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

Three or four years have passed since steam trains appeared in the Tang Dynasty and began to be officially put into use.

From Chang'an in Guannei Road, to Taiyuan Prefecture in Bingzhou in Hedong Road.

From Taiyuan Prefecture in Hedong Circuit to Shizhou Zhending Prefecture in Hebei Circuit.

The emergence of the two railway lines greatly improved the circulation of goods in the northern border of the Tang Dynasty, and, in conjunction with the dredging and opening up of many inland waterway shipping routes on the Yellow River.

This resulted in a rapid increase in commercial tax revenue in northern China every year.

Meanwhile, construction has begun on a railway within Hebei Province, from Shizhou Zhending Prefecture to the former Youzhou, now Yanzhou Prefecture, the fiefdom of Prince Yan, Li Yun.

In addition, Chang'an Guannei Road also began planning a railway route to connect with Chang'an in Jiannan Road.

Li Chengqian's trip this time was indeed for serious business.

He was going to Dengzhou to summon Kunkun, whom he had named "Overturning the Sea Great Sage".

While I'm at it, I'll go check on that kid, Li Yin, in Silla.

With infrastructure that could be described as advanced compared to other countries of this era, Li Chengqian arrived in Zhen Ding Prefecture, Hebei Province, in less than two days after transferring trains once from Taiyuan Prefecture.

After inspecting the area for two days, he set off for Dengzhou.

Dengzhou.

The Prefect of Dengzhou and Liu Rengui, the Tang Dynasty's naval commander in Dengzhou, were waiting early.

Upon seeing that it was indeed His Highness the Crown Prince's entourage that had arrived, they hurriedly stepped forward to bow and greet him.

"Your humble servant Cao Ming (Liu Rengui) greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness be well!"

Li Chengqian stepped down from the carriage, took a deep breath of the sea air—a smell he couldn't detect in Chang'an—and told the two men to dispense with formalities.

He then glanced around and nodded in satisfaction at the increasingly prosperous Dengzhou Port.

Even today, in the distance, one can still see many factories belching black smoke from the intense combustion of steam engines, boilers, and other fuels.

That also symbolized the Tang Dynasty's entry into the industrial age.

"Governor Cao, just go about your business. I don't need you here. Go back and handle your official duties. I've come to see General Liu."

Cao Ming respectfully nodded, bowed, and took his leave.

Li Chengqian is right; he does indeed have a lot of government affairs waiting for him to handle.

Under Liu Rengui's guidance, Li Chengqian quickly boarded a treasure ship that was now stationed at Dengzhou Port.

"Your Highness, a few days ago the Duke of Lu sent a letter requesting that we transport a batch of supplies to Sado Island, which is why there are so few warships in the port now."

Li Chengqian didn't seem to care much about this.

"It's alright, let's head out to sea first. I have something to take care of..."

Li Chengqian didn't say what he wanted to do, or even where he wanted to go. Liu Rengui could only order the sails to be set sail and leave the port, following the route they had been training on.

As the ship sailed toward Fukuoka Port, it entered the deep sea area.

Without anyone noticing, a terrifyingly enormous creature suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the seabed beneath the treasure ship.

And it was precisely at the moment this figure appeared that Li Chengqian seemed to have a kind of premonition, yet also a kind of illusion.

It allowed him to clearly sense the location of the "Great Sage Who Overturns the Seas" that he had summoned.

What exactly is this emotion...?

The abundance of marine resources in this era was beyond the imagination of Li Chengqian, a soul from a later era.

The seabed, which should have been pitch black, was somehow made perceptible to Li Chengqian by some inexplicable force.

Although it was still dark, he could clearly perceive the huge school of fish, as well as the marine creatures that swam and fled in all directions with the appearance of the "Great Sage Who Overturns the Sea".

"Wow..."

It seemed as if the gaping maw of the abyss, capable of swallowing everything, possessed a tremendous suction force, devouring the seawater while simultaneously siphoning in the dense schools of fish within it.

Then it slowly closed.

In the blink of an eye, a school of fish consisting of tens of thousands of sea fish was devoured, like a cake on the seabed, leaving only a few hundred scattered fish.

Li Chengqian: "......"

No way! This thing absolutely cannot be allowed to live in our own waters for long.

Although with today's marine fishing technology and the population of the Tang Dynasty, even with the addition of such a large creature that is already an adult and whose size is unlikely to increase, it is unlikely that the ocean would become barren.

But... what if?

He certainly didn't want his pet, raised by the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, to end up being portrayed as a "sea monster" or a "jinx" by those with ulterior motives.

The commotion on the seabed did not elicit much of a reaction from the massive treasure ship on the surface.

Even Liu Rengui, who was checking the ship's log, and the Tang Dynasty naval sailors on the ship's side and in the watchtower, were completely unaware of it.

However, after eating several schools of fish in succession, the Great Sage Who Overturns the Sea finally finished his meal.

Under Li Chengqian's unseen guidance, the latter began to rise slowly, until...

"A whale! It's a whale! It's huge..."

The lookout, who had been shouting from the watchtower, suddenly stopped yelling as if his voice had been paused, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Staring blankly at the distant sea in disbelief.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? What did you see?"

An officer immediately took out a monocular telescope and began searching in the direction the lookout was pointing.

On one side of the ship, members of several ballista teams quickly took their positions.

The Crown Prince is currently on the ship, and no officer would think that the current reaction is an overreaction.

Liu Rengui stood in the captain's cabin, looking out through the glass with a monocular telescope. However, in just a moment, a colossal creature, almost like a small, dark mountain, rose from the sea.

The instant it came into view.

Even Liu Rengui, like the others, couldn't help but show a look of astonishment at this moment.

After the Crown Prince initially referred to the sea monster, which the local people called "Kun," as a "whale."

The navy has hunted whales in training exercises on more than one occasion, so with terrifying weapons like the Thunder Ballista in hand, the navy has much less awe for these unknown creatures.

People have gradually stopped calling it "Kun" and have started calling it "whale".

However, now... Liu Rengui stared wide-eyed at the figure emerging from the sea, with only one thought in his mind.

"That's a Kun! Not a whale!"

"Hard to port! Hard to port! Don't mess with it!"

"I order all attack teams: no one is to attack without my order!"

Get away from it immediately!

With Crown Prince Li Chengqian on the ship, Liu Rengui issued the evacuation order without even thinking.

Naval officers and soldiers immediately began to take action.

Adjusting the sail angle...

"Wait!"