After hearing Fang Er's introduction, Yelü Tianying and Xi Gua Bu Tian were instantly petrified!
Li Shimin's brats?
And two of them at that?
They quickly retreated two steps and respectfully performed a grand salute.
"We greet Your Highness, may Your Highness be well!"
"Alright, alright, you can get acquainted slowly later."
After the four had greeted each other, Fang Er waved his hand and continued.
"Qingque, this thing is called a helicopter, and it's also your assignment. Dismantle this thing, compare the parts, and draw out the blueprints. There must be no error. If you need any tools, go find Zhao Gang. Do you have confidence?"
Li Tai couldn't believe it and pointed at the one-meter-long helicopter on the ground. "Dismantle it? Such a precious thing, and you, sir, are saying to dismantle it?"
"Yes, dismantle it, and then draw out the blueprints. When you bring out the blueprints, I'll take you to build a human-carrying one myself." Fang Er confirmed again.
"Good! I'll go find old Zhao now!"
"Third Brother, help me carry it."
After Li Tai finished speaking, he pulled Li Ke and they both carried the helicopter away.
After the two brothers left, Fang Er pointed to Da Jiao on the side and said to Yelü Tianying and Xi Gua Bu Tian.
"Take a look at this sheep, how is it?"
The two had been extremely curious about Da Jiao before, but their attention was drawn to the helicopter. Now, hearing Fang Er ask, Yelü Tianying exclaimed.
"Fang County Duke, this sheep is too divine and majestic. Yingying has never seen such a powerful sheep in her life!"
Xi Gua Bu Tian cautiously approached.
Fang Er was then stunned. Da Jiao, this fellow, did not reject him. Instead, it extended its tongue like a dog and licked Xi Gua Bu Tian's palm.
"Fang County Duke, can I untie it?" Xi Gua Bu Tian turned his head and asked Fang Er.
Fang Er nodded. "These two guys have been dealing with livestock since they were young, so they should have their own ways of controlling them."
However, he did not expect that after Xi Gua Bu Tian untied the iron chain around Da Jiao's neck, he actually mounted it! He grabbed Da Jiao's horns with both hands, his feet dragging on the ground, and his knees sharply bumped Da Jiao's chest.
"Giddy up!"
Da Jiao actually carried him forward for a distance. It's worth noting that although Xi Gua Bu Tian was not as sturdy as Yelü Tianying, he at least appeared to be around 140 to 150 catties.
"This is unbelievable!"
"Ah! Master, Da Jiao is so amazing!" Xiao Qing looked at Da Jiao carrying Xi Gua Bu Tian and seemed to imagine the little Fang Er riding Da Jiao around the courtyard in the future. "Can we let Da Jiao be his mount when we have a little Duke?"
Even Chai Yue looked at Da Jiao with shining eyes. "Yes, I'll give it an extra egg every meal from now on!"
Fang Er didn't know how to respond. "Sheep rider! It feels so incongruous!"
"County Duke, what do you think? Would this sheep be a suitable mount for those guys on Wa Island?" Zhuzi watched for a while, then suddenly slapped his forehead and whispered to Fang Er.
Indeed, his words sounded quite reasonable to Fang Er. Those people who lived well on that side were generally around 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall. If they gave this 1.5-meter Da Jiao to them as a mount, it would seem more than enough.
Suddenly feeling like he was going off-topic, he quickly shouted at Xi Gua Bu Tian, "Come back, I asked you to see how the sheep was, not to ride it for fun."
Hearing the shout, Xi Gua Bu Tian quickly rode Da Jiao back. When he reached everyone, he dismounted from Da Jiao's back and hugged Da Jiao's head, kissing it. He held Da Jiao's head as if it were a beautiful woman, completely ignoring Da Jiao's struggles in his arms, and looked at Fang Er with a fawning expression.
"County Duke, this sheep is a treasure. Can you sell it to the Xi tribe? I am willing to trade ten thousand sheep for it!"
"Hiss! Ten thousand?" Chai Yue covered her mouth, unable to believe her ears.
The others were not much better. Except for Fang Er and Yelü Tianying, everyone else was shocked. Yelü Tianying, having grown up on the grassland, could see the preciousness of Da Jiao at a glance. Such a large ram, if placed on the grassland, could surely breed countless offspring like Da Jiao.
However, Fang Er just smiled and shook his head. "Joking! This is a stud ram. I wouldn't trade it for a hundred thousand!" Although there were still 98 in his space, to ensure large-scale breeding, who would dislike having too many stud rams? The most important point of improvement is to avoid inbreeding. If stated more simply, it means not violating filial piety, and the same applies to livestock.
"If you like it, I can give a descendant of Da Jiao to Tianying County later. But Fang has conditions. During your stay in Shenyang, you must take care of those herders with the sheep. At the same time, you must train with the Tianhuo Army every day. Can you do it?"
Xi Gua Bu Tian originally felt extremely disappointed when Fang Er shook his head, but upon hearing the latter part, he immediately became excited.
"County Duke, rest assured, I will take good care of the sheep and will not neglect training."
"And you?" Fang Er turned his gaze to Yelü Tianying.
"Heh heh, County Duke, rest assured, this is a small matter, absolutely no problem!"
Both of them confidently guaranteed that they could do it well.
"It's good to have determination. There are still a few ewes in the manor. Go and call those herders who came along to see if they have conceived."
Yelü Tianying was a little confused. "County Duke, what is a sheep official?"
"They are the herders who came along. From now on, they will be called herders," Fang Er explained casually.
"Then what rank is a sheep official?" Yelü Tianying continued to ask, seemingly truly unaware of what a herder was.
"Rank? Then it's the ninth rank, lower. Hurry up." Fang Er was annoyed by his question and waved his hand to dismiss him.
The two finally left, muttering as they went, "If herders are already ninth rank, lower, what rank should we be?"
Zhuzi, Ma Chao, and a few others remained here.
"Zhuzi, there will be young men reporting for duty soon. Your task is to maintain order and prevent any trouble. Ma Chao, after the young men arrive and complete their registration, the Second Regiment will take them to the northern part of the city to level the land. Prepare one thousand mu first, they will be needed soon. Liu Meng, go to the city and notify all the well-known businessmen. Come to the manor tomorrow. Say there's a path to fortune. Whether they come or not is up to them, no need to force it. Wu Yong, prepare yourself. Tomorrow, I will return to Chang'an and send a few letters for you. Zhang Tian, you also go and help the King of Wei. When the helicopter is finished, you will be the first to fly."
"Yes, County Duke!"
The five bowed and saluted, noting down their respective tasks.
Fang Er then turned to Lai Yifa, who was also ready to be put to use.
"Laizi, how many men do you have under you now? Are they capable?"
"Reporting to County Duke, ninety-eight men, each and every one of them is a skilled hand," Lai Yifa replied confidently, with a proud look on his face.
"Follow me." Fang Er nodded to him and then turned towards the front hall. Lai Yifa followed close behind, step by step.
After entering the front hall, Fang Er closed the door, walked behind a screen, and directly took out ten boxes of small blue pills. Opening them, he took out a box and walked towards Lai Yifa.
"You should recognize this, right?"
"I do, sir. You sell this for a hundred taels a box in your shops in Chang'an."
"Do you know its efficacy?"
"I do."
"Behind the screen are ten large boxes. At the price in Chang'an, it's worth forty thousand taels of silver. Take this as expenses. Take it all back and repackage it into bottles. It's more convenient than carrying silver. Guan Chang and the others have been out for a long time without any news. I'm a bit worried, so spread out all your people! Throughout the Great Tang, in all prefectures and counties, gather informants. Whether it's news about Guan Chang and the others, or news about Hou Junji, anyone who can provide it will be richly rewarded!"
"Yes, County Duke! I'll go call people to move the medicine."