Changle hopped to the side of the wooden wolf, climbed onto it under the awed gazes of the soldiers, and then patted the wolf's head in a show of authority.
"Giddy up!"
Liu Laoqi barked at the soldiers in their dialect, "What are you staring at? Lift it up and move!"
But Ke Laoyang led the way, and they all headed towards Poluotan Cave.
They had waited for over an hour here before, but it turned out to be only a half-hour journey once they started walking.
Poluotan Cave, in terms of meaning, was considered the capital of the indigenous people of Liúqiú, but upon arrival, Fang Er was greatly disappointed.
It was no more than two li in length and width, with a two-meter-wide ditch serving as a moat.
Three layers of wooden palisades acted as city walls, enclosing open ground scattered with thatched huts.
Amidst the thatched huts stood a row of wooden houses, carved with patterns of birds and beasts.
This was Poluotan Cave, the royal city of Liúqiú.
If the people of the Central Plains knew about this, they would probably burst into laughter!
The people in the city wore diverse clothing, some made of animal skins, others of linen. As a large crowd entered the city, they stopped what they were doing and looked towards them.
Upon seeing Ke Laoyang personally leading the way, and a small girl riding the wooden wolf he was so proud of, they were greatly shocked.
Who was this?
Seeing their reaction, Ke Laoyang felt his face burn and he irritably roared at them.
"Bailongma Tichao xi!"
All the people immediately ran back into their thatched huts, not daring to make a sound.
"Tsk tsk tsk, truly hanging a pig's head on the city gate tower," Li Tai couldn't help but complain.
Li Ke asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Smack! That's what you get for not studying properly!" Fang Er slapped him on the back of the head. "That's called putting on a grand show!"
Li Ke pouted aggrievedly, "Mountain Master, that phrase isn't in the books~~"
"It's not?" Fang Er scratched his head awkwardly, then looked at Li Tai. "Remember this, and tell Xue Zhiqian to create a textbook on this subject when we get back!"
Li Ke: "......"
He felt like he had just added a new subject to the school curriculum with a few casual words. Would he be scolded if people found out?
By the time they reached the wooden house, everyone was numb.
"Potholes everywhere, and shit in front of the houses~"
"Servants are ugly and short, food is like pig slop~"
"The people of Shenyang live better than Ke Laoyang!"
Pushing open the door of the wooden house, the ground inside was indeed covered with wolf and bear skins as carpets. However, the hot and humid weather had caused the hides to spoil, emitting a pungent odor.
He wondered how this so-called King of Liúqiú managed to survive.
"Throw it all out!"
Fang Er gave the order without politeness.
The special forces members rushed into the house, peeled up all the animal skins from the ground, carried them to a distance, and discarded them.
Occasionally, white maggots could be seen shaking off the skins.
"Ugh~!"
Li Tai and Li Ke, the two brothers, simultaneously rushed outside, grabbing the same tree and vomiting.
Fortunately, Changle had not followed them inside, otherwise, the three siblings would have likely shared the same miserable fate.
They had thought it would be better after removing the animal skins, but the smell became even more overpowering. Fang Er, covering his nose, also ran outside.
"Take off the door panels!"
After scanning the surroundings and finding nothing suitable, he instructed Guan Shu.
Watching the door of his royal palace being roughly dismantled, Ke Laoyang's mouth twitched with pain, but he dared not utter a word.
Guan Shu and Zhang Shu carried the door panels, and Fang Er laid out a map on top of them.
This was a map of Liúqiú, enlarged from a national map.
As the second-largest island in the country, Liúqiú, or Taiwan, had its administrative divisions and topography clearly depicted on it.
For Fang Er, drawing with fine brushstrokes was merely a basic skill.
Looking at the map before him, he located their current position and marked it with a pencil.
The eastern part of Liúqiú was mountainous. Even in later generations, the people of Taiwan lived on the western side of the island.
Fang Er then marked seven locations on the map and wrote down the names he had designated for these places.
Following the naming convention of the thirty-six Heavenly Spirits, they corresponded to the later locations:
Tianfu Kaohsiung, Tianman Tainan,
Tiangu Taoyuan, Tianshang Taipei,
Tianli Yilan, Tianjie Hualien,
Tian'an Taitung.
With the map of later generations for reference, it was clear which areas were suitable for survival.
After making seven copies of the sketches, he began to issue orders.
"Huang Sheng, Wang Duan, Lü Bo, Li Da, Meng Di, Bai Song, Huo Kang!"
"Present!"
"From today onwards, the eighteen riders of Yan Yun will forever guard Liúqiú. Each of you seven will take one person with you to prepare for the establishment of cities in these locations!"
"Two people will go together, the city will be county-level, one with a principal and one with a deputy!"
Saying this, Fang Er distributed the seven sketches to them.
"Yes!"
The seven men stepped forward and received their respective sketches.
"Guan Shu, Zhang Shu, Zhao Long, Huang Sheng!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"You four will remain in this location!"
"Yes!"
Just moments ago, they had thought their old brothers were going to be separated, but they never expected that they four would also stay here. This made the four brothers very excited.
From today onwards, Liúqiú would be their domain.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei exchanged glances. Was this considered a enfeoffment?
The two brothers had followed Liu Bei to fight for a lifetime, only to end up as village marquises and township marquises. Seeing these juniors, so young, becoming lords of a county? This was truly unbelievable!
When they came from southern Yue, due to the limited capacity of the fishing boats, they had only brought two regiments, and even those were still drifting at sea.
Fang Er sent Wang Xuance back to inform the fleet to sail to the nearby coast. After leaving some troops with the Yan Yun riders to secure the entire island, Fang Er took Changle and the two brothers Li Tai and Li Ke to explore the vicinity.
The hundred-li journey on the way was not for self-torture; it was for a better understanding of the island's situation.
In the future, rubber plantations would be established here, making it, along with Luzon, a primary production area for Tang Dynasty rubber.
In this way, even if his descendants were incompetent, they could still live without worry through this rubber.
Liu Laoqi was already bewildered. He had heard of Fang Er's reputation, given his achievements and the publicity from newspapers, he had some knowledge of his deeds.
However, he never expected that upon landing, Fang Er would immediately begin enfeoffing his subordinates, directly dividing the entire island of Liúqiú into eight parts.
After the four men, accompanied by special forces, had completed their rounds, he looked at the King of Liúqiú with pity.
"Ke Laoyang, your island is gone~"
Ke Laoyang looked confused. He hadn't understood a word Fang Er had said earlier.
"My island, is gone?"
"Yes, gone!"
"Why is it gone?"
"The person just now was a Duke of the Great Tang. He has reclaimed your island for the Great Tang."
To Liu Laoqi's surprise, Ke Laoyang not only did not feel any pain upon hearing this news but instead burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahahaha, the Sui Dynasty campaigned on this island, but unfortunately, the Ke Laoyang of that era was stubborn and refused to surrender. Watching your lives get better and better, while we still live in poverty."
"Even if this Duke didn't come to claim it, I would have begged to submit eventually!"
The entire island had only a little over ten thousand indigenous people, but now there were several thousand Tang people fishing, trading, and resting on the island. Ke Laoyang was self-aware.
Of course, he would not admit that he was frightened by the round of hand grenades.
ps: Mid-Autumn Festival, with a budget of a thousand yuan for red envelopes, want to grab some? Reward Shi Zi with a sponsorship for the sake of love, and you'll receive a ticket!