I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 159 Chen Ying Gets Shot Even While Lying Down

Chapter 158 "When did this happen?"

"Three days ago, on October 17th at 9:00 AM."

Wang Tiezhu, panting heavily, said, "According to news from the capital, a huge explosion shook the heavens and the earth. Tens of thousands of houses collapsed in the Wanggongchang area, and the dead and injured were everywhere. The secret report sent by Eunuch Wei said that the gunpowder bureau made a mistake."

Chen Ying naturally knew that the Tianqi Explosion in history occurred on the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth year of Tianqi. However, the problem was that after arriving in this era, he had investigated the regular inventory of the gunpowder bureau. Due to the increasing use of firearms in the Ming Dynasty, the production capacity of the gunpowder bureau was actually unable to meet the consumption of all the military and civilians. The claim by some experts that Wanggong Factory had a stockpile of one thousand tons of gunpowder was actually untenable. Not to mention one thousand tons, it had never even exceeded one hundred tons in a year. In the past ten years, the gunpowder bureau usually only had a stockpile of ten to fifteen tons.

Even if there were a thousand tons of gunpowder in stock, given the power of gunpowder in the Ming Dynasty, a thousand tons would still be insufficient to throw a stone lion weighing over five thousand catties (approximately 2.5 tons) outside the city. This is a very simple mathematical calculation. To move a stone lion weighing over five thousand catties, or two and a half tons of material, more than two and a half kilometers, even a rough estimate, ignoring air resistance and friction, would require an explosive yield of eight to twelve thousand tons of TNT. The destructive power would be closer to an explosion equivalent to ten to twenty thousand tons of TNT, almost comparable to a small atomic bomb.

In his later years, Chen Ying also investigated the relevant information about the Tianqi Explosion. According to relevant historical records, there were no burn marks, no solid debris, and the dead and injured were naked at the scene of the Tianqi Explosion. These characteristics were inconsistent with gunpowder explosion. The official investigation attributed the cause to "negligence of the gunpowder bureau" (i.e., a safety accident).

However, this is completely inconsistent with the actual situation when Chen Ying visited the gunpowder bureau. The Ming Dynasty had mature safety management experience in the accidental explosion of gunpowder, especially in the storage of gunpowder. The eaves of the warehouse were covered with earth and the warehouse door was wrapped with iron sheet to prevent fire. Wooden boards were laid 1.5 feet off the ground to isolate "sparks (static electricity)" from the ground. The corners of the walls were built with winding ventilation holes and copper mesh to block external sparks, which took into account both moisture prevention and fire prevention.

Flammable materials such as straw mats, paper, and firewood must not be piled up inside or outside the warehouse. Soldiers on duty can only use relatively safe coal for cooking, and are not allowed to use flammable firewood. Military books such as "Essentials of Fire Attack" in the Ming Dynasty emphasized that the gunpowder of a city should not be concentrated in one place, so as to prevent all reserves from being destroyed in the event of an accident. There were six gunpowder factories and warehouses in Beijing to disperse the risk.

Furthermore, the Wanggongchang gunpowder depot was managed by the Imperial Guards of the capital, who patrolled day and night to prevent fires and theft. The Ming Dynasty had detailed regulations governing the management and use of gunpowder. If the guards caused a shortage of gunpowder, they would be held liable for compensation and even severely punished. The Ming people had designed a comprehensive security system, from containers to buildings, for storing gunpowder. This conclusion was Wei Zhongxian's attempt to shirk responsibility. Meanwhile, the opposing Donglin Party tended to interpret the disaster as divine punishment, using it to attack the eunuch faction's misrule.

Chen Ying was more inclined to believe it was an accident rather than a human error. This was not a cause he could have advised the Tianqi Emperor to avoid. However, to prevent even greater casualties, he actually used the high salaries and benefits of Shahewei to recruit workers, attracting a large number of refugees, as well as people and craftsmen from the vicinity of Wanggongchang, to work in Shahewei, thus reducing the population near Wanggongchang. At the same time, he also requested a number of craftsmen from the gunpowder bureau from the Tianqi Emperor and took on the production of gunpowder.

At this time, Wanggongchang had been transformed from a gunpowder production factory into a miniature storage warehouse. Chen Ying thought this would prevent accidents from happening. In fact, he had agreed when Emperor Tianqi decided to get involved himself, precisely to transfer Emperor Tianqi away and prevent accidents from occurring.

The problem is, man proposes, God disposes, and this unexpected problem still occurred.

Chen Ying closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time: "Prepare the boat; I must return to the capital immediately."

"But----"

"There's no 'but' about it!"

Chen Ying strode toward the dock and said, "Tell Shen Huai'an that the affairs of Lushun are in your hands and Zhou Bin's. While I am away, anyone who dares to cause trouble will be executed without mercy."

The fleet set sail, traveling day and night. Chen Ying stood at the bow, letting the sea breeze whip his face, his mind filled with countless thoughts. He finally understood why the historical Tianqi Explosion occurred on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, while this time it was postponed to October. Was it because too many things had been changed for him? The gunpowder had been moved, the residents had been evacuated, but the underground force was something he couldn't change.

In later times, some people believed that the explosion was caused by methane gas. They argued that the hot weather in the capital in May caused a large amount of excrement to form dense methane underground, which could produce tremendous power upon explosion. However, this theory is not tenable. While the capital did have extensive underground drainage systems, these systems were not airtight, unlike those in later times, which were well-sealed. Furthermore, many people were too poor to generate the same amount of household waste as people in later times. To put it bluntly, even when it came to defecation, people in later times produced more waste than people in the Ming Dynasty. As for substances that could easily produce methane, they were treasures in the Ming Dynasty and would not have been disposed of in the sewers.

Could it be that the gas originated underground? But Beijing doesn't seem to have any natural gas sources. Or perhaps it was a secondary disaster caused by an earthquake. He read related research in his later life, and some scholars believed that the Tianqi Explosion might have been caused by an earthquake leading to an underground natural gas leak, which then ignited a large-scale explosion when exposed to an open flame.

The problem is that while natural gas explosions are extremely short-lived, the burn marks are very obvious. The clothing of victims and survivors can vanish into thin air, which is extremely rare in traditional explosion cases. One hypothesis suggests that during a natural gas cloud explosion, a large amount of oxygen is instantly consumed and a powerful negative pressure (suction) is generated. This "push and pull" shockwave could instantly tear and detach clothing. No fire disaster: Historical records state that the explosion "did not burn an inch of wood, leaving no trace of burning," indicating that no large-scale, sustained fire occurred. The rapid depletion of local oxygen during a natural gas explosion prevents the flame from burning sustainably, which could explain this phenomenon.

What's giving Chen Ying an even bigger headache now is how to explain these principles to the Donglin Party members. The Donglin Party members are even worse than the illiterate people of later generations. They are quite knowledgeable, but they don't understand chemistry and physics at all. They won't listen to them, nor will they want to.

Three days later, in the capital.

When Chen Ying entered the city, it was a scene of devastation. Within a three-mile radius of Wanggongchang, houses had collapsed and rubble piled up like mountains. The air was filled with the smell of burning and dust. In the distance, a few ruins were still emitting wisps of smoke. Soldiers were clearing the ruins, while the people knelt on the ground, kowtowing and weeping over the rubble.

"Lord Chen!"

A familiar voice rang out. Chen Ying turned his head and saw Xu Xianchun riding a horse, hurrying over with several Imperial Guards. Xu Xianchun's face was pale, his eyes sunken, clearly indicating he hadn't slept for several days.

"Lord Xu, how is the situation?"

Xu Xianchun lowered his voice and said, "At least two thousand people died, and countless others were injured. The stone lions on Shima Street were blown out of the city. The Emperor was furious, and Eunuch Wei was impeached relentlessly. The Donglin Party members said—that it was divine punishment, that Eunuch Wei's misrule had angered Heaven. They also impeached you, saying that you were one of the treacherous officials."

"There are many accusations against you, such as licentiousness, collusion with pirates, hoarding military power, and plotting treason." Xu Xianchun said with a wry smile, "You intercepted the grain that the Donglin Party was sending to the Jurchens, and they wish they could devour you alive."

Chen Ying didn't reply. He dismounted and walked deep into the ruins. He crouched down, picked up a piece of rubble, and examined it closely. There were no burn marks on the rubble; it had simply been shattered by the shockwave. He walked a little further and saw a dead body. Its clothes were all torn, but its skin was not burned.

"Lord Xu, how much gunpowder was left in the Wanggongchang gunpowder depot before the explosion?"

"The inventory has been completed; it's less than ten thousand jin (5,000 kg)."

With less than five tons of gunpowder, Chen Ying frowned slightly. He was also very puzzled. Although the site had been cleared, there were still many places that had not been cleared, and some of the bodies were still buried in the ruins. At the speed of manual clearing in the Ming Dynasty, it would probably take several more days.

Xu Xianchun said with a wry smile, "Even if a million catties of gunpowder were to explode, it wouldn't create such a commotion."

"This was an accident!"

"Lord Chen, do you see what's going on?"

"The truth isn't important; what matters is the truth they choose to believe!"

Chen nodded, becoming even more certain of his judgment. He absolutely could not let the Donglin Party steer the blame towards divine retribution. Although Wei Zhongxian was greedy, the problem was that he couldn't take the blame, nor could the Tianqi Emperor. He strode towards the palace.

Qianqing Palace, West Warm Pavilion.

The Tianqi Emperor sat behind his desk, his face pale and his eyes bloodshot. Before him lay a mountain of memorials, almost all of them impeaching Wei Zhongxian and Chen Boying. As an emperor, the Tianqi Emperor was deeply saddened. He had lost his crown prince, and as a father, the blow of losing a son was unimaginable. More importantly, the Tianqi Emperor already had few children, and it was extremely difficult for him to have a son.

Wei Zhongxian knelt to one side, trembling all over, his forehead pressed to the ground, not daring to raise his head.

"Your subject Chen Boying greets Your Majesty."

The Tianqi Emperor raised his head, looked at him, and said in a hoarse voice, "Minister Chen, you've come—tell me, is this truly divine punishment? What exactly is going on?"

Chen Ying did not answer directly, but instead took out a document from his sleeve and presented it with both hands: "Your Majesty, this is what I found during my investigation in the ruins of Wanggongchang. I believe that this was not a mistake by the gunpowder bureau, nor a divine punishment, but rather an eruption of underground energy."

"Underground energy?" The Tianqi Emperor frowned.

"Your Majesty, I have witnessed similar phenomena in Lushun and Dalu Island. Deep underground, there is a flammable gas, colorless and odorless, that explodes upon contact with an open flame. Its power far exceeds that of gunpowder. I suspect that this gas happened to exist underground at Wanggongchang, and for some unknown reason, it leaked out and, upon contact with an open flame, caused the explosion."