78 Chapter 78
Little Ice Age
"The Little Ice Age is a climate term. I work in agriculture, and agriculture and climate are closely related, so I have some understanding of the Little Ice Age."
"Master Huang is also from the future. You should know that our era is roughly the late Ming Dynasty, the time when the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were recovered. Crops like potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes had already been introduced but had not yet been cultivated on a large scale. This can all be verified."
"The rulers have changed, but our territory, geographical location, and civilization haven't changed at all. According to historical records, there have been four Little Ice Ages: the end of the Shang Dynasty, the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the end of the Tang Dynasty, and the end of the Ming Dynasty. These periods coincided with periods of the greatest social unrest, and the impact of the Little Ice Age cannot be ignored. Why?"
"The Little Ice Age is characterized by a sharp drop in temperature and alternating droughts and floods. As far as I know, the Central Plains has been experiencing severe droughts for several years, and the eastern and southern regions have suffered from numerous floods and freezes. If you have any concerns, Mr. Huang, please gather relevant information."
Cheng Mu was deeply concerned. "Food is the people's primary need, and a stable agriculture means a stable government. Drought, floods, wind, and frost deprive farmers of their crops. Farmers flee, leaving land uncultivated, which gradually turns to desertification. Advancing desertification causes the Yellow River to continuously shift its course, impacting the Central Plains and the Jiangnan region. The extremes of climate will eventually turn natural disasters into man-made calamities—" She lowered her voice, "and so the previous dynasty collapsed."
Huang Nian'an's expression was solemn. In his knowledge, the fall of dynasties was only related to politics, the military, and public sentiment. He had indeed not considered the issue from a climate perspective. After all, the country was vast, the climate varied from place to place, and natural disasters had always been a part of every dynasty.
Cheng Mu continued, "Even though the new dynasty has been established, the extreme climate trend continues. If we don't pay attention, we could easily repeat the same mistakes."
It's very simple. The establishment of the Xu Dynasty was simply related to the fact that the Yanbei region had not suffered a major disaster in recent years. Now he governs the entire country. Famine is rampant in the Central Plains, Jiangnan, Huguang and other places, and unrest is frequent. The food in the Yanbei region is simply not enough to feed the entire country.
The Jurchens outside the Great Wall were watching covetously, and the country was trapped both internally and externally.
Huang Nian'an pondered for a long time, then bowed deeply to Cheng Mu and said, "Mrs. Cheng has farsightedness and insight, which I cannot match. I would like to seek your advice."
"After all, what I said to Master Huang is just a guess. I hope Master Huang can start to verify it. If there is a problem, there will be a solution. There is no rush."
"Mrs. Cheng is absolutely right," Huang Nian'an said, "where the problem lies, there lies the solution."
Ten days later, Huang Nian'an brought the information he obtained from Prince Jing's Mansion and the capital.
In the 40th year of Xingfu, Shandong suffered a severe drought and Guangdong experienced heavy snow. In the 43rd year of Xingfu, northern Shaanxi suffered a severe drought that spread throughout the country. In the first year of Wanqi, Henan suffered a severe drought. In the third year of Wanqi, Hebei and Shandong suffered a severe drought, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang suffered wind disasters and floods. In the first year of Gansheng, Shanxi, Hubei, and Jiangxi suffered heavy snow.
Huang Nian'an said, "Since the eighth year of the Xianjia reign, drought has persisted in old drought-stricken areas, persisting for several years. New drought areas appear almost every year, stretching from northwest to east and south. Snowstorms frequently occur from north to south. In the Central Plains alone, droughts of varying sizes have occurred over 100 times, along with over 80 freezing disasters, resulting in over 70 widespread famines."
Cheng Xi carefully checked the data that Huang Nian'an had compiled himself. She took a pen and paper and made a clear table.
Because the palace is located in Shanxi and has its own observatory, the data is more detailed. Moreover, they have stayed here for five or six years and have deep feelings about it, so Cheng Mi chose the data of Shanxi in the past ten years for horizontal and vertical comparison.
The disaster situation is basically the same as that in Henan. It is dry when it is dry and frozen when it is frozen. The difference lies in the degree of disaster. The disaster in Henan has caused more large-scale famine, especially in the past two years. Shanxi's grain harvest has increased instead of decreased, while Henan has fallen to the bottom.
Cheng said: "Crops also need to cope with extreme climates and be able to withstand both cold and drought."
Huang Nian'an was deeply moved, "The harvest in the northern part of Yan is entirely due to the good seeds of Mrs. Cheng. Such good seeds should be exchanged for other places."
The good seeds he had exchanged for in various places in Puyang City had already spread to many prefectures through free trade among farmers, but this was not enough.
Huang Nian'an had already found a solution when he was verifying these natural disasters and the harvest of the earth. He requested, "Mrs. Cheng is willing to save the world. Could you please present it to His Royal Highness Prince Jing in person?"
Huang Nian'an did not want to take away her credit; he hoped that Cheng Min could carry her ambitions towards the kingship.
"Sir Huang, I am willing to do my best to keep the people away from famine, but I do not intend to aid the Xu Dynasty."
Huang Nian'an was puzzled, "What's the difference?" The world belongs to the Xu family, and the people are naturally the people of the Xu Dynasty.
"To me, there is a difference." Huang Nian'an was not a fool, realizing that his words were a bit absolute. Cheng Mu added, "Whether it's the Xuan Dynasty, the Yan Dynasty, or the Ming Dynasty in another time and space, the people are just the people."
Huang Nian'an understood what she meant, so he asked, "Mrs. Cheng, are you willing to exchange all the good seeds you have?"
"I do."
He then asked, "Would Mrs. Cheng be willing to continue researching and developing high-yield and multi-resistant grain varieties?"
"I do."
Then he asked, "Mrs. Cheng is willing to save the people from disaster, but is unwilling to earn a little merit for herself?"
"No."
Huang Nian'an remained silent and said helplessly, "Do you still remember how the former horse farm owner and the former palace steward arrested you out of jealousy and covetousness? Good seed can bring disaster, and you need weapons to protect good seed."
His concerns were justified. Common sense would dictate that if Cheng Mu only possessed wealth and power but no status, she wouldn't be able to protect anything. Cheng Mu sighed, "So I'd like to ask Master Huang to step in. Everything will be your credit."
Huang Nian'an was speechless for a long time, and finally, he bowed deeply.
To cope with the extreme weather conditions of the Little Ice Age, crops must be exceptionally cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and infertile. Cheng Mu currently has a stockpile of wheat, rice, and millet, along with corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, sufficient to cope with famine. She is currently experimenting with varieties with strong resistance to flooding and lodging, which could be used in coastal areas and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
She had agreed with Huang Nian'an that he would find a way to deliver high-yield and multi-resistant grain seeds to where they were needed, and she would prepare the seeds according to his list.
Spring sowing in the north is a little later, so if you want to send it east and south, you need to prepare it immediately.
***
Heishan, who opened the Tea House, has now moved to another place to open a hotel, and Mu Yun went there after many attempts.
The hotel has rammed earth walls covered with cattails, and is located next to a stream and a lake, covered in snow.
In winter, customers were few and far between, and not a single person was seen for over a month. A man in the inn walked out the door with his hands folded behind his back, looking around. Seeing Mu Yun running towards him, he quickly draped a cloth towel over his shoulders, hunched over, and attentively lifted the reed curtain for him, leading him inside to sit down.
Mu Yun lifted his felt hat and placed one hand on the machete at his waist. He was the only one in the shop. After asking, he found out that he was Heishan. He was tall and strong, and he must have something extraordinary to dare to open a shop in the wilderness.
He came with a bucket and asked how much wine he wanted. Mu Yun didn't come here to drink, so he simply ordered a little. Soon, Heishan brought a plate of cooked beef, a plate of pickled soybeans, a plate of crispy peanuts and two glasses of wine, and spread them on the table.
Mu Yun poured two bowls of wine and invited him to join them. The owner of the shop often chatted with customers, and since it was cold, he would occasionally have a drink to warm himself up, so Mu Yun didn't refuse and sat down to chat casually with him.
Half a mile away, the two escorts who came with Mu Yun kept looking around. Master Mu Yun had been gone for half an hour and still hadn't returned.
One person, having listened to many storytellings, guessed, "Could that be a shady shop? A lone customer goes there, they're drugged and knocked unconscious, their money is taken, and then they kill them right away. They slice the lean meat into cured meat and fry the fat into oil for lamps..."
Another person urged: "What are you still waiting for? Go and save Master Yun!"
The two men mounted their horses and rushed towards the hotel.
Not knowing what was going on inside, he didn't dare to go in rashly, so he just shouted for help from outside.
After a while, their Young Master Yun was helped out by the innkeeper. "Your young master is unharmed. Take him back and don't let him ruin the reputation of our hotel!"
"How could you be so drunk, sir?"
The two escorts helped Mu Yun onto the horse. While they were apologizing to Hei Shan, Mu Yun whipped his whip and rushed out.
He returned to the escort agency without stopping.
When Nanny Zhu saw him, before she could tell Madam Cheng that she was taking a break, he rushed into the room, picked up the pot of acacia plums by the window and left.
Nanny Zhu glanced at his gloomy face and thought to herself that something was wrong. She didn't know whether she should wake up Cheng Mei, so she just asked the little maid in the yard to go and take a look.
Mu Yun ran straight to Wu Tao's yard and kicked the door open.
Wu Tao was sitting quietly in the inner room. The nanny outside failed to hold Mu Yun back and pushed the door of the inner room open for him.
Wu Tao stood up and shouted, "Mu Yun! What are you doing?"
Mu Yun glanced at his father's tablet and dropped the acacia plum in his hand. The clay basin shattered and the debris scattered all over the ground.
Wu Tao was furious, "Who are you, you rebellious guy! You have no manners in front of your father!" He picked up the stick standing in the corner and hit him on the face.
Mu Yun took a few hits, dodged a few times, and occasionally attacked back.
The little maid who followed her hurried to report to Nanny Zhu.
Soon Cheng Xi arrived.
The room was in chaos, filled with the scent of flowers and alcohol. Wu Tao was furious and showed no mercy. Mu Yun even fought back. Cheng Mu shouted, "Mu Yun! Stop it!"
Mu Yun was startled and turned around. Cheng Mu stepped forward and pulled him behind her. Wu Tao withdrew his hand in time, and the stick hit the floor with a thud.
"Boss, calm down and spare Mu Yun! He's drunk and crazy, don't bother with him!"
Wu Tao gasped, "If I didn't give your father a break, I would have killed you!"
Cheng Mu tried to calm Wu Tao down and said kindly, "It's all Mu Yun's fault. Calm down and don't let it get you in trouble."
Cheng Mu helped Wu Tao sit down, turned around to stop the nanny who was cleaning, and ordered Mu Yun to help her clean up the inner room.
Mu Yun looked dejected. "Sister-in-law, this is none of your business. Go back to the yard."
"How can it not be my fault? I pushed you back here, and you brought me here. Now that you've made such a fuss, how can I stay out of it?"
After sweeping away the scattered residue of the acacia plum, Cheng Mu threw a cushion on the ground and said, "Kneel down!"
Mu Yun obeyed obediently. Wu Tao turned around and looked at him, then drank a cup of tea.
Cheng Mu took a deep breath and said, "Because of your parents, you and the boss are now family. We also found out a while ago that your mother's death had nothing to do with the boss. Tell your father today what you have learned and whether you can prove that the boss killed your father. If the evidence is conclusive, you will face off with the boss and we will end all ties."
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