I started on a deserted island and encountered Ying Zheng, who insisted I was an immortal.

"Meng Yi is right." Ying Zheng's voice was calm. "Let's set aside this person's identity for now. What he holds is the very foundation that will ensure the eternal stability of our Great Qin."

He looked north, towards the direction of the Qin Dynasty.

"The Xiongnu repeatedly invaded the borders, and the land of Baiyue was shrouded in miasma. Why were they unable to conquer it after so long? In the final analysis, it all came down to the two words: food and supplies."

"If every soldier of my Great Qin can have enough to eat, who can stop our iron cavalry wherever they go?"

Ying Zheng's hand gripped the rough wooden bowl tightly.

Immortality may be a pipe dream, but ensuring that the people of Qin no longer go hungry is a tangible and attainable future.

For the sake of this future, what does it matter if people criticize him or even if he has to relinquish his imperial dignity?

Wang Ben fell silent. He was a pure soldier, and Ying Zheng's words struck a chord with him.

Yes, in the end, wars come down to fighting for supplies.

"But Your Majesty, we have been stranded here, and Xianyang must already be in chaos. A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and we must return as soon as possible," Meng Yi said, expressing his most pressing concern.

Ying Zheng, however, seemed confident: "With Li Si here, Fusu can also oversee the country; there won't be any chaos."

"My tour of the East China Sea is known throughout the land. Now that I have disappeared at sea, they will surely do everything in their power to search for me inch by inch along the coastline."

"It's only a matter of time before we find this place."

After listening, Wang Ben nodded, his soldier's instincts prompting him to subconsciously observe the surrounding terrain.

He walked to a slightly higher spot and looked out into the distance.

Then, he froze in place.

"Your Majesty... Minister..."

Wang Ben's voice trembled as he pointed into the distance, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

Ying Zheng and Meng Yi walked in the direction he pointed.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, on the flat land by the sea not far away, an endless golden ocean ripples gently in the evening breeze.

......

Xianyang, Wuguan.

Li Si knelt on the mat, with a scroll of secret reports from the Xuanwu Guard that had just been delivered in front of him.

Every word on the bamboo slip was like a red-hot branding iron, searing his heart and soul.

His Majesty set sail in search of immortals, but encountered a storm, his fleet was completely destroyed, and his whereabouts became unknown.

The whereabouts of Meng Yi, the high-ranking official who accompanied him, and Wang Ben, the Marquis of Tongwu, are unknown.

"Thump."

Li Si's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

The color drained from his face instantly, and cold sweat soaked through his vest.

If the news of the emperor's death on his tour were to spread, the remnants of the six kingdoms, who had just been suppressed, would swarm forward like jackals smelling blood.

The entire Qin Dynasty would fall apart in an instant.

As for Li Si, the head of all officials, he would be the first to be torn to pieces.

No, absolutely not.

Li Si struggled to get up from the ground, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Guards!" he roared.

The guards outside rushed in.

"Issue my order: immediately mobilize all warships from Langya and Kuaiji commanderies and search every inch of the East China Sea coast! Find them alive, or... find their bodies!"

Li Si's eyes were bloodshot, revealing a madness.

He knew that everything he was doing was like dancing on the edge of a cliff.

But for the sake of Qin, and for his own sake, he had to take the gamble.

desert island.

Zhang Ying, carrying a pottery jar and humming a little tune, strolled out of the wooden house.

He saw the three "ancient people" staring blankly at his rice field, like three wooden stakes.

"Hey, what are you looking at? Never seen rice before?"

As Zhang Ying stepped forward, a rich aroma of wine wafted over.

Wang Ben turned around abruptly, rushed to Zhang Ying in three strides, and pointed at the rice paddy: "Is this millet? Why can it grow so large? Also, this island is mostly saline-alkali land, how did you manage to irrigate it with fresh water?"

He bombarded us with a barrage of questions.

Zhang Ying was taken aback by his question.

"What millet? This is rice, rice, big brother."

"And who said I used fresh water to water it?" Zhang Ying pointed to the sea not far away. "See? Seawater, poured directly on it."

"That's impossible!" Meng Yi walked over and retorted excitedly, "Seawater is salty and bitter; plants die as soon as they touch it. How can it be used to irrigate crops? This goes against the natural order!"

Zhang Ying looked at him with an expression as if he were an illiterate person.

"Dude, that's called rigid thinking."

"My rice is a special variety, specifically cultivated for irrigation in saline-alkali land and seawater, do you understand? It's called scientific breeding."

"Science...breeding?" Ying Zheng walked over as well, repeating this unfamiliar term.

"Yes, science." Zhang Ying shook the wine jar in her hand. "Something that can make potatoes yield 5,000 catties per mu, make rice irrigated with seawater, and even let me brew fine wine on this broken island."

Ying Zheng's breathing suddenly became rapid.

He got it.

He had previously thought that Zhang Ying was an immortal and that the potatoes and rice were divine things.

Now he realizes that he may have been wrong.

Or rather, I haven't thought about it deeply enough.

Immortals and divine beings are all too ethereal and unreal.

The "science" that this young man was talking about seemed to be a more real and powerful force than any divine magic.

A "principle" that can explain and create everything.

"Is the 'science' you speak of, sir, the path to immortality?" Ying Zheng's voice trembled slightly.

Zhang Ying almost threw the wine jar in her hand.

"Big brother, you're here again?"

"How come you can twist everything into the topic of immortality? Your thought process is truly unique."

"Let me tell you, there is no such thing as immortality in the world. Everyone has to die. This is a natural law and also science."

Ying Zheng was not angry at his words; instead, he fell into deeper thought.

A "principle" that can increase grain production a hundredfold says that humans cannot live forever.

This is inherently full of contradictions, and also full of endless temptations.

"Then... where does this 'science' come from?" Ying Zheng pressed, feeling that he had grasped the key to the problem.

Zhang Ying pursed her lips.

"They were already here on the island. I just planted them casually, who knew they would grow so well?" he said casually, not wanting to admit that he had a system.

He felt that arguing about science with these drama queens was too much of a waste of time; it was like casting pearls before swine.

He picked up the wine jug in his hand and shook it.

"Alright, alright, stop researching. You're burning through your brain cells."

"Come on, let's play something fun."

He smiled mysteriously, then turned and went back into the wooden house.

A moment later, he came out carrying a wooden box and dumped its contents onto the wooden table with a clatter.

More than a hundred cubes engraved with strange symbols and patterns.

It was Zhang Ying who, having nothing better to do, carved a set of mahjong tiles for herself out of wood.