Chapter 504
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Chapter 504: The Little Ice Age
Looking at the bed covered in flying snow, even after brushing all the snowflakes off, a damp chill still permeated the bedding.
Clearly, sleeping in this bed was out of the question, or he would surely fall ill.
After a quick tidy-up of the bedroom, everyone gathered around the fire again.
Staring blankly into the flickering flames, Luo Ji, wrapped in his covers, lost himself in thought.
This winter was too long.
Or rather, it had arrived too early, making it feel especially prolonged.
Yet, even so, it couldn’t change the fact that this winter’s climate was abnormal.
It was simply too cold, and the exaggerated low temperatures were far colder than previous winters.
“Little Ice Age?”
This term flashed through Luo Ji’s mind.
Since he was living in a cold weapon era, Luo Ji had naturally made a serious study of various disasters that occurred in ancient times.
Among them, the Little Ice Age was undoubtedly a period fraught with numerous calamities.
Of course, this Little Ice Age, as indicated by the word ‘Little,’ was naturally different from the extremely long-lasting, almost devastating Ice Ages of the past.
Its disaster level had dropped by several grades.
But it was still enough to cause great suffering for humanity.
The characteristic of the Little Ice Age was not merely consistent cold.
It was a period when winters were extremely cold and summers were extremely hot.
To put it more bluntly, there were snow disasters in winter and droughts in summer.
Throughout human history, the Little Ice Age had actually occurred multiple times.
In ancient times, whenever such natural and man-made disasters struck, if a few ambitious individuals emerged to lead, rebellions would often occur.
Essentially, a portion of ambitious opportunists would blame the emperor for the natural and man-made disasters, claiming the emperor’s incompetence had angered heaven, thus leading to these calamities.
The common people in ancient times believed in this narrative.
Coupled with the disasters making their lives unbearable, their dissatisfaction grew.
If exploited by a few scheming individuals, wouldn’t they become pawns for those ambitious figures?
But any modern person would surely know that natural disasters have absolutely nothing to do with whether an emperor is incompetent or not.
This is a natural climate change.
Otherwise, Luo Ji could be considered a wise ruler, yet the blizzards still raged when they were supposed to, didn’t they?
And the Little Ice Age’s most significant impact on their Celestial Dynasty was probably the Li Zicheng rebellion at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
At that time, it coincided with a Little Ice Age, bringing severe drought.
Farmers had no harvest and nothing to eat.
Li Zicheng rose up, initiating a peasant rebellion.
And it was during this rebellion that the Ming Dynasty met its demise.
It’s ironic, however, that Li Zicheng never actually became a legitimate emperor.
He captured Wu Sangui’s entire family, intending to force Wu Sangui to surrender.
This action, however, led to Wu Sangui, who was then guarding Shanhaiguan, opening the pass and allowing the Manchu tribes to enter.
Wu Sangui originally intended to ally with the Manchu tribes to defeat Li Zicheng.
But those Manchu tribes were cunning.
Once inside the pass, they became emboldened and demanded Wu Sangui’s surrender to their Qing Dynasty.
Caught between the pressures from Li Zicheng and the Manchu tribes, Wu Sangui eventually surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.
Facing the allied forces, Li Zicheng’s army collapsed like a mountain.
After fleeing, in a fit of rage, he killed Wu Sangui’s entire family.
Afterward, Li Zicheng died, and the dynasty officially changed.
This illustrates the immense impact a natural disaster could have in ancient times.
It’s no exaggeration to say that if one was careless, the emperor’s throne could become unstable, leading directly to a change of dynasty.
If his Myriad World Civilization were truly entering a Little Ice Age now, Luo Ji would truly have to be cautious.
In this season, heavy snow blocked roads, making it difficult for anyone to stir up trouble. But what about later?
As mentioned earlier, a characteristic of the Little Ice Age is extremely cold winters and extremely hot summers.
If drought broke out in summer, and someone within Myriad World Civilization took advantage of the turbulent times to cause trouble, that would undoubtedly be a headache.
Preparations must be made early.
Just as Luo Ji was pondering this, Jie Zichuan’s voice suddenly pulled his wandering thoughts back.
“Your Majesty, the ginger soup is ready.”
Snapping back to reality, Luo Ji subconsciously took the bowl of ginger soup offered to him.
At the same time, he secretly chuckled at how far his thoughts had strayed.
However, this was unavoidable.
Faced with such a blizzard, there was nothing else he could do.
He had already told his people everything that needed to be prepared and all the precautions to take.
Finally, he had even ordered almost the entire Myriad World Civilization to cease operations, with everyone staying in their homes, to avoid any accidents in this unprecedentedly large blizzard.
It’s no exaggeration to say that he had done all he could as a human.
Next, Luo Ji, who disliked praying to gods and Buddhas, could only wait.
Waiting for this blizzard, which raged back and forth across his Myriad World Civilization, to depart.
Other than that, he could do nothing.
Thinking about the arrangements after surviving this blizzard was actually a more productive thing to do.
Of course, more importantly, when his attention was diverted, he wouldn’t feel as cold.
It was, in a way, a method to resist the severe cold.
After drinking two bowls of ginger soup, Luo Ji felt much warmer.
After eating a roasted sweet potato, feeling full and satisfied, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sleepy.
He simply wrapped himself in his covers and took a nap by the brazier.
Luo Ji didn’t know how long he slept until a thunderous crash jolted him awake.
“What’s going on?!”
Seeing Luo Ji instantly awake, Jie Zichuan calmly handed him a bowl of ginger soup. At the same time, he replied.
“Your Majesty, it seems a building has collapsed.”
Luo Ji’s heart sank upon hearing this.
If it was just a workshop factory building, that would be fine.
Anyway, except for the Medical Department, the entire Myriad World Civilization was shut down.
No one would be hurt if it collapsed.
At worst, they could send people to repair it after the blizzard passed.
But what Luo Ji feared most now was that a residential building had collapsed!
If it were a building in the Medical Department, it would be even worse.
As if sensing the worry in Luo Ji’s brows, Jie Zichuan stepped forward, volunteering himself.
“Your Majesty, let your humble servant go take a look.”
Hearing this, Wang Kai, another guard nearby, also quickly stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, I’ll go too. It’s too dangerous for Jie Zichuan to go alone. Two people can at least look out for each other.”
Listening to the howling wind and snow outside, Luo Ji’s worry deepened.
This weather was simply too dangerous.
One wrong move, and people could be lost.
However, an architectural collapse had occurred in Mirror City.
If it couldn’t be confirmed in time, he truly couldn’t rest easy.
Thinking of this, Luo Ji finally nodded.
“Very well, both of you be careful on your way. Remember to look out for each other and prioritize safety!”
“Rest assured, Your Majesty, we’ll be back!”
