Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

The Tang Dynasty Daily reported: "On the first day of the eighth month of the Zhenguan era, the Prince of Han, concurrently the Prefect of Dengzhou, of Hedong Circuit, officially announced that the first warship of our dynasty with a displacement of more than two tons, or 300,000 shi, the Zhenguan Treasure Ship Kaihaihao, has been officially delivered!"

"it is good!!!"

"My third brother has indeed not disappointed me! The project, which was originally expected to be completed by the end of this year, has been completed several months ahead of schedule! That's wonderful!"

"Ha ha ha ha......"

In the Xiande Hall, Li Chengqian's loud laughter was unrestrained and powerful.

Consequently, the female officials on duty in the secretariat today were also curious about what kind of ship could excite His Highness the Crown Prince so much.

Wang De stood to the side with a smile, bowing to offer his congratulations.

"Congratulations, Your Highness! This servant can hardly believe how magnificent a ship that is forty-four zhang long must be. Is it some kind of palace on the sea?"

Beside him, Gao Hai nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Yes, Your Highness, with such a large ship, if Your Highness wishes to take action against those uncouth barbarians like Goguryeo, you can easily proceed by both sea and land..."

Li Chengqian nodded, his eyes filled with excitement as he looked at the report from Li Ke, the Prince of Han, in his hand.

"Your Highness, this is only the Kaihai. At the Dengzhou Shipyard, two other treasure ships of the same size, the Zhenhai and Qinghai, are under construction at the same time. Now that the Kaihai has successfully completed its sea trials, the remaining two should be fully completed in at least two months..."

The messenger from the Han Dynasty, who had come to deliver the message, spoke with a smile.

Li Chengqian's face showed even greater satisfaction.

"Very well, very well. I have an agreement with the Soga clan of Japan that we can build a port in Japan for military deployment and the transfer of supplies. Now, we can take this opportunity to officially begin construction..."

His eyes gleamed with excitement.

The "Zhenguan Treasure Ship" that he ordered to be built is now the largest sea warship in the entire Tang Dynasty, and even in the world.

It is 44 zhang long and 18 zhang wide, which translates to 147 meters long and 60 meters wide.

In addition, there is some internal steel structure reinforcement.

It is equipped with dedicated catapults and ballistae for launching gunpowder canisters or explosive bolts.

Based on the Thunder God Crossbow, the Thunderclap Ballista, an improved version, surpassed even early artillery in accuracy, range, and lethality.

"When you go back this time, tell my third brother that he doesn't need to worry about the consumption or the lack of manpower and supplies. If he needs anything, just tell me and I will find a way to send it to him immediately. I only have one request."

Li Chengqian excitedly extended a finger, his gaze fixed intently on the messenger from the Han Kingdom before him.

"He ordered me to build ships at full capacity. Treasure ships and other types of ships involving a lot of secrets were built by the Dengzhou Shipyard, but other ships of different sizes that were to be equipped for the fleet could be contracted out to private merchants or local powerful families for construction."

"I don't care about anything else. Within a year, I want to see the Dengzhou fleet have at least thirty treasure ships and hundreds of other types of warships!"

A layer of sweat instantly appeared on the messenger's forehead.

"One, a year?!"

Although the messenger was merely a messenger, he was stunned by the request from Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

"This, Your Highness, isn't a year a bit too tight...?" He really wanted to say that it was a bit of wishful thinking.

However, for a mere messenger to speak between the King of Han and the Crown Prince was already an act of usurpation.

At this moment, he could only speak softly and awkwardly.

Hear the words.

Li Chengqian pondered for a moment, then suddenly beckoned to Wang De beside him.

"Go, summon the Duke of Ying to me!"

Just as Wang De was leaving the palace...

At this moment, Li Chengqian turned his gaze to Qianlou, the commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was standing to the side.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has been deployed in Goguryeo for some time now, hasn't it? What's the situation there lately?"

"Your Highness, Goguryeo has indeed been making some moves recently..." Qianlou paused, glanced at the messenger beside him, and saw that the Crown Prince did not intend to avoid the conversation.

He immediately continued speaking.

"Over there in Goguryeo, through smuggling caravans and some of our own intelligence agents, we've gathered a lot of information about Bingzhou Road. Although it's delayed, it seems that Goguryeo is preparing to follow Your Highness's example and implement new policies..."

Li Chengqian, who had just picked up a cup of tea, suddenly froze.

He looked up in surprise, but his expression was one of "Are you kidding me?"

Qianlou bowed his head.

“Your Highness, that is indeed the case. Now, just like Your Highness’s Bingzhou Province, a New Policy Implementation Office has been established in Goguryeo. The person in charge is named Choi Hyo-ri. Although he is publicly stated to be of noble birth in Goguryeo, the Embroidered Uniform Guard discovered that he has signs of disguise.”

"It should be someone from the Cui family of Qinghe..."

"Heh... What a Goguryeo! What a Go Geonmu! What a Yeon Taejo!" Li Chengqian sneered as he slowly put down his teacup.

"Is this burying one's head in the sand? Or is it a covert maneuver? These Goguryeo people have truly impressed me!"

Qianlou bowed his head and asked respectfully.

"Your Highness, Goguryeo is so well-infiltrated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard that it's practically a sieve. I can directly order the arrest of Cui Mingan and his remnant clan leaders from the Qinghe Cui family..."

"No need!"

Li Chengqian smiled coldly, his eyes full of mockery.

"If we really go to war with Goguryeo now, the losses we suffer domestically will not even be as great as the profits we make abroad. It will be a completely unprofitable deal!"

"Since the remnants of aristocratic families and those guys from Goguryeo think they're something special and want to implement new policies, then let them do it!"

"The King of Goryeo and the others also want to dance... so why should I ruin this rare comedy that is about to begin?"

Li Chengqian glanced indifferently at Qianlou.

"The infiltration of the Embroidered Uniform Guard must not stop. Goguryeo wants to learn from my new policies, and I am quite curious... Will they start with land reform or with reform of officials?"

Wu Shiyue was quickly brought by Wang De, and he was a little out of breath from the journey.

As soon as he entered Xiande Hall and came before Li Chengqian, before he could even bow, Li Chengqian waved his hand.

"Alright, now that the Great Tang Construction Bank has been established and you are basically familiar with its various operations, I happen to have a project that I need you to take the lead in..."

"Your Highness, please speak."

Li Chengqian smiled slightly and took out a document from the drawer that had been prepared several months earlier when Li Ke set off for Dengzhou.

Hand it to the other party.

Beside him, Gao Hai pushed over a signboard with a geomantic map that could almost be called a treasure.

Li Chengqian stood up and walked to the geomantic map.

Under the astonished gaze of Wu Shiyue, he pointed to several locations between the three countries of Tang Dynasty, Goguryeo, and Japan.

"Now that our Great Tang's Zhenguan treasure ships have successfully completed their trial voyages, the focus of our Bingzhou Circuit will inevitably shift to the maritime borders of our Great Tang and the surrounding countries..."

Li Chengqian's voice carried a unique calmness and decisiveness.

It's like a top chef directing his team of chefs to cook.

He pointed to the location of Dengzhou on the geomantic map.

"The Dengzhou Shipyard will be expanded to include at least ten dry docks."

Samurai's temple twitched, and his throat felt a little itchy.

He already realized what His Highness wanted him to do next...

"This is Jeju Island. Baekje and Silla both claim this place as theirs, but I declare today that this place belongs to our Great Tang! I intend to build a large military port here, along with basic city walls, and also assist in the local land reclamation."

Samurai Go was already wiping his sweat.

"This is a small vassal state within Japan called Tsukushi Province, but I prefer to call it Fukuoka. The Soga clan has already signed a treaty of treason, and this so-called Tsukushi Province will cease to exist in the future."

"Take their cities and ports, and that will be the future concession of our Great Tang Dynasty in Japan!"

Wu Shiyue was already starting to worry whether the Tang Dynasty Construction Bank had enough silver reserves to cause such a commotion.

"And here, Gaya, which was originally established by the Byeonhan and Mahan people and was occupied by Silla, will henceforth be called Busan by me. Isn't Silla always fighting with Goguryeo? Didn't the Queen of Silla ask my father for help several times?"

"I will explain to my father that Busan will be established as an external military base for our Great Tang Dynasty, with a port built and troops stationed there..."

"And here..."

Li Chengqian pointed with one hand directly to the island between Japan and the peninsula, marked "Tsushima Island".

Samurai Go was no longer able to hold on.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, are you asking the Great Tang Construction Bank to provide investment loans for the ports and cities to be built in these areas?"

Li Chengqian nodded.

"No money!"

Li Chengqian: "???"

Lao Tzu.....

He instantly reached for the jeweled hilt of his spear at his waist. I haven't even told you what to do yet.

You look like you're about to die.

Upon seeing Li Chengqian's action, Wu Shiyue knelt down with a thud.

"Your Highness, the Royal Construction Bank has now approved the construction of the expressway from Taiyuan to Chang'an. This is a project with a slow return on investment; in your words, the repayment period is slow."

"There are also the upgrades and expansions of the Taiyuan Iron and Steel Plant, the expansions of the Qinghe County Iron and Steel Plant and Forging Plant, the Liulichang, Clock and Watch Factory, Soap Factory, and loans applied for by some merchants in the city for the renovation of hotels and shops."

"The Royal Construction Bank is indeed a large and powerful entity, but... it simply doesn't have that much silver right now!"

Li Chengqian glared at him in annoyance.

"Do you think I don't know that the bank doesn't have enough money?"

"If the banks have no money, don't the powerful clans and local magnates of the Tang Dynasty have money too?!"

A figure, beaming with joy and holding a revenue report from Yanmenguan regarding the aquaculture area, froze instantly as he approached the entrance of Xiande Hall.

Wang Ming: "......???"