Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 110 True Feng Shui: Monsoons and Ocean Currents

"The sudden drop in temperature and the huge temperature difference between day and night made it impossible for the Mongolians to survive, so the Mongolians had no choice but to go south, and they had no choice but to go south!" Zhu Gaochi murmured.

"That's it, that's it."

Xia Yuanji's eyes were a little complicated. Originally, he just thought that Master Jiang knew about temples, economics of the country and the people, and could also make fertilizers and elixirs, but he never expected that Master Jiang turned out to be an all-rounder!

A true all-rounder, he knows everything about astronomy, geography, history, temples, economics, country and people.

If Jiang Xinghuo told him that this was just basic education that would be popularized by everyone in future generations, and that all ordinary children would be able to learn it after more than ten years, I don't know if Xia Yuanji would be speechless and choke.

At this time, Zhang Yuchu and Zhang Tianshi were in very complicated moods.

If at the beginning, Zhang Tianshi felt that Jiang Xinghuo's suggestion that "the Little Ice Age would lead to the demise of the Ming Dynasty" was alarmist and an act that was deliberately not surprising.

Then as Jiang Xinghuo's lecture progressed, he took them into the history of China from the beginning, reviewing the movement of precipitation lines caused by temperature, and the impact of the movement of precipitation lines on the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Tubo, and the countries in the Western Regions.

Zhang Yuchu had to admit that temperature does have an impact on the form of a country.

After all, temperature actually affects food production, which in turn affects population, tax revenue, and national stability.

But even when talking about Loulan's demise, Zhang Yuchu didn't look moved.

But, but.

After Jiang Xinghuo proposed the concept of "specific heat capacity" and explained the situation that was completely different from his understanding, Zhang Yuchu suddenly remembered something.

——Feng Shui!

This is so similar to Feng Shui!

In other words, isn't this the so-called search for dragons and pulses, and to hear the wind and read the water?

But Feng Shui has been passed down for thousands of years, and no matter who writes the book, it is extremely obscure and difficult to understand.

Although passed down by masters and apprentices, Feng Shui masters and Taoist priests can make Feng Shui judgments based on the accumulated experience of their predecessors, and even change Feng Shui.

Show people the mansion and choose the cemetery.

But what kind of ability is this?

This Feng Shui technique is so powerful that it can help the emperor find dragon veins and choose his tomb.

Beyond that, can anything really change?

Nothing can be done!

However, Zhang Yuchu once saw a record in Longhu Mountain's classics that he did not know whether it was true or false.

In this world, there really is a knowledge that can clearly see the feng shui of the world. It is not limited to one city or one place, or even one country or one dynasty!

And this knowledge is the real "Feng Shui".

As for the things spread in the world, they are just superficial. At best, they can only be called "Feng Shui".

This is the relationship between "skill" and "dao".

No matter how thoroughly you learn the "skill", no matter how clearly you practice it, and no matter how skillfully you use it, you are just an ordinary person.

And the real "Tao" is what can change a hostage!

In that classic book, this true "Feng Shui" is recorded, which is only in the hands of immortals!

Because only the immortals who are high above can overlook the world.

And this world is by no means limited to the Ming Dynasty!

It is not even limited to North Korea, Japan, Champa, and Annam, but includes farther and wider areas.

At one time, Zhang Yuchu thought this was nonsense!

why?

Because with the current level of understanding of the world and the speed of movement, it is impossible for anyone to truly see through the Feng Shui of the entire world. Just walking carefully around the Ming Dynasty would take countless years and how terrifying it is. energy.

Not to mention, how about traveling around all the known and unknown worlds?

To take it a step further, even if you travel around the real world, can you really master it?

Therefore, there are only immortals!

Only immortals!

Immortals are high above, fishing for human luck in the sky, and naturally know all the mountains, rivers, and wind directions in the world.

One sees it from the sky and the other sees it from the ground. How can they compare?

Therefore, Zhang Yuchu believes that this so-called true "Feng Shui" is simply not something that ordinary people can master.

But today, Zhang Yuchu suddenly had a bold and terrifying idea in his mind.

Could it be that what Jiang Xinghuo is talking about is this legendary knowledge that only immortals can master?

In fact, it is not surprising that Zhang Yuchu had such an idea.

After all, in this world where no great geographical discoveries have occurred and where successive navigators have spent their lives exploring the global ocean currents and monsoon conditions, it is indeed impossible for a "mortal" to master the world's wind and water.

In later generations, it was completely different. Not only did they have summarized information and detailed and easy-to-understand pictures, but they also had satellites hanging in the sky as the "eyes in the sky" to monitor the changing winds and ocean currents all the time.

It is not surprising that Jiang Xinghuo can say these words in this era, and Zhang Yuchu thinks that he may truly master "Feng Shui".

Having said that, this is just a guess that Zhang Yuchu and Zhang Tianshi accidentally made in his mind. There is no conclusive evidence. After all, although what Jiang Xinghuo said is relevant, he still needs more evidence to prove what Jiang Xinghuo said. It is the legendary "Feng Shui".

Next door, under the new crooked neck tree.

Jiang Xinghuo's words continued.

"You have all played games simulating the Yuan Dynasty before, so I won't go into details here. You should be very clear about how much impact continuous natural disasters will have on the country's finances and national destiny."

Li Jinglong and Zhu Gaoxu nodded, showing expressions that they couldn't bear to remember.

It hurts, it hurts so much!

These things that happened in real history and the choices they experienced personally all prove that the short life of the Yuan Dynasty must be related to the continuous drop in temperature.

When the Mongols were on the grasslands, they lacked water bodies with a large specific heat capacity, so they were forced to go south and west to conquer the world. But even if they obtained fields close to water bodies with a large specific heat capacity, they did not have to suffer from temperature differences. They still had to face the problem of temperature. Huge conundrum.

"So what Mr. Jiang is saying is that the temperature drop that the Ming Dynasty is facing has actually started since the Southern Song Dynasty?" Li Jinglong asked with some frustration.

"right."

Jiang Xinghuo agreed with his words, but added: "Of course, the temperature does not drop all the time. There will be a period in between. For example, during the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty and the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty, the temperature actually rose for a while. , but then turned around and continued to descend.”

"You don't have to worry too much. The temperature will not drop all the time in the Ming Dynasty. If nothing else happens, there will be a period of rise in the middle, and finally it will turn around and plummet like in the Yuan Dynasty."

After hearing these words, the two of them looked embarrassed.

What does it mean not to worry too much?

Why does it sound like a doctor saying to you: "Don't worry, although it is a terminal illness, there will be some recovery in a few months. Once the recovery is over, it will deteriorate rapidly."

"Will the future of Ming Dynasty really be like this?"

Zhu Gaochi's expression in the secret room also became extremely solemn, and he even felt cold all over - the wheel of history was rolling forward, and there was no turning back.

At this moment, the results given by Jiang Xinghuo were unacceptable.

No one would be able to accept it.

Not to mention that the patient's family members are emotionally unstable, the patient is about to have an emotional breakdown.

The reason why Zhu Gaochi was so optimistic before was that he initially thought that the so-called "Little Ice Age" might only last a few years, or at most a dozen years. The imperial court only needed to build extensive warehouses to accumulate grain like the Sui Dynasty. In consecutive years of disaster, we can survive by tightening our belts.

Later, although Zhu Gaochi heard Jiang Xinghuo say that the Little Ice Age would last for hundreds of years, because he had not turned around at that time, he thought that the combination of chemical fertilizers and Jiang Xinghuo's method of increasing the upper limit of the supported population by 30% was One that can withstand the Little Ice Age.

However, as time passed, Zhu Gaochi immediately discovered his mistake.

Once food production increases and the upper limit of the population that can be supported increases, it will inevitably lead to a surge in population!

If what the Ming Dynasty faces in the future is a continuous warm period, this situation is not bad, and it will greatly enhance the national power of the Ming Dynasty. After all, in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the actual situation faced is that there are more people and less land.

The number of common people is different from that of the feudal king. The more common people, the better!

But now Jiang Xinghuo has truly explained the Mongolian example.

In order to avoid the torture of the temperature difference, the Mongols were about to conquer the entire world, except for the King of Zhennan who failed to capture the city three times.

But no matter what, the Mongols did run out of the grasslands.

The result was only a delay of less than a hundred years. The continuous drop in temperatures during the Little Ice Age still caused chaos in the world.

The Ming Dynasty is different from the Mongols. If we encounter the Little Ice Age in the future, where can we go?

Heading south to Champa?

Ming Dynasty had nowhere to escape and had no choice but to resist.

Although Jiang Xinghuo's chemical fertilizers and other methods can increase agricultural output, they will also inevitably bring about the problem of population growth. The larger the population, the more mouths that need to be filled and hungry for food, and the people who are prone to revolt will also The more.

So, what should Ming Dynasty do?

"In the next few decades," Zhu Gaochi said in a deep voice, "or, within a hundred years at the latest, Ming Dynasty must find a way to solve this problem. Of course we can leave things to our children and grandchildren, but if our children and grandchildren cannot Overcoming the crisis of the Little Ice Age, the Ming Dynasty's national destiny will be completely terminated, and there will never be a chance for a comeback."

Zhu Gaochi was silent for a while, then looked up at everyone.

Zhu Gaochi's expression became serious and he asked in a deep voice: "At that time, if my children and grandchildren were underground, I would not be able to forgive myself for turning a blind eye today."

"Your Highness, please be patient." Xia Yuanji immediately comforted him, "I just mentioned that this kind of thing needs to be planned slowly. Even if this is what Master Jiang said, we still have to go back and read the history books and check the information. Then gather knowledgeable people to jointly demonstrate whether it is correct."

"I will do this myself."

Zhu Gaochi nodded and said: "I will ask several bachelors in the cabinet to check the historical books of all past dynasties in detail to see if the changes in temperature and precipitation are consistent with what Mr. Jiang said."

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the simple text map on the ground, still a little confused.

Adhering to the good habit of "asking if you don't understand", Tie Hanhan opened his mouth to express his doubts.

"Mr. Jiang, I understand the concept of the 'farming-nomadic precipitation boundary line' you just mentioned, but I don't actually understand the principle. I only have a partial understanding of it."

Zhu Gaoxu pointed to the line Longxi-Hetao-Shanxi-Hebei on the map and said: "Just now, you said, what is the 400 mm precipitation line here? I have no idea what you are talking about. What is the 400 mm you mentioned? How high is it?”

Jiang Xinghuo thought about it briefly and found that the construction ruler of the Ming Dynasty was equal to the modern 32 centimeters. Four hundred millimeters is 0.4 meters, which is one and a quarter feet.

"One and a quarter feet."

Zhu Gaoxu measured it with his hands and felt a little incredible.

"Is it only this much water that falls every year? Isn't it a little too little, maybe even your knees can't touch it?"

"It's really not much." Jiang Xinghuo admitted, "But this is the total amount of precipitation along the Great Wall in a year."

Jiang Xinghuo asked: "If you think about it carefully, in addition to the drizzle of spring rain, a few thunderstorms in summer, the rainfall in the north mainly depends on autumn rain? If you think about it this way, how high do you think the water can accumulate in a year?"

With this said, Zhu Gaoxu roughly figured it out.

Zhu Gaoxu still had doubts. He said, "Is this rainwater enough to irrigate agricultural land?"

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said: "Of course not. In fact, the rainwater is not counted as falling on the cultivated fields, but the accumulated rainfall height based on the entire plain ground. Therefore, most of the rainwater will flow into rivers, lakes, Groundwater is stored in a different way, and when farmers need to use it, it will be extracted from these water storage areas."

"In fact, the one-and-a-quarter-foot precipitation line is not only the precipitation dividing line between farming and nomadic pastoralism, but also the boundary between 'arid' and 'semi-arid' areas."

Li Jinglong asked thoughtfully: "Does that mean that the construction location of the Great Wall coincides with the precipitation line is actually not a coincidence, but to protect cultivated land?"

"I don't think it's right." Zhu Gaoxu retorted: "From a military point of view, the Great Wall can only be built on mountains, and certainly not on plains. What you said probably doesn't matter much."

Hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, Li Jinglong became a little uncertain for a moment. After all, this was just his speculation.

But Li Jinglong's speculation is also problematic in his own opinion.

It's like shooting an arrow first and then drawing the target.

"It's a coincidence, but it's not a coincidence either."

Seeing that the two of them couldn't figure it out, Jiang Xinghuo took over: "What's a coincidence is that the two lines do basically overlap. What's not a coincidence is that it's precisely because of these mountains that the rainfall is different on the north and south sides. .”

"What?" Li Jinglong was a little surprised.

According to Jiang Xinghuo, it was actually the mountains first that affected the rainfall. Then, due to the difference in rainfall, the north and south sides of the mountains formed a farming-nomadic divide.

"Do you know where the word Feng Shui comes from?"

The secret room next door.

Zhang Yuchu Zhang Tianshi suddenly opened his eyes wide!

What? !

Jiang Xinghuo actually mentioned "Feng Shui"!

This was originally just a story from a classic book that he thought of when he accidentally listened to Jiang Xinghuo's lecture.

In fact, I am not sure.

But now, Jiang Xinghuo said it himself!

Could it be?

Zhang Tianshi's black face also became serious. This time he was not pretending, he was really serious.

Could it be that Yuan Gong and Dao Yan's calculations were correct?

Is this person named Jiang Xinghuo really a banished immortal?

Apart from this reason, how can we explain that Jiang Xinghuo said this sentence under such a coincidence?

Zhang Yuchu felt both anxious and excited.

The uneasy part is that the Longhu Mountain lineage has been cultivating immortals for a thousand years, but they have never seen a true immortal.

The exciting part is that he is very likely to hear a sermon from an immortal soon!

The immortal himself narrates what is the real "Feng Shui"!

Rather than the rudimentary "Feng Shui" practiced by Taoist priests!

Contrary to Zhang Yuchu's expectation, Jiang Xinghuo's explanation was brief but not simple.

"Actually, the meaning of Feng Shui, explained in layman's terms, is that the direction and heat and cold of the monsoon, the [wind], directly affect the amount of precipitation, ocean currents and other [water] functions."

Jiang Xinghuo asked: "Are you someone who has led troops in a war? Or the question just now is based on mountainous areas as an example, but it is slightly different. Can you tell me, in mountainous areas, is it colder on the windward slope or on the leeward slope?"

Zhu Gaoxu said without thinking: "If the wind is blowing, it must be cold on the windward slope. When camping, you must hide on the leeward slope, leaning against the mountain to block the wind."

"Then where does the wind in northern China usually blow?"

"Of course from Mobei."

As soon as they finished saying this, Zhu Gaoxu and Li Jinglong looked at each other in surprise.

The answer has been told by them!

According to the geographical theory taught to them by Jiang Xinghuo, it is precisely because the temperature affects precipitation. The hotter the state, the more precipitation occurs, and the colder the state, the less precipitation.

So since the mountains in the north block the cold wind, it means blocking the cold state from going south, which means that the temperature in the south is not as low as in the north. Hotter weather will inevitably bring more precipitation!

"I see!"

Zhu Gaoxu said excitedly: "It is precisely because there were mountains first that the temperatures and precipitation were different between the north and the south, forming an invisible dividing line of precipitation, which made the south of the mountain suitable for farming and the north of the mountain suitable for nomadic life. Qin Shihuang would based on this situation, add The steep climb is good for defense, so the Great Wall was built!”

"It's really not a coincidence." Li Jinglong also said.

"Of course, this is just a very intuitive example of [wind] in history and geography."

Jiang Xinghuo said with a smile: "Actually, the role of [wind] is not limited to the east-west mountains blocking the cold wind, which in turn leads to differences in temperature and precipitation between the north and south terrain."

"Is it more than that?" Li Jinglong was slightly surprised. He thought this was the only explanation.

"Of course it's more than that."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "Do you know how many directions of [wind] there are in a country as huge as the Ming Dynasty?"

Li Jinglong and Zhu Gaoxu looked at each other.

And Zhang Tianshi, who was in the secret room next door, was so excited that his thighs were swollen!

Sorry for posting late!