Chapter 221: Caused by an earthquake!?

At this moment, Jiang Zhe smiled and explained.

"Yes, there is indeed such a theory about a tornado, but in reality, it was not a tornado."

"You must understand that tornadoes are characterized by their sudden and destructive nature."

"Looking at the scope of the Armory disaster on the sixth day of the fifth month of the sixth year of Tianqi, it appears very similar to the effects of a tornado."

"[Extending east to Shunchengmen Street and north to Xingbu Street, spanning three to four li in length and thirteen li in circumference, everything was reduced to powder.]"

"This textual description might seem like wind, or perhaps a tornado, but I am sorry to say that a tornado is not that weak. Only a shockwave possesses such power to reduce most things to powder."

"Furthermore, the range of a tornado's attack is often within a hundred meters of the affected area, with the surroundings remaining calm. This means the boundary between the disaster zone and the non-disaster zone is distinct, whereas with an earthquake, it is not as clear."

"As for the stone lion on Shifuma Street flying outside Xuanwumen, it is indeed recorded in historical facts. Furthermore, heavy objects weighing thousands of catties north of the Armory—stone lions—were thrown outside the southern city wall, yet the wall itself did not collapse, despite the stone lions being tossed such a great distance."

Having said this, Jiang Zhe pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

"If the Armory disaster were caused by a tornado, it would defy logic, because tornadoes typically erupt suddenly!"

"Please keep in mind: The signs of a tornado are as follows."

"1: Changes in the sky's color. Before a tornado arrives, the sky may appear blackish-green. This is due to the significant difference in wind speed between the upper and lower layers of cumulonimbus clouds, forming intense convection."

"2: Meteorological changes. Tornadoes are often accompanied by weather phenomena such as thunderstorms, lightning, and hail. The large difference in wind speed between the upper and lower layers of cumulonimbus clouds leads to rapid and erratic changes in wind direction."

"3: The appearance of funnel clouds. A distinct funnel cloud is a significant sign that a tornado is imminent."

"4: Changes in ground wind speed: The ground wind speed will rise sharply, forming rotating dust and debris. This is a precursor to the formation of a tornado."

At this point, Jiang Zhe shook his head with a look of reflection. "If it really were a tornado, that would be fine; then it wouldn't have become an unsolved mystery of nature. Currently, in historical documents, there is simply no record of a tornado."

"In ancient times, tornadoes were called: [Dragon Drinking Water, Dragon Wagging its Tail, Upside-down Dragon]."

"But unfortunately, neither in the documents nor in the rumors circulating today are there any terms or traces of a tornado; it is merely a mistaken assumption made by us modern people."

"Furthermore, the disaster was accompanied by many signs before and after an earthquake: from the southwest, there was a sound like thunder; chickens and dogs were all startled, and objects vibrated with sound; on the ninth day (three days after the disaster) at the Chou hour, a huge sound came from the west again, making doors and windows rattle; the shaking sound reached Hexiwu in the south, Tongzhou in the east, and Miyun in the north. Therefore, the 'tornado hypothesis' is difficult to use to explain these phenomena."

Having said this, Jiang Zhe's expression suddenly turned serious, and he asked rhetorically: "Did you all see it? In what I just described, the word that actually appeared the most is [Quake]."

"So, at this point, what do you all think caused the Tianqi Explosion?"

The audience was pondering. In Jiang Zhe's analysis, the word that appeared most frequently was indeed [Quake].

Moreover, this was also the most frequently occurring word in the historical documents concerning the [Tianqi Explosion].

Nine times out of ten, the Tianqi Explosion was related to an [Earthquake]!

As soon as this question was posed, countless uniform comments appeared in the live stream chat.

"Earthquake!"

"Is it an earthquake?"

"If it were an earthquake... wait, it actually seems possible!"

"..."

At this time, inside the Professor building at Huaqing.

Laozi looked at Professor Zhuangzi. "It's definitely an earthquake, right?"

Professor Zhuangzi nodded gently, lost in thought. "Hmm, it is highly likely that it was caused by an earthquake. I remember that before the Tangshan Earthquake in the last century, there seemed to be many similar impressions. I was sitting on this very sofa where I am sitting now, watching the black-and-white television, and the television was reporting on the Tangshan Earthquake. Subsequent reports mentioned many anomalous phenomena before the earthquake, but no one ever associated this with the Tianqi Explosion."

"Hearing you say that, old friend, the Tianqi Explosion finally has a source."

"It's just that..."

Laozi looked puzzled. "That red fireball shooting into the sky... that is a bit difficult to explain."

In the lecture hall.

Professor Hua Yunfeng, Old Feng, and a group of historians, including meteorologists, also began a heated discussion.

Professor Hua Yunfeng said decisively, "It must be an earthquake, because earthquakes can indeed cause a series of meteorological anomalies."

Old Feng was not certain, so he asked the audience: "Are there any meteorologists here who can give the historians present a reminder? Can a major earthquake cause red fireballs to appear?"

Soon, a young female professor in a suit and glasses in the audience stood up to explain:

"Yes!"

"In the last century, on December 16, 1920, at 20:05:53, during the ninth year of the Republic of China."

"A major earthquake of magnitude 8.5 (moment magnitude 7.9) occurred in Guyuan County and Haiyuan County, Gansu Province, known as the [Haiyuan Earthquake]."

"During the Haiyuan Earthquake, in Yanglang Town, Guyuan City, about a month before the quake, for three or four consecutive nights—"

"The locals were surprised to see a spectacle in the sky: A fireball the size of a human head was rolling boisterously in the sky to the northwest, illuminating the mountain ridges for dozens of miles under the cover of night, as clearly as if it were daylight."

"In Lijunbao, Haiyuan County, a month before the earthquake, every day around four or five in the afternoon, an eagle-sized fireball would fly across the northwestern sky, emitting a red light."

"Earthquakes can indeed cause a series of meteorological anomalies, just like the fireball flying into the sky from within the [Fire God Temple] during the Tianqi Explosion."

Hearing this, Professor Hua Yunfeng, Old Feng, and everyone else's eyes lit up, and they hurriedly went online to search for this earthquake.

They were not meteorologists, nor were they historians; as physicists, most of them indeed only specialized in one discipline.

When a matter is difficult to resolve, people from multiple disciplines providing guesses from multiple different angles can quickly provide an accurate answer.

Soon, all the experts found the black-and-white footage filmed by foreign journalists in 1920.

In the footage, the signs of fireballs shooting into the sky before the earthquake appeared clearly.

Before long, in the lecture hall, many professors from other departments were teasing with playful expressions.

"Good heavens, so what is the truth behind the Tianqi Explosion?"

"It seems certain; it was caused by the earthquake that Jiang Zhe mentioned. Many of the signs match the indications before an earthquake."

"That's not right. First an earthquake, then the black powder explosion at the Armory, but within the same distance after the explosion, some people were safe and some died. That still doesn't make sense!"

"I actually know about this. A major earthquake causes underground fractures, which then cause underground biogas. This [Biogas Hypothesis] can explain why, within the same distance, some people were dismembered while others were unharmed, because the shockwave of the biogas follows the underground fractures as it impacts."

"So that's it. Thanks, brother!"

"..."

While the experts and professors were discussing, Jiang Zhe also provided a definitive answer: