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

The heatwave in the square was still surging, but after Li Chengqian uttered "Not for sale," it gave off a chilling coldness that sent shivers down one's spine.

Prince Peroz knelt on the hard cement floor, his fingernails digging into the cracks in the stone from the excessive force.

"Your Highness, Persia is facing a life-or-death crisis. If you would grant us a divine chariot, the people of Persia would worship the divine tablet of the Tang Dynasty's Crown Prince for all eternity!"

Marcellus chimed in, his voice carrying a noble pleading tone.

"Rome can exchange its share of Mediterranean trade for it. Your Highness, isn't the purpose of this exposition to facilitate the exchange of goods and services?"

Li Chengqian patted the coal dust off his sleeves, not even bothering to look at the group of foreigners who were blinded by desire.

"Sharing resources?"

He sneered, his gaze sweeping over the still-smoking steam engines, his tone filled with undisguised arrogance.

"That's for opponents of equal caliber. In the eyes of the Tang Dynasty, you haven't even touched the threshold."

He held up one finger and pointed very casually at the steam car known as "Longxiang".

"This thing is the backbone of the Tang Dynasty. Every screw and every gear on it embodies the Tang Dynasty's secret national destiny."

"You think you can exchange a few ruined cities and a meager amount of gold that I wouldn't even look at?"

Li Chengqian walked up to Marcellus, patted his heavy plate armor, and it made a crisp sound.

"Not to mention this car, even that musket, that textile machine, anything with gears and a boiler, are not for sale."

"I won't sell it for any amount of money."

Marcellus slumped to the ground, his eyes instantly losing their luster.

This is like a beggar carrying tattered clothes trying to exchange them for dragon scales.

Not only could he not get the exchange, but even the other person's breath made him tremble.

"Then...then this expo..." Peroz stammered, his heart filled with despair at being played for a fool.

"Of course there are things to sell at the expo."

Li Chengqian changed the subject, revealing a standard, extremely cunning businessman's smile.

"Although I don't sell chickens, I can sell you eggs."

He snapped his fingers, and Wu Meiniang immediately led a group of scribes up, each holding a thick stack of contracts.

"I can supply the refined salt, white sugar, machine-made cotton cloth, and those durable iron pots produced by the Datang factory in unlimited quantities."

"As long as you sign this 'Bulk Commodity Purchase Agreement' and pay the full amount of silver, I guarantee that the caravan will appear in your capital city on time every month."

The envoys took the contract, glanced at it, and their breathing quickened again.

The prices listed above are 50% cheaper than the inferior goods produced in their domestic workshops!

Marcellus, that old fox, immediately saw the murderous intent behind it.

If high-quality, inexpensive goods like those from the Tang Dynasty flooded into Rome, Rome's already fragile small-scale handicraft industry would completely collapse within just a few years.

At that time, the Romans will wear Tang Dynasty cloth, eat Tang Dynasty salt, and use Tang Dynasty pots.

The entire country will become a "colonial market" of the Tang Dynasty.

But can he refuse?

If he refused, his rivals—the Arabs and Persians—would immediately sign the treaty and use the Tang Dynasty's resources to strengthen themselves.

This is a blatant, overt scheme.

Either die now, or kneel at the feet of the Tang Dynasty and have your marrow drained to slowly survive.

"I've signed... Rome, I've signed."

Marcellus closed his eyes and, with trembling hands, pressed his official seal onto the contract.

"Persia signed too!" Peroz exclaimed as if grasping at a last straw.

In an instant, the entire expo center turned into the most brutal financial meat grinder.

Dai Zhou was fiddling with the abacus, moving so fast that the wooden beads were almost smoking.

Looking at those astronomical order volumes, he had only one thought in his mind.

His Highness's move is even more ruthless than killing someone!

Without moving a single soldier, the army could sweep up half the world's wealth and bring it back to Chang'an simply by producing cheap goods from these machines.

As the sun set, the hustle and bustle of the royal hunting grounds gradually subsided.

The World's Fair has come to a successful conclusion.

The Tang Dynasty not only reaped huge amounts of gold and silver, but also imposed invisible shackles on hundreds of countries, both spiritually and economically.

Li Shimin walked back to the palace with his hands behind his back, looking at the empty boxes that had been moved away, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

"Chengqian, sometimes I really want to crack open your skull to see just how much wickedness is inside."

"This battle was even more thrilling for me than the Battle of Hulao Pass back then."

Li Chengqian yawned, casually pulled out a newly developed telescope from his fox fur coat, and aimed it at the starry sky.

"Father, this is just a minor incident."

"Only when they get used to using Tang Dynasty silver notes and buying Tang Dynasty industrial waste will this world truly be peaceful."

He put away his binoculars and turned his gaze toward the direction of the Eastern Palace, a fierce fervor flashing deep in his eyes.

"No matter how good a steam engine is, it can only travel a few hundred miles. What I want is the power that can illuminate the entire city of Chang'an as brightly as day with the push of a switch."

The father and son returned to the palace gate.

But then they saw Xu Xiao, the leader of the Eastern Palace guards, standing there waiting with a strange expression.

"Old Xu, what's wrong? Did one of the boilers explode?" Li Chengqian joked casually.

Xu Xiao bowed and said in a low voice:

"Your Highness, the old Taoist priest Yuan Tiangang has been waiting in the side hall for three hours."

"He asked me to tell you that the 'lightning attraction and avoidance' experiment you gave us has gone wrong in a... extremely absurd way."

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow, his eyes instantly lighting up.

"Oh? That bull-nose guy hasn't been electrocuted yet?"

He didn't have time to explain to his father, and with Wu Meiniang in tow, he ran like the wind towards the side hall of the East Palace.

As soon as Li Chengqian stepped into the palace, he was stunned by the sight before him.

The renowned Imperial Advisor Yuan Tiangang was now disheveled, his once dignified Taoist robe now riddled with holes from being burned.

His old face was as black as charcoal, with only his eyes shining frighteningly in the darkness.

He was holding a twisted, burnt copper rod in his hands. When he saw Li Chengqian enter, he burst into laughter in a completely outrageous manner.

"Your Highness! I have understood! I have finally understood!"

Yuan Tiangang rushed to Li Chengqian like a madman, pointing at the still-lingering dark clouds outside the palace, his voice hoarse and excited.

"The 'lightning technique' you asked me to pursue has made progress!"