Stone lions flying into the sky, trees uprooted, and clothes disappearing. How terrifying was the Ming Dynasty's "Apocalypse Explosion"?

There are still many mysteries about the "Apocalypse Explosion" that occurred during the Apocalypse Period of the Ming Dynasty. For example, many of the dead, injured, and survivors were naked after the explosion.

I think the biggest disaster in the Ming Dynasty was the "Apocalypse Explosion" that occurred in the sixth year of Apocalypse. This sudden disaster was centered on the gunpowder depot of Wang Gongchang in the capital and swept across an area of ??750 meters. , causing nearly 20,000 casualties to the affected areas.

The most bizarre thing is that there is still no reasonable explanation for the cause of the "Apocalypse Explosion" and the weird images that appeared in the process. This catastrophe is also listed as one of the three natural disasters in the world because it is too mysterious. The mystery is as famous as the "Dead Hill Incident" and the "Tunguska Explosion".

The process of catastrophe

In the sixth year of Apocalypse (AD 1626), the bustling streets of the capital were crowded with people, and people coming and going were busy working for life.

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared over the capital, followed by a loud noise. Starting from the northeast of the capital, a gray wall as high as one person appeared in people's sight. When everyone was still standing, While being kept in the dark, the catastrophe officially began.

Thrilling explosions came one after another. Teahouses, shops, restaurants, and all visible buildings collapsed. A black and large columnar mushroom cloud even erected in the southwest corner of the capital. For a time, the sky collapsed and dust flew up. .

The explosion started from Fuchengmen in the east to Xingbu Street in the north. Countless houses were blown into powder in an area of ??about 1,500 meters long and 6,500 meters wide. The huge shock wave carried a large amount of Stones, wood, and broken limbs of people and animals jumped up, and then dropped them all like rain.

"The Northern Strategy of the Ming Dynasty" records this great disaster:

The sky was bright and clear, and suddenly there was a sound like a roar, gradually coming from the northeast to the southwest corner of the capital, and gray air surged up. The house shook. In a moment, there was a big earthquake, the sky collapsed and the earth collapsed, it was dark as night, and all the houses were in ruins. It stretches from Shunchengmen Street in the east to Xingbu Street in the north, and is three or four miles long. The surrounding area is 13 miles full of powder.

When the explosion occurred, many people died in mysterious circumstances. The craftsmen working in the Forbidden City were knocked off their shelves due to the impact of the explosion, and nearly 2,000 people were thrown into pieces alive; the honor guard preparing for the emperor's departure was frightened and fled in all directions; the people along the street were also in a hurry After escaping from the house, the whole street was in chaos, and countless people died in the stampede in the chaos.

Censor He Qianshu and Pan Yunyi were shocked to death in Qianqing Palace, and their entire family was buried alive due to the violent shock.

However, Zhu Youxiao, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, escaped. According to the "Tianbiandichao" record, Ming Xizong was having breakfast in Qianqing Palace when the explosion occurred. Suddenly, the hall shook violently. Ming Xizong quickly dropped his bowls and chopsticks and ran to Jiaotai Palace.

Due to their timely response, Ming Xi Zong was able to escape successfully. However, the palace maids, eunuchs and guards were not so lucky. Before they could keep up with Ming Xi Zong, they were hit by wooden sills and mandarin tiles falling from the sky. ’s life was desperate.

In this explosion, not only were all the eunuchs who served Ming Xizong's meals martyred, but even the crown prince Zhu Cijiong, who was less than one year old, died due to excessive shock.

The strange phenomena before and after the disaster

The power of this disaster is jaw-dropping, but the most frightening thing is the strange phenomena that happened before and after the disaster.

According to historical records, it seems that the disaster has been foreshadowed for a long time. There were successive droughts in the fourth and fifth years of the Apocalypse; one month before the catastrophe, there were ghost chariot birds wailing day and night at the Capital Observatory; two weeks before the catastrophe, there was a severe frost disaster, and white dew hung on the branches and had not dispersed at noon. , you must know that it was May at the turn of spring and summer!

Eight days before the great catastrophe, a strange phenomenon appeared in the clouds over the northeast corner of the capital. They turned white, red and purple, and turned into flags and swords at other times;

Three days before the catastrophe, crimson clouds appeared again over the northeast of the capital;

Two days before the catastrophe, a black cloud hung over the capital.

When the catastrophe occurred, many strange and puzzling things also occurred. For example, someone met six friends on the way to buy groceries. Out of politeness, he quickly bowed and bowed. As a result, before he could finish the salute, his head flew out, but the other six people were unscathed.

There was a school at the intersection of Guangdong West Guild Hall. After the explosion, all 32 students and teachers inside disappeared. At that time, a female sedan was passing by Chengen Temple Street. After a loud noise, the bearer and the woman were all gone. Disappeared, only the damaged sedan remained in place.

The most bizarre thing is that the clothes on many of the dead, injured, and survivors evaporated out of thin air. Some people were pressed to the ground and could not move. When they saw other people passing by, they could only cover their bodies with tiles; some women covered their faces with their hands and ran wildly on the street; some used quilts or sheets to cover their exposed bodies, with their faces covered with tiles. Walking on the street in a daze; the concubine of Yushi He Tingshu was also one of the survivors, but when she was rescued, her clothes had also disappeared.

Not only people, but also houses are divided into "European emperors" and "non-chiefs".

From Xuanwu Street to the west, countless houses collapsed. However, in a certain area, only two or three bungalows of the liquor seller Zhang Si's family were destroyed by fire, while the rest of the surrounding bungalows were all intact.

The impact of the explosion was also unprecedented. It was able to move a stone lion weighing 5,000 kilograms from the street to outside the city gate. More than 20 century-old trees next to Wang Gong Factory were even more powerful. It was uprooted, leaving only a large hole several feet deep on the ground.

Speculations on the cause of the explosion

Experts and scholars from all walks of life have always had different opinions on the cause of the explosion. Some proposed the "earthquake disaster theory" and some proposed the "meteorite fall theory." In the discussion, some people expressed the view that "hurricanes cause disasters".

However, compared to these views, the statement of "gunpowder explosion" is the most widely recognized.

As we all know, our country invented gunpowder thermal weapons and was the first country in the world to use gunpowder thermal weapons in war. Especially during the Ming Dynasty, gunpowder thermal weapons were widely used in the army. Up to 60% of the army is equipped with gunpowder thermal weapons.

The Wang Gong Factory in the Capital was the warehouse used by the Ministry of Industry to manufacture and store gunpowder. The daily production capacity of gunpowder here is as high as 2 tons, and there is a conventional storage capacity of about 1,000 tons. This is a huge explosion source with an extremely high risk factor.

So many people believe that the fuse of the "Apocalypse Big Explosion" was these gunpowders. After the gunpowder was ignited, it caused huge impact and damage to an area of ??several hundred meters in radius.

The former site of Wang Gong Factory in the Capital

However, upon careful analysis, we will find that things are far from simple as imagined.

First of all, the gunpowder storage capacity of Wang Gong Factory in the Capital was simply not enough to produce such a powerful explosion.

Xu Haomin, an associate researcher at the Institute of Geology of the China Earthquake Administration, conducted in-depth research on the "Apocalypse Explosion". He calculated that the explosion's destruction radius was about 750 meters, and the violent impact area was about 2.25 square kilometers. .

However, to achieve this kind of explosion effect, about 10,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT are needed. However, the gunpowder storage capacity of the Wang Gong Factory in Beijing is only more than 1,000 tons, which is a far cry from the two.

Modern gunpowder manufacturing technology must be much higher than that of the Ming Dynasty, and the power of the gunpowder produced is also much greater than the latter. If they want to achieve the explosive effect caused by 10,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT, they may at least need 40,000 or 50,000 tons of black powder. Obviously, the gunpowder storage capacity of Wang Gong Factory in the Capital did not meet the conditions.

Secondly, judging from the distance between Wang Gongchang and the Forbidden City, the power of the explosion seems a bit exaggerated.

Since the Wang Gong Factory is a warehouse for storing gunpowder, people from the Ministry of Industry will naturally have corresponding safety awareness. In order to ensure safety, they built the Wang Gong Factory 2.5 kilometers away from the Forbidden City in a straight line.

Logically speaking, such a long distance is enough to ensure that the Forbidden City is immune to its explosion damage, or at least most of the damage. However, according to various records such as "Guoyan" and "Ziuzhongzhi", the same is true in the Forbidden City. It was severely affected, with houses collapsing and eunuchs and guards being crushed to death.

In addition to the central disaster-stricken area, neighbors in Hexiwu, Tongzhou, Miyun, Changping and other Beijing cities have been affected to a greater or lesser extent. The power of the disaster is evident. Just relying on the insignificant work of Wang Gongchang It is simply impossible to achieve this situation with gunpowder.

Furthermore, the strange phenomena in the disaster cannot be explained.

As we said before, many strange phenomena occurred during the catastrophe. For example, a stone lion weighing 5,000 kilograms flew out of the city gate from the street. If this relied solely on the energy generated by gunpowder, everything around it would have been wiped out. However, this is not the case.

For example, in the disaster, all the clothes on the dead, injured, and survivors disappeared. But if it was the effect of the explosion, these people were either reduced to ashes or intact. How could they just Only the clothes are missing?

Therefore, the author believes that the cause of the "Apocalypse Explosion" is not just the ignition of gunpowder in Wang Gong's factory, but it is attributed to a menacing natural disaster.

In fact, the 15th century to the 17th century is recognized as a period of severe natural disasters. During this period, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteorites, droughts and other disasters occurred extremely frequently.

Before the "Apocalypse Explosion" occurred, some people heard unusual noises coming from the underground of the capital. Regarding this, "History of the Ming Dynasty·Five Elements Chronicles" recorded:

"Underground "The sound of thunder is endless"

"Two Dynasties Congxinlu" also records the content of the memorial of Wang Yehao, the imperial censor:

"When I entered the office at Chenke to do something, I suddenly heard a shaking sound. The sound was like the sky cracking and the earth cracking. For a moment, dust, fire and wood flew in all directions, and the beams, rafters, tiles, and windows of the house were like falling leaves. The ministers were all dizzy, and they didn't know where the earthquake came from."

The signs of an outbreak are very similar. In addition, the "Jingshifangxiangzhi Manuscript" also contains records about the occurrence of ground cracks and pits in Wanggong Factory:

"The Wanggong Factory suddenly cracked, with a sound like thunder, and two pits fell into the ground. , about thirty steps long, more than fifty steps wide, and about two feet deep."

Combined with the phenomenon that the catastrophe centered on the capital and spread to all directions, it is not difficult for us to speculate on the explosion of Wang Gongchang. It was caused by a big earthquake.

Then why did the earthquake cause the gunpowder explosion in Wang Gong Factory? The author speculates that it may be due to the static electricity phenomenon caused by the earthquake.

Historical data records that before the catastrophe, strange fires occurred more than once in this area of ??Beijing, and these so-called strange fires were probably caused by the leakage of underground natural gas.

The earthquake caused static electricity, and the dry weather in the capital due to drought further aggravated the static electricity phenomenon. When these static electricity came into contact with the leaked natural gas, it caused a fire and detonated the Wang Gong Factory. gunpowder.

Of course, it is also possible that the turbulence caused by the earthquake caused open flames such as candles to be knocked over, eventually detonating the gunpowder. But in any case, the explosion at Wang Gong Factory should be closely related to the occurrence of the earthquake.

What should be the explanation for the flying stone lions and the disappearance of clothes? The author believes that this may have been caused by a tornado.

Disaster science research shows that when the shock wave generated by an explosion propagates in a valley, if it encounters a hillside greater than 60°, a rising vortex will be formed at the bottom of the valley. This is what we often call a tornado. .

This is also true for the "Apocalypse Big Bang". After the Wanggong Factory exploded, the shock wave spread continuously in all directions. However, due to the obstruction of housing buildings and city walls, the shock wave rose step by step and eventually formed a huge tornado.

Carried by the tornado, a stone lion weighing 5,000 kilograms flew into the sky, more than 20 century-old trees rose from the ground, and countless people's clothes disappeared.

This statement has proven to be highly credible. "Records of the Imperial Inspectorate in the Seventh Year of Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty" once recorded:

"In a matter of seconds, dust, wood and stones flew from all directions, and the pillars, beams, rafters, tiles, windows and walls of the house were like leaves..."

"Yao Zhu Xian Commentary" also has this description:

"Black fog spread across the sky, and smoke was everywhere. Suddenly there were thunderbolts, and a violent storm broke out. Bricks flew and rocks flew, and butterflies danced in the air. Bees were overturned; houses were damaged and walls collapsed, and gods were howling and ghosts were crying all over the place."

The strong wind here refers to the tornado caused by the shock wave of the Wanggong Factory explosion. After the earthquake, someone reported that many red silk clothes appeared on Xishan Mountain. Zhang Fengkui of the Ministry of Revenue sent his men to inquire about the situation. It was true as the reporter said, the treetops of Xishan were covered with clothes, and there were also clothes hanging on the treetops of Changping. There are a lot of jewelry and utensils, and even other people's clothes appear inexplicably in some people's homes.

The only culprit that can make this imagination happen is the tornado!

Therefore, the author believes that this earth-shattering catastrophe can be attributed to the following three steps: the arrival of the earthquake, the explosion of Wang Gong Factory, and the generation of tornadoes.

Written by Jun

In short, although the cause of the "Apocalypse Big Explosion" has not yet been conclusively determined, the author is more inclined to believe that it was a natural disaster, an earthquake that erupted as a result. The explosion at Wang Gong Factory was the precursor, and the tornado formed as the subsequent natural disaster. Due to the powerful chain reaction, it caused nearly 20,000 casualties.

This catastrophe also made the Ming Dynasty, which was suffering from internal and external troubles, even more turbulent. The whole country was panicked, and the political struggle between the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party further intensified. However, Zhu Youxiao was still addicted to carpentry and did not do his job properly. In the end, he Listening to Wei Zhongxian's slander and further persecuting the Donglin Party made the Ming Dynasty go further and further down the road to destruction.

Although natural disasters are terrible, what is even more terrible is the human heart! Readers, what do you think about this?