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

Inside the central command tent, candlelight flickered.

Li Chengqian's words, "Let's go to the plateau to watch the fireworks," were like a bombshell. Although they didn't explode with the deafening force of a cannon, they sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.

That's Tibet!

Perched atop towering snow-capped mountains, they possessed countless fierce cavalrymen and controlled one of the world's most terrifying high-altitude natural barriers.

Throughout history, even the mighty Han Dynasty could only flex its muscles on the plains of the Western Regions, but never a single army had ever truly set foot in that extremely cold land known as the "forbidden zone of life."

But at this moment, looking at the eight-year-old Tang Dynasty crown prince, who was lazily yawning.

The same incredibly crazy thought popped into everyone's mind: perhaps, following this prince, could really turn the impossible into possible?

"Ahem... Chengqian, what you just said about 'building another hundred red-coated cannons'..."

Li Shimin broke the silence, trying hard to suppress the trembling in his voice, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"Should these hundred cannons still be under the command of Mo Ju's Divine Machine Battalion? I, the Grand Eunuch..."

Seeing his father's tense expression, as if he was afraid of being sidelined, Li Chengqian rolled his eyes helplessly.

"Don't worry, these hundred cannons are still under your command, as long as you're not afraid of hurting your back."

Li Shimin was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately approved it: "Good! It's settled then! Tomorrow I'll go and melt down all the junk that those small Western Region kingdoms are offering as tribute! What are gold cups and silver bowls compared to cannons!"

Just as the father and son were hastily finalizing their strategic plans for the coming spring.

The shadow in the corner of the tent finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Lu Dongzan collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud.

What did he hear?

To recreate a hundred more of those world-destroying Thor's hammers? And then carry this pile of terrifying weapons up the plateau to "talk about life" with the Zanpu?

This isn't a discussion about life; it's clearly a mission to send the Tibetans to their doom!

Extreme fear made him forget the physical pain, and even forget that he was a prisoner.

He shakily pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket, his hands trembling as he wiped away the dust and cold sweat from his earlier fright.

"Tsangpu... I am the sinner Gar Tongtsen..."

He frantically wrote in Tibetan on the parchment scroll, each word as heavy as if it were carved in blood.

"Never provoke the Tang Dynasty! Never even consider a marriage alliance! Never send troops down to the plateau!"

"They are not human! They wield heavenly thunder! That eight-year-old prince is a demon reincarnated!"

"Run! Lead your people deeper into the snow-capped mountains! The Tang Dynasty's red-coated cannons are coming!"

After writing the last character, Lu Dongzan seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he slumped his head helplessly.

He knew that the letter might never be sent.

But he still clung to a one in ten thousand chance that a miracle might happen, allowing the final letter to fly back to Lhasa, even if it was just to let the king die knowing why.

Meanwhile, outside the tent, the western night sky was ablaze with starlight.

But for all thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions, this night was destined to be a completely sleepless one.

With the fall of Gaochang and Yanqi, legends about the Tang Dynasty possessing the "power of heavenly thunder" were spreading wildly along the Silk Road at an exaggerated pace.

In the royal palace of the Kingdom of Kucha, the king was trembling as he held several glass bottles that had been brought from the Tang Dynasty.

"Have you heard? That Tang Dynasty crown prince is actually the Thunder God reincarnated! With just a wave of his hand, he can summon heavenly lightning and shatter the city walls into dust!"

"I have a distant cousin who works in Gaochang, and he saw it with his own eyes! The thunder was so loud it could deafen you, and the firelight was so bright it could turn night into day!"

In the streets and alleys of Khotan, several old herders wearing tattered sheepskin coats sat around a fire, mysteriously gesturing to the name.

"What cannon? That's called the 'Vajra Pestle'! I heard it's a divine weapon that the Tang Dynasty emperor specially invited 999 eminent monks to chant scriptures for 49 days to obtain!"

"The moment that thing makes a sound, everyone and everything within a ten-mile radius dies; not even an ant can survive!"

Even more extreme, some have claimed that the iron-eating beast palanquin that Li Chengqian carried with him was a "divine beast mount under the throne of a celestial being."

"Did you see that black and white bear? That's the ancient mythical beast, the Iron-Eating Beast! It's said it can swallow a mountain of iron in one gulp and breathe fire!"

These increasingly outrageous rumors completely mythologized the Tang Dynasty's western expeditionary army into an invincible celestial force.

As a result, the kingdoms of Shule and Shache, which had been observing the situation, demolished their city gates overnight.

That's right, it was demolished!

They were afraid that when the Tang army passed by, they would find the gate too slow to open and simply blast it in with a cannon.

They even set out the finest wine and roasted whole lamb at the city gate, and the entire city's population knelt on both sides of the road, holding up banners that read "Long Live the Tang Dynasty," showing an enthusiasm that surpassed even that of welcoming their own father.

This comical yet realistic scene played out repeatedly over the next two weeks on the vast Gobi Desert in the Western Regions.

Wherever the Tang army went, it did not need to move a single soldier.

Often, Li Shimin hadn't even had time to set up his red cannons.

The king on the other side had already bound himself up like a dumpling, and was kneeling outside the gate with the city's household registers and land deeds, weeping and begging for shelter.

"Ugh, this is so boring, so incredibly boring."

Sitting on his horse, Li Shimin looked at the Western Region nobles kneeling in front of him and disappointedly threw away the torch in his hand.

"Why are these Western Region people so spineless? My last few cannonballs are practically moldy, and I can't find a single one willing to fight back!"

He looked at Li Chengqian, who was leisurely eating grapes while riding on the back of the Iron-Eating Beast, with extreme frustration.

"Chengqian, why don't we ignore these small fry and just charge straight to the plateau?"

Li Shimin was really getting carried away at this point, thinking that no one in the world could stop his cannons.

Li Chengqian spat out a grape skin and slowly jumped off the back of the iron-eating beast.

He walked to the dilapidated beacon tower at Yangguan Pass, his gaze sweeping across the vast Gobi Desert and landing on the endless snow-capped mountain range to the south, which seemed to connect with the sky.

That place is the roof of the world.

The climate there is a hundred times harsher than that of the Western Regions, and the air is so thin that even breathing becomes difficult.

Furthermore, there was a formidable opponent who had truly troubled the Tang Dynasty for over a century in history—Songtsen Gampo.

"Father, haste makes waste."

Li Chengqian tightened his fox fur coat, feeling a biting cold wind from the plateau.

"The game in the Western Regions is now completely over, but this is just an appetizer."

"The next tough nut to crack won't be so easy to crack."

Li Chengqian turned around and looked at the Tang Dynasty cavalry behind him, which had expanded to 150,000 men and whose morale was at its peak.

A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes—the excitement and composure of a hunter about to enter his prey's territory.

"Altitude sickness, extreme cold, and food supplies—these are our real enemies."

"However..."

Li Chengqian's lips curled up slightly, revealing his signature cunning smile.

He pulled out a drawing he had already prepared from his sleeve, on which was a design sketch resembling a modern down jacket and pressure cooker.

"Since we're going to the plateau, we need to upgrade our equipment."

"We're not only going up there with cannons, but also wearing warm down jackets and eating hot stewed mutton!"

Li Chengqian handed the blueprints to Wu Meiniang behind him, his tone as relaxed as if he were arranging a spontaneous trip.

"Meiniang, go back and tell Moju that besides cannons, you should also work overtime to make these winter-protecting artifacts for me."

As for money...

Li Chengqian pointed to the mountains of tribute goods from the Western Regions behind him and smiled like a little fox who had stolen a chicken.

"We now have the entire Western Regions as our ATM."

After saying that, he looked again at the mysterious and dangerous snow-covered plateau to the south.

The wind and snow howled on the distant mountain peaks, as if the young Tibetan king was issuing a silent challenge.

"Songtsen Gampo, I have almost finished preparing your betrothal gifts."

Li Chengqian's voice drifted on the wind, carrying a chillingly domineering quality.

"One hundred red-coated cannons, plus 150,000 fully armed Tang cavalry."

"You'd better accept this generous gift carefully!"