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

"Thump! Thump! Thump! Smash—!"

The rousing sound of taiko drums, mixed with the crisp sound of gongs, exploded across the thin air of the plateau.

This is not a war drum for charging into battle, but an extremely catchy and addictive Western Region dance rhythm.

The open field outside the city of Lhasa, which should have been used to shed blood and pile up corpses, has now been transformed into a huge open-air disco.

Hundreds of top dancers selected from various countries in the Western Regions, dressed in brightly colored, light and see-through Hu Xuan dance skirts, swayed wildly to the music on the newly built wooden stage.

Their dance moves were bold and unrestrained, and each spin brought a fragrant breeze.

Those Western Region dancers who should have been wielding curved swords on horseback were now performing an unprecedented dance under the command of the Tang Dynasty Crown Prince—a modified version of "Gokuraku Jodo" (Paradise on Earth).

That butterfly step, full of modernity and exoticism, that rhythm that makes you want to tap your feet along.

The sight of the native Tibetan men on the city wall instantly stunned them.

The most exciting thing they had ever seen in their lives was the Guozhuang dance at a bonfire party; they had never seen anything like this before.

Their eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets, and they were drooling all over the floor without even wiping it away.

"This...this is the military formation of the Tang Dynasty?"

Songtsen Gampo clung tightly to the crenellations of the city wall, his fingernails almost tearing the bricks off.

He felt that his intelligence had been insulted like never before.

Two armies are facing off!

This is a war of annihilation, a war to the death!

Instead of hurling insults at the enemy lines and sending your generals for a one-on-one duel, you put on this whole "peace and prosperity" show for me?!

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

Songtsen Gampo was so angry that he trembled all over, and his face turned as red as a pig's liver.

He turned to the minister beside him and roared, "Where are the archers! Shoot! Smash that platform!"

"Zanpu...you can't hit him..."

The archer commander next to him, with a mournful face, pointed to the location of the stage.

"Their platform was set up exactly fifty paces outside the range of our strongest divine crossbow."

"Our arrows won't even touch a hair; they're just delivering firewood!"

Upon hearing this, Songtsen Gampo nearly coughed up blood.

This is blatant humiliation!

Not only are they dancing in front of your house, but they've also precisely calculated that you can't hit them!

This is basically telling you: I'm just messing around here, what can you do to me? Come out if you dare!

Meanwhile, on the iron-eating beast palanquin directly opposite the stage.

Li Chengqian held a raisin he had brought from the Western Regions in his hand, chewing it while nodding in rhythm.

"Not bad, not bad. These dancers from the Western Regions are quite quick to learn. They've only been practicing for a few days and they already have that feel for it."

He turned to look at Li Shimin, who had a constipated expression on his face.

"Father, don't look so stern. Even when you're out fighting, you need to rest and recuperate. Look how energetic this dance is!"

Li Shimin's lips twitched twice; he simply couldn't resist the urge to complain.

"Chengqian, although I am not an old-fashioned person, we have brought an army of 150,000 after all."

"The cannons are all set up, and you're not even going to fire them, instead of doing all this fancy stuff."

"What if Songtsen Gampo gets enraged and actually attacks?"

"Charge out? Does he dare?"

Li Chengqian sneered, his eyes revealing an extremely confident contempt.

He pointed to the hundred red-coated cannons that had been adjusted to their angles and whose muzzles were pointed directly at the city gate.

"I want him to see clearly that the Tang Dynasty not only has the hard power to blast him into dust, but also the soft power to make him unable to move at all."

"This is an open conspiracy."

"I'll dance right here, and humiliate him right here. If he dares to come out, he'll be throwing his life away."

"If he doesn't dare to come out, then his prestige as the Zanpu in the hearts of the Tibetans will completely collapse."

Li Chengqian had barely finished speaking.

The music on stage suddenly changed, from rousing to becoming more mesmerizing.

The dancers all blew kisses in unison, then winked at the Tibetan soldiers on the city wall.

"oh--!!!"

The Tibetan garrison on the city wall instantly erupted in chaos.

Who can stand this!

Many young men blushed as red as monkey bottoms, and some even secretly took out a few pieces of shriveled cheese from their pockets, wanting to throw them down as a reward.

Seeing this scene, Songtsen Gampo felt his heart sink.

The morale of the troops has collapsed!

Before the battle even began, the spirit of his own soldiers had already been stolen!

This Tang Dynasty crown prince is simply a devil!

Without using knives or guns, he used this seemingly absurd method to gradually erode the fighting spirit of the Tibetans.

The dance is over.

The dancers did not leave the stage, but remained frozen in that extremely seductive pose.

A sparse clapping and cheering erupted across the battlefield.

And this sound actually came from the city wall!

Songtsen Gampo suddenly turned around and glared fiercely at those unworthy soldiers.

The Tibetan soldiers who were still clapping were so frightened that they quickly withdrew their hands and lowered their heads, pretending to be quails.

Just then.

Li Chengqian slowly picked up the large megaphone specially made by the Mohist school.

His voice, amplified, carried an undeniable languidness and domineering quality, clearly reaching every corner.

"Hey—you upstairs, brother Zanpu—"

"How was the dance? Does it meet your approval?"

Songtsen Gampo gritted his teeth and remained silent.

He didn't know how to respond.

Should I retaliate? That would make me seem petty.

Praise them a couple of times? That would only boost their morale and diminish our own.

Seeing that there was no movement on the city wall, Li Chengqian was not angry.

He continued shouting with a smile.

"It seems the Zanpu (Tibetan king) hasn't had enough."

"No problem, I have several other songs here. 'Calorie' and 'The Most Dazzling Ethnic Trend', you can choose whichever you like."

"However..."

Li Chengqian abruptly changed the subject, his tone turning icy and chilling.

He pointed to the hundred menacing red cannons behind him.

"If the king thinks the dance is not good, or does not want to see the songs and dances of our Great Tang Dynasty."

"That's alright."

"I can have my hundred gunner brothers from the Divine Machine Battalion give you a cannon version of 'General's Command' with a thousand-person ensemble."

"That one was much bigger and more exciting."

"I guarantee I can shake the walls of your city of Laza to the ground, leaving not a single shard!"

Li Chengqian's voice echoed across the vast plateau, carrying a suffocating threat.

"So, brother Zanpu, give me a straight answer."

"Do you want to continue watching the dance, or would you like to hear the cannon fire?"

Songtsen Gampo stood on the city wall, looking down at the innocent-looking eight-year-old boy.

His hand, gripping the scimitar, trembled violently; the veins on the back of his hand looked like they were about to burst.

he knows.

If I give in today, I will never be able to hold my head high in front of the Tang Dynasty again.

But what can you do if you don't back down?

Those are red-coated cannons!

That's a magical weapon that can blast even a stone city like Gaochang into dust!

What difference is there between my Hongshan Palace, built of adobe and wood, and a paper structure in other people's eyes?

silence.

A deathly silence enveloped the entire city of Lhasa.

A long time passed.

Songtsen Gampo seemed to have all his energy drained away, and he weakly loosened his grip on the scimitar.

The scimitar, symbolizing the supreme power of Tibet, fell with a clang onto the cold blue bricks.

Faced with absolute strength.

Dignity is worthless.

"Pass on the order..."

Songtsen Gampo's voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible.

"Open the city gates..."

"Welcome...the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty to the city to enjoy the dance..."