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

The wind in the Grand Canyon still carried the dry smell of red earth. Li Chengqian stood on the edge of the cliff, holding the thin piece of paper that had just been spat out of the telegraph machine.

Because Xu Xiao ran so fast, there were still a few dark brown mud stains on the edges of the paper.

The three brothers, Li Ke, Li Tai, and Li Zhi, had just recovered from the shock of the "empire on which the sun never sets" and were now craning their necks to look into their eldest brother's hand, fearing that the old man in Chang'an had gone on some deadly madness again.

Li Chengqian shook the note, his gaze sweeping over the dense ink marks. His lips twitched habitually at first, then a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

"Big brother, what did Father say? Is he going to collect taxes from us?" Li Tai was the first to ask, his big belly sticking out at the front.

Li Chengqian didn't say anything, but simply turned the telegram over and showed it to his brothers.

The telegram began with a barrage of reports, detailing the battle results achieved in Chang'an over the past six months:

The Guanzhong railway network was fully completed, the first thermal power plant had been put into trial operation, and even the so-called "Great Tang Grand Theater" had been built to a height of thirty zhang (approximately 133 meters). The sense of excitement that Li Shimin exuded between the lines, the feeling of "I'm the busiest person in the world," almost leaped off the page.

At the very end of the telegram, Li Shimin wrote with a touch of pride:

"You bunch of brats, have you forgotten your father while you've been having fun out there? I'm working on construction sites and carrying bricks in Chang'an, while you're sunbathing in the Grand Canyon! If you don't want to come back, then you might as well die out there, so you won't be an eyesore to me!"

"Is this...is this still our father who so desperately wanted to hold his great-grandson?"

Li Zhi rubbed his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

Li Chengqian chuckled, then with a sudden flick of his finger, the flame that had been swaying in the morning breeze instantly swirled around the paper. He casually scattered the burning ashes into the bottomless canyon with a swift and decisive motion.

"This is a classic case of 'it smells so good' for the old man. He used to think being an emperor was tiring because the scale was small and the affairs were complicated. Now that the whole world is racing under his nose, his desire to control everything has been completely ignited."

Li Chengqian turned around and looked at the circle of the most powerful princes of the Tang Dynasty in front of him. His tone suddenly became solemn and grand.

"Listen up, everyone. Whatever trouble the old man causes in Chang'an is his business, but we can't lose our principles while we're out here. From today onwards, I'm setting a hard and fast rule for this world."

He looked at the rising sun in the distance, which was slowly spreading its light across the vast land, and said slowly and deliberately, "No matter where the sun shines, wherever the dragon flag of our Great Tang is planted, Chinese characters are the only passport."

The laws must be applied according to the laws of our Great Tang Dynasty. Anyone who dares to engage in any kind of "autonomy" behind the scenes, or tries to create two sets of standards, will be dealt with directly by the Divine Machine Battalion.

"We want all the barbarians in this world to understand one thing:

Being able to be a citizen of the Tang Dynasty was a blessing they had earned over several lifetimes.

Wherever the sun shines, that is Tang territory, and no one can harbor any ill intentions.

The announcement reverberated through the canyon, and Li Ke and the others nodded heavily. They knew that their elder brother was building a fence to secure the eternal foundation of the Tang Dynasty, and also drawing a line for them, his brothers.

"Alright, stop pretending to be profound."

Li Chengqian clapped his hands and turned to look at Empress Zhangsun, who was talking to Wu Meiniang at the entrance of the tent.

Having been away for more than half a year, although the Empress Dowager was having a great time in North America, the way she would occasionally stare blankly at the sunset betrayed her homesickness.

No matter how good the Tang Dynasty was, it was still a new home. What she truly longed for was a bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce in Guanzhong, her hometown, and the warm kang (heated brick bed) in the Lizheng Palace.

"Old Xu, send the order to the shipyard."

Li Chengqian straightened his cloak, a resolute glint in his eyes. "Our vacation is over. Fill up the 'Salted Fish' with the best fuel; it's time to head home."

Li Tai was taken aback: "Brother, why don't you stay a few more days? You haven't seen my newly built '10,000-ton hydraulic press' yet."

"I'm not watching anymore." Li Chengqian waved his hand.

"If we don't go back soon, I'm afraid the old man will really rebuild Chang'an so badly that I won't even recognize it."

Moreover, Mother has been constantly mentioning the plum blossoms in Chang'an lately. As sons, we can't just think about our own enjoyment.

The order to return was given suddenly, but it was carried out with great speed and efficiency.

Three days later, escorted by a group of steam warships, the white yacht broke through the coastline of North America and plunged into the vast deep blue sea.

This voyage was no longer a leisurely fishing trip. Li Chengqian ordered the engine room to operate in three shifts, and thick black smoke almost never stopped billowing above the smokestack.

The Saltfish was like a white lightning bolt on the ocean, shattering the courage and imagination of all foreigners.

After months of long sailing, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean, then through the Suez Canal into the South China Sea, we finally caught a whiff of that familiar sea breeze carrying the scent of Guanzhong soil.

"Your Highness, we have entered the Inland Sea!"

Xu Xiao stood excitedly at the bow of the boat, his voice so loud it could be heard for miles.

Li Chengqian was standing on the deck with Empress Zhangsun at this moment.

Wu Meiniang gently straightened his slightly disheveled long robe, her originally languid expression turning into one of anticipation.

"Finally back," Empress Zhangsun murmured softly, tears glistening in her eyes.

But when Li Chengqian raised his monocular telescope and looked towards Chang'an, his relaxed expression instantly cracked.

On the distant coastline, a once familiar pier had completely vanished.

Instead, there are more than a dozen towering, all-steel giant gantry cranes, which, like silent giants, are mechanically moving thousands of containers.

Further away, the outline of Chang'an City could be faintly seen.

But what terrified Li Chengqian was that the top of the city wall was no longer a low arrow tower, but a series of long poles gleaming with metallic luster—were they lightning rods or utility poles?

Vast clusters of buildings shimmered with a dazzling glazed hue, and one could even vaguely see huge columns of black smoke rising from every corner of the city, accompanied by a regular, deafening roar.

"That's... Chang'an?"

Li Chengqian put down the binoculars, rubbed his eyes hard, and then raised them again to look at them once more.

He felt like he wasn't returning to the Tang Dynasty, but rather traveling to some extreme steampunk film set.

The old man said in the telegram that he was doing infrastructure construction, but he didn't say that he had almost welded the entire Guanzhong Plain into an iron plate!

"Old Xu, did we take the wrong flight path? Where is this place? Could this be Mo Ju's second base that he secretly established?"

Xu Xiao was also stunned. He held the nautical chart in his hand and stared at it for a long time, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"Your Highness, the coordinates are correct... That flag is indeed the Xuanjin Dragon Flag of our Great Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengqian gasped, a strong sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

He originally wanted to come back and continue being a salted fish, but judging from the current situation, the old man not only turned himself into a model worker, but also distorted the entire style of the Tang Dynasty to his grandmother's house.

"This isn't Chang'an, this is clearly the old man's 'Peak of the King of Scrolls'!"

Braving the waves, the Saltfish slowly approached the giant port filled with modern industrial atmosphere.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Li Chengqian looked at the officials on the shore, dressed in special work clothes, who were methodically directing the loading and unloading, and had only one thought in his mind.

"Old man, just how big of a trap have you left for me?"

"Why do I suddenly feel a little hesitant to disembark from this Tang Dynasty?"

Wu Meiniang walked over, looked at the shocking scene, and chuckled softly, "It seems His Majesty is really waiting for you to come back and 'make a big splash'."

Li Chengqian forced a stiff smile: "Work? Look at my entourage, do I look like I'm back to work?"

"Your Highness, the officials who are to greet you are already lining up on the shore."

Li Chengqian looked closely and saw that the leader was Fang Xuanling. However, the old prime minister was now wearing a tight-fitting short shirt and holding a strange metal megaphone.

"Welcome back to the capital, Your Highness! His Majesty has decreed that Your Highness must proceed to the Taiji Palace immediately; a 'Global Power Grid Agreement' awaits your signature!"

Fang Xuanling's voice, amplified through the loudspeaker, caused seagulls to scatter in disarray.

Li Chengqian's legs went weak, and he almost fell back into the recliner.

"Old Xu, quick, turn the boat around! We're going to catch penguins, right now!"

"Your Highness, it's too late! The magnetic chocks at the dock are already secured!"

"Heaven has forsaken me!"