Three days later,
The tractor convoy had already departed with the first batch of goods.
A regiment selected from the Fifth Division had also taken on the task of the first armed escort.
In the shed, the helicopter was parked quietly.
The leaders of various departments looked at the helicopter with some trepidation.
Especially He Yijike, who stood beside the helicopter, his knees trembling, looking nervously at Fang Er.
“Duke, can’t we not ride this thing?”
Last time something happened, he was dragged into a den by a tigress and ravaged.
If it weren't for being rescued by a hunter, he would have already become tiger dung by now. Thinking about it made him shudder.
“Still a grown man, look at you cowering!”
Ashina Bodu, who had a new kidney, glared at him disdainfully and was the first to board the helicopter, finding a seat in the inner part.
“What's there to be afraid of! The Duke himself is accompanying us!”
“Alright, everyone get on. This helicopter is much sturdier than the previous one!” Fang Er comforted.
Only then did He Yijike muster the courage to board the helicopter.
Everyone else also boarded and found their respective seats.
Zhang Tian sat in the pilot's seat, with Li Tai as his co-pilot.
Fang Er, Chai Yue, and Xiao Qing sat behind Zhang Tian.
A group of second-generation rich kids from Chang'an looked at the helicopter with eager eyes.
Yuchi Baolin squeezed to the front, “Brother, can you let me go back with you too!”
Changsun Chong looked wronged, “Brother, ever since we came, you haven't let us have any fun. This time, take us along, won't you!”
Fang Yiai, though he didn’t speak, kept glancing into the helicopter, as if calculating where to sit after getting on.
Not only them, but even the Twelve Golden Hairpins had come over.
Changsun Ling'er’s big eyes blinked rapidly at Chai Yue, her meaning obvious – she also wanted a ride.
Fang Er turned his head to look at the cabin.
Excluding the pilot and co-pilot, there were a total of thirty seats.
Not counting himself, Chai Yue, and Xiao Qing, they had only brought nine leaders from the grassland tribes and Li Ke.
“There are seventeen seats left. I can take seventeen more people. You decide amongst yourselves who gets to go,” he said to Yuchi Baolin.
As soon as these words were spoken, Changsun Chong directly climbed onto the helicopter and said to the stunned crowd below, “Hahahaha, those who are quick get it, those who are slow don't! You guys discuss slowly, I'll go find a seat!”
With him leading the way, the others immediately rushed towards the helicopter.
“Holy hell! Stop!”
Fang Er quickly shouted.
If these people all squeezed in, they would tip the helicopter over again!
Hearing this, everyone stopped in their tracks.
Eleven brothers and sisters, plus Yuan Mengjia, it was impossible for all of them to go.
Finally, Fang Er proposed that they play rock-paper-scissors to decide who would board.
Those who won got on the helicopter.
Those who lost would try again until all the seats were filled. The people left behind on the ground retreated dejectedly.
“Alright, after this trip, I’ll have Zhang Tian take you all for another flight!”
“Brother, you keep your word?”
Zhang Daxing, who had lost and was on the verge of tears, immediately perked up upon hearing Fang Er’s words.
“Get lost! Believe it or not, we’re leaving!”
After instructing Zhuzi to take good care of the place, Fang Er shut the cabin door and said, “Take off!”
“Yes, Duke!”
Zhang Tian pressed the ignition button.
"Weng, weng, weng, weng-weng-weng~~~"
The sound of the propellers rotating came from overhead.
As the throttle was gradually increased, the helicopter lifted off the ground, flew out of the mansion, and headed southwest.
Chai Yue and Xiao Qing were flying for the first time, feeling both excited and nervous.
The group of tribal leaders from the grassland behind them made them a little self-conscious, covering their mouths, afraid of embarrassing Fang Er.
Seeing her like this, Fang Er leaned in and whispered to Chai Yue, “Why are you covering your mouth? Just scream if you want to!”
Chai Yue’s face instantly turned red, “My dear, you’re so wicked! Yue’er won’t scream, it’s too embarrassing!”
After playfully chiding Fang Er, she turned her head and looked at the scenery outside through the glass window.
The vast county duke’s mansion was fully visible from this height.
And the white flocks of sheep outside.
Further away, the cultivated fields, the rolling mountains, rivers, and lakes.
These were sights she had never seen before, and she became immersed in them.
When the helicopter reached Beiping County,
Beside the Grand Canal, Zhang Tian pointed to the tall Heavenly Fire Army banner below, “Duke, this is the refueling station.”
Fang Er nodded, “Let’s stop and resupply, and stretch our legs.”
At every stop, regardless of whether the fuel was depleted, the helicopter would land to refuel.
The excited people on the helicopter jumped out and looked around.
In just half an hour, they had covered hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye. It was amazing!
Chang'an City, Xuanwu Gate.
The general guarding the gate was stunned as he watched the helicopter flying from the Imperial Garden.
Then, he instinctively grabbed his walkie-talkie to report to his superior.
“Report, General! This is Xuanwu Gate, something is flying from the sky!”
“What thing! Speak clearly!”
The general’s response came quickly from the walkie-talkie.
“Your subordinate doesn’t know either, it’s coming from the northeast and is currently over the Imperial Garden, approaching this way!”
The young guard at the gate was bewildered. Who knew what that thing was!
“Maintain vigilance, I’m coming over immediately!” The general’s tone was tense.
Li Shimin was looking at memorials in the Liangji Hall when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps. He looked up and saw a guard rushing into the hall in a panic.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, there is news from Xuanwu Gate that something is flying from the Imperial Garden!”
Li Shimin blinked.
“Flying?”
“Could it be a hot air balloon?” This was his first thought.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, it’s too far away, the soldiers guarding the city did not see it clearly!” The guard, kneeling on one knee, negated Li Shimin’s guess about a hot air balloon.
Fang Er and his group were coming from the northeast, and northeast of Chang'an City was the Imperial Garden, where the imperial family hunted in their leisure time.
Originally, Fang Er had planned to bypass the Imperial Garden, check on his estate first, and then change to horseback to enter the palace.
However, Li Tai, in his arrogance, insisted on flying directly to the palace, saying he wanted to give Li Shimin a surprise.
However, looking at the tribal leaders in the cabin, Fang Er decided to make a detour and land at Chengtian Gate.
After all, bringing a group of foreigners directly to the palace was not very appropriate.
Therefore, the guard who had just rushed to Xuanwu Gate with his troops saw the helicopter make a turn less than a kilometer away and head east.
He grabbed the deputy beside him, “Quick! Report to His Majesty again!”
Li Shimin frowned as he looked at the deputy who rushed into the Liangji Hall, “Speak!”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, that thing, upon seeing the vigilance at Xuanwu Gate, flew eastward! It was extremely fast!”
“Could it be a hot air balloon?” Li Shimin confirmed again.
The deputy quickly replied, “Reporting to Your Majesty, it is not a hot air balloon. Your subordinate has never seen such a thing before!”
“It’s very large! And it flies very fast! Definitely not a clumsy thing like a hot air balloon.”
“Not a hot air balloon? Then it’s not Fang Er.”
“Very large? And coming towards the palace?”
“And it saw the reinforcements at Xuanwu Gate and turned away?”
“Could it be that Hou Junji has come up with some new contraption and wants to attack Chang'an again?”
“Summon! All the Dukes to the hall!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
After saluting, the deputy turned and left the Liangji Hall.
Outside the hall, he conveyed the order to summon the Dukes to the outside guards.
Then, he saw a group of guards rush out of Chengtian Gate.
At this time, the helicopter had reached the airspace above the workshop by the Longshou Canal.
Qi Sui, seeing the unidentified flying object approaching rapidly, ordered the defense forces, “All forces, be on alert!”
“Sniper, aim at that thing!”
“Bring out the 'wild chicken neck' too!”
He guessed it was Fang Er, but he wasn’t sure. What if it was the enemy? So, it was better to be cautious!
Fang Er clearly saw the actions of the defense forces below through his binoculars.
Seeing Qi Sui’s response, he nodded with satisfaction. First, he had Zhang Tian ascend higher, then he picked up the walkie-talkie, “Alright Qi Sui, inform everyone to stand down. I’m back!”
Without anti-aircraft artillery, heavy machine guns and sniper rifles were the only firepower that could pose a threat to the helicopter.
If he didn’t identify himself soon, and some idiot fired a shot, it would be a disaster.
Qi Sui heard Fang Er’s voice from the walkie-talkie at his waist and quickly shouted to the defense forces who were on alert, “Put your guns down! It’s the Duke!”
After the alert on the ground was lifted, Fang Er had Zhang Tian land the helicopter.