Chapter 131 My Charming Ancestor 5
Zhou Jue's words were like a boulder crashing into a lake, leaving everyone's minds reeling.
No more worries about famine?
What do these six words mean for people living in this era?
This is a dream even more ethereal than "immortality"!
Why have people rebelled throughout history? No matter how you look at it, it all boils down to one thing: food.
Solving the food problem is equivalent to cutting off 90% of the sources of unrest on this land at their root!
Ying Zheng's breath caught in his throat for a moment: "Is the immortal's word truly true?"
Li Si and the others held their breath and listened intently, fearing that what they had just heard was merely their own hallucination.
Without depleting the national treasury or increasing taxes, how can we ensure that everyone in the world does not go hungry?
My goodness, what you've said is...outrageous, not to mention His Majesty, even we mortals find it a bit...outrageous!
Zhou Jue knew perfectly well that this ancestor was the most pragmatic person in the world.
You talk to him about abstract concepts, he talks to you about practical matters.
You talk to him about miracles, and he talks to you about national affairs and people's livelihood.
If you want him to believe you, you can't just rely on words.
Meeting Ying Zheng's almost murderous gaze, Zhou Jue smiled slightly and gently flipped his outstretched palm.
The next instant, two things appeared out of thin air in her palm.
It was the same color, yellowish-brown, bumpy and unremarkable, looking like a stone or egg.
The other one is red-skinned and slightly elongated in shape, looking more like the root of some plant.
“These two things are the ‘seeds’ I brought.”
Ying Zheng's gaze fell on those two things.
His brows furrowed even deeper.
This is... the divine object that can free the Qin Dynasty from the worry of famine?
He reached out his hand.
Zhou Jue understood and handed over the yellowish-brown "stone egg".
It feels heavy when you hold it, carrying a hint of earthy fragrance and the unique freshness of plants.
Ying Zheng pinched it with his fingernail, breaking the skin and revealing the pale yellow interior. A strange, refreshing fragrance wafted into his nostrils.
This is not a stone.
"What is this thing called?" Ying Zheng asked in a deep voice.
“This object is nameless. I obtained it by chance on a fairy mountain overseas. If Your Majesty does not mind, you may bestow a name upon it.” Zhou Jue passed the buck back to the emperor.
Ying Zheng didn't reply; he simply stroked the "seed," his mind racing.
Li Si, Zhao Gao, and others behind him also craned their necks, their faces full of curiosity and confusion.
Is this a divine object? It looks... so simple and unadorned.
"Immortal." Ying Zheng spoke again, his tone now carrying a hint of interrogation.
"My people eat millet and wheat. How can they possibly eat this?"
"What is the production volume?"
"Could it possibly survive in the arid Guanzhong Plain?"
Three questions in a row, each one aimed at piercing the heart.
This is what an emperor should be like.
He doesn't care what this thing is called or how it looks. He cares about whether it's edible, how high its yield is, and whether it can adapt to harsh environments!
These three questions were also the three mountains weighing heavily on the minds of all agricultural officials in the Great Qin Dynasty.
"Your Majesty's question hits the nail on the head."
She calmly said, "This can be steamed, boiled, baked, or ground into powder to make cakes. Its taste surpasses that of millet. Its ability to fill the stomach far exceeds that of wheat."
"And this one, with the red skin removed, is sweet in taste, and is prepared in basically the same way."
"As for the yield..." Zhou Jue paused, then held up one finger: "One mu of land, if tended properly, can yield one hundred shi of this stuff."
"What?!"
This time, before Ying Zheng could react, Li Si behind him was already horrified and speechless!
One hundred shi?!
He simply couldn't believe his ears!
As the prime minister, he was intimately familiar with the agricultural situation in the Qin Dynasty. At present, even in a year with favorable weather and abundant harvests, the best yield of good millet from one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) of land in the Qin Dynasty was only four or five shi (approximately 1.25 tons).
This miraculous thing can produce one hundred bushels of grain per acre.
This isn't grain; it's gold growing directly from the ground!
Li Si was so excited that he was trembling all over and his face turned red. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, he would have almost knelt down and kowtowed to Zhou Jue on the spot.
However, there was no joy on Ying Zheng's face.
He just stared at Zhou Jue more intently, the suspicion in his eyes almost tangible.
"One hundred shi per mu?" He slowly repeated these five words.
"Does the immortal know what crime it is to deceive the emperor?"
The atmosphere instantly cooled down, and all the civil and military officials were too frightened to utter a sound.
It’s over!
His Majesty is furious!
This immortal, everything you said before was fine, so why are you spouting such nonsensical nonsense on this most crucial issue? One hundred shi per mu? Why don't you just say two hundred shi?
Zhou Jue looked at him and sighed softly in his heart.
She knew that her ancestor's paranoia had struck again.
It's not his fault.
Any normal, rational monarch, upon hearing such a counterintuitive figure, would absolutely not react with disbelief.
She didn't rush to defend herself, but instead asked softly, "Has Your Majesty ever seen scenes of starving corpses everywhere, and people exchanging children to eat?"
Ying Zheng's body suddenly stiffened.
How could he not have seen it before?
In his childhood, he was held hostage in Handan, the capital of Zhao, where he suffered endless bullying and contempt. That year, Zhao was hit by a severe drought, and the shadow of the Battle of Changping still loomed over the land.
He had witnessed firsthand how once vibrant lives were reduced to withered corpses by hunger, carelessly discarded by the roadside.
He had witnessed firsthand a desperate mother, holding her equally emaciated child, crying her heart out in the cold wind, yet unable to shed a single tear.
He even... he had even witnessed cannibalism by exchanging children.
From that moment on, he made a vow in his heart.
One day, he will ensure that the people of this land will never have to suffer like this again!
This was the original motivation that drove him to unify the six kingdoms and establish a strong centralized government at all costs!
It's not for power, not for fame, but simply to... ensure that everyone has enough to eat.
This secret and pain, buried deep in his heart and never told to anyone, was now ruthlessly revealed by Zhou Jue's casual remark.
Ying Zheng's breathing became heavy.
He gripped the yellowish-brown "seed" tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force, and the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
He didn't answer Zhou Jue's question, but simply raised his head, his slightly reddened eyes staring intently at her, like a caged beast that had been provoked.
"What do you know?"
His voice was hoarse, trembling uncontrollably.
"You are high above, detached from the mortal world, how could you possibly know the suffering of humankind!"
At this moment, he was not like the First Emperor who swept across the land.
More like an ordinary person who has been hit where it hurts and is desperately trying to hide their vulnerability with screams.
Zhou Jue's heart was clenched tightly.
Looking at the pain and resentment in his eyes, and at his feigned strength, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat.
She didn't spout any more profound principles.
She simply reached out and gently took the "seed" back from his hand, which seemed to be crushing everything.
Then, in front of everyone, she squatted down.
On the altar, she used her hand to dig a small hole in the ground, placed the "seed" in it, and then gently covered it with soil.
After doing all this, she raised her head and looked at Ying Zheng, who was still stunned.
"Your Majesty, you are right."
"I haven't experienced the hardships you've gone through, so I can't truly understand the grand aspirations in your heart."
Words are ultimately inadequate.
"so……"
She stretched out her right hand, her index and middle fingers together, and gently touched the loose soil where the seeds had just been planted.
She mobilized the spiritual energy within her body and infused it with the "birth-inducing" technique.
"...Then please see for yourself."
The moment the words fell.
An unbelievable scene unfolded.
Suddenly, the flat land began to bulge slightly.
Immediately afterwards, a tender green shoot emerged from the soil.
Then, it began to grow wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Sprouting branches, budding, growing leaves...
Everyone stared wide-eyed and gaped.
The tablet in Li Si's hand fell to the ground with a "thud," but he was completely unaware of it.
Zhao Gao collapsed to the ground, muttering unconsciously, "God... miracle... a true miracle..."
Ying Zheng looked at the lush green vines under the sunlight.
This is not a smokescreen!
Ignoring everyone's reactions, Zhou Jue dug out a large bunch of seven or eight large, yellowish-brown fruits from the soil, each one bigger than the previous one.
She carried the large, heavy bunch of fruit back to Ying Zheng and handed it to him.
"His Majesty."
"The yield of one hundred shi per mu is not an exaggeration."
"With it, your people will truly no longer have to worry about famine."
Ying Zheng reached out, his hand trembling, and accepted the large bunch of fruit still covered in fresh soil.
He looked at the "divine object" in his hand, and then looked up at the "immortal" who had brought him all of this.
This nightmare that had haunted him his entire life, this unattainable dream he thought he would never realize until his death, has today been resolved in such a dreamlike way.
Overwhelmed with ecstasy and excitement, he lost all reason and defenses.
His eyes, which had witnessed mountains of corpses and seas of blood, could no longer hold back. A scalding tear slid from the corner of his eye and landed on the yellowish-brown fruit.
He slowly and tightly embraced the bunch of fruit in his arms, as if he were holding the future of the entire world.
Then, he raised his head and looked at Zhou Jue. In his deep eyes, there was a mixture of hope, awe, ambition, and... a trace of fear.
He asked softly, "Immortal, you have given me... you have given the Great Qin an unprecedented hope."
"But do you know that the one who gave the emperor hope, yet could not make that hope last forever..."
What will be the outcome?
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