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

Following the advice of his strategist Zhang Heng, Yang Guang decisively led several trusted confidants to Liangzhou to assume his post.

At the same time, he requested an elite force from the imperial court to escort him to Liangzhou.

Seeing Yang Guang leave the capital so decisively, Yang Jian's trust in Yang Guang grew rapidly. He felt that Yang Guang's decisive departure meant that he had no ambition for the throne, and he no longer needed to worry about future fratricide.

The person who knows you best is often your enemy.

Yang Jian was deceived by Yang Guang's performance, but Yang Yong was not. He did not think that Yang Guang's departure to his fiefdom meant he had given up the struggle for the throne; he only thought that Yang Guang must have other plans.

With Gao Jiong's reminder, he also realized that now was a time when Yang Jian was monitoring him very secretly, and it was not a good time to take action against Yang Guang.

Furthermore, since Yang Guang had already left the capital, any conspiracy would be beyond his reach, giving him ample time to react. Gradually, Yang Yong also relaxed his surveillance of Yang Guang's forces.

Yang Guang was gone for five years. During those five years, he guarded Liangzhou and, relying on his status as a prince, constantly won over generals from the border regions.

As one of the most militarily powerful prefectures in the land, Liangzhou had deep roots in the military and wielded immense power.

Yang Guang was stationed in Liangzhou. He used his position to control the Silk Road in the Western Regions and used the huge profits of the Silk Road to provide the military with weapons, food and military pay. He held a very high position in the military in the western part of the Sui Dynasty.

Over the course of five years, these people made it clear that they were willing to support Yang Guang.

The situation in Luoyang has been unpredictable over the past five years.

Perhaps it was Yang Yong's personality, or perhaps it was the instigation of Yang Guang's men, but Yang Yong had more than one argument with Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, and Empress Dugu.

To put it nicely, Yang Yong's personality is straightforward; to put it bluntly, it's reckless and impulsive.

The power of the crown prince as heir apparent already made Yang Jian feel threatened, yet he still didn't know how to restrain himself and often did things that brought him pleasure.

Empress Dugu was originally a staunch supporter of Yang Yong, but Yang Yong felt that Empress Dugu had an extremely strong desire for control, so he deliberately distanced himself from her and refused her arrangements openly and secretly, showing her no respect.

This led to a continuous deterioration in the relationship between Yang Yong and the emperor and empress, and a gradual decline in their favor.

Although Yang Guang was far away in Liangzhou, he never missed sending greetings to the emperor and empress during festivals. He would write to them from time to time to report on his work in Liangzhou and express his greetings.

After this comparison, the difference between the two became apparent. Yang Jian and Empress Dugu felt a pang of heartache at the thought of sending their son to a remote place in the future. Now that their son was so filial and their eldest son so unfilial, the scales in their hearts immediately tipped in favor of Yang Guang.

Under the constant influence of Empress Dugu, Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, readily summoned his second son back from the frontier. He bestowed titles and honors upon his son and his subordinates, continuously increasing his son's influence in the court so that he could rival the Crown Prince.

The first thing Yang Guang did after returning to Luoyang was to enter the palace to visit his father and mother as a son.

Yang Guang deliberately didn't wash or groom himself, appearing disheveled and travel-worn. Only when he saw Yang Jian and Empress Dugu did he "realize" that he had been somewhat impolite, and he quickly apologized.

When Yang Jian and Empress Dugu saw their son looking so travel-worn, and thought about how he had spent five years in the remote Liangzhou and then rushed back to visit them, they felt a deep sense of relief.

Not only did he not blame Yang Guang, but he also praised him highly and bestowed upon him many treasures.

After returning to the capital, Yang Guang paid homage to the emperor and empress every three days with a small bow and every five days with a large bow, showing extremely meticulous etiquette.

Even towards Crown Prince Yang Yong, he was courteous and respectful, neither servile nor arrogant, never overstepping the bounds, and always acting with propriety, making him appear extremely close to him.

He lived a frugal life at home, treated scholars with respect, and was generous with his own money to subsidize students from poor families.

He associated with Confucian scholars, Taoists, military strategists, and legalists, gaining a very high reputation among the major aristocratic families and the various schools of thought.

But Yang Guang felt that this was not enough; his biggest obstacle, Crown Prince Yang Yong, was still firmly standing there.

Beside Yang Yong was a behemoth named Gao Jiong. As long as Gao Jiong was not eliminated, Yang Yong's position would remain unshakeable.

It should be noted that Gao Jiong was both a scholar and a warrior, and made great contributions to the establishment of the Sui Dynasty. He was the foremost of the founding heroes and enjoyed the deep trust of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian.

Furthermore, many founding heroes, both civil and military, had a large number of nobles who were led by him. This force was something that not only Yang Guang, but even Yang Jian had to be wary of.

This is also why Yang Jian has been hesitant to weaken the crown prince; he didn't want to provoke Gao Jiong.

After testing the waters, Yang Guang confirmed that Yang Jian was now quite dissatisfied with Gao Jiong.

Whether it was because of Gao Jiong's power or his support for the crown prince, Yang Jian was quite dissatisfied with this former friend.

After consulting with his advisors, Yang Guang decided to eliminate Gao Jiong, this troublemaker, first.

An opportunity soon presented itself to Yang Guang. When Empress Dugu and Yang Jian discussed the matter privately, they raised their opinions on the issue of deposing the eldest son in favor of the younger one.

Somehow, the news reached Gao Jiong's ears, and Gao Jiong, right there in the court in front of many ministers, uttered that famous saying that shook the world.

"How could Your Majesty be so concerned with the grand plan of the nation as a mere woman?"

Empress Dugu was furious upon hearing this.

Over the past five years, Empress Dugu has changed her opinion of Yang Yong and Yang Guang, and now she prefers Yang Guang as the crown prince.

Gao Jiong was a staunch supporter of Crown Prince Yang Yong. If she wanted Yang Guang to become the crown prince, she had to get rid of Gao Jiong first.

Using her advantageous position, she whispered in Yang Jian's ear day and night.

Empress Dugu and Yang Jian had been married for decades, and she knew her husband's character better than anyone. She knew exactly what to say to provoke Yang Jian's anger and suspicion.

Over time, Yang Jian began to suspect Gao Jiong, gradually concluding that Gao Jiong wanted to cultivate a useless emperor in order to control the court.

Otherwise, how could Yang Yong, Yang Jian's son, who was also mentored by Gao Jiong, be so naive and innocent?!

It must have been that Gao Jiong mixed his own agenda into the education, deliberately cultivating Crown Prince Yang Yong into this way so that he could control the court in the future.

Gao Jiong is very ambitious!

Yang Jian was startled and mentally raised Gao Jiong's danger level several notches.

He also listened less to Gao Jiong's opinions on court affairs and kept his distance from him.

After losing Yang Jian's trust, other court officials also began to distance themselves from Gao Jiong, and Gao Jiong's influence in the court waned day by day.