The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 127 Warm and cold changes

"Little Ice Age?"

Zhu Xiongying looked confused, what is this? Is it the ice age of which river?

But what does the ice age of a river have to do with planting trees in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River?
Chen Jingke sighed. The Little Ice Age could be said to have kicked the Ming Dynasty hard at the critical point of its demise.

Otherwise, it might be able to last for a few more decades.

"Everyone knows that there are four seasons in a year, day and night in a day."

Zhu Xiongying nodded, but what does this have to do with the Xiaohe Ice Age?
Chen Jingke continued: "But few people know that there is another solar term change that spans a longer time than the four seasons."

"Let's call it warm and cold change."

The Little Ice Age was not conducive to their understanding, while changes in temperature and cold were much more intuitive.

"Warm and cold changes?" Zhu Xiongying was completely confused.

Changes over the four seasons?what does it mean.

Chen Jingke tried his best to explain in a language he could understand:

"This change takes 400 years as a cycle."

"The climate will become colder in 400 years, and the climate will become warmer in 400 years."

"Just like the four seasons of the year, day and night, the cycle continues."

Zhu Xiongying understood, but he opened his mouth in shock, and after a long while he said:

"This...this...how is it possible? Why have I never heard of it?"

If this was not what Chen Jingke said, he would definitely think it was nonsense.

But even if he trusted Chen Jingke again, he still couldn't accept the concept of Wen Hanbian.

"Crash..." There was a sound outside, as if someone accidentally stepped on something.

Chen Jingke felt something in his heart. It was probably because the person spying on him was frightened by Wen Han and lost his temper.

As soon as this thought came up, the door was pushed open and Zhu Yuanzhang walked in with a solemn expression.

"Grandpa Emperor."

"His Majesty……"

Zhu Xiongying and Chen Jingke quickly stood up and saluted.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said to the outside:

"No one is allowed to come closer than ten feet to this place. Anyone who violates this rule will be killed with a stick."

"Yes." Sun Fu's voice sounded, followed by the sound of footsteps walking away.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and sat down at the main seat, saying: "Sit down."

Zhu Xiongying and Chen Jingke then sat down and waited for Zhu Yuanzhang to speak.

Chen Jingke did not expect that Zhu Yuanzhang would come to attend the class in person.

But that's fine, it would be better to explain it directly to him.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak, but fell into deep thought.

He knew that Chen Jingke was going to give a lecture today, so he wanted to come and listen in person.

After all, reading a record is far less effective than hearing it with your own ears.

Therefore, he deliberately speeded up and completed the government affairs.

When I arrived, the lecture was already in the room.

Afraid of interrupting Chen Jingke's train of thought, he simply stood at the door and listened.

As always, he did not disappoint. Chen Jingke directly pointed out the root cause of the Yellow River floods.

What inspired him the most was the consequences of the Yellow River diverting the Huai River into the sea.

The tributaries of the Huaihe River are blocked and rainfall cannot be discharged, and the entire area will become a marsh.

This is not difficult to understand, but no one has ever considered the problem from this perspective before.

Chen Jingke only understood a little bit, and he naturally understood.

In my mind, I immediately rejected the Ministry of Industry’s proposal to combat pornography.

Just when he thought Chen Jingke was going to propose a solution, the topic suddenly turned to the Little Ice Age, a period of warm and cold changes that spanned hundreds of years.

This change was sudden and shocked him extremely.

Regardless of whether this thing is true or false, it will cause an uproar if it is spread out, so it cannot be known to too many people for the time being.

So he immediately made a voice to stop Chen Jingke from continuing, and then drove everyone away.

It has to be determined whether this thing is really just a form of climate change, or whether it is something else.

If it was just a kind of climate change, then discovering this change in the Hongwu Dynasty can be regarded as a literary achievement.

If it means something else, be very careful.

Thinking of this, he already had a plan in mind.

He raised his head, looked at Chen Jingke, and asked:
"You just mentioned the dangers of the Yellow River diverting the Huaihe River into the sea. Is there any solution?"

Chen Jingke was very surprised. Lao Zhu didn't directly ask about the Little Ice Age, but was concerned about the Yellow River?

Isn't he interested in this matter?
No, it's impossible for any emperor not to be interested.

Forget it, don't worry about it for now, just answer whatever he asks.

He thought for a moment, but did not answer the question directly, but said:
"I haven't finished what I said just now. There is another hazard caused by the Yellow River diverting the Huai River into the sea, which is even more harmful than the blockage of the Huai River."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Say."

Chen Jingke stood up, picked up the map, and circled Hongze Lake with a pen:
“After the Yellow River seizes the Huai River and flows into the sea, it will pass through Hongze Lake.”

"The water surface of Hongze Lake is wide, the water flow is gentle, and a large amount of sediment will accumulate..."

"Faced with such a large body of water, we can only raise the lake embankments..."

"In a few years, Hongze Lake will become a hanging lake above the ground..."

Chen Jingke gestured with his hand: "The terrain is higher than all the places in the upper reaches of the Huai River..."

Zhu Yuanzhang instantly understood what he meant. Hongze Lake is located in the lower reaches of the Huai River. If its terrain is higher than that of the upper reaches.

It will become a long embankment, blocking the water upstream and preventing it from flowing into the sea.

Once it rains heavily, waterlogging will definitely occur.

The most terrifying thing is that the Yellow River bursts its banks in the upper reaches of Hongze Lake.

By then, the vast area in southern Henan and northern Yingtian will become Zeguo.

This is not Chen Jingke’s alarmist talk, it happened countless times in his previous life.

What everyone is most familiar with is the heavy rainstorm in [-] that has not happened in a century.

Henan and Anhui were the most severely affected. The reason was that Hongze Lake blocked the floods and the excess water could not be drained out, causing waterlogging.

Everyone knows the dangers of Hongze Lake, but no one can touch it.

why?
interest.

Hongze Lake represents too many interests.

The greater the interests, the greater the right to speak.

The voice of Henan and Anhui is naturally not as good as that of the eastern coastal areas.

In this case, it is natural to sacrifice areas with a small voice.

What does your flooding have to do with me?
Hongze Lake is my job, no one dares to try it.

I will give you a small symbolic donation, and you will also want to thank me.

It's that simple.

It can be said that the disaster caused by the Yellow River taking the Huaihe River and flowing into the sea lasts for thousands of years.

Until the 21st century, a large number of people are still suffering from it.

It is now the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, and the terrain of Hongze Lake is not that high yet.

If solved in time, the subsequent series of problems will not occur again.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the map with an extremely solemn expression.

The scene described by Chen Jingke would make him shudder just thinking about it.

In the past, I just thought that if the Yellow River took the Huai River and entered the sea, it would be taken away.

It's just a river. Whichever river path you take is not the right way to go.

Now I finally understand that things are much more complicated than imagined.As for the solution, he also thought of it.

Let the Yellow River return to its old course.

This is easier said than done.

The old path of the Yellow River has been filled with people for a long time. It is not that easy to move these people away.

What's more, the Yellow River will not be so obedient and follow its original path.

The greater possibility is to find a new low-lying river channel.

If one is bad, the problem will be bigger.

If we are not allowed to return to our old ways, the Huai River front line will continue to suffer.

Letting the Yellow River return to its old course will cost too much.

Difficult.

At this time, he couldn't help but think of Zhu Xiongying's idea just now.

While repairing the river channel, trees were planted upstream to reduce the sediment carried by the Yellow River.

Will this problem be solved?
But Chen Jingke just said that the Little Ice Age is coming and this method will not work.

So……

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Chen Jingke again and asked:
"Explain to us carefully what is the Little Ice Age and what is the Warm and Cold Change."

Zhu Xiongying also pricked up his ears. He was now particularly interested in this warm and cold change.

Chen Jingke tidied up his language slightly before speaking:
"Warm-cold change, as the name suggests, means that the overall climate is warmer and the overall climate is colder. It is the same as the change of seasons and the alternation of day and night."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Where is the evidence?"

Chen Jingke replied: "A more obvious sign of change is that rice can be grown in Henan and Shandong during the warm period, and the Huaihe River will freeze during the cold period."

"Pre-Qin history books were burned in large numbers, and not many records can be found."

"Historical records after the Qin Dynasty are more detailed, so let's start with the Han Dynasty."

"According to clues from historical records, the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was at the point of transition from warm to cold."

"The evidence is that before that, the crops in the Central Plains were rice and millet."

"Because the weather became colder and rice and millet production decreased or even ended, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty promoted cold-resistant wheat and beans throughout the country."

"Since then, the crops in the Central Plains have changed from rice to wheat and beans."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, is there any record of this?

Chen Jingke further explained: "There are records in historical books that in the early Han Dynasty, the yield per mu was three or four stones, but later it became one or two stones."

"Even the most experienced farmers can only increase their yield to about two dan."

"Many people in history have done similar research. Your Majesty should have heard of it."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but nod, he knew this.

Some people have discovered this problem since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and others have done experiments, but with no results.

As an emperor, he was naturally concerned about food production issues and knew this difference.

Without a clue, many people think it is a matter of differences in weights and measures.

The weights and measures at that time were relatively small, so the yield per mu appeared to be high.

But some people disagree with this statement and firmly believe that there are other problems.

This statement put forward by Chen Jingke is indeed very novel.

The yield of rice is only two or three stones per acre.

But is this really the case?Could it be a coincidence?

Chen Jingke saw his doubts and said:

"Your Majesty, you might as well ask someone to search for it. There will definitely be records of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty promoting winter wheat."

"The cultivation of food crops is related to the rise and fall of the country. If it is not a matter of life and death, no one will change the crops easily."

Zhu Yuanzhang agreed with this point. The premise for him to promote cotton was that the country had enough land to grow food.

Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had various shortcomings, he was definitely not a faint king.

It is impossible to promote wheat without any reason.

Could it be that what he said was true?Was it really a cold period?
Chen Jingke waited for a while before continuing:

"The cold period will lead to frequent extreme weather. For example, consecutive floods and droughts...and droughts will bring locust plagues."

"During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, these disasters occurred one after another."

"In order to deal with these disasters, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty mobilized the army to dig ditches and build water conservancy..."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, he naturally knew this.

It's just that these natural disasters have always been considered to be punishment from heaven for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's misconduct.

Is it really because of the cold period?
If it is true, those Confucian people will go crazy.

"Besides Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, are there any relevant records?"

Chen Jingke nodded and said, "Yes, it snowed heavily in April during Wang Mang's time, and the bamboos and cypresses froze to death. Your Majesty should also know this record."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded again, he knew it very well.

The evaluation of the history books is that Wang Mang lost his virtue and suffered disaster from heaven.

"In fact, during Wang Mang's period, the cold period was intensifying. When Emperor Guangwu succeeded to the throne, the temperature began to rise slightly..."

Ah, this... Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless.

If it is true, then Wang Mang is too unlucky, right?

"But it has only recovered slightly and has not really entered a warm period. The entire climate is still cold."

"There have even been extreme weather events. For example, during the Han Dynasty, there were two consecutive months of rain in the Guandong region."

"After Emperor Han'an succeeded to the throne, it rained even more heavily, affecting a large area from Guanzhong to Jizhong."

"This rain lasted for a month, and the sowing of winter wheat was affected..."

"Then there was a drought that lasted for half a year...and then there was heavy rain for half a year after the drought..."

"After that, extreme weather like this happened more often..."

"There are relevant records in the history books. Your Majesty will find out after sending someone to check."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say anything. He didn't need to check this matter. He knew it. The records of the Later Han Dynasty were very clear.

"Until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the cold period reached its peak..."

"Historical records state that Cao Cao sent Cao Pi to Guangling to inspect the training of the army."

"Because the Huaihe River froze, the training had to be stopped."

"This is the first recorded record of the Huaihe River freezing in history."

"However, I believe that there must have been relevant records before, but a large number of books were destroyed in the war, and the relevant records also disappeared."

"During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the climate began to change from cold to warm..."

"Extreme weather is becoming less and less common, and crop yields are starting to pick up..."

"In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the warm period happened to arrive..."

"The reason why Songtsen Gampo was able to establish a powerful Tubo was also due to this."

"The overall climate is warming, and the permafrost on the plateau is beginning to melt..."

"More grass and trees grow, which feeds more livestock."

"More land can be used to grow crops, and crop yields have increased..."

"With more food, we can feed more people..."

“The rise of Tubo was certainly due to Songtsen Gampo’s talent and strategy, but climatic conditions provided him with the foundation.”

"During the Southern Song Dynasty, the warm period came to an end, and the climate began to change from warm to cold..."

Zhu Yuanzhang reacted suddenly.

If Chen Jingke's speculation is true, Wen Hanbian really exists.

If the Southern Song Dynasty was the end of the warm period, wouldn’t the Ming Dynasty be...

Chen Jingke nodded solemnly and said:
"The Ming Dynasty is about to face a cold period with many disasters."

(End of this chapter)