Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

On the carpet in the Eastern Palace's war room, the Tang Emperor displayed no decorum whatsoever.

Li Shimin clung to the table leg, refusing to let go no matter what, his stance even more resolute than a street ruffian demanding a debt.

"I don't care! I'm going!"

"The incident at Longmen Mountain last time was an accident! This time I'm experienced! I'm going to avenge myself!"

"If you don't agree, I'm sleeping here tonight! No one can persuade me otherwise!"

Li Chengqian stood aside, watching his father throw a tantrum, his temples throbbing.

Headache.

This is a real headache.

This is no emperor of all time; he's clearly just a three-year-old who didn't get a toy.

"Father, would you please get up first?"

Li Chengqian squatted down helplessly, trying to pry Li Shimin's fingers off. "The ground is cold. If he gets frostbite, we'll have to ask Master Sun for medicine, which will cost a lot of money."

"I'm willing to spend the money!"

Li Shimin stubbornly insisted, "If you don't let me go on the western expedition, I won't get up!"

"Who said you weren't allowed to participate?"

Li Chengqian sighed, his eyes darting around, and an idea came to him.

"Your Majesty, I only said I wouldn't let you be the commander-in-chief, I didn't say I wouldn't include you in the game."

"and……"

He leaned close to Li Shimin's ear and whispered something mysteriously.

"Don't you want to see what kind of 'grand gift' your son has prepared for this western expedition, and to entertain that reckless Ju Wentai?"

Li Shimin's ears twitched.

"A big gift?"

He turned his head suspiciously, looking at his son's ambiguous smile. "What kind of grand gift? More powerful than the Great Snow Dragon Riders?"

"What's so special about the Great Snow Dragon Rider?"

Li Chengqian scoffed, his face full of disdain, "In front of that thing, cavalry are sitting ducks, and city walls are just shoddy tofu."

That's called—truth.

Li Shimin's curiosity was instantly piqued.

He stopped hugging the table leg, stood up abruptly, and dusted off his bottom.

"Where is it? Take me to see it quickly!"

"If you dare to lie to me, I... I'll eat your Crown Prince's palace out of house and home!"

"Let's go!"

Li Chengqian snapped his fingers. "Old Xu, prepare the car! To the Shenji Camp!"

……

Thirty miles outside Chang'an City, deep in the Zhongnan Mountains.

This place was originally a desolate and uninhabited valley, but now it has been designated as a top-level military restricted area in the Tang Dynasty.

There's a guard every three steps and a sentry every five steps.

Even a bird flying by would be aimed at three times by a crossbow bolt hidden in the shadows.

When Li Shimin, along with Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and other old comrades, followed Li Chengqian into this mysterious valley, everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

On the vast training ground, there were no soldiers lined up in neat rows, nor were there any swords, spears, or halberds.

There were only ten enormous creatures.

They lay quietly in the center of the field, covered with thick tarpaulins. Although their true appearance could not be seen, their ferocious outlines still exuded a chilling sense of oppression.

"What is this?"

Cheng Yaojin scratched his head, looking completely bewildered. "It looks like a big lump of iron?"

"Open it."

Li Chengqian waved his hand.

"Splash—!"

Ten craftsmen worked together and suddenly ripped off the tarpaulin.

Under the sunlight, ten massive cannons, completely black and gleaming with a cold metallic luster, stood out prominently before everyone's eyes.

The cannon had a thick barrel, huge wheels, and a dark, gaping muzzle that seemed capable of swallowing everything.

Red-coated cannon!

Although it was a "modified" version made to adapt to the technology of this era, the industrial violence aesthetics still made all the country bumpkins from the cold weapon era present feel a deep shiver in their souls.

"This...this is..."

Li Shimin stepped forward and reached out to stroke the cold cannon barrel, feeling a rough and heavy texture on his fingertips.

"Is this a pipe?"

"What's the purpose of such a thick iron pipe? As a pillar?"

"What kind of pipe is this? This is a cannon!"

Li Chengqian walked over, patted the cannon barrel, and it made a crisp "clang" sound.

"Caliber is justice, range is truth."

"This is the divine tool that your son has prepared for the kingdoms of the Western Regions—a tool for reasoning."

"gun?"

Cheng Yaojin curiously circled the cannon twice. This old fellow was bold enough to put his head right up to the dark muzzle and stare inside with his bull-eye eyes.

"It's pitch black in here. Can someone hide in there? Or can it breathe fire?"

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, Lao Cheng?!"

Li Chengqian was startled and kicked Cheng Yaojin in the buttocks, making him stagger.

"Stay away if you don't want your head to explode!"

"If this thing makes a sound, your head won't even be enough for it to fill its teeth!"

Cheng Yaojin rubbed his buttocks, looking aggrieved: "I was just taking a look, Your Highness, your kicks are really strong."

"You can't even look!"

Li Chengqian glared at him. "This is for killing people, not for you to use as a telescope!"

"kill?"

Yuchi Gong also came over, looking incredulous. "This lump of iron? How are you going to kill someone with it? Are you going to lift it up and smash it down?"

"Smashing people is a primitive thing to do."

Li Chengqian was too lazy to explain, so he simply waved to someone in the distance.

"Mo Ju!"

"This old servant is here!"

Mo Ju, a descendant of the Mo family, was running over at this moment, wearing a fireproof leather apron and covered in soot.

But what he held in his hand was not a carving knife, but a burning torch.

The torch trembled slightly in his hand, clearly indicating that even this master craftsman who had created countless ingenious mechanisms was in a state of panic.

"Your Highness..."

Mo Ju swallowed hard, looking at the ten giant cannons with a mixture of fanaticism and fear in his eyes.

"Are we really...really going to test fire?"

"This thing is too powerful, this old servant is afraid...afraid it will cause this mountain to collapse!"

"collapse?"

Li Shimin and his generals were stunned.

Are you bragging?

Could these few iron pipes really cause a mountain to collapse?

"If it collapses, it collapses!"

Li Chengqian, however, seemed indifferent. He took out two wads of cotton from his pocket, stuffed them into his ears, and then handed two more wads to Li Shimin.

"Father, to the frontier."

"What?" Li Shimin asked, puzzled.

"Prevent deafness."

Li Chengqian took a few steps back, hid behind a safe cover, and shouted at Mo Ju.

"Stop dawdling!"

"Reload!"

"ignition!"

"Let Father Emperor hear the roar of our Great Tang!"