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

"His Majesty."

Zhang Wei entered Yang Guang's study.

"Has everything been investigated thoroughly?"

After this wave of blows from the court, Yang Guang became increasingly thoughtful. He sat upright on the dragon throne, his hands outstretched and placed on the armrests on either side of the chair.

Beneath the wide sleeves of his robe, where Zhang Wei couldn't see, his fingertips were already turning white.

"Your Majesty, the investigation has been completed."

Zhang Wei knelt on the ground, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, but he dared not wipe it away.

"Tell me about it."

Yang Guang's voice was somewhat hurried; he wanted to know why all the ministers in the court were opposing him.

He gave those ministers high-ranking positions and generous salaries, but these ministers actually stood up against him!

All for those lowly people!

Zhang Wei reported to Yang Guang the relationships he had investigated among the various officials in the court, as well as their relationship with the Wei family.

"You mean, they're all because of the Wei family, even without the Wei family's explicit instructions?"

"Absurd! Is this truly my empire, or the Wei family's?!"

Yang Guang was able to invite the Wei family to court because he believed they could maintain his rule. With their support, his reputation in history would be better. With the Wei family's support, he could get one step closer to becoming one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history.

However, he would never allow anyone to threaten his supreme throne, even if that person was from the Wei family or the Prince of Yan!

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Having witnessed firsthand the terrifying power of the Wei family, Zhang Wei dared not entertain any thoughts of hostility towards them; the Wei family was simply too terrifying.

Even before the Wei family made a statement, they already had such influence. If the Wei family were to actually stand up and raise their voices, how many people in the entire Sui Dynasty would still listen to Yang Guang?

A big question mark appeared in Zhang Wei's mind.

"What? Even you've become the Wei family's lackey now?"

Yang Guang's gaze toward Zhang Wei was already somewhat impatient; he suddenly felt a desire to test the power of the golden mace in the hands of his Golden Mace Warrior.

"Your Majesty's loyalty is as clear as the sun and moon. If Your Majesty gives the order, I would not even blink if it meant killing my own father and mother."

"Your Majesty, I am only thinking of you and am deeply concerned about the fate of your country. I have no other intentions whatsoever."

Zhang Wei quickly explained.

"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't dare."

Yang Guang thought about it and realized that Zhang Wei was the only person he could use in the court. If he killed him, wouldn't Zhang Wei be left with no one to command?

"I'm giving you a chance. Give me a chance to figure out how to bring down the Wei family."

"Push, push down the Wei family?"

Zhang Wei stared wide-eyed at Yang Guang, inwardly thinking, "Your Majesty, are you serious?"

You might as well let me kill my own parents; that way, although I'd be morally condemned, I'd still have a chance to survive.

Asking me to plot the annihilation of the Wei family is like playing a game of elimination with my entire clan.

Zhang Wei thought Yang Guang might be joking, or perhaps he was shocked and frightened by the news he brought; he would calm down once he calmed down.

"I am very calm now, calmer than ever before."

"I am the Son of Heaven, and pressure will only make me calmer, and setbacks will only make me stronger."

"I will become the greatest emperor of all time! If I can completely subdue the Wei family, then I will surpass dozens of emperors since the Han Dynasty! Hahahaha, even Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Qianlong cannot compare to me!"

It's true that you should still have ideals, because what if they come true?

But Your Majesty, isn't your ideal a bit too far-fetched?

Or how about we come up with a more realistic ideal, like unifying the three major states?

Even unifying the entire world would be more practical than what we have now, wouldn't it?

Su Wei thought this way, but he dared not say it.

They were pitiful, weak, and helpless.

"Think about it. If you can't figure it out, then it means your brain is useless. What's the point of keeping something useless?"

Su Wei racked his brains and finally came up with a reason to appease Yang Guang.

"Your Majesty, the Wei family is the head of all aristocratic families, with a strong foundation and the ability to command the power of all aristocratic families in the world. This can be seen from the court today."

"Then let's first strip him of his wings and eliminate all the powerful families and clans in the world. Without the support of these powerful families and clans, the Wei family alone will only be a slightly stronger family."

Su Wei found a goal for Yang Guang that Yang Guang would never be able to achieve in his lifetime, and made this goal the first step in eliminating the Wei family.

"rational."

"Then I'll first wipe out all the powerful families in the land to vent my anger."

Yang Guang did not regard the Wei family as something too extraordinary, and indeed, as Su Wei said, he regarded the Wei family as the leader of the aristocratic family group.

Since that's the case, I'll get rid of all the sheep in your flock, leaving only you as the leader. Without your followers, how can you be so arrogant?

"Then how do we eliminate all the powerful clans in the land?"

Su Wei said, "Your Majesty can recruit some and punish others. There is no need to eliminate all the aristocratic families. As long as you can control all the aristocratic families in the world, that will suffice."

"The first step is to distinguish which ones can be used by us and which ones cannot."

Yang Guang asked, "How can we tell the difference?"

"Your Majesty, although the Sui Dynasty is a new country that replaced the Qian Dynasty, many powerful families and clans from the previous dynasty have survived to the present dynasty because the previous emperor's ascension to the throne was relatively peaceful."

"I have heard that some of these powerful families are colluding with the remnants of the previous dynasty, intending to restore the Great Qian Dynasty."

"These powerful families and those families that are close to them are all untrustworthy."

"Those who are willing to help Your Majesty eliminate these powerful families are the forces that may be loyal to Your Majesty."

"Heh heh, there are actually people who still think highly of the previous dynasty?!"

"Isn't this what people often call 'eating from the bowl and then cursing the cook'?"

Yang Guang crossed his arms, a disdainful smile playing on his lips. These mere remnants of the rebellion are laughable.

"How can we lure them all out and capture them all in one fell swoop?"

"Lue the snake out of its hole."

Su Wei stammered.

"Oh?"

"How do we lure the snake out of its hole?"

Su Wei looked at the map.

"Back then, the late emperor campaigned in the south and north, starting from Luoyang and sweeping across the land."

"Most of the conquests took place in the Central Plains and Hebei. After the late emperor unified the entire Central Plains and the northern lands, many forces in the south surrendered directly and submitted to him."

"In order to minimize losses, the late emperor accepted the surrender of the southern forces and did not carry out a large-scale purge in the south."

"Therefore, there are many forces in the south that feel sentimental about the Great Qian Dynasty, and most of the remnants of the previous dynasty are also hiding in the south."

"I suggest Your Majesty undertake a southern tour. At that time, these rebellious forces will all emerge, and Your Majesty can then set a trap and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

"Can!"

"But what excuse can I use?"

Yang Guang did not consider the danger of using him as a trap to lure out the enemy, or rather, Zhang Wei's suggestion was exactly what he wanted.

He also vaguely sensed some instability in the south and wanted to make a southern tour to deter the various forces there.

"Your Majesty can use the excuse of traveling by steam carriage to tour the Jiangnan region."