started to have diarrhea. Someone must have put poison in their food."

"oh."

Yang Jian replied indifferently.

"My lord, shall we leave through the secret passage first?"

Changsun Sheng suggested.

"No need."

"After all, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is an army that Cao Qian has raised for so many years. My father and I have never dared to dream of truly winning back the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry."

"But it's really disappointing. How could the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, with their high standards, fall for such a simple trick? And not a single one of them was spared."

"They just want to remain neutral."

"I originally thought that some people would be able to change."

Yang Jian was somewhat disappointed because the Yang family had been supporting the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry for decades, and the people inside had received a great deal of kindness from the Yang family.

The care of the parents and the education of the young children were all arranged by the Yang family.

Such kindness is enough to make people die for it in this era.

A cold smile appeared on Changsun Sheng's lips. In this matter, remaining neutral meant that whoever won would be the first to settle scores with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

Not taking sides is tantamount to betrayal.

This is true for both sides.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry chose a third path: either firmly follow the Yang family or directly join Emperor Qianyang to kill the Yang family, thus offending both sides.

From the moment they refused to help Emperor Qianyang, he had already crossed out the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

And now that they are unable to guard the Yang residence due to physical discomfort, Yang Jian has given them a red flag.