Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 2075, the great famine in Europe
"Your Majesty, the severe cold weather and the abnormal weather during the Little Ice Age will inevitably have a huge impact on our Ming Dynasty. I believe that we should make preparations as soon as possible, just in case."

Liu Jin once again mentioned the Little Ice Age to Emperor Hongzhi.

Judging from the current situation, the whole world is gradually developing towards the Little Ice Age, and its power affects all parts of the world, not just Daming where the climate is cold and various extreme weather occurs frequently.

The same is true on a global scale, and the situation in Europe is not much better than that of Daming.

According to the situation reported by the Governor of Hong Kong, the temperature in Europe is much lower than in previous years, and when the spring plowing began in early spring, the weather dropped and rose sharply, and the temperature changed greatly. Planting has had a huge impact, and the situation in Europe in the past two years has been worse than that of Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the situation in the Golden Continent and the southern hemisphere is similar. The extreme climate during the Little Ice Age occurred frequently and had a great impact.

Although it is not the most severe period of the Little Ice Age, the most severe time of the Little Ice Age was probably during the Chongzhen Dynasty in history. At that time, there was an unprecedented drought for seven or eight consecutive years, and it was accompanied by drought. What's more, there were also great plagues one after another, and even the population of the capital at that time dropped by more than half.

There are still several decades before this period, but the power of the Little Ice Age has gradually begun to emerge. Even in the gestation period, it has had a huge impact on the global climate.

"Hmm~"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded solemnly. If he had listened to Liu Jin the year before last, the loss last year might have been smaller. At that time, he confidently believed that with the situation of Daming, even any natural disasters would be easily dealt with.

Who knew that the severe drought could be dealt with, but the plague that accompanied the severe drought almost caused the Ming Dynasty to suffer heavy losses and become turbulent.

"Your Majesty, I think we should now send officials to thoroughly investigate the amount of grain in our official warehouses in various places in Ming Dynasty, and grasp the situation of grain reserves in various places."

"For warehouses with insufficient grain reserves, grain should be mobilized from the production area to replenish them in a timely manner. In the event of a famine, all regions can rely on the grain reserves to cope and survive."

"Secondly, continue to vigorously promote the planting of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn. These crops are relatively drought-tolerant and cold-tolerant, especially sweet potatoes, which have a strong ability to adapt to drought."

"Growing more of these drought-tolerant, drought-tolerant crops will help mitigate the effects of famine."

"Third, implement the prevention and control and defense system of the plague, and require local governments to pay close attention to the local situation. Once the plague occurs, immediately initiate relevant blockade and control measures to kill the epidemic at the source."

"Fourth, the imperial court vigorously developed places such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Ryukyu, Nanyang, and Huangjinzhou. These places are affected by low latitudes, are less affected by cold, and have a relatively stable climate, which is conducive to agricultural production."

Liu Jin took out another memorial prepared by himself, and put forward several suggestions of his own to Emperor Hongzhi.

To cope with this extreme climate, the most important thing is of course food.

According to historical records, during the Little Ice Age this time, the Ming Dynasty was undergoing a change of dynasty, and its population dropped sharply from nearly 2 million at its peak to only tens of millions. It was not until the middle of the Qing Dynasty that the population gradually decreased. Restored to the level of 2 million.

Of course, not only in the Ming Dynasty, but also in Europe during the same period, the population also experienced a sharp decline, especially in the Nordic region, where the climate became colder and the population dropped sharply, less than half of the original.

Even the populations of England, France, Spain, and Portugal, which enjoyed the benefits of the Age of Discovery, decreased a lot during the Little Ice Age, and the population of the Holy Roman Empire decreased by more than half.

This is mainly due to the impact of the Little Ice Age, the global food production has dropped sharply, famine is very common, and the population has dropped sharply.

Under the Little Ice Age, agriculture was most affected, food production dropped sharply, and famine was very common around the world.

Now the population of Daming is growing very fast, with a large population, the demand for food is naturally very strong, even though there are many production areas.

However, these production areas were greatly affected by the Little Ice Age. Liaodong, Hezhong, and Black Soil are now the most important grain production areas in Ming Dynasty.

But its dimension is relatively high, and it is more affected. Once it is frequently affected, it will pose a huge threat to Daming's food security.

Liu Jin thought of places such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Ryukyu, and Nanyang. These places have low latitudes and high temperatures, so they are less affected. As long as the land in these places is reclaimed to grow grain and these places become large granaries, the food security of Ming Dynasty will naturally It is more secure.

You must know that in later generations, these places are all important grain-producing areas. With the superior climatic conditions, two or even three crops can be achieved in a year, and seven crops in two years can be achieved in the Nanyang region.

The reason why it is not taken seriously by Daming now is because these places have a small population and have always belonged to the south of the Five Ridges, where miasma is rampant and the population is relatively small.

In the era when medical technology was backward, immigrants to these places often fell ill and died easily. Therefore, many people were reluctant to immigrate to these places, preferring to go to the cool Liaodong, where the land is fertile and there are few diseases.

But now that Ming Dynasty's medical technology has made great progress, and even penicillin has been released, the development of these places is naturally not a problem.

"Hmm~"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded after listening carefully, and then went to the top of the world area, looked at the huge territory of the Ming Empire, and circled some places on it.

In fact, there is another place that is very suitable for growing food, and that is the Great Plains of North Gold Continent. This place is also one of the three largest black lands in the world, and the land is very fertile.

The key is that the land here is also very flat and open, which is very suitable for large-scale mechanized farming.

However, the Golden Continent is currently sparsely populated, and there are no mountains in the northern part of the Great Plains. The cold wave from the Arctic can spread directly from north to south to Penglai Bay.

During the Little Ice Age, there are still great risks in developing agriculture on the Great Plains, and agriculture can only be developed in the southern region.

Furthermore, if the grain was transported from the Golden Continent back to the mainland of Daming, the shipping fee would be too high.

The best way to do this is to have a lot of grain-producing areas on the local side, so as to fully guarantee the food security of Daming.

"It's better to plant less sugar cane in Nanyang, and grow more food."

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the many islands in the Nanyang region and said.

The Nanyang region has always been the most important cane sugar producing area in Ming Dynasty, and the plantations here are basically planted with two economic crops, sugar cane and rubber.

The sucrose in the Nanyang region not only supplies the demand of Ming Dynasty, but also sells to the whole world to meet the demand for sucrose all over the world. The price of sucrose was very high at the beginning, and the profit was extremely high, which greatly stimulated the sucrose industry in Nanyang. .

Later, as the scale became larger and larger, the price of sucrose continued to drop, but even so, the income from growing sugarcane was still quite good, and the scale of planting in the Nanyang region has always been large.

"Your Majesty, sugarcane planting in the Nanyang region has been traditional for many years, and a complete industrial chain has been formed. It is unrealistic to change it for a while, but if food prices rise, there will naturally be more people. grow food."

"What's more, our Daming's food is still very sufficient now, we are just worried about what may happen in the future."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin said with a smile.

It is obviously not feasible to use orders directly. People act for their own interests.

The price of grain in Ming Dynasty is cheap, and it is not profitable to grow grain. Given the choice, the planters in Nanyang will naturally choose to plant sugarcane with high profit.

If you directly say that sugarcane is not allowed to be planted, this is obviously harming their interests, so it's no wonder they listen to you.

What's more, Daming has not actually reached that point now. It has to be said that the cultivation of sugar cane is banned and grain is replaced. Now the grain of Daming is still very safe.

In the thirty-ninth year of Hongzhi, there was a bumper harvest of grain. The grain produced in this year was enough to last for several years. Both the granary of the common people and the granary of the imperial court were full.

"If there is a shortage of food, Nanyang will still have to grow food instead."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded, he had been to Nanyang.

The tropical climate of Nanyang left a deep impression on Emperor Hongzhi. Even in winter, Nanyang is still warm as summer. It is very suitable for growing food, vegetables and fruits.

Now it is winter here in Daming, and a lot of fruits and vegetables are transported from Nanyang, Ryukyu, Qiongzhou Island, Cochin, and Xianglin. Even in winter, Daming people can still eat fresh vegetables and fruits.

"Of course, food security is the most important thing for my Ming Dynasty."

Liu Jin nodded solemnly.

When Liu Jin and Emperor Hongzhi were discussing possible famine, expanding grain planting, increasing grain production, and ensuring food security.

On the other side of the earth, Europe is experiencing an unprecedented famine at this moment.

From the British Isles to Italy in the Mediterranean, from Portugal in the west to the Ottoman Empire in the east, from the Vikings in the north to France and the Mediterranean in southern Europe.

The whole of Europe is caught in a famine at this moment. There is a shortage of food, the famine is spreading, and the cold winter is raging. It is a man-made disaster.

PS: Ask for tickets~
(End of this chapter)