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

The people of Chang'an were busy preparing for the New Year when they were all frozen in fear by a deep and violent roar overhead.

It was a roar coming from the depths of the clouds, not like a dragon's cry, but more like thousands of iron-clad monsters grinding their teeth wildly in the void.

Many timid vendors dropped their carrying poles and instinctively tried to slip into the deep alleys by the roadside, fearing it was a punishment from heaven.

However, this panic did not last long.

When the people saw the still-standing black dragon flag above the Taiji Palace and the faintly flickering lights above the East Palace through the cold winter sun, the weight in their hearts instantly lifted.

What are you afraid of?

The Tang Dynasty's current rule is as stable as Mount Tai; even if the sky were to collapse, there are still two "divine beings" holding it up.

The emperor who has regained his youth in the Taiji Palace is now truly immortal and possesses boundless strength.

As long as he sits on the dragon throne, the framework of the Tang Dynasty will never fall apart.

Meanwhile, the unfathomable Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace is responsible for creating all sorts of "miracles" that leave mortals speechless.

In the eyes of the common people of the Tang Dynasty, this was called "two emperors ruling together".

One was responsible for diligently serving the people and correcting official documents at the front, while the other was responsible for coming up with ingenious ideas and changing the world at the back.

Clear division of labor doubles efficiency.

"Look! That's...that's a big bird?"

A sharp-eyed child pointed to the sky and shouted excitedly.

The clouds parted, and the silver-gray figure was finally revealed in its entirety.

It was a strange contraption made of two overlapping wooden wings, with the fuselage covered by a wooden frame wrapped in painted linen.

At the front of the aircraft, two enormous propellers were spinning wildly at a speed that was difficult to detect with the naked eye, and the airflow they generated even stirred up two huge vortices in the white clouds below.

This thing doesn't fly very steadily.

It swayed in the air like a drunkard who had just learned to walk, occasionally making a teeth-grinding "click-click" sound.

But it truly defies the common sense that has prevailed for millennia, standing like a nail firmly planted in the blue sky.

That was the masterpiece of the Mohist artisans.

Based on the sketch that Li Chengqian casually drew on that crumpled piece of waste paper, Mo Ju and his men painstakingly cobbled together the first rudimentary single-cylinder internal combustion engine using cast iron and pistons.

This machine uses expensive fuel and spews out scalding black smoke.

But it was these plumes of black smoke that completely ended the history of humankind being able to only look up at the sky.

At this moment, the Tang Dynasty's journey officially departed from the muddy land and turbulent sea, extending towards the boundless blue expanse.

"Your Highness! He's about to land!"

Xu Xiao was so anxious in the greenhouse by Qujiang Pool that he kept stamping his feet and shouting at the sky with a megaphone in his hand.

Li Chengqian spat out a watermelon seed, stood up unhurriedly, and straightened his short shirt, which had been wrinkled due to laziness.

"What are you yelling about? Old Mo is most afraid of death in his life, he must have chosen the softest spot to land."

Li Chengqian pushed open the all-glass sliding door, walked into the center of the East Palace Square, and faced the cold wind carrying the smell of kerosene.

The black dot in the sky began to descend rapidly.

The roar of the propellers made the ground tremble.

"Clang!"

A loud bang.

The simple plane named "Datang No. 1" crashed into the stone brick ground outside the East Palace Gate in a dramatic manner.

The wooden landing gear shattered instantly under the enormous impact, and the fuselage slid more than a hundred meters across the smooth plaza due to inertia.

Finally, the plane's right wing crashed into a stone pillar carved with a dragon, shattering into splinters before finally coming to a stop.

Thick smoke billowed from the engine compartment.

A man covered in black soot, with oil stains even on his eyelashes, stumbled out of the driver's seat.

Mo Ju was retching and laughing wildly at the same time, looking like a madman who had just crawled out of a coal pile.

"Your Highness! We're flying! This humble subject... this humble subject truly saw the entire panorama of Chang'an!"

Mo Ju ran up to Li Chengqian, and in his excitement, he even forgot to bow.

He stretched out his black hands, which were covered in blisters from the burns, and gestured with his fingers.

"Right there! Your Majesty, I saw the snow on Zhongnan Mountain, the roof of Taiji Palace, and even Your Majesty strolling in the Imperial Garden!"

"That feeling...that feeling was like becoming an immortal!"

Li Chengqian looked at the wooden block in front of him, which was almost falling apart, and his lips curled up slightly, but his eyes were so deep that they were frightening.

He stepped forward and gently touched the scorching hot engine casing with his finger.

"How high did it fly?" Li Chengqian's voice was very soft.

"About 300 zhang! Any higher and the engine will stall!" Mo Ju reported excitedly.

"What about speed?"

"Three times faster than the fastest warhorse of the Great Snow Dragon Riders!"

Li Chengqian nodded, his gaze passing over the airplane and landing on the faintly visible power lines on the wall of the East Palace.

His thoughts, however, were not on this rudimentary aircraft at the moment.

This thing, powered by an internal combustion engine, was a miracle in the Tang Dynasty, but in Li Chengqian's eyes, it was nothing more than a flying piece of scrap metal.

He was thinking that now that the old man had a lifespan of five hundred years, shouldn't the Tang Dynasty's territory be expanded in a different way?

While land and sea power are important, it is the control of the skies that truly grants absolute power of life and death.

"Your Highness, how do you think this 'Great Tang Number One' should be improved?" Mo Ju eagerly leaned over, waiting for his supreme divine decree.

Li Chengqian withdrew his gaze, looked at Mo Ju's dark face, and revealed a kind yet cruel smile.

"Old Mo, the single-cylinder is too slow."

"Go back and tell the Ministry of Works that I want the V-type eight-cylinder engine, and one that can also be fitted with a red-coated cannon."

"I hope that next spring, my father will be able to sit in his study and see our planes urinating over the head of the Pope."

Mo Ju was stunned, then trembled and performed a deep bow.

"Your humble servant... obeys! It's just an eight-cylinder engine? Your humble servant will make it for you even if it means tearing down the bolts of the inner palace!"

Li Chengqian patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, then looked at Xu Xiao, who was standing there dumbfounded.

"Xu Xiao, send a telegram to the old man."

"Tell him that since he is so energetic, let him come to the Eastern Palace tomorrow for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. I want to establish the 'Great Tang Royal Air Force Headquarters'."

Xu Xiao stammered, "Then...who will be the director of this headquarters?"

"Nonsense, of course Father Emperor is the one in charge, and Old Mo does the work."

Li Chengqian stretched, turned and walked towards the greenhouse, leaving behind only an annoyingly smug back view.

"As for me, I need to continue researching how to grow watermelons in the sky; the taste would definitely be different."

Mo Ju, holding a handful of putty, called out to Li Chengqian's retreating figure, "Your Highness! What should we do with the wreckage of this plane?"

"Let's fix it up and give it to the old man as a toy."

"Your Highness, are you sure His Majesty won't get angry because this thing almost crashed into the Taiji Palace?"