Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 2042 Is there really a Little Ice Age?

In the Study Room of the Emperor Qianqing Palace, Emperor Hongzhi was carefully reading the information about the current global climate that had been generated from power generation in Ming Dynasty and around the world.

At the same time, there is also a record of the natural climate during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the late Tang Dynasty compiled by officials and historians from various places.

In just a few days, the relevant information has been compiled, and it was sent to Emperor Hongzhi in the first time.

"The Great Plains of North Gold Continent suffered from a severe cold wave, and even the great river running through the north and south was frozen, and even affected Penglai Bay!"

Emperor Hongzhi picked up the globe on his desk, found the North Golden Continent Great Plains, and compared the geographical locations carefully.

"Even Penglai Bay is frosty. This is a subtropical area."

Emperor Hongzhi was slightly surprised.

"The climate in the northern hemisphere has generally dropped extremely sharply. The black soil province is already tens of degrees below zero, and it is freezing cold. European countries have also encountered unprecedented cold weather. A large number of low-level people were frozen to death."

"The only unaffected area is the Tianzhu continent. The cold climate from the north is completely blocked by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau."

"However, the Tianzhu mainland is experiencing the unprecedented dry climate, and there has been no next month for several months. If it continues until the beginning of next year, a large-scale famine may break out on the Tianzhu mainland."

"The southern hemisphere has also experienced extremely short dry weather. The colonies and vassal states in South Africa have all encountered unprecedented dry weather. The grasslands of the southern Golden Continent are withered and yellow, and there are continuous fires."

Emperor Hongzhi looked carefully. These were all the same as what Liu Jin said. At this moment, the whole world was experiencing extreme weather. Most areas in the northern hemisphere were experiencing severe cold, while the southern hemisphere was experiencing drought.

After reading this information, Emperor Hongzhi began to look at relevant historical records again.

"Frost is still falling in Yangchun in Luoyang, the eastern capital. There were oranges and tangerines in southern Henan at that time, but they all disappeared later. Wei Wu trained troops in winter, and the Huaihe River was completely frozen, so you can directly pass the horse-drawn carriage."

"Plagues occurred frequently in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and a large-scale plague broke out almost every two or three years, causing countless deaths and injuries."

"Frequent extreme weather, blizzards, cold waves, frost, and hailstorms have led to year after year of grain failure and poor harvests. The people who can't survive have risen up, and the flames of war are everywhere."

"At the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was drought year after year, and there was very little rainfall in summer."

"There were citrus planted in Chang'an City in the early and mid-Tang Dynasty, but they all died by the end of the Tang Dynasty."

"Winter is extremely cold, the sun is hot in June, and it is cold."

"Drought, the Yellow River's embankment burst, locust plagues raged, thousands of miles of bare land, people's lives are in dire straits, and children are born to eat!"

Emperor Hongzhi looked at some relevant records found by the historians, and couldn't help but change his face.

If such an extreme climate really happened in the Ming Dynasty, would the outcome of the Ming Dynasty be better than that of the Eastern Han and Tang dynasties?

That's really not necessarily the case. If people can't survive, how can they care so much.

After years of famine, the hungry people can do anything.

"If it hadn't been for the reforms carried out over the years, Daming's national power is strong and its people rich. If such a situation really happened, I'm afraid it would be really bad luck."

"I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty will not escape the fate of a dynasty change."

Emperor Hongzhi put down the materials in his hands, and fell into deep thought.

In an agricultural society, it is almost really up to God to enjoy the food. If the weather is good, life will be easy.

But if there is a large-scale famine, if there is a year or two, there will be no big things. But if the famine continues for years, and various disasters take turns, plus natural disasters and man-made disasters, then it will really happen. It is not uncommon for a big problem to change the dynasty.

"Little Ice Age!"

Emperor Hongzhi muttered the noun given by Liu Jin.

"Extreme cold, drought in the coming year, etc., if it is really the same as before, I don't know how many people will die."

Emperor Hongzhi thought of the heavy snow in the eleventh year of Hongzhi. The winter of that year was extremely cold. Several provinces in the north suffered heavy snow.

In the second year, the great famine broke out directly, and Beizhili under the emperor's feet was starved and killed everywhere, skinny, and I don't know how many people died of starvation.

Of course, there were also human disasters at that time. Grain merchants deliberately hoarded grain to drive up grain prices, and colluded with officials to resell the grain in the imperial granary.

Later, Liu Jin transported food from North Korea and used work as relief, which gradually stabilized the situation and passed the famine.

This was only caused by a heavy snowfall. If various disasters took turns, and there were large-scale droughts, locust plagues, and abnormal freezing for several consecutive years, the consequences would be really unimaginable.

According to the situation before the Ming Dynasty, there will inevitably be wars and smoke everywhere, and the people will not be able to live. Coupled with the invasion and harassment of external enemies, the man-made disasters of those grain merchants and corrupt officials inside the Ming Dynasty, will the Ming Dynasty survive? ?

Emperor Hongzhi asked himself from the bottom of his heart.

"Thanks to the continuous reform and external expansion over the years, otherwise it would really be impossible to face such a situation."

Emperor Hongzhi soon became thankful that he supported Liu Jin in carrying out various reforms and continuous external expansion, and continuously moved the huge population of Ming Dynasty out. From a scattered point of view, it greatly eased the conflict between people and land, and had a more much land.

At the same time, the development of industrial and mechanical technology has also greatly improved productivity. With the mechanized farming method, a large amount of land has been reclaimed and cultivated, and the grain output has increased dramatically. Now the annual grain output is enough for the Ming Dynasty to eat for ten years.

In addition, the development of transportation, the emergence of a large number of railways, highways, trains, and automobiles has greatly facilitated the travel between various places. Even if there is a famine, food and materials can be quickly mobilized from various places.

It will not be like before. There is a lot of grain in the south, but if it is to be transported to the north, there may not be half of the ten catties of grain left, and it will take a lot of time.

"Da Ming is absolutely not allowed to have such a thing happen!"

Emperor Hongzhi thought about this clearly, and clenched his fists.

The scene of the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the end of the Tang Dynasty must not happen to Daming. Once such a thing happens, it is unknown how many people will die.

The continuation of the Ming Dynasty has become unimportant. Perhaps at that time, it will be another disaster, a catastrophe for the Han people.

Just like the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Han people in the north were almost extinct. During the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, it was the era when a small number of tribes settled in the Central Plains and the Han people became two-legged sheep.

"So what about the Little Ice Age? Man will conquer nature. As long as there is sufficient preparation, even the Little Ice Age can be overcome."

"Now my Ming Dynasty produces enough food for my Ming people for ten years, not to mention there are a large number of overseas colonies and vassal states. I don't believe it. My Ming Dynasty can't escape this little ice age."

Emperor Hongzhi stood up, walking back and forth, thinking constantly.

He still has confidence. The situation in the Ming Dynasty is much, much better than at any time in history. The treasury is full and there is endless money.

The politics are clear and bright, although there are many old-fashioned and pedantic ministers among the ministers, most of the ministers are considered upright and capable of governing the country.

The most important thing is that the Ming Dynasty now has a strong enough family, a vast land, advanced farming and production methods, and convenient transportation.

All these gave Emperor Hongzhi enough confidence to deal with all the problems of Little Binghe.

Isn't it just a large-scale drought and a lack of food for several years in a row?

It doesn't matter, the grain that I grow in one year is enough for ordinary people to eat for ten years, even if there is no harvest for many years in a row, there will be no problem.

In addition, there are several high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes that are resistant to drought, so there is absolutely no need to worry about not being full.

The real thing to worry about is man-made disasters.

Since ancient times, the most terrifying thing is not natural disasters but man-made disasters. Just like the famine in the eleventh year of Hongzhi, it is obvious that food can be quickly mobilized for disaster relief.

However, those grain merchants intentionally hoarded grain to drive up grain prices for their own self-interest, and emptied all the grain in the imperial granary.

It can be seen that the most terrible thing is man-made disasters.

"Come here~"

Thinking of this, Emperor Hongzhi shouted.

"Your Majesty~"

A small yellow door hurried over to wait for the order.

"Immediately summon the cabinet masters, the six ministers, and the governors of the five armies to come to the minister's study to discuss matters!"

"Yes!"

When Xiao Huangmen heard this, he hurried to deliver the decree.

I don't know what happened. The Son of Heaven had already had a small meeting today, and he was going to hold another small meeting this afternoon. Something big must have happened, otherwise the small meeting would not have continued in the afternoon.

You must know that for so many years, Emperor Hongzhi seldom called ministers for meetings in the afternoon, but left time for ministers to work, and also gave himself time to review memorials.

(End of this chapter)