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

"Brother! I want to be king too!"

At this moment, when these words were spoken, even princesses like Chang Le and Qing He couldn't help but look nervously at Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who was dressed in a dragon robe.

Li Chengqian stood on the steps in front of the East Palace gate with a half-smile, looking down at his younger sister as if he were high above her.

"Do you know what you're saying? If what you said today were heard by others, Wei Zheng would be the first to impeach you!"

Gao Yang's pretty face paled slightly, but after swallowing, she still mustered her courage and looked up directly at her elder brother.

"As long as you, my royal brother, allow it, I'm not afraid of the rest of my sisters!"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes. If he agreed, no one in the court would dare to impeach him.

This girl is quite adept at causing trouble, but her talent for currying favor with powerful figures is also truly remarkable.

"Hehe, to be king... you've got some nerve. But do you know that among your brothers, only the fifth, the King of Chu, the sixth, the King of Liang, and the seventh, the King of Yan, have fiefdoms? Strictly speaking, the Silla region under your sixth brother's jurisdiction can't really be considered a fiefdom."

"Even so, the things they had to do for the court every year left them with almost no time to relax."

"The fifth prince must keep an eye on the new policies of Lingnan Circuit, develop agriculture, and coordinate with the southeastern countries to solve the vast majority of the grain and fodder issues for our Great Tang."

"Sixth Brother not only has to manage Silla, but now he also needs to build a royal ocean fleet for our Great Tang, and he also has to take charge of raising funds for the military expenses of the Tang allied forces in Silla."

"Your seventh brother is even more overworked. The Prince of Yan's mansion has been under construction for several years, but he has only lived there for less than a month in total. The railway construction has forced him to travel everywhere... And what I am telling you now, all the dirty and hard work is done by them, but the court wants to take the benefits."

“Gao Yang, you have been intelligent since childhood, you should understand a principle.”

Li Chengqian looked at his younger sister and said quietly, "If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight!"

The atmosphere at the scene was serious and solemn. In fact, Li Chengqian had already considered this possibility when Gaoyang asked for Beihai as her fiefdom.

At this moment, he calmly looked directly at the other person and objectively stated what responsibilities and obligations this decision would bring to the other person.

"If you were still a princess of my Great Tang, you could simply manage your own fiefdom. But if you wish to become a king, the situation is quite different... You would need to pay tribute, and you would need to pay customs duties for trade between countries. Furthermore, if I were to order a campaign against someone, you would need to mobilize your people and army, prepare your own provisions and weapons, and accompany the army on the expedition..."

"As for which minister in the court will impeach you for disloyalty or overstepping your bounds, even if I trust you, for official reasons you will still need to send an envoy to the capital to explain your position and perhaps even apologize..."

Li Chengqian spoke so earnestly that almost all the princesses present understood the hidden meaning in their elder brother's words.

On the other hand, if Gao Yang could accept all of this, then even though she was a princess, she could be made a queen.

Queen.......

The Western Regions and the plateau do exist, but they have never been heard of in the Central Plains.

Regents and actual kingship are not the same thing.

Chang Le and the others watched Gao Yang, who was also clearly nervous, with a tense expression.

Gao Yang clenched her fists, her pretty face full of struggle.

Her main purpose in returning to Chang'an this time was to ask her imperial brother if there was any suitable land for cultivation north of Baikal County.

She doesn't yet know what to do if she agrees to this, especially if the land to the north is all bitterly cold and frozen.

Li Chengqian understood her, and she understood her imperial brother just as well.

Some things can be discussed, but some things cannot be stopped even by royal kinship.

The obligations of vassal kings that he just mentioned, such as tribute, customs duties, and sending troops, were definitely not just empty words.

Gao Yang: "..."

Li Chengqian did not urge her, and simply waited quietly for her reply.

After an unknown amount of time, Gao Yang suddenly raised her head resolutely, her pretty face bearing a gambler's glint.

"I want to be king!"

Li Chengqian's lips curled up, his original seriousness gradually subsided, he put his hands behind his back, cleared his throat, and tilted his head back.

"Ahem, since that's the case, how should you greet me now that you've seen me?"

Gao Yang: "???"

Li Chengqian patted the colorful brocade on his dragon robe, which featured a lifelike and majestic five-clawed golden dragon.

It seems to have a hidden meaning.

Gao Yang: "..."

She pouted, but still obediently knelt down and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty!"

"Cough cough! No, no, no, this is a bit too early..." Li Chengqian was choked by his words, and hurriedly waved his hand, grabbing the girl by the back of the neck and lifting her up.

He really didn't want to be called emperor so early; he felt a sense of anxiety, as if he were carrying the weight of Mount Tai on his shoulders.

In Li Chengqian's study in the Eastern Palace.

Chang Le and the others followed them in. Li Chengqian sat down and then saw Gao Yang with a resentful yet flattering expression, taking the teacup from Wang De's hand with such a complicated look.

It was handed to him.

"Brother, have some tea!"

Li Chengqian hummed contentedly twice, took a sip of tea, and then spoke softly.

"You want to ask me if there are any suitable places to develop further north of Beihai, right?"

Immediately, Gao Yang nodded excitedly, like a chick pecking at rice.

He blinked expectantly and leaned over the table: "Brother, is there anything? I sent people over a hundred miles north, and many of them froze to death along the way, but we didn't find anything."

Li Chengqian chuckled twice and gestured to Wang De, who quickly brought out a geomantic map.

Then, carefully unfold it in front of the table.

Li Chengqian pointed to the location of Lake Baikal: "This is the North Sea. The place you sent your people to is a plateau, mostly mountains and hills, and close to the Arctic Circle..."

Gao Yang (with mosquito coil eyes): "...Brother, what is the Arctic Circle?"

Li Chengqian: "......"

It seemed he needed to explain some geography to her first. He thought for a moment and then gave a brief explanation as concisely as possible. Seeing that she seemed to understand a little, he pointed to the West Siberian Plain.

"Here you will find the large tract of land you need. Although the planting season is limited by the climate, the soil is very fertile and there is no problem growing short-maturing crops such as potatoes and rye."

Gao Yang's eyes lit up immediately, staring intently at the location on the geomantic map that Li Chengqian was pointing to.

He mentally calculated how far it was from Baikal County.

Li Chengqian looked up at her and said, "It would be best to send an expedition team to investigate first and select a route. Your place is harsh and cold. If you want to develop in the long term and build a city, you will definitely need to develop something very important in the future."

Gao Yang was very clever; this time, without Li Chengqian having to say it explicitly, he immediately answered.

"Steam engine!"

Li Chengqian nodded: "Whether it's heating, smelting minerals, or building railways in sections, all of these are inseparable from steam engines."

As he spoke, Li Chengqian's expression gradually became devoid of conscience.

Hehehe smiled.

“I am not an unreasonable person. It is good that you have ideas and courage. If you decide to do it, I can ask the Duke of Ying to approve a development loan for you... Don’t worry, I will charge you less interest.”

“You can use Baikal County as collateral.”

Gao Gang, having just become queen, was about to mortgage the capital city of Yang. She looked at him as if he were a demon, her small mouth agape in an "O" shape.

He stared blankly at his elder brother, who had suddenly changed his attitude.

"...Brother, is your heart black?"