Emperor Ming's grandson

Chapter 40 The Ming Dynasty is dead! Zhu Yuanzhang's fear

Three days later, Qiu Xuanqing hurried to Fengtian Hall with the results of the review, a somewhat solemn look on his face.

Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting on the throne, reviewing the piles of memorials absentmindedly. It was obvious that his mood had been extremely heavy these days, so that his work efficiency had been somewhat reduced.

In fact, ever since Zhu Xiongying learned about the existence of the "Little Ice Age" from Zhu Xiongying, Zhu Yuanzhang has been feeling depressed and uneasy, and even felt unable to eat well or sleep well. This kind of psychological situation, like carrying a heavy mountain, has been enough. It has not appeared on him for more than ten years. The last time he faced Chen Youliang's Eastern Expedition.

No wonder Zhu Yuanzhang felt so much pressure. In fact, this matter seemed to have exceeded the scope of "human power" to solve. Even he, the supreme human being, could not exert influence on this matter.

Now, the results of Qiu Xuanqing's investigation are about to be announced, and Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't know whether Ming Dynasty can withstand this arrangement from God.

Qiu Xuanqing's face was full of seriousness as he reported the results in detail.

"From the late Yin Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, there are indeed a few words in the history books that record that during this period, the climate was cold, rivers and lakes shrank, and disasters such as floods, droughts, and locusts occurred. In addition, the Shang Dynasty continued to fight externally and exploited civilians internally. In the end, It was replaced by the Zhou Dynasty, but there are few historical materials from this period. Even if I read all the books, I still cannot be completely sure."

"But in the late Han, Wei, and Jin dynasties, the records are conclusive enough. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a severe drought called "nine times in ten years." Floods and droughts were recorded more frequently during the Three Kingdoms period. During the Western Jin Dynasty, there were records of "floods and droughts." There are endless records of disasters such as "strong winds and heavy snow".

"There are more such records in the historical materials of the late Tang Dynasty, such as 'heavy snowfall', 'rivers are all ice', 'floods and droughts are still the same', and so on. The historical materials of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms are relatively scattered, but the relationship between the various forces Records can still prove that famines continued, and until the early Northern Song Dynasty, there were also records of 'floods and droughts' and 'cold and heat'."

"From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the late Song Dynasty, except for the late Han, Wei, Jin and late Tang and Five Dynasties periods, the frequency of disaster records is indeed less, or in other words, completely incomparable with these two periods."

“至于从元初至今一百年间发生了水灾92次、旱灾86次、雹灾69次、蝗灾61次、地震52次、风灾42次、霜雪28次、瘟疫20次，灾害次数远超其他时期。”

"Therefore, I'm afraid what Shengsun said is indeed true."

Qiu Xuanqing's voice was a little low, and his words made Zhu Yuanzhang's heart sink suddenly.

"Little Ice Age" is no longer a strange word that has nothing to do with him. The current situation is just the opposite. This terrible disaster has quietly befallen the dynasty he founded.

And except for Da Sun, no one noticed it at all!

It was as if a family was sleeping soundly, and when the candle fell down in the house, a fire was quietly lit without anyone noticing.

And after a while, the whole family will be burned alive!
But Qiu Xuanqing's words were not finished yet.

"Your Majesty, based on historical records, we can also conclude that every Little Ice Age would be accompanied by severe wars and population losses due to reduced food production."

"At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the population was 60 million. Even if there were hidden households, there were only less than 10 million left when the Western Jin Dynasty was unified. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the population was also 60 million, and by the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were only 20 million left."

In fact, Qiu Xuanqing has not yet talked about the Wuhu chaos in China after the Western Jin Dynasty. At that time, the northern Han people were treated as two-legged sheep by the barbarians. In the end, there were only four million northern Han people left and they were almost extinct.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who personally experienced the troubled times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, knew this very well. Continuous natural disasters led to a reduction in food production, and the people had no choice but to rebel if they did not have enough to eat. If everyone rebelled, a nationwide separatist regime would result. It is a short or long unification war. Whether this process is short or long, it will inevitably lead to a large reduction in population, which will allow the total population to passively adapt to food production. This is a very, very cruel thing. It is so cruel that Zhu Yuanzhang's whole family has no such "passive adaptation".

There is never any empathy in this world, unless the needle actually pricks one's body.

And Zhu Yuanzhang was the person who was personally hurt.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a miserable background, knew how important it was for the people at the bottom not to suffer continuous natural disasters. Therefore, he felt extremely fearful of the inevitable chaos in the world.

In the years since he ascended the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang has done little corvee and little tax. Apart from wiping out the remaining forces of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he has hardly launched any unnecessary wars and has been quite friendly to the surrounding small countries. All this is to build a large rural society that is stable in his mind.

And the sudden and mysterious news of the "Little Ice Age" undoubtedly shattered his beautiful vision.

No matter how hard he tried, he seemed unable to overcome the fate that God had already arranged.

"Is there any way to deal with it?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew very clearly that the most important thing now was to find a way to deal with the Little Ice Age. Otherwise, his generation or the following generations would still be able to maintain a stable position, but it would not be certain in the future.

If it were other emperors who had no sense of responsibility, they would probably just muddle along with the idea of ​​"I won't care about the flood after I die."

But Zhu Yuanzhang was different. His simple feudal patriarchal concept made him want to arrange everything for the next few hundred years of the Ming Dynasty. This can be seen from his various institutional designs for the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang was the founder of the Ming Dynasty. How could he turn a blind eye to the things that were destined to destroy the Ming Dynasty and then muddle along?

If he could, he would not be Zhu Yuanzhang.

Qiu Xuanqing was silent for a moment, and then said slowly: "Your Majesty, the Little Ice Age is a natural disaster that cannot be resisted by human beings."

Zhu Yuanzhang is sitting on the dragon throne. He has gone through ups and downs in his life, from a poor cowherd boy to the founding emperor of the country today. What kind of difficulties has he not experienced? But this time, he felt an unprecedented powerlessness.

The Little Ice Age, this unfamiliar word, is now like a sharp sword hanging over the head of Ming Dynasty.

Qiu Xuanqing saw Zhu Yuanzhang's anxiety, and he suggested: "Your Majesty, the person who tied the bell must be tied to untie the bell. Why not wait until the next time the Yin and Yang Qihai opens, and then ask His Highness Shengsun what countermeasures he has."

But Zhu Yuanzhang is not someone who relies on others for everything. Even if the news of the Little Ice Age is confirmed now, he cannot completely count on Zhu Xiongying. He will always have to make efforts on his side.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while and ordered the eunuch beside him: "Immediately summon the prince and several princes to Fengtian Palace to discuss matters!"

Obviously, Zhu Yuanzhang has not yet realized what the "Law of True Fragrance" is.
(End of this chapter)