flstandardbreds Chapter 178 Top-Tier Natural Disasters and Man-Made Calamities
Chapter 178 Top-Tier Natural Disasters and Man-Made Calamities
"We will focus on the Yellow River's course change here. Compared to other natural disasters, people more than two thousand years ago seemed helpless in the face of the devastating flood, especially under Wang Mang's absurd policies."
"The Yellow River has always been known for its tendency to silt up, breach its banks, and change course. According to historical records, the Yellow River has breached its banks and flooded more than 1,500 times, and has changed its course more than 20 times."
"The so-called change of course means that our mother Yellow River abandoned the original route and turned to find a new one. The extent of the disaster caused by this change of course is also among the largest in history. It is said that the mother Yellow River has carved out a 500-kilometer-long channel for itself this time."
"How many counties and villages will this have ruined, and how many people will have become disaster victims!? And this was at the end of the Han Dynasty, plus the troublesome Wang Mang."
"However, after this change of course of the Yellow River, the Yellow River remained stable for about eight hundred years. The next time it happened was in the first year of Jingyou during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty."
Emperor Zhao Zhen, the greatest benevolent ruler of all time: !!!
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: !? What was the extent of the disaster back then...?
A romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: At the end of the Han Dynasty, the whole country was on the verge of collapse, just waiting for Liu Xiu to emerge!
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"However, the Han Dynasty is indeed very wealthy. It not only withstood Wang Mang's turmoil, but also the frequent natural disasters. I wonder what those people who used to offer auspicious omens every day are thinking now!"
"In general, just looking at the population alone, from nearly 60 million during the reign of Emperor Ping of Han to the second year of Jianwu during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, nearly 30 million people disappeared. So many people died in just a few decades. How long will it take to recover?!"
As Lin Ke said this, she sighed inwardly. Even today, a natural disaster of this magnitude might not be easy to resolve.
So she sighed and said, "Even now, the Yellow River floods are not necessarily easy to solve, let alone at the end of the Han Dynasty more than two thousand years ago."
"Comrade Wang Mang set a good example for all the emperors who came after him: don't make reforms or cause trouble for no reason! Otherwise, you'll end up like him, going from a moral exemplar praised by everyone to a despicable old man hated by everyone!"
A spoiled young master from the Song Dynasty: Damn! Wang Mang really wasn't killing people!?
"Oh, by the way, I won't comment on the Northern Song Dynasty's approach to managing the Yellow River for now; I'll talk about it next time I draw the Song Dynasty."
Lin Ke's face was expressionless, and the people in Wanchaozhong understood that it was probably not a good operation.
People from the Song Dynasty: ? ? ?
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"Speaking of which, the areas destroyed by the Yellow River floods this time not only suffered damage to houses and farmland, but also the people became disaster victims. And the biggest fear is the plague that follows the flood."
"At that time, the whole country simply could not supply so many disaster victims, so these victims went to places that had not been affected by the disaster."
"When hunger reaches its extreme, people will even cannibalize each other, let alone those in unaffected areas. Order has become a mere formality, resulting in a decrease in unaffected areas and a continuous increase in the number of disaster victims."
"It seems that the basic conditions for chaos have been met here, so in order to survive, more and more disaster victims choose to become bandits, robbing government officials or simply engaging in robbery and plunder. There are even organized gangs."
"Various uprisings broke out in various places, some of which grew from a few thousand to tens of thousands of people. Powerful families, who already had some strength, also took advantage of the chaos to raise armies."
"Among them was a local powerful clan from the Liu family of Nanyang, led by Liu Yan and Liu Bosheng, the Chunling soldiers were the fourth force of the Green Forest Army, and among them was a young man surnamed Liu who was about to continue the broken Han dynasty."
A young master from a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: Yo-ho! My brother Xiu is here!
An old farmer from the Ming Dynasty: This weather is making it impossible for ordinary people to live!
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: If Wang Mang hadn't caused so much trouble, wouldn't the suffering people have been better off?
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People from different times and places pieced together from Lin Ke's brief descriptions the scene of floods, plagues, and uprisings at the end of the Han Dynasty, and they were all filled with grief!
Thirty million people died. What does that even mean?!
It was a natural disaster, a man-made calamity, and even more so because of the chaotic actions of that Wang Mang! The people at that time suffered terribly!
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Back to the live broadcast room.
Lin Ke, with a mysterious expression, slowly began to speak: "Before introducing this chosen one of the world, let me tell you a story. Many years ago, before Liu Bang became emperor, he was just a village head. Once, he got drunk and suddenly a large white snake blocked his way."
"As the saying goes, alcohol emboldens the coward, so when Lao Liu pointed his sword at the snake, the white snake unexpectedly straightened up and spoke in human language: 'If you kill me, I will definitely take revenge on your descendants.'"
"But Old Liu wouldn't listen. He cut the white snake in two. More than a hundred years later, the Wang family had a big fat boy. It is said that this child was the reincarnation of that snake, who came to take revenge on the Liu family. When he grew up, he even cut a 400-year-old man in two."
"Wang Mang, reversed, is King Mang. Although it carries some mythical connotations, it does feel quite coincidental. How did he end up turning the Han Dynasty into the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties?!"
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: !?
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: Maybe if I cut him into a few more pieces, he can continue living, hahaha!
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"However, there is another prophecy. After Wang Mang's absurd rule, a book called the Red Talisman circulated widely."
"There is a line in it that says Liu Xiu sent troops to capture the wicked... Fire is the main element, and what was later widely circulated among the people was that Liu Xiu would become the emperor."
"This book was originally a prophetic book. Prophecies are predictions and omens! It was especially popular during the Qin and Han dynasties. The earliest record is in the Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Qin Shi Huang, where Lu Sheng presented the words in the book: 'The one who will destroy Qin is Hu!'"
"But Zheng Ge didn't even think about his own son at the time, and started punching the Xiongnu instead."
"When you come to your senses afterward and think about this sentence, don't you feel like, 'Oh my god, this is talking about him!' The earliest prophetic books are things like the Hetu and Luoshu."
First Emperor: ...Very good! The three of them, go and pickle some salted fish for me!
Daqin
In another timeline, Zhao Gao and Hu Hai, who were toiling away in the sweltering heat, were informed that they would be staying at a "salted fish house" (a place for people to relax) for a few months.
At this point, neither Hu Hai nor Zhao Gao had the energy to curse anymore. Heaven knows how they got through those days!
Not only are they constantly surrounded by stinking salted fish, but they also have to perform forced labor every day! How much money do ordinary people have left for rest?
Meng Yi must have lost his mind, because he insisted on letting these commoners drink water and rest while they were working, even though they had already finished their work for the day.
But why?! He, Hu Hai, was also his father's son! How come he's now even worse off than a commoner!
Meanwhile, Li Si had already gotten used to moving into the room with the smell of salted fish and was quickly handling government affairs.
Thankfully, Li Si is still useful! Otherwise, how could his old arms and legs possibly endure carrying bricks every day!
As long as he can't kill him, Li Si will fight him to the death!
No one can surpass him to become His Majesty's number one minister!
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"Similar prophecies include [After three generations of Tang emperors, a female ruler named Wu will take over the world]. However, it is said that Erfeng did not think she would become an empress at the time, and thought it was Li Junxian. She killed Li Junxian. So there is a kind of prophecy that you can't see at the time, but you will definitely realize it afterward."
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: ...
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: We all know about this!
Empress Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: If you can't speak, you don't have to!
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