In the Duke's Mansion, a workshop.
In front of the workbench, Fang Er was drawing and sketching on paper, with Zhao Gang, Liu Eryang, and a group of craftsmen standing around him.
What was drawn on the paper was 140.
"Here, is this enough? If not, there's more in the latrine and the side rooms."
"Oh, and there are some hidden in the small kitchen."
Fang Er: ...
"This old geezer Yuan Tiangang, he really isn't leaving himself any room to maneuver. Is he planning to detonate secretly and then amaze everyone?"
"Or is he afraid that in case of an accident, a single complete rafter would remain in this courtyard?"
Wiping the cold sweat that had broken out on his forehead, Fang Er looked at Yuan Tiangang with a wry smile and said, "Can we, next time, find a place outside the mansion to store the gunpowder?"
"Outside the mansion?" Yuan Tiangang tugged at his dwindling beard and then pointed in the northwest direction of the Duke's Mansion, continuing to speak.
"Outside the courtyard wall, this old Taoist had someone build a wooden shed, and indeed, some was placed there."
"Not much, only about two thousand jin or so."
*Crack!*
Fang Er felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His legs felt weak.
"Is this scoundrel trying to level the entire Duke's Mansion?"
"Why didn't anyone tell me about such a big thing?"
"Guards! Quickly, come here!"
He couldn't sit still for a moment. He was even starting to doubt if his brain had been kicked by a donkey for letting Yuan Tiangang stay at home.
"Damn it, there are still unweaned children in the house..."
"Yuan, why so brutal!"
Wang Xuance, leading the special forces, appeared in the courtyard in less than a minute.
"My Lord!"
Seeing them arrive, Fang Er immediately issued an order.
"Search! Search the entire courtyard and move all the gunpowder outside the mansion!"
"Yes!"
Everyone quickly dispersed into various rooms to search.
"Little friend, what are you doing? It's not necessary, not at all..."
Yuan Tiangang looked at the boxes of gunpowder being brought out by the special forces, a look of extreme distress on his face.
However, in another room, Sun Simiao, who had been alerted by the special forces, was extremely pleased. Stroking his beard, he smiled at Fang Er.
"Search, search to your heart's content. I live with these things every day. If they're not moved out, who knows when we'll be attending a banquet!"
"By the way, you'd better find another place for fellow Daoist Yuan outside, otherwise, within three days, this guy will definitely bring the gunpowder back!"
How could Fang Er not accept such a suggestion? He still wanted to live a few more years.
He beckoned to a special forces member. "Go to the railway construction site and find Hao Jianshe. Tell him to pull out three hundred craftsmen from the First Construction Bureau and build a courtyard for Yuan Tiangang in the old forest ten li outside the mansion before sunset."
"Yes!"
This special forces member gave a military salute, then turned and left the courtyard.
Looking at his retreating back, Fang Er hoped the DNA of the infrastructure maniacs would show its power. Three hundred craftsmen, one house a day, that should be doable, right?
Half an hour later, Wang Xuance and the other special forces members finished their search.
"My Lord, we've searched everywhere. This is all there is."
Fang Er looked at the wooden crates piled up like a small mountain in the courtyard, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness towards Yuan Tiangang.
"Damn it, each crate can hold at least thirty jin of gunpowder. Now there are more than a dozen crates in the courtyard!"
"Carry them away! Carry them all outside the mansion and put them in an open area for now!"
"Yes!"
Two special forces members carried a crate out. Once outside, they called another squad of the guarding Skyfire Army to move the remaining ones away.
Only after all the gunpowder was moved away did Fang Er heave a sigh of relief, his heart finally at ease.
He walked to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down, saying to Yuan Tiangang.
"Venerable Yuan, come, let's talk about safety."
Yuan Tiangang sidled over sheepishly. Just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly heard a loud noise from outside.
*Bang!*
It was the sound of the courtyard gate being violently kicked open, followed by an enraged, booming voice.
"Yuan Tiangang, what have I done to provoke you!"
Fang Er stared in astonishment at Chai Shao, who charged in, casually throwing something wrapped in cloth onto the ground, then raising his fist to punch Yuan Tiangang.
"Duke Chai, let's talk it over. Why resort to violence!"
Yuan Tiangang's skills were not to be underestimated. He took a step back with his right foot, dodged the incoming fist with his upper body, and immediately grabbed Chai Shao's arm.
"Talk? I'll talk about your grandmother! Look at this!"
Chai Shao didn't bother to explain. He still had his right hand grabbed, but he had his left hand, and if that wasn't enough, he had his two feet.
"Damn it, after decades of fighting on the battlefield, I still can't deal with you, a bull-nosed Taoist!"
Fang Er and Sun Simiao watched from the side, completely baffled. Why did they start fighting for no reason?
Just then, another voice came from outside the courtyard, it was Li Ji.
"Venerable Sun is here, quickly, quickly help the Emperor take a look!"