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

It can provide light, it can cook food, it can even allow you to talk to people thousands of miles away...

Li Chengqian had to use a lot of persuasion to barely manage to get the civil and military officials present to imagine some slightly distorted scenes.

"If this thing truly has such benefits, Your Majesty, I believe we should fully support it!"

Minister of Works Duan Lun pondered for a moment, and finally his expression became serious.

Li Shimin nodded, then glanced at him.

What are you talking to me about, you old fool? Does that rebellious son want to conduct extensive research on this kind of power generation device, and I dare say no?

Duan Lun coughed twice and bowed to Li Chengqian.

"Your Highness, but if we want to set up an electric grid of that scale as you've suggested, I'm afraid it would be..."

He looked troubled.

This is not just a matter of manpower and resources. In fact, all those in the Tang Dynasty who have research and understanding of electricity are probably now in the Tiangong Division.

However, given his own Crown Prince's consistent personality of either not doing anything at all or doing it with great intensity.

The shortage of human and material resources involved is absolutely terrifying.

"I am not an unfeeling person. I am already very pleased that the Imperial Workshop and the Imperial University were able to complete the most basic power generation so quickly. Right now, our Great Tang has not even fully reformed to steam power. Electrification... we still have a long way to go."

That is one way of putting it.

However, for the current power generation device, we need to add some protective measures and several layers of insurance.

Electrifying the palace shouldn't be a problem...

The news that the Imperial University had mastered the ability to use lightning, despite Li Chengqian's request to keep it a secret, inevitably spread quietly among the upper echelons of the Tang Dynasty.

Almost everyone's instinctive reaction is that it's impossible.

But after much deliberation, he thought about how the third railway of the Tang Dynasty, from Zhen Ding Prefecture in Hebei Province to Yan Prefecture, was about to be completed. The rumbling trains that could run on their own without being pulled by horses had already become a well-known reality.

The Tang Dynasty possessed the power of lightning... that seems plausible, doesn't it?

“Chang’an and Taiyuan are now the centers of the world. Places like Baikal County are not comparable to these two places, let alone Jiuyuan County in Zhenbei Circuit or Fengtian County in Liaodong Circuit. Do you still want to go to Baikal County?”

Lunchtime at the royal palace.

In the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian put down his chopsticks, looked at the listless Gao Yang, and asked indifferently.

"Wei Zheng is a capable minister, and I also hope that Baikal County can develop faster, but it is ultimately too far away from our Great Tang Dynasty. Even if in the future Zhenbei Road is connected by train, and the train is built directly to Baikal..."

He shook his head: "Difficult."

More than difficult?

Prince Yan, Li Yun, that foolish boy, had heard his elder brother want to build a railway directly to Baikal County more than once.

To this end, he led people to survey the terrain along the route more than once.

The outcome was inevitable.

Yinshan Mountains, northern grasslands, and the Khentii Mountains.

The soft sandy ground of the Gobi Desert needs to be compacted, and resupply in uninhabited areas along the way is another problem. In addition, there is permafrost... plus, the route also requires crossing rivers such as the Selenge River and the Orkhon River, which require the construction of bridges hundreds of meters long.

Even in later generations, the construction of this railway would not have been an easy task.

Moreover, this is the Tang Dynasty today.

“Your fifth brother in Lingnan has the help of his future father-in-law, the Duke of Yue. You, a princess, who can you rely on in Baikal County? Wei Zheng? I remember you don’t like that old man.”

Li Chengqian certainly didn't want Gaoyang, that little girl, to impulsively run off to Baikal County.

The reason I agreed to give her a new fiefdom was simply because she kept pestering me; it was just to satisfy her little quirks.

now.......

“If you make a mistake in Chang’an, at least I and the Empress Dowager can help you deal with it. But if you go to Baikal County, in front of the Turks, Tanguts, and Tiele tribes there, you will only have one identity: a princess of the Great Tang Dynasty.”

At the dinner table were Crown Princess Qian Yingying and Consort Wu Shun, who dared not interrupt.

He could only silently watch as Crown Prince Li Chengqian solemnly warned Gao Yang.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Li Chengqian thought that this girl had probably finally realized she was scared.

But what happened next was unexpected.

"So what if they're Tangut? So what if they're Turks? So what if they're Tiele? I, a princess of the Great Tang Dynasty, have no reason to fear them!"

Gao Yang snorted coldly and, like a rebellious young girl, slammed the revolver at her waist onto the table.

"It would be good if they behaved themselves, but if they dared to act recklessly or give me attitude, I'll have their whole family shot!"

Li Chengqian, Qian Yingying, and Wu Shun: "..."

Qian Yingying's lips curled slightly, and she almost couldn't help but cheer on the spot.

Seeing that her husband Li Chengqian's expression was somewhat unpleasant, she quickly stepped forward and took the revolver aside.

“Gaoyang, your brother doesn’t mean that. Right now, who in the world doesn’t fear the military might of our Great Tang? Not to mention Lord Wei’s unyielding spirit, he would never give those foreign tribes a chance to cause trouble. Even the soldiers of the Production and Construction Corps stationed in Baikal County would never allow those foreign tribes to bully you, Gaoyang.”

"Your elder brother is worried that if something happens to you while you're traveling so far alone..."

Li Chengqian snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Gao Yang noticed the look in the eyes of Crown Princess Qian Yingying, who was facing away from Li Chengqian, and immediately understood.

Her stubborn and rebellious expression softened instantly, and she came to Li Chengqian's side coquettishly, grabbing his arm and swaying it playfully.

"Brother, of course I know there's danger involved, otherwise I wouldn't have come to you."

Li Chengqian curled his lip and rolled his eyes: "Come on, you dare to carry that revolver around in Chang'an all day long. Let alone Chang'an, even in Taiyuan and Luoyang, which纨绔 (playboy) hasn't been dealt with by you, Princess Gaoyang?"

"If I let you go to Baikal County? Ha... I'd rather Wei Zheng live a few more years."

Upon seeing this, Gao Yang became extremely anxious.

"Oh dear! Brother, how could you think of me like that? I'm your most beloved little Gao Yang!"

"Ah, my most beloved younger sister is Xiao Sizi."

Undeterred, Gao Yang held up two fingers: "Then I'm your second favorite sister, Your Majesty!"

"Second is Chang Le..."

"Then I am..."

"Third is Chengyang..."

Gao Yang's little face immediately puffed up in dissatisfaction. Seeing that her imperial brother was not buying it, she simply stopped acting, sat down on the ground, clung tightly to Li Chengqian's leg, and began to cry loudly.

"Waaah, brother, I don't need much. Just give me two thousand of your Crown Prince's six guards. I'll ask my fourth brother and the others for firearms and armor. Brother, please, please, I beg you!"

"Sister-in-law, please help me!"

Li Chengqian's lips twitched, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

He stared incredulously at his silly little sister, as if she were a madwoman.

"The Crown Prince's Six Guards? Two thousand?! Do you know what you're saying?!"

"My Crown Prince's six guards are all elites selected from various armies, and the officers among them are not only skilled in combat but also have excellent command abilities! Two thousand? What, are you planning to wipe out all those alien races in one fell swoop?"

"We also need weapons and armor..."

Li Chengqian was quite surprised by the audacity of this silly girl.

Back then, he only left 1,000 imperial guards for the fifth prince, Li You.

In just six months, he trained and expanded his force to five thousand people, and now he has effectively taken control of the most fertile grain-producing areas in Linyi.

This silly girl, she asked for two thousand right off the bat...

"Two thousand won't do, then one thousand eighty will do."

"Let go!"

"Waaaah, brother, 1500, 1500 is alright, right, brother? I'm your cutest little sister!"

"Do you think this is a vegetable market?! No way! Get out of my way! Or don't blame me for having someone bring a cane... Wang De! Wang De, go and get me a cane!"

"Waaaaah, brother, go ahead and hit me! Fourteen thousand, at least fourteen thousand! I'll go to Baikal County even if it kills me..."

On this day, news of Gao Yang's insistence on going to his fiefdom of Baikal County spread throughout the palace.