Chapter 153 Artificial Greenhouse

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang realized that the guano island was of such great importance, and his eyes suddenly lit up with astonishment.

It is now known that the Guano Island is within the Ming Dynasty’s territorial waters, so he is not worried about not being able to find this place. There are indeed many archipelagos in the South China Sea, but he believes that there will always be brave men under great rewards. In addition, there were many navigators in the Central Plains during the Song and Yuan dynasties. If he is willing to spend some effort to find the navigators of that time, he can find the drawings of the navigation log. For Lao Zhu, finding the Guano Island is only a matter of time.

It is a lucrative business. Old Zhu knows best what kind of effect manure can have on plants as fertilizer. Now Yang Chen said in person that as long as these fertilizers are transported to Daming, technology can be used to further improve their fertility, making manure as effective as fertilizers produced by traditional coking methods.

In Zhu Yuanzhang’s view, this was simply a godsend!
“Minister Yang, do you think that if Ming Dynasty dispatches half of its navy, can we transport all the seabird droppings islands back to Ming Dynasty?”

Yang Siyi coordinated many people and things across the country. He knew exactly how many people and ships there were in the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, and the Governor’s Office. The construction of the shipyard also received funding from the Ministry of Revenue, so of course he had investigated.

“Your Majesty, this is a question of whether it can be transported back.” Yang Siyi thought about it for a moment, made a rough calculation in his mind before daring to answer.

“According to Censor Yang, the Guano Island has been accumulated over at least thousands or even tens of thousands of years, which is enough for the Ming Dynasty to use for at least a hundred years.

This is not a matter of decades but hundreds of years, which means that we can use it until our descendants. It is completely possible to move the guano from several islands at once, but it is beyond my ability to move all of it back!”

Old Zhu was not angry, but was stunned. It seemed that, just as Yang Siyi said, he was a little too aggressive and set a hundred years as the minimum time limit.

How could it be possible for the Ming Dynasty to transport them all back at once?

As the second most important person in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Biao seemed to be thinking seriously about how to maximize the benefits of this matter. Sitting in the position of regent, he was very clear how important increasing grain production was to the common people.

“Father, these guano islands must be recovered as quickly as possible and distributed on the Central Plains. I propose that we draw out a portion of the Ming navy, together with the people living around the sea, and let them voluntarily follow the Ming navy to search for guano islands in the South China Sea. We should collect all the guano as quickly as possible, and then distribute them among the people.

If there are really many guano islands, I think that special circumstances can be handled specially, and merchants with ships can go together to participate in the excavation. In any case, it is necessary to let the Ming Dynasty master these fertilizers. Increasing grain production is a vital matter. This matter is extremely important and cannot be neglected. “

The idea of ​​a tripartite collaboration between the military, civilians and businessmen was probably something that only Zhu Biao, an ancient man who had been exposed to modern ideas with Yang Chen, could have come up with.

Not to mention Lao Zhu, even Yang Chen praised his decision.

On the stage, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, affirming the proposal.

Ever since the Yuan Dynasty suffered losses in Japan, the Northern Yuan emperors were reluctant to send their warriors to fight in Shanghai. The South China Sea nominally belonged to the Central Plains dynasty, but in reality there was no one to supervise it. In addition, the imperial court had never formally organized ships to explore the South China Sea, resulting in the official’s understanding of this place probably being less than those of private explorers.

Naturally, the imperial court was not familiar with the location of the Guano Island. If they wanted to transport it back to its original location, they would have to spend a lot of time and money to find the location, determine the location, station people there, and then allow most of them to set off.

Under the current circumstances, the Ming Navy does not have too many ships. If all of them were to be withdrawn, the people who go out fishing would have no safety guarantee, after all, there are many bandits and pirates.

Hundreds of ships are going out, plus the cost of the crew members, this is a considerable expense before the fertilizer is sold.

“What Biao’er said makes sense. What do you think, Minister Yang?” Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Yang Siyi and asked.

“I think we can still give it a try. The most urgent task is to find these guano islands, and then figure out how to transport them back. After all, it is best for such treasures to be controlled by the court.” Yang Siyi twirled his beard and frowned before continuing:
“As for how to find it, it is absolutely impossible to search aimlessly. This will not only waste manpower and financial resources, but also encounter some disasters and dangers. If you are not careful, the ship will be destroyed and people will die. In the vast sea, if the ship capsizes, it is tantamount to knowing in advance that you will die, which is several times more painful than death.”

Zhu Yuanzhang seldom went out to sea. The last time he went out to sea was when he went south to visit the navy in Quanzhou and other areas. His understanding of the sea was almost the same as that of the Yuan Dynasty emperor.

“Indeed, we cannot waste manpower and money, nor can we let the navy lose face, so what solution should we have?

Biaoer, what do you think?

Zhu Biao frowned, and finally looked directly at Yang Chen.

“Brother Yang, you have a lot of knowledge, why don’t you tell us about it?”

Yang Chen rolled his eyes in his eye sockets, and then replied:

“I can draw some map details based on my previous knowledge. You can also look for folk experts. They must know how to find seabird habitats in the sea. If that doesn’t work, you can arrest some seabirds for training. As far as I know, although seabird islands are small, their distribution is very regular. As long as you find a feces island, you can find all the others. You can just search according to the seabirds’ living habits.

Plus, as the prince just said, let the common people and merchants go to sea, there is strength in numbers, and it is only a matter of time before we find it.”

Now that the problem of bird droppings has been solved, the next step is how to sell it.

As the person in charge of most of the Ming Dynasty’s treasury, Yang Siyi was the first to step forward.

“Your Majesty, if we transport this bird droppings back to Ming, how should we sell it? I have never been exposed to fertilizers before, so I really can’t make up my mind!”

Natural materials are domestic resources, just like mineral salt. They must be banned openly. Yang Chen can understand that the current productivity is insufficient and people cannot mine them privately.

This issue has been on Zhu’s mind from the beginning. He was determined to get the guano fertilizer, but how to sell it after returning was a troublesome problem.

After all, he had never seen anyone carrying processed feces to the streets to sell!

“Let me offer a suggestion. These guano are almost free. There is no cost. The only cost is the ships and people who go out. Moreover, a little guano fertilizer is very heavy. If it is sold at a high price, the people will definitely not be able to afford it. Therefore, the initial selling price must be low, and the people can even be asked to take out loans to use it. Wait until the beginning of next spring to determine whether the fertilizer can really improve soil fertility and increase grain production. Then let the people use the harvested grain to pay off their debts. Then, based on a public survey, we can determine the selling price on the premise of understanding whether the people need the fertilizer.

If we allow the free sale of fertilizers from the very beginning without any time for preparation, then no matter how much fertilizer we release openly, it will definitely not fall into the hands of the people, and those landlords who are waiting for an opportunity will use various means to buy it all.

Once they control 30% of the fertilizers on the market, the price of fertilizers will no longer be controlled by the court.”

Everyone followed what Yang Chen said and simulated their suspicions. In the end, they found that based on human nature, compradors would indeed monopolize fertilizers and drive up prices.

No matter what, fertilizers must become a property monopolized by the imperial court, just like salt, iron and other materials.

“If this source of wealth falls into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, we dare not imagine how much grain the imperial treasury will have in the future.”

An image of mountains of gold and silver rushing toward the Ming Dynasty appeared on Old Zhu’s face, and the smile naturally came from his heart to his expression.

“Biao’er, let’s go back and ask Li Wenzhong and the others to come over. It’s time to prepare to send people to the South Seas to explore and find Luzon and the islands in the southeast region, locate the Guano Island, and let the Ming Dynasty grasp these movements. Oh, and there are also Japan’s gold and silver islands. Oh, we find that these things are getting more and more. No! We can’t drag it on like this, we have to do everything as soon as possible!”

Old Zhu didn’t know that his words and inner decision-making process had made the Ming Dynasty, which had just been quiet, busy in an instant, and no one was left behind. “No! What about the worst plan? To deal with the harm caused by the severe cold, Yang Yushi just talked about the best plan to colonize America, the middle plan to promote agricultural books, and colonize Luzon and India. What about the worst plan?”

Zhu Gang was different from the others. He seemed to have discovered the blind spot, so he only mentioned two methods. No one knew what the last one was.

After being reminded by his brother, Zhu Biao found that it seemed to be true. Everyone was immersed in the joy of colonization, but they forgot that Yang Chen had mentioned the three strategies of best, middle and worst at the beginning.

There is only one last plan left.

But now it seems that there is no need to say anything. The emergence of America, Luzon and India will already keep the Ming Dynasty busy for a while. If another place appears, it would be like being greedy and swallowing an elephant.

Zhu Biao was well aware that his father’s ambitions were extraordinary.

“Father, please take a look at this last plan.”

“Speak, things have come to this point, but it doesn’t hurt to speak. More methods and more options will increase the hope that Daming can survive.”

Zhu Yuanzhang made the decision after slamming the table, and everyone’s eyes were focused on Yang Chen.

As the focus, Yang Chen quickly put down his tea set for drinking water and quenching his thirst, and then said:

“The worst option is actually just six words!”

“Artificial greenhouse effect!”

“Why is it another word I don’t understand?” Zhu Gang’s original expectation turned into a headache. He was smart and had heard from his brother that Yang Chen was very capable, but he still couldn’t stand Yang Chen always saying words he didn’t understand.

But he didn’t dare to ask and could only complain in his heart.

“Boy, can’t you speak human language?”

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been thinking about what good things Yang Chen could say, suddenly had his eyelids drooped, and seemed to warn him in a very unfriendly manner.

“Ahem. Brother Yang, please say some words that we can understand.” Zhu Biao was also a little embarrassed. After all, he should have reminded him in advance, but he didn’t.

“A Biao, you can’t blame me. This is what the word means. But don’t worry, let me explain it slowly and you will understand it.”

“You all know that the Little Ice Age will cause unrest in the country and the fall of the dynasty. In this case, the fundamental problem of the Little Ice Age is the low temperature, which leads to the strange cold and the inability of crops to grow normally, right?

For the two strategies mentioned above, I advocate seeking help from the outside world to avoid difficulties and try to store enough food in the next few decades, so that the people of Ming Dynasty will not have no food to eat when the cold weather comes or is experienced. The greenhouse effect I mentioned is to overcome difficulties!
It literally means to overcome.”

“Brother Yang, the worst plan you are talking about is not to overcome the severe cold brought by the Little Ice Age, right?” Zhu Biao was very smart. He was the first to understand Yang Chen’s meaning and said it directly.

Everyone thought he was joking, but unexpectedly, Yang Chen nodded, which was considered an admission.

Everyone immediately opened their mouths in astonishment:
“How can this be!”

“How is it impossible? Man can conquer nature! This is what our ancestors said.”

Yang Chen directly brought out the anecdote, but Yang Siyi waved his hand and said in a very disappointed tone:

“I say, Censor Yang, stop joking. Man can conquer nature. This is a phrase people say to inspire others. If the Little Ice Age is really as you said, it must be the gods showing their power. How can we defeat the gods by relying on our hands, feet and flesh and blood?”

“Let me tell you, kid. Normally, we would just have fun with you, but today is different. This severe cold weather is different. You should stop joking around. This is the worst possible plan.”

Even Lao Zhu felt that Yang Chen was joking with him.

Faced with the two people’s confusion, he just shook his head and sighed.

“Hey! Your Majesty, the Little Glacier is very cold. As long as we can find a way to raise the temperature to fight poison with poison, wouldn’t it be a perfect solution with one cold and one hot?
I have said before that the greenhouse effect is man-made. The key point is the word “temperature”.

This is the only way that can be sustained and prevent the temperature from rising over the long term.”

With just these words, everyone’s curiosity was aroused, and they waited for him to continue.

Zhu Biao took two steps forward and stretched out his hand, asking Yang Chen to continue talking.

Yang Chen paused, then continued:

“The Little Ice Age was a once-in-a-lifetime climate upheaval in the world we live in.

This is what you call the God. He does not exist. We can use human power to develop and emit enough heat to resist the damage caused by these cold currents.

Just like when winter comes, we can make fire and burn charcoal. With fire, why should we be afraid of the cold? “

What is the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect refers to the phenomenon that certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere (such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, ozone and nitrogen oxides) absorb and re-radiate solar radiation and radiation from the Earth’s surface, causing the temperature of the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere to rise.

The process is similar to the glass in a greenhouse, which allows solar radiation to enter but blocks some of the heat from radiating out, thus raising the temperature inside.

The greenhouse effect occurs naturally because it helps maintain the Earth’s surface at a temperature that is suitable for life.

In particular, the massive burning of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil and natural gas) during the Industrial Revolution led to a significant increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thereby exacerbating the greenhouse effect, a phenomenon known as “global warming” or “anthropogenic climate change.”

As long as the Ming Dynasty can start the industrial revolution ahead of time, burn enough wood, coal, oil, and machinery to emit enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the air, the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere will follow.

(End of this chapter)