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

"Your Highness, what you just said has really exposed the true nature of those old men at the Imperial Academy."

Xu Xiao walked in from outside, carrying a bowl of freshly chilled grapes, his single eye gleaming with undisguised admiration.

He had followed Li Yuan in conquering the world and had witnessed how powerful families used their knowledge as a barrier to trample on the poor. Now, seeing the Crown Prince shatter that wall with a single blow, the old man felt only satisfaction.

Li Chengqian spat out a grape seed and leaned back lazily in his recliner.

"What's so strange about pulling down someone's underwear?"

He chuckled softly, his tone revealing a calm composure that seemed to have grasped the pulse of the times.

"I will not only expose their true colors, but also completely marginalize their outdated and pedantic doctrines."

"If the Tang Dynasty wanted to conquer the stars and the sea, could it carry a few poems through the Romans' armor? Could it write a few rhapsodies to make the steam engine's boiler boil?"

He sat up straight, his eyes sharpening.

"Pass down the order."

"Use the funds from the imperial treasury to fully develop the 'Great Tang Technical Schools' in Chang'an, Luoyang, and even the thirty-six prefectures of the Great Tang."

"Don't teach them the Four Books and Five Classics. Teach them Arabic numerals, arithmetic, geometry, how to forge iron, how to read star charts, and how to maintain a steam engine!"

Xu Xiao nodded repeatedly, but he was still somewhat worried.

"Your Highness, isn't this a huge leap? If those peasants all learn real skills, what if some of them harbor ill intentions..."

"Afraid they'll rebel?"

Li Chengqian's lips curled into an extremely arrogant smile, directly interrupting Xu Xiao's concerns.

"Old Xu, remember this. Only the weak need to use ignorance to imprison the people."

"Our mighty Tang Dynasty boasts trains that puff out black smoke and travel a thousand miles a day! It has cannons clad in red coats capable of blasting half a mountain into the ground! And an invincible fleet equipped with repeating muskets!"

He slammed his hand on the armrest, exuding an aura of dominance.

"Faced with such an absolute physical counterattack, I'm not afraid of their rebellion. I'm only afraid they're too stupid, unable to even cut a cylinder gasket perfectly round, and unable to learn how to operate my steel behemoths!"

Xu Xiao gasped.

This confidence, built on absolute military and technological superiority, is simply exhilarating.

Yes, even if someone learns a little bit and wants to cause trouble, what can they use? A big sword and a spear to chop down a steam train?

"This old servant understands! Your Highness, this is truly the demeanor of an emperor, embracing all things!"

With Li Chengqian's command.

The Tang Dynasty's state apparatus once again unleashed terrifying executive power.

One after another, "Datang Technical Schools" sprang up across the country. Tuition was free, room and board were provided, and even a two-cent subsidy was given every month.

The moment this policy was announced, the common people of the Tang Dynasty went completely mad.

South Ward of Chang'an City.

Grandma Wang, who sells flatbread, pulled her son, who was covered in mud, and knelt down in front of the vocational school registration point with a thud, crying her eyes out.

"My lord! My son is strong and intelligent. Please, please take him in!"

"I don't expect him to be the top scholar in the imperial examinations. As long as he learns how to tinker with that 'iron donkey' and becomes an apprentice in the arsenal, our Wang family's ancestral graves will be emitting auspicious smoke!"

The official at the registration point smiled and helped Grandma Wang up.

"Auntie, please get up! His Highness the Crown Prince said that heroes come from all walks of life. As long as they are willing to learn, there are opportunities for your children to become captains and chief engineers in the Tang Dynasty!"

Similar scenes played out in every corner of the Tang Dynasty.

Countless poor students, despised by powerful families and excluded from the traditional imperial examination system, finally found a path to change their fate.

They regarded the high and mighty eight-year-old prince as a living god who would change their lives.

At this moment, the Crown Prince's prestige among the people reached an unprecedented peak, a peak that even made Li Shimin's scalp tingle.

This was merely the first step in Li Chengqian's plan.

To completely control a vast empire that is about to enter the industrial age.

Education and force alone are not enough.

We also need a powerful weapon that can instantly unify the thoughts of the whole country and guide the emotions of hundreds of millions of people.

The Eastern Palace, the printing workshop.

The strong smell of ink filled the entire workshop.

The huge steam printing press roared rhythmically as rolls of straw paper were fed into the machine and then spewed out, becoming finished products covered with lead type.

Li Chengqian stood beside the machine, holding the first printed copy in his hand.

He gently blew on the still-wet ink, and a dangerous glint of "information hegemony" flashed in his deep eyes.

"Meiniang, who did this layout? The font on the front page isn't big enough! Make it bold! Make it even bolder!"

Wu Meiniang, clutching the account book, nervously approached.

"Your Highness, this is already the largest print size. Look at this headline, 'Shocking! The Extravagant Lifestyle of the Goguryeo Royal Family Revealed, the Tang Dynasty's Imperial Army Acts on Behalf of Heaven'—isn't it a bit too... direct?"

"Straightforward? That's exactly what I want!"

Li Chengqian flicked the paper with satisfaction.

"Ordinary people don't have time to read those flowery, literary essays. They just want clickbait headlines that grab their attention at a glance!"

He pointed to the second page of the newspaper.

"Here, I'll leave space for the serialization of the book I dictated, which you ghostwrote (a heavily modified version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes from the Tang Dynasty)."

"Remember, you need to change Guo Jing into a border soldier of the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty, and Huang Rong into a foreign princess who was oppressed by the Persian Arabs and came to the Tang Dynasty for help."

"We must subtly convey to the world that the Tang Dynasty is the savior of the world, and anyone who dares to provoke the Tang Dynasty, no matter how far away, will be punished!"

Wu Meiniang was stunned.

Although she was extremely intelligent, she was completely impressed by Li Chengqian's skill in perfectly combining public opinion and entertainment.

This doesn't look like a newspaper.

This is clearly brainwashing the people of the world!

"Your Highness, will anyone really buy this?" Wu Meiniang asked hesitantly.

"They not only buy, they also rob."

A smile of absolute confidence curled at the corners of Li Chengqian's mouth.

"Set a price, one penny per serving."

"Tomorrow morning, have all the beggars and newsboys in Chang'an go out into the streets to sell their wares to me!"

"I will ensure that in every corner of this Tang Dynasty, only the voice of the Crown Prince resounds!"

Silent all night.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

The steamed bun shop in the eastern market of Chang'an City has just steamed out its first batch of piping hot meat buns.

A crisp, childlike cry suddenly broke the morning's tranquility, rang out abruptly on the bluestone street.

"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale!"

"The inaugural issue of the Great Tang Empire Daily! Only one coin!"

"Watch as His Highness the Crown Prince strategizes and destroys Goguryeo in a fit of rage! Watch as Hero Guo wields his repeating musket and commands respect across the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions!"

"Don't miss out! It's only one penny, you won't regret it!"

The people queuing to buy steamed buns were stunned.

Several ministers who had just finished court and were wearing purple official robes were also stunned.

Even the foreign envoys who were staying at the State Guest Hotel and were about to come out to experience the morning atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty stopped in their tracks, looking completely bewildered.

newspaper?

What kind of new gadget is that?