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

Thick black ink flowed slowly along the rough, weathered texture of the stone tablet.

Like streaks of black tears, they forcefully cover up the sorrow and grief left by scholars and poets over the centuries.

The setting sun, like blood, cast a blood-red glow on the newly written characters, making them appear ferocious and unrestrained, exuding a domineering aura that seemed poised to burst forth from the wall.

Huo Qubing was the closest.

He widened his sharp eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing, and read out each word carefully:

"West...out...Yang...Guan..."

"All are subjects of the Great Tang Dynasty!"

boom--!

It was as if a visible electric current had instantly pierced the skulls of all the soldiers present.

The faint sense of melancholy that had been permeating the military, the loneliness of about to step into a foreign land with no certainty of life or death, was shattered by these six short words!

"They are all subjects of the Great Tang Dynasty..."

Yue Fei muttered to himself, his hand gripping the Li Quan spear tightening suddenly, his knuckles turning white.

He fought wars his whole life, always talking about protecting his homeland, defending his territory, and "restoring our land."

But no one has ever been like this Crown Prince.

Standing on the border, pointing to that untamed, wild land beyond the national gate, they said with righteous indignation and utter arrogance: That is also ours!

This is more than just being domineering.

This person has etched the phrase "All land under heaven belongs to the king" into their very bones!

"What? Didn't you understand?"

Li Chengqian casually tossed the huge calligraphy brush behind him.

"Clatter".

The pen fell to the ground, splashing up a cloud of yellow sand.

He turned around and faced the more than 10,000 elite Tang soldiers standing solemnly in the wind and sand behind him.

The wind tousled his hair, but it couldn't dispel the two flickering flames in his eyes.

"Brothers, hold your heads up!"

Although Li Chengqian's voice was still immature, it resonated like thunder across the Gobi Desert through the amplified copper pipes of the Mo family, making people's eardrums ache.

"Don't all look so miserable, like you're going to be exiled or sent to the army."

Who are we?

"They are the soldiers of the Great Tang! They are the sharp sword of the Heavenly Khan! They are the most formidable military force in the world!"

He opened his arms, embracing this desolate land, a wildly arrogant and greedy smile on his face.

"We're not leaving this place to wander or suffer."

"We're going there to—inspect our territory!"

"They're going to collect rent!"

"We're going to tell those tenants who live in our backyard and forgot to pay their protection money who the real owners of this land are!"

"coax--!"

A low murmur of laughter erupted from the ranks of soldiers, instantly transforming the solemn and tragic atmosphere into one of fervor and wildness.

Collecting rent!

This word sounds so inspiring! It's way more exciting than any "expedition"!

Li Chengqian jumped onto a towering, wind-eroded rock, looking down from above.

His finger, like a sharp sword, slashed through the sky, pointing to the western horizon dyed red by the setting sun.

Look ahead!

"That desert, that oasis, and those so-called Gaochang and Tubo."

"In your eyes, that is a foreign land, a foreign country, a barbarian land."

"But in my eyes..."

Li Chengqian's lips curled slightly, his eyes looking down with disdain, as if he regarded everything as worthless.

"That's just a county town that our Great Tang Dynasty hasn't even had time to officially register yet!"

"That Ju Wentai is nothing but a troublesome village chief who refuses to pay taxes!"

"That Songtsen Gampo was nothing but a bandit leader who ruled from the mountains!"

"Since they are troublemakers, since they are bandits, what should we, as the 'royal army' of the Great Tang, do?"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Ten thousand soldiers roared in unison, their voices shattering the clouds in the sky.

That was an ambition that had been ignited, a desire for conquest that had been awakened.

They are no longer wanderers who have left their homes, but conquerors who are about to go out to conquer the rebellious and expand their territory!

"That's right!"

Li Chengqian snapped his fingers and nodded in satisfaction.

"That's the spirit!"

"Remember this!"

He took a deep breath, and with all his might, shouted out a declaration that would drive countless passionate men of later generations mad:

"Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever rivers flow, that is Han territory!"

"Anyone who obstructs the advance of our Great Tang army is a traitor!"

"This time, we're not going to reason with anyone, we're going to talk physics!"

"Disobedient? Then beat him until he obeys!"

"Not convinced? Then beat him until he submits!"

"Even at the ends of the earth, even at the edge of the world, as long as the battle flag of my Great Tang is planted there—"

Li Chengqian stomped his foot, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"That's the Tang Dynasty!"

"roar--!!!"

Huo Qubing could no longer contain his passion. He spurred his horse, Sa Lu Zi, and it reared up, letting out a high-pitched neigh.

The champion marquis held a tiger-headed golden spear pointing westward, his eyes burning with a flame called "destruction".

"Your Highness is right!"

"What Gaochang Kingdom? What Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions?"

"Those are the thirty-six counties of our Great Tang Dynasty that await recapture!"

Huo Qubing turned his horse around, looked at the group of Snow Dragon Riders behind him whose eyes were also glowing green, grinned, and revealed a set of gleaming white teeth.

"Brothers!"

"Did you all hear that? We're not going there to fight a war, we're going there to enforce the law!"

"Go to Gaochang County—to collect taxes!"

"Set off!"

"Boom!"

The earth began to tremble.

Eight hundred Snow Dragon Riders were the first to charge out of Yangguan Pass, kicking up clouds of yellow sand, like a silver, angry dragon, rushing towards that unknown wasteland.

Followed by.

With a wave of his hand, Yue Fei commanded the Beiwei Army to move with heavy steps, like a mobile steel fortress, and they began to advance with a roar.

The red-coated cannons of the Shenji Battalion, dragged by the panda-shaped vehicles, emitted a dull crushing sound, their dark muzzles pointing upwards, eager to unleash their first roar.

Li Chengqian jumped back into his luxurious carriage, took the chilled plum juice handed to him by Wu Meiniang, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Cool!"

He slammed his cup on the table, watching the scenery rushing past the window, watching the sun gradually recede into the distance, without a trace of lingering affection in his eyes.

The sun has set.

An old friend?

No need for old friends.

Because from this point on, every step westward is a journey home.

Every inch of this land beneath our feet will submit to the Tang Dynasty.

"Meiniang, is the abacus ready?"

Li Chengqian lay back on the soft couch, reverting to his usual lazy demeanor, but the sharpness in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"Ready, Your Highness."

Wu Meiniang's face was flushed, from the excitement of the rally just now, and she was clutching the thick account book tightly in her hand.

"very good."

A cruel smile curled at the corner of Li Chengqian's mouth.

"Open the ledger."

"The first debt is with Gaochang Kingdom and Ju Wentai."

"Paying back debts is a matter of course."

"If I can't repay it..."

He gazed at the last rays of the setting sun on the western horizon and whispered, like the murmur of a demon.

"Then pay with your life."

The army crossed Yangguan Pass and disappeared into the vast night.

Beyond those rolling yellow sands lay a trembling future for the kingdoms of the Western Regions, and also the beginning of a great era known as the "Tang Dynasty on which the sun never sets."