Li Ke, having achieved his goal and successfully unlocked the nunchaku martial art, returned carrying a kangaroo he had beaten to death.
Upon seeing Fang Er, he grinned and said, "Mountain Chief, I won! I won!"
*Clap, clap, clap, clap*
"Brother Han Wang is amazing!"
Changle, who had appeared beside Fang Er at some point, clapped her hands and cheered for Li Ke.
Li Ke felt he had never been so satisfied. A sense of accomplishment was very important for a man!
At this moment, Li Ke had found it!
Even though he knew he had been beaten black and blue, he still smiled and said to Changle,
"Changle, wait for me, brother will roast it for your dinner!"
The tent had been left in Ryukyu, and Fang Er's warehouse was also out of stock. He had Wang Xuance and the others cut down some bushes to build a few makeshift shelters.
Located in the Southern Hemisphere, the climate here was completely opposite to that of the Great Tang, and it wouldn't feel cold at night.
The kangaroo, weighing nearly a hundred pounds, was skinned and roasted until it sizzled with oil. Sprinkled with spices and chili powder, it made Li Tai drool beside them.
This fellow's physique was already showing a tendency to develop horizontally. With his appetite, it was no wonder that historical records described him as a fat man!
Kangaroo meat was a bit coarse, tasting similar to beef but with a noticeable gamey flavor.
Li Tai ate like a pig; anything edible was good to him.
Li Ke, immersed in his sense of accomplishment, completely ignored the gamey smell of the roasted meat.
After only a few bites, Changle turned to Fang Er with a look of disdain and pouted, "Brother-in-law, I want a lollipop~"
"This meat is too unpleasant to eat."
Fang Er: .........
"We're in the wild right now, for goodness' sake!"
He casually took out a lollipop and placed it beside her, pointing at the piece of meat in her hand, "Eat the meat first, then you can have the candy."
"Oh!" Changle reluctantly resumed her attack on the piece of meat in her hand.
That night, they made do in the makeshift shelters. Thanks to the insect repellent powder prepared by Old Sun, no snakes, insects, or mosquitoes bothered them.
The next morning, Fang Er was woken up by Changle.
This little girl must have snuck over to his side sometime during the night.
He carefully pulled his numb arm out from under her neck, placed his clothes underneath, and then stretched as he walked out of the shelter.
The horizon was just showing the pale white of a fish's belly, and the edge of a red sun was emerging from beneath the water's surface.
Sunrise.
He called Wang Xuance and the others to prepare breakfast. After eating, they began to explore the surroundings.
Years of isolation had resulted in the land here being filled with incredibly thick trees.
Dense forests of red flowering gum, eucalyptus, turpentine trees, karri trees, and dinggo trees. Some of these trees were so thick that five people holding hands would barely be able to encircle them.
Walking within them, the ground was soft. Digging with a knife at his feet revealed a thick layer of fallen leaves, nearly a foot deep.
"Mountain Chief, if we cut down this tree and hollow it out, it would make a boat!" Li Tai exclaimed, patting a nearby eucalyptus tree.
Trees this large are hard to find in the Great Tang.
Moreover, eucalyptus wood is quite light, weighing between 373-510 kg/cubic meter. Its grain is tight but irregular, its material tough yet smooth, and it doesn't warp easily after drying, making it excellent material for shipbuilding.
As the territory expands, the Great Tang will need many ships, many large ships.
With current technology, building an all-steel hull would still be difficult, but if these trees were brought back, or if a shipyard were built here, there would be almost inexhaustible materials.
"Then let Li Shun and the others come and set up a shipyard here!" Fang Er replied casually.
Li Tai's eyes darted around, and he leaned closer to Fang Er and whispered, "Mountain Chief, can we discuss something?"
Fang Er looked at him, confused, "If you have something to say, just say it. Why be so mysterious?"
"Hehehehehe, could you speak to my Imperial Father and ask him to change my fiefdom to this place?"
"You want to come here?"
"Yes, it's too boring in the country. It's much better here. Then, this entire island will be mine, and I can do whatever I want!"
"Do you know how big this island is?"
Hearing Fang Er's question, Li Tai suddenly became speechless, "Mountain Chief, you know?"
*Whoosh*
A map was spread out on the fallen leaves, and Fang Er pointed to the location of Australia.
"Come, compare it. How much smaller is this than the Great Tang?"
Li Tai leaned over the map and measured it with his hand, then jumped up instantly.
"Damn it, Mountain Chief, this island is equivalent to half of the Great Tang?"
Fang Er nodded slightly. Australia, with its land area of seven million six hundred ninety thousand square kilometers, was indeed about half the size of the Great Tang in terms of its current territory!
"Hiss~~~ No, it's too big. Imperial Father probably won't agree!"
Li Tai's head drooped. He wasn't the only prince, and if he were granted such a vast territory, how would the other princes be enfeoffed?
As the saying goes, one doesn't worry about scarcity, but about unequal distribution.
They were all born of the same father. There was only one throne, which belonged to the Crown Prince. However, for fiefdoms, making such a special arrangement would be problematic.
Seeing his dejected look, Fang Er chuckled.
"Qing Que, look over there!"
Saying that, he pointed to the side.
Li Tai followed his gaze and instantly understood Fang Er's intention.
"Mountain Chief, you mean, we should bring Imperial Brother along?"
Fang Er nodded slightly, confirming his guess.
"Such a large Australia is not suitable to be granted to a single prince. However, if we bring another one to share the burden, then there will be no problem."
"Hehehehehe, Mountain Chief, you're brilliant! I'll go talk to Imperial Brother now!"
Saying that, Li Tai walked towards Li Ke.
"Imperial Brother, can we discuss something?"
Li Ke had found something fun again. A peculiar animal was looking at him.
It had the outline of a wolf, with brown fur all over its body, black stripes like a zebra on its back, and strong hind legs like a kangaroo.
A thylacine!
An Australian creature that had gone extinct in later generations.
With nunchakus in hand and humming a tune he had just learned yesterday, Li Ke was eager to try his moves on the thylacine.
*Bang!*
Before he could make a move, Li Tai, who had caught up from behind, shot the thylacine down with a gun.
"Damn it, what are you doing!"
Li Ke was very displeased. He had finally encountered another exotic beast and wanted to practice his nunchakus, only to have Li Tai snatch it away.
The jungle rustled, and the thylacine's companions, startled by the gunshot, scattered and fled.
"Heh heh, third brother, don't rush. Listen, I have good news for you!"
Li Tai put on a mysterious air, which indeed piqued Li Ke's curiosity.