Tang Dynasty: To win Yang Guifei, they asked Emperor Xuanzong to die.

Li Longji and Li Mao stared at each other for a moment.

Suddenly, he said, "Mao'er, what do you find troublesome? Can't you take on this matter?"

It was naturally a tricky situation. Although supervising the repair and maintenance of Ningyuan might seem like a small responsibility, it was actually quite heavy and involved a lot of time. But for Li Mao, none of this mattered. He wanted to use Ningyuan to build his own great career.

But he couldn't tell Li Longji this idea, so he could only pretend to be troubled and say, "Father, my ambition is not in this. I still want to conquer all directions and protect the country and its people."

“We are living in a peaceful and prosperous era. An Lushan has been driven away by us. What is there to talk about conquering all sides?” Li Longji retorted. “If there is no war, are you just going to do nothing? Besides, you should go and oversee the affairs of Ningyuan first. Once you have a chance to show your skills on the battlefield, it’s not too late for you to go into battle and kill the enemy!”

"But……"

"No buts, you're in charge of this!" Li Longji refused to let Li Mao off the hook.

After a brief struggle, Li Mao hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and saying, "Father, I am willing to accept this task. But at the same time, you must trust me wholeheartedly and entrust everything in Ningyuan to me. I promise to give you a satisfactory answer."

Upon hearing this, Li Longji's expression brightened with joy.

He immediately said, "Good, you are indeed my good son. I am at ease entrusting this matter to you. As for the authority you mentioned, as the Grand Commander of Ningyuan, you will be in charge of the entire renovation and maintenance work, and will have full authority to handle related matters. As for the allocation of funds, I will also instruct the court officials to place this matter in an important position and to give you priority in allocating funds."

The construction of Ningyuan Garden naturally required the introduction of many exotic flowers, rare plants, and unusual animals.

The money required for this could probably pile up into mountains of gold and silver.

Therefore, Li Longji's words provided Li Mao with a considerable outlet for his money.

In addition, the jurisdiction over the vast Ningyuan Garden was already a significant benefit for Li Mao.

Li Mao immediately felt reassured. He bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you, Father! Your son will certainly live up to your expectations and will renovate Ning Garden beautifully to your satisfaction."

Li Longji waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's get started as soon as possible. I will send craftsmen and Imperial Guards to assist you, and all expenses will be borne by the court. If there is any need, please report to me at any time."

Li Mao agreed and then took his leave.

As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, he felt a surge of energy coursing through his body.

Ningyuan will be a good place for him to show off his skills.

He wants to fight a tough battle here; it's not as simple as building a resort.

Meanwhile, in Chang'an City, also known as the Music Hall.

Li Linfu is already searching far and wide for suitable women from music troupes.

He knew how much His Highness Prince Shou valued this mission and dared not be negligent in the slightest.

Throughout the day, he found several candidates who he considered suitable and who shared some similarities with Wusun Yaru. He wrote them down one by one, intending to submit them to Li Mao at a later date.

Li Mao soon took office as the Grand Commander of Ningyuan Garden, and conducted extensive investigations and research in Ningyuan Garden, and replanned the entire garden.

The landscape architect expressed his confusion about one of the expanded open spaces, asking, "If this place were developed, it could easily become a beautiful leisure spot, with artificial hills and fish ponds. But Your Highness, why did you design this place as an empty space? Isn't it a bit of a waste of space?"

“That’s what you don’t understand, Master,” Li Mao said with a smile. “I have a detachment of the Imperial Guard under my command, which was specially assigned to me by my father to guard the royal gardens. The Imperial Guard is the palace’s imperial guard, and they must train every day to ensure their ability to protect the palace. If they were to slack off in guarding Ning Garden, wouldn’t that be a crime?”

Therefore, Li Mao specially designed an open space to serve as a training ground for the Imperial Guards of Ningyuan.

Li Mao made the matter sound very serious, and the gardener dared not say anything more.

He could only force a smile and say, "Yes, yes! His Highness Prince Shou is absolutely right."

Having dealt with the gardener, Li Mao headed to the specially reserved training ground.

Li Mao stood in the empty training ground, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

—In fact, this place was not prepared for the Imperial Guards as he just said; it was a training ground for his own private army in the future!

The future is uncertain. Crown Prince Li Heng is incompetent, and Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji) is capricious. As a prince with some ability who is easily targeted, he needs a reliable armed force to protect himself.

Li Mao nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the gardener beside him and said, "The design here is very good. Continue with this plan. Report any changes to me immediately."

The gardener bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

In the following days, Li Mao was busy overseeing the renovation of Ningyuan Garden.

This step must be taken with care; he must not let outsiders discover his ambition.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Chang'an, a dilapidated factory that had been neglected for a long time was transformed into a fireworks factory almost overnight...

At that time, Tianji Pavilion.

Gao Lishi stared at the intelligence he had recently received and muttered to himself, "Our dynasty has strict regulations on gunpowder. Anything involving gunpowder is strictly controlled. The main material for fireworks and firecrackers is gunpowder, and it has always been a government-run operation. Private businesses of this kind are absolutely not allowed."

"Investigate the background of this fireworks factory immediately, find out when they obtained permission from the imperial court, and who is the owner behind it," Gao Lishi ordered his subordinates without hesitation.

The subordinate quickly replied, "Yes, sir!"

However, this fireworks factory is very mysterious, like an impenetrable fortress.

Even the secret agents of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion were unable to uncover any truth from it.

That being the case...

Gao Lishi slammed his hand on the table and said, "I refuse to believe that there could be such lawless people in Chang'an. In that case, I'll see for myself who this factory is."

Not long after, Gao Lishi personally went to the fireworks factory.

Upon entering the factory area, one is greeted by a bustling scene.

Boxes of fireworks and firecrackers, such as ground squirrels and crape myrtle, were carried out.

One of the foremen said very carefully, "Be careful, everyone, don't bump into anything. Our boss isn't an ordinary person; he rewards good work and punishes bad work!"

As the foreman spoke, Gao Lishi stepped forward.

He bowed respectfully and said, "I was unaware of your presence, sir. I apologize for not welcoming you properly."

Nowadays, Gao Lishi is no longer a palace eunuch; ordinary people would address him as Lord Gao.