Ma Boyong’s *Lychees of Chang’an* has been all the rage lately.

In this work, he offers a thought-provoking portrayal of the phrase “A single rider kicks up a cloud of dust, and the concubine smiles.”

Some people believe this story is meant to satirize something.

But I believe the whole affair actually bears many similarities to the various interests at play in investment promotion efforts.

Let’s first revisit the story.

01

In Chang’an, there was a minor official named Li Shande. At the age of 42, he finally bought a house on the outskirts of the city—and took on a mortgage in the process.

One day during a team-building event, his boss handed him a lucrative assignment: to purchase candied lychees—that is, canned lychees.

He heard there was a lot of money to be made, so he accepted the job while he was tipsy.

It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had to transport fresh lychees from Guangzhou to Chang’an in time for Yang Yuhuan’s birthday.

He thought he was doomed—no one could pull this off. But his good friend Du Fu urged him to go to Guangzhou and take a look; after all, there was still time.

When he arrived in Guangzhou, the local officials all thought the task was impossible and refused to allocate funds. He managed to secure investment from the Hu merchants to conduct experiments by selling trade permits (which exempted merchant ships from inspection and taxes).

After numerous trials, he finally devised a solution:

He cut down the entire lychee tree, preserved it with ice, and kept changing horses along the way, taking 11 days to deliver the fresh lychees to Chang’an.

He returned with this plan to fulfill his mission, only to be pursued and hunted down by troops dispatched from Guangzhou.

Upon arriving in Chang’an, a eunuch attempted to co-opt his plan.

It was only after meeting Yang Guozhong that he was appointed Procurement Officer, given full authority over the project—by which point many aspects were already beyond his control.

The merchant investors who had once backed the project were ousted; as orders trickled down through the bureaucracy, they turned into indiscriminate logging, nearly wiping out the entire lychee orchard, leaving the owners heartbroken and helpless; upon hearing that they would have to advance funds and perform forced labor, the post stations and villages along the route deserted the area entirely.

In the end, after spending a colossal sum equivalent to 200 million yuan, only two jars of lychees were delivered to Chang’an.

Li Shande received his punishment: his entire family was exiled to Lingnan, where they took up the cultivation of lychees. Five months later, the An Lushan Rebellion erupted.

The drums of Yuyang thundered across the land, startling even the dancers of the Rainbow Robe and Feathered Garment.

02

How one interprets this story is a matter of personal perspective.

But as someone in the investment promotion industry, I have come to understand one truth:

To achieve success, one must take into account the demands of all parties.

Of course, we cannot fully understand the ancients through a modern lens; today’s political landscape, ideologies, and market environment have undergone earth-shattering changes.

Yet, over the centuries, human nature has remained virtually unchanged.

Why did Li Shande take on this job? Because he wanted to pay off his mortgage.

Why did his superior trick Li Shande into taking on this task? Because Yang Guifei demanded fresh lychees for her birthday, and he couldn’t say it was impossible. Even if it truly were impossible, he couldn’t be the one to admit it.

Why was Li Shande not welcomed when he arrived in Guangzhou? Because they didn’t want to waste resources on a hopeless endeavor.

So why were the Hu merchants willing to help him?

On one hand, they had purchased trade permits and wanted to facilitate the process; on the other hand, they approached it with an angel investor’s mindset—if Li Shande actually succeeded, they’d benefit from his success.

When Li Shande’s experiment actually succeeded, why did the local officials try to hunt him down? Because his success meant their own failure. “He managed to do it in just a few months—why couldn’t you?”

As the project gradually expanded and new investors joined in, the interests of the initial angel investors—such as the merchant Hu and the owner of the Lychee Garden—might not be safeguarded.

As for whether the Empress Consort’s tasting of the lychees would lead to more people in Chang’an being able to enjoy them next year—that depended on whether the market could function effectively.

In today’s context, this is a positive development for consumption-driven economic growth.

Whether lychees are treated as agricultural produce or luxury goods, as long as growers and distributors can make a profit, and the R&D team behind the 11-day transport to Chang’an receives their share, the cycle of R&D, investment, production, and consumption will be set in motion, driving the development of related industries.

In ancient times, however, this would have been a bad thing.

In ancient times, the market did not function effectively. Investing massive amounts of manpower and resources into this endeavor, yet with most participants failing to profit, meant the economic cycle could not be sustained—it was nothing more than draining the pond to catch fish.

03

From the perspective of today’s efforts to attract investment and talent, who is the most important figure in this story?

Is it the Hu merchants, the owner of the lychee orchard, or Li Shande?

The Hu merchant is akin to a venture capital firm or a financial institution.

The lychee orchard owner is like an entrepreneur.

Li Shande’s role is more complex. He is both a government official and someone who must personally get involved in technological R&D.

By relaxing market access and offering preferential policies, Li Shande attracted venture capital from the merchant to collaborate with the lychee orchard owner on developing preservation technology and transportation solutions. Once the government’s guiding fund was injected, full-scale production could begin.

The merchant, the owner of the lychee orchard, and Li Shande represent the capital markets, the private sector, and science and technology of that era.

All three parties saw the long-term benefits of “transporting lychees for the Imperial Consort” and partnered to undertake this major project. The project received support from Yang Guozhong, a high-ranking official, and became a key investment attraction initiative.

However, as the project progressed, the demands of capital, business, and technology were not only unmet, but their own interests were trampled upon.

After a series of setbacks, the project ultimately stalled.

Setting aside the suppression of commerce in feudal society for the moment, even in today’s era of heightened emphasis on entrepreneurs, the phenomenon of disregarding corporate demands persists, leading to a “scattergun” approach to investment promotion.

To succeed, one must take all parties’ demands into account.

For example, when hosting an electronics and information technology company, one must present a clear and detailed list of subsidy policies, as they are constantly comparing preferential policies across different regions.

However, when hosting a biopharmaceutical company, the priority should be to clearly outline the number of top-tier hospitals, hospital beds, and healthcare personnel in the local area, as the market is of greater importance to them.

Furthermore, the needs of key decision-makers at different levels and in different positions often vary.

For instance, if a company’s site selection is not directly managed by the CEO, the person in charge of site selection represents not only the company’s interests but also has certain personal interests.

This is linked to their department, job level, and influence; it is necessary to understand their underlying motivations and analyze each situation on its own merits.

Only by addressing the needs of all parties can the project’s success rate be improved.

However, on certain critical issues, we must still hold the line; even if the other party has demands, we must not give an inch.

For instance, many industrial park incentive policies stipulate that “for every subsidy granted to a company, the company must demonstrate its own financial contribution.” This requirement stems from countless past experiences of being “taken advantage of,” and we must not yield an inch on this point.

There is a vast gulf between idealism and reality.

A genuine investment attraction project is one that is fought for through constant negotiation, compromise, and bargaining.

Therefore, one must not view issues through the lens of a child; instead, one must recognize the diverse facets of human nature, the demands of people in different positions and circumstances, and the back-and-forth process of negotiation.

Respecting these demands and acknowledging human nature is the only path to success.

And the prerequisite for this is the ability to understand and see through these dynamics—this is the crucial distinction between a seasoned investment promotion expert and a novice.