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

The sheepskin scroll traced a graceful parabola in mid-air before landing steadily in Yuan Tiangang's arms.

The Grand Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty was like a beggar who hadn't eaten for three days and three nights and suddenly received a treasure map. He didn't even care about the burnt smell on his clothes and eagerly unrolled the scroll.

At that moment, Yuan Tiangang's eyes, which were deep in the black ash, suddenly burst forth with a light even more dazzling than the electric sparks from before.

"Magnetic field generates electricity...electricity generates magnetism...cutting magnetic field lines?"

He muttered incoherently those terms that were like heavenly scripture to the people of the early Tang Dynasty, his body trembling violently from extreme excitement.

"Your Highness! This...this is simply a technique that defies the very creation of heaven and earth!"

Yuan Tiangang, clutching the scroll as if it were his own newborn son, scrambled out of the side hall, even forgetting to bow to Li Shimin.

"Old Mo! Mo Ju! Get out here right now! We've got a big job for you!"

As Yuan Tiangang's mad figure disappeared from sight, Li Shimin turned his head in a daze.

"Chengqian, what kind of evil thing did you show him? Has the Imperial Advisor been struck by lightning and gone mad?"

Li Shimin stroked his chin, recalling the pale blue spark from earlier, and still felt a little apprehensive.

Who in this world can put the thunder from the sky into a bottle? Wouldn't that be a truly divine feat?

"Father, that's not evil, that's science."

Li Chengqian slowly lay back in the rocking chair, picked up a piece of chilled watermelon, threw it into his mouth, and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Science? What school of thought is that? Is it even more advanced than Confucianism?" Li Shimin humbly inquired. Ever since he invented cannons and trains, he had long lost any sense of intellectual superiority as emperor in front of his son.

"Confucianism teaches people how to be officials and how to kowtow."

Li Chengqian spat the watermelon seeds into the spittoon next to him, a proud smile curving his lips.

"Science teaches people how to bring those lofty gods down to earth."

Li Shimin gasped. If these words were spoken in the imperial court, they would probably cause Kong Yingda and his gang of stubborn old men to have a stroke on the spot.

But the earth-shaking changes that have taken place in the Tang Dynasty in the past few months have made him believe this statement without a doubt.

For the next whole month.

The heavily guarded arsenal in the backyard of the Eastern Palace has completely lost its former tranquility.

In addition to the dull roar of the steam engine, there was now a sharp metallic cutting sound, as well as Yuan Tiangang's almost hoarse, frantic roar.

"Quick! The magnet's angle is wrong! Polish it another three-tenths!"

"Copper wire! Wrap the copper wire tighter! Pay attention to insulation!"

Until one morning a month later.

Li Chengqian was in the garden of the Eastern Palace, instructing Wu Meiniang on how to stroke the fur of the iron-eating beast.

"Bang!"

The gates of the East Palace were violently kicked open.

Two figures, as black as charcoal, stumbled in.

Leading the way was Yuan Tiangang. His once-smooth, afro-like hair was now a complete mess, a yellowish-brown scraggly mess. His Taoist robe was torn to shreds, fluttering wildly in the wind as he ran.

Following behind him was Mo Ju. This top craftsman of the Tang Dynasty was also covered in dirt, but his eyes shone with an almost pilgrimage-like fervor.

"Your Highness! It's done! This humble Taoist has succeeded!"

Before Yuan Tiangang even arrived, his raspy voice had already pierced through the entire garden.

He was clutching a very simple, even somewhat comical, wooden device tightly in his arms.

It was a base built of rough wood. A large, horseshoe-shaped natural lodestone was fixed on it. In the center of the lodestone was a rotor wrapped with fine copper wire, and next to it was a hand-cranked cast iron crank.

Two thick copper wires wrapped in sheepskin extend from both ends of the rotor, suspended in the air opposite each other.

"Old Yuan, looking like that, anyone who didn't know better would think you just escaped from a mining disaster."

Li Chengqian stood up with a smile, but his gaze was fixed on the simple device in Yuan Tiangang's arms.

Although extremely primitive, this is indeed a hand-cranked DC generator!

"Your Highness! Look! Look!"

Yuan Tiangang didn't bother to tidy his appearance. He placed the wooden frame heavily on the stone table, his hands even trembling slightly from excitement.

"Old Mo, come, let His Highness and His Majesty broaden their horizons!"

At some point, Li Shimin, having heard the commotion, also strolled over from the Taiji Palace. With his hands behind his back, he curiously approached.

Mo Ju took a deep breath, stepped forward, and grabbed the cast iron handle.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, look carefully!"

Mo Ju let out a low growl, veins bulging on his arm, and began to crank the handle with extreme force.

"Crunch—crunch—"

The wooden frame groaned under the weight. The rotor began to spin rapidly in the magnetic field, its speed increasing so quickly that it even created a faint whistling sound.

As the rotation speed increases, the ends of the two suspended, opposite thick copper wires...

suddenly!

"Crackling sound—!"

A deafeningly loud electric shock rang out in the garden.

A dazzling, miniature lightning bolt of dark blue electricity leaped violently between the two copper wires in an instant!

"hiss--!"

Li Shimin trembled with fright, and with a clang, he drew his Tian Ce sword from his waist, staring at the wooden frame as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Sorcery! This is definitely sorcery! Guards! Protect the Emperor!"

The sight of lightning appearing out of nowhere was a tremendous visual shock to a feudal emperor.

The blue arc of electricity emitted a terrifyingly high temperature that sent chills down one's spine; it even ignited a nearby fallen leaf instantly, turning it to ashes.

"Your Majesty, do not panic! This is not sorcery! This is the truth!"

Yuan Tiangang spread his arms wide in extreme fervor, laughed loudly, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Your Highness! I have done it! I no longer need to wait for a thunderstorm; I can conjure up a heavenly tribulation with my bare hands!"

Seeing the two men's crazed and delirious state, Li Shimin's hand holding the sword trembled, and he looked to Li Chengqian for help.

"Chengqian... what... what exactly is this thing? What are you trying to do by creating this monster that can electrocute people at any moment?"

However, Li Chengqian was not as excited as Yuan Tiangang.

He looked at the rudimentary generator and even curled his lip in disdain.

"You went through all that trouble just to see a few sparks?"

Li Chengqian shook his head, turned his gaze to Mo Ju, and his eyes revealed a kind of exploitative glint unique to capitalists.

"What's the use of electricity if it's just there?"

"What I need is light."

He walked to the stone table and casually pointed to the two copper wires that were still crackling with electric arcs.

"Old Mo, is that 'glass bubble' I asked you to blow with glass done yet?"

Mo Ju was taken aback, and quickly took out a hollow glass light bulb, about the size of a fist, that was extremely clear and transparent.

"Your Highness, as you requested, the air inside has been completely removed, and it is sealed perfectly."

"very good."

A knowing smile appeared on Li Chengqian's lips.

"Then put that burned 'fine thread' inside for me and connect these two threads."

"Tonight, I will show you what a real... artificial sun is."