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

"Set sail across the seas?"

Li Shimin looked at the man in front of him, who called himself Zheng He, with suspicion.

He was tall and muscular, especially his hands, which had large knuckles and were covered with calluses from years of rudder handling.

What surprised him most was the man's incredibly deep eyes, as if they contained the entire boundless ocean. That kind of demeanor was not something an ordinary shipwright could possess; it was more like that of a commander who had led thousands of troops.

"You know about shipbuilding?" Li Shimin asked in a deep voice.

Zheng He straightened up with composure and slowly unrolled the huge sheepskin map in his hand.

"Your Majesty, what I brought is no ordinary warship."

As the blueprints were laid out, a colossal vessel with a structure so complex it was dazzling was presented before Li Shimin and Li Chengqian.

"It is 44 zhang long (about 120 meters), 18 zhang wide (about 50 meters), and has a draft of 2 zhang deep."

Zheng He's fingers glided precisely across every key point on the blueprint, his voice loud and confident.

"With nine masts and twelve sails, it employs advanced watertight compartment technology, so even if two parts of the lower deck are damaged, it will not sink."

"This ship can carry a thousand armored soldiers, fifty cannons, hundreds of warhorses, and several months' worth of provisions."

"I call it—the treasure ship of the Great Ming… cough, the Great Tang!"

As Li Shimin listened to these terrifying figures, his eyes widened and his breathing became rapid.

120 meters long? This isn't a ship; it's clearly a fortress that can move on the sea!

He originally thought that the Tang Dynasty's warships were already big enough, but compared to the behemoth on the blueprints, the warships were like toy paper boats splashing around in a bathtub.

"This...this kind of colossal ship, is it really possible to build?"

Li Shimin reached out and touched the blueprints, his hand trembling slightly. This industrial creation, which was beyond the comprehension of his time, gave this emperor, who had risen from humble beginnings, an unprecedented sense of awe.

Li Chengqian smiled with great satisfaction.

As expected of the eunuch Sanbao, his professional skills are practically at max level from the start.

"Father, with the Mexican arms factories as our backing, what can't we manufacture?"

Li Chengqian patted Zheng He on the shoulder, his tone exuding an undeniable air of dominance.

"Zheng He, heed my command!"

"Your subject is here!"

"I hereby order you to immediately proceed to Dengzhou Port and take over all the shipbuilding workshops of the Great Tang Dynasty."

"I will allocate 10,000 Tibetan laborers, 300 state-of-the-art steam engines, and the full cooperation of the entire Ministry of Industry."

Li Chengqian raised two fingers, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

"Two months! I only need two months!"

"Two months from now, I will see an invincible fleet of thirty treasure ships on the sea off Dengzhou!"

"Is it possible?"

Zheng He suddenly knelt on one knee, clasped his hands together, and his eyes gleamed with a fervent desire to conquer the ocean.

"Your Majesty, I hereby pledge my life! If the fleet cannot be launched within two months, I will offer my head as a reward!"

Under Li Chengqian's will, the terrifying state machinery of the Tang Dynasty once again began to operate at an unprecedented speed.

Dengzhou Port.

The once peaceful seaside town has now been transformed into a massive, noisy construction site.

"Besides, besides—"

More than a dozen huge steam engines roared day and night.

They were no longer locomotives used to haul stones, but were instead connected to huge gears and conveyor belts, becoming power sources that drove heavy hydraulic forging hammers and giant saws.

Those towering trees that would normally require dozens of craftsmen to spend several days sawing were quickly broken down into extremely flat pieces of ship planks as easily as cutting tofu under the frenzied cutting of the steam saw.

"Quickly! Hurry up and lay these steel keels on!"

Duan Lun personally supervised the construction site shirtless, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Thousands upon thousands of Tibetan and Gaochang prisoners of war busied themselves like ants on the massive shipyard. They carried heavy timbers, pushed carts laden with nails, and sweated profusely under the urging of whips.

Meanwhile, at the artillery factory on the coast.

Mo Ju is leading the craftsmen of the Shenji Battalion in an extremely crazy modification of the Red-Clad Cannon.

To adapt to the rough seas, they added sliding rails and extremely robust buffer springs to the gun barrel, transforming it into a true "shipborne smoothbore gun".

The power of industry was on full display at this moment.

There were no magical powers or divine interventions, only the pure sounds of mechanical roar and metal clashing.

Time passed day by day.

On the sea surface of Dengzhou Port, massive ship skeletons rise up like ancient behemoths.

Two months later.

When the first rays of sunlight fall on the sea in the early morning.

Outside Dengzhou Port, the wind and waves were calm.

Li Chengqian, dressed in an extremely stylish black scale armor, stood on the deck of a giant treasure ship flagship that had just been launched.

The salty sea breeze ruffled his long hair.

Behind him, thirty treasure ships, as large as mountains on the sea, were neatly arranged on the surface of the ocean.

On the deck of every ship, there were countless dark cannon muzzles.

On each mast hung a Tang Dynasty battle flag embroidered with a golden flying dragon.

"Your Highness, the fleet is fully assembled. Thirty thousand Snow Dragon Riders, five thousand Divine Machine Battalion musketeers, and one thousand shipborne cannons are ready to set sail at any time!"

Zheng He, dressed in military attire, strode to Li Chengqian's side and reported loudly with great enthusiasm.

Li Shimin followed.

He stood atop the towering forecastle, looking down at the invincible fleet below, a veritable steel jungle, his whole body trembling with excitement.

"This...this is the navy of the Great Tang Dynasty!"

Li Shimin gripped the railing tightly, his dragon eyes bloodshot from extreme excitement.

"With this fleet, let alone Goguryeo's few dilapidated mountain fortresses, even the most dangerous places can be flattened by me!"

"Chengqian, give the order! Target: Pyongyang. I want them to know what true imperial might is!"

Li Shimin couldn't wait to see Yeon Gaesomun's desperate face.

however.

Li Chengqian, however, did not immediately issue the order to attack.

He slowly turned around, shifting his gaze away from the direction of Goguryeo.

He looked towards the more distant and deeper eastern sea.

Behind that turbulent fog lies an extremely long and narrow island nation.

"Father, why are you in such a hurry?"

A chilling, even cruel, smile curled at the corner of Li Chengqian's lips.

"We've invested so much to build this invincible fleet; wouldn't it be a huge waste to just use it to fight Goguryeo?"

Li Shimin was taken aback and followed Li Chengqian's gaze.

"What...what do you mean? Do you have other goals?"

Li Chengqian reached out and patted the extremely thick solid wood main mast, his eyes gleaming with an almost greedy, predatory light.

"This fleet's objective is not merely to quell the rebellion."

"I've heard that there are many good things waiting for us to 'take' in the depths of this sea."