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

East Palace.

"Your Highness, this is something I made according to the proportions you specified. I haven't tested its exact power yet, but... can this thing really have the terrifying power you described?"

Wearing the robes of a sixth-rank official of the Eastern Palace Chamberlain's Office, and holding the position of Junior Chamberlain of the Eastern Palace, responsible for various construction projects within the Eastern Palace—equivalent to his own father, the Minister of Works—Mo Yi reported with utmost respect.

Beside him were a dozen or so master craftsmen, also dressed in the official robes of the Eastern Palace's artisans.

Li Tai stroked the pottery jars on the cart in front of him with a puzzled look on his face.

His face was still full of disbelief.

"Brother, is this the divine weapon you spoke of that could rout the Turkic cavalry?"

Don't blame Li Tai for not believing it. Just based on its appearance, which is almost indistinguishable from a miniature pickling jar, no one else would be able to associate it with the word "miracle".

Li Chengqian smiled faintly, did not answer him, and instead looked at Mo Yi.

"Elder Mo, did you add the iron sand I mentioned?"

Mo Yi nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness, everything is prepared according to the proportions you provided. This old minister personally oversaw the process, and there are absolutely no mistakes."

Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction.

Regardless of the top craftsman in front of him, whose true value could even surpass that of the [Dragon Essence Fruit] he had consumed, Li Chengqian regarded him and the five hundred craftsmen under his command.

That's almost no different from treating a precious baby.

They even temporarily used the vacant Qin Prince's Mansion as "dormitory" for these craftsmen.

"Xue Wanche! Take a group of men and come with me out of the city!"

The Crown Prince left the palace.

This was the first time Li Chengqian had left the palace since he was named Crown Prince.

As per the agreement previously reached with his own emperor, Li Chengqian sent Jing Junhong to report, only mentioning that the destination was outside Chang'an City, to the suburbs.

Ganlu Temple.

Li Shimin frowned slightly as he looked at Jing Junhong in front of him.

"The Crown Prince didn't say what he was going to do outside the city."

Jing Junhong bowed his head.

"Yes, Your Majesty. His Highness the Crown Prince only instructed that some experiments need to be conducted. I don't know the specifics, but he will definitely return to the palace before curfew."

experiment?

That is indeed a rather novel term.

However, he had more things to do at the moment, so Li Shimin waved his hand, signaling the other party to step down.

"Alas, my son, sometimes I really feel like a stranger to him. I know Chengqian is skilled in martial arts, but I never imagined he would possess such formidable strength..."

Li Shimin sighed.

Beside him, Changsun Wuji chuckled softly.

"Some time ago in the court, His Highness the Crown Prince recited the poem, 'If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would not dare to cross the Yin Mountains.' I still often find myself reminiscing about it. It is a blessing for Your Majesty and the Tang Dynasty to have such a talented Crown Prince who is both a scholar and a warrior."

Li Shimin nodded, but it was unclear whether he agreed or simply hadn't taken it to heart.

"Well, it's good enough that he doesn't cause me any trouble. I'm afraid that one day this brat will do something reckless and start some kind of revolution."

The thought of this damned "recreating the world" gave Li Shimin another headache.

"Gongjin, how's the registration process at the Ministry of Rites? How much have the five prominent families and seven noble clans donated?"

......

"Brother, was this sister sent to you by Father?"

Inside the carriage of the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian frowned, picked up his pen, and began sketching lines on the paper on the table in front of him.

Li Tai sat to one side, but at this moment, he clearly did not yet possess the composure and competence he would have shown in literature and academic research in the future. The carriage had only been traveling for a short while after leaving the palace.

His eyes kept looking out the window.

Suddenly, I noticed Qian Yingying, who was riding outside the carriage, looking as capable and beautiful as any man.

A look of amazement and envy flashed in his eyes.

Li Chengqian raised his head slightly.

"What? Missing women?"

"Hmph! If you dare to have any ulterior motives at your age, see if I dare to break your legs!"

The emperor's elder brother and the crown prince's authority was brought out, and Li Tai, who was originally a little uneasy, immediately became obedient.

However, looking at the other party's current appearance...

Perhaps because of the parallel world, Li Chengqian is already thirteen or fourteen years old this year, while Li Tai, who is only one year younger than him, has also entered the most reckless period of adolescence.

"Ahem, after we return to the palace today, I will ask my father for permission to let you move into the East Palace as well, so that I can look after you."

"what?"

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes.

"What? Qingque, you don't seem too willing?"

Li Tai's already round face froze instantly.

Noticing his older brother's ambiguous smile, he immediately shuddered and shook his head repeatedly.

"No, no, no, how could that be? My brother and I are born of the same mother. Living with him will make it much easier to help him in the future. I'm overjoyed! It's just... that's the Eastern Palace after all, and he's the Crown Prince..."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, giving the other party no excuse to refuse.

"Don't worry about these things, your father and I will handle them ourselves."

As they were talking, the carriage from the Eastern Palace had already traveled along Zhuque Avenue in Chang'an, heading out of the city.

Li Chengqian looked out the window at the people whose faces were mostly pale and sickly, and his expression gradually became serious.

Take a deep breath.

"In this battle against the Turks, we must achieve the greatest results with the fastest speed, the fiercest attack, and the least losses; otherwise, we absolutely cannot drag it out for too long."

Li Chengqian murmured.

Acting like a war maniac in court was meant to intimidate some people. If Li Chengqian actually did that, he would truly be letting down the education he received in his previous life.

"We must drive the Turks out of the Tang Dynasty as soon as possible, stabilize the northern border, and then immediately mobilize our forces to solve the problem of food shortage in our Tang Dynasty."

Li Tai listened quietly from the side.

As Li Chengqian spoke, he lightly traced an arc in the southeast direction of the hand-drawn geomantic map in front of him with his brush.

"Brother, is this Linyi?"

Li Chengqian looked at him with surprise: "You know?"

Li Tai nodded.

"A few years ago, the King of Linyi seemed to be surnamed Fan. He once paid tribute to the Emperor and sent many novelties."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian let out a cold laugh.

"These wild men from the mountains only bring some strange rocks and birds. They haven't brought any truly good things, or rather, anything truly good for our Great Tang Dynasty."

Li Tai was puzzled, but Li Chengqian was pointing to the location of the Lin Yi Kingdom that he had drawn up.

Gritting his teeth secretly.

"If our Great Tang Dynasty can take this place, we will gain the granary of the world!"

Li Chengqian suddenly called out to Qian Yingying, who was standing side by side with him on horseback outside the carriage.

"Yingying, order the Shadow Guards to focus on gathering information about the Kingdom of Linyi from this day forward. If any merchants from the Kingdom of Linyi appear in Chang'an, bring them to see me!"

Qian Yingying's eyes sharpened instantly, realizing the importance of the matter the Crown Prince was referring to.

"Subordinates take orders!"

Then, with the guards of the Eastern Palace leading the way, the carriage quickly drove out of the city, and after traveling for a while, it finally arrived at the foot of a desolate mountain.

The scattered stones, along with the surrounding lush and beautiful forest, were laid out by the Eastern Palace guards. Soon after, Shao Zhan Cheng Mo Yi, who had accompanied them out of the palace, immediately began preparations with his master craftsmen.

"Brother, did we leave the city just to test these jars?"

Li Chengqian nodded, but a confident smile, which Li Tai couldn't understand, played on his lips.

"Qingque, I know you don't believe these things can be as powerful as I say. You'll see for yourself in a moment, and then you'll know. But before that, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Li Taiyi thought to himself, "Is my imperial brother testing me?"

"Please speak, Your Majesty!"

"What do you think is the truth of this world today?"

Li Tai was taken aback. What kind of question was this?

“Brother, the truth of this world is naturally the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, which have been passed down for hundreds of years in China. Whether it was the previous dynasty, our grandfather, or our father, they all needed to study the truths of governing the country.”

Confucius once said that the way a gentleman follows should be the truth of the world. Isn't this the teaching of Confucius and Mencius?

However, upon hearing these words, a cold glint flashed in Li Chengqian's eyes.

"Ha, the doctrines of Confucius and Mencius are actually worthy of being called truth? Qingque, if ordinary people, officials, or commoners regarded the doctrines of Confucius and Mencius as truth and regarded them as the guiding principles, I wouldn't say anything, but..."

He paused slightly, then suddenly stared at the other person with a serious gaze that made Li Tai tremble involuntarily.

"But in the royal family, remember that the true truth lies in the terrifying power that only we hold in our hands, the power to overthrow the state and rebuild the world at any time!"

Li Tai was puzzled.

"Is Your Majesty referring to the Tang army?"

Li Chengqian nodded, then shook his head.

Seeing that Mo Yi had already indicated that he was ready, she reached out and gently patted his shoulder.

"Blue Sparrow, times have changed. Today I will show you what true truth really is..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he swung one of his hands down.

far away.

Xue Wanche, who was holding a tinderbox and twisting a twig of fuse, immediately brought the tinderbox closer.

"Zizzizi..."

The fuse was ignited in an instant.

Xue Wanche immediately followed Mo Yi's instructions and ran wildly towards a boulder in the distance.

"Brother Royal..."

"Boom!!!"

"Whoosh! Splash..."

A terrifying explosion followed, causing the ground beneath their feet to tremble. In the distance, from the direction where Mo Yi and his group had buried the jars, a plume of terrifying black smoke suddenly rose.

With a violent roar and booming sound.

Earth and rocks flew hundreds of meters, slamming heavily against the large shields of the Eastern Palace Guards in front of Li Chengqian and his companions.

The loud "bang bang bang" sounds made their arms go numb.

At the moment.

Everyone except Li Chengqian, including Li Tai, Mo Yi (the person in charge of the explosives' production), and Xue Wanche (the commander of the Eastern Palace), were all dumbfounded.

"Is this...is this divine wrath?!"

Li Tai, trembling with fear, grabbed Li Chengqian's arm.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what... what is this? Just now... could it really be a heavenly lightning technique?"

Li Chengqian laughed heartily.

"Heavenly Thunder Technique? Heavenly Thunder Technique may exist in the world, but what just happened was definitely not heavenly thunder, but explosives!"

One part sulfur, two parts nitrates, three parts charcoal, add a little white sugar, and you have a big Ivan.

To prepare these things, immediately after ascending to the throne, he ordered Mo Yi to lead five hundred master craftsmen and expend a large amount of resources to produce these pottery explosives.

"Your Highness..." Xue Wanche ran over tremblingly.

Even though he was considered a fierce general, his legs suddenly went weak and he lost his footing. As he ran over, he knelt down in front of Li Chengqian.

His face was deathly pale, as if a female ghost had drained most of his yang energy.

His body trembled uncontrollably, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

This is why he had just obediently listened to the words of the young Chancellor, whom even His Highness the Crown Prince greatly respected.

Otherwise, if we had been delayed for a moment, or slowed down a few steps, we would have been in trouble.

I'm probably already a pile of minced meat by now, right?

"Alright, General Xue, take a short rest. We still need to conduct a few more experiments, especially with those explosive canisters containing iron slag. Go and bring over the live pigs I had you buy and tie them up..."

The people didn't even know how their bodies finally started moving under the Crown Prince's orders.

But after one terrifying explosion after another, and the earth trembled.

The imperial carriage departed from the Eastern Palace.

Unlike when they left Chang'an, everyone looked numb, as if they had lost their souls.

Inside the prince's carriage.

Li Chengqian smiled as he looked at his younger brother Li Tai, who seemed to have been thoroughly played with. As a transmigrator, he knew how high his younger brother's academic achievements and talent were.

He had already made plans for his younger brother's future long ago.

"Qingque, now I'll ask you one more time: what do you believe to be the truth of this world?"

Li Tai: "......"