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Chapter 1475 Policy Adjustment
"Minister Wang is right. Allowing private companies to run military enterprises does have many drawbacks, especially in terms of secrecy. The reason I advocated for private participation in military enterprises was mainly to make up for the insufficient production capacity of the two major industrial groups."

Now that the number of large industrial groups has increased to five, and their production equipment has been transformed and upgraded, production capacity is no longer a major problem. Does this mean that private capital has completed its mission and should completely withdraw from the military industry?
Wang Zheng has already stated his position. Wang Jiazhen and Tan Buming, as managers and procurement personnel in the military industry, could you also share your thoughts on this matter?

The emperor then gave a more comprehensive explanation of Wang Zheng's opinion, briefly discussed the rationality and necessity of private capital entering the military industry, and finally brought the topic back to the point that he wanted to hear more opinions.

"Lord Tan, please..." Wang Jiazhen, quick-witted and outspoken, slightly clasped his hands in a fist and fist salute, passing the hot potato to Tan Buming. He wanted to hear what everyone had to say before deciding on his own stance.

"...From a management perspective, the General Staff also believes that there are many drawbacks to civilian participation in military production. First of all, the locations are too scattered, which creates inherent disadvantages in the supervision process."

There are hundreds of factories across the country, located far apart, requiring at least hundreds of staff officers to be dispatched for inspections. However, the General Staff Department does not have that many specialized personnel available, and sometimes, in order to meet deadlines, they have to lower standards and do things perfunctorily.

Secondly, they are difficult to manage. As the saying goes, you can't see into someone's heart. Unless a comprehensive inspection of raw materials, products, and inventory can be conducted every few months, students really can't think of a way to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Finally, we must mention bribery. In order to find out the movements of the inspectors, these unscrupulous merchants went to great lengths to acquire properties in the capital, arranged for people to move between various ministries, deliberately cultivated relationships with relevant officials, and constantly gathered information.

As the saying goes, flies don't land on eggs without cracks. But if you can shoo away some of the flies eyeing the egg, even if it has a small crack, it shouldn't be a big problem. His Majesty often says that no one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. During holidays, our house is always full of guests; it's really hard to find a saint.

As the emperor's student, Tan Buming naturally wouldn't undermine him. However, since the emperor had already stated that the initial decision was wrong, he no longer held back and agreed with Wang Zheng's opinion.

In this case of arms theft, several staff officers from the General Staff were also implicated. Although none of them committed any major crimes, it would certainly have a significant impact on their careers. Seeing his subordinates suffer, he couldn't help but feel a sense of shared fate.

That's right, no one was wronged; everyone made mistakes to some extent. But in that kind of environment, surrounded by a group of ill-intentioned people 365 days a year, who can guarantee they'll never make a mistake?
Since this incident, more than a dozen staff officers stationed at private arms factories have applied for transfer. They would rather work in more difficult conditions than get involved in this dangerous situation.

If all the military factories could be brought under the control of the imperial court, the situation would be completely different. Key management and technical personnel would be ranked and enjoy the same treatment as officials, and even ordinary workers would be supported by the imperial court until their death.

In such an environment, no one can act arbitrarily or do whatever they want, thus minimizing the possibility of betrayal. Although the cost is higher, it is safer and more worry-free.

In reality, military enterprises don't need to be overly demanding of low costs. As long as the quality and output are up to standard and the products don't fail on the battlefield, they're profitable. After all, many products simply can't be sold normally, so there's no profit to be made.

"Both of you have valid points, but from the Ministry of War's perspective, a careful consideration reveals that it is still necessary for the private sector to undertake the military industry. The specific reasons are threefold:"
First, there's the cost. Take rifle stocks as an example. If purchased from industrial groups in Luanzhou and Handan, the cost for the same quality would be more than double.

There are many reasons for such a large gap, such as the price of raw materials, the cost of machinery and equipment, and the cost of labor, but one of them is very crucial: production flexibility.

Industrial groups typically have large production lines, making them well-suited for mass production. However, aside from large-scale equipment replacements across the entire military, routine maintenance and repair of spare parts doesn't require such high production volumes. This is where privately-owned arsenals have an advantage. Their smaller scale allows for greater flexibility and the ability to adapt products at any time. Sometimes, when the Ministry of War's procurement needs are insufficient, they will even source similar products from the civilian sector for processing. In short, they never let their production lines and workers sit idle.

If all arsenals were to be put under the management of the imperial court, I believe the annual equipment procurement costs for the army and navy would increase significantly. This budget is no small amount, and I am not entirely sure which aspect is more important.

Secondly, while it's true that no merchant is honest, they are willing to go to great lengths to make money. Take grenade casings and bullets, for example. Originally, they were made of high-quality cast iron and lead, but after being improved by a private arms factory in Shandong, other materials were added, which not only ensured their effectiveness but also reduced costs by 30%.

Finally, there is the reputation of the imperial court. As far as I know, some private arsenals are family businesses. They have sold houses and land to pay off loans in order to increase the variety of products, investing a great deal of money, and hoping to pass them on to their descendants.

If civilian participation in the military industry is prohibited, these arsenals will be difficult to manage. I am unsure how to compensate for the years of investment, and I fear this will only invite further criticism.”

After listening to Wang Zheng and Tan Buming's opinions, Wang Jiazhen unhesitatingly took the opposite side. The Ministry of War had long since lost its command authority after military reforms, and had become nothing more than a logistics department and an armed forces department.

Since the task was to procure all the military equipment for the Ming army, it was essential to be thoroughly familiar with the production process and procurement costs. This level of detail was beyond what the Ministry of Industry and the General Staff could match.

His reasoning stemmed from this very point, providing the officials and the emperor with a simple calculation and a comparison of the differences between the two management models. He also raised a new, previously overlooked but highly relevant issue.

The initial encouragement of private participation in the military industry was the imperial court's intention, and the current prohibition of private participation is also a decision made by the imperial court. For the emperor and officials, this is simply a policy adjustment, and there's nothing wrong with it. But for each individual private investor, it could be a major life event.

Most private business owners were actually quite good. They had gone bankrupt building arsenals, tightening their belts and working hard for over a decade with their families and even clans. But then a government decree came down and they were no longer allowed to operate.

The amount of silver lost can be roughly calculated, but how can the effort and emotions invested over the years be measured? Can the land and property sold back then be bought back intact? If someone is unhappy and wants to appeal to the emperor, how should this be explained and judged?
This is not just idle worry. Emperor Jingyang has always been relatively tolerant of the common people, especially generous to merchants, and resolutely forbids the government from using its power to suppress them.

This caused considerable trouble for the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice, who had to add corresponding articles to the new Ming Code. They also provided detailed explanations and precedents for each article, which were then sent to various prefectures and counties in the form of official documents for reference.

Now that they're wielding the Ming Dynasty Code and pointing to its articles to reason with us, should we accept it or not? If we accept it, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, and Zhen Xianshi will be dumbfounded, unable to explain themselves at all.

If they didn't accept the proposal, local officials would be just as emboldened as the imperial court, rendering the new Ming Dynasty law meaningless. So, whether they accepted it or not, it would only cause trouble for the emperor, since the final decision would have to be made before him.

(End of this chapter)