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Chapter 1476 Policy Adjustment 2
"Clap clap clap... First Wang Zheng, then Wang Jiazhen, you two truly make me proud today. My beloved ministers, the two Ministers Wang spoke earnestly, every word a gem, offering frank advice to my face; they are pillars of the nation!"

Just as the courtiers were all agape, secretly worried about Wang Jiazhen's remarks, the emperor stepped forward to set the tone. He not only affirmed Wang Jiazhen's statement but also gave it considerable praise.

"Whether or not to allow private individuals to continue operating military industries is merely a matter of imperial decree. Given the current industrial base of the Ming Empire, I believe that whether or not it is allowed will not affect the army's combat effectiveness."

However, I have said many times that when formulating policies, the first consideration should not be whether it is convenient for administrators to implement them, but rather whether it is easy for the people to accept them. If it is convenient only for me and you, but the people have to suffer great losses, then that is the work of a foolish ruler and treacherous ministers!
I certainly don't want to be called a tyrant by the people, and my beloved ministers probably don't want to bear such a bad reputation either. Therefore, I and you all must take on more of the trouble ourselves and give more convenience to the people.

Regarding this matter alone, I have a small idea that has been brewing for a long time, and today I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss its applicability. First, let me clarify that this shouldn't be limited to the military industry; it can be applied to all sectors, allowing us to identify and address their shortcomings.

Seeing that the atmosphere was turning awkward, Hong Tao had no choice but to stand up and give a concluding speech. As the throne became more secure and imperial power more centralized, the opportunities to sit back and listen to the ministers' heated debates and diverse opinions became increasingly rare.

Often, imperial council meetings became one-man shows. Ministers would first explain the background of a matter, then be pressured to express their opinions, and then wait for the emperor to launch into a lengthy speech or use the topic to his advantage. Finally, they would collectively shout "Your Majesty is wise! Long live the Emperor!" and the meeting would adjourn!
It's not that the ministers don't want to speak freely, nor are they afraid of saying something that will cause trouble; it's just that their power is dwindling, and therefore they no longer have the obligations they should bear. So why bother getting involved? Whoever has the most power makes the decisions, and the rest are just following orders.

In other words, old-school officials like Wang Zheng, Wang Jiazhen, Zuo Guangdou, and Yuan Yingtai might occasionally show some of the courage and integrity of upright officials. It is estimated that once their generation passes away, the ministers who come to power in the future will become more and more subservient and completely become the emperor's servants.

Is this good or bad? That's the wrong question. Politics isn't about good or bad, but about what's suitable or unsuitable. Later generations say slavery is bad, but if you put those people back 4000 years ago, they would certainly have preferred slavery as well.

In that era, limited by population size, productivity level, and natural conditions, there was no fertile ground for either socialism or capitalism; even proposing any ideology would have been superfluous.

For now, I am capable of leading the Ming Dynasty forward at a rapid pace, and there is indeed no need for more people to participate in decision-making. It is actually the most efficient and least wasteful model for ministers to act as clerks, doing their jobs diligently day in and day out.

However, when one loses control of the overall situation, this model must be changed; otherwise, if the person in charge of the steering wheel becomes confused and those below continue to work hard and fast, then a crash is not far off.

"Changing policies frequently is definitely not acceptable. Even if changes are necessary, sufficient time must be allowed for private capital to withdraw gracefully. I suggest avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach, as it offers no benefit other than easier management."

However, not making changes would indeed be unsuitable for the current state of development. Therefore, I intend to lay the groundwork from a legal perspective, clearly informing the people which industries are permissible and which are prohibited.

This can be represented by a hierarchical system. Taking the military industry as an example, the General Staff, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Industry could first categorize the raw materials and components needed for military production. From this, key components requiring technical secrecy could be designated as high-grade, and those of secondary importance as mid-grade. Production of these would then be assigned to the arms factories affiliated with industrial groups. The remaining components, which have low technical content and require less secrecy, would be designated as low-grade and could be produced by private arms factories.

This eliminates the problem of smuggling for private arms factories. If they have sufficient production capacity, they can sell their products to any country without having to operate clandestinely. Customs will not stop them; they can sell as much as they want.

The same hierarchical management method can also be applied to the mining, shipbuilding, smelting, forging, machining and chemical industries, with the chemical industry being of paramount importance!

As far as I know, many chemical plants now produce fertilizer and explosives at the same time. Not to mention that the officials stationed at the plants cannot prevent leaks, even if I were to personally go and supervise, it would be in vain.

With a tiered system in place, this problem can be largely solved. Factories with insufficient security clearance, whether government-run or private, are not allowed to purchase relevant raw materials and equipment, let alone produce or sell related products; violators will be prosecuted for treason!

In fact, after going around in circles, what Hong Tao really wanted to say was to establish a tiered system for various industries. For the past thirty years, the Ming Dynasty had been undergoing economic reforms and industrial innovation, and many industries simply didn't exist before, so there were no historical lessons to draw upon.

The case of privately-owned arms factories stealing and selling weapons is just the tip of the iceberg; much more remains hidden beneath the surface. For over a month, Hong Tao has had his advisory office and the Imperial Guard conduct extensive investigations, obtaining a wealth of firsthand information—the contents of which are shocking!

In their pursuit of economic development, local governments are engaging in unrestricted mining, oil extraction, and soil excavation within their jurisdictions, encroaching on arable land. While the situation may not be considered extremely serious, it is already showing signs of a problem. If this trend is allowed to continue, it will be too late to address the issue once it becomes severe, as many resources are non-renewable.

Another issue is technological secrecy. The reason why the Ming Empire was able to intimidate all of Asia with its strength and stand up against the whole of Europe was not only due to its large population resources, but also mainly due to its leading technology in various fields.

In terms of people's livelihood, there are many high-tech value-added products, such as textiles, printing and dyeing, food processing, sugar refining, brewing, metal processing, shipbuilding, etc., which can improve production efficiency and earn a lot of gold and silver from other countries with more and better products.

In the military field, technologically advanced weapons have a more direct effect, helping the army achieve victory. They can also be used to indirectly deter and control the diplomacy and domestic affairs of some countries through arms exports.

However, with the expansion of industrialization, apart from a few large corporations controlled by the imperial court, many technologies were spreading to the general public. Private capital was less concerned about preventing leaks, or simply did not know what should be prevented and what should not, making it easy for unscrupulous individuals to exploit loopholes.

(End of this chapter)