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

Even through the screen, Li Tai could sense just how ferocious the tiger was crouching in the direction of the hall.

He swallowed hard, seeing Li Chengqian with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed intently on the person standing before his bed.

He couldn't help but chuckle twice more.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, wasn't I out of my mind before?"

"I didn't want to die. I... I'm not even married yet, why would I want to die?"

Li Chengqian twitched the corner of his mouth, neither confirming nor denying.

However, from the direction of the hall, whispers of Consort Yang and Consort Yin could be heard. They were saying that the Fourth Prince's absurd behavior was because he lacked a capable wife. They compared him to the Crown Prince, and then to the Prince of Chu and the Prince of Jin—they were much better off with their sweethearts, and so on...

Li Zhi: "Tsk tsk... So Fourth Brother, you're jealous of me and my brother. If you really wanted the Princess Consort of Wei, you should have just said so. How would we know if you didn't tell us? How would Mother know?"

"Wu Zetian's younger sister, Wu Si, has also reached the age where she can get engaged..."

Li Tai's face instantly darkened: "Get out!"

He had no interest in wasting his breath on the ninth prince, whose future wish was to "rely on his first wife for face and his second wife for money."

His gaze returned to his elder brother, the Crown Prince, who was probably the one who understood him best, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Brother, I know how to fly! It's about balancing gravity and buoyancy!"

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow, not interrupting the other party, and let his excited younger brother Li Tai continue speaking.

"For something to fly, the upward and downward forces must be in a state of balance and cancellation. A hot air balloon heats up the air and blows it into the air bladder, increasing the amount of hot air inside and thus increasing buoyancy. In the words of the Imperial University, the air density increases!"

As Li Tai spoke, he paused slightly, and seeing his elder brother nod in approval, his eyes lit up with even greater joy.

Li Zhi only understood part of what he heard, and looked around with some confusion.

"Then why do you fly so high and perform aerial acrobatics?"

Upon hearing "aerial acrobat," Li Tai's lips twitched involuntarily.

His actions today will surely be recorded by the historians...

Li Chengqian didn't seem to care: "Are you trying to prove that the speed at which an object falls is unrelated to its mass?"

Li Tai was confused: "Material? What's that? Isn't it weight?"

Li Chengqian sighed. This was the problem between the academic faction of the Imperial University and the practical faction of various workshops and factories outside.

Imperial universities had few systematic scholars, but as industrialization progressed in the Tang Dynasty, workshops and factories increased in number. Experienced and skilled craftsmen, though unaware of the intricacies in books, were still able to get things done.

Even among Changsun Wuji's team, who was in charge of the Yellow River water conservancy project, there were many non-academic officials from the Ministry of Works who were key personnel and capable officers in water conservancy. Their abilities were no less than those of graduates from water conservancy engineering universities.

"Qingque, I know you want to fly, but this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. It requires a lot of theoretical and practical groundwork."

Li Chengqian carefully considered his wording before giving an example.

"If we're talking about shipbuilding and navigation, even if the ship sinks at sea due to a mistake, there's still a chance to survive by clinging to the planks. But if something goes wrong while flying, then it's truly the end."

"Flying to the heavens requires a more solid theoretical foundation than building ships to go to sea."

"If you really want to create something that can fly, you need to have knowledge of physics, mechanics, materials science, machinery, and mathematics."

Li Tai seemed to be deep in thought, but also somewhat confused.

"Then, Your Majesty, what do you think I should do first?"

Li Chengqian smiled and suddenly picked up a rattle drum that Xiao Sizi was playing with, with a jade handle.

"Qingque, if you want to create flying objects, in addition to knowing the theoretical knowledge related to mechanics, you need to look at the world with a different perspective. For example, what is the essence of things like gold, silver, copper, and iron?"

"Why do they have different colors and feel even though they are all metal?"

"Why do they have the same volume but different weights?"

"Since metals are divided into different metals, then... are there different gases in the air we breathe every day? Could there be some gases that are lighter and safer, so that even without heating the air like a hot air balloon, they could float on their own if they were put in a bag and sealed?"

The more Li Chengqian spoke, the brighter the light in Li Tai's eyes became.

"Furthermore, since it's about flying, is there only one way to fly, like a hot air balloon? We humans can't grow wings, so can't we create something that looks like a bird and have it carry us?"

"Furthermore, aren't the rockets used by the military, in a sense, also flying?"

Seeing that Li Tai's expression was gradually becoming strange, Li Chengqian stopped talking in time.

"Qingque, flying is many times more difficult than sailing. I know you are ambitious and may feel resentful seeing the third brother go to sea time and time again, but you must not be impatient or hasty."

"To investigate things and acquire knowledge, one must have a firm and unwavering mind..."

After Li Tai made such a fuss, for a period of time, all the people of Chang'an knew that their Prince Wei was actually researching the matter of flying.

The ancients held the sky in high esteem.

Even in this rapidly changing era of the Zhenguan New Deal, where old and new ideas collide and people's minds are more active, Li Tai's idea has attracted a lot of rumors and gossip.

Some people think this is absolutely impossible.

Some people think that if trains can run on their own without being pulled by horses, then why can't flying things be created?

At least for now, the Tang Dynasty already possessed flying objects like hot air balloons.

Even during his more than one month of recovery, Li Tai was still restless. Despite accepting Li Chengqian's assignment of a Jinyiwei commander to keep an eye on him, preparations for flying continued.

Looking at the disabled but determined Prince Wei, still wrapped in bandages, he was still arranging for his men to search for talent.

He established the "Heavenly Crafts Bureau," and even recruited many Taoist alchemists.

Du Mingzhe, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was somewhat impressed by these princes of the royal family.

However, just when everyone thought that the King of Wei was just fooling around and that he would just be a leisurely prince with some special hobbies, they were surprised to learn that he was just a carefree prince.

In the Taiji Hall, Li Chengqian's words stunned all the court officials present, including Prince Wei, Li Tai, who had been ordered to attend the court assembly that day.

"I have decided to hand over all the silver produced by the Iwami Silver Mine to the Imperial Workshop established by the King of Wei, so that they may use it freely."

Just a moment ago, everyone was celebrating the total amount of silver produced by Iwami Silver Mine in more than half a year, as the Ministry of Revenue had compiled. The civil and military officials, who were celebrating the New Year in advance, all looked like they were doubting their ears.

Looking at each other.

"This, this... Your Highness, did you just mean... all of them?"

Even Feng Deyi, the Minister of Revenue, was dumbfounded.

Your Highness, this is a mountain of silver worth 130 million taels in just half a year!

That's close to three million taels a year!

Taiji Hall, the scene of the court assembly.

Those present today, such as Prince Jing, Li Yuanjing, and Prince Lu, Li Yuanchang, princes of the Li Tang dynasty, couldn't help but gasp and turn their heads in a daze to look at Prince Wei, Li Tai, who was not far away beside them.

This Crown Prince is being far too kind to his brothers!