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

The biting high-altitude wind howled past the dilapidated earthen walls of Yangguan.

Li Chengqian held the revised down jacket design in his hand, his eyes revealing an excited "the world is so big, I want to go and have some fun" spirit.

Li Shimin, who was next to him, was wrapped in several layers of mink cloak, but he was still so cold that he kept stamping his feet, and his nose was almost running.

He followed Li Chengqian's gaze and looked at the vast snow-capped mountains to the south that seemed to pierce the sky, and felt inexplicably uneasy.

That's the roof of the world!

It is a legendary forbidden zone where birds cannot fly over and beasts cannot walk.

"Chengqian, um... haven't we already pacified the Western Regions?" Li Shimin rubbed his hands, his tone somewhat embarrassed.

"These hundred cannons are finished. How about... we take them back to Chang'an and hold a military parade on Zhuque Avenue? That would be quite a spectacle!"

Although Lao Li is ambitious and eager for quick success, he is not stupid.

Leading 150,000 people into a place where even breathing is difficult seems like a death wish.

"Father, this is no fun." Li Chengqian put away the blueprints, turned around, and gave him a contemptuous look that said, "Are you a sore loser?"

"We've come this far, and we're only a few small snow-capped mountains away from Tibet. I've heard their butter tea has a unique flavor, so why don't we stop by and have a cup?"

"On the way?!"

Li Shimin stared wide-eyed, pointing at the almost vertical snow-capped peak, his voice cracking.

"You call this 'on the way'? You call climbing a snow-capped mountain thousands of feet high 'on the way for tea'? That's more like going to see the King of Hell on the way!"

"Father, broaden your horizons! You need to broaden your perspective!"

Li Chengqian patted Li Shimin on the shoulder and began to paint a rosy picture of his future.

"Think about it, how many emperors throughout history have been able to expand their territory to that plateau? Even Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han couldn't do it, right?"

"If you succeed, you will be unprecedented and unparalleled! History will surely dedicate a page to you in gold ink! All nations will come to pay homage, and the Khan's name will be..."

Li Chengqian deliberately dragged out his voice, precisely seizing upon Li Shimin's Achilles' heel.

Sure enough, upon hearing the words "Heavenly Khan," Li Shimin's previously hesitant gaze instantly brightened.

He swallowed hard, already picturing himself receiving the worship of thousands of people atop the Potala Palace.

The temptation is too great!

"Ahem... Well, actually, I didn't say I wouldn't go." Li Shimin puffed out his chest, trying to save face.

"I'm just worried that the soldiers won't be able to withstand the cold. Look how freezing it is; even the thickest fur coats won't keep them warm."

"Don't worry about that." Li Chengqian snapped his fingers. "I've already prepared a secret weapon."

Three days later, at Yangguan Camp.

With dark circles under his eyes resembling those of a metal-eating beast, Mo Ju led a group of craftsmen to work through the night to produce the first batch of "Datang Brand Black Technology Equipment".

When Li Shimin saw those strangely shaped clothes, he was completely dumbfounded.

"This...this is for people to wear? It looks like a steamed bun!"

The clothes were made of the finest silk, but filled with specially treated duck down and fine wool.

Although it looks a bit bulky when worn, the light yet extremely warm feeling is simply amazing.

"Father, this is called a down jacket. Wearing it, you can go to the Arctic, let alone the snow-capped mountains."

Li Chengqian put on a garment himself first, and then handed Li Shimin a round, heavy iron lump.

"And this, a high-altitude pressure cooker. With it, you can enjoy tender braised pork even on snowy mountains, and you'll never have to gnaw on those raw, cold rations that can break your teeth again."

Li Shimin put on the down jacket with some skepticism, and instantly felt a warm current envelop his whole body, warmer than if he were wrapped in three layers of mink fur.

"A divine object! This is simply a divine object!"

Li Shimin was overjoyed and immediately ordered the entire army to change their uniforms.

Thus, a Tang Dynasty army with an extremely bizarre style was born.

The 150,000-strong army, each soldier wearing puffy down jackets, carrying pressure cookers for cooking meat on the plateau, and dragging a hundred brand-new red cannons, marched majestically toward the roof of the world.

Several days later, on the border of Tibet.

Several Tibetan scouts on lookout duty were huddled in a crevice in the rocks, shivering, their eyebrows covered in ice crystals.

Suddenly, they felt the ground tremble slightly.

When they looked up, everyone was stunned.

On the vast snowfield, a massive army stretched upwards like a red fire dragon.

The Tang soldiers were not frozen and their faces turned blue; on the contrary, they were all ruddy-faced, and some even opened their collars because they felt hot!

Even more outrageous, they were actually cooking while marching, and the aroma of meat could be smelled from two miles away!

"A ghost...a ghost!"

One of the scouts was so frightened that he rolled off the rock and scrambled back home.

"Your Majesty! It's terrible! The heavenly soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are attacking! They're not afraid of the cold! They're eating hot meat in the snow!"

Meanwhile, in the city of Lhasa, inside the Red Mountain Palace.

The young and ambitious King Songtsen Gampo sat on a tiger-skin throne, toying with a scimitar inlaid with turquoise.

The ministers below were still arguing.

"Your Majesty, what are you afraid of! We have natural defenses!"

"Exactly! No matter how powerful the Tang army is, they'll collapse on this plateau! The lack of oxygen could suffocate them!"

Hearing these words, Songtsen Gampo felt a little more at ease.

He sneered, "That old codger Lu Dongzan is terrified. I refuse to believe that any army in this world can cross that snow-capped mountain!"

However, before he could finish speaking...

"Boom!"

A deep and terrifying roar suddenly came from the direction of the mountain pass in the far distance.

That wasn't the sound of an avalanche.

Those were the hoofbeats of 150,000 iron cavalry of the Tang Dynasty breaking through the glacier, and the roar of a hundred red-coated cannons crushing the frozen earth!

The entire main hall of Hongshan Palace trembled slightly from the shock.

Songtsen Gampo suddenly stood up, and the scimitar in his hand fell to the ground with a "clang".

He looked to the north in disbelief, his face turning deathly pale.

"They're here...they've really come..."