《The Litchi Road》


 CH 1.1

    When the news reached the Shanglin Office, Li Shande was still outside looking at houses.


    This small house had only one entrance, it was not very spacious, but it was kept very neat and tidy. The roof was covered with fish scale tiles, and the beams were made of cypress wood. The walls of the courtyard and the floor were made of large blue bricks made in Mei and Wu. The gaps between the bricks were clear and straight, arranged in a neat pattern like the streets of Chang¡¯an market, giving a pleasing sense of order in its beauty.


    There was also a tall osmanthus tree in the courtyard. Although it was still February, one could tell from its well-proportioned branches that it would be lush and flourishing in the autumn.*


    *Osmanthus tree season is in the fall.


    Looking at this elegant courtyard, the corners of Li Shande¡¯s mouth couldn¡¯t help but curl up. He could already picture his day of rest in August, with a mat spread out in the courtyard, its corners held down by jars of Xinfeng wine. His wife and daughter would serve freshly steamed Chongyang rice cakes drizzled with thick sugarcane syrup, and the family would enjoy the osmanthus blossoms while eating and drinking together. How delightful it would be!


    ¡°Can you make it a little cheaper?¡± He turned and said to the accompanying broker.


    The broker smiled apologetically and said, ¡°Supervisor Li, this is a house from the fourth year of the Tianbao era, with a ten-year history. Three hundred guan is already a very reasonable price. If the landlord wasn¡¯t in a hurry to return to his hometown, he might not have been willing to sell it for even five hundred guan.¡±


    ¡°But this place is really too far away. I have to walk nearly half an hour every day to go to the Imperial City for my duty.¡±


    ¡°Pingkang Square is closer to the Imperial City. How about we go there and take a look?¡± The broker said with a cunning smile.


    Li Shande immediately felt deflated. This was a first-class location in the capital, something he had never dared to dream of. He walked around the courtyard a few more times, slowly adjusting his mindset.


    This house was located on the south side of Chang¡¯an city, in Guiyi Square, which is south of the city and west of the fourth street of Zhuque Gate. It was indeed quite remote. However, it has one advantage ¨C the Yong¡¯an Canal, which runs through the Square and flows north. His wife can wash vegetables and do laundry without having to go far to fetch water, and his seven-year-old daughter, who loves to bathe, can take more baths.


    There was only so much money to buy a house, so Li Shande had to make a choice. After weighing the pros and cons, he gritted his teeth and decided to take care of his wife and child. He can bear the hardship himself. After all, this was still the city of Chang¡¯an.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just take this one,¡± He exhaled slowly.


    The broker first congratulated him and then said, ¡°The landlord is in a hurry to return to his hometown, so it is inconvenient for him to accept payment in grain, cloth, or other goods. It would be better to pay in light goods such as gold and silver. Li Shande understood his implication and smiled bitterly, ¡°You can call the abbot of Zhaofu Temple to come in and we can sign the deed together.


    After the deal was done, the broker left happily. After a while, a monk in a grey robe entered the courtyard. Smiling, he clasped his hands and chanted the Buddhist prayer. Then he took two copies of the deed out of his sleeves and said that this was for accumulating merit.


    Li Shande reached out and took them, feeling as if the two pieces of paper weighed more than a thousand pounds. The old monk¡¯s two white beards trembled.


    As a low-ranking official of the ninth rank, if Li Shande wanted to buy this house, he might have to borrow money in addition to sacrificing all his savings. In the capital, besides the financial houses of the two markets, the most convenient way to borrow money was from a few large Buddhist temples. This kind of borrowing was called ¡°incense money¡± in Chinese. Of course, Buddhism should not be tainted with the stench of money, so the principle of this borrowing is called ¡°merit¡± and the interest is called ¡°blessings.


    Li Shande took the two loan contracts and read them carefully from the beginning to the end. They were indeed filled with promises of great merit and blessings. He said to the abbot, ¡°Master, the contract says that the total merit is 200 guan, with a monthly blessing of four percent. The repayment period is two years, so the principal and interest together should be 392 guan. But why is it written as 438 guan?¡±


    When this series of numbers came out, the abbot was startled.


    Li Shande calmly said, ¡°According to the Miscellaneous Laws of the Tang Dynasty, we should only calculate the principal of a loan and not the interest as the basis for repayment. Master is well versed in Buddhist teachings, could there be a miscalculation in this calculation method?¡± The abbot hesitated and awkwardly suggested that the disciple might have made a mistake in his calculation.


    Seeing the embarrassed look on the abbot¡¯s face, Li Shande smugly stroked his beard. As a graduate of the Ming Calculation Department in the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan, he was well versed in these little tricks of numbers that couldn¡¯t fool him at all. However, he quickly sighed in disappointment as he realised that although he was skilled in calculations, he had no hope of being promoted in the Imperial Examination, which selected scholars based on literary talent. He would be stuck in the ninth rank for the rest of his life, and could only be proud of this kind of thing.


    The abbot took out a pen and paper, made the necessary changes, and after Li Shande confirmed that everything was correct, he stamped and signed the ¡°incense money¡± contracts. The following procedures did not need to be handled by him. The agent would take the incense money from Zhao Fu Temple and sign the land contract with the landlord. From that moment on, the house belonged to the Li family.


    ¡°Congratulations to Supervisor Ying Qian Renli* for settling down in this beautiful house in the capital.¡± The broker and the abbot bowed to congratulate him.


    *This was what was written in the raws, so I am not sure but it might be a title or honorific given to him based on his past achievements.


    Like a small bubble suddenly appearing in an ancient well, a faint feeling of joy rose in Li Shande¡¯s heart. It had been twenty-eight years, and he finally had a place in Chang¡¯an City where his family could live with peace of mind. The osmanthus tree in the courtyard seemed to have bloomed early, emitting a strong fragrance that permeated his entire body.


    The sound of a bell ringing in the distance woke Li Shande. He had taken half a day off today, and now he had to hurry back to the government office to report for duty. So he said goodbye to the broker and the abbot, left Guiyi Square, and quickly made his way to the Imperial City.


    At the entrance of Guiyi Square, there happened to be a donkey rental shop. Li Shande thought that since he made a big decision today, he should celebrate it. So he gritted his teeth, took ten copper coins out of his purse, and decided to rent a healthy donkey. However, he thought about the huge debt he would have to pay later, so he decided to return three coins and only rent an old donkey.


    The old donkey walked slowly and steadily, and Li Shande¡¯s mood followed suit, swaying back and forth. One moment, he was happy to have bought a new house, and the next, he was dreading having to pay off the debt. He had calculated it over and over again, but every time he had free time, he couldn¡¯t help but calculate it again. Li Shande¡¯s income was meager, just over ten guan a month from his salary, rationed rice, and the rent from a few acres of land he farmed as part of his official duties. Even if the whole family scrimped and saved, it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to cover the shortfall, so he had to find a way to earn some extra income.


    But in any case, at least with a house, there is a foundation.


    He was from Hua county and due to his outstanding arithmetic skills early on, he was selected by the state to study the Ten Mathematical Classics at the Imperial College, with the goal of passing the Imperial Examination in Mathematics. He was then selected by the Ministry of Agriculture to serve as a supervisor in the Shanglin Office*. Although it was a low-ranking position in a cold and obscure government department, his life was stable and uneventful for many years.


    *The Shanglin Office was responsible for managing and supervising the imperial gardens and forests, as well as handling related administrative affairs.


    Buying this house was the biggest move Li Shande had made in many years. He was fifty-two years old this year. He felt entitled to look forward to a better life.


    After arriving in the imperial city, Li Shande went straight to the Shanglin Office, which was located in the shady area in the southeast corner of the city. The area was low-lying, so when it rained, water would immediately accumulate. As a result, the building always emitted a musty smell, and there were spots of mold on the window paper and screens.


    It was almost noon, and a group of colleagues were having lunch in the corridor. When they saw Li Shande, they all put down their chopsticks and bowed their hands in greeting. Li Shande was a little surprised. When did these people become so polite? While he was still puzzled, the head of Shanglin Office waved him over to sit next to him.


    The Shanglin Office head, Liu Shuling, was a big fat man who was usually only polite to his superiors, and never showed any respect to his subordinates. His kindness today surprised Li Shande, who felt a bit overwhelmed. He knelt down nervously and looked at the various dishes in front of him, feeling even more uncomfortable.


    Lunch was also too rich: braised lamb tails, sour jujube cakes, steamed lotus root and jade well rice, and even a plate of sliced fish with ¡®jinji¡¯ sauce made of orange peel and boiled chestnut meat.


    Liu Shuling smiled and said, ¡°Supervisor, let¡¯s eat together. There¡¯s something good, so I¡¯ll talk to you while we eat.¡± Although Li Shande wanted to ask right away, he couldn¡¯t resist the hunger in his stomach. These dishes were rarely seen in his daily life, so he picked up a slice of fish, dipped it in the Jinji sauce, and put it in his mouth. He couldn¡¯t help but close his eyes in satisfaction.


    Soft, tender and refreshing, so delicious!


    Liu Shuling poured a cup of grape wine for him. Li Shande was so happy that he waved his sleeves. Despite his average tolerance, he drank it all in one go, already feeling a bit tipsy. At that time, Liu Shuling took out a scroll from under the mat and said, ¡°This is nothing important. The imperial palace needs some lychee ¡®decoction¡¯,* and there¡¯s no one better to handle it than you, Old Li.¡±


    *A delicacy made by soaking lychees in undiluted honey and sealing them with beeswax. What¡¯s most likely implied is that the emperor wants them to buy fresh lychees and then make the ¡®decoction¡¯ before presenting it to him.¡¯


    The daily work of the Shanglin Office is to supply the imperial court with various fruits and vegetables. Li Shande swallowed a greasy piece of lamb¡¯s tail and wiped the oil stains from his mouth with a pancake before hastily taking the document to read.


    It turned out that the official document was a blank imperial decree sent from the palace, stating that they were going to buy ten jin* of specially made lychee ¡®decoction¡¯, and that someone needed to take care of the matter, with the name left blank. When Li Shande saw the words ¡°Imperial Decree¡±, his eyebrows raised, as this meant that it was a direct order from the Emperor. He was both pleased and skeptical, ¡°Am I supposed to handle this?¡±


    *Jin¡± (½ï) is a unit of measurement for weight that is used in China and other East Asian countries. One jin is equivalent to 500 grams or 1.1023 pounds.


    ¡°Just now, while you were away, we had a discussion and everyone agreed that you are the most experienced and reliable, and therefore the most suitable person for this task,¡± Liu Shuling replied.


    ¡®Boom¡¯ The alcohol rushed to Li Shande¡¯s head, and his face turned deep red. Even his hands began to tremble.


    In recent years, the emperor has been fond of creating temporary jobs outside the court, often involving the distribution of various tasks. During the cold winter months, the palace might appoint a charcoal envoy to keep the fires burning, or when looking for beautiful women to enter the palace, a flower and bird envoy might be appointed. Just a year ago, the emperor suddenly wanted to eat sugar crabs from Pingyuan County and casually appointed a sugar crab transport officer, causing a stir in the capital.


    All of these envoys were temporary positions, so they were not included in the official bureaucracy. But since they were all given directly by the emperor, they were followed with utmost obedience. The lucrative nature of these positions was obvious. For example, Yang Guozhong, the Duke of Weiguo, had over forty envoys and they could be said to be heavily burdened with responsibilities. As a result, when there were positions to be filled, officials often fought to get them.


    Li Shande couldn¡¯t even dream that his colleagues at the Shanglin Office would be so loyal and publicly recommend him as the Lychee Envoy. With his drunken mind racing, he thought about pricing, purchasing, transportation, and storage, each step would bring in extra income. If he had a little more courage, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to pay off the entire debt in one go.


    ¡°Is it really me that the court wants to appoint as this lychee envoy?¡± Li Shande still couldn¡¯t believe it.


    Liu Shuling laughed heartily, ¡°The emperor left the name blank on purpose, so that every bureau could recommend someone. If you don¡¯t believe me, I¡¯ll appoint you right now.¡± He then instructed his subordinates to bring pen and ink, and signed a line of beautiful script at the bottom of the decree: ¡°By imperial command, Li Shande is recommended as the supervisor to handle this matter,¡± and pushed it toward Li Shande.


    Li Shande immediately stopped eating, wiped his hands, and respectfully accepted the document. He signed his name neatly at the bottom, adding a large ¡°·î¡± character*. As someone familiar with official documents, he also wrote the date at the top: February 3, the 14th year of Tianbao.


    *A respectful way to indicate full obedience to the order given.


    Liu Shuling nodded in satisfaction, called the scribe over, and had copies made. They were stamped with the official seal of the Shanglin Office and given to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Imperial Records Office for record-keeping. The remaining copy of the edict was given to Li Shande.


    From that moment on, Li Shande was the lychee envoy appointed by the emperor. It could be said that he suddenly rose to heaven with a single step.


    The colleagues around him were not jealous and congratulated him one after another. These congratulations were more intoxicating than wine, making Li Shande dizzy and excited. He couldn¡¯t help but get up from his seat and offer a round of drinks. If it weren¡¯t for the working hours, he even wanted to dance a ¡®Huxuan¡¯* dance in the corridor.


    *A traditional Chinese dance originated from the Tang Dynasty which involves spinning, leaping, and graceful movements to the accompaniment of lively music.


    The drunkenness of double luck did not subside until the afternoon. Li Shande took a sip of sugarcane juice to clear his head and knelt down at his desk to think about how to proceed.


    As a supervisor in the Shanglin Office for many years, Li Shande was most familiar with fruits and vegetables. Lingnan produced lychees with red scales and flesh as white as condensed milk. The taste was excellent, but they were extremely susceptible to rotting. Lychees presented as tribute to the imperial court in Chang¡¯an were either preserved with salt, dried in the sun, or soaked in undiluted honey and sealed with beeswax, known as ¡°lychee decoction¡±. Only high-ranking officials could afford this delicacy, and even in the imperial palace, only ten pounds was needed.


    In fact, Li Shande was still a little confused about this task.


    If the emperor wanted to eat lychee decoction, he could simply order it from the Imperial Kitchen, which has a special storehouse for various regional delicacies. Even if it is not available there, officials from the Palace Market could be sent to the Eastern Market to buy it. If it is not available in the Eastern Market, a decree could be sent to the court officials in Lingnan to send it as a tribute. Therefore, it is hard to understand why the Shanglin Office, a relatively insignificant government office, would have to recommend someone for such a task.


    Li Shande¡¯s drunkenness had subsided somewhat, and he realized that there was something fishy about this. With such a great opportunity, why would someone give it to you for free? Perhaps it was because time was short and difficult to manage.


    Thinking of this, he quickly unfolded the edict to check the deadline. The court had a rule that every document had a deadline, and those who failed to complete the task on time would be punished. However, to his surprise, the deadline on this edict was June 1st, in the 14th year of Tianbao reign, which was almost four months from now. It was neither too tight nor too loose.


    Li Shande breathed a sigh of relief and decided not to think too much for now. He would concentrate on getting the lychee ¡®decoction¡¯ first.


    The Shanglin Office was responsible for the gardens and orchards outside the city, so Li Shande knew many fruit merchants in the Jianghuai area and could ask them to inquire about it. Even if there were no stocks in the capital, there would be some in Luoyang, Yangzhou, and other places. If all else failed, he could ask for a batch of fresh lychees from the south, which would be immediately salted and sealed for delivery. The lychee fruit ripens early, starting in April for early varieties and May for the main crop, so it would barely make it in time for June 1.


    Li Shande picked up the abacus and brush and calculated the cost of sending lychee decoction from Lingnan to Chang¡¯an, figuring out the most efficient and affordable method of transportation. But soon he shook his head and laughed at himself, thinking that he was acting like a miser. This was a task for the emperor, not for him to buy a house. The imperial court was rich and powerful, and there was no need to worry about such small amounts of money.


    He sketched and calculated for a long time, but suddenly he heard the ¡®dong dong¡¯ of the drum at the gate of the Imperial City. According to the rules of Chang¡¯an, after six hundred beats of the evening drum, pedestrians must stay within their designated blocks, otherwise it is a violation of the curfew. His house is now in Changshou Block, a bit far away, so he had to leave early.


    Li Shande packed his things and hung them one by one on his clogs. He hesitated for a moment, then tucked the edict into his pocket as well. As an envoy, he had no official rank and no credentials. This edict was his proof, and it was best to carry it with him.


    Amidst the sound of the drum, Li Shande left the Imperial City and hurried along the main road toward his home. The carts, horses, and pedestrians on the road were all in a hurry to reach their destination as quickly as possible. Li Shande looked at the dusty appearance of these travellers and felt a bit proud. They could only panic and seek shelter in inns and temples, while he would soon be able to return to his own home.


    He raised his chin in a dignified manner and took confident steps forward, but he was unexpectedly tripped by a deep rut in the road and fell to the ground with a thud. Li Shande scrambled to his feet, only to find that even his black futou (headwear) had fallen off, along with the imperial edict he was carrying. He was so frightened that he didn¡¯t bother to pick up his hat, but instead rushed to retrieve the edict and dust it off. As he did so, he noticed a small piece of paper floating out of the rolled-up parchment.


    Li Shande picked it up and looked at it. The piece of paper was only half the size of a fingernail, and it was made of the same yellow rattan material as the edict. A single character was written on it: ¡°¼å¡± (decoction).


    This is a common item used by scribes, called a ¡°yellow patch¡±. When the scribe is writing a document, mistakes and omissions are inevitable, so they cut a small piece of paper of the same color and texture and paste it over the wrong or missing part. This is more convenient than using realgar*.


    *It is very bright red in color insecticide and I believe it is written to make a comparison between the yellow paper and it.


    However, it is said that after applying the ¡°yellow patch¡±, it is necessary to place a seal on the seam to indicate that it is not a private modification. But why is there no trace of the seal on the yellow sticker? With this in mind, Li Shande couldn¡¯t help but look curiously at what character was hidden under the ¡°¼å¡± character.


    But when he looked closer, he was struck by lightning ¨C the character was actually ¡°ÏÊ¡± (fresh)!


    The difference between ¡°fresh lychee¡± and ¡°lychee decoction¡± is only one character, but the nature of the two was like heaven and earth.


    He stood frozen, with only the grey and white beard on his chin shaking violently. Some passing guards noticed the strange behaviour of the green-robed official and approached to inquire, but their voices sounded to Li Shande as if they were speaking from outside a well while he was at the bottom of it.


    The street drums were still beating rhythmically. Li Shande grabbed the imperial edict and turned his neck stiffly toward the guard. The guard took a step back in fear and tightened his sword at his waist. The guard had never seen such a look before: confusion, disorientation, panic, terror¡­ not even Wu Daozi could copy it.


    The guard was contemplating how to handle the situation when he suddenly saw the official move.


    He slowly turned around, took big steps, suddenly accelerated, and ran frantically toward the north gate of the Imperial City, his grey hair flying in the wind. The guard couldn¡¯t help but be astonished. It was rare for someone in his fifties to run at such a speed.


    TL: So, this is the first part of the chapter with freaking 4k words¡­ The next part will be the last part of this chapter and will most likely have about 5k word count. The thing is I have the whole chapter translated but, me personally, I won¡¯t read a whopping 9k word count chapter, so I decided to split it^^ Don¡¯t worry, I will clearly note it down everywhere:)


    Translator ramblings^^


    Just decided to take on this cause i saw that this only had 6 chapters, but it said guess what shawty¡­ it has 9k words in each chapter¡­ fuck me.


    But, I like the story so I decided to take on it:) Also myself, personally, don¡¯t like split chapters, but I had to because it¡¯s too long and a person with short attention span would find it difficult to read (its me). But, most likely I will just post the split chapters at once not like posting each part like a whole chapter each week.


    But, yeah that¡¯s all and I hope you enjoy reading it^^


    see u next time, bye<3

 CH 1.2

    Li Shande ran back to the Imperial Palace in a single bound. By this time, the drums had sounded over four hundred times, and the curfew was approaching. He rushed to the corridor of the Shanglin Office, where he heard a hearty laugh and saw Liu Shuling leaving with his colleagues.


    Liu Shuling was walking happily when he suddenly saw a black figure with disheveled hair running out. He was so scared that he almost jumped into the nearby pond. The figure did not slow down and crashed into his arms, knocking them both to the ground and making the floorboards crack.


    Liu Shuling struggled desperately, only to find the black shadow clinging to his thigh tightly and shouting, ¡°Shuling, save me! Shuling, save me!¡± He recognized the voice and couldn¡¯t help but shout angrily, ¡°Li Shande, what are you doing?¡± The colleagues and servants beside them hurriedly helped them up.


    Please sign an order to save me! ¡°Li Shande prostrated himself on the ground, looking extremely pitiful.


    ¡°Old Li, have you gone crazy?¡±


    Li Shande whispered, ¡°The document you gave me has had its yellow seal peeled off. I humbly request that you re-stamp it.¡± Liu Shuling was displeased and said, ¡°Is this such a big deal? Is there any reason to panic?¡±


    Li Shande quickly took out the document and pointed at it, ¡°Please take a look, it originally said ¡®fresh¡¯ but it was changed to ¡®decoction¡¯ with a yellow patch. But for some reason, the label fell off and needs to be reattached. This is an imperial edict, this is an imperial edict, and if it weren¡¯t for your official seal and stamp, it would have been a deliberate act of tampering.¡±


    Liu Shuling¡¯s face suddenly turned cold, ¡°Yellow paste? I don¡¯t remember a yellow patch on the document when I issued it to you ¨C did you add it yourself?¡±


    ¡°How dare a lowly official have such courage, it is clearly¡­¡±


    ¡°You just said that the pasting of the yellow patch requires the stamping and sealing of the official seal to show fairness. May I ask, where are the seal marks on the fallen yellow patch?¡±


    Li Shande suddenly choked up. Yes, why is there no seam seal on the yellow sticker of the ¡®decoction¡¯ character? At that time, he was drunk and only saw the words ¡°Litchi Envoy¡± on the document, so his mind was distracted and he did not check the details of the document. But then again, who would check a document from his superior as if he were guarding against a thief?


    In the heat of the moment, his voice became louder, ¡°Wise official Liu, think about it carefully, sir. You didn¡¯t say that at noon. Didn¡¯t the Inner Palace want some lychee decoction?¡±


    Liu Shuling sneered, ¡°Lychee decoction? You must have gone senile, right? It¡¯s already stored in large quantities in the imperial kitchen. Do we even need to provide it? Have you ever heard me mention lychee decoction at noon?¡±


    Everyone shook their heads. Liu Shuling said, ¡°I was clear at lunch, and the edict was clear as well. The title of ¡®Lychee Envoy¡¯ that was bestowed upon you was to procure fresh lychees for the palace. Don¡¯t misunderstand!¡±


    Li Shande¡¯s beard trembled as he could not believe what he heard: ¡°Fresh lychees? You also know the characteristics of lychees ¨C they change their color in one day, their fragrance in two days, and their taste in three days. The distance from Lingnan to Chang¡¯an is no less than 5,000 miles, and there is no way that we can get them there in time.¡±


    So, Envoy Li, you have to pay attention and work harder. The emperor is waiting for us.¡±


    As the sound of the drums outside began to fade, Liu Shuling impatiently jumped up and rushed to the door. Li Shande panicked and reached for his sleeve, but he was pushed back and fell heavily upon the wooden floor again. As he got up, dizzy and disoriented, he noticed the corridor had become completely empty.


    Li Shande sat slumped for a while, then suddenly ran like a madman to the storage room of the Department of Agriculture. The night watchman was startled by the disheveled madman and almost called for the guards to arrest him. Li Shande grabbed his arm and begged him to open the library for him. The guard, afraid of being bitten, reluctantly agreed.


    There were dozens of large jujube wood bookshelves stacked with a large number of scrolls. The forests, parks, and orchards near the capital were all recorded here. Li Shande remembered that the edict he had signed at noon had been copied three times, with one copy sent to each of the three government departments for safekeeping. The Department of Agriculture had one of the copies. He was determined to find out. If the yellow patch was real, then there must be a trace of it in that archive.


    Each document here has a corner tag exposed on the outside. This is called a ¡°chao mu,¡± and it lists the reason, the government office in charge of the matter, and the date for easy inspection and investigation. Li Shande quickly found the backup document and eagerly pulled the scroll out of the rack. As he unfolded it and looked at it, his heart suddenly stopped beating.


    There was no trace of the yellow patch on this document. The words ¡°ten jin of fresh lychees¡± were clear and neat without the slightest smear.


    ¡°No, I have to go to the Ministry of Personnel and the Imperial Records Office to verify the other two copies!¡±


    Li Shande still refused to give up and did not dare to give up. Everyone knew that this was a task given by the emperor. If he couldn¡¯t do it well, there was only a dead end. Therefore, he had to figure it out, what exactly does the emperor want?


    He was contemplating how to get into the three storage rooms when he accidentally noticed the corner of a label inserted into the scroll, covered with densely packed words*.


    *¡±ÃÜÃÜÂéÂ顱 means something is densely packed, covered, or written in small, tightly packed characters or details.


    When a document passes through various government offices, the official in charge of filing it was often lazy and does not change the label, but simply crosses out the old words and writes the new title. Therefore, those who are observant*, can know the circulation process just by looking at the label.


    *¡±ÓÐÐÄÈË¡± literally means ¡°a person with a heart,¡± but it also has a figurative meaning of someone who is attentive, and diligent in their work. It suggests that the individual has a strong sense of responsibility and is prepared to put forth the time and effort necessary to accomplish their goals.


    Li Shande picked up the document suspiciously and examined it carefully. He found that it had passed through the hands of the officials at the Shangshi Office, the Taifu Office, the Gongshi Officer, and the Lingnan Court Envoy before being sent to the Department of Agriculture. Without hesitation, the Department of Agriculture sent it directly to the Shanglin Office*.


    *I will explain all these offices in the footnotes :]


    After reading this copy, Li Shande felt dizzy. He realized that there was no need to go to the Ministry of Personnel and the Imperial Records Office for verification.


    From the beginning, the emperor wanted to eat Lingnan lychees on the first day of June.


    Not lychee decoction, but fresh lychees.


    Lychees spoil within three days, and even with a dragon horse that can travel a thousand miles a day, it¡¯s impossible to bring fresh lychees from Lingnan, which is 5,000 miles away, to Chang¡¯an. Therefore, sending someone to get lychees is already a doomed mission. It¡¯s not a desirable task, but rather a life-shortening talisman that every government office tries to avoid.


    So Li Shande saw a polo game unfolding in the document: the Shangshi Office passed it on to the Taifu Office, which passed it onto the Gongshi Officer. The Gongshi officer passed it onto the envoy of the Lingnan court, who then sent it to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture had no one else to pass it on to, so they had to force it down to the Shanglin Office.


    Although Li Shande was honest and loyal, he had been in the official circle for decades. At this point, how could he not know that he had been tricked?


    As luck would have it, he happened to take a day off to look at houses, and in his absence, the others conspired to give him the task. To trick him into taking the hot pear*, Liu Shuling gave him food and drink until he was drunk. Then they deliberately changed ¡°ÏÊ¡± (fresh) to ¡°¼å¡± (fried) on the official document. As long as there was no official seal, Li Shande wouldn¡¯t be able to prove that he had been tricked, even if he discovered the trickery later.


    *Similar to the English idiomatic expression of ¡°hot potato¡±.


    As soon as he realized the situation, Li Shande¡¯s body involuntarily convulsed and he collapsed to the floor of the storage room. Dazed, he felt like he was trapped at the bottom of a narrow, pitch-black well, his body submerged in the icy well water. He lifted his head and saw the house he had not yet moved into slowly collapsing at the mouth of the well, accompanied by falling osmanthus flowers that soon blocked out any trace of light¡­..


    ¡­..When he woke up, it was the morning of February 4th. The Imperial City had been closed the previous night, making it impossible for anyone to enter or leave. Li Shande couldn¡¯t remember how he had gotten back to his duty room at the Shanglin Office, or even when he had fallen asleep. He felt a glimmer of hope when he reached out to touch his pillow, but unfortunately, the imperial decree was still there, and the words ¡°fresh lychee¡± were still clearly visible.


    It seemed that yesterday had not been a nightmare. He rubbed his eyes in disappointment, feeling weak and limp all over. The bright sunlight streamed through the crack in the window, but it couldn¡¯t bring even a little strength.


    For a man who had been sentenced to death in advance, these scenes were meaningless. Twenty-eight years of caution and prudence have led to an irreversible situation with just one careless moment. His wife and children had endured so many years of hardship with him in Chang¡¯an, and when they finally had a home of their own, it was destroyed in an instant. When he thought about it, Li Shande felt a sudden pain in his heart, and after the pain came endless despair.


    What can a mere Shanglin Office Supervisor, who is only ranked ninth, do?


    He sat in a daze until the afternoon, then finally got up, ran his fingers through his hair, and stumbled out of the Shanglin office. Many colleagues saw him, but no one approached him. They just whispered to each other from a distance, as if they were watching a prisoner on death row.


    Li Shande didn¡¯t want to pay attention to them. If those people hadn¡¯t flattered* him yesterday, he wouldn¡¯t have been fooled so easily. He didn¡¯t want to speculate on the minds of these despicable people, he just wanted to go home and be with his family.


    *¡±Ó¬Óª¹·¹¶¡± refers to people who flatter and curry favor with the powerful for personal gain, often at the expense of their dignity.


    He left the imperial city and walked back home by instinct. As he was walking, he suddenly heard a cry, ¡°Brother Liang Yuan*, what are you doing here?¡±


    *¡±Á¼Ôª¡± This would be a friendly form of address (specific) between friends or people who are familiar with each other. For Li Shande, the name they have given him is ¡®Á¼¡¯ (liang) which means virtuous and ¡®Ôª¡¯ means primary, first, and so on. This together can be interpreted as a character with good character and virtue.


    Li Shande turned around to see two men in green robes standing on the street corner.


    One of them had narrow eyes and a wide jaw, with a perfectly round face resembling a bronze mirror. The other was a middle-aged man with a thin face and eyebrows shaped like the character ¡°°Ë,¡± as if a worried expression was always on his face.


    They were both acquaintances. The chubby one¡¯s name was Han Cheng, and he was an official in the Ministry of Justice. Because he was the 14th child in the family, everyone called him Han Shishi (fourteen). The skinny one was called Du Fu*, and well¡­ Li Shande only knew that his poetry and writing were good and that he had won the favor of other scholars. He had stayed in Beijing for the selection process, but other than that, Li Shande did not know much about him.


    *Du Fu is considered to be one of China¡¯s greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty with Li Bai.


    As soon as Han Cheng saw Li Shande, he excitedly dragged him out for a drink, saying that Zimei* had just been given an official position and they needed to celebrate. Li Shande reluctantly agreed and was dragged to a tavern in the Western District.


    *¡±×ÓÃÀ¡± (Z¨« M¨§i) is used as a friendly and informal way of Han Cheng for addressing Du Fu. ¡°×Ó¡± usually means ¡°child¡± or ¡°son,¡± but can also be used as an honorific for someone younger or as a term of respect. ¡°ÃÀ¡± means ¡°beautiful¡± or ¡°exquisite¡±.


    A plump waitress greeted them and took a quick look at their attire before leading them straight to a corner of the tavern. Han Cheng, feeling that she was being snobbish, reached into his waistband, pulled out fifteen large coins, and slammed them down on the table. He said, ¡°Today, Lao Du has been given an official position. We should celebrate in a fitting manner. Bring in a music band here to add to the festivities!¡± When the waitress heard that one of the three actually held an official position, she quickly changed her attitude and called for two Kucha musicians.


    She also brought three cups of Guijiu from the counter, saying that it was a gift from the tavern, which improved Han Cheng¡¯s expression. Du Fu, feeling a bit embarrassed, said, ¡°Shishi, I am not such a high-ranking official, there is no need to spend so much.¡±


    ¡°What is there to fear? Some other day, you can just give me a poem or a piece of writing,¡± Han Cheng said generously, waving his hand.


    Two musicians from Kucha with high noses and deep-set eyes came over. They first unfurled a thin curtain and hung it on the hooks in the corner of the wall. Then, from behind the curtain, they began to play a tune from the Western Regions.


    Han Cheng picked up his cup, smiled at Li Shande and said, ¡°Brother Liang Yuan, there are things you are not aware of. Originally, the Ministry of Personnel wanted to appoint Zimei as the county official of Hexi, but he declined the position. Instead, he was given the role of military staff officer in the Garrison Office of the Right Guard- an idle position, but still a position within the capital. The current emperor has a great appreciation for poetry and literature, so as long as Zimei remains in Chang¡¯an, he will have a day to hold one¡¯s head high.¡±


    Li Shande mechanically clasped his hands and made a polite gesture, while Du Fu self-deprecatingly remarked, ¡°Being a military staff officer is not my preference. It¡¯s just for the sake of a few stones of salary rice. Otherwise my family would starve. Unlike the esteemed Mr. Wuliu, who can remain unbowed, my aspirations pale in comparison to those of the sages of the past.¡±


    When Han Cheng noticed that Du Fu was about to start talking again, he quickly lifted his wine cup and said, ¡°Come, come, let¡¯s not emit yin energy. You were a scholar at the Imperial Academy, so your future is limitless, unlike us mundane officials.¡±


    The three of them raised their wine cups and drank it all in one gulp. This Guijiu, a fragrant wine made by blending osmanthus flowers with rice wine, had a rich aroma. As Li Shande took a sip, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a wave of sadness. He realized that he wouldn¡¯t live to see August, and he wouldn¡¯t even see the osmanthus tree blossom in his new home. Tears streamed down his face as he set down the wine cup.


    Han Cheng and Du Fu were both astonished and quickly asked what was going on. Li Shande had no reservations and took out the imperial edict and truthfully explained the situation. They both stood there in stunned silence after hearing it. After a moment, Du Fu couldn¡¯t hold back and said, ¡°Such absurdity!  The Lingnan Road is far away, and the lychees are fickle. These are things that are beyond human control. Has no one brought this to the Emperor¡¯s attention?¡±


    Han Cheng sneered and said, ¡°The emperor holds the authority of heaven in his mouth. Once he has made a decision, who dares to advice him otherwise? Do you recall An Lushan? Many people suspected that this foreigner had rebellious intentions, but the emperor had no reservations in tying up those who offered advice and sending them to Hedong. That is why, in the case of this lychee issue, those government departments would rather pass the buck down than dare to urge the emperor to withdraw the decree.¡±


    ¡°The Emperor is an exceptional leader, rarely seen in the world, but it is a pity¡­ He has enough intellect to reject advice and enough eloquence to justify his actions,¡± Du Fu lamented.


    ¡°The Emperor¡¯s decrees are irrevocable, so it would be best to find a scapegoat to take on this appointment. If that person fails and dies, only then will there be peace in the land. Brother Liang Yuan, have you ever played the game ¡®Passing the Drum and Flower¡¯*? You would be the one holding the flower when the drum stops.*¡±


    *Passing the Drum and Flower (¹Ä»¨´«) is a traditional Chinese children¡¯s game. Basically, a drum and a flower are passed around the participants while music is played. The players have to be careful not to hold either of the objects when the music stops. Players who are caught have to suffer the consequences according to the game.


    *The phrase ¡°¹ÄÉùסʱÊÖÀïÎÕ»¨µÄÄǸöÈË¡± is a metaphorical expression that refers to being entrusted with a difficult or burdensome task or responsibility. It implies that Li Shande would be the one entrusted with the challenging task, analogous to the person who ends up holding the flower when the music stops in the game.


    Han Cheng¡¯s words were blunt and sharp. Unlike the other two, he was the chief official of the Revenue Division in the Ministry of Justice, responsible for auditing the financial records of various departments. His work gave him a deep understanding of officialdom.


    Du Fu was greatly astonished when he heard this and exclaimed, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then Brother Liang Yuan is left with no solution. How unfortunate, how unfortunate!¡± He patted Li Shande¡¯s back affectionately, showing genuine sympathy.


    As soon as Du Fu gently touched him, Li Shande¡¯s grief surged again. He wiped away his tears with the edge of his sleeve and sobbed, ¡°I borrowed 200 guan of incense from Zhaofu Temple. It wouldn¡¯t matter if it was just me who died, but I¡¯m afraid that the mother and daughter will be sold into slavery. It¡¯s heartbreaking to think that they¡¯ve endured hardships with me for half their lives, and just when we¡¯ve finally escaped the clouds, disaster strikes before we can see the moonlight.¡±


    Du Fu also cried as he replied, ¡°How could I not know? My wife and children are in Fengxian, where they are hungry and worried. I am very worried about them, but after I leave the capital, I will not be able to provide for them, and they will also¡­¡±


    Han Cheng played with the empty wine cup in his hand, watching the two crying their hearts out and shaked his head helplessly. ¡°Zimei, don¡¯t make things even more chaotic. Brother Liang Yuan, let me test you. Do you know who is the most disliked person in our Revenue Division?¡±


    Li Shande wiped away his tears and looked up in confusion. Why did he ask this question all of a sudden? It was obvious from Han Cheng¡¯s expression that he was serious. Li Shande collected himself and replied hesitantly. ¡°Are you talking about tax evaders?¡±


    Han Cheng wagged his finger and said, ¡°Wrong! The ones we despise the most in the Division are you temporary envoys.¡±


    Du Fu furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Shishi, why do you have to provoke Brother Lian Yuan?¡±


    Han Cheng replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m not targeting Brother Lian Yuan specifically, but all the envoys. In the eyes of the Division, they are nothing more than dogs eating intestines, runaway slaves.¡±


    He suddenly blurted out vulgar words, causing both of them to stop crying. Han Cheng picked up his chopsticks and gestured at the table while dipping them into Guijiu. He said, ¡°You two are familiar with the court¡¯s financial distribution system. For example, let¡¯s take the expenses of the Shanglin Office in the 14th year of Tianbao. In the first month, Du Zhi Lang Zhong (deputy director) of the Ministry of Revenue prepares a budget. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Storage are responsible for treasury and disbursement. They allocate funds and supplies from the Left and Right Treasury Offices and the Ministry of Agriculture to the Shanglin Office. When these funds and supplies are exhausted, the Revenue Department of our Ministry of Justice also examines the accounts and checks for any misuse or embezzlement ¨C does this process sound familiar?¡±


    As Han Cheng continued his explanation, a straight line of wine stain appeared on the desk and both men nodded in agreement.


    ¡°But! In recent years, the emperor has been fond of creating various envoy positions, establishing them on a whim without regard to the official hierarchy of the court. The expenses of these envoys are funded by the national treasury, but they only report directly to the emperor. They operate outside the purview of the Three departments and Six ministries, beyond the reach of the Nine Ministries and Five supervisory offices. And what are the results? The financial planning department has no control, the treasuries have no supervision, the audit department cannot investigate, and the legal systems have no means of supervision. We can only watch helplessly as these envoys take the treasury¡¯s money and disappear over the Ba Qiao Bridge.¡±


    Du Fu shouted angrily, ¡°Parasites! These parasites!¡± However, Li Shande realized the implication in his words and pondered.


    ¡°Let me give you an example. Every year, Zhejiang is required to pay tribute to the emperor in the form of fresh vegetables and oysters. For this purpose, a special envoy of sea products from the eastern region of Zhejiang is appointed. Under the leadership of this envoy, the water transport workers spend a total of 436,000 working hours every year. Imagine the expenses involved! It all comes from the funds allocated by the Ministry of Revenue. But our revenue division has no control over the accounts. The envoys report only to the emperor, and as long as the palace receives the seafood, they are satisfied, regardless of the amount spent.¡±


    Du Fu was shocked by what he heard, while Li Shande¡¯s eyes began to shine even brighter. Han Cheng picked up a dry dough cake and wiped away the wine stain on the desk. He calmly said, ¡°The importance is placed on the envoys, the officials are treated lightly. What is the difference between your position as a Lychee envoy and the positions of the Eastern Zhejiang Sea Cargo Envoy, the Flower and Bird Envoy, or the Melon and Fruit Envoy?¡±


    This is not a criticism of the imperial government; this whole envoys thing is clearly an encouragement to take advantage of the situation and become a corrupt official without restraint. Li Shande thought to himself with some uneasiness in his heart, ¡°As a low-ranked official of the ninth rank, dealing with trivial matters like lychees, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±


    Han Cheng sneered and picked up the imperial edict. ¡°Brother Liang Yuan, you are too naive. Look at the deadline written here, ¡®before the first day of the sixth month¡¯ ¨C don¡¯t you see the hidden meaning behind it?¡±


    Li Shande looked puzzled, and Han Cheng uttered a tsk in disapproval. He picked up his chopsticks and tapped the rim of the wine glass, reciting a verse in a mocking tone,


    ¡°In my mind, I put on a flowing robe and imagine your exquisite beauty,


    As the spring breeze caresses the doorstep, the dew reveals its rich splendor.


    If I did not meet you on this majestic mountaintop,


    I would meet you under the moonlit Jade Terrace.¡±


    Upon hearing this poem, Du Fu¡¯s eyes filled with deep emotion. ¡°This is¡­ a poem by Li Bai,¡± he said.


    Han Cheng turned to Du Fu and smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t know how Brother Li Bai is doing in Xuancheng. During this year¡¯s Lantern Festival, I came across copies of his new work, ¡®Seventeen Poems of Qiu Pu River¡¯, which he wrote while in Jingxian County. His poetic style is as captivating as ever, although I must admit that ¡®For Wang Lun¡¯ is perhaps a bit vulgar.


    As soon as poetry was mentioned, Du Fu became excited. He leaned forward and said earnestly, ¡°Who is this Wang Lun? What kind of deep friendship did he have with Li Bai? Why did Li Bai write a poem especially for him? I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t want to know. But as for the composition of this poem, Shishi, you are wrong¡­¡±


    The two of them began to discuss poetry, chatting away. Li Shande, who didn¡¯t understand much of it, sat in the same place, his mind filled with thoughts of Han Cheng¡¯s implications.


    This Li Bai¡¯s poem was written in the 3rd year of the Tianbao era. At that time, the Emperor and the Noble Consort were admiring peonies in the Chenxiang Pavilion. Li Guinian wanted to come forward and sing, but the emperor said, ¡°Why use old musical lyrics when you are admiring famous flowers with the consort?¡± So Li Bai was summoned urgently to the palace. Still groggy from drunkenness, Li Bai wielded his brush and completed three poems of ¡°Qing Ping Tiao¡± and this is one of them.


    In the Tang Dynasty, there was no need to add a surname before the title of Noble Consort, because everyone knows that her family name is Yang. Her birthday happens to be the first day of June. About 90 percent of these fresh lychees are intended as a birthday gift from the emperor to the Noble Consort.


    So that was the meaning of Han Cheng¡¯s words!


    This is about getting fresh lychees for the Noble Consort¡¯s birthday, and it seems to be even more important than the Emperor¡¯s own affairs. Who dares to interfere?


    He was a dedicated and hardworking official who was just concerned with getting things done, but he had never considered the enormous power behind this task. This skill was not mentioned in the ¡°Official Genealogy¡± or in the Imperial Decree. It was intangible, shapeless, and unspoken. However, once Li Shande broke through this barrier in his heart before the first of June, he could act freely.


    At that moment, the waitress brought a jar of Green Ant Wine and placed a small strainer on the opening of the jar so that the guests could filter it themselves.


    ¡°What about after the first of June?¡± Li Shande was suddenly confused. No matter how powerful his title was, it couldn¡¯t solve the problem of transporting the lychees. If this problem wasn¡¯t solved, everything would be in vain.


    Han Cheng broke away from Du Fu¡¯s endless discussion about poetry and looked at him with a serious expression. He uttered two words, ¡°He Li*¡±


    ¡°He Li?¡±


    ¡°He Li!¡±


    *Refers to the divorce of husband and wife by consent.


    Li Shande suddenly understood the meaning behind Han Shishi¡¯s words. Those two characters struck his chest like a huge hammer.


    The lychee business is doomed to failure. Therefore, Li Shande must separate from his wife early and have an amicable separation so that his family will not be involved in the future. Li Shande can use the remaining four months to make some profits, accumulate some wealth, and try to repay the Xiangji loan. At the very least, he can leave a house for widows and orphans.


    ¡°In the end, I still have to die¡­¡±


    Li Shande¡¯s fist opened and then tightened, his gaze fixed on the sediment in the wine, which resembled the corpses of ants floating after drowning. Han Cheng looked at his old friend with sympathy, picked up the filter, and slowly sifted a cup of pure wine before handing it to him.


    When Li Shande was in charge of auditing at the Revenue Division, he was aware of a type of account used by businesses called the ¡°sinking a boat and not saving it¡± account ¨C when the boat is sinking and there¡¯s no way to save it, the only option is to cut losses. While his approach may have seemed ruthless, it was actually the best course of action for his old friend.


    After the music ended, the musicians were paid a few coins, and they lowered the curtain and left. Only the three of them remained in the corner, surrounded by silence as there were not many customers drinking in the afternoon. Li Shande¡¯s lips trembled as he took out a pen and paper from his bag.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll write a letter of divorce and ask you both to witness it¡­..¡±


    Before he could finish his words, Du Fu quickly grabbed his shoulder and turned to Han Cheng, angrily shouting, ¡°Han Shishi, they are a happily married couple. How can you propose a divorce?¡± Li Shande forced a smile and said, ¡°He means well. The situation with the fresh lychees is insoluble. My fate has been sealed, and all I can do is try to make a little extra profit.¡±


    ¡°Even if you have arranged everything for the afterlife, will the sister-in-law and your daughter be happy for the rest of their lives?¡±


    ¡°Then tell me, Brother Zimei, what else can I do?!¡± Li Shande was provoked by his aggressive tone.


    ¡°Have you been to Lingnan? Have you seen fresh lychees?¡±


    ¡°Never.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even been there yet, so how can you just casually say that it¡¯s unsolvable?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Brother Zimei, you excel in poetry and intellectual debate, but you don¡¯t understand the complexities of ordinary affairs¡­¡±


    Du Fu interrupted him once again and said, ¡°I may not understand ordinary things, but aren¡¯t you also at a dead end with no solution? Instead of being trapped in this situation, why don¡¯t you listen to someone like me who doesn¡¯t understand and go to Lingnan to see for yourself before making a decision?¡±


    Without saying a word, Li Shande watched as Du Fu lifted his robe and sat across from him. Du Fu said, ¡°I may only excel in composing gentle and simple poems, but I have a story to tell you, my friend Liang Yuan. Li Shande glanced at Han Cheng, who tilted his head and made a gesture indicating that he was all ears.


    ¡°When I was ten years younger than I am now, I had a single-minded desire to make a name for myself in Chang¡¯an and serve the country. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side. Whether it was submitting essays or taking the imperial examinations, I couldn¡¯t fulfill my aspirations. This continued until the tenth year of Tianbao, when I still had nothing to show for my efforts. On my 40th birthday, my friends invited me to celebrate by taking a trip to Qujiang. But halfway there, a thick fog enveloped the shore, and I was suddenly overcome with despair. Wasn¡¯t this a reflection of my own life? More than half of it had already passed, yet the future remained hazy and uncertain. I left the boat feeling lost and disoriented. I had no desire to drink or write poetry, and even the vibrant flowers of Weiqu lost their color in my eyes. I wandered aimlessly like a walking corpse, contemplating ending my existence in some forgotten corner of Chang¡¯an.¡±


    ¡°Unconsciously, I found myself outside the Chunming Gate, a mile away from the eastern part of the city, in an area known as Shanghao Fang. In truth, it was far from being an excellent place, let alone a proper neighbourhood; it was just a chaotic burial ground. It was where the unclaimed bodies of those who died in the capital were taken for burial, and it seemed fitting for me to find my final resting place there. I chose a mound at random and lay down on the ground. I soon encountered an old soldier guarding the graves. He had weathered features and had lost an eye, and his demeanor was rather grim. He did not like me taking up space and kicked me away, then continued to drink by himself. I asked him for a sip and that led to a conversation between the two of us. It turned out that he was a soldier from the Western Regions who had also engaged in some unsavoury activities in Chang¡¯an, though hardly anyone remembered him now. The old soldier had retired and chosen to live in Shanghao Fang, where he dedicated himself to guarding the graves of his fallen comrades who had been forced to their deaths in the past. We talked for a long time that day, and he told me many stories from the past. Among them, my favorite passage was not a story.¡±


    ¡°The old soldier said that when he was young, he was forced to leave his hometown and serve on the frontier of the Western Regions. It was the first time he had been separated from his loved ones and the first time he had been on the battlefield, not knowing when he might meet his end. Military law was strict and there was no escape. As a young boy, he lived in constant fear and despair, feeling utterly hopeless. One day, he found himself pinned down on the battlefield by a fierce enemy, on the verge of death. In a desperate act, he used his teeth to tear off a piece of the enemy¡¯s cheek, narrowly managing to kill him in return. At that moment, the old soldier had an epiphany. Faced with a desperate situation and no way to retreat, why not fight with all his might, risking everything, as there might still be a faint glimmer of hope? From then on, he relentlessly practiced swordsmanship and horseback riding, and every day he would charge down from high mountains and stoop down to snatch away the enemy¡¯s flags. With this unyielding spirit, he survived countless battles and finally returned safely to Chang¡¯an from the Western Regions.¡±


    ¡°After hearing his story, I was deeply moved. How did my own situation compare to that of the old soldier? If he could find the strength to strike one more blow against destiny, why couldn¡¯t I? As you all know, when I returned home, I regained my strength and composed the ¡°Three Great Poetic Expositions on Rites¡±. Eventually, I won the favor of the scholars and was appointed to the Imperial Academy. Although my achievements today are not worth mentioning, my creative direction has become clearer compared to the past: I want to record all those nameless people and events and make sure they leave an indelible mark on history. So I returned to find the old soldier¡¯s name, hoping to write poems in his honor. However, the old soldier steadfastly refused to reveal his name, allowing me only to write anonymously about his experiences as a soldier. And so I composed the nine poems of the ¡°Beyond the Frontier¡± series, and the story I just told you is in the second poem. Now I present it to you as a gift.¡±


    Du Fu grabbed the brush without grinding the ink and dipped it directly into the wine. He quickly began to write. In no time, a new five-character ancient poem appeared on the paper.


    Long since I left home, so


    No more a raw recruit;


    The warmth of family love


    Still remains with me, though


    I know that at any moment


    I might die; bridle falling off,


    Reins still in my hand,


    Or when leaping down a hillside


    To seize the enemy flag below.


    Du Fu forcefully threw the brush aside with a loud ¡°snap¡± and stared straight at Li Shande, his gaze as sharp as the sword in the hands of Aunt Gongsun*.


    *¡¯¹«Ëï´óÄ ¨C Honestly, I couldn¡¯t find any context or explanation for this, so I am sorry about that. If anybody know about this part, please let me know^^


    ¡°The bond of flesh and blood cannot be broken, and a man is always ready to die. Since there is no retreat, why not advance with a desperate struggle?¡±


    As Li Shande read these vivid, wine-soaked verses, his wrist holding the scroll suddenly trembled, as if something was stirring in his chest.


    TL/N:


    Shangshi Office: Shangshi was in charge of imperial administration.


    Taifu office: It was an administrative and financial institution in ancient China that was responsible for managing the imperial treasury and finances of the central government.


    Gongshi Officer: It was an official position in ancient China, responsible for overseeing the management and regulation of markets in the capital city, especially those located within the palace.


    Lingnan Court Envoy: It refers to the official position of the ¡°envoy to the southern court¡± during the Tang Dynasty. It was responsible for managing the relations between the Tang Dynasty and the southern states, which were located in what is now modern-day Guangdong, Guangxi, and Vietnam.


    Translator ramblings^^


    ok, another pain in the ass to translate, but was a really fun and thought-provoking chapter to read^^


    didn¡¯t think the main character would have interactions with actual historical figures, but that was great though surprising!!


    also i just love li shande¡­ he is just this big sweetheart, naive, and of great character¡­ didn¡¯t think i would appreciate a middle aged man, but it happened lmao


    thought i announced a small break, but i didn¡¯t¡­ well everything in my mind got jumbled up as i was hit by the sudden death of a closed one¡­ rest in peace my lovely aunt and i hope she got her wish of getting a dog..


    see u next time, bye<3

 CH 2.1

    In the early spring of February, when the willows first turned green, the vast countryside east of Chang¡¯an would be bathed in a vibrant shade of green. Long stretches of emerald ribbons hung delicately on both sides of the official road, forming a barrier that stretched for miles. The only exception to this picturesque scene was near the Ba Qiao Bridge.


    Due to the prosperous era of Tianbao and the bustling influx of travelers, Chang¡¯an City had a custom of saying goodbye with a willow branch. With so many people leaving every day, the willow trees at the bridgehead were quickly stripped of their branches. Subsequent travelers, unable to find branches, had no choice but to buy them from local children at the price of three copper coins per branch. After this transaction, which reeked of money, the faint melancholy of ¡°In the past, I went away¡± disappeared, saving them from writing many sad poems.


    When Li Shande left the city, he neither plucked a willow branch nor bought one. He didn¡¯t feel like it. His only companions on his journey were a tall Hexi horse and a bulging saddlebag.


    After he decided to leave for Lingnan that day, Han Cheng personally gave him some advice. The next day, Li Shande went to the Shanglin Office, where he changed his submissive attitude and told Liu Shuling to prepare thirty guan for traveling to Lingnan, as well as money for food on the way.


    Liu Shuling became very angry and said that he was the lychee envoy! Either go to the Imperial Treasury and get the money, or go to the Ministry of Revenue and ask the deputy in charge for help. What does that have to do with the Shanglin Office?


    However, Li Shande presented the imperial edict and pointed out the line that said, ¡°By imperial edict, Li Shande is recommended as the supervisor of affairs. He said that the phrase ¡°recommended¡± was written by Liu Shuling himself. So, of course, he should first get supplies and funds from the Shanglin Office, and then the Shanglin Office could ask for reimbursement from the Ministry of Revenue.


    Liu Shuling continued to resist, but Li Shande told him not to delay the emperor¡¯s mission. Upon hearing this, Liu Shuling immediately backed down and felt ashamed. He painfully withdrew thirty guan from the public office fund.


    This official fund is the capital provided by the imperial court to various government departments for them to lend out, and the interest earned is used to maintain office expenses. Li Shande forcibly took away thirty guan, causing the quality of his colleagues¡¯ meals to drop significantly. The entire Shanglin office was filled with complaints, which can be seen as his small act of revenge.


    After leaving the Shanglin Office, Li Shande went to the Fubao Department and applied for a travel voucher in the name of the Litchi Envoy. With this voucher, he could enjoy free stays at various relay stations* along the official road, and the cost of feeding himself and his horse would be covered by the court.


    *Relay stations were places established along official routes where messengers and travelers could rest, change horses, and receive other services. These stations were part of a network managed by the government to facilitate communication and transportation.


    Little did his colleagues know that the ¡°travel expenses¡± and ¡°food expenses¡± provided by the Shanglin office were actually useless since there were provisions for lodging and meals during the trip. The beauty of the envoy position was that it was removed from the normal bureaucratic procedures. The Fubao Department would not reconcile its accounts with the Shanglin Office, and the latter needed a way to verify the reality of the expenses with the Ministry of Finance. These three agencies are not connected.


    Li Shande used the money to buy a traveling horse and some supplies for the journey, leaving the rest for his family. Unfortunately, his official rank was too low to take advantage of the horses at the relay stations. Otherwise, he could have saved even the cost of renting a horse.


    After running around, Li Shande finally understood why everyone was clamoring for envoy jobs. He hadn¡¯t even used any underhanded tactics, just exploited loopholes in the system, yet he still managed to earn thirty guan. Han Cheng scolded these messengers as nothing more than runaway slaves who eat dog intestines, and his words struck a deep chord.


    On the fifth day of the second month, Li Shande crossed the Ba Qiao Bridge, bidding farewell to Chang¡¯an without the slightest hesitation, and hurried off to the east.


    As a top scorer in the Imperial Examination and someone who placed great importance on data, Li Shande made a deliberate visit to the Position Bureau of the Ministry of Military Affairs before embarking on his journey. He obtained a copy of the ¡°Imperial Tang Dynasty Map of the Nine Provinces¡± and the ¡°Compendium of Relay Routes Across the Realm¡±, which gave him a visual understanding of transportation in the Great Tang Empire.


    At that time, the Great Tang Dynasty extended six main roads from Chang¡¯an, connecting the two capitals, Kaifeng, Youzhou, Taiyuan, Jiangling, Guangzhou, Yizhou, Yangzhou, and other places. The distance between each relay station was about thirty li. There were a total of 1,639 relay stations throughout the empire, with a total length of 49,170 li.


    The distant Lingnan region he wanted to reach was a total of 5,447 li from Chang¡¯an. Generally, one would enter the Shangzhou Road from Lantian, cross the Han River via Xiangzhou, cross the Jiang River via Ezhou, follow the current to Hongzhou, Jizhou, and Qianzhou, cross the Five Ridges, pass through Meiguan, and finally arrive at Shaoshan before reaching Guangzhou.


    In the beginning, he could run 150 li a day, but soon his pace slowed down. Not to mention humans, even the fastest steed would lose weight from continuous running and its hooves would suffer. He had no choice but to slow down, and with a heavy heart, he dug into his own pocket to provide additional funds and urged the relay station to provide a few more dou* of bean cakes.


    *Dou is an ancient China unit of measurement like ¡®Li¡¯ but for dry goods, such as beans and grains.


    However, when he arrived in Ezhou, the horse couldn¡¯t take it anymore and collapsed in the spring rain. Li Shande had no choice but to sell the horse and buy a sturdy Huai¡¯an mule instead. The mule was strong, but it lacked speed. No matter how hard Li Shande pushed it, it could only cover forty li in a day. Fortunately, there were no notorious mountain bandits to contend with due to the prolonged peace throughout the empire. As a solo traveler, he encountered little danger along the way.


    There were mountains and rivers all along the way, and the scenery was picturesque. If it were Du Fu who was taking a leisurely excursion, he would undoubtedly compose many magnificent poetic verses. However, Li Shande, with the weight of a guillotine hanging over his head, did not have the leisure to enjoy the scenery. During the day, he would run with determination, his gaze fixed forward. Even in the evenings at the taverns, he had no time to read the poems written on the walls because he was busy studying the materials from the Position Bureau and examining the terrain and distances along the way, hoping to find an opportunity in the midst of it.


    It¡¯s just that the more Li Shande studied the relay routes, the colder his heart grew. The determination that drove him to leave Chang¡¯an with a do-or-die spirit was shattered as he faced the harsh realities of his research.


    At that time, the Tang Dynasty¡¯s relay stations were divided into four categories: the fastest was ¡°Courier delivery,¡± which traveled a distance of 500 li per day; followed by ¡°Relay delivery,¡± which traveled 350 li per day; ¡°Pedestrian delivery,¡± which traveled 200 li per day on foot; and finally, the slowest was the routine circulation of official documents, with horses traveling 70 li per day, donkeys and pedestrians traveling 50 li per day, and carts traveling 30 li per day.


    Even with the fastest ¡°courier delivery¡±, it would still take over ten days to travel from Lingnan to the capital, and fresh lychees cannot be delivered.


    The court has a special 800-li emergency dispatch, but it is reserved for the most urgent military intelligence transmissions. The records of the Position Bureau show that in the past twenty years, the only time a true eight-hundred-li relay speed was achieved was when Wang Zhongsi won a decisive victory over the Xi Nu Jie tribes on the Sanggan River. The messenger who delivered the victory report covered a distance of two thousand four hundred li and reached Chang¡¯an in only three days.


    Surely such examples are not relevant here. In the vast northern plains, a single horse can traverse the plains with ease. The water is scarce and the sand is firm, allowing the galloping riders to move quickly. However, once Li Shande crossed the river into the southern regions, he realized that the waterways crisscrossed the land, and the terrain was filled with continuous mountains. Not to mention, even if the Ministry of War granted you an 800-li emergency dispatch, you still wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain such a speed.


    Li Shande knew he was embarking on an impossible mission, but he had no choice. In order to save his family and his own destiny, Li Shande could only do his best to find a glimmer of hope in the numbers. He hoped that even if he ultimately failed, it wouldn¡¯t be due to his own laziness.


    After crossing Poyang Lake, he made a new discovery. It turned out that the big river near Xunyang was connected to Poyang Lake, and Poyang Lake was connected to the Gan River, which led directly to Qianzhou. Although traveling by boat was not as fast as riding a fast horse, it had the advantage of smooth water, which allowed continuous travel day and night. He calculated that a light boat could travel more than 150 miles day and night, which was much more efficient than using mules or horses. He decided to sell the mule and embarked on the lighter boat. He was willing to spend extra money to save time.


    After passing through Qianzhou, Li Shande saw a majestic mountain range ahead of him, towering and steep, like a green barrier between heaven and earth. This was the Wuling Mountain Range, a natural boundary between Lingnan and the western part of Jiangxi Province. These five mountains were extremely rugged, with only a narrow passage known as the Meiguan Road between the Dayu Mountains allowing passage to Shaozhou.


    As Li Shande passed through the mountain pass, he remembered a story he had heard in Chang¡¯an about a historical event at the court. In the fourth year of the Kaiyuan Period, Zhang Jiuling resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown in Lingnan. Concerned about the transportation difficulties, he petitioned the emperor to open a ¡°wide and straight road with five lanes connecting the four directions¡± in the Dayu Mountains. Since then, goods such as teeth, leather, feathers, fish, salt, and shellfish have been flowing from Lingnan to the Central Plains.


    What surprised Li Shande, even more, was that beyond the Wuling Mountains, there was a continuous river called the Zhong River, which flowed south and joined the Qin River. The Qin River, in turn, flowed into the Pearl River, allowing unhindered navigation to the outskirts of Guangzhou.


    On the tenth day of the third month, after more than a month of arduous travel, a weary Li Shande finally entered the city of Guangzhou. The horse¡¯s saddlebags, once full and bulging, now hung empty over his right shoulder, looking shriveled and lifeless. As for his short robe of dusty millet color and the silk sash around his waist, they had long since been soiled to show their true colors.


    After calculating the speed, his initial glimmer of hope was immediately dashed. At this speed, even if it were three times faster, it would still be impossible to transport fresh lychees.


    The climate in Guangzhou was hot, similar to the months of May and June in Chang¡¯an. When Li Shande entered the city, he felt sweat dripping from his body, as if ants were crawling on him. Especially around his neck, the collar was soaked with sweat and stuck to his skin. Even the slightest movement caused discomfort and pain due to the friction.


    The scenery in Guangzhou was quite different from Chang¡¯an. The walls were covered with climbing vines, coconut trees stood on the rooftops, and banyan trees extended their branches from the walls. Every empty space along the streets was filled with kapok flowers, purple orchids, gardenias, camellias, and various unnamed flowers. Almost half of the city was covered with flowers and plants.


    He found a government inn and checked in. Upon inquiry, he found out that the accommodation was free with his voucher, but the hot spring bath required an additional fee. Considering that he would soon be paying a visit to the five provincial governors and military commanders of Lingnan, he felt it necessary to maintain a respectable appearance. Reluctantly, he dug into his pocket and pulled out the last bit of money, rented a hot tub, and handed his dirty clothes to the laundress for cleaning, intending to use them again tomorrow.


    The cuisine at the inn in Guangzhou was very different from that of the Central Plains. There were no wheat-based noodles; instead, fine rice was served. Lamb was scarce, but there was an abundance of chicken soup and preserved duck. What stood out most was the rich variety of fruits and melons: loquats, sweet melons, white olives, Lu oranges, apples¡­. They were piled high on a large plate, accompanied by a slice of peeled sugar cane sprinkled with a pinch of yellow salt. Such a feast would befit a high-ranking noble in Chang¡¯an City.


    He casually asked if they had lychees, and the waiter replied that they were not in season yet, probably not until April.


    Li Shande didn¡¯t want to ask too much either. He had eaten dry rations on the road and needed a good meal to replenish himself. He opened his mouth wide and devoured the food like a whirlwind. After quenching his hunger and thirst with wine, the bath barrel was already filled with hot water. The people of Lingnan certainly knew how to enjoy themselves. There were crushed agarwood chips on the bottom of the tub, and a piece of kapok soap on a banana leaf nearby.


    As soon as Li Shande soaked himself, he couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°Ah! The steam enveloped him, and the fatigue gradually disappeared from his limbs. It mingled with the slippery sweat and fell off his body, floating to the surface of the water. For that brief moment, he completely forgot about the troubles of the lychees and wished to melt into the tub and never come out again.


    A good night¡¯s sleep. Li Shande woke up and called the laundrywoman to get his clothes. However, she looked at him as if he were a fool. Li Shande became angry, thinking that she was coveting his official attire. The laundress grumbled in the local dialect which he couldn¡¯t understand. They struggled for a while until the laundress dragged Li Shande to the clothesline, where he embarrassingly discovered the truth. It turned out that the climate in Lingnan was very different from Chang¡¯an ¨C it was humid and hot, so it took several days for the clothes to dry properly.


    Without a spare official robe and no extra money to buy one, Li Shande had no choice but to take off a Turkic dagger he had been carrying¡ªa dagger given to him by Du Fu, which he used for self-defense during his time in Suzhou. He exchanged it at a pawnshop for an ill-fitting old silk robe.


    Dressed in this strange robe, Li Shande awkwardly made his way to the Lingnan Governor¡¯s office. There were no guards or banners at the entrance to the office, only two large banana trees, their remarkably large green leaves resembling imperial folding screens, providing shade over the grand entrance. With the imperial decree in his hand, Li Shande was allowed to enter the main hall without any obstruction from the gatekeeper.


    As soon as Li Shande saw He Luguang, the Governor-General of Lingnan, his vision darkened. The esteemed commander was sitting cross-legged in the hall, munching on a long sugarcane. He wore only a white linen undershirt on his upper body, while his lower body was covered in bamboo split-crotch pants, revealing his hairy legs from time to time.


    Had he known that everyone dressed like this, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to waste his money on an expensive official robe. While feeling sorry for himself, Li Shande respectfully handed over the imperial edict.


    He Luguang had a dark complexion, and his forehead was bulging like a venerable elder. He was from Zhu Ya Jun, a jurisdiction located on an island even further south than Zhang Jiuling. It was quite remarkable for someone of Liao descent to rise to the rank of one of the ten military commanders in the Tianbao era, making him an extraordinary figure in the imperial court. Six years ago, he led ten mighty armies and quickly captured the fortified city of Nanzhao, restoring the bronze pillar* erected by Ma Yuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Such an extravagant character could easily crush him like crushing an ant.


    *May refer to a symbol or metaphor that represents the authority or influence of Ma Yuan.


    He Luguang took a bite of the sugarcane, chewed a few mouthfuls, and spat it out on the ground with a contemptuous ¡°ptoo¡±. Then he lazily unfolded the imperial edict and said, ¡°The Lychee Envoy? What do you do?¡±


    He Luguang slammed the imperial edict on the ground and sternly said, ¡°Guards, drag this impostor out and throw him into the Zhujiang River!¡± Immediately, two soldiers approached like ferocious wolves, ready to drag Li Shande away. Frightened, he rushed forward, swift as an ape, and clung tightly to the sugarcane in his hands, pleading, ¡°General, General!¡±


    He Luguang tried to snatch back the half-eaten sugarcane, but he was surprised to find that despite his frail appearance, the man possessed an unexpected strength. He stubbornly held onto the sugarcane and refused to let go, no matter how the two soldiers tried to pry it from his grasp. Eventually, He Luguang¡¯s grip was loosened, causing Li Shande to fall to the ground, still clutching the sugarcane, while the soldiers fell next to him, their legs in the air.


    He Luguang was both angry and amused. He shouted, ¡°You little monkey, you dare to deceive me in my own home? Do you not fear death?¡± Li Shande, who was lying on the ground, shouted with all his might, ¡°I am not a deceiver! I have received a legitimate imperial edict from Chang¡¯an!¡±


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense. Sending fresh lychees to Chang¡¯an? Which fool would come up with such an idea?¡±


    ¡°It was the emperor¡­..¡±


    He Luguang became furious and lifted his big foot to stomp on his face. ¡°You dare to slander even the emperor, such a daring fox!¡± As he spoke, he suddenly felt something strange. The temperament of the emperor was completely different from before. Over the past few years, he had asked Lingnan to do many strange and unusual things, deviating from the norm. It was hard to tell if he would really ask for fresh lychees this time¡­..


    He lifted his foot slightly, bent down to pick up the decree, brushed off the sugar cane residue, and examined it again. He exclaimed, ¡°Impressive craftsmanship! This could easily be sold outside Danfeng Gate.¡±


    Li Shande grabbed the red soil with both hands and shouted in a moment of inspiration, ¡°This decree has also been circulated among the officials in Lingnan. Once the general investigate, the truth will be revealed!¡±


    He Luguang ordered a servant to come over, gave some instructions, and then dragged a Hu bed to sit opposite him. Continuing to nibble on the sugarcane, he said:


    ¡°Whether this decree of yours is true or false, pfft, it doesn¡¯t really matter. If it¡¯s fake, it¡¯ll be thrown into the Zhujiang River; if it¡¯s real, I still won¡¯t be able to send fresh lychees to Chang¡¯an, so I¡¯ll have to get rid of you.¡±


    Li Shande had not expected him to be so blunt. At first, he trembled with fear, but then he became surprisingly calm. On the way, he had witnessed the arduous journey, and he knew that the idea of delivering fresh lychees was completely impossible. Rather than go back and face punishment, he thought it might be better to be killed here. At least he would die for the sake of the royal mission and wouldn¡¯t bring trouble to his family.


    With this thought in mind, he erased all thoughts of defense, lowered his forehead to the ground, and awaited his execution.


    As he knelt before him, He Luguang became suspicious instead. He scrutinized the swindler in front of him, his mouth chewing the sugarcane flesh incessantly, but he made no move. Soon after, a fair-faced scholar rushed over and said to He Luguang, ¡°I have found out that in early February, the imperial court indeed issued a blank document requesting fresh lychees. This document was given to the officials in charge in Lingnan, but they did not dare to take any unauthorized action and sent it to the Ministry of Agriculture.¡±


    The Lingnan envoy stationed in the capital was He Luguang¡¯s eyes and ears, with swift riders traveling back and forth every month to report the latest developments. This information had just been delivered.


    He Luguang looked at Li Shande and suddenly kicked him, hitting him right in the ribs and causing him to roll several times in the sugar cane residue. ¡°Bah! I almost fell for your trick. If I were to kill you here, wouldn¡¯t I be held responsible for the fresh lychee matter? You northerners are truly cunning.¡±


    Li Shande endured the pain and felt deeply wronged. He had already bowed his head and accepted his fate, yet he was accused of having a cunning mind¡­. The scholar whispered a few words into He Luguang¡¯s ear, causing him to furrow his brow in disgust. He threw the remaining sugarcane on the ground and walked away.


    The scholar approached and helped Li Shande up, brushing off the red soil from his robe. He then spoke softly, ¡°I am Zhao Xinning, the Chief Scribe under the Lingnan Commander¡¯s office. Ambassador Li, please accept my invitation to a banquet tonight, where we can dispel the dust of the road.¡± Li Shande was taken aback. He had just been trampled on and insulted. How could he speak such words without a change in expression?


    ¡°Ambassador, please don¡¯t be upset. There is a local saying that goes, ¡®The most important thing in life is to be happy; it is the way to maintain good health.¡¯¡±


    ¡°You¡­..¡±


    However, Li Shande knew that although the Chief Scribe was only an eighth-rank official, he had considerable influence under the military commander. It was unwise to offend him so easily, so Li Shande had to swallow his anger and respectfully clasp his hands and say, ¡°There is no need for the banquet. As the emperor¡¯s edict commands, I must fulfill my duties for the royal affairs and hurry the handling of the local tribute.¡±


    He had consulted with Han Cheng beforehand. Every year, various types of local tributes were sent from Lingnan to the capital by the Chief Envoy. If they could somehow categorize fresh lychees as a type of ¡°local tribute¡±, then the Chief Military Office would be forced to cooperate.


    How could Zhao Xinning jump into this pit willingly, he replied with a smile, ¡°Let me enlighten you, Ambassador. In the 14th year of the Kaiyuan era, the wise ruler issued a decree exempting the Five Provinces of Lingnan from the obligations of the Chief Envoy¡¯s mission. You see, our difficult mountainous routes make it impossible for us to meet the strict deadlines. So, you see, when it comes to these local tributes, Lingnan simply cannot deliver.¡±


    ¡°I understand that transporting fresh lychees is indeed a challenge. However, as loyal subjects, it is our duty to cooperate sincerely and make every effort to fulfill the wishes of the wise emperor and the esteemed consort. Only in this way can we ensure the successful completion of this task.¡±


    Zhao Xinning immediately agreed and said, ¡°This is a given! I will have the General issue a travel permit for the ambassador. With this document, you will have unrestricted access to the Five Provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guangzhou, Rongzhou, and Jiaozhou under the jurisdiction of Lingnan. The ambassador will be able to showcase your skills to the fullest.¡±


    Li Shande let out a short ¡°Ah¡± and suddenly didn¡¯t know what to say next.


    Before he left, Han Cheng had helped him speculate on several possibilities. ¡°Local tribute¡± was just a ruse. If the commander didn¡¯t fall for it, Li Shande could have taken advantage of the situation by mentioning the Holy Emperor and the Noble Consort, urging them to provide funds. He had always had a plan in mind, but it required substantial financial support.


    Unexpectedly, Zhao Xinning was quite slippery and deftly evaded the crucial point. While appearing generous, he willingly issued the passes for the Five Provinces but conveniently avoided the most critical aspect: funding. In plain terms, they provided him with convenience, allowing him to wander freely in Lingnan appearing without fault in the presence of the Holy Emperor. However, when it came to the matter of fresh lychees, they wouldn¡¯t give him a single penny. He was left to fend for himself.


    Li Shande was not adept at dealing with unexpected situations, nor was his tongue quick-witted. When he was disrupted by Zhao Xinning in this way, he completely forgot his well-prepared plans and stood in place, sweating profusely. Further down the corridor, He Luguang stood with his arms crossed and a cold sneer on his face. This northerner was as stupid as a Qingyuan chicken, yet he dared to involve the Provincial Governor¡¯s office in the matter of fresh lychees?


    He Luguang¡¯s thoughts stopped at this point. For a Provincial Military Governor to give even a moment¡¯s thought to a low-ranking official like him was already a great honor.


    Li Shande returned to the government inn with a sullen expression, staring blankly at the coconut trees outside the window. Zhao Xinning, on the other hand, kept his word. Half an hour later, he sent over a completed pass, accompanied by two pieces of sandalwood, which he claimed were personal gifts from Secretary Zhao.


    He tapped on the two pieces of wood and inhaled the faint, refreshing fragrance, but his heart remained congested with no outlet. Just as Du Fu had encouraged him to make a way in dire circumstances, Li Shande had also come up with a plan. However, now that the Lingnan Governor had refused to provide support, even if Li Shande was willing to fight to the death, he had no weapons in his hands.


    ¡°Let it be. This mission was already impossible from the beginning. Do you still have expectations?¡±


    Li Shande spread out the scroll on the desk. He decided to follow Han Cheng¡¯s advice after all, understanding that abandoning the sinking ship was the wisest choice. But first, he had to finish writing the farewell letter to his wife. As he wrote, tears welled up in his eyes and he finally fell asleep, still leaning over the desk.


    The next day, Li Shande woke up to find the paper soaked with saliva. As he was about to wipe it with his sleeve, he suddenly noticed a brownish cockroach scurrying past at lightning speed. This cockroach was unusually large, almost the size of a young mouse, unlike the ones he had seen back in Chang¡¯an¡¯s kitchen. A wave of coldness surged up Li Shande¡¯s spine, and he was filled with horror. He quickly recoiled and moved away from it.


    With a loud crash, the desk overturned, scattering papers, ink and brush all over the floor. The letter to his wife was soaked in ink and completely ruined. Li Shande was overwhelmed with grief and felt that his fate was truly miserable. He thought that everything was going against him, and he even considered asking the innkeeper where the Zhujiang River was so that he could just throw himself into its waters and be done with it.


    Unexpectedly, just as he was putting on his robe, his stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he had not yet eaten breakfast. Li Shande hesitated for a moment but finally decided that it was better to feast like a glutton. He adjusted his headgear and made his way to the dining area of the inn.


    Lingnan was indeed a land of plenty, both on land and in the water. Even their breakfast surpassed that of other places. A bowl of perfectly cooked corn and pork porridge, mixed with crushed almonds and sweetened with cane sugar. Three plates of pickled vegetables drizzled with duck oil. Steamed white fruit with a chicken egg on top. And a cup of seaweed wine. As for the fruit, it was simply piled up at the entrance to the dining room for everyone to enjoy at their leisure.


    Sitting at the table, Li Shande savored every bite. It was supposed to be his last meal in life, so he deserved to enjoy it to the fullest. However, since he was in Lingnan, there was no lamb available. How wonderful it would be if he could return to Chang¡¯an one last time and taste a bite of the tower-style lamb pastry made by the Sun family in Buzheng District.


    As soon as he thought of Chang¡¯an, his nose began to tingle. At that moment, someone from across the table suddenly said, ¡°Sir, are you from the north?¡±


    Li Shande looked over and saw a thin old man with a high nose, deep-set eyes, and three strands of yellow beard on his chin. He was wearing a three-striped robe, surprisingly a Hui merchant*. Judging from the way he carried a pouch around his waist and wore jade rings, it was obvious that he possessed considerable wealth.


    *One of the famous merchant groups hailed from the six counties of She, Xuining, Qimen, Yixian, Jixi, and Wuyuan. They were Chinese-speaking Muslims who were primarily of East Asian and Central Asian origin, with some Middle Eastern ethnic groups like Arabs and Iranians.


    Li Shande let out a ¡°hmm¡± and started to peel the boiled egg in his hand. Little did he know, the Hui merchant was quite friendly and sociable. From time to time, he would come over to offer a drink or help peel a melon, showing great enthusiasm that made Li Shande feel a little embarrassed.


    At that time, Guangzhou was also a major trading port of the Great Tang Empire, connecting with thirty-six countries across the vast oceans. Its prosperity was no less than that of Yangzhou, attracting many foreign merchants to the city. This Hui merchant, who spoke fluent Tang, introduced himself as Su Liang, originally from Persia. He had been in the Tang Empire for several decades, working in the spice trade in Guangzhou.


    ¡°If you have any difficulties, you can share them with this humble one. We are all away from home, and perhaps we can help each other. There is a local saying that the most important thing in life is happiness.¡±


    ¡°How can you Lingnan people always come up with this approach?¡± Li Shande couldn¡¯t help but complain. Su Liang suddenly pressed his chopsticks with his jade-adorned hand and asked, ¡°Sir¡­ Are you in need of money?¡±


    These words struck a chord in Li Shande¡¯s heart. He paused for a moment and replied, ¡°Your words are not wrong, but what I need is not a small amount, but a large amount of money. Are you willing to lend me some?¡±


    The best way to send off a guest in the world is to mention the words ¡°borrow money¡±. However, Su Liang didn¡¯t show any hesitation, instead, he smiled and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a large sum of money, even if it¡¯s a seafaring ship, I can make the decision to lend it. As long as you offer something in exchange, whatever you have with you.¡± Li Shande¡¯s raised chopsticks froze in mid-air-this fellow had indeed approached him with a purpose!


    In Chang¡¯an, he had heard that the overseas Hui people were the best at appraising treasures, and they could always find something valuable. Today, it seemed that this person had probably misjudged the situation and approached a penniless old official who was at the end of his rope¡ªwhat treasures could I possibly have on me?


    Su Liang noticed that this person was a bit clueless, so he decided to be straightforward. ¡°Yesterday, while I was at the inn, I happened to see Secretary Zhao from the Governor General¡¯s Office paying a visit. He brought the official Five Provinces travel permit for you. Is this true?¡±


    ¡°What¨C what does this have to do with you?¡±


    ¡°Having been in business for several decades, I can read people¡¯s faces as if I¡¯m reading their hearts. You are currently facing tremendous trouble and in desperate need of a large sum of money, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°¡­..En.¡±


    ¡°A wise person does not engage in shady business. Whatever amount of money and provisions you need, I can provide it without hesitation. All I ask is that you lend me the Five Prefectures Travel Permit so that I can take care of my own business. Let¡¯s make a fair deal. What do you think?¡±


    It turned out that what he had his eyes on was actually this¡­


    To avoid any suspicion, the travel permit that Zhao Xinning gave Li Shande was of a remarkably high rank. Su Liang¡¯s eyes were sharp and discerning, and he could recognize it from afar. If a merchant convoy possessed this permit, all tax checkpoints, customs, weirs, wharves, and other places within the five provinces would be unimpeded. Goods could pass freely without inspection or taxation. It was truly a magical treasure-gathering pass.


    At first, Li Shande wanted to refuse outright. After all, it was a serious crime punishable by death to lend someone else a travel permit for impersonation. However, upon further reflection, he realized that he was already at a dead end. Adding another crime wouldn¡¯t make much difference. How many times could his head be chopped off?


    Seeing that Li Shande was still struggling internally, Su Liang extended three wrinkled fingers and said, ¡°I understand that there are some risks involved in this matter from an official point of view, so I won¡¯t let you suffer. Name your price and I¡¯ll add thirty percent to it.¡±


    Li Shande, well aware of the other party¡¯s ambitious intentions, found himself unable to refuse. He quickly calculated the cost of his plan in his mind and blurted out, ¡°766 guan!¡±


    The combination of zero and whole numbers in the given amount amused the Hui merchant. It seemed that there really were such down-to-earth people who treated their budget as the final settlement.


    ¡°Deal!¡±


    The old Hui merchant agreed without hesitation. Li Shande immediately felt regret, realizing that he had underestimated the potential value of the travel pass to the merchant. Judging from the merchant¡¯s enthusiasm, it seemed that even if he had offered 1,500 guan, the merchant would have accepted it without hesitation.


    ¡°I am pleased to do business with you, sir. The Tang people uphold honesty as their foundation, three cups seal the deal, and even the Five Sacred Mountains pale in comparison¡±. To block Li Shande¡¯s retreat, Su Lang brought in Li Bai, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty.


    ¡°I, I¡­¡± Li Shande stammered for a few moments but finally didn¡¯t dare to back out. This old Hui merchant was his only lifeline. If he got angry and left, Li Shande would truly be without hope.


    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re an honest person, sir, and I won¡¯t take advantage of you. 766 guan, plus the promised thirty percent increase, rounded up, makes a total of 1000 guan for you. How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°766 guan plus a thirty percent increase 996 guan¡­.¡±


    Su Liang was stunned. This person really doesn¡¯t know how to negotiate. I voluntarily added a little extra, and he¡¯s still nitpicking over these numbers? However, the old Hui merchant showed no emotion as he laughed heartily and said, ¡°Alright, 996 guan it is. May I ask, sir, do you want cash? Light goods? Or grain?¡±


    During the currency shortage of the Great Tang, large transactions like this were usually not settled in cash. Instead, they were converted into various goods. After thinking for a moment, Li Shande said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to give me the money. I want to buy some local goods in Guangzhou. Can I ask you to help me buy them?¡± Su Liang readily agreed and said, ¡°That¡¯s easy. What do you need?¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment, I¡¯ll make a list,¡± Li Shande replied. Then he added, ¡°If I go through your channels, can I get a discount?¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Su Liang smoothed his beard, unsure how to evaluate this talented person.


    Translator ramblings^^


    hmm.. i wanna see his family¡­ honestly while i don¡¯t think this person is that shady, but the repercussions of this transaction could be quite nasty¡­

 CH 2.2

    On March 12th, two riders mounted on short-legged Sichuan horses departed from the city of Guangzhou and sped towards the northeast direction, heading for Conghua.


    Last night, Li Shande hastily made a list and entrusted Su Liang with the purchases. He bought two Sichuan horses, hired a local guide, and headed straight for Conghua County, famous for its bountiful lychee harvest.


    At that time, lychees were produced in Guangzhou, Guizhou, and Luzhou*. However, for some unknown reason, the imperial edict specifically mentioned lychees from Lingnan. Of course, he had to find a way near Guangzhou. From the guide, he learned that lychee production in the Lingnan region was very different from the agricultural practices in the Central Plains. This region was home to various ethnic groups such as the She, Yao, Li, and Miao, collectively known as the ¡°Dongliao¡±*. They lived in and out of the mountains, with scattered tribes and no organized registration by the government, let alone the implementation of the rent and tax system.


    *Guizhou and Luzhou are not part of the Lingnan region. Guangzhou is the sub-capital of Guangdong, the heart of the Lingnan region. Conghua County is in Guangzhou. I have written a brief overview of the geography of Lingnan in the previous chapter¡¯s footnotes, so please refer to that.


    *A derogatory term for the Gelao tribe and other ethnic minorities who existed in the southern part (well Lingnan ig). ¡®á¼¡¯ means cave or cavern and ¡®â²¡¯ is the one that¡¯s the derogative term in the word and there¡¯s no actual translation for it.


    To govern Lingnan efficiently, the authorities resorted to the method of contract farming. Every year, they issued dozens of exclusive contracts to the highest bidders among merchants from different regions. With these contracts, the merchants could hire the Dongliao people to farm various fruits and vegetables without paying additional taxes. This approach not only reduced potential conflicts for the government but also allowed them to collect the imposed taxes in advance. Merchants fiercely competed for these contracts, as the more they invested in farming, the greater their profits. For the Dongliao people, this arrangement provided a stable income from farming and a steady supply of salt, tea, medicinal herbs, and alcohol from the outside world. It was a win-win situation for everyone.


    After listening to the explanation, Li Shande was deeply moved. He could also sense an underlying intention. By involving the Dongliao people in cultivation, they would become accustomed to a settled life and would be less inclined to return to the hardships of the mountains and forests. Naturally, they would become attached to the land ruled by the central government. From then on, the virtues would spread far and wide, and the surrounding tribes would gradually adapt. The name ¡°Conghua¡± (literally means ¡°to assimilate¡±) was aptly chosen.


    He Luguang may appear rough and bold, but his mind was remarkably meticulous.


    On both sides of the official road in Lingnan, one can see trees, vines, and creepers everywhere. These lush green plants fill almost every corner, exuding a vibrant vitality like crashing waves. If the willows of Ba Qiao were to grow here, there would be no danger of baldness.


    The Sichuan horses were not fast, and the two riders had traveled most of the day before finally entering Conghua. The guide pointed to the rows of green trees on either side of the road and said, ¡°These are lychee trees. But they have just begun to blossom, so it is not yet time for the fruit to ripen.¡±


    Li Shande couldn¡¯t help but tighten the reins. It turned out that this was the culprit who had tormented him to death.


    He lifted his eyes and looked carefully. These lychee trees had thick and round trunks, with lush crowns that resembled a round hat placed on a flagpole. Clusters of long, feathery leaves stretched between the gray-black trunks and yellow-green branches, forming a dense and impenetrable foliage. Though it was not yet time for fruit, the flowering season had arrived. The leaves were adorned with densely packed white flowers, almost petal-less, resembling a circle of fuzzy thorns inserted into the calyx. This display of magnificence may not catch a poet¡¯s attention, unlike peonies or chrysanthemums.


    Even if Zimei himself was present, he would have a hard time composing anything remarkable, right?


    The guide told Li Shande that the most famous lychee producer here was not the big plantations, but a Dong girl named Ah Tong who lived below Shimen Mountain. The lychees she grew were exceptionally large and round, with thick and juicy flesh, earning her the best reputation far and wide. However, her fields were small, covering only about 30 mu, and the lychees she produced were not for sale, but exclusively for the Governor¡¯s Office.


    Li Shande sneered coldly. With his title of Litchi Envoy and his work for the emperor, the Provincial Office dared not take on him. He shook the reins and galloped toward Shimen Mountain.


    Ah Tong¡¯s lychee field was located in the sunny foothills of Shimen Mountain. A clear stream meandered beneath the mountain and the field was strategically located where the stream curved. With an abundant water supply and shelter from the wind, it could be considered prime farmland with excellent feng shui. The field was adorned with countless lychee trees, neatly spaced and picturesquely arranged. Each tree is surrounded by rich mud and organic fertilizer, indicating the diligence of the owner.


    They entered the field and were immediately approached by three or four Dongliao men with unfriendly expressions. After the guide explained their purpose, the men reluctantly stepped aside to make way and mentioned that Sister Tong was inside tying bamboo ropes.


    Li Shande dismounted and walked into the lychee grove, taking several dozen steps, but he only saw the swaying shadows of the trees and couldn¡¯t find anyone. Perplexed, he looked up and noticed that there were many thin threads between the trees, resembling spider webs. Curious, Li Shande reached out and pulled on one of the threads, finding it surprisingly strong, probably made from bamboo poles.


    ¡°Hey, did the stone-backed lady sent you to cause trouble?¡±


    A clear voice suddenly rang out from above, coming closer and closer as if it was descending directly. Startled, Li Shande instinctively moved aside, but with a ¡°plop,¡± he stepped into the manure under the tree roots. The manure had been properly fermented and dried, making it very loose and soft. Once his boot sank into it, it became difficult to pull it out.


    As he stepped into the manure, a dark figure jumped down from the tree. It turned out to be a graceful young woman in her twenties, wearing a short shirt made of bamboo cloth. Her wrists and ankles were exposed, and her skin was like wheat. She carried a wooden spindle on her right shoulder, wrapped in a coil of bamboo threads.


    Seeing Li Shande¡¯s predicament, she burst out laughing and grabbed his clothes, pulling him back and dragging him out of the manure pile along with his legs.


    ¡°I am Ah Tong. What do you want me for?¡± The woman spoke fluent Chinese but with a strange accent.


    ¡°Wh¨CWhat is this stone-backed lady?¡± Li Shande asked, still in shock. The tips of his boots were splattered with disgusting juices.


    Ah Tong looked around and leisurely picked a small bug off of the tree. It was the size of a peach pit and its shell was a brownish-yellow color. It looked kind of like a rock. ¡°You guys call this a stinkbug, we call it a stone-backed lady. They just love to crawl onto the lychee branches to make trouble. It looks like it¡¯s going to start fruiting soon, so we gotta get rid of them.¡±


    Pressing her fingers together, she smashed the stone-backed lady into pieces and then casually wiped her hand on the tree trunk. Li Shande composed himself and performed a respectful fist and palm salute. ¡°I am the appointed lychee envoy from the capital, sent by the emperor himself. This time, I am in Lingnan to request local lychees for tribute¡­¡±


    ¡°So, it turns out to be a townie!¡±


    The Dongliao people refer to the people of Guangzhou city as ¡°townies¡± which was not exactly a amiable nickname. Li Shande was about to say more, but Ah Tong interrupted and said, ¡°It¡¯s still early for the lychee fruit to bear, so you better go back.¡±


    Li Shande hit a soft nail and had no choice but to speak modestly, ¡°In that case, can I ask the young miss a few questions?¡±


    ¡°Young miss?¡± Ah Tong tilted her head curiously. The officials of the Governor¡¯s Office usually referred to her as ¡°Liao woman¡±, which wasn¡¯t a flattering term. But being called ¡°Young miss¡± this time was quite pleasant.


    She lowered her head and looked at the dung covered boots. Suddenly, she realized that the city dweller had neither cursed nor whipped her. His temper was surprisingly good.


    She took the spindle and casually tossed it into Li Shande¡¯s arms. ¡°Since you¡¯re asking for my help, first help me connect the thread.¡± Li Shande was taken aback, and Ah Tong explained, ¡°During the recent rainy season, the stone-backed lady came out, so we had to put bamboo ropes between the trees for the big ants to pass through and chase the stone backed lady away.¡±


    It turned out that the sik threads were used for this purpose, and Li Shande suddenly realized it. Confucius once said, ¡°I am not as knowledgeable as the old farmers,¡± and indeed the study of agriculture contained profound wisdom. He was a passive person, and since he had asked others for help, he could only inexplicably follow Ah Tong into the forest.


    He was over fifty years old, and the physically demanding work of climbing up and down was indeed a challenge for him. He had no choice but to follow Ah Tong¡¯s lead in setting up the lines. She showed no signs of hesitation, ordering the esteemed Lychee Envoy around like a lowly servant. The two of them worked tirelessly until the sun was about to set, finally completing four rows of fruit trees. Li Shande, drenched in sweat and panting heavily, sat down by the field to catch his breath. The pile of manure next to him didn¡¯t bother him at all.


    Ah Tong smiled happily as she handed over a bamboo tube filled with refreshing stream water. Li Shande gulped it down with satisfaction, feeling an indescribable sense of contentment.


    As the sun set in the west, several other Dongliao men had already lit a fire pit in front of the guardhouse in the orchard. In the middle of the fire pit were about ten slender bamboo skewers on which pheasants, frogs, field mice, and even a fat earth snake were impaled. These products were sprinkled with asiatic dogwood herb and sizzled enticingly. Li Shande¡¯s heart trembled with fear, and he only dared to eat the meat from the skewered pheasant, avoiding the rest. The others devoured the food without any scrupples.


    I had heard before that the Baiyue people were fierce in their customs. Those with wings do not eat head covers, and those with legs do not eat table tops.* Everything else was fair game, and it really wasn¡¯t an exaggeration.


    *I couldn¡¯t find the meaning for this proverb, but by context, it might mean that they don¡¯t eat the extreme things, but all the other stuff are okay?..


    After satisfying her appetite with the snake meat, Ah Tong wiped her mouth and playfully kicked Li Shande¡¯s leg. ¡°You, as a townie, are quite different from other townies. When they come to the lychee village, they act superior, demanding this and that and looking at us like dogs,¡± she remarked.


    Li Shande thought to himself, I am almost a dog myself, how can I afford to look down on others?


    Ah Tong added, ¡°I really appreciate your help with the lychee trees this afternoon. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!¡± After saying that, she lazily leaned against a pillar. Out of nowhere, a leopard cat jumped out from nowhere and rolled around in her arms.


    Li Shande took out a notebook and pen and said, ¡°I have a few questions about the properties of lychee that I would like to ask you, young miss.¡± Ah Tong stroked the leopard cat and smiled, pursing her lips. ¡°Let¡¯s be clear from the start. The fruit here has already been reserved by the Governor¡¯s Office, so it¡¯s not for sale.¡±


    ¡°This errand of mine is for the emperor.¡±


    ¡°Who is the emperor?¡±


    ¡°It is the emperor, even higher than the governor. If he wanted to eat lychees, the governor wouldn¡¯t dare say anything.¡± Li Shande was beginning to understand the way to talk to these Dongliao people, to be direct and not mince words.


    Ah Tong couldn¡¯t quite grasp the concept of someone higher than the governor. Rubbing her head in frustration, she gave up thinking and said to just ask the questions.


    ¡°How many days does it take for a lychee to completely change its flavor from the time it is picked from the tree?¡±


    ¡°Not more than three days. On the fourth day or so, they become inedible.¡±


    This is consistent with what Li Shande heard in the capital. He then asked, ¡°If you want to prevent it from going bad, are there any methods?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pick it at all,¡± Ah Tong replied, causing the surrounding Dong people to burst out laughing. Li Shande did not know what was so funny.


    ¡°¡­..I¡¯m asking how to preserve them after they are picked!¡± He scratched his hair irritably, his head covered with bits of leaves and small insects.


    Taking advantage of the firelight, Ah Tong studied him for a moment and said, ¡°You are the first townie to do farm work here, so Ah Tong will teach you a secret of our Dong village!¡± Li Shande¡¯s eyes brightened and he quickly steadied the pen and paper, ¡°I would like to hear the details.¡±


    ¡°You take a large jar, don¡¯t peel the lychees, put them in the jar, seal it tightly and soak it in the stream. They will stay edible for up to four days.¡±


    ¡°¡­..¡±


    Li Shande felt deflated and thought, What kind of ¡®secret¡¯ is this? One of my duties at the Shanglin Office is to store ice in the winter and deliver it to the palace and various government offices to keep fruits and melons cool in the summer. If it weren¡¯t for the scorching and ice-free Lingnan, would I even need this so-called secret from this Dong girl?


    Seeing Li Shande¡¯s lack of enthusiasm, Ah Tong became slightly annoyed. She pushed aside the leopard cat¡¯s tail and approached him. ¡°Townie, I¡¯ll tell you another secret, but keep it to yourself, or I¡¯ll cast a Gu poison* spell on you,¡± she warned playfully. Li Shande nodded attentively, and Ah Tong continued proudly, ¡°Before you put the lychees in the big jar, wash them in salt water. This will keep them fresh for up to five days.¡±


    *An ancient Chinese Black Magic


    Li Shande was disappointed. Sealing, salt washing, and cooling were all methods that had already been used by the Shanglin Office, but they were only temporary solutions. Ah Tong became quite dissatisfied, raised the paw of the leopard cat to scratch him, and said, ¡°You are too greedy. Are you not satisfied with all the benefits you have gained?¡±


    Dodging the dog¡¯s paw, Li Shande had no choice but to express his true desire. Ah Tong had no idea of the distance between Chang¡¯an and their current location, let alone the vastness of a journey of 5000 li. But as soon as she heard that the journey would take more than ten days, she immediately waved her hand and said, ¡°Forget it. In just over ten days, the lychees would be infested with worms.¡±


    ¡°Is there really no way for you Dong people to keep lychees fresh for more than ten days?¡±


    Ah Tong muttered and passed the information on to the others, who all shook their heads. In this region of Lingnan, where lychees were readily available for picking, no one bothered to study methods of preserving them for more than ten days. Li Shande sighed, realizing that he shouldn¡¯t have pinned his hopes on some secret technique from the mountains. He had to rely on himself after all.


    He let go of the entanglement of preserving the lychees and shifted his focus to a topic crucial to his own experiment. He asked, ¡°When can the lychees here in Conghua bear fruit and develop their shells?


    The development of their shells means that the lychees are fully ripe. Without an immediate answer, Ah Tong called a fellow villager and returned shortly with two lychee blossoms. Ah Tong placed the flowers in front of Li Shande and explained, ¡°Look, the one with slender pedicel is called short-stemmed flower and usually bears ripe fruit in June or July. The one with thick and sturdy pedicel is called the long-stemmed flower, and it can bear fruit as early as May or June.¡±


    ¡°Are there any that are even earlier?¡±


    ¡°There is an earlier variety called ¡®Sanyuehong¡¯* (literally march red). It can be harvested by the end of March. I have planted a few trees in my field and they have already borne fruit.¡± When she said this, Ah Tong made a disgusted face and scoffed, ¡°But the flesh is coarse and sour. I advise you not to eat it. We all use it to brew wine.¡±


    *I noticed that most of the official articles and websites have used the pinyin and have not used an official translation. so I just followed them.


    ¡°Is it possible to ripen this variety earlier, regardless of taste?¡±


    She propped her chin up and thought for a moment. ¡°There is a method called consummation. While the lychees are still green, you can pick them and bury them in a rice jar mixed with plantains. This will make them ripen several days earlier*. The plantain is the male and the lychee is the female. It¡¯s like the union of a man and a woman in marriage¡ªonce they¡¯ve consummated in the room, they naturally turn ripe and red.¡±


    *There¡¯s actually a scientific reason. Plantains/Bananas in general release a gas called ethene which causes other fruits and vegetables to ripen¡­ (but her analogy is so funny lol)


    Ah Tong spoke in a frank and natural tone, causing Li Shande to blush deeply. He couldn¡¯t help but think that these mountain people had such vulgar names for ripening fruits.


    He had asked enough questions and put down his paper and pen. He instructed the guide to unload several rolls of silk from the Sichuan horse. When she saw a pink roll, Ah Tong was so pleased that she ignored the leopard cat and rushed over to wrap the cloth around her body, swaying back and forth in the firelight as if it were a skirt.


    ¡°This is a gift for you, Miss Ah Tong.¡±


    ¡°Is this a betrothal gift?¡± Ah Tong said as she looked at Li Shande, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not!¡± Li Shande shouted in shock and quickly explained, ¡°This is an advance payment for your help, young miss. I want to purchase all the nearby Sanyuehong varieties, and I need your help to speed up their ripening as much as possible. The sooner the better.¡±


    ¡°Oh, business, huh!¡± Ah Tong draped the silk cloth over her back and pouted slightly with her small mouth. ¡°I thought I finally found a townie willing to work and help me manage the farm together.¡±


    ¡°Miss Ah Tong is extremely beautiful and destined to find a good match. As for the old man, let¡¯s forget about it, just forget about it¡­¡± He wiped the sweat from his brow. If his wife misunderstood and thought that he had come to Lingnan to take a concubine, even without the emperor¡¯s decree, his soul would have long been shattered on the ridges in Dongshi.


    ¡°All right, all right! You¡¯re such a strange person.¡±


    As she left to make arrangements, Ah Tong muttered to herself. Before she left, she kicked the leopard cat in frustration. Instead of running away, the cat laid down and exposed its belly.


    Leaning against the embankment, Li Shande was about to take a short nap when he noticed the leopard cat lying on its back, staring at him with a majestic tilt of its head. Accustomed to bowing and scraping as a low-ranking official in Chang¡¯an, he found that the leopard cat¡¯s commanding gaze was similar to that of his superiors. Years of ingrained habits led him to approach the cat by the doings of ghosts and gods and caress the cat¡¯s belly. Li Shande adopted a humble posture, caressing the leopard cat with such devotion that it purred contentedly.


    It was a long night and surprisingly it just flew by.


    In the blink of an eye, the calendar flipped to March 19th, another scorching hot day.


    With the leopard cat in her arms, Ah Tong waited at the intersection of the official road in Conghua. Behind her, ten water barrels stood in a row, each filled with nearly a hundred catties of ripening Sanyuehongs. Following Li Shande¡¯s instructions, these fruits had been washed with salt water beforehand.


    Soon, the sound of galloping hooves echoed in the distance, and a group of horses quickly approached.


    When Ah Tong looked at the leader, she noticed that besides Li Shande, an old Hu merchant was also there. The four riders behind them were dressed in merchant clothes, and their horses were different from the ordinary Sichuan horses and Dian horses found in Lingnan. They were large northern horses. On the backs of these horses was a long mat, and on either side of the mat was a rattan basket, each containing a small narrow-mouthed jar. Nearby was a bundle of six or seven small fist-sized jars.


    As the riders approached, Li Shande greeted Ah Tong. Ah Tong noticed that his complexion was pale, with a dark gray tinge around his eyes, and even his hair had turned slightly gray compared to before. The leopard cat in her arms let out a cry, but Li Shande didn¡¯t look in that direction. Instead, he wore a serious expression as he issued his orders.


    One by one, the riders dismounted and scooped the lychees out of the water jars. Each fruit was covered with scales and had a bright red color, indicating that they were surprisingly ripe. They took a stack of square papers from their waists and carefully wrapped each lychee before placing them in the jars.


    Suddenly, Ah Tong noticed that as the horses moved, a clinking sound came from the jars. She was alarmed and quickly said to Li Shande, ¡°If the lychees are soaked in water for more than a day, they will spoil.¡±


    Li Shande smiled and replied, ¡°No need to worry, no need to worry. These are specially designed double-layered jars filled with water between the outer and inner layers to maintain moisture.¡±


    He smiled naturally, but deep inside, his heart ached a little. These double-layered jars were not cheap, costing around 300 guan each, and they were not available in Guangzhou City. Only the ships of the Hu merchants carried them.


    ¡°What exactly are you planning to do, townie?¡± Ah Tong asked, not quite understanding.


    Li Shande waved his hand, indicating that he would wait a moment before speaking. After the riders finished their preparations, he nodded respectfully to the Old Hu merchant. Su Liang walked over to the riders, made a subtle hand gesture, and solemnly said, ¡°Depart!¡±


    The four riders turned their horses¡¯ heads and charged north, each carrying two jars at a galloping pace. Dust filled the air, and the sound of horses¡¯ hooves echoed wildly. When the dust settled, the riders had turned into four distant black figures. Soon, the figures seemed to disperse, heading in different directions.


    As Li Shande watched the disappearing black figures, his gaze resembled that of a desperate gambler, fixated on a dice thrown high in the air that has yet to land.


    ¡°Zi Mei, as you requested, I am here to fight to the death,¡± he murmured.


    In the more than fifty years of his life, Li Shande had always dealt with numbers. The imperial examination was his path to success, and after entering the civil service, his daily interactions revolved around account books, granary inventories, calculations, and practical matters. He was unfamiliar with the political maneuverings of the court and was not well versed in rhetoric. Throughout his life, numbers were his familiar domain and he trusted them. In a crisis, numbers were the only thing he could rely on.


    During the long journey from the capital to Lingnan, Li Shande pondered a question using his mathematical knowledge: ¡®Where is the limit for the lychee transportation?¡¯


    Whether it was Liu Shuling, Han Fourteen, or Du Fu, they all believed that fresh lychees were highly perishable and could not be transported to Chang¡¯an. This conclusion was not wrong, but it was too vague, and no one could give a detailed answer. In fact, when Li Shande seriously delved into this question, he discovered its astonishing complexity.


    Which variety of lychee is more resistant to spoilage? When is the best time to harvest them? How fast should the couriers travel to ensure successful transport? What is the relationship between lychee weight and transportation? Should the couriers use stable Sichuan and Dian horses or faster Yunzhong and Hetao horses? Should they take the Mei Pass to Jiangxi or the Xijing Pass to Hunan? Should they follow the river upstream to Ezhou or go straight to Bianzhou? If there is a combination of land and water transportation, how should the routes be designed to maximize capacity? How far can each route go before the lychees spoil?


    With numerous variables intertwined, ranging from lychee varieties to storage methods, transportation vehicles to shipping routes, climate and hydrology to station planning, an infinite number of combinations emerged. During the trip, Li Shande realized that understanding this matter on paper alone would be futile. He needed to conduct an actual experiment to shed light on the subject.


    In terms of the principles of the experiment, it is not inherently complex. When it comes to transporting fresh lychees to Chang¡¯an, there are only two approaches: extending the time before the lychees perish or increasing the speed of transportation.


    For the first point, Li Shande didn¡¯t have many good solutions. The secrets of the Dong people weren¡¯t reliable, and his only discovery was a double-layered jar on the Hu merchant ship. Originally used to transport spices by sea to prevent the loss of fragrance, Li Shande thought it might be suitable for transporting lychees. First, wash the lychees with salt water, place them in the inner layer of the jar, and seal the opening. Then fill the outer layer with cold water, changing it every half day to prevent the temperature inside the jar from getting too hot.


    For now, this is the extent of what can be done.


    And the second point is where the real trouble lies.


    With Su Liang¡¯s help, he acquired nearly a hundred horses, hired dozens of horsemen, and procured several swift boats. They were divided into four teams, each carrying double-layered jars filled with lychees. They would set out simultaneously from four different routes.


    The first team took the Mei Pass, passing through Qianzhou, Ezhou, and Suizhou, following the same route as Li Shande¡¯s journey. The second team took the Xijing Pass, a valley road built since the Eastern Han Dynasty. It went from Ruyuan to Chenzhou, Hengzhou, and Tanzhou before reaching Jiangling, taking the shortest straight route. The third team also took the Meiguan Road, but after crossing the river, they went north in a straight line to Suzhou. They joined the Tang Dynasty water transport route along the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and the Luo River, and finally reached the capital. The fourth team boarded a boat directly and entered the Zhen River via the Pearl River, then the Zhen River and the Mei Pass, and finally reached the Gan River. They sailed upstream along the Yangtze River to the Han River and Xiangzhou, before switching to land transportation via the Shangzhou Road.


    Each of these four routes has its advantages and disadvantages. Li Shande doesn¡¯t expect to establish a continuous route right away; he just wants to know how far fresh lychees can be transported.


    Today, Ah Tong saw only the first four riders. The rest of the horses, riders, and boats had already set out, positioned at the rotating junctions along each route. Li Shande¡¯s request was simple: to push the limits, regardless of the horses¡¯ endurance, and to ride until the lychees had completely deteriorated. To motivate the riders, he even set up a tiered reward system.


    In this way, they could barely simulate the highest level of courier speed used by the imperial court.


    Despite Li Shande¡¯s careful calculations, the cost of implementing this approach was surprisingly high. A good northern horse in Guangzhou would cost about 13 guan, while an experienced rider would charge a minimum commission of 5 guan for a single trip. Add to that the cost of fodder, saddlery, provisions, firewood, bribes at checkpoints along the way, and various costs associated with river transportation, and the expenses became even more substantial.


    And this cost was only for a single trip. If they were to make multiple trips, the cost would double and even multiply.


    Therefore, Li Shande¡¯s initial idea was to seek financial support from the Provincial Governor¡¯s Office. Unfortunately, General He Luguang turned a blind eye to his request, so he had no choice but to take a risk and collaborate with the Hu merchants.


    In reality, Li Shande was overly optimistic about the speed at which the entire plan would consume funds. The money he got from selling the travel permits quickly ran out. In the end, Su Liang proposed a solution: to borrow 2,500 guan in advance, but Li Shande would have to go back to the Governor¡¯s office to get four blank travel permits.


    Without hesitation, Li Shande agreed and quickly signed the loan contract. He had become completely numb. The previous wealth of 996 guan seemed insignificant to him, and the 200 guan of incense money from Zhao Fu Temple was just a trivial matter in his eyes.


    After the financial issue was resolved, Li Shande immersed himself in planning and coordination day and night, pushing himself to the brink of exhaustion. For seven days in a row, he worked tirelessly, almost to the point of exhaustion. It was only when the horse team set off that Li Shande finally relaxed. He had done all he could, now all he could do was wait for fate to unfold.


    He took the leopard cat from Ah Tong¡¯s hands and gently scratched its chin, feeling a subtle and inexplicable joy flow through his body.


    ¡°Miss Ah Tong, I am truly grateful to you. If it weren¡¯t for you teaching me about the Sanyuehongs and the ripening techniques, I would have been in dire straits by now.¡±


    Li Shande¡¯s words were not mere courtesy. His greatest enemy was time. This experiment required them to carry lychees and monitor their condition at all times. If they waited until the end of April, when the lychees were fully ripe, it would be impossible to reach the Empress¡¯s birthday on the first day of June. Ah Tong¡¯s two suggestions had helped him gain a whole month¡¯s time.


    Ah Tong raised her head proudly, waiting for him to continue praising her. But after a moment, there was no response. Irritated, she shifted her gaze to see that Li Shande¡¯s hand, which was caressing the leopard cat, was trembling slightly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Sick?¡±


    Li Shande forced a smile and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m just scared. In all my life, I¡¯ve never spent so much money on something with such an uncertain outcomes.¡±


    ¡°Why are you still doing something that seems pointless?¡± Ah Tong found the city dweller completely unreasonable. Li Shande let out a long sigh, as if he was releasing all the burdens in his chest. The expression of extreme exhaustion on his face somehow brought out a hint of determination in his eyebrows.


    ¡°Even if I fail, I want to know how far I am from the finish line.¡±


    Translator ramblings^^


    yo it¡¯s been a long time¡­


    a quick heads up, but my updates would probably be even irregular from now till August as I am on vacation and have returned to my home country. Where I reside, there is very limited internet reach. I also can¡¯t devote much time towards this as I have to prepare for a very important upcoming exam¡­


    I hope you understand and please enjoy the chapter.


    I am so sorry for being irresponsible¡­