Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 155, Section 154: Lychee and Longan
Yan Ying's question and hesitation led Qin Shi to misunderstand.

She was a little disappointed: "Hasn't it started yet?"

He then asked, "Did Jiaozhi belong to us during the last conquest of the Baiyue?"

The South China Sea Commandery has brought in some sugarcane; perhaps Jiaozhi has also been partially conquered.

Yan Ying: ...

The future queen's question was so tricky that she didn't know how to answer it for a moment.

If she were to say that she, as a county commandant, knew nothing about double-cropping rice and had been stationed in Jiaozhi for many years without ever conquering it, would the other party think she was quite useless?
How should I answer this? I should listen to my mother and get some sleep first.

I haven't been able to sleep for a long time now, and my mind feels completely blank.

Qin Shi, however, had already seen her troubled expression and answered his own question:
"Not yet? That's alright, we can just have His Majesty take it down quickly later."

With the divine weapons and tools completed, the Lingqu Canal was successfully excavated, connecting the north and south.

With the army's expedition and logistical support guaranteed, conquering Baiyue might not require the arduous 10-year campaign that occurred in another historical event.

Sigh! Ten years!

Where is the population now to support this for 10 years!
In later generations, 960 million square kilometers of land supported over a billion people; now, with only two to three million square kilometers, the population, even at the highest estimate, is just over 2000 million…

How could we bear to fight and sacrifice ourselves!
Yan Ying could no longer remain silent.

She quickly replied, "Once I return to Baiyue, I will immediately send someone to Jiaozhi to investigate. If there is double-cropping rice, I will send it back to Xianyang along with the rice seeds."

After speaking, he paused for a moment—facing the Qin ruler whose identity was still uncertain, with no princes or princesses in front of him, was it inappropriate for him to address himself as "your subject"?
But she quickly asked, "Please tell me, Lord Qin, what is double-cropping rice?"

Qin Shi replied casually, "It's just rice that's harvested twice a year."

“The climate in Lingnan is warm and humid. Rice is planted in spring and harvested in summer. Then the land is turned over and another crop of rice can be planted in June.”

"Only in this way can two harvests be achieved in one year, double-cropping rice."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "There is another type of rice called 'ratozonal rice,' which involves leaving the roots slightly elevated during harvesting without turning it over. Then, it is irrigated again and left to grow, allowing rice ears to sprout again from the roots... However, the yield is much lower than that of the first season."

She recalled that without hybrid rice and scientific irrigation, even the best farmland could only yield one or two hundred catties per mu, and rice was not a staple food, so her passion was not as strong.

But Yan Ying was already speechless with shock!

Rice that can be harvested twice a year!

Regenerated rice!
Qin Jun spoke of it so casually, even with a hint of dissatisfaction. So the Baiyue region she was stationed in was such a prosperous land?
At this moment, she solemnly cupped her hands and said, "When I return to Xianyang, I will certainly inform Your Majesty to launch a swift campaign!"

It's truly unsettling that such a precious land no longer belongs to the Qin state!

Huh, she's succumbed to me again?
Never mind! It's not important!

Qin Shi was also racking his brains.

The Qin state today has limited biodiversity, and the Silk Road has not yet been established. Many familiar crops are no longer available.

However, the Baiyue region is close to the sea, and fresh crops have been frequently introduced there since the Zhou Dynasty. Now, we can only ask Yan Ying to keep a close eye on things.

"If there are any fresh crops, whether they are edible or not, please ask the Commandant to send them to Xianyang."

Yan Ying nodded: "Sister has ships under her command. If any foreigners come, I will definitely send someone to inquire."

He sighed again, "It's a pity that the summer heat has not subsided, and the lychees and longans are already out of season. In addition, transportation is inconvenient, so I cannot invite Mr. Qin to taste them."

Qin Shi sighed, "It's alright. Without ice, lychees spoil too easily. As the saying goes, 'The color changes in one day, the fragrance changes in two days, and the taste changes in three days,' so they can't be transported to Xianyang. Fortunately, I'm not particularly fond of them, so if I can't eat them, I can't eat them."

It's not that you can't eat a single bite if you really want to, but that would be like "a concubine's smile amidst the dust of a courier," which is really unnecessary.

Yan Ying was speechless at this point. In fact, the King had never even eaten lychees.

Although lychee is also known as "Lizhi," meaning that if it is to be picked and transported, it must be cut off along with the branch in order to preserve it for a short period of time.

However, this is also time-limited. In hot weather, even if the branches are kept in water, they can only survive for a maximum of four days.

Even traveling day and night, it would take more than ten days and nights for the Baiyue people to reach Xianyang.

Longan can at least be dried, but there's absolutely no hope for lychees.

The idea of ​​"one transformation, two transformations, three transformations" as Qin Jun mentioned is unheard of. One can only truly understand it by tasting it and experiencing it firsthand.

Judging from her words, it was clearly not surprising, so ordinary that she could casually utter the words "I don't love you."

Yan Ying dared not ponder the profound implications contained within.

Silence fell over the carriage for a moment.

There was no intention to cover it up during the Qin Dynasty.

Her origins are something only the King needs to roughly guess. There's absolutely no need to explain to the others.

Ultimately, it was due to the scarcity of species and the inconvenience of transportation at that time.

It's unclear whether cement can be made at this time, but if it is, such a hard surface would be very harmful to the legs of horses. Frequent walking would increase the rate of horse replacement, which would be another major loss.

Ugh!
She sighed deeply in her heart.

Setting aside the grand dreams of a nation that has stood the test of time, this country is actually riddled with problems and can no longer withstand further turmoil.

After she finished speaking, looking at Yan Ying's red eyes and the exhaustion and haggardness that even her best efforts couldn't hide, she sighed at Yan Ying's energy and said considerately:
"Regarding the affairs of Baiyue, I actually have many questions to ask, but I haven't figured them out yet. Asking them here in vain would only waste the Commandant's time."

"Why don't you go and rest in the carriage first, and we can talk again when we return to Xianyang and are in front of the King?"

Yan Ying also had a thousand questions in her heart with nowhere to confide in. After a long silence, she could only bow and take her leave.

Prince Qian, however, was already eager to try. As soon as Yan Ying got off the carriage, he immediately spurred his horse and rode up to her.
"Lord Qin, can I ride a bicycle now?"

Seeing his spirited appearance, Qin Shi couldn't help but smile: "Go, keep no more than a hundred paces away from the caravan. Also, you must have two squads of guards with you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Prince Qian had already spurred his horse forward with great enthusiasm.

Princess Wen lagged behind, and even though her maidservant managed to cover herself with a silk gauze, she couldn't stop the cloud of yellow dust that rushed towards her.

She couldn't help but exclaim angrily, "You brute!"

After a long period of preparation, she finally boarded the Qin Dynasty's carriage again, and at this moment, she finally began to miss Xianyang.

It turns out that being away from home is really not a good thing.

If I had known this would happen, I would have taken this opportunity to visit Shanglin County.

Fortunately, my father's mission has been successfully completed!

Reflecting on the trip, she felt she had learned many valuable lessons, more profound than those found in books. If there were a next time, and if Qin Jun were there, another trip wouldn't be out of the question.

Then, she looked at Qin Shi with curiosity: "What did the Qin ruler and the Yan commander discuss? Why does the other party seem so distracted?"

Qin Shi thought for a moment and summarized simply: "It's probably about things like eating and drinking, which the Commandant of Yan County is not as proficient in as I am."

I spent the entire night writing these two chapters...

Lychee and longan: At this time, they should be called Lizhi and Yizhi. But let's stick to the fact that Sima Qian mentioned in "Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Merchants" that "Panyu (now Guangzhou) has lychee and longan".

[Its color changes in one day, its aroma in two days, and its taste in three days.] (From *Tang Guoshi Bu*)