Chapter 46: Later Generations Do Not Know Everything Accurately Either

Although historical records often describe First Emperor Qin as ruthless, they rarely mention him treating his meritorious officials poorly. He always rewarded genuine contributions appropriately.

Take Li Si in history, for instance: "Si's eldest son, You, served as the Administrator of Sanchuan, all his other sons married Qin princesses, and all his daughters were wed to Qin princes."

How generous was this treatment toward Li Si?

Hearing that Ying Zheng intended to reward him, the thought that had crossed Li Nian's mind during lunch resurfaced. There is no time like the present; since the First Emperor had come today, he might as well speak his mind. He said, "Your Servant indeed has a request to make of Your Majesty!"

Li Nian proceeded to tell Ying Zheng about his desire to use an iron pot for cooking.

Ying Zheng replied, "Your request is granted by Us, but you must ensure the absolute safety of all ingredients."

Li Nian said, "Thank Your Majesty, Your Servant understands!"

Ying Zheng added, "If you create a delicacy, prepare a portion for Us as well!"

He, too, wanted to see what kind of dishes this person from future generations could make.

Having obtained the First Emperor's permission, Li Nian returned to the Six Heroes Palace and began to ponder what dishes he could prepare. The dishes he knew how to make were primarily based on pork. However, during the Qin Dynasty, pork was regarded as base meat with a strong, offensive gamey odor, and people of high status generally did not consume it.

Thinking of pork, he recalled that he also needed to castrate pigs. His previous thought that ancient pork tasted gamey and unpalatable simply because the pigs were uncastrated had been a bit naive. After searching on the search engine upon his return, he discovered that was not actually the case.

Ancient China had a long tradition of castrating livestock; people were already castrating pigs as early as the Shang Dynasty, referring to castrated pigs as "tun" or "zhu".

Remembering how he had spoken so boastfully right in front of the First Emperor about how castrating pigs could reduce the gamey taste of the meat and how it could be promoted throughout Qin, Li Nian could not help but twitch his face twice.

The reason pork tasted gamey at this time was not a matter of castration, but rather the result of the pigs' diet and living environment.

Unless he could find a way to ensure that every pig in the entire Qin Empire was well-fed and well-housed, it would be difficult to change.

He could try raising a few pigs within the Six Heroes Palace just to see, but as for popularizing it across Qin—forget it. Even humans were barely getting enough to eat; did he expect the pigs to live in luxury?

While he could certainly find cooking methods for other meats using the search engine, the vast majority of them required seasonings from future generations, whereas the varieties of seasonings in the Qin Dynasty were quite limited.

Thinking of seasonings, Li Nian noticed a few points that were usually overlooked in daily life: the salt and sugar of this era seemed to be of poor quality, while soy sauce, thirteen-spice seasoning, and similar items did not yet exist.

These things did not necessarily require the technology of future generations; they could be made entirely using materials from this era. It was just that the people of this time had yet to discover them—much like tofu!

However, he should refrain from making any more bold and confident proclamations to the First Emperor about these matters. It would be better to report to the First Emperor only after the actual items had been successfully made, just in case another issue like the pig castration misunderstanding arose.

For tonight, he would first see what dishes he could make.

After reviewing the bamboo slips sent by Guo Dian, which recorded the ingredients and seasonings available in the palace kitchen, Li Nian decided to simply try making a few stir-fried dishes.

He wondered when chili peppers would ever become widely popularized in Qin. As a native of Shu from future generations, a meal without chili peppers lacked a great deal of flavor.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed. The time for the conversation with the First Emperor, scheduled once every five days, had arrived. This time, it was not at night, but at noon, and Li Nian was summoned to the Zhangtai Palace by the First Emperor's attendants.

Upon entering the hall, Li Nian saw that it was still just the First Emperor and Meng Yi. He inwardly wondered why the First Emperor had not told anyone else about his existence or brought others along.

Yet he also understood that this was because the First Emperor did not yet fully trust him.

Naturally, how could a competent monarch place such blind trust in someone so easily? Even if he believed that Li Nian came from future generations, it did not necessarily mean he believed everything else Li Nian said.

For all he knew, the First Emperor might already be engaging in certain actions unknown to him, trying to verify the things Li Nian had previously uttered.

Glancing around the hall, he was surprised to see tables and chairs!

For once, he would finally not have to sit kneeling on his heels. He had changed life in the Qin Dynasty and taken his first step!

Seeing Li Nian gaze at the tables and chairs, the First Emperor smiled and said, "We noticed that you always appeared quite uncomfortable whenever you sat kneeling, so Today We specifically had tables and chairs placed here."

Li Nian immediately bowed his head and said, "Thank Your Majesty for this grace!"

After taking his seat, Li Nian was just about to explain that his method of castrating pigs was useless to Qin when he heard the First Emperor ask a question first: "Do you know of Zhang Han?"

Zhang Han?

How could he possibly not know?

He was a renowned general of the late Qin period!

Li Nian knew about Zhang Han primarily not because of history, but because of that animated series which had run for many years without finishing.

In it, Zhang Han commanded the Shadow Secret Guards and seemed to have an ambiguous relationship with Xiaomeng of the Heavenly Clan. There was a scene where Zhang Han went to see Xiaomeng while she was bathing, and that snowy white skin...

Searching his memory, Li Nian could not recall what Zhang Han was doing at this particular point in time, how the First Emperor had come to know of him, or why he was being asked about him.

After asking the question, Ying Zheng watched Li Nian closely. Seeing him first display a look of astonishment followed by a contemplative expression, it was clear that he did know who Zhang Han was.

Only when a person faced unexpected circumstances could their instinctive reactions reveal their true inner thoughts. Ying Zheng was using this to judge whether Li Nian was being honest.

Li Nian nodded and said, "Your Servant knows him. Zhang Han is a famous general of the late Qin period who once accepted a critical command under desperate circumstances and successfully turned the tide when the Qin Dynasty was on the verge of collapse. Unfortunately, he was obstructed by figures like Huhai and Zhao Gao at court, and his opponent happened to be the peerless overlord Xiang Yu, leaving him with no choice but to ultimately surrender to Xiang Yu."

"Zhang Han once served as the Minister of the Palace Treasury (Shaofu). His capabilities were quite exceptional, and he excelled greatly in leading troops into battle. Chen Sheng's rebellion was put down by him."

Ying Zheng nodded and did not continue asking questions related to Zhang Han, nor did he ask who Xiang Yu was or how Zhang Han transitioned from the Minister of the Palace Treasury to a general. Instead, he said, "You seemed to have something you wanted to tell Us just now?"

Li Nian said, "Your Majesty has discerning eyes. Your Servant indeed had a matter to report to Your Majesty just now: Your Servant begs Your Majesty to withdraw the proposal regarding the castration of swine!"

"It was due to Your Servant's shallow knowledge and ignorance that Your Servant was unaware the Great Qin already possessed methods for castrating swine. Your Servant uttered boastful nonsense in Your Majesty's presence, never expecting to make a laughingstock of himself before Your Majesty."

Following the day Li Nian mentioned the matter, Ying Zheng had also sent people to investigate and discovered that the practice of castrating swine mentioned by Li Nian already existed in Qin.

He had intentionally refrained from telling Li Nian, wanting to see what Li Nian would do next—would he continue to make grand boasts in his presence, or would he acknowledge his mistake decisively once he realized it?

The fact that Li Nian did not know the Qin Dynasty already had methods for castrating swine also corroborated a thought of his: the information Li Nian possessed from future generations might not necessarily be entirely accurate!

Ying Zheng remarked with profound meaning, "It seems future generations do not accurately know everything after all!"

Li Nian agreed wholeheartedly and reflected, "That is indeed true. Separated by millennia, even with historical records, omissions and errors are inevitable. It was also Your Servant's fault for not fully understanding the facts before submitting advice to Your Majesty."

Ying Zheng said, "To err is human, no one is infallible. Let this matter rest here!"

Li Nian stood up and bowed in gratitude: "Thank Your Majesty!"

"Sit down!"

Ying Zheng looked at Li Nian, who was also seated on a chair, and said, "Five days ago, We told you that today we would discuss why our Great Qin perished and how such a fate can be avoided. We want to know every single reason that led to the destruction of the Great Qin!"

During these past five days, apart from making a globe, inspecting the progress of papermaking engineering, presiding over the competition between the old and new plows, and writing health and wellness precautions for the First Emperor, Li Nian had also been preparing for today's Q&A.

He had searched for a vast amount of information related to the fall of the Qin Dynasty on the search engine, summarized and refined it, and incorporated the reflections he had gained since arriving in this era. Today was the day he would share his insights with the First Emperor.