I traveled back to the Qin Dynasty, and the First Emperor begged me to become his empress.

Chapter 511 The Madness of the Chu Surname 2

Just as Qu Bo was frowning in worry, his son Qu Hu came over carrying a hoe. His trouser legs were covered in mud, clearly indicating he had just been working in the fields. Seeing his father's expression, Qu Hu quickly asked, "Dad, what's troubling you?"

Qu Bo sighed and pointed to the millet field, saying, "I'm worried about this land! How could you turn over a perfectly good millet field and plant sugarcane?"

Qu Hu smiled dismissively and explained, "Dad, don't worry. The Qin people said they'll pay you in cash once the sugarcane is harvested. We can use the money to buy rice at the grain shop in town, which is much more profitable than growing it ourselves! Look at Wang Er from the next village, he planted five mu of sugarcane and last month he used the money to buy a new iron pot. It's so shiny, everyone envies him!"

Qu Bo sighed, peeled back a sugarcane leaf, and looked at the ground beneath: "But the price of rice at the grain store has increased by 30% in the last two months."

"Let the price go up, we make a lot of money selling sugarcane!" Qu Hu waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, the Qin ships will be coming to collect the sugarcane next month. We'll exchange the money then, buy more rice to stock up, what's there to be afraid of?"

Qu Bo didn't speak again, only gazing at the endless green fields in the distance. Not only his family, but throughout Chen County, and even in neighboring Ruyin and Shouchun, as far as the eye could see, there were almost no fields of grain left. The young people were planting sugarcane like madmen, calling it "golden seedlings from Qin," while only the older generation dreamed at night of famine years when the granaries were empty.

The royal palace in Yingdu was solemn and majestic, resplendent in gold and jade. King Fuchu of Chu sat on his throne, his face grim, his gaze fixed on the memorial in his hands as if it were a verdict of heinous crime. Suddenly, he slammed the memorial down on the table with a loud bang, shaking the entire palace.

"Five hundred thousand mu!" King Fuchu's voice echoed in the empty hall, filled with uncontrollable rage. "In just three years, five hundred thousand mu of farmland in Chu have been converted to sugarcane!" His voice grew louder and louder, until it was almost a roar. "What are you local officials doing? Five hundred thousand mu of sugarcane have been planted, and you're only now reporting this?"

The local officials kneeling on the ground trembled with fear, not daring to raise their heads, and could only listen tremblingly to the King of Chu's rebuke. They knew that this matter had blown up. Converting 500,000 mu of farmland to sugarcane was no small matter; it would not only affect the country's grain production but could also trigger a series of social problems.

At this moment, an old minister stepped forward shakily, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. There may be another reason for this. The Qin people bought sugarcane at a high price, and the people switched to growing it in order to make a living. Moreover, sugarcane is profitable quickly, so the people thought it was worthwhile."

King Fuchu of Chu glared angrily: "With profit at your fingertips, you disregard the very foundation of the nation? Without grain, how will the people survive, and how will the state of Chu continue?" After saying this, he glanced at his ministers and said, "Issue my decree: immediately prohibit the conversion of grain fields into sugarcane fields. Those who have already planted sugarcane must revert to planting grain fields after this harvest."

The local officials accepted the order and retreated in fear.

However, the order was ignored. Local officials paid lip service to it, while the people secretly protected their sugarcane fields. Meanwhile, the Qin merchants spread rumors that "as long as you hand over the sugarcane, you'll not only get cash, but we'll also help 'grease the wheels' with the government."

Over time, the ban became meaningless. Only in the monthly inventory of granaries in various places did the height of the grain stacks visibly decrease. The officials guarding the granaries, looking at the empty warehouses, were constantly awakened by nightmares—in their dreams, starving people, hoes in hand, surged towards the granaries.

The various states had all heard about what happened in Chu, but to them, what did it have to do with them? It was just that King Fuchu of Chu was too foolish.

At present, the various states still appear to be contending powers, each possessing considerable strength and territory. However, this is merely a facade. In reality, as time has passed, the power of the Qin state has grown increasingly stronger, far surpassing that of the other states.

The Qin state's military power, economic strength, and political maneuvering were constantly developing and expanding, its rise unstoppable. In contrast, while other states were also striving to maintain their positions, they appeared somewhat powerless under the immense pressure from Qin.

Even if these vassal states could temporarily set aside their conflicts and unite against Qin, they would likely find it difficult to achieve victory. This is because Qin's strength had already reached a considerably high level, and its overall national power far exceeded the combined strength of the other vassal states.

Under such circumstances, the future of other states was fraught with uncertainty. They might continue to eke out a living in Qin's shadow, or they might gradually disintegrate under Qin's pressure and eventually be annexed by Qin.

The climate in Sichuan always carries a touch of stickiness. The century-old banyan tree in the Ba family courtyard spreads its dense shade all over the ground, but it cannot filter out the faint metallic smell in the air—it comes from the iron mine ten miles away and has now become the most common background in the Ba family's life.

Ba Qing sat in a bamboo rocking chair, twirling a string of water-red agate beads in her hand, each bead smooth and lustrous from being rubbed. Her eyelids fluttered, and without opening her eyes, she recognized the weight of footsteps: "Is that Pu'er?"

Footsteps stopped under the eaves, and Ba Pu's voice was slightly hoarse from running around: "Mother." He took the bamboo stool handed to him by the maid and sat down three feet away from the rocking chair. The corner of his blue cloth robe swept across the moss on the ground, bringing a slight coolness.

"Has the iron ore matter been sorted out?" Ba Qing opened her eyes. Her eyes were a rare deep brown in Sichuan, like obsidian soaked in a stream. "The other day, I heard from the manager that the newly produced pig iron blocks always had sand holes in them."

“We’ve changed the master foreman.” Ba Pu picked up his teacup, the tea foam swirling in the turquoise tea. “I’ve overseen the forging for three batches, and the sand holes are all gone. From now on, I can just supervise according to the new method; I don’t need to watch over it every day.” He tapped his fingertips lightly on the rim of the teacup, the rhythm faintly matching the sound of hammers used for forging iron in the mine.

Ba Qing hummed in agreement, the agate beaded string spinning faster in her palm: "Has Princess Jiayang been urging us?"

When Bapu looked up, he caught a glimpse of sharpness in his foster mother's eyes. He shook his head: "The princess didn't urge me."

Ba Qing wrapped the beaded string around her wrist, and as she stood up, the bamboo chair creaked slightly. "A caravan from Chu brought news yesterday."

Bapu didn't respond; he knew his foster mother was going to talk about something far more than ordinary trade.

"The King of Chu built a new platform in Shouchun, saying he wanted to emulate King Zhuang of Chu in his ambition to conquer the Central Plains." Ba Qing's voice was carried slightly by the wind. "He also sent an envoy to Linzi, hoping to form an alliance with the State of Qi."

She suddenly turned around, her deep brown eyes shining brightly in the twilight. "Tell me, will this work?"