What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 705 An Indescribable Tacit Understanding

Zhao Hande's purpose for this trip was nothing more than to address traditional import demands:
Timber, rubber, palm oil.

These three items are not unique to Java, but the fact that they can be exported in large quantities at relatively low prices means that Java cannot do without the other party. Especially after joining the WTO, the burgeoning private demand coupled with rising prices has directly led to a shortage of raw materials. On the surface, this trip is to help Java's economic recovery, but in reality, it is also to acquire more resources at low prices.

It's normal to run into a wall the first time, because Lao Zhao had come to the wrong temple at all—more than 70% of the plantations in Java were in the hands of Chinese businessmen, and they were originally going to be plundered in large numbers in 98, causing the value to plummet to below 50%, but the arrival of Geijin and the Odebiao Chamber of Commerce directly turned the situation around.

The locals have fully realized the situation: indigenous families are actively relying on the Odbiao Chamber of Commerce to conduct business stably, and the latter now has absolute power over plantations on several large islands.

In theory, such a monopolistic organization should be subject to suppression from both the public and the government, but the reality is quite the opposite.

Tang Wen's support for the Audebiao Chamber of Commerce wasn't to allow Wang Hu to become a local tyrant. The Chamber of Commerce issued two strict orders during its expansion:
Plantation wages must be paid on time and in full;
Overtime work must be compensated.

These are the only two conditions. Moreover, the wages and overtime pay are only slightly higher than the local average, which is considered good but nothing special. Members of the Chamber of Commerce are required to comply with these conditions. Anyone who violates them will be immediately expelled and listed as an "unwelcome partner" by Gaikin.

The seemingly mundane conditions had an immediate effect when implemented locally. The locals no longer objected, and after two months, the plantation workers would greet and bow to people with Chinese faces. The hostility disappeared, and even the surrounding security improved.

Why? Because the indigenous merchants in the plantations of Cawawa really treated their workers like livestock. Working 10 hours a day was considered easy, and 14 hours was commonplace, and their wages were often deducted.

Tang Wen did not insist on Gai Jin's usual generous treatment. He simply implemented the basic indicators, which brought tears to the eyes of the local natives. In addition, the deterrent effect of the Audebiao Chamber of Commerce made the original gangs dare not act recklessly. How could he not gain both fame and fortune?

The plantation workers in Java didn't care whether the plantation was owned by locals or Chinese businessmen; as long as they were paid, they were good bosses, and everyone hoped that their plantation would join the Audebiao Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, it wasn't that no one had thought of asking for help, but the Kongo, like the other ship, kept docking everywhere to give free performances. Anyone who had seen the ship fire its guns in unison immediately became quiet. Besides, the lessons of Schat and Löck were still fresh in everyone's minds.

After carefully learning about the current power of the Audebiao Chamber of Commerce, Zhao Hande was at a loss for what to do. Then he also learned of a rumor:
Serginho had promised Tang Wen a specially created position as Grand General, intending to turn the naval defense force into his own and join it if he couldn't win, but was rebuked by the latter.

This news was quickly debunked, and Sergio himself claimed it never existed, but...

He then recalled what Tang Wen had said in Chapter 349:

Maintaining peace and stability in the surrounding environment should be considered an unshirkable obligation of major powers.

This sentence actually implies a second half:
Only by taking on responsibilities can we receive rewards.

During his time at Zhuawa, Zhao Hande kept thinking about this sentence.

……

Prism Building
"You mean, we might have an unofficial fleet?"

Johnson looked at Taylor across from him, who was still holding the price list given to him by Tang Wen, which listed the prices of all the warships that Gaikin could sell.

"This is of great significance to the empire."

Taylor did not come alone; he brought along a former Navy SEAL named Ike Price, who had just founded a security company called "Blackwater."

Taylor explained with a sincere expression:
"Although the empire's power is strong, it is too scattered. Honest businessmen like us are easily bullied when we earn a little money overseas. We can only rely on security companies, but ordinary security companies have limited capabilities. However, if we had a maritime joint defense team, we wouldn't have to worry about security issues. If our employees were kidnapped, we could be easily rescued."

However, maintaining a fleet is far too expensive and requires highly skilled personnel; the support from Prism Building is crucial for us.

Johnson rubbed his chin. In fact, the Prism Building had long had the need to involve private military contractors in official operations to reduce the budget. Moreover, the "Blackwater" was established with the help of Vice President Dick Cheney. But its original goal was just to do some odd jobs and resell supplies. But having a fleet... didn't seem like a bad idea?

If the Imperial Navy were allowed to build its own battleships and aging aircraft carriers, Johnson could stuff the proposer into a vertical launch silo and show him that the budget wasn't being wasted.

However, private contractors don't have these considerations. Battleships and propeller planes are actually very suitable for low-intensity counterinsurgency operations. Otherwise, why would Congress always want to keep Iowa and A10?

Without Iowa and A10 aircraft, the only options are to use expensive Tomahawk missiles or have advanced fighter jets drop bombs, which is a completely different level of cost.

However, against the backdrop of overall naval downsizing, the more old equipment is retained, the more difficult it becomes to replace it with new equipment. Therefore, the Navy and Congress often engage in repeated negotiations over these robust old items. In this process, the old equipment may end up being counterproductive due to excessive maintenance costs.

However, if private contractors are responsible for "low-level combat," not only will there be a good reason to phase out old equipment, but more importantly, it will save on the budget—referring to saving on the annual budget approved. After all, military spending certainly does not cover the maintenance of private contractors, so at least on the surface, a lot of money can be saved.

Moreover, private contractors are not bound by any moral constraints. They can do many jobs that they wanted to do in the past but were hesitant to do, and when it comes to taking the blame, they just throw out the hired cannon fodder, without having to pay any compensation.

Outside of morality, outside of budget, summoned and dismissed at will; capable of doing what the regular army can do, and even what the regular army cannot do; quick to take the blame, worry-free, punished but not rewarded, this is outsourcing... this is private contractor!
For example, if Blackwater were to buy a few gold-plated battleships, Congress would stop talking about reviving the Iowa, and the land support fleet could be retired and replaced with Arleigh Burkes; if they were to buy a few World War II aircraft carriers, the amphibious assault ship fleet could be converted into Nimitz-class ships... Brilliant!

Taylor's only goal was for Blackwater to officially enter the Imperial system and receive sponsorship and subsidies from the Navy. Although they couldn't openly receive military funding, they could use the Navy's ports, supplies, and fuel. They had plenty of ways to sustain themselves and might even make some money.

This portion of "supply consumption" was naturally accounted for as normal losses by the Imperial Navy, and Johnson turned a blind eye to it.

It doesn't spend the money of giant corporations or the navy; it only spends the federal budget, yet it can maintain its own fleet and seize profits globally.

Even a top investor like Taylor couldn't command the Imperial Navy, but he could certainly command the Blackwater Fleet!

So it doesn't matter if Gaijin sells warships at a high price, since it's not his money!
Giant companies are habitually shrewd and calculating. Even if they can afford to buy warships, their first thought will be how to recoup their investment and make more money. Purely "loss-making" purchases without leverage value are difficult for the board of directors to accept, even if they are "not expensive".

However, Johnson felt that Geigin's offer was too honest. A Colorado-class ship was only $3.5 million, which was so much cheaper than the Yorktown's $5 million. He was a conscientious businessman!
If all the imperial military-industrial complexes were as conscientious as Geigin, how could the navy not be strong?
"wrong!"

Johnson suddenly shouted, leaving Taylor and Price bewildered. Then they heard the former mutter:
"A Wasp-class amphibious assault ship costs $13 billion to purchase, and a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier costs $5 million. The two ships have roughly the same flight deck area. Although the Yorktown cannot carry amphibious equipment, it can reach speeds of over 30 knots and has no problem carrying helicopters for combat; it can completely replace them..."

"hiss--"

Taylor also gasped, then quickly interrupted him:
"Minister, you can't tell!"

Johnson immediately realized what was happening, his wide-open eyelids closed again, and his mouth shut.

Yes, we can't just say things like that. If outsiders hear about it, the best-case scenario is that the military-industrial complex will present evidence proving that the Wasp-class is more advanced. The worst-case scenario... cost is the most sensitive thorn in the Imperial military-industrial system. Whoever touches it dies, no matter how high their position!
After pausing his dangerous associations, Johnson returned to the topic of the Blackwater Fleet's formation.

Taylor's desired model was for him to mobilize major corporations to jointly purchase warships and then lease them to Blackwater. Blackwater would then operate on the fringes of legality, obtaining supplies from the Imperial Navy and taking on missions from both sides. Ultimately, they would acquire the warships and recoup their investment.

The overseas interests of the giant corporations were strongly protected, Blackwater expanded rapidly and gained great strength, the Imperial Navy saved costs and eliminated old equipment, Rams had a reason to reduce expenditures, Prism Building gained a force that was convenient for doing bad things, Gekin made money, everyone benefited, and everyone had a bright future!

Johnson did not object, but rather considered the list of ships he recommended purchasing.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the price list even included Iowa and Montana.

Montana?
While Gagkin could at least try to find blueprints for other historical warships, Montana hadn't even initiated a project, yet Tang Wen claimed he could build one and asked for $20 billion.
Seeing this, Taylor quickly explained:

"Tang said he had always wanted to build a super battleship. Montana was just trying his best to imitate historical projects. In fact, Geigin completed the design himself, so the final result cannot be guaranteed."

"let it go."

Johnson wouldn't normally be looking at $20 billion to buy a battleship, but after thinking it over for a while, he came up with an idea:

"Your budget is $15 billion to buy a ship, so I think it can be allocated like this:"

Aircraft carrier: USS Yorktown, 1 ship, $5 million;
Aviation cruisers: 2 Hildebrand, $8 million;
Destroyers: 4 Civilization-class destroyers, $1 million;
With all the accessories included, $15 billion would be just right. I don't recommend buying battleships because calibers of 305mm and above are already a bit excessive. 203mm shells with extended-range ammunition are sufficient for land support, and besides, the Hildebrand has a deck that can accommodate helicopters.

As for helicopters and attack aircraft, we can buy them from the Empire. Our CH-53K and A-1 Skyraider are definitely better.

Taylor was delighted upon hearing this, which meant that Johnson was already pushing for it internally, and don't forget that he didn't haggle when listing the warships, and even set aside an extra $1 million for "accessories".

In fact, the offer Tang Wen gave him at the time was rather hasty. It wouldn't have been a problem to negotiate a discount of 80% or 90%, but why didn't Johnson mention it?

Johnson pretended not to have thought of it, Taylor pretended not to have thought of it, and Price acted like he was invisible, looking to the side as if he were air.

After discussing some other aspects of the backroom deal, Johnson got up to see his guests off. His trusted aide, who had been waiting by his side, couldn't help but ask:
"Minister, such a large arms sale is likely to cause quite a stir."

"I know that Rams and the president would actually be happy to see this. After all, spending $15 billion to replace a warship niche worth tens of billions of dollars is a good way for them to cut costs."

"But having Geely manufacture it would probably draw criticism. Some people would say it would be better to have Italy or Japan manufacture it, as there would be much less resistance."

"That's certainly true in theory."

Johnson nodded in agreement, then said something completely out of the blue:
"Do you know why I advocated selling Nimitz's reactor? I didn't even need to bring it up; I was just asking for trouble."

This was clearly a question the adjutant had wanted to ask for a long time, and he immediately asked it:
"This will not do you any good; on the contrary, it will attract a lot of attacks."

"That's because they don't know enough, and you shouldn't know either."

As he spoke, Johnson slowly stood up and pressed the power button on the coffee machine, approaching his adjutant amidst the noisy motor:
"I'll be retiring in a little over a year, so reputation is no longer relevant to me. But there's one piece of information you should know. All the investigation reports on this matter are classified as top secret and I have no right to access them. I can only tell you verbally."

The adjutant immediately tensed up. Johnson's health had never been good, and at only 52 years old, he was already showing signs of aging (he was later diagnosed with leukemia). He had a clear plan to retire after this term, go to Raytheon as CEO, make some money, and then retire.

He's still young, and as the successor to Johnson's faction, he'll definitely get promoted. Of course, he should listen carefully to any secrets his old superior is willing to reveal.

Using the noise of the coffee machine as a cover, Jay whispered in his ear, word by word:

"Remember the underwater warship wreck investigation campaign? We eventually shut it down and banned further exploration of shipwrecks because they all disappeared. That included Kongo, Yahagi, and Fusang."

The adjutant immediately understood the implication, but still had doubts:
"But this is not enough to serve as evidence, and it cannot confirm a necessary connection. Moreover, we still do not know the relationship between the disappearance of the underwater remains and the Lost Empire."

"We're not detectives, we don't need evidence. What can be explained is the truth. Besides, Tokyo University... can you really believe they secretly built two super battleships and one aircraft carrier? A 2-ton super aircraft battleship, can a country that has never designed a 1-ton warship immediately complete that? Even at the level of World War II!"

We don't mention it because lifting the lid wouldn't benefit anyone, but everyone remembers it!

The adjutant suddenly understood many things. In the past year or so, the Empire's attitude toward the other side of the Pacific could actually be described as "indulgent." What they were really afraid of was that the other side had stopped pretending and directly joined forces with the Lost Empire.

Facing two directions at the same time is unwise, which is why even the Sparks sniper case ultimately came to nothing.

"Therefore, before we deal with the lost empire, the empire absolutely cannot create any more enemies for itself. And our most important task is to ensure our own safety before we can have any future."

(End of this chapter)