In the second month of the first year of Longwu, one month after Xiao Ruxun ascended the throne, he arranged for the astronomical observers of the Imperial Astronomer to study the local climate changes in the north and south of the Yangtze River. They compared the climate of previous years and wrote detailed reports.
After receiving the specific report, Xiao Ruxun realized that it was not too bad now. It was not the most terrible time of the Little Ice Age.
Jiangbei's grain output was still passable, Liaodong could still grow grain, and the canal was frozen for less than three months. Many places in Jiangnan had a bumper harvest and peach blossoms in March. This meant that the Little Ice Age had not really begun to show its power.
The Little Ice Age of the Ming and Qing Dynasties was just a preview. In another 20 or 30 years, the original Chongzhen period was just a prelude.
The coldest period was after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, during the reign of Shunzhi and Kangxi. The Little Ice Age slowly receded in the early 18th century. The entire second half of the 17th century, between 1650 and 1700, was the most terrible time of the Little Ice Age.
The officials of the Imperial Astronomer said that the temperature had dropped significantly in the past five years, but it had not affected the overall situation of agricultural production. Jiangnan and Jiangbei could continue to be maintained without major worries. The only thing that needed attention was the problem of controlling the Yellow River. The biggest worry in Jiangbei was the Yellow River.
However, Xiao Ruxun knew very well that the harm of the Yellow River was far less than the harm of the climate. At the most terrible time of the Little Ice Age, a large-scale crop failure in Jiangbei would become a reality. The previous cold wave during the Battle of Datong in Shanxi was nothing at all.
Therefore, after pacifying Liaodong, he decided to immediately use the opportunity of Yang Yinglong's rebellion to pacify the southwest and develop it. He would slowly migrate people from the north to the south and move the people of the Central Plains to the south. He would slowly reduce the excess population in Jiangbei and transfer them to Jiangnan, which produced more food.
On the one hand, this would reduce the burden in Jiangbei, and on the other hand, it would strengthen the actual control of the southwest by the central government. It was urgent to develop the southwest and increase food production.
At the same time, some people would be migrated to Myanmar and Luzon, firmly grasping Myanmar and Luzon in his hands, and vigorously developing them into food production bases.
When the Little Ice Age came, these areas close to the tropics would not be affected. These places would become important food bases for Daqin and blood transfusion for the Central Plains.
In another fifty years, when the Little Ice Age really began to show its power, he might not be alive anymore. No one knew whether the Daqin would be ruled by the second or third generation emperor.
However, the well-prepared Daqin would not be flustered, and the population of Daqin would not drop by half because of this. The prosperity of Daqin would not be a simple prosperity of sweet potatoes, which would be ridiculed by others.
There were still 50 years left. Although there would be many natural disasters during these 50 years, as long as there was food and money, these natural disasters could be passed. The truly terrifying natural disasters would come 50 years later.
Although the future was not good, the only consolation was that there were still fifty years left.
There was no doubt that Jiangbei would face more natural disasters than Jiangnan. Moving the population in advance was to prepare for the coming disaster.
In the future, there would be frequent disasters in Jiangbei. There would be droughts, colds, and even floods. This would be a severe test for the rule of Daqin.
Xiao Ruxun needed to train a group of smart and capable officials and explore a set of emergency mechanisms that could be used to respond to disasters as quickly as possible.
The major repair of emergency granaries in Jiangnan and Jiangbei was also preparation for this. The central officials were scattered everywhere for this reason. When natural disasters came, there would be no mercy. Without food, it would cause refugees to riot. The Daqin had just stabilized, and Xiao Ruxun would not allow it to be in chaos again.
He did not want to see the people rise up when they had no choice. He did not want to mobilize the army to suppress those who just wanted to eat.
Now, the planting area of potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and peanuts was increased. Wastelands were reclaimed in Luzon and Myanmar to plant food. The wealthy villages were called to raise as many livestock as possible. New planting techniques, new farming tools, and cattle were promoted in suitable areas in Jiangnan.
The collection of feces and the production of manure were also taken over by the central government. Private people were not allowed to touch it. People like the dung tyrants who used to appear in villages and towns were severely punished. All the feces were processed by the government and sent to the villages to be made into manure to increase food production.
In addition, Xiao Ruxun also realized the problem of controlling locusts from the problem of the management of the Yellow River. Then, he thought of something very special.
Since the Han Dynasty, scholars of the Confucian Sect had full control of the discourse. In the period before and after, led by Dong Zhongshu, the Confucian Sect combined the experience of their predecessors and summed up something called Heaven's Perception. It was said that when humans did something wrong, Heaven would sense it and send disaster punishment.
The Emperor called himself the Son of Heaven and represented Heaven to rule the world. Then, the one who could anger Heaven and cause it to send disaster was the Emperor.
So no matter what disaster happened in the world, it was the Emperor's fault. Floods, droughts, locust plagues, ice disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters were all caused by the Emperor's bad deeds.
Objectively, this could limit the Emperor's power and make things difficult for the Emperor. It was the only way to confront the Emperor head-on in that era and make the Emperor admit defeat.
The Emperor had no choice but to admit defeat when encountering this kind of thing, because he ruled on behalf of Heaven. He was the Son of Heaven. If a natural disaster occurred, who would take the blame if he didn't?
So when the Emperor encountered this kind of thing, he would personally offer sacrifices and pray for blessings. In the worst case, he would issue an edict to admit his mistakes.
However, this kind of saying was often used as a bargaining chip in political struggles. When a disaster occurred somewhere, the Emperor had to take responsibility, the Prime Minister had to take responsibility, and even the high-ranking officials had to take responsibility. In any case, all those in high positions were in the wrong, so they all had to take responsibility.
Disaster relief was not the first priority. Thinking about how to prevent disasters and help the common people was not the first priority. Taking down one's opponents in political struggles and reaping benefits for oneself was the first priority.
Xiao Ruxun scoffed at this kind of saying.
Natural disasters were attributed to those in high positions doing something wrong, and then the Heavens would send down punishment. It had to be said that Dong Zhongshu was a genius. He had actually grasped the only weakness of the Emperor's power and suppressed it, giving the Confucian Sect a sure-kill attack against the Emperor.
In truth, not everyone believed this kind of thing.
This was because even when a wise ruler reigned, there would still be natural disasters, and when a tyrannical and muddle-headed ruler reigned, there would also be times when the weather was favorable. But for the sake of a sure-kill technique that could limit the Emperor's power and reap benefits for oneself, everyone pretended to be confused.
Of course, there were also a few people who were duped by their own deception. These people were the most frightening, because they firmly believed in everything.
In the past, when the Confucian Sect was powerful, even an Emperor like Emperor Taizong of Tang had to retreat in the face of this kind of thing and compromise. This was even more so for the Emperors of the Daming Dynasty, who had been beaten to the point where they couldn't even go to court.
Breaking down superstitions was not something that could be done in a day or two, but now that the Confucian Sect was unprecedentedly weak and the Emperor was unprecedentedly powerful, it would be a great pity if they didn't do something about this matter.
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