Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

In the secret room, after hearing these words.

Zhu Gaochi and Xia Yuanji's expressions became extremely serious, and Zhang Tianshi's expression also became very serious. He was just pretending.

"The Little Ice Age that lasted for hundreds of years in the Ming Dynasty has begun?" Zhu Gaochi frowned and murmured to himself, "Doesn't that mean that in the future, the situation faced by the Ming Dynasty will get worse and worse?"

"good."

Xia Yuanji smiled bitterly and said: "If what Master Jiang said is true and it will get colder and colder in the next few hundred years, then the situation that the Ming Dynasty will face in the future will actually be the same as the Yuan Dynasty simulated in the previous lesson."

"You mean?"

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but exclaimed in a low voice.

Although Zhu Gaochi did not have time to attend the previous "Currency Game: Simulating the Yuan Dynasty" class because of his busy schedule, he had already understood the content of the class through his notes afterwards.

It was precisely because he understood the almost endless loop situation at that time that Zhu Gaochi had this reaction.

His body was trembling slightly, and he looked very excited. He was really excited. Because he was so fat, even the fat on his cheeks trembled like jelly as long as he trembled slightly.

"Your Highness." Xia Yuanji said seriously again: "I can tell you with certainty that if this little ice age lasts not a few years as we imagined, but more than ten years, decades, hundreds of years, or even Even longer - then the Ming Dynasty's finances will inevitably fall into the same situation as the Yuan Dynasty in the simulation game."

"Moreover, we have to constantly face difficult choices about finance and national destiny, and no matter which one we sacrifice, the outcome will not be good."

"Cold weather will lead to a reduction in agricultural production. People will not have enough to eat, and the country will not be able to collect taxes. Once the finances are tight, the country will not be able to support more necessary personnel, nor will it be able to pay for disaster relief, river repair and other projects. By then, , it will inevitably lead to the rise of refugees, rebels, etc., and sometimes, the troubles caused by internal worries to the country will lead to the eyeing of foreign invaders such as the northern nomads. It is very easy to form a vicious circle. You have already understood this before .”

Suddenly, the whole house was silent, except for Zhu Gaochi's rapid breathing.

Zhang Tianshi's fingers were tapping the armrest softly and silently.

Although Zhang Tianshi did not think that this matter would happen like a prophecy, his eyes still had a pensive look, as if he was thinking about and speculating on the next form.

Separated by a wall, there is a new crooked neck tree.

"What?!"

When he heard Jiang Xinghuo's words, Li Jinglong was stunned: "The Ming Dynasty's Little Ice Age has begun?"

"Of course."

Zhu Gaoxu was confused again: "The Little Ice Age of the Ming Dynasty has begun? But why didn't I know? It hasn't been cold these years."

"Uh..." Jiang Xinghuo wanted to explain.

"Actually, you don't need to panic. The temperature is gradually getting colder. How come it's still over two hundred years ago?"

"So, you definitely won't be able to feel it at this stage." Jiang Xinghuo reassured them, "After all, you can't live to be two hundred years old."

This sentence made Zhu Gaoxu, who was already confused, even more confused.

What does it mean that we can't live to be 200 years old?

Co-author Mr. Jiang, can you live to be two hundred years old?

Li Jinglong was relatively calm and said, "But now we don't feel any unusual coldness. How can we prove that the Little Ice Age has begun?"

"Because the warm period is over."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "You are the oldest. Think about it carefully. What was the temperature in the south like after you were born?"

"I can't remember clearly." Li Jinglong shook his head and sighed, "But it's definitely not as warm as my parents' generation."

"This is the subtle effect of the Little Ice Age."

Jiang Xinghuo said calmly: "What this class is going to talk about is the 'amazing impact of temperature on Chinese history.' Only by explaining this clearly can you understand the significance of the response plan I proposed."

Hearing this, Zhu Gaochi's little eyes suddenly brightened up in the secret room next door.

After being led around by Jiang Xinghuo, Zhu Gaochi realized at this time that what he wanted to talk about at the beginning was how to use another kind of fertilizer on a large scale and how to increase the population limit out of thin air.

After listening to Jiang Xinghuo's description of the Little Ice Age, Zhu Gaochi also understood the significance of what Jiang Xinghuo proposed.

That is to avoid the eventual subjugation of the Ming Dynasty caused by the Little Ice Age in the future!

After all, the Little Ice Age sounds extremely scary.

But fundamentally speaking, the impact of the Little Ice Age on the country was actually mainly concentrated in the reduction of agricultural production caused by natural disasters.

Jiang Xinghuo's response can increase agricultural production.

In this way, if the increase and one decrease maintain the balance under ideal conditions, then Ming's grain output will not have too big a problem.

However, Mr. Jiang said before that chemical fertilizers can double the yield of crops per mu, and he also has a way to increase the upper limit of the supported population by 30% out of thin air.

This means that the Ming Dynasty's grain output will more than double its previous size.

This may be enough to offset the impact of the Little Ice Age on the Ming Dynasty's food production.

And if the total grain output of the Ming Dynasty could be stabilized, the Little Ice Age might not be so scary.

Zhu Gaochi thought about this clearly and finally felt relieved. He took a breath and thought that as an "ancestor", it was really tiring to worry about the Ming Dynasty in future generations.

Of course, Zhu Gaochi subconsciously ignored one point. Increased food production will also lead to a corresponding increase in population.

It's not that Zhu Gaochi didn't expect this. As a senior government affairs expert, he only needed to give him a little time to figure it out. However, Jiang Xinghuo started to continue his lecture, so his train of thought was directly led astray.

"Climate is composed of two elements: temperature and precipitation, and of these two elements, temperature has a huge impact on precipitation, which can even be said to be decisive."

"Because the essence of precipitation comes from changes in temperature. It is the decrease in temperature that causes the water vapor in the air to condense and cause rain. This is because the amount of water vapor held in the air is related to the temperature. The higher the temperature, the less water vapor held by the air and clouds in the sky. Although the air and clouds in the sky are not always completely saturated, the actual water vapor content of the air and clouds in the sky does have a clear positive relationship with the temperature."

"This positive relationship is also transmitted to the relationship between the actual precipitation on the surface and the temperature. With the same degree of atmospheric cooling, atmospheric areas with high temperatures tend to have more precipitation. In the end, the actual precipitation on the surface and the temperature are obviously positive. relation."

Jiang Xinghuo briefly explained the principles of geography to them, and Jiang Xinghuo just started to scratch the surface.

Immediately, Jiang Xinghuo said slowly: "The reason why temperature will have an astonishing impact on the history of China is because the temperature directly determines the position of the 400 mm precipitation line. This line is the amount of rainfall that meets the most basic needs of cultivated land. An invisible line.”

“In the coming lessons I will call this the ‘agricultural-nomadic precipitation divide’.”

"Then think about it, why do I say that a line of precipitation that can only be vaguely drawn will become the dividing line between farming people and nomadic peoples?"

"oh?"

The two of them frowned at the same time. They knew that nomadic peoples such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, and Mongolia lived in the north in history. But why did they live in the north? They just felt that this was a matter of course. Never thought about it deeply.

Now that I think about it carefully, the answer is obvious.

Because only when this minimum amount of rain is met, the crops cultivated by the farming people can grow normally.

In other words, if there is no rain, the farming people will automatically look for fields to cultivate in the south. At the same time, if there is less water in the north, the nomadic people will come here to graze cattle and sheep, because animal husbandry only requires grass and water. The demand for agricultural irrigation is not as great as that required for agricultural irrigation.

Seeing that the two of them had roughly thought it through.

Jiang Xinghuo drew a simple text map on the sandy field under the new crooked neck tree.

Western Region丨Desert丨Grassland丨Liaodong

Longxi丨Hetao丨Shanxi丨Hebei

Hanzhong丨Guanzhong丨Henan丨Shandong

Sichuan Region丨Nanyang丨Huaixi丨Huaidong

Badi丨Jingxiang丨Jiangxi丨Jiangnan

Yunnan丨Guangxi丨Guangdong丨Fujian

Extremely easy to understand.

Jiang Xinghuo pointed to the space between the first and second rows and said: "When Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, the limit of the Huns going south to herd horses was the Longxi-Hetao-Shanxi-Hebei line. The same was true in the Han Dynasty. That's why Liu Bang, Emperor Taizu of the Han Dynasty, was surrounded by Baishan Mountain in the northernmost part of Shanxi, which is now one of the nine sides of Datong Town. The reason is very simple, that is the northernmost part of the farming area, and it is difficult for the Xiongnu to go deeper."

"The first major change in the agricultural-nomadic precipitation boundary, which was the first recorded Little Ice Age in Chinese history, began at the turn of the Wei and Jin Dynasties."

“At that time, the northern grasslands were subject to blizzards all year round and were no longer suitable for the survival of humans and animals. Various ethnic groups that originally lived in the northern grasslands and western plateaus, such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Qiang, and Di, all moved to the Central Plains. dynasty."

Li Jinglong's heart was shaken.

It turns out that Wu Huan Hua also had this reason.

Does that mean that as long as the temperature drops, the weather becomes cold, and the north is no longer suitable for survival, the nomads will migrate again and again to the warmer places in the south that are suitable for grazing?

Judging from historical experience, I am afraid this is exactly the case!

The finger that originally rested between the first and second rows began to point downward slightly. Jiang Xinghuo said: "The precipitation line dividing farming and nomadic life has moved southward, which means that the precipitation line that was originally most suitable for farming has also begun to move southward."

When talking about this, Jiang Xinghuo's fingers began to move downward, moving to the Badi-Jingxiang-Jiangxi-Jiangnan area.

"Due to the southward shift of the farming-nomadic precipitation boundary, the overall living range of farming people has also begun to be moved southward. More importantly, the optimal precipitation line for farming, which was originally located along the Hanzhong-Guanzhong-Henan-Shandong line, has also begun to shift. Moving south, it moved to the line of Shu-Nanyang-Huaixi-Huaidong."

"After the Yongjia Rebellion in the Western Jin Dynasty, the Jiangnan area, which was still regarded as a barbaric land even during the Sun Wu period, has been greatly developed. Part of the reason is that the population migrated southward. More importantly, Jiangnan The area itself became suitable for farming, and later it even became a land of plenty!”

Zhu Gaoxu and Li Jinglong looked at each other and saw the meaning in each other's eyes.

It is obvious that then and there, it is exactly this moment.

Not only did Zhu Gaoxu experience how cold it is in the north of the Ming Dynasty, but when Li Jinglong led an army of 600,000 to besiege Peiping, he also saw the Yan army pouring water into ice overnight and turning Peiping into an "ice city" that could not be climbed. What does it look like.

To be honest, in the north now, the food output grown in agricultural production is really very limited.

That's why the top leaders of the Ming Empire insisted on imposing heavy taxes on the grain-producing areas south of the Yangtze River.

Jiang Xinghuo continued pointing to the map and talking.

"The first Little Ice Age began to end gradually during the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties. The optimal precipitation line for farming moved from south to north, from Shudi-Nanyang-Huaixi-Huaidong, and once again moved to Hanzhong-Guanzhong- Henan-Shandong line.”

"Note that this is the optimal precipitation line for farming, not the dividing line between farming and nomadic life."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and asked, "Guess what happened?"

Li Jinglong almost blurted out: "The Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty replaced the Zhou Dynasty, and then unified the world!"

"good."

Jiang Xinghuo said with certainty: "Of course there were five great wars between the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties. King Gao made a lot of mistakes. In the end, he hated Yubi City and ended Hebei's idea of ​​annexing Guanlong with a "Chile Song". The efforts of heroes such as Yu Wentai, Dugu Xin, Li Hu, Li Bi, and Wei Xiaokuan."

"Of course the military system and the land equalization system are important. It is also true that the madmen of the Gao family have become worse and worse after Emperor Shenwu. However, it is undeniable that the reason why the Northern Zhou Dynasty was able to accumulate such a huge amount of money in just a few decades The country’s national strength eventually even formed an overwhelming advantage, which is inseparable from the fact that the Guanlong Land has once again become a fertile wilderness and the foundation of kings and hegemons.”

Jiang Xinghuo raised a soul question: "Why is there such a phenomenon? It seems that during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Guan Long regained the irreplaceable important position in China's territory that it had during the Qin and Han Dynasties?"

Li Jinglong tried to answer: "It is because the best precipitation line for farming mentioned by Jiang Lang returned from the Huaihe River to the Guanlong and Henan areas."

"exactly."

"What is the nature of national power?"

Jiang Xinghuo said: "Actually, for China now and in the past, it is the ability to produce food. Only with food can we feed a larger population, and with a larger population can we have a tax base and a source of troops! Only in this way can we unify the world! "

"Then let's try to continue from the perspective of how temperature affects the history of China and think about what happened next?"

"Next," Li Jinglong tried to ask, "is it going to be a warmer period? Or maybe it's the middle stage between the two Little Ice Ages."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded in recognition.

"Let me give you a few examples, and you will know why I say this."

"Do you know that during the Tang Dynasty, if scholars wanted to be famous, they had to live in seclusion in the Zhongnan Mountains to accumulate fame?"

Li Jinglong nodded and said: "Of course I know, a trend has been formed at that time. There is an allusion called 'Zhongnan Shortcut', which refers to those who raised their hopes in Zhongnan Mountain. Ordinary literati in the Tang Dynasty wanted to be famous and appreciated all over the world. There are three paths to take. The first path is to take the imperial examination honestly and compete with the nobles. The second path is to live in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain and wait for nobles to come to visit. The third path is to invest in a noble family. Send articles and gain recognition from the upper class by demonstrating your talents.”

Jiang Xinghuo's next question made Li Jinglong, who was getting more and more into the mood as he spoke, stop unexpectedly.

"Then why do they want to live in seclusion in the Zhongnan Mountains?"

"this"

Li Jinglong's mind went blank.

Of course they entered Zhongnan Mountain to raise their hopes, but how do I know why they entered Zhongnan Mountain?

"Maybe it's because of the heat." Zhu Gaoxu said casually.

"Smart, the answer is that simple."

What?

Li Jinglong looked at Zhu Gaoxu in confusion, and then at Jiang Xinghuo.

Are you playing brainteasers?

Why go into the mountains? Because it’s hot. Isn’t that nonsense?

"It was because it was a warm period, so the temperature was high, and the summer in Chang'an was extremely hot. "New Book of Tang", "Old Book of Tang", and "Tang Huiyao" have recorded many times that the heat in summer was unbearable. , the emperor canceled the record of the court meeting.”

"At the same time, the winter in Chang'an is also very hot. It is so hot that during the season when it should snow, there is often no snow. In the nearly three hundred years of the Tang Dynasty, there were only recorded cases of 'no snow in winter' and 'no snow in winter' in Chang'an area." "Wu Bing', more than twenty-seven times, not only far exceeds the number of other dynasties that had their capital in Chang'an, but also the frequency of warm winters almost once every ten years."

"The most sensitive and typical animal that responds to temperature is actually the elephant."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said: "You should have heard the story of Cao Chong calling an elephant, but in the following Northern and Southern Dynasties, have you heard anything about elephants? Definitely not, because the temperature dropped and the elephants had to migrate to Today, it is in the area of ​​the Chief Envoy of Yunnan Province. It was not until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that elephants reappeared in the palace of Chang'an."

Jiang Xinghuo changed the subject: "Of course, rising temperatures are a good thing for the farming people, but it is not entirely a good thing."

"Because for some semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural peoples, they also have the ability to produce large amounts of food and then support a glorious civilization."

"Otherwise, why have no powerful kingdoms been born in some areas except during this special warm period?"

Li Jinglong's pupils shrank slightly and he said loudly: "You mean, Tubo?!"

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu also woke up.

"It's Tubo."

Jiang Xinghuo asked: "Have you not noticed that the rise of Tubo was almost at the same time as the Tang Dynasty? And coincidentally, the decline of Tubo was almost at the same time as the Tang Dynasty."

Li Jinglong shook his head. Although he had never thought about it before, after Jiang Xinghuo said this, he realized that the hurdle involved was not simple, nor was it accidental.

In other words, it has a lot to do with temperature and precipitation.

"This is because during the warm period, large areas of ice and snow on the plateau melted, creating fields suitable for farming, and there was also more abundant precipitation."

"The rising temperature allowed farming to bring enough food to feed more people to expand, and Tubo rose. As the temperature dropped, the plateau was no longer suitable for farming, and Tubo's food population dropped sharply, followed by its decline."

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the cloudless autumn sky and said slowly.

"A large part of the secrets of history are hidden in temperature and precipitation."

"That's the beauty of geography."