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

The float suddenly sank to the bottom of the water.

Li Chengqian didn't even lift his eyelids, and perfunctorily lifted the fishing rod, sending a plump koi splashing as it was thrown ashore.

He tossed the fishing rod aside.

Looking at the group of princes standing in front of him, their figures uneven like little radish heads, he sighed helplessly.

"Why are you here so early in the morning instead of following Confucius to recite classical texts?"

Standing at the very front was Li Tai, the Prince of Wei, who had become as fat as a ball.

This chubby boy has completely lost interest in the Four Books and Five Classics. Ever since he saw the mechanical blueprints drawn by Li Chengqian, he has become a die-hard tech fanatic.

I can't sleep soundly unless I get my face covered in engine oil every day.

"Big brother!"

Li Tai laboriously pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and presented it to the front of the room like a treasure.

"Qingque seems to have figured out how that 'telegraph machine' works!"

"As long as you turn on the generator and press the copper plate on one end, the iron needle on the other end can punch dots of varying lengths on the paper tape! Isn't this the legendary 'transmission of sound over a thousand miles'?"

Li Tai was so excited that his face was trembling.

His small eyes gleamed with an extreme fervor for knowledge.

"Brother, I want to go to the arsenal! I want to help Master Mo build this telegraph machine! Please, could you plead with Father and let me skip going to the Imperial Academy?"

Looking at the chubby boy's "I'll die if you don't let me do scientific research" attitude.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but be overjoyed inside.

If this were placed within the original historical trajectory...

Li Tai was his strongest and most insidious opponent on the road to seizing the throne. He competed for Li Shimin's favor every day and secretly formed cliques.

But now?

This guy has been completely outmaneuvered by the technological prowess of the Tang Dynasty, forcing him into a geek who just wants to stay in the lab soldering circuit boards.

He no longer had even the slightest thought of vying for the throne.

"Go to the arsenal? That's not difficult."

Li Chengqian stroked his chin, a cunning glint flashing in his deep eyes.

"But Qingque, what's the use of just building machines?"

Li Chengqian stood up, walked up to the chubby boy, and patted his broad shoulder earnestly.

"This telegraph machine requires extremely long cables to be laid."

"Our Tang Dynasty's territory is expanding, with railways in the Western Regions, mines in Tibet, and even the new continents that our third son will bring back from across the ocean. All of these will require the laying of these power lines."

He lowered his voice, his tone exuding the charm of top-notch PUA rhetoric.

"You've grown up."

"I can't always hide under the wings of my elder brother and father, living a life of leisure and idleness in Chang'an."

Li Chengqian glanced at the other young princes present, his voice suddenly rising and becoming inflammatory.

"The world is so big, with countless untapped gold and silver mountains and exotic lands with different customs."

"Don't you all want to be like the third brother, to go out into the world and make a name for yourselves?"

"To become a powerful ruler who commands the winds and rains and holds the power of life and death over his own fiefdom?"

"Go help our elder brother, and pave the entire world with the telegraph lines and railways of the Tang Dynasty?!"

This inflammatory, even blatant, temptation of power was like a fire, instantly igniting the ambitions in the hearts of these young princes.

Yes!

Every day in this city of Chang'an, I am under the control of my elder brother, who is like a god, and my irritable father, the emperor.

Even eating an extra piece of meat would get me nagged by those old men in the Censorate for ages.

What kind of royal family are they?

If only I could go out and become a local tyrant in those newly conquered territories.

If you're in charge of your own affairs, have soldiers and money at your disposal, wouldn't that be even more carefree than being a god?

"Big brother! I want to go!"

A slightly older prince, Prince Li Yin of Shu, was the first to jump out excitedly.

"I've heard that many new textile factories and arsenals have been built in the Western Regions. I'm willing to go there to keep an eye on those factories for you, and I'll make sure no one embezzles a single penny!"

"Brother, I'm going to Tibet!"

Another prince joined in the shout.

"I heard from the third brother that although it's cold over there, the silver they've dug up is as high as a mountain! I'll go and muster the troops right now to help my eldest brother dig up all that silver!"

In a short time.

In the back garden of the Eastern Palace, there was a harmonious scene of brothers paying their respects to each other.

It instantly turned into a "global turf war" that resembled a vegetable market.

The young princes' eyes were all red.

In order to obtain a fertile or potentially valuable fiefdom, they even began to expose each other's shortcomings and desperately promote themselves in front of Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian looked at his younger brothers, who had been easily swayed by his words and were now vying to become "construction foremen of the Great Tang" and "overseas governors."

Satisfied, he lay back down in the rocking chair.

This is the true art of imperial strategy.

What brotherly strife, what fratricide?

As long as the cake outside is drawn big enough, big enough that they can't finish eating it in their lifetime.

Who would fight tooth and nail over that old, uncomfortable chair in the Taiji Palace that you have to do hard labor every day?

He not only perfectly resolved the internal strife within the Tang Dynasty's imperial family, but also gained a group of absolutely loyal and highly motivated high-level employees for free.

This is an absolute stunner!

"Alright, alright, stop arguing."

Li Chengqian waved his hand contentedly, stopping his brothers who were about to start fighting.

"I will discuss the matter of bestowing titles and fiefdoms with my father. If you have the ability, you can choose any territory in the world you want."

Upon hearing this, the princes cheered with joy, each one as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, wishing they could sprout wings and fly to their own territory right now.

They excitedly kowtowed to Li Chengqian several times, then, satisfied and enthusiastic, put their arms around each other's shoulders and discussed what equipment they should bring to their fiefdom before hurriedly leaving the Eastern Palace.

The noise gradually faded away.

The back garden of the Eastern Palace has returned to tranquility.

Li Chengqian picked up a glass of freshly brewed chilled plum juice, ready to take a comfortable sip.

Sudden.

He felt the hem of his expensive white fox fur coat being slightly tugged.

Li Chengqian lowered his head.

There was a little boy, probably only four or five years old, with delicate features and a slightly timid look.

She was trying her best to stand on tiptoe, using her short, chubby little hands to tightly pull on the hem of his clothes.

In those clear, large eyes, there shone a determination and longing that was beyond his years.

"Big brother..."

The little boy called out in his childish voice.

"Zhi Nu... Zhi Nu also wants to be made a king."