Sasha Today in History.
Author: Sasha
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How did Yang Yuhuan like the lychees sent to Chang'an ? July 15, 756: The Masouyi Incident: The mutinous soldiers of the Tang Dynasty killed Yang Guozhong and forced Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty to hang himself.
Everyone knows that Concubine Yang likes to eat lychees.
Yang Guifei was originally from Sichuan and she liked to eat lychees since she was a child. After arriving in Chang'an, lychees were not produced in Shaanxi and had to be transported from Sichuan.
Yang Guifei soon discovered that lychees from Guangdong were better than those from Sichuan, and she switched to lychees from Guangdong and Guangxi.
However, lychees have their own characteristics, that is, they will quickly deteriorate once picked: the color of lychees changes in one day, the fragrance changes in two days, and the taste changes in three days.
The ancient Chinese used many methods to preserve lychees. Xu Bo's "Lychee Book" mentions that immediately after picking lychees, wrap them in bamboo tubes and soil to keep them fresh.
This preservation method is not reliable. If it is kept for up to 5 days, the lychees will completely deteriorate.
" Cantonese New Language " proposes another method of sealing lychees with wax, which is said to preserve them for several months. After modern experiments, it was discovered that this is actually a method of making preserves, not eating fresh lychees at all.
So, there is a problem here.
How long does it take to transport lychees from Guangdong to Shaanxi?
Historical books record: "Lizhi arrived in Chang'an for seven days and nights, and both men and horses were killed."
is a bit exaggerated, but it is also reasonable. There is a land distance of more than 1,600 kilometers from Guangdong to Chang'an, and it takes more than 10 days for ordinary people to ride horses.
If we use the 800-mile expedited service and change people and horses around the clock for transportation, the speed can be improved a lot. At the same time, the stations all over the country can also greatly increase the speed.
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there were 1,639 water and land stations across the country, employing more than 20,000 people, including 17,000 postmen.
An Lushan When Fan Yang rebelled, Tang Xuanzong was in Chang'an, and the two places were 3,000 miles apart. However, within just 6 days, Tang Xuanzong learned about the rebellion.
But Guangdong is farther than Hebei anyway. The fast horse delivering lychees to Concubine Yang, no matter how urgent it is, cannot exceed the warning of rebellion.
After all, it takes at least 7 days to transport lychees from Guangdong to Chang'an.
Lychee can only last for 5 days if stored in a special way. By the time Yang Guifei ate the lychees, wouldn't they have gone bad?
Of course not, this is the flattering wisdom of the ancients.
In fact, the lychees from Guangdong are not transported to Shaanxi by fast horses at all, but the whole tree is transported.
Historical records: "Put the lychees with the roots in containers, and transport them to Danhe River in Xiangyang from the south of Chu to the north of Chu. They are transported to Shangzhou and Qinling in places where boats are not accessible. When the fruits are ripe, they are picked and crossed over the ridge. , it can be reached by flying to Huaqingguan in one day."
Translation means transplanting the entire lychee tree into an oversized flower pot and transporting it by boat to a place near Chang'an. Because there are no rivers, it can no longer be transported by boat. So he picked the lychees and sent them to Chang'an by fast horse.
Because lychees are transported connected to the tree, they will naturally not deteriorate while on the tree. Subsequent land transportation only takes one day, and the lychees will not spoil.
Then the lychees that Yang Guifei ate were still fresh lychees.
sounds easy, but it’s not that simple.
Firstly, transplanting lychee trees into large flower pots is definitely a technical job and requires a skilled horticulturist to do it; secondly, the ship that can transport tall lychee trees must be a big ship, not a small boat; thirdly, After transplanting, lychee trees will inevitably experience large-scale fruit drop. In the end, less than one-tenth of the lychees may still be on the tree, or even all of them may fall off. In other words, in order for Concubine Yang to eat those lychees, I am afraid that many large trees need to be prepared.
Although it is a common practice for emperors to enjoy life all over the world, in order for a mere woman to eat a few lychees, I am afraid that thousands of people must be mobilized to serve her, which is too much.
Why did the Tang Dynasty suddenly decline during its heyday? It has a lot to do with Tang Xuanzong's extravagance and lust and lack of consideration for the common people.
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