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

Mo Ju took the glass bulb out of his pocket and held it in both hands as if it were a priceless treasure more precious than the Imperial Seal of the State.

"Your Highness, as you instructed, the air inside the glass bubble has been completely removed using a vacuum pump. The 'carbonized bamboo filament' has also been carefully sandwiched between the two thick copper wires. However..."

Mo Ju hesitated for a moment, looking at the thin black bamboo strip that could be broken by a slight breath, his face full of confusion.

"This bamboo has been burned to charcoal; it crumbles at the slightest touch. Even if you could pass through that 'electricity' you mentioned, what good would it do besides turning to ash?"

Li Chengqian did not answer.

He pointed to the small steam engine in the corner of the side hall, which was specifically used for experiments.

"Old Yuan, move the generator over there and connect it to the steam engine's flywheel with a belt. If we crank it by hand, when will we ever see any light?"

At this moment, Yuan Tiangang was like a fanatical believer who had been wound up, picking up the generator that weighed dozens of kilograms and running away without even panting.

After some fiddling around...

The generator and steam engine were successfully connected.

Li Chengqian walked to the window and yanked the heavy blackout curtains of the side hall shut. The entire room instantly plunged into darkness, with only the faint glow from the steam engine furnace barely illuminating their silhouettes.

"Old Xu, start the fire, increase the pressure."

Li Chengqian's voice rang out in the darkness, carrying an undeniable expectation.

Xu Xiao skillfully added a few handfuls of smokeless coal to the furnace. As the water temperature rose rapidly, the steam engine began to emit a dull rumbling sound.

The enormous flywheel began to spin.

The coils on the generator also began to cut at an extremely high speed.

"Buzz—"

A high-frequency electrical hum that sent chills down your spine echoed in the room.

Li Shimin stood to the side, his hand gripping the sword hilt tightly, his eyes fixed on the glass bulb connected to the wire on the table. He had lived for nearly fifty years and fought countless fierce battles, but at this moment, his heart was beating even faster than it had been back at Xuanwu Gate.

The power gestating in this darkness is truly bizarre and mysterious.

"Mo Ju, connect the wires!"

With Li Chengqian's order.

Mo Ju took a deep breath, put on thick leather gloves, and precisely clamped the positive and negative wires of the generator onto the copper connector at the bottom of the glass bulb.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

"Sizzle—smack!"

A very faint sound of an electric current breaking through the air.

next second.

A miracle occurred.

Inside that glass bubble that was originally inconspicuous in the darkness, the carbonized bamboo filament as thin as a hair did not instantly turn to ashes as Mo Ju had predicted under the impact of the powerful electric current.

Because it is in a vacuum environment without oxygen.

It cannot burn.

It can only release that violent electrical energy in another form.

Light!

A ball of extremely stable, extremely gentle, yet dazzling orange-yellow light burst forth instantly inside the glass bubble!

"Whoosh—!"

In that instant, the entire side hall was illuminated as brightly as day!

The light was unlike a flickering candle flame; it lacked the pungent smell of grease and the acrid smoke of black smoke. It was pure and steady, as if someone had plucked a small sun from the sky and placed it into this fist-sized glass container!

"hiss--!"

A series of uniform gasps of cold air filled the hall.

The Tian Ce sword in Li Shimin's hand clattered to the ground.

He didn't bother to pick it up; he was frozen in place, staring blankly at the small, round ball on the table that was radiating endless light.

He even subconsciously reached out his hand, wanting to feel the warmth of the light.

But when he was still an inch away from the light bulb, he shrank back in extreme fear.

"This...this could be...?"

Li Shimin's voice trembled violently. He turned his head and looked at Li Chengqian with unprecedented shock in his eyes.

"Chengqian, has this luminous pearl come to life?!"

"There's no fire, no smoke, not even a hint of burning... how can it glow?!"

Yuan Tiangang and Mo Ju immediately knelt down on the ground with a "thump" and kowtowed frantically to the glowing light bulb.

"A miracle! This is a miracle!"

Tears streamed down Yuan Tiangang's face, which was covered in soot, but the light made it clear.

"I have spent my entire life studying astrology, believing myself to have grasped the secrets of heaven. Only today do I realize that true divine power resides at Your Highness's fingertips!"

"With this divine light, where in the world can't we go? The darkness will no longer be able to stop the advance of the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Chengqian looked at the first-generation incandescent lamp, which was not very bright and even had a slightly yellowish tint.

A genuine, radiant smile finally appeared on his usually languid face.

This is the most fascinating aspect of the Industrial Revolution.

Cannons and trains are merely extensions of violence.

Electricity and light, however, are the ultimate keys to truly changing the dimensions of human civilization.

With electricity, the Tang Dynasty would be a thousand years ahead of this era.

He could create a telegraph machine so that the Protectorates in the Western Regions and Japan could receive instructions from Chang'an instantly.

He could create electric motors, freeing Datang's factories from the geographical limitations imposed by coal and water resources.

"Father, this is not a luminous pearl, it's called an 'electric light'."

Li Chengqian walked to the table and proudly patted the small, glowing light bulb.

"As long as the generator outside is still running, as long as that wire is not broken."

"Its light will never go out. Even the fiercest storms outside, even a category 12 hurricane, cannot extinguish it in the slightest!"

Li Shimin swallowed hard, looking at the magical little gadget, and began to wildly conjure up a grand picture in his mind.

If you hang this in every corner of the Taiji Palace.

If it were mounted on the mast of a Tang Dynasty treasure ship.

If you hang it on the city wall at the border.

Wouldn't the Tang army have crystal-clear vision in the dark, just like in daylight? Any night attack by the enemy would become a laughable joke!

"Great stuff! This is really great stuff!"

Li Shimin was so excited that he paced back and forth in the room like a 200-pound child.

"Chengqian, is this thing easy to make? How much does it cost? I want to install this 'electric light' in every side hall of the Taiji Palace, even in the latrines!"

Looking at my father's uncultured, nouveau riche face.

Li Chengqian curled his lip in utter disgust.

"Father, with your limited perspective, you're nothing more than a nouveau riche landlord who collects rent."

"To hang such a groundbreaking artifact only in the palace? Isn't that like wearing fine clothes in the dark?"

Li Chengqian walked to the center of the main hall, and with a sudden wave of his hand, his white fox fur coat drew an extremely domineering arc in mid-air.

His eyes became deep and crazed.

"If I'm going to do something, I'll do something big."

"Old Mexican!"

"Your subject is here!" Mo Ju scrambled to his feet.

"I've put all the non-urgent work on hold for the past few days on hold!"

Li Chengqian's tone left no room for doubt.

"Assemble all the skilled craftsmen in the Ministry of Works and have them produce these light bulbs for me with all their might! Also, I want at least 100,000 jin of those copper wires that can conduct electricity!"

"Old Yuan!"

"This humble Taoist priest is here!"

"Take your Taoist disciples to the moat outside the city and build me an enormous hydroelectric power station! Connect the steam engines and water turbines in parallel; I want the electricity there to be enough to light up half of Guanzhong!"

Li Shimin was stunned.

"Chengqian, what exactly are you trying to do by making so many of these things?"

Li Chengqian turned his head and looked out the window at the night that had already fallen.

In the deep darkness of the night, Chang'an City resembled a sleeping giant, with most of the city shrouded in boundless darkness except for a few scattered lights.

A wild, unrestrained smile curled at the corners of Li Chengqian's lips, a smile that stirred the soul.

"what?"

"I want the world to see what a true, sleepless capital city is."

"Pass down the order."

"Erect two rows of the tallest telephone poles along Zhuque Avenue, from Mingde Gate all the way to the Imperial City!"

"The Mid-Autumn Festival next month."

Li Chengqian's voice echoed in the side hall, carrying an absolute confidence that looked down upon the past and present.

"I will make the entire city of Chang'an shine so brightly that it will blind the eyes of everyone in the world!"