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

Mo Ju had barely stepped into the study, and before he could even put down the heavy pure copper propeller model in his hand, the gate of the East Palace once again let out a loud bang, as if it could no longer bear the weight.

"Chengqian! Chengqian, where are you?"

Li Shimin's powerful voice pierced through the corridors, causing dust to fall from the roof beams.

Mo Ju was so startled that his hand trembled, and he almost dropped the model on his toes. He quickly shrank behind the screen, hiding himself completely.

Li Chengqian was just about to take a nap in that specially made rocking chair when he heard this sound. His eyelids twitched, and he sat up straight with no choice.

"Father, you're being unusually energetic this early in the morning."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Shimin burst in. He was still wearing his slightly bulky casual clothes, but he was clutching a thick stack of official documents tightly in his hand.

Li Chengqian glanced at it; it was a shipbuilding budget jointly submitted by the Ministry of Works and Zheng He's side.

Judging by the thickness of the glass, Dai Zhou must have fainted from crying several times by now at the entrance of the Taiji Hall.

"Stop trying to fool me!"

Li Shimin plopped down on the stool opposite Li Chengqian and slammed the stack of budgets onto the table.

"I stared at that sphere all night again last night."

Li Shimin looked somewhat tired, but a flame burned in his dragon eyes that would chill any commander to the bone.

"Chengqian, tell me the truth, those barbarians marked 'Europe' and 'Africa' on those maps, with their high noses, deep-set eyes, and body odor, are they really guarding such vast gold and silver mines?"

Li Chengqian chuckled to himself.

He pointed to the globe in the corner, which his father had polished until it gleamed.

"Of course. When have I ever lied to you on important matters?"

"In the far west, there is so much gold that it can be used to build walls. Those barbarians don't even know how to use iron tools now, and they just toil in the fields all day."

"If you were to bring ten thousand Divine Machine Battalion soldiers with you, the scene would probably be no different from a god descending to earth."

Li Shimin's breath caught in his throat, and he subconsciously rubbed his hands together.

He felt like a max-level player who suddenly realized he'd only explored one percent of the map. The remaining vast wilderness was full of undiscovered treasure chests.

This feeling made every cell in his body scream wildly, "Go and take it back!"

"I can ask Dai Zhou for the money, even if I have to sell the glazed tiles of Taiji Palace."

Li Shimin lowered his voice, his expression becoming more solemn than ever before.

"But I want to know, when will the ships of the Great Tang be able to carry my cannons and sail to that Mediterranean Sea?"

"When are we going to have a proper 'exchange' with those barbarians?"

Looking at his father, whose ambition had been completely ignited.

Li Chengqian knew that simply making empty promises was no longer enough. He needed to provide the empire with its most powerful military force and establish a completely new set of rules capable of dominating the world.

"Father, there's no rush for things like this."

Li Chengqian slowly pulled out a pre-drawn blueprint from a drawer under his desk.

The blueprint didn't depict those intricate mechanical lines; instead, it showed a large outline of the world. A vast arc, spanning the ocean, was strung together by countless tiny red flags.

"Your desire to see the world is understood by your son."

"But if you insist on occupying all those dozens of pieces of land, even if our Tang army strength is increased tenfold, it still won't be enough."

Li Chengqian lightly traced several key straits on the map with his finger.

"So, we won't occupy land; we'll occupy the 'pearl'."

"Pearls?" Li Shimin leaned closer, his brows furrowed.

"Yes, the necklace of pearls strategy."

Li Chengqian's eyes sharpened.

"We don't need to waste administrative officers in those barren lands. We just need to build these 'naval bases' welded shut with cement and steel in every key strait and every supply island."

"These are pearls. If you string these pearls together, the entire ocean will become the Tang Dynasty's foot bath basin."

"When the time comes, when Tang Dynasty merchant ships pass by, they will have to kneel to greet them. If the Tang Dynasty's treasure ships want to attack someone, their cannons will be at their heads within half a day."

Li Shimin listened with rapt attention.

This hegemonic mindset—capturing territory without actually occupying it, yet controlling its lifeline—opened a new door for him to become a great emperor throughout history.

"Wow! This 'pearl necklace' is wonderful!"

Li Shimin suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with a fervent desire to sweep across the world.

"But Chengqian, to accomplish this, the existing Shenji Battalion and Xuanjia Army might not be enough, right?"

Li Chengqian smiled slightly and dropped another bombshell.

"Therefore, I suggest..."

"Effective immediately, expand the Shenji Battalion to 300,000 men."

"All old-style matchlock guns have been phased out and replaced with the 'breech-loading rifled guns' that the Mohists have just developed."

"That kind of gun doesn't require poking and fiddling in the front; you just insert the loaded ammunition from the back, pull the bolt, and fire. The range is doubled, and the power is much greater!"

"And for this global army of 300,000, I intend to invite you, the God of War of the Tang Dynasty, to personally lead the command."

Li Chengqian took out a beautiful pure gold plaque engraved with a double dragon playing with a pearl from his sleeve.

Eight large characters were prominently displayed above:

[Commander-in-Chief of the Global Armed Forces of the Great Tang Dynasty].

"Father, this is a title that has never been seen before in history."

"Besides you, who in this world can control those 300,000 elite troops spanning three oceans?"

Li Shimin stared blankly at the gleaming golden plaque.

Commander-in-Chief of the Great Tang Global Armed Forces?

This title sounded far more exciting to him than simply "Emperor".

That means his will will be transmitted to every corner of the planet along with those thousand ship-mounted cannons.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Li Shimin suddenly let out a thunderous laugh, grabbed the gold medal, and his eyes gleamed with the fervor of conquering the world.

"Excellent! What a fine commander-in-chief!"

"Chengqian, you're really a filial son!"

"I will return to the camp now and gather all the old comrades."

"I want the whole world to know that wherever the dragon flag of the Great Tang goes, every voice in this world must first ask me, the commander-in-chief, for my permission!"

Holding the plaque, Li Shimin, like a boy who had just snatched his favorite toy, laughed heartily and strode away.

Watching Li Shimin's figure disappear outside the door.

Li Chengqian finally breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back into the rocking chair without any regard for his image.

"Finally... it's stabilized again."

He took the chilled watermelon that Wu Meiniang handed him and took a delicious bite.

"The old man's mind is now full of global expansion. I estimate that it will be at least ten or eight years before he has time to come back and see if I will approve the memorials."

Wu Meiniang smiled, her eyes full of admiration.

"Your Highness, you've given him the title of 'Commander-in-Chief' at the perfect time. I'm afraid His Majesty will wake up in his sleep with that gold medal in his arms, beaming with joy."

"That's called specialization."

Li Chengqian squinted as he looked out the window at the bustling construction site in Chang'an.

"Since he enjoys seeing the world so much, I might as well put in the effort and help him completely conquer this world, and give it to him as a birthday present."

At this moment, the war machine of the Tang Dynasty, under the call of that golden medal, was roaring at an unprecedented speed.

A torrent of steel is about to set sail.