Daming kill

Chapter 78 The Little Glacier in the Late Ming Dynasty
The Little Ice Age refers to a relatively cold period in the earth's climate, but it was much warmer than the ice age that destroyed a large number of animal and plant life. Its notable features are a sharp drop in temperature and extreme climate anomalies.

The Little Ice Ages in human history have caused a significant reduction in global food production, and triggered severe social unrest and a sharp drop in population.

China has experienced four small ice ages in history, from the end of the Yin and Shang Dynasties to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the second from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms to the Western Jin Dynasty, and the third from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties period. It happened to be the period of the most frequent wars and the darkest society in Chinese history.

The fourth Little Ice Age occurred in the late Ming Dynasty, and reached the peak of catastrophe during the Chongzhen period.

During this period, severe droughts and floods appeared one after another in summer, and the winter was extremely cold. Even Guangdong experienced blizzards, and geological disasters also came to join in the fun.

As a result, the whole of China suffered from catastrophic disasters every year and everywhere, and the feudal dynasty based on agriculture was simply unable to deal with it.

It is even rare that a severe locust plague caused by drought in the 1636th year of Chongzhen (11) lasted until the 400th year of Chongzhen, and finally evolved into thousands of kilometers from east to west, 500 kilometers to [-] kilometers from north to south, from Shaanxi in the west, Huaihe River in the south, and Hebei in the north. km of the disaster area, and continues to spread to the Yangtze River Basin.

The result of years of severe food shortage is that social conflicts have deepened sharply, the original social distribution system cannot be maintained at all, and social order has completely collapsed.

Then there are bandits everywhere, uprisings and riots continue and intensify, and they cannot be suppressed at all.Coupled with the fact that the northern barbarians desperately went south to plunder in order to survive, further occupying the extremely scarce social resources, the small peasant economy and feudal system of the Ming Dynasty could not withstand such great changes and challenges, and the entire dynasty was finally dying.

Li Ping, who is not proficient in the Little Ice Age but is interested in history, obviously knows about it, and to a certain extent, because history has too many regrets because of it.

Whether it is the Shang Dynasty that created the splendid bronze culture, the Eastern Han Dynasty that kept pace with Rome, or the Tang Dynasty that came from all nations, and the Ming Dynasty that created the most complete and mature cabinet system in China, their fall really cannot be simply explained. Man-made disasters are used to evaluate, and it doesn't make sense.

Especially the Ming Dynasty, its mature and perfect cabinet system made it impossible for it to make continuous major decision-making mistakes without particularly major changes, that is to say, decision-making mistakes to the extent of subjugation.

Why do you say that?

Many people have explained that most of the emperors of the dynasty are unreliable.

Maybe, maybe not.

Let's not argue right or wrong, anyway, during the reign of the most unreliable Emperor Wanli who did not go to court for 28 years, the living standards of the people of Ming Dynasty still maintained a very high level.

Chen Shun's "Luanli Jianwenlu" recalls the scene of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty: Yu was born at Maoshi on August 46th in the 26th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, and his parents were both [-] years old.Leli in all directions, and home to Cape, a land of fish and rice.A bucket of rice costs less than twenty, a catty of fish costs one or two pennies, ten betel nuts cost two pennies, ten bunches of money cost one penny, a catty and a duck cost six to seven pennies, and a bucket of salt ten pennies.

What does it mean that the price is so cheap? It shows the great abundance of materials and the affluence of the people's life. A large number of foreigners living in China at the same time also proved this in their writings. Almost without exception, they are full of admiration and envy for the Ming Dynasty.

This shows that the governance of Ming Dynasty is very good, and its governing body, that is, the cabinet, is running very well. It doesn't matter whether there is an emperor or not.

This kind of living standard is completely beyond the reach of the Qing Dynasty, which is touted by some people as a holy monarch and has no wars and chaos in the country for a long time. All foreigners who arrived in China in the Qing Dynasty were full of contempt for the backwardness and ignorance of the Qing Dynasty.

Closer to home.

Several such regrettable great empires happened to be in the Little Ice Age when they fell, which definitely explained a lot of problems, and made everything no longer just a coincidence, just like the current predicament of Ming Dynasty.

You must know that Daming did not make any particularly unreasonable mistakes in quelling civil unrest.

The main reason why the recruited peasant army kept surrendering and rebelling was that they could not get enough food, and the problem of lack of food could not be solved at all.

If there is nothing to eat, it is self-evident what the result will be.

Of course, this does not mean that the final demise of Ming Dynasty has nothing to do with man-made disasters. After all, Ming Dynasty is not the only country in the world. At least many royal families in Europe still survive tenaciously.

The main problem of Ming Dynasty is that it is too big, much bigger than any other country in the world at that time, which leads to too long reaction arc of government orders, too strong cumulative effect of policy influence, and the backlog of problems and contradictions is easy to be too large huge.

Too large a territory undoubtedly became a bad thing at this time.

If it was in a normal year, no matter how much Chongzhen, who was self-willed and foolish, directed blindly, it would not cause the life and death of the dynasty.Unfortunately, his entire reign coincided with the peak of Little Ice River's cataclysmic events.

A period of very, very low tolerance for error.

The Little Ice Age is undoubtedly exponentially magnifying the consequences of the wrong policies of the ruling class. Man-made disasters are more destructive and destructive than any period in history and dynasty history. The Ming Dynasty’s seemingly unreasonable or far from enough Fatal policy mistakes are starting to get fatal and very fatal.

Therefore, it can be said that Daming died due to man-made disasters, but the root cause was still the Little Ice Age.

Li Ping has been unable to determine whether the history of this time-space is completely consistent with his original time-space or the direction of the universe.

And when he first came to this time and space, he didn't think of it at all, but the rapidly abnormally cold weather quickly brought back his memory, but he still had to collect some disaster data to prove all this.

Simply collecting government official documents and verifying the memories of some merchants, Li Ping quickly sorted out the data of major disasters in the Ming Dynasty from the first year of Chongzhen to the 14th year of Chongzhen.

When he was really in this time and space, and looked at those data that would shock every time he read it, apart from knowing that the direction of time and space had probably not changed, Li Ping sighed from the bottom of his heart: "It is really good that Daming can persist until now."

In the first year of Chongzhen, there was a drought in Jifu, and the red land was thousands of miles away.Shaanxi hunger.September Dingmao, the capital earthquake.

In the second year of Chongzhen, Shanxi and Shaanxi were hungry.

In the third year of Chongzhen, there was a flood in Shandong.September [-], Nanjing earthquake.

In the fourth year of Chongzhen, there was a flood in Shandong.In June Yichou, Lintao and Gongchang earthquakes.

In the fifth year of Chongzhen, in June, it rained heavily.In August, it rained again, which damaged Qingling.The Huai and Yang prefectures were hungry, and they died in exile.Hangzhou, Jia, and Hu prefectures do not rain from August to October [-]th.April Dingyou, Nanjing, Sichuan earthquake.October Dingmao, Shanxi earthquake.In November Jiayin, an earthquake occurred in Yunnan.

In the sixth year of Chongzhen, there was drought in the capital and Jiangxi, and severe famine in Shaanxi and Shanxi.In Huai and Yang, there are husband and wife pheasants passing through trees and throwing themselves into rivers.In July, Shaanxi earthquake.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, the capital was hungry, and Gong Ting, the censor, presented and painted "The Picture of Hungry People".There was a great hunger in Taiyuan, and people ate each other.April Renxu, Changzhou, Zhenjiang rain and hail.In May, Qiong and Meizhou counties flooded.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Henan locusts in July.Winter, Shanxi earthquake.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, an earthquake occurred in Fujian.There is a great hunger in Nanyang, and there are mothers who cook their daughters.Jiangxi is also hungry.

Chongzhen ten years, Shandong, Henan locusts.In summer, there is no rain in the capital and Hedong, and there is a severe drought in Jiangxi.During the great hunger in Zhejiang, father and son, brothers, and husband and wife ate each other.On Bingwu of the first month, an earthquake occurred in Nanjing.In July Renwu, an earthquake occurred in Yunnan.October Yimao, Sichuan earthquake.In December, Xi'an and Haila in Shaanxi suffered earthquakes at the same time, which lasted for several months.

In the 11th year of Chongzhen, there was a severe drought in Beijing, Shandong and Henan.The two capitals and Shandong, Shanxi, and Shaanxi are droughty.September Renxu, Liaodong earthquake.

In the 12th year of Chongzhen, it rained heavily in Zhejiang, and the fields became huge.Jinan, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Zhejiang are droughty.Liangji, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Jiangxi were famine, and Henan was famine, and people ate each other.In February Guisi, the capital earthquake.

In the 13th year of Chongzhen, there were severe drought locusts in Beijing, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi.The two capitals and the three prefectures of Deng, Qing and Lai were droughty.Beiji, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Zhejiang, and the three Wus are all hungry.From the Huai River to the north to the south of Jinan, the bark is exhausted, and the scorpion is used for food.

November Wuzi, Nanjing earthquake.

In the 14th year of Chongzhen, in June, there was a severe drought in Beijing, Shandong, Henan, and Zhejiang.The two capitals, Shandong, Henan, Huguang, Xuan and Dabian were drought-stricken.March Wuyin, Fujian earthquake.April Bingyin, Huguang earthquake.Wuzi in May, Gansu earthquake.On Bingwu in June, an earthquake occurred in Fujian.September Jiawu, Sichuan earthquake.

Such horrific and intensive disasters, and then continued year after year, can no longer be described as shocking, but completely unheard of.

Not to mention that the feudal Ming Dynasty couldn't stand it, it's probably not enough in modern times!
For such information, Li Ping had to inform the fellow travelers who came through both emotionally and rationally. This was related to everyone's future decision-making and survival preparations.

In particular, the most urgent thing is that everyone has to prepare for winter!Otherwise, if everyone still prepares winter clothes according to the approximate temperature of Xiangyang in the original time and space, they will all have to freeze like idiots.

So, Li Ping quickly rushed to Zhao Jin's station in Xiangyang City to report the matter to everyone.The reason why letters are not used is because they cannot guarantee the absolute security of letter communication.

Song Baolai and Zhao Lanyue also came together, but Gao Lei did not.Originally, Li Ping didn't mean to make Zhao Lanyue bother, but Zhao Lanyue insisted on going out for a walk. She was very active and couldn't stay.

After Li Ping introduced the situation of the Little Ice Age and the disaster data of the Ming Dynasty 14 years ago in Chongzhen, except for Song Baolai and Zhao Lanyue who had good expressions (they had already learned about it from Li Ping before), everyone became very happy. Dignified, such information is obviously beyond their cognition, and it also fills everyone with more uncertainties and challenges in their future survival.

Li Shengcai was the first to come to his senses. This guy sat on a chair and asked suddenly: "Hey, Li Ping, you said Little Binghe, it's cold as long as it's cold! Why is it related to the demise of the Ming Dynasty?" Now, what does this have to do with the weather? The Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the Qing Dynasty, it was a war, so it’s not possible to destroy him if it’s not cold all day long.”

"The Ming Dynasty fell to the peasant uprising, not to the Qing Dynasty. I have told you this before. Believe it or not. But Beijing was captured by Li Zicheng, not the Qing soldiers. This is an objective fact." Li Ping is very serious To say the least, he didn't show any displeasure with Li Shengcai's attitude.

"Oh! Is it Li Zicheng? Are you sure?..." Li Shengcai asked suspiciously.

"This natural disaster is too evil! I really dare not even think about it. Do you know anything about the situation abroad?" Shi Ming interrupted Li Sheng suddenly.

So Li Ping ignored Li Shengcai and said to Shi Ming: "The same goes abroad. I remember that Europe and Japan are also in the midst of famine, especially the one-hundred-year-old famine in Europe, and it should be from the last century. it has started.

I once read the research of a foreign scholar. According to his statistics, a series of events and disasters such as revolutions, droughts, famines, aggression, wars, and regicides occurred all over the world in the mid-17th century.The crisis spread from Britain to Japan, from Russia to sub-Saharan Africa, and spread across the world, even the American continent.

According to the incomplete statistics made by this scholar, during the decades in the middle of the 17th century, there were 20 to [-] large-scale rebellions and revolutions around the world, including more than [-] in Europe, several in the Americas, and more than a dozen in Asia and Africa. Second-rate.That is to say, there are more Europe than Asia.

It is estimated that one-third of the world's population died in just a few decades around 1650.

Many people think that there were many wars in the 20th century, but in fact there were not many wars, and there were not many wars in the 19th century.

Among the six centuries from the 15th century to the 20th century, the century with the most wars was the 17th century.

This is by no means accidental, there must be strong external factors.

What is it?
It should have been caused by the Little Ice Age.

In other words, there is no safe place in the world right now. "

After Li Ping finished speaking, Shi Ming sighed deeply, and then fell into deep thought, but Wang Chengwu continued to ask: "But if this is the case, isn't the Manchu Qing also short of food? Will there be a leisurely invasion south?"

Li Ping smiled bitterly, and explained patiently: "Let me explain, the Little Ice River didn't start during the reign of Chongzhen, in fact it has been going on for decades, but it is now at its peak.

The Manchus, also known as the Jurchens, belonged to a half-cultivating and half-herding nation, and their constant wars against the Ming Dynasty were actually for the purpose of plundering to solve their hunger problem.As for the purpose of defeating Ming Dynasty, they never dared to think about it. Even after they entered Beijing, they never thought that they would eventually occupy the whole of China.

Why are they desperately trying to keep coming to Daming to grab things?It is precisely because they have no food and are extremely difficult.

It doesn't matter if you win or lose!
It is good to grab food; if you don't get it, you will reduce your own population during the war, and the per capita food possession will also greatly increase, and the effect will be the same. "

After Li Ping finished explaining, Wang Chengwu nodded speechlessly, while Shi Ming silently gave Li Pingjian a thumbs up, and the room fell into silence again.

Zhao Jin sat there with a dark face and didn't speak, and didn't know what he was thinking, while Liu Shixiong and Zhao Meiling were always at a loss.

"Then why was the Qing Dynasty not affected by the disaster after its establishment? And it was established so quickly? The Little Ice Age ended so soon!" Zhao Lanyue suddenly asked.

In the early stage, she only had a general understanding of what Li Ping was going to say, and she didn't think about it seriously. For her, it was a matter for men.But now, since sitting here and empathizing with him, his thinking naturally began to diverge.

"Good question." Zhao Jin answered, and the eyes of several people in the room focused on Li Ping again.

Li Ping, who had already sat down, had no choice but to stand up again at this time, and said with a wry smile: "The Great Qing Dynasty is really lucky! The Little Ice Age is not over yet, and it will last for a while, probably decades away! But apart from the cold In addition, the extreme natural disasters have indeed been greatly reduced after the establishment of the Qing Dynasty. There are no droughts, locust plagues, and annual earthquakes. The rain has returned to normal, and the only thing left is the cold. The country will naturally be stable."

"Did Qing mean the destiny?" Shi Ming asked again suddenly.

"Do you believe this?" Li Ping didn't answer, but asked rhetorically, he was really surprised that Shi Ming asked such a question.

"It's not a letter, it's just a sentiment." Shi Ming said with a frown.

Seeing that Li Ping was looking at him because he didn't understand, he said again: "You said, the Manchus themselves never thought of being able to win the world. They took great luck to enter China. Now, even the climate is helping them This is too much good luck, and it's all big luck, what do you think?" He kicked the ball back.

"Lucky! That's all." Li Ping shrugged, he really didn't like Man Qing.

……

Zhao Jin didn't stay with everyone for dinner in the end, because the meeting was secret.Zhao Jin's main consideration is that he is still not sure about some situations. At present, he doesn't want people to think that people from Yang Wenyue's side are forming a small group, which may be detrimental to integrating into Zuo Liangyu's group.

As for Li Ping's appearance in Xiangyang and in Zhao Jinying's camp, it is not a big problem.

In this era of righteousness, Zhao Jin is Li Ping's old superior, and he is from the same army. It is normal to be close, but it is not normal to be distant after being promoted.But Shi Ming and the others are different. Normally speaking, it is normal for the friendship to reach the end.

On the way back, Zhao Lanyue suddenly said to Li Ping: "Shi Ming is a bit superstitious, and anyone who does his job should believe it."

Notes:

The main data on wars and population changes worldwide in the 17th century comes from the book "Global Crisis: War, Climate Change, and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century" by Geoffrey Parker, a professor of history at Ohio State University . (Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century).

Some of the data are written in a vague and rough way, and more data are not quoted at all, because the protagonist cannot remember so much data, and it is impossible to remember every data so accurately.

(End of this chapter)