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

Li Chengqian gently pressed his long, jade-like fingertips on the fine, hair-like patterns on the edge of the silver disc.

"Buzz—"

A very soft, very pleasant vibration rippled through the deathly silent imperial study in that instant.

In the center of the ruins, which was originally dark and even smelled of burning, a beam of pure, deep blue light suddenly burst forth without warning. This beam of light was like a miracle emerging from the abyss, instantly intertwining, coiling, and recombining in the very center of the imperial study. In the time it took to breathe, it transformed into a huge, transparent virtual holographic light screen.

In that instant, the colors of the entire room were completely transformed.

Countless red and green candlesticks, composed of tiny photons, danced merrily in the air like a group of lively streams of fire. The financial system of the Tang Dynasty differed from that of the other world; red represented an unstoppable surge, while green signified a devastating crash.

At this moment, the densely packed red bar graphs representing the global industries of the Tang Dynasty on the light screen were radiating an almost bewitching glow. The light and shadow flickered on the broken sandalwood furniture and were reflected even more precisely on Li Shimin's heroic face, which was filled with astonishment and disbelief.

Li Shimin even forgot to breathe at that moment.

His eyes, which were originally bloodshot, now reflected the dark red curve that stretched across the entire light screen and was shooting upwards at an almost vertical angle. The interplay of deep blue and dark red outlined every fine hair on his face and every wrinkle caused by muscle tremors with exquisite detail.

He felt as if his retina had been brutally struck by some higher-dimensional force. This ultimate visual splendor was more breathtaking than anything he had ever seen when he commanded thousands of troops and ascended the summit of Mount Tai.

Hiding behind the screen, Wang De was completely stunned. The fear that had been on his old face was replaced by an almost sacred awe, and his jaw dropped to an exaggerated angle. In his eyes, this was no chart; it was clearly the Qiankun Mirror that His Highness the Crown Prince had borrowed from the Celestial Realm.

Looking at the old man's naive and unsophisticated appearance, Li Chengqian smiled faintly, as if he had everything under control.

He slowly stood up and walked to the huge virtual light screen.

His slender figure was stretched long in the light and shadow. He casually swept his right hand in the air, and the originally chaotic data flow instantly calmed down, leaving only a set of the most impactful core data.

"Father, don't be so quick to glare. Let me explain to you what 'surprise' means."

Li Chengqian's voice was clear and crisp, carrying a sense of composure as if he were looking down upon all living beings. He pointed to the astronomical number at the very top of the light screen, which was fluctuating exponentially.

"First, look at this. This is called GDP. In the words of our Great Tang Dynasty, this is called Global Gross Income. It encompasses everything from a single rivet in a North American arsenal to a single grain of rice on a South American farm. This is no longer the muddled accounts that the old men in the Ministry of Revenue would have to calculate for half a month, but the total wealth that the entire earth is producing for you right now."

Li Shimin's Adam's apple bobbed laboriously, his voice hoarse from excessive dryness: "In the blink of an eye... all the wealth in the world... can be so clearly laid out before me?"

"This is just the tip of the iceberg, Father."

Li Chengqian spoke slowly, but every word was like a barrage of heavy artillery fire, precisely striking at Li Shimin's imperial defenses.

"Look at this next item. This is the 'profit base' I just mentioned. To put it more professionally, it's called the net profit margin. It automatically deducts those headache-inducing military expenses, the salaries of officials, disaster relief funds for disaster areas, and even the trivial expenses of the harem. What's left is the pure profit that you can squander as you please, and that the Li family descendants could live off for ten thousand years without ever running out."

Li Chengqian lightly tapped his finger in the air, and the steep, upward-pointing red line suddenly exploded, transforming into countless shimmering gold coin patterns, which then converged into a clear profit growth table.

"What does this mean, Father?"

"This means that as long as this number keeps rising, even if you're fishing in the Royal Garden or sunbathing in Hawaii, all the tycoons and craftsmen in the world will be working themselves to the bone for you. You no longer need to worry about the trivial matters of a county or a village; you only need to keep an eye on this dragon-like curve. As long as it doesn't bow down, the world will be as stable as Mount Tai."

At this moment, Li Shimin's previously tense shoulders had completely slumped into the chair.

His large hands, which had once gripped longswords and could even draw powerful bows, were now trembling slightly with extreme excitement and fear. This sense of accomplishment, this feeling of controlling the world through absolute numbers and logic, was more direct and intense than beheading ten thousand enemy soldiers on the battlefield.

That was a sublimation of power.

He went from being a "workhorse" who had to do everything himself to a "creator" who sits on the clouds and looks down on all living beings.

Li Shimin's gaze was fixed on the asset curve, which surged like a red dragon, as if that curve had become the blood coursing through his veins. His pupils reflected the fluctuating data, and with each tick of the numbers, his heart pounded faster in his chest.

His psychological defenses collapsed completely, from the inside out, in that very second.

The majesty of emperors and the ancestral precept of personally attending to every matter seem so ridiculous and outdated in the face of these numbers that could buy the stars and the sea.

His previously wary gaze towards Li Chengqian was now completely replaced by a gleam of "fervor." His breathing was rapid, like that of a traveler who had just run ten miles across the Gobi Desert.

This poison called "capital and efficiency" was wrapped in the honey called "chairman" by Li Chengqian and fed into the throat of this emperor of all ages.

"This thing..."

Li Shimin finally regained a sliver of his voice.

Overwhelmed with excitement, his voice even cracked slightly, sounding particularly jarring in the empty and messy imperial study, yet possessing an indescribable magic. His eyes, slightly clouded from years of reviewing memorials, shone with an astonishing brightness at that moment.

He raised his right hand, trembling, trying to touch the illusory yet incredibly real red dragon shadow with his fingertips. His fingertips passed through the light barrier, creating ripples of tiny photons.

Li Shimin's gaze was completely fixed on the red dragon curve representing total assets. He swallowed hard and asked in a hoarse voice, "This thing... can be controlled without approving memorials?"