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

"Do you know who you're talking to?"

Yang Jian said, panting heavily.

"Your Majesty has already asked, but he has not answered you. Is he asking you as your father or as your emperor?"

Yang Yong even stood up. He was a little taller than Yang Jian, and he looked down at Yang Jian with a slight sense of superiority.

"Ni...zi!"

Enraged, Yang Jian could barely speak. He drew his jade belt from his waist and lashed it out at Yang Yong.

To everyone's surprise, Yang Yong not only did not avoid it, nor did he obediently offer his neck for execution, but instead directly grabbed the jade belt.

The jade belt struck his hand hard, leaving a deep red mark.

"May I ask Your Majesty, was this lash carried out in accordance with national law or family law?"

Despite the pain in his hand, Yang Yongqiang questioned him.

"You unfilial son, you've rebelled!"

Yang Guang stared in disbelief at the scene, swallowing hard. He had never imagined that his brother would be so brave.

"What about family rules?"

To be honest, Yang Guang was really curious.

Yang Yong glared at Yang Guang. "If it's family law, on what grounds did Your Majesty beat your son? And what family rule did your son violate that required Your Majesty to personally use a jade belt to beat him?"

"What if it's the law of the land?"

Yang Guang asked again.

"If it is the law of the land, then I am the Crown Prince of the Great Sui Dynasty, the heir apparent, the very foundation of the people's livelihood. How dare I, Your Majesty, violate any law? Is there a joint trial by the three judicial authorities? Is there a clear and just punishment? Why is the death penalty imposed?"

Upon hearing Yang Yong's explanation, Yang Jian grinned, his mouth stretching almost to his ears, looking extremely ferocious.

"If it's family law, it's only natural for a father to beat his son."

There's a saying among the people: "If you're going to beat your son on a rainy day, you might as well do it since you're bored anyway."

"If it is the law of the land, then thunder and rain are all the emperor's grace. If the emperor wants his subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. If the emperor beats you, you have to stand there obediently and let the emperor beat you. That is the law of the land."

"Has my explanation been clear enough? Has it been understandable enough?"

Yang Yong was speechless.

"Since you have nothing to say, then prepare to die!"

As Yang Jian spoke, he was about to raise the jade belt in his hand and swing it at Yang Yong's head.

"Your Majesty, stop!"

At this moment, the Empress rushed over.

"Your Majesty, what wrong has the Crown Prince committed that warrants such severe punishment from Your Majesty?"

Empress Dugu looked at Crown Prince Yang Yong with a pained expression and protected him behind her.

At this time, Empress Dugu had not yet lost hope in Yang Yong, and still regarded him as the crown prince and her beloved son.

"I……"

"To prevent Yong'er and Guang'er from killing each other, I ordered them to swear an oath here that brothers must be united and loving. Guang'er immediately swore a poisonous oath, but Yong'er refused and even contradicted me."

"Your Majesty, tell me, should the Crown Prince be punished or not?"

Empress Dugu looked at Yang Yong, who looked unconvinced.

"Your Majesty, I never said I wouldn't take this oath. I simply need you to explain why I must take this oath."

"Your Majesty, I have never intended to harm you. Even if you and I were to compete for the throne in the future, I would still spare your life."

"Moreover, I am not stupid. I know that someone must have been secretly plotting against my brother and me during this period of time."

"A little thought is all it takes to know that this is the work of powerful families, and I would never fall for it."

"No matter what, I am the heir apparent personally chosen by Your Majesty, and I have been raised strictly according to the standards for a crown prince. Does Your Majesty have no trust in me at all?"

"In your eyes, I am just a fool. Have you never seen me as a mature crown prince?"

Yang Yong felt increasingly aggrieved as he spoke. Back when they went to Yanzhou together, he and Gao Ying had already established a very close relationship.

Before that, he and Gao Ying were only nominally master and disciple; Gao Ying was merely ordered by Yang Jian to teach him.

However, after that journey, they became true master and disciple, with an extremely close relationship. Such a scheme could not escape Gao Ying's eyes, and Yang Yong naturally learned the truth from Gao Ying.

That's why he felt wronged and went so far as to rebel against Yang Jian, because he felt that Yang Jian had insulted him.

This time, Yang Jian was left speechless by Yang Yong's words.

He always seemed to treat Yang Yong like a child, never as the crown prince.

There was no way around it; no emperor could tolerate someone encroaching on his authority under his nose, much less admit that the crown prince had grown up and was capable of independence.

This is because it means that one's power will be taken away, which is the thing an emperor fears most.

Unable to find a valid argument, Yang Jian had no choice but to avoid the topic altogether.

As the emperor, he could not possibly admit his mistake.

"Alright, let's not talk about that now. First, make a vow."

"I have no other intention than to take precautions, just in case. I really don't want to see you brothers turn against each other one day."

"Your subject hereby swears that if your second brother does not betray me, I will never betray him. If I break this oath, may I be struck down by heaven and earth."

Yang Jian's expression softened considerably upon hearing Yang Yong's oath.

"Remember the oath you swore today, and never forget it."

"Just as Yong'er said, all the things that happened during your time were orchestrated by powerful families to make you brothers fight each other, and at the same time, to expand their power through your conflicts."

"The powerful clans are a scourge to the Sui Dynasty and must be eliminated."

"Once you return, each of you should assess your subordinates and identify who is trustworthy and who is not."

Speaking of this, Yang Jian recalled the grudges and entanglements between the two brothers over the past few days, and felt a headache coming on.

Even if the two brothers didn't want to take action, sometimes they were powerless to control the household.

We still need to separate them; we can't let them stay in one place.

"After the matter has been clearly distinguished, I hereby appoint Guang'er as the Prince of Liang, Governor-General of Liangzhou, and concurrently Governor-General of the Western Regions, to guard against foreign invasion."

"Take your trusted ministers to the frontier to assume your fiefdoms."

Yang Guang was clearly unwilling. If he left Luoyang, how could he compete with his brother?

But if he is unwilling to leave, wouldn't that be blatantly telling his father that he has designs on the position of crown prince?

Left with no other choice, Yang Guang had to agree.

Upon returning to his residence, Yang Guang immediately summoned Zhang Heng, a trusted confidant who had been instrumental in his bid for the throne.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heng burst into laughter.

"Heaven is truly helping His Highness!"

Yang Guang asked in surprise, "I am about to be forced to leave the capital, what is there to be happy about?"

"Isn't Your Highness lamenting that Chong'er was born abroad, while Shen Sheng died at home?"

Zhang Heng said with a smile.

"I have certainly heard of this, but the current situation in the Great Sui Dynasty is different from that of the past. How can we confuse the two?"

Yang Guang asked in confusion.

Zhang Heng bowed. "Has Your Highness forgotten what happened in the palace today?"

"The Crown Prince has already clashed with His Majesty. If Your Highness were still alive, the Crown Prince would naturally see Your Highness as a thorn in his side and target you at every turn."

"But if His Highness is no longer here, the Crown Prince's family will become too powerful and will naturally become a thorn in His Majesty's side."

Even if it isn't, someone will make it seem like it.

"Your Highness only needs to prepare troops and observe the situation outside, and leave one or two eloquent people in the capital to sow discord, and occasionally go to the palace to show filial piety to the Empress on Your Highness's behalf."

"When the time is right, we can ride the wind and transform into a dragon!"