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

As soon as Li Chengqian finished speaking, under Li Shimin's surprised and uncertain gaze, he casually made a light slash in the air.

"Buzz—"

A subtle yet resonant electronic hum suddenly reverberated through the tense atmosphere of the Taiji Hall. In that instant, Li Chengqian retrieved a weighty legal code radiating a deep blue holographic light from the system database. The light rippled like water, instantly transforming the entire hall into a dreamlike spectacle.

Immediately afterwards, rows of large and powerful golden characters cascaded down like a waterfall, projecting word by word onto the virtual light screen in mid-air above the Taiji Hall.

[Datang Global Labor Rights Protection Act (Trial Version)]

These words were like a powerful bomb, slamming into the heads of all the feudal monarchs and their ministers present, leaving them seeing stars.

Article 1: All employees within the territory of the Great Tang shall strictly adhere to an eight-hour workday.

Article 2: For every five working days, two days of mandatory rest must be taken. It is strictly forbidden to deprive workers of their weekends for any reason.

Article 3: For any employee working beyond the stipulated hours, the employer shall pay overtime pay of one and a half to three times the normal rate, with no upper limit.

As these clauses appeared line by line, the atmosphere in the hall became extremely eerie.

Li Shimin was leaning forward, his bloodshot eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. His handsome face was contorted with absurdity, and his breathing was frighteningly rapid. He couldn't understand, he truly couldn't comprehend, why bother setting aside rest time for those laborers, and even paying them unheard-of "overtime pay"?

In his view, I have given them the opportunity to eat their fill and the honor of working in the Tang Dynasty factories, so they should die like oxen in the trough.

"You unfilial son... have you gone mad, or are you really trying to empty my treasury?"

Li Shimin pointed at the terms in mid-air, his voice trembling violently, his fingertips shaking uncontrollably from extreme astonishment.

"Eight hours? Two days without work? And you want extra pay? Do you know how long it takes to smelt a batch of steel in North America? Do you know how many strings of cash my steel production will drop because of your vacation?"

Seeing his father's naive and unsophisticated demeanor, Li Chengqian wasn't angry at all. Instead, he gave him a kind smile, like a wolf in sheep's clothing. He slowly walked forward and slammed the words "overtime pay" on the holographic screen.

"Father, you are a typical example of only seeing the thief get beaten, but not seeing the thief get rich."

Li Chengqian spoke slowly, but every word he uttered carried the ruthlessness of modern capitalist logic.

"If you want a horse to run, you have to feed it plenty of grass at night. You used to treat people like cattle and horses, and when those cattle and horses died, you had to buy new ones. Nowadays, workers are the precise gears of the empire. If you wear down those gears, the whole machine will be ruined."

"Furthermore, what will the workers do when they have spare money and leisure time? They will buy canned goods produced by Datang, shop at Datang Chamber of Commerce supermarkets, and ride Datang's various modes of transportation. This is called consumption giving back to the economy, this is called internal circulation. Money only becomes wealth when it flows; money lying in your private coffers and getting moldy is just scrap metal."

Before Li Chengqian could finish his "lower-dimensional brainwashing" routine, the camera quickly cut to the group of executive directors sitting in the audience.

Fang Xuanling's hands trembled, and Changsun Wuji's usually shrewd and calculating face was now deathly pale. As the representatives of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families and other powerful clans in the court, they represented the newest and most cutting-edge capitalists and established nobles of the Tang Dynasty.

They were frantically calculating the invisible abacus in their minds, and with each increase in labor costs they calculated, their hearts clenched painfully.

This isn't a legal code; it's clearly tearing their flesh and bleeding them dry!

Changsun Wuji finally couldn't hold back any longer.

His once meticulously groomed official robes now appeared somewhat disheveled. Disregarding the dignity of a prime minister, his knees buckled, and he knelt heavily on the hard and cold bluestone floor with a "thud."

"Your Majesty! You mustn't!"

Changsun Wuji's voice, tinged with sorrowful sobs, echoed in the empty hall.

"Your Highness's plan is a policy that shakes the very foundation of the nation! If this plan is implemented, merchants throughout the Tang Dynasty will have no profit to make, and major factories will inevitably face bankruptcy and closure! This is self-destruction, and it is tempting the people to become greedy!"

This cry was like a signal.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of people knelt down in the hall. Those high-ranking officials who usually considered themselves the elite of the Tang Dynasty were now emaciated, threatening suicide, and frantically pounding on the floor.

"Your Majesty, please rescind your decree! Abolish these absurd laws!"

"We, your humble servants, are willing to stake our lives on this law: if it is enacted, the world will surely descend into chaos!"

The frenzied backlash caused by the threat to their interests coalesced into a suppressed wave of energy that surged through the hall.

Li Shimin looked down at the kneeling officials below, tears streaming down their faces, his expression turning ashen. His breathing was heavy, like iron being roasted over a fire. He knew, of course, what Changsun Wuji and the others were worried about; he too felt the pain of his own sinking empire.

He turned his head sharply, staring intently at Li Chengqian, his tone filled with sarcasm and a sense of powerlessness.

"Li Chengqian, did you see that?"

Li Shimin pointed to the ministers below, who were in a state of chaos, and the secret memorials from powerful officials who were constantly flooding the screen with opposition.

"This is the system you wanted? Before it even got out, my 'executive directors' are already rebelling! How am I supposed to push it through? How am I supposed to explain this to all these wolves and tigers eager to devour their prey?"

Li Shimin's eyes were bloodshot, and the rage born of being driven to the brink of despair resurfaced.

Li Chengqian looked at the ministers who were throwing a tantrum on the ground, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a mischievous and confident smile.

His clear eyes gleamed with a calculating light. This relaxed demeanor seemed utterly out of place in the tense atmosphere of the hall.

He reached out and patted off non-existent dust from his trench coat, chuckling softly.

"Father, don't be so quick to glare. Since they find it hard and think this job is impossible, then you, as the chairman, need to personally step in and set an example."

Li Chengqian smiled as he looked at Li Shimin, his eyes revealing a deep meaning that sent chills down his father's spine.

"Don't you always feel that they are disobedient? Then I've prepared a global live broadcast for you, so you can be the most dazzling... working soul of the Tang Dynasty."

Looking at the ministers kneeling below, threatening suicide to refuse the implementation of the new laws, Li Shimin's face turned ashen. He turned to Li Chengqian and said, "Is this your system? It hasn't even been issued yet, and these board members are already rebelling!" Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Father, this is where you, the chairman, need to personally set an example."