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

Inside the imperial study in Chang'an, Li Shimin was furious and powerless before the empty dragon throne and the table piled high with folding documents, roaring that he would build a larger, faster ship to sail out to sea and capture people. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the Pacific Ocean, the sea breeze was slightly dry, and the waves rolled with tiny golden scales under the sunlight.

The "Salted Fish" superyacht was moving with astonishingly smoothness, leaving a white trail on the azure sea.

Li Chengqian lay half-reclined under a parasol on the deck, wearing only a pair of light floral shorts, holding a translated document that had just been ejected from the ship's telegraph machine.

"Tsk tsk, the old man's voice is as loud as ever. I can hear his gunpowder even across the ocean."

He casually crumpled the telegram into a ball and accurately tossed it into the nearby trash can, a smug, mischievous grin on his face.

"Your Highness, His Majesty said in his letter that if you do not reply, he will cut off the maintenance funding for the Quanzhou Shipyard."

Wu Zetian walked over carrying a plate of sliced, chilled cantaloupe.

She changed into a light silk blouse, her long hair slightly disheveled by the sea breeze, which only accentuated her languid charm.

Li Chengqian turned over, opened his mouth to take the melon meat that Wu Meiniang fed him, and mumbled indistinctly.

"Let him cut it off. Anyway, I've already moved the money to the ship's vault. The old man is just experiencing typical menopausal symptoms. He has work to do, but he still has to keep cursing. The day he actually has some free time, he'll be the one causing me trouble."

Just then, Empress Zhangsun's exclamation of praise came from the glass greenhouse behind them.

"Chengqian, come and see! The colors of the sea are changing with every step. Just now it was a deep blue, but now it's showing a jade-like green. The wonders of nature are truly an eye-opener for your mother."

Empress Zhangsun sat on a rattan chair in the flower room, holding a copy of the current season's "Great Tang Customs and Scenery" in her hands, her expression showing a relaxed look that had not been seen for many years.

Li Chengqian slapped his thigh and shouted towards the greenhouse, "Mother, we haven't even reached the truly beautiful part yet. When we get to those tropical islands, where the seawater is so clear you can see the coral reefs on the seabed, that will be absolutely amazing!"

He casually grabbed a sizzling lamb skewer from the grill, took a bite without any regard for appearances, and the rich cumin flavor spread in the salty sea breeze.

"Xu Xiao! The heat is a bit too high. I wanted it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. You're practically roasted to a crisp."

Xu Xiao was waving a fan, his face red from the smoke of the charcoal fire, and he was still muttering indignantly.

"Your Highness, the ship is going too fast, the wind is strong, and the fire is not obeying our commands."

This idyllic seaside vacation scene lasted for less than half an hour before being shattered by a series of urgent lookout whistles.

"Report! An unidentified fleet has been spotted ahead and is closing in on us!"

The guards on the watchtower shouted at the top of their lungs, breaking the silence on the deck.

Li Chengqian spat out a stick, impatiently put on his specially made sunglasses, and squinted at the distance.

On the horizon, dozens of black dots were fanning out in a circle.

Those were several dilapidated wooden sailboats, their sails patched up and rusty homemade cannons hanging haphazardly from their sides.

These are clearly Southeast Asian pirates, a specialty of this sea area. They probably took a liking to the "Salted Fish" ship's snow-white, smooth, and eye-catching expensive hull, hoping to make a fortune by boarding it.

"Your Highness, they seem to be barbarians from the nearby islands. They probably think we're some lost merchant ship, with no sails even hoisted, and that we're lambs to the slaughter."

Xu Xiao dropped the lamb skewers, drew the steel knife from his waist, and his eyes instantly turned cold.

Wu Meiniang frowned slightly, looking worriedly in the direction of Empress Zhangsun.

"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager is still on the ship. Should we have the musketeers clear the area?"

Li Chengqian waved his hand, looking at the few pirate ships that were oblivious to their impending doom, desperately rowing closer, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"Use a musket? That's too wasteful of ammunition, and it'll disturb Mother's afternoon nap."

He stood up and strode towards the control panel, where a pure copper power lever was mounted.

"These pirates probably have never seen what modern industry is like in their lives. Their understanding of speed is probably still stuck in the stage of rowing with the wind."

On the pirate ship, a group of shirtless pirates, each carrying a chipped steel knife, were shouting excitedly.

In their eyes, this giant, white ship without sails was like a floating golden palace; once they boarded it, they would never have to worry about food or drink for the rest of their lives.

However, the next second, they heard a sound that was enough to shake their souls.

"Buzz—!"

That was the low-frequency roar generated by dozens of giant pistons operating wildly simultaneously inside the "Salted Fish".

Two plumes of hot white smoke suddenly shot out from the exhaust pipes on both sides of the yacht, and the hull, which had been gliding slowly, suddenly generated a terrifying thrust.

"Engine room, full power! Ram me!"

Li Chengqian gripped the lever and pushed it all the way down.

"boom!"

The sharp, special steel tip of the Saltfish cut through the sea surface, and its speed soared from a few knots to an astonishing thirty knots in just a few seconds.

The sea surface was cleaved open by two giant wave walls, each several meters high.

Before the pirate ships could even react to what was happening, the white behemoth was already upon them.

"Quick! Turn the rudder! Turn the rudder now!" the pirate captain screamed in terror, his voice cracking.

But at a speed of thirty knots, those wooden boats that rely on human oars are like rotten wood that sits still.

The massive hull of the Saltfish, with its overwhelming momentum, was like a red-hot blade slicing through butter, cutting directly through the center of the pirate fleet.

"Snap—!"

The teeth-grinding cracking sounds blended together.

The two pirate ships at the front didn't even have time to scream before they were smashed to pieces by the Saltfish's hard sides.

Immediately afterwards, the massive wake created by the Saltfish during its voyage formed a terrifying water vortex.

The remaining dozen or so small boats were like paper boats in a bathtub, lifted into the air by the giant waves, then crashed down and were instantly swallowed by the sea.

Li Chengqian stood at the edge of the deck, watching the pirates struggling desperately in the waves behind him, unable to even utter a cry for help, and calmly patted the cumin powder off his hands.

"That's it? I haven't even put in any effort, and they've already fallen."

He turned around and raised an eyebrow at Xu Xiao, who was still in a daze.

"Old Xu, this is the significance of me building this ship. In the face of the sea, violence is not the only means; speed and tonnage are."

Looking at the calm sea, Wu Meiniang couldn't help but sigh, "These pirates probably never understood why a ship without sails could run faster than a fish, even until their deaths."

Empress Zhangsun came out of the flower room, looked at the gradually calming waves in the distance, and asked softly, "Chengqian, what was that sound just now? It was quite loud."

"It's nothing, Mother. A few fish that didn't know their place were blocking the way, so I had Xu Xiao chase them away."

Li Chengqian lied without batting an eye and lay back down on the rattan chair.

"Xu Xiao, the skewers are getting cold, hurry up and keep grilling them. After we finish this meal, we should be able to dock soon."

Xu Xiao responded and quickly relit the fire, fanning himself rapidly with his fan.

What was a devastating encounter for the pirates was, for Li Chengqian, merely a lighthearted interlude during his vacation.

The Saltfish continued its mad dash across the Pacific Ocean, and all the forces along the way wisely chose to remain silent when they saw that lightning-fast white shadow.

Two hours later, the Saltfish gradually turned northwest, and the color of the seawater changed from dark blue to light green. Scattered merchant ships began to appear on the sea.

When the merchant ships saw the Salted Fish, they were all so frightened that they quickly lowered their sails to avoid it, thinking they had encountered a secret weapon of the Tang Dynasty navy.

Xu Xiao put down his binoculars, wiped the black ash from his forehead, pointed to the coastline that was faintly visible in front of him, and shouted excitedly.

"Your Highness! Your Majesty! We're about to reach the first major international port along the way!"

"My goodness! The shore is packed with people, and they all seem to be looking this way!"

Li Chengqian squinted, pulled down his sunglasses, and looked at the excessively bustling port, a playful smile appearing on his lips.

"Old Xu, send a telegram to the shore, make it a grand affair. This time, I'm bringing my mother on an inspection tour, and I need to let these foreigners know what the demeanor of the Crown Prince of the Great Tang is like."

Wu Meiniang covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her gaze fixed ahead, where countless exotic buildings shimmered with an unusual brilliance under the setting sun.

"Your Highness, are you sure this pomp and circumstance is for the Empress Dowager, and not for you to show off?"

"Seeing through things but not saying them out loud, Meiniang, that's not a good habit of yours."

Li Chengqian laughed heartily, stood up, stretched, and stared intently at the approaching land.

"Let's go, take Mother to see just how much territory our Li family has carved out outside."

The sound of horns from the port could already be faintly heard; a scene of nations kneeling in welcome was about to unfold.

"Old Xu, stop grilling meat and hurry up and change into some shiny armor. Don't embarrass our Eastern Palace."

"Alright, Your Highness, I'll go right away!"