The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

The main hall of the Yang residence.

"Elder brother, the world is about to descend into chaos, and our Yang family should also prepare."

Yang Tao looked at Yang Yan with a serious expression and said.

"We definitely need to prepare."

Where do you think would be a better place for Xuan Ce?

Yang Yan suddenly asked Yang Tao.

"Jingzhou!"

"This is the most suitable place."

"A vital transportation hub connecting the north and south, it is a strategic location that military strategists must contend for."

"Moreover, Jingzhou is economically prosperous and has a large population, making it suitable for raising troops, in addition to the accumulation of our Hongnong Yang family over the years."

"As long as we can take Jingzhou, our Yang family will have hope of contending for the world."

A glint of light flashed in Yang Tao's eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "Xuzhou is too small, not suitable for Xuan Ce, and even less suitable for our Yang family."

"Jingzhou is indeed a good place."

"But do you think His Majesty will hand over Jingzhou to our Yang family?"

Yang Yan shook his head and said, "Our Yang family has too much influence in Sizhou. If we were to gain control of Jingzhou as well, His Majesty would probably not be able to sleep soundly."

"Brother, what if the powerful families of Jiangnan, led by the Xiao family of Yangzhou, rebel?"

"Is there any hope for our Yang family?"

Yang Tao said meaningfully.

The "Five Surnames and Seven Clans" actually only represented the most powerful families in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Besides the five surnames and seven prominent families, there were other aristocratic families as well.

The Xiao family of Yangzhou, the Cai family of Jingzhou, the Yuan family of Yizhou, the Yuwen family of Youzhou, the Li family of Jiaozhou, the Tuoba family of Liangzhou, and the Xiahou family of Bingzhou—these seven prominent families were, to a certain extent, no less powerful than the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families.

Because these seven great families were all royal families in the early period!

They belonged to the royal family of a small state that was destroyed by the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Although Emperor Wu, the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, eventually destroyed these seven small states, he did not exterminate the royal families of these seven states.

These seven great families have maintained a very low profile since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Although some of them have served as officials or generals, they have only reached the county level, serving as county governors or county commandants. Therefore, the people of the world do not know much about these seven great families.

However, it was impossible for the Hongnong Yang clan, one of the five surnames and seven prominent families, not to know about these seven great families.

These seven great families were, after all, former royal families, and each family had a large number of descendants of loyal ministers who attached themselves to them.

And the descendants of these loyal ministers are the powerful figures we know today.

Each of these aristocratic families possesses an incredibly powerful foundation.

The reason why these seven great families are all named after a prefecture is because of this.

Unlike the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families, which were named after prefectures.

This is because the seven states where these seven great families are located are the former territories of seven small kingdoms.

"The Xiao family of Yangzhou?"

"The Xiao family of Yangzhou hasn't been behaving themselves these past few years!"

"Even the Yellow Heaven Sect cannot spread its teachings in Yangzhou."

"This is Manichaeism's territory."

“The entire Manichaeism has become a sharp sword in the hands of the Xiao family of Yangzhou.”

Yang Yan spoke calmly and without batting an eye.

"That's right. On the surface, Yangzhou is the territory of the Danyang Wang family, and Wang Chongrong, the head of the Danyang Wang family, serves as the governor of Yangzhou."

“Dong Jingyun, the Prefect of Yangzhou, was also a member of the Wang family of Danyang.”

"However, according to our intelligence from the Hongnong Yang Clan, Dong Jingyun has actually already become a member of the Yangzhou Xiao Clan."

"Or rather, Dong Jingyun's true identity is one of the eight protectors of the Manichaeism."

"Wang Chongrong was unaware of this, and instead trusted Dong Jingyun completely, even betrothing his most beloved daughter to Dong Jingyun."

Yang Tao said with a mocking expression, "Now that His Majesty has ordered all states to expand their armies, Xiao Yu, the head of the Xiao family in Yangzhou, couldn't help but..."

Jingzhou is currently weak. If he were to raise an army in Yangzhou to rebel, he would surely be able to seize Jingzhou in one fell swoop with the strength at his disposal.

At that time, our Great Zhou Dynasty will certainly send troops to suppress the rebellion of the Xiao family in Yangzhou.

"My elder brother is a renowned general of our Great Zhou Dynasty. Even the Imperial Uncle Murong Changge and Zhao Wuyang pale in comparison to him."

"It's just that my elder brother has been away from the army for a long time, so many people don't know about his reputation."

"At this moment, both General Zhao Wuyang of the Capital Garrison and General Murong Changge of the Imperial Guards are trying to deter the Yellow Heaven Sect in Ji Province, so we certainly cannot act rashly."

“Once they make a move, the Yellow Heaven Sect will definitely take action.”

"After all, the Yellow Heaven Sect definitely hopes that our Great Zhou Dynasty will be in as much chaos as possible."

"Seeing the Xiao family's rebellion in Yangzhou, the Yellow Heaven Sect will definitely cooperate to some extent."

"At this time, His Majesty can only transfer troops from other places to suppress the Xiao family's rebellion in Yangzhou."

After a pause, Yang Tao continued, "We cannot act rashly against Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou. The barbarians that Yizhou is guarding against have been restless for years."

Once Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou, makes a move, the barbarians may take the opportunity to invade our Great Zhou Dynasty.

Since Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou, cannot be mobilized, Your Majesty has fewer renowned generals at your disposal.

At this moment, it would be perfectly reasonable for us to recommend our elder brother and Xuan Ce to lead troops to attack the Xiao family of Yangzhou.

My elder brother mobilized a large army from Sili to attack the Xiao family of Yangzhou, who had invaded Jingzhou. Meanwhile, Xuan Ce marched into Yangzhou from Xuzhou and plundered the Xiao family's property.

"It's almost time."

"We really need to start preparing."

"With the arrival of an era of great strife, even the most prestigious families among the five clans and seven noble families cannot guarantee their survival."

"It could be reduced to ashes at any moment."

"Even if we don't want to fight for the world, we must at least have the real power to protect ourselves."

Yang Yan remained silent for a long while, then said softly, "Third brother, I'm leaving this matter to you!"

"Please rest assured, elder brother, I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Yang Tao's expression turned solemn, and he spoke in a firm and powerful voice.

Time flies.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Yellow Heaven Sect seemed to suddenly become docile.

In the past three days, the Yin-Yang Creation Pill and the Blissful Ascension Pill that Chu Xiu gave to the Embroidered Uniform Guard have been digested, resulting in the emergence of many martial artists at the Celestial Realm level within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Chu Xiu also gave the Yin-Yang Creation Pill and the Blissful Ascension Pill that he had left behind to the guards and maids in the Chu family to enhance their strength.

This greatly enhanced the overall strength of the Chu family.

The cabinet's orders have already been transmitted to all the ordinary states of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Every ordinary state is actively recruiting soldiers and expanding its army.

Yu Wenyuan was in charge of water conservancy construction at the river management command headquarters in Chenliu County, Yanzhou.

This day.

Swish!

Lin Huaiyu appeared outside the study of the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard with a tense expression and shouted urgently, "Reporting to the Marquis, something has happened in Yangzhou!"

squeak...

The door suddenly opened.

Chu Xiu appeared out of nowhere in front of Lin Huaiyu, frowned, and said, "What is it? Is it related to the Xiao family of Yangzhou?"

As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he naturally couldn't possibly be unaware of the Xiao family of Yangzhou, a former imperial clan.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it is the Xiao family of Yangzhou who have rebelled!"

"Wang Chongrong, the governor of Yangzhou, has died at the hands of the Xiao family of Yangzhou."

"The Danyang Wang clan members in Yangzhou have all been slaughtered by the Yangzhou Xiao clan!"

Lin Huaiyu said with a solemn expression.

"Wang Chongrong, the governor of Yangzhou, is dead? The Wang clan of Danyang in Yangzhou were all slaughtered by the Xiao clan of Yangzhou?"

Chu Xiu said with a look of shock on his face.

It should be noted that Wang Chongrong, the governor of Yangzhou, was the head of the Wang family of Danyang.

The Wang family of Danyang is one of the five surnames and seven prominent families, and is one of the most prestigious families in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.

result……

Such a top-tier aristocratic family was actually wiped out!

Although the Wang clan of Danyang has not been completely wiped out, there is still a branch of the clan led by Wang Chongyi, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, in the capital.

However, without the experts from the ancestral home of the Wang family in Danyang as a foundation, Wang Chongyi might not even be able to control the Censorate!

From this day forward, the Five Surnames and Seven Clans will be completely transformed into the Five Surnames and Six Clans!