Shenyang, the princely residence.
After handing Dali over to Uncle Zhang, Fang Er had Zhang Tian and Ge Laoyang summoned to his study.
He took out two maps and briefed them.
"Each of you will take ten helicopters to the locations marked on these maps and bring back the items!
"If anyone obstructs you, kill them without mercy!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The two pocketed the maps, saluted, and turned to leave.
The maps indicated the locations of the last two tunnel devices. Ordinary people had no idea what these things were for; even if someone happened to possess one, it would merely serve as a decorative piece.
With the two of them handling it, it was sufficient, and there was no need for him to make the long trip himself.
Fang Er would never admit that it was because the weather had turned cold and he was feeling lazy.
With his hands behind his back, he strode with a swagger towards the back courtyard.
Having finally persuaded the system, he needed to quickly reclaim what he had lost.
"Bie bie~~"
In the backyard, Fang Xin, who was playing, saw his figure and immediately shouted and rushed over.
However, the slightly off-kilter nickname made Fang Er feel quite exasperated.
"You little brat, tell me, were you doing that on purpose!"
He scooped Fang Xin up, pinched his nose, and feigned anger.
Chai Yue, standing by, chuckled. "You can't blame Xin'er for that, Your Husband is never home."
Fang Er touched his nose awkwardly. By calculation, Fang Xin was already a year and a half old, but the time he had spent with him at home added up to less than a month.
When called less often, it was inevitable that there would be some slip of the tongue.
"That's true. It's okay, I'll spend more time with you all at home now that I'm back."
Holding Fang Xin, he sat down next to Chai Yue and casually asked Xiao Qing, who was embroidering nearby.
"Where is Xiao Ya?"
"He just finished eating. Xiao Huan is watching him sleep in the room."
After Xiao Qing finished speaking, she blushed and handed over the half-embroidered cloth. "Husband, do you think this looks good?"
He took it with curiosity, examined it closely, and Fang Er chuckled. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, with this size, you must be embroidering it for Xing'er, right?"
Xiao Qing explained, "Yes, she's due to give birth in a few months. It'll be more convenient for her to wear this when breastfeeding."
"Hahahaha, good. It's just that there's a bit too much fabric!" Fang Er said with mock seriousness, pointing at the cloth. "In my opinion, leaving a piece the size of an egg would be enough!"
Chai Yue playfully chided him, "Go on, you're always so improper! Xin'er is right here, aren't you afraid of corrupting him!"
"It's no use fearing it now; if you don't teach him now, you'll have to teach him when he grows up." Fang Er said, reaching out to flick Fang Xin's private parts.
The little guy looked somewhat bewildered, grinning and giggling.
~~~
Chang'an Imperial Palace, the Hall of Two Extremes.
Li Shimin sat behind his imperial desk, flipping through historical records of the Tang Dynasty, holding a pencil and making occasional notes.
"Hiss~~"
"An 86-meter-tall Ming Tang?!"
"What was that little girl Wu Mei thinking?"
"Bang!"
He closed the Tang history book and turned to Deng Dengjie, who was standing beside him.
"Go, summon the Minister of Works!"
"Yes!"
Deng Dengjie hurried out.
Shortly after, Du Yiyang followed him into the hall. Before Li Shimin could speak, he asked first.
"I ask you, with the current capabilities of the Ministry of Works, can we construct a 99-meter-tall Ming Tang?"
If a woman dares to build an 86-meter one, shouldn't I at least be taller than her?
Nine times nine is one, so that's the number!
The Ming Tang was not first created by Wu Zetian, but rather an important ritualistic building used by emperors for governance and sacrifice since ancient times.
However, the Ming Tang, a structure created by heaven, was the largest wooden building in world history and the pinnacle of Chinese architecture.
Therefore, when people mention the Ming Tang in later generations, they first think of the Wu Zhou Ming Tang.
Du Yiyang's face instantly fell. "Your Majesty, I dare not guarantee it."
"If we use timber, we need to select large timbers in advance, and that alone cannot be completed in two to three years."
"If we use reinforced concrete, you'll have to ask Prince Kun about that."
Li Shimin was not satisfied with this answer and unconsciously frowned.
The Tang history stated that the girl only took one year to build the Ming Tang. Although it was the peak period of the Tang Dynasty, it still made him somewhat difficult to accept.
Damn it, can I really be outdone by a woman?
"Don't worry about the large timbers, there are plenty of them in North America!"
"A telegram just came from there saying they've discovered countless giant ancient trees on the East Coast, dozens of zhang tall, which should be enough!"
Hearing this, Du Yiyang felt relieved and patted his chest.
"Your Majesty, if that's the case, then there should be no major problems."
"After the timber is transported back, it needs to be left to season for a year to stabilize. If we also bring back the carpenters from over there, the construction will take at most half a year!"
"The only problem is that transporting such large giant timbers back intact might not be very easy."
Li Shimin did not reply. Instead, he took out paper and pen and quickly wrote a few lines, handing them to Deng Dengjie.
"According to these words, take them to Prince Kun and send a telegram!"
~~~~~
"Holy crap!"
Fang Er looked at the telegram sent by Lai Yi, and his entire being was unsettled.
"Telegram from North America: Countless ancient giant trees discovered on the East Coast!"
"I want trucks, very long trucks, trucks that can carry hundred-meter-tall giant timbers!"
"The new capital needs to be rebuilt with wooden structures. Have the carpenters from the Americas all sent back."
"If you can't manage it, then prepare the betrothal gifts and arrange the engagement between Fang Xin and Gaoyang!"
"Oh, by the way, two sets of betrothal gifts. Your mother-in-law is pregnant with the little Li!"
Damn it, we were talking about building the new capital with concrete, what kind of trick is Old Li playing by wanting to switch to a wooden structure?
And he's using Fang Xin's marriage as a "threat" against me, how shameless!
Countless ancient giant trees, East Coast, this must be redwood.
Hundred-meter-tall timbers are definitely meant to be used as main pillars. If they are cut and transported back, then reassembled, it would be too wasteful.
The tallest redwood tree discovered in later generations, Hyperion, is 114 meters tall, and the thickest, the President, has a base diameter of 8.2 meters.
That area is still in its primitive state now, and there are undoubtedly many trees even larger than them.
To transport them back intact, the vehicles would have to be custom-made.
Laying down railway tracks would be too slow, so it's better to make good use of the downtime. Let's create something new with the craftsmen, considering it as an opportunity to broaden their horizons and innovate.
"I'm going to the workshop. You don't need to wait for me for dinner."
After bidding farewell to Chai Yue and the others, he walked out with Lai Yi Fa.
The Yi Tuo Office.
The master craftsman Liu Yuan, along with his three senior craftsmen, were all summoned. Zhao Gang and Mo Ming were also standing by the desk, watching Fang Er sketch on the paper.
Diameter 8 meters, height 99 meters, density approximately 5.1 grams per cubic centimeter.
Since fresh timbers contain a large amount of moisture, it was decided to directly calculate the weight using a cylindrical shape.
As such, the weight of a single piece of timber reached nearly 2500 tons!
Fang Er casually tossed his pencil onto the table and smiled at them.
"Since we have nothing else to do, I'll lead you to build something big!"