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

Chapter 130 Expanding the Scale of Sugarcane Planting

Inside Chaohua Palace, the magnificent buildings gleamed in the sunlight. After finishing her lunch, Ying Wuyou strolled leisurely into the courtyard to digest her food. At that moment, Cui'er hurried over from afar and reported, "Princess, someone requests an audience."

Upon hearing this, Ying Wuyou nodded slightly, a faint smile appearing on her delicate face, and said softly, "Please come in."

A moment later, a lithe and agile guard strode in. Ying Wuyou looked closely and instantly recognized him as Lin Lu. Upon seeing Ying Wuyou, Lin Lu felt a surge of awe and quickly bowed respectfully, saying loudly, "Your subordinate greets Your Highness."

Ying Wuyou smiled calmly and said slowly, "Get up. What brings you here today?"

Upon hearing the princess's question, Lin Lu immediately straightened his posture, a hint of determination in his eyes, and replied, "Your Highness, the people who went to Chu to purchase sugarcane have returned safely. They acquired a total of 10 shi (a unit of dry measure) of sugarcane."

Upon hearing this, Ying Wuyou frowned slightly, seemingly deep in thought, and asked softly, "How many sugarcanes are grown in the Chu Kingdom?"

Lin Lu paused slightly, as if gathering his thoughts, before replying, "After careful investigation, I have learned that there are more than 50 villages in the Chu region that grow sugarcane. With such a vast planting area, the amount of sugarcane produced must be quite considerable." He then lowered his head slightly, awaiting further instructions from the princess.

Ying Wuyou nodded slightly, pondering the quantities these numbers represented. After a moment, she spoke slowly, her words clear and firm: "It's still too little, far from what I expected, and far from enough to achieve my goal. Immediately issue an order to the merchants in Chu, instructing them to spread this word far and wide, to make sure the entire Chu knows that next year, the price of sugarcane will skyrocket to 3 taels of silver per dan (a unit of weight).

Upon hearing this, Lin Lu's previously calm face immediately showed a look of surprise. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes as he said, "Your Highness, isn't this price a bit too high? After all, this is no small amount."

Ying Wuyou's delicate lips curled up slightly, and she said in a deep voice, "Not high. You should go to Chu as soon as possible to spread the word. Do it with your heart and carefully observe Chu's reaction. See if you can use this measure to significantly increase the amount of sugarcane planted in Chu."

Lin Lu nodded after listening, and then said, "Your Highness is wise. If we follow your method, the sugarcane production in Chu will surely increase greatly."

Ying Wuyou smiled and said, "Alright, hurry up and give the orders!"

Lin Lu said, "I'll make the arrangements right away." After saying that, Lin Lu turned and left to begin implementing Ying Wuyou's plan.

Ying Wuyou stood silently, her eyes fixed on Lin Lu's receding figure. She pondered deeply. As sugarcane cultivation increased in Chu, the inevitable consequence was a gradual decrease in grain supplies. Grain was the foundation of a nation; without sufficient food, the nation's foundation would crumble. In the long run, Chu's strength would gradually decline. At that point, even without the invasion of Qin's 600,000-strong army, Chu could still be swallowed by the tides of history.

This way, they could recover the State of Chu without resorting to force, and also lessen the hatred of the Chu people towards the Qin people.

As Lin Lu promoted the idea in Chu, the news spread quickly. The people of Chu, hearing that sugarcane prices would be so high next year—far more profitable than growing grain—were all eager to participate. Some farmers who had previously hesitated began considering planting sugarcane, while some villages that had already planted sugarcane planned to expand their planting area.

In the Chu royal palace, a heated argument once again erupted in the court over the sugarcane issue. Lu Qian, with a serious yet confident expression, addressed the king, saying, "Your Majesty, it seems Qin is in dire need of large quantities of sugarcane. This is an excellent opportunity. We can expand our sugarcane cultivation. This would not only satisfy Qin's needs but also bring substantial profits to Chu. Why not?"

Xiang Yan replied with a solemn expression, "Your Majesty, please do not act rashly! Qin's wolfish ambitions are now blatantly obvious. They clearly want us in Chu to plant sugarcane on a large scale. If these unscrupulous merchants suddenly change their minds and stop buying our sugarcane, the people of Chu will surely be dissatisfied with the court and full of complaints! At that time, the court's prestige will be severely damaged, and the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qian immediately retorted without fear: "Prime Minister, you must not worry so much. In our Chu Kingdom, who does not know that the purchase of sugarcane was Qin's doing? If they really renege on their promise, the people will surely understand our difficulties and will not direct all their resentment at us. After all, all of this was caused by Qin's greed and cunning; we are merely doing our best to deal with the situation." Having said this, he slightly raised his head, a resolute light flashing in his eyes, as if he deeply believed in his words.

Seeing that Xiang Yan was about to argue again in his anxious state, the King of Chu waved his hand firmly and said, "Alright, stop arguing. My mind is made up. This time, I will not restrict the scale of sugarcane planting. Let the people decide for themselves whether to plant sugarcane and how much to plant."

Lu Qian bowed with admiration and said, "Your Majesty is truly a wise ruler." Seeing this, the others echoed him, shouting in unison, "Your Majesty is wise!" Although Xiang Yan was unwilling, it seemed that there was no better way at the moment, and there was nothing unusual at present, so he could only suppress his temper and quietly observe the development of the situation.

Seeing that the court had not taken any action, the people of Chu who had already decided to plant more sugarcane were overjoyed, as if they could see the dawn of wealth that was about to arrive. They were all eager to start expanding the amount of sugarcane they planted.

Even worse, some people, in order to acquire more land for sugarcane cultivation, ruthlessly cut down all the lush trees on the mountains, just to make enough space for sugarcane planting. As a result, all regions of Chu seemed to be swept up in a sugarcane planting craze, with everyone enthusiastically increasing sugarcane production. Whether in the fields or on the hilltops, people were busy planting sugarcane, hoping for a bumper harvest next year so they could earn money.

As time went on, Ying Wuyou closely monitored the situation in Chu. She dispatched guards to gather information about sugarcane cultivation. When she learned that the sugarcane planting area in Chu was gradually expanding, she was overjoyed; it seemed her plan had succeeded.