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

"Can't play? What do you mean you can't play!"

Li Shimin abruptly pulled back the leg he had already stepped out with.

His eyes widened, and his mustache was blown straight up by the wind on the Gobi Desert.

"I, the Supreme General of the Heavenly Strategy Army and the Grand Commander of the Divine Machine Battalion of the Great Tang Dynasty, surely have a weapon in this world that I cannot master?"

Li Shimin was so anxious that he stomped his feet, like a wronged old father whose New Year's money had been confiscated.

"Chengqian, are you feeling a little stingy about those few hundred strings of cash for cannonballs? I said it would come from the Imperial Treasury! I won't take a single penny from your Eastern Palace!"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "Am I the kind of person who cares about a few hundred copper coins?"

He handed the goat milk tea he had just picked up to Xu Xiao, who was standing beside him with his hands hanging down.

Then, Li Chengqian slowly leaned out of the palanquin.

"Father, it's not about the money. This thing is too powerful; you can't handle it."

Li Chengqian pointed to the dark iron cannon barrel not far away, his tone unusually serious.

"This is a new gadget that the Mo family's arsenal just came up with. Although its power is ridiculously great, the technology is not yet fully mature."

"Especially these exploding shells filled with high-purity black powder."

"The recoil is terrifying!"

Li Chengqian stretched out his hands and made an extremely exaggerated explosion gesture.

"The recoil from a single shot could send a fully grown, strong bull flying!"

"Moreover, there is a 0.3% chance that this cast iron cannon barrel will explode under extremely high temperature and pressure."

"Do you understand what a barrel explosion is?"

Li Chengqian stared at Li Shimin's dark face and began to explain the facts without any hesitation.

"The entire cannon barrel shattered into tens of thousands of pieces of iron with a 'bang'!"

"Within a radius of ten feet, whether you are human or ghost, you will all be shredded into mincemeat!"

Li Shimin's heart skipped a beat at what he was being told, and his expression visibly changed.

But his pride as an emperor, so obsessed with saving face, wouldn't allow him to back down in front of his son.

"Nonsense! Don't try to scare me with such words!"

Li Shimin slapped his chest hard, making his armor clang loudly.

"My health is excellent! Back at Hulao Pass, I could draw a five-stone bow and shoot down eighteen enemy generals in succession!"

"That little bit of recoil wouldn't possibly hurt my back, would it?"

"Besides, I am the Son of Heaven, protected by the destiny of the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Shimin retorted stubbornly.

"Even if it really explodes, those metal shards will have to stay away from me!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Ju, who was standing next to him, turned green with fright and broke out in a cold sweat.

How can an emperor be less scientific than a researcher like him?

If it really explodes, let alone the Son of Heaven, even the Jade Emperor would be turned into a sieve!

Li Chengqian was amused by these shameless remarks.

After taking the health-strengthening pills, Old Li not only became more energetic, but his blind self-confidence also swelled up.

"Alright, alright, you are the true Son of Heaven, you are invulnerable to swords and spears."

Li Chengqian was too lazy to argue with him about parabolas and the principle of kinetic energy.

He immediately pulled out his trump card.

"Since you insist on personally lighting the fuse and loading the ammunition, then so be it."

Li Chengqian drawled out his words slowly.

"However, I need to send an urgent letter to Chang'an first."

"I need to figure out the rate of explosion of this red-coated cannon, and its recoil that can send bulls flying."

Write it down clearly, word for word, and personally hand it to the Empress Dowager for review.

"Let the Empress Dowager be the judge and see if she'll send this old man to risk his life, or let him stay quietly as a lucky charm."

"hiss--!"

Upon hearing the words "Empress Dowager," Li Shimin's previously unyielding attitude, as firm as a rock in a latrine, instantly softened.

He subconsciously shrank his neck, the image of Empress Zhangsun's gentle yet unyielding and dignified gaze already appearing in his mind.

Although Empress Zhangsun was extremely protective of Li Chengqian and doted on him, she was very strict about Li Shimin's health.

If she knew that I had traveled all the way to the Western Regions just to play with these cannons that could explode at any time and be deadly.

When we get back to Chang'an, the washboards at Taiji Palace will probably break several times from kneeling!

"No, no, no! My dear son! Let's talk this out. Why do you always use your mother to pressure me!"

Li Shimin immediately cowered, like a deflated balloon.

He looked at Li Chengqian with resentment, rubbing his hands together, his tone full of unwillingness.

"I'm just eyeing the power of these cannons. I've come all this way with the army to starve. If I can't even fire a single shot, then what's the point of being the Grand Commander of the Divine Machine Battalion?"

Seeing his father's aggrieved look, Li Chengqian felt a pang of sympathy.

After all, he's my own father, so I can't push him too hard.

You have to give someone a sweet treat after you slap them.

"How about this, Father, let's compromise."

Li Chengqian sighed and offered a compromise.

"The dangerous and arduous tasks such as cleaning the gun barrel, calculating the parabola, and loading gunpowder and shells must be done by professionals like Mo Ju."

"You are absolutely not allowed to interfere."

Just as Li Shimin was about to retort, Li Chengqian immediately raised his hand to stop him.

"but!"

Li Chengqian deliberately dragged out his words, whetting Li Shimin's appetite.

"Next time we encounter any ignorant little kingdom in the Western Regions, we'll keep our gates tightly shut and refuse to surrender no matter what."

"That final, highly ceremonial and glorious mission of igniting the cannon..."

"I guarantee that it will be done personally by you, the Grand Commander of the Divine Machine Battalion. No one is allowed to take it from you!"

Li Chengqian patted his chest and made the final concession.

"How about that? Is it okay now? It's fun and there's no risk involved."

Li Shimin lowered his head, his eyes darting around.

He quickly calculated in his mind.

It's a bit of a shame that I can't load the ammunition myself.

But as long as one can personally hold the torch and ignite the fuse that determines the fate of another country.

Watching the enemy's city walls crumble to dust under his fingertips.

This feeling seems pretty exciting!

"Okay! It's a deal!"

Li Shimin suddenly raised his head, as if afraid that Li Chengqian would change his mind, and quickly made the final decision.

"Next time we encounter a tough nut to crack, none of you are allowed to lay a hand on it. Let me light the fire!"

He was secretly thinking to himself.

Let's agree first and then talk about it.

When they arrived on the battlefield, everything was in chaos.

If I, the Grand Eunuch, secretly slip two handfuls of gunpowder in, who can stop me?

The extremely drawn-out bargaining between the father and son finally came to an end.

Li Chengqian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Bringing my father out to fight is even more exhausting than leading troops myself.

"Alright, army, march on! Target: the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions!"

Li Chengqian waved his hand, turned around, and prepared to crawl into the warm and comfortable Iron-Eating Beast Carriage to catch up on sleep.

Just then, a rapid sound of hooves swept across the Gobi Desert in front of the army.

"Report—!"

A Tang Dynasty scout, covered in yellow sand, rushed to the carriage like a whirlwind.

He knelt on one knee, panting heavily, with an extremely strange expression on his face.

"Your Highness, the army has reached the capital of Yanqi, thirty li ahead!"

Li Chengqian, who had just closed his eyes, opened them again with a sense of helplessness.

"So fast? What's that old bastard Yanqi King's attitude? Did he surrender outside the city?"

Li Chengqian asked lazily.

These thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions were all smaller than each other, some even smaller than a county town of the Tang Dynasty.

He thought that once the news of the King of Gaochang being turned into a "roujiamo" (meat sandwich) spread, these small kingdoms would surrender without a second thought.

To everyone's surprise, the scout swallowed hard, and his expression became even stranger.

"Your Highness! The King of Yanqi has not surrendered!"

The scout took a deep breath and reported loudly.

"Not only did they not surrender, they even used molten iron overnight..."

"They welded all four gates of Yanqi city shut!"