Chapter 223: Methane Explosion? Impossible

Having reached this point in his narrative, Jiang Zhe raised his hand to check his watch; it was 8:30 PM.

It was time to conclude the account of the Tianqi Explosion and move on to the even more intriguing Tunguska Event.

"So, what were the causes and consequences of the Tianqi Explosion?"

"Let us re-examine the sequence of events."

He cast his gaze aside for a moment to collect his thoughts, then immediately provided the answer.

"According to historical records, there were flashes of light before the Tianqi Explosion, and strange phenomena appeared in the sky."

"For example: fourteen days before the explosion, the weather changed drastically, the air became abnormally cold, and severe frost appeared."

"In May, just as summer was approaching, the appearance of frost was somewhat abrupt."

"But those who have read history know that the 16th to 19th centuries were part of a global Ice Age."

"Global temperatures dropped significantly, leading to numerous natural disasters and social unrest."

"Specifically, the Ice Age during the Ming Dynasty refers to the decades spanning the late Ming and early Qing periods, during which China experienced extremely cold weather."

"That was precisely the time when Emperor Tianqi and Zhu Youjian were in power, so the cold weather in May was one of the contributing factors."

This was not unfamiliar to the viewers in the livestream.

The Ice Age did indeed last for three centuries.

Especially during the late Ming and early Qing periods, which was also the time with the most natural disasters.

The last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian, wanted to turn the tide, but he could not overcome his own lack of imperial knowledge, his extreme suspicion, the Ice Age, and the extreme internal decay; the fall of the Ming was an inevitable trend that could not be changed.

"Furthermore, five days before the explosion, strange clouds appeared in the northeast corner of the Armory —"

"They were shaped like flags and broadswords, changing color from white to red, and then from red to purple."

"Three days before the Tianqi Explosion, crimson clouds appeared again in the northeastern sky."

"The day before the explosion, the red clouds turned black: dark clouds blanketed the sky, signaling that a natural disaster was imminent."

"Moments before the explosion, the earth began to shake, accompanied by a deafening roar."

"All these signs were paving the way, heightening the anticipation for the arrival of the Tianqi Explosion."

Hearing this, the viewers wore solemn expressions; all these omens were building up to the arrival of the Tianqi Explosion, as if it were all a logical progression.

"After that, there was the Tianqi Explosion we are familiar with."

"Shortly after nine o'clock that morning, a powerful explosion suddenly erupted in the capital."

"The sound was like a thunderclap from the heavens, instantly drawing the attention of everyone on the streets, and everyone looked towards the source of the sound in astonishment."

"At first, there was nothing unusual, but soon, a gray cloud of smoke was seen rising from the direction of the sound."

"Then came increasingly louder explosions, and even the earth began to tremor; all the buildings started to shake violently — this was the ground light triggering a chain reaction of explosions at the Armory, followed by an earthquake."

"It was then that the residents of the Ming Dynasty realized a severe disaster had occurred and began to flee in terror."

"The explosions became more and more frequent. 'The explosions here were not caused by the gunpowder factory, but something else, which I will explain later.'"

"Then, a brilliant flash of light appeared over the capital, followed by increasingly violent tremors in the earth, as terrifying as if something were tearing the world apart."

"Finally, rows of houses could no longer withstand the violent shaking and began to collapse, and trees were snapped or uprooted; from this point on, it was the earthquake combined with the shockwaves from other explosions, which I will explain in detail later."

As he finished speaking, Jiang Zhe's expression turned serious as he directly provided the correct guidance and conclusions.

"Therefore, the sequence of the Tianqi Explosion was as follows —"

"1: In the half-month before the Tianqi Explosion, anomalies occurred frequently: strange flashes, bizarre weather phenomena, and will-o'-the-wisps, among others."

"2: Moments before the explosion on the day of the event, the anomalies became even more frequent; a fireball even shot up into the sky from the Temple of the Fire God: this fireball was the plasma I mentioned earlier that burst out from the cracks in the ground."

"3: After the explosion began, 'rolling thunder' appeared everywhere near the gunpowder factory in the capital. This 'rolling thunder' is the phenomenon encountered by witnesses of the Tangshan Earthquake that I mentioned earlier — the high temperature of this 'rolling thunder' directly ignited the highly flammable Armory."

"4: The black powder began to explode in a chain reaction, triggering a new round of 'chain explosions', a secondary blast."

"5: Under the combined force of the massive earthquake, the plasma, and the explosion at the Armory, methane trapped underground in the capital was released, further intensifying the shockwaves of the explosion."

At this point, Jiang Zhe said thoughtfully: "Actually, the methane hypothesis can explain why that scholar named Zhou's head was instantly severed while he was talking to his colleague — that is because he was standing exactly where the ground cracked after the explosion. His companion, however, was standing nearby and was not on the fissure."

"Keep in mind, I am not saying that Scholar Zhou's head was severed by methane from the underground fissure, but there were many people like Scholar Zhou, especially those whose clothes were blown away while they remained completely unharmed."

"Please think about it; if you look at the scene of a common gas explosion, you will realize that a methane explosion is extremely similar to some of the phenomena following the Tianqi Explosion."

He gave the audience a few dozen seconds to think.

When a methane explosion occurs, especially with city sewer manhole covers.

After the explosion triggers a chain reaction, the manhole cover is the first to fly into the air; then the road instantly collapses. People staying near the disaster site basically only hear a muffled sound accompanied by a sky full of dust, and then remain unharmed.

As for those located directly above the manhole cover, there are videos on the internet of children playing with firecrackers, triggering methane explosions beneath the covers, launching the children over ten meters into the air; some die, some are seriously injured — but that only happens at the very center of the disaster.

People in the vicinity of the methane explosion remain unharmed.

Soon, the comments section exploded.

"I can imagine it; a methane explosion is just a very heavy shockwave and a muffled sound!"

"Actually, a gas explosion happened at my home. We live in the countryside, in a small house. The moment the gas ignited, a powerful blast of air shattered the doors and windows; not to mention the ringing in our ears. My parents and I were eating in the kitchen at the time, but the good news is that none of us were seriously hurt, only suffering from basic tinnitus; our clothes were not torn by the shockwave. And a gas explosion involves natural gas; the amount in a single tank is very small, far less than the large-scale methane underground. If it was a large amount of methane, then I raise my hand in agreement — it is 100% possible that it could blow the clothes off the Ming Dynasty residents!"

"Right, everyone knows about those city sewer explosions that blow off manhole covers, right?"

"I know, I know, but it seems the methane explosion hypothesis still feels a bit off?"

"Regardless of whether it feels right or not; in any case, the center of the explosion, plus the chain reaction of gunpowder, and the large amount of underground methane, can indeed reconstruct some of the phenomena at the scene of the Tianqi Explosion."

"Do you mean that the situation of Scholar Zhou and those citizens having their heads severed can be attributed to underground methane, right?"

"That is the idea, but the truth shouldn't be that a methane explosion in the center of the capital blew people's clothes dozens of kilometers away to the suburbs of Miyun, otherwise our country's scholars would be incompetent, having failed to figure it out after hundreds of years of research."

"Then I'll just wait and see what the truth really is!"

"..."

In the lecture hall.

Professor Hua Yunfeng, Old Feng, and the historians and geologists present were deep in thought.

This ground light, then the earthquake, the earthquake triggering the 'rolling thunder', the 'rolling thunder' triggering the chain reaction of gunpowder, the high temperature of the chain reaction triggering the underground methane explosion, after which the Ming Dynasty residents' clothes were blown away, while the people remained unharmed.

It can barely be explained.

But!

There is a feeling that this answer is not correct.

At least the appearances before and during the explosion are all correct, but the situation after the explosion seems to have some errors.

Especially since the citizens' clothes flew in all directions, to temples and the mountains behind, all of which are several kilometers, or even dozens of kilometers, away from the center of the explosion.

The shockwaves generated by this series of explosions alone would be completely unable to blow clothes that far away!

Professor Hua Yunfeng looked at Old Feng with a puzzled expression, "This answer is indeed very far-fetched!"

Old Feng nodded silently, "Indeed, it is somewhat far-fetched; if this were the truth, we wouldn't need him to say it; there are experts right here who could have come up with it much earlier."

"However, the truth is clearly not this; I suspect there is something else. You can tell by the mischievous look on Jiang Zhe's face."

Professor Hua Yunfeng looked up at Jiang Zhe, who was suppressing a smile, and understood everything.

...

In the professors' building at Tsinghua University.

Laozi and Professor Zhuangzi chatted for a moment, and they gave the same answer as Professor Hua Yunfeng, Old Feng, and the others.

Laozi said firmly: "The anomalies before the explosion and during the explosion are mostly correct; it's just the result that feels a bit off."

Professor Zhuangzi also nodded in agreement, "I think so too; because people's clothes would almost never be blown away by a shockwave; even if you were at the scene, such a shockwave would not blow away the citizens' clothes; instead, the shockwave would kill people on the spot, rather than turning them into dust."

Laozi said thoughtfully: "I think so too; some people were turned into dust on the spot, while others at the center of the disaster remained unharmed; this is very abnormal."

"It's like if you and I were together right now, you turned into dust, but I didn't turn into dust; this is not caused by a shockwave. I suspect it should be some kind of physical phenomenon."

Hearing this, Professor Zhuangzi's mouth twitched, then he looked at the phone screen, his expression thoughtful, "If this is the truth of the Tianqi Explosion, then his popular science session this time is going to flop."

As soon as the two elders finished speaking, the next second, Jiang Zhe said the conclusion with a mischievous smile on his face.

"So, is that the truth?"

He waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no. Before the Tianqi Explosion and during the process of the Tianqi Explosion, these two points, I dare to pat my chest and say, what I said is all correct."

"And indeed, as you all guessed, if you use underground methane to explain it, well, it is somewhat reasonable, but completely incorrect."

"The aftermath of a methane explosion cannot explain why citizens turned into dust and disappeared into thin air on the spot, while others remained unharmed, or why those people's clothes were blown several kilometers, or even dozens of kilometers away."

"If it wasn't a methane explosion, then what could it be?"

"Naturally, the truth is something else entirely!"

"And I have already discovered the truth about the Tianqi Explosion."