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

Chang'an City. Taiji Palace.

The once majestic and tranquil imperial study was now echoing with a roar that made even the roof beams tremble.

Li Shimin slammed the vermilion brush in his hand onto the imperial desk with astonishing force.

With a "click".

The hard sandalwood pen, a tribute from the Western Regions, snapped in two instantly under his terrifying grip, which felt like it belonged to his twenties again. Crimson ink splattered all over the table, much like his bleeding heart at that moment.

"Wang De! Tell me, is this still my palace?"

Li Shimin strode to the window, pointed at the empty palace gardens, his eyes wide open.

"Before, I could see Guanyinbi pruning flowers in the garden whenever I looked up. Although the fourth and ninth princes were noisy, at least they would pay their respects to me. But now?"

"The Empress has been run off with that rebellious son! He says he's going to the sea to 'absorb spiritual energy.' The third son is farming in South America, the fourth son is blacksmithing in North America, and the ninth son is carrying bricks in England. Even that old man Wei Zheng took leave yesterday to attend the opening ceremony of some 'Guanzhong Nursing Home'!"

Li Shimin became increasingly aggrieved as he spoke, his chest heaving violently.

Looking at his own powerful hands, and then at the mountain of memorials piled up before him, almost burying him, he fell into deep self-doubt.

"I am younger, I am stronger, I can even kill an elephant with one punch."

"But is the price I paid for becoming stronger to be a perpetual 'stamping machine' here?"

This sense of frustration caused by extreme psychological imbalance made him want to tear down the imperial study on the spot.

In the past, when he was old and tired, he could use the excuse of the emperor's poor health to let the crown prince oversee the country.

But now?

His immortal body had a pulse that beat louder than a war drum, and his complexion was as rosy as a ripe peach.

Even if he wanted to feign illness, the imperial physicians guarding the door would probably kneel down and shout "Your Majesty can fight for another five hundred years" as soon as they took his pulse.

"Li Chengqian...you unfilial son! This is a blatant conspiracy! This is naked class exploitation!"

Li Shimin threw a punch into the air, and the resulting gust of wind sent dozens of memorials flying into the air.

"You've expanded the Tang Dynasty so vastly, made the technology so advanced, and the administrative system so complex. Now the whole world knows that only I can control this empire, and you're taking this opportunity to take my wife on a trip?"

"That's my empire! That's my wife! That's my private jet and yacht!"

"You're treating me like the Tang Dynasty's top-tier free labor!"

Li Shimin was so angry that his beard stood on end. Due to his excess energy, he even felt that fire was emanating from every bone in his body.

He wanted to leave, to quit.

But he knew very well that the Tang Dynasty, this carriage that had already entered a high-speed racing mode, could do without anyone else, but it could not do without him, the nominal "Heavenly Khan".

The vassal kings of various fiefdoms only recognized him as their father, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry only recognized him as their emperor.

The moment he leaves, this vast imperial administrative system will instantly come to a standstill.

This is a dead end.

A magnificent prison that Li Chengqian wove for him himself, using immortality and youth as bait.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Your Majesty's good health is a blessing for all the people of the Tang Dynasty."

Wang De huddled in a corner, clutching a stack of newly delivered telegrams, trembling as he tried to persuade them.

"Good fortune? Do you want this good fortune?"

Li Shimin suddenly turned around, his eyes fierce like a leopard, which frightened Wang De so much that he almost bit his tongue off.

"When I close my eyes now, all I see is that rebellious son lying on the deck, sunbathing. He's probably holding a chilled watermelon juice, surrounded by beautiful women, and he might even be fishing for some kind of sea fish I've never even seen before!"

"And what about me? I'm here approving the wool tax in the Western Regions, studying dredging projects in Southeast Asia, and listening to the Honglu Temple report on the Pope's Chinese language test scores!"

"I wouldn't even be a dog living like this!"

Li Shimin plopped back down on the dragon throne, the steel legs groaning loudly from the force of the movement.

He grabbed an urgent telegram, glanced at it, and his face darkened even more.

"Sent by the Ninth Prince, Li Zhi? He said he just bought a speedboat on the British Isles and wants to invite me to go fishing at sea? Is he doing this on purpose?"

"And then there's the fourth prince, Li Tai. He said he's built a summer resort in North America and invited me to go there to escape the summer heat?"

Li Shimin let out a pathetic, dry laugh.

"Escaping the summer heat? Do you think I can even leave the gates of Chang'an?"

"If I dare to leave, those old bones in the Censorate will break down the city gates!"

He looked down at his feet and felt that what was under the dragon throne wasn't a cushion, but super glue that had welded him there.

This frustration of having an infinite lifespan but being deprived of the joys of life nearly drove this former war god to the brink of collapse.

He stood up and walked to the huge world map covered with telegraph lines and marked with the global strongholds of the Tang Dynasty.

On that map, the little red dot representing the "Salted Fish" was slowly swaying in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Judging from those coordinates, we're probably almost at Hawaii.

Li Shimin stared intently at the red dot, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Li Chengqian...do you think you've won?"

"Do you think you can get away with this forever by turning me into a wage earner?"

A dangerous glint flashed in Li Shimin's eyes, a desperate gamble unique to the greatest emperor of all time when he was driven to the brink of desperation.

He turned his head and looked at the few eunuchs Xu Xiao had left behind who were huddled at the door.

"Send my decree to the Quanzhou Shipyard! No, send the decree to Mo Ju!"

Li Shimin's voice became deep, yet it exuded an undeniable domineering aura.

"Since that rebellious son was able to build a 'Salted Fish' ship, then the Tang Dynasty's treasury will support me in building an even more powerful one!"

"I want the largest displacement! I want the most powerful engine! I want to mount two hundred red-coated cannons on it!"

"I also want to build an imperial garden on the ship, even larger than the Eastern Palace, and bring all the famous chefs of Chang'an on board!"

Wang De was stunned, and stammered, "Your Majesty... are you planning a distant expedition?"

"Expedition my foot! I'm going to sea to catch my rebellious son!"

Li Shimin slammed his hand on the map, landing right on the little red dot.

"After I finish approving these last 100,000 memorials, after I finish sorting out all the mess in the Tang Dynasty."

"I'll build a ship even bigger than yours, go out to sea and drag you back to work overtime!"

"Then I'll lock you in the Imperial Study, and I'll take Guanyinbi on a round-the-world trip! I'll show you what true fatherly love is!"

Li Shimin became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he had found a new purpose in life.

Since you won't let me retire, then I'll just crush you first.

He picked up a spare vermilion pen and wrote with great speed, his reviewing speed increasing by another 30% compared to before.

That kind of fighting spirit left Fang Xuanling, who was standing next to him, stunned.

"Has Your Majesty... had an epiphany?" Fang Xuanling asked Changsun Wuji quietly beside him.

Changsun Wuji wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sighed, "His Majesty hasn't had an epiphany, His Majesty has been driven mad. It seems we'll have to work hard these next few days; His Majesty is going to make a final push."

Outside the Imperial Study, the sun was setting.

Meanwhile, the side hall where Li Shimin was located was brightly lit.

While rapidly handling political affairs around the world, he was also plotting his "revenge plan" in his mind.

"You unfilial son, you just wait! Though the sea is vast, I will eventually catch you!"

"Not only will I make you work overtime, but I'll also make you perform breaking a boulder on your chest for me on the ship!"

The roar rang out again, startling several birds that had just landed in the Imperial Garden.

This was the era of the "Two Saints" in the Tang Dynasty.

One is a whirlwind of success at sea, while the other is stuck at home in a state of utter misery.

The open and covert struggles between the two are pulling the entire Earth toward a glorious destination that even the gods could not predict.

"Your Majesty, another urgent report from the Americas..."

"Bring it here! Tonight, I want the land prices for all of North America finalized!"

Li Shimin shouted through gritted teeth.

"As long as I approve quickly enough, loneliness can't catch up with me!"