Capitalism and colonialism are twins, and the birth of colonialism is inevitably accompanied by the rise of the slave trade! — Words of a heartless first capitalist of the Great Tang.

After transmigrating into the least favored son Edward Thompson of Emperor Taizong Abraham Lincoln, he originally planned to use his status as a prince to woo a few Tang beauties and then live a carefree, idle life. But the scoundrel Thompson before him not only left behind a noble identity, but also countless messes—such as a low-born fiancée who made him the laughingstock of the nobility, a princely estate on the verge of bankruptcy, and a mother consort who had given everything for him and now lived a hard life in the palace...

To solve the problems left by the previous Thompson, Thompson began to... (untranslatable protected content), and one new invention after another appeared in the Great Tang ahead of their time. In the process, Charles Thompson not only changed the world's impression of him, but also accumulated great wealth. However, what he did not expect was that his actions had already unleashed the bloodthirsty beast of "capital," which soon grew beyond even his control...

Volume One: Life in Chang'an

Chapter One: The Rebellious Prince Thompson

The tenth year of Zhenguan in the Great Tang, the Liang Prince's residence in Chang'an. The sixth son of Emperor Taizong Abraham Lincoln, Prince Liang Walter Thompson (protected content) — the entire residence was in chaos, urgently summoning imperial physicians for treatment. Emperor Taizong himself brought Prince Liang's birth mother Grace Howard to visit, but Prince Liang had suffered a head injury, and all the imperial physicians were at a loss. Prince Liang's mother Grace Howard fainted on the spot from fright, and Emperor Taizong ordered Prince Shu Henry Thompson to stay and look after him, while he took Grace Howard back to the palace to recuperate.

Outside the prince's bedchamber, a tall, handsome young man in princely robes was anxiously pacing back and forth, his jade-like face full of worry. This young man was none other than Prince Shu Henry Thompson. Henry Thompson and Raymond Thompson were both born of Grace Howard, who was the daughter of the former Sui Emperor Yang, so these two princes carried the royal blood of two dynasties. In terms of lineage, they were of the highest nobility.

“How is it? Has sixth brother woken up yet?” Finally, when an imperial physician came out, Henry Thompson hurriedly grabbed him and asked.

“Reporting to Your Highness Prince Shu!” The white-bearded imperial physician bowed before speaking, “Prince Liang's main injury is to the head; the other minor wounds are not serious. Right now, Imperial Physician Wang is performing acupuncture, stimulating the prince's acupoints in hopes of waking him. As long as His Highness wakes up, there will be no major problems.”

“If waking up means no problem, what if he doesn't wake up?” Henry Thompson, clever and sharp, was not so easily fooled, and immediately caught the hidden meaning in the physician's words.

The imperial physician, seeing his ploy exposed, looked embarrassed, while inwardly cursing the unruly Prince Liang. Of all places to get hurt, why the head? And an internal injury at that! Other than the legendary Hua Tuo, no one had ever been known to cure such injuries.

“Ouch! Why are you poking me with needles?” At that moment, a voice from the bedroom saved the physician.

“Sixth brother!” Henry Thompson shouted in delight and rushed into the bedroom.

The white-bearded physician, hearing that Prince Liang had woken up, was first overjoyed, then sighed. Prince Shu and Prince Liang were born of the same mother, but Prince Shu was brave, wise, and courteous, greatly favored by Emperor Taizong. Prince Liang, on the other hand, was the opposite—fond of fighting, bullying the people, and notorious throughout Chang'an. He was one of Emperor Taizong's most disliked sons, infamous alongside the fifth prince, Prince Yan Samuel Thompson, as the two great black sheep of the royal family.

If only Prince Liang had died from the fall, how much better would that be? Chang'an would have one less scourge! The white-bearded physician secretly thought. But unfortunately, Prince Liang had already woken up, and his injuries weren't too serious—he'd probably be out of bed in a few days. Still, the injuries didn't look like they were from a fall...

Henry Thompson rushed into the bedroom and saw his dear brother sitting on the bed, his head stuck with several silver needles, looking around in confusion.

“Sixth brother, you’re finally awake! Mother Consort was so frightened she fell ill because of you—now things will be better!” Henry Thompson said joyfully. Although his brother had just woken up, judging by his complexion and spirit, his injuries couldn't be too serious. Their mother would surely recover soon upon hearing the news.

“Uh... bro, are you guys filming a movie?” George Thompson (protected content) stared at Henry Thompson for a long time, then looked at the imperial physicians around him, finally uttering his first words after waking up.

Bro? What kind of address is that? And what is filming a movie? He’d only ever heard of a hundred entertainments. Prince Shu Henry Thompson was completely baffled, not knowing what his unruly brother was talking about. Was he still ill? Thinking this, Henry Thompson turned his gaze to Imperial Physician Wang beside him.

“Reporting to Your Highness Prince Shu, Prince Liang suffered a head injury, and the impact was severe, which may have caused a soul-loss syndrome.” Imperial Physician Wang immediately stood up and said, David Thompson (protected content)—now he was talking nonsense, which allowed the experienced physician to diagnose soul-loss syndrome, which is actually amnesia.

“Soul-loss syndrome?” Henry Thompson was startled. “When will he recover?”