I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 203 Military Equipment Manufacturing

"Why are you like this? We agreed before that if I bring business to the group, I will be awarded a medal if I make a contribution to the group! Are you going to deny it now?" Zhu Houzhao immediately lost his composure.

"It's agreed, but if you want to attract business, you have to see if the group can do it. The group takes the high-end route in the forging industry. The only factory with experience in producing large quantities of forging products is the farm tool factory. Although the farm tools produced by the farm tool factory are quite popular, they are still very different from military equipment manufacturing. Moreover, military equipment manufacturing involves many aspects. Different industries are like different mountains. The group really can't do this business." Zhu Houxuan refused calmly. He didn't want to agree so quickly.
The smile on Zhu Houzhao's face disappeared, "Really can't do it?"

Zhu Houxuan didn't say anything.

Zhu Houzhao snorted coldly and said, "Don't beat around the bush. I've been to Qizhou, don't I know you? You are deeply immersed in the steel industry. It's not a question of whether the group can do it or not, but a question of whether you want to do it. As long as you want to do it, military equipment manufacturing will not be a problem for you."

Zhu Houxuan didn't expect that Zhu Houzhao had so much confidence in him, but since Zhu Houzhao had said so much, it was difficult for Zhu Houxuan to refuse directly.

"Brother, military equipment manufacturing is not a good business. There are many varieties and high quality requirements. These are not problems. Technical problems are not a problem for me, but it is not easy to get the payment for this business. If things go wrong, I may end up losing money in the end."

Zhu Houxun was not lying. Military equipment manufacturing is not a good business.

Maybe everyone thinks that military equipment manufacturing is just like defense procurement in later generations. Once the quantity and technical parameters of the items required are determined, the order is placed and the payment is made directly. The company that takes the order then just needs to find a way to manufacture the items and deliver the order.

But the situation in the Ming Dynasty was not like this. It was much more complicated than the national defense procurement in later generations.

The root cause is that the Ming Dynasty’s taxation has not yet been monetized and is still collecting taxes in kind.

The manufacture of military equipment in the Ming Dynasty was a special government industry. Military equipment included armor, bow strings, crossbows, swords, guns, and firearms. The Military Equipment Bureau under the Ministry of Industry was specialized in manufacturing conventional military equipment and uniforms used by the Beijing Army. The Military Equipment Bureau had an armor factory and Wanggong Factory (gunpowder factory) under its jurisdiction. The two factories had a quota of more than 9,200 craftsmen, who were divided into two shifts to produce throughout the year. Firearms were cast by the Military Equipment Bureau under the Ministry of Industry.

All the raw materials for making military equipment were collected by the Ming government from various places in the form of taxes. Even the craftsmen who made military equipment did not have a fixed organization, but were "shift craftsmen" recruited from various places to come to the capital.

Going to the capital to make military equipment in shifts was a kind of corvée for these craftsmen. Each shift lasted from one year to five years, so the work of the shift workers was unpaid. The Ministry of Works only had to give them some salt and rice to keep them alive during their shifts.
The entire manufacturing process basically did not cost the court any money.

In this process, craftsmen are the most vulnerable party and are easily exploited in various ways, which makes them lose their enthusiasm for work and the conditions and motivation for innovation.
Therefore, this manufacturing process is difficult to convert into a commercial behavior.

If the Ming Royal Group undertakes the manufacture of military equipment, it will most likely become a form of processing with supplied materials. The court will provide the raw materials, and the Ming Royal Group will process and manufacture them. This is equivalent to the Ming Royal Group replacing the role of the shift craftsmen, and the Ministry of War will not pay more money for this, because the Ministry of War did not spend much money on manufacturing before.

This means that the Ming Royal Group will probably lose money if it gets involved in the manufacture of military weapons. Zhu Houzhao naturally understood this. He reached out and gently patted Zhu Houxuan on the shoulder, saying meaningfully: "Brother, as you said before, we can't just consider economic benefits, we also have to consider political gains."

Now it was Zhu Houxun's turn to sneer, "You said I was beating around the bush, aren't you beating around the bush as well? I know you're not just trying to get the military weapons manufacturing business for the group just for the Red Dragon Medal."

"I knew I couldn't hide this from you." Zhu Houzhao laughed, and suddenly lowered his voice and said, "I just feel that the Ministry of War is in charge of too much, so I want to take away some of its powers. This is a good opportunity, and we must take this opportunity to control the manufacture of military equipment in our own hands."

Zhu Houxuan showed a look of understanding, and then lowered his voice and said: "Brother, you should have told me earlier. I will definitely do my best to help you."

Zhu Houzhao was very happy with Zhu Houxuan's statement, and he said affectionately: "To fight a tiger, you must be close to your brothers. With your words, I feel relieved."

After hearing this, Zhu Houxuan suddenly sighed, "I finally understand. Not only do I have to help my brother make money, but now I also have to help him spend the money in the right place. My brother really treats me like an animal!"

Zhu Houzhao was amused by Zhu Houxun's words, "Haha, you are right, those who are capable should be given more work. I now feel more and more that bringing you to the capital is the right thing to do."

Then he said seriously: "We have talked about the problems of the Ming Dynasty many times. The first problem of the Ming Dynasty is finance, and the financial problem is half about collecting money and half about spending money. You have been improving our problem of collecting money, and now you should extend your hand to the field of spending money. The money that is hard to earn must be spent on places where it is worth it, rather than letting it be eaten by parasites and making them fat and white."

"Please rest assured, brother. When I return, I will start to set up a new department to be responsible for military equipment manufacturing. Well, why don't we call this new department the General Armaments Department? The General Armaments Department will surely live up to its mission." Zhu Houxuan also said seriously.

Zhu Houxuan fully understood why Zhu Houzhao did this, because the main way for civil officials to restrict Zhu Houzhao from using military power was through equipment and logistics.

As the emperor, Zhu Houzhao was the supreme commander of the Ming army. Even the Ministry of War could not stop him from promoting a military general. However, without equipment and logistical support, no matter how powerful the army was, it would not be able to exert its combat effectiveness.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao now wants to use this method to pry open the two powers held by the Ministry of War. Although controlling equipment manufacturing does not mean completely controlling all rights to military equipment, it is a good start.

Zhu Houxuan was also happy to see this. After he came to the capital, the more he saw, the more disappointed he became with the corruption and inefficiency of the Ming Dynasty's institutions. Although he had just been making excuses, he had actually wanted to obtain the right to manufacture military weapons for a long time.

(End of this chapter)