Chapter 3592
Chapter 3592
Chapter 3592
Lack of funds is a very real difficulty, but the future that this plan will shape is indeed extremely tempting to the Executive Committee.
This is not a simple expansion of the military industry. Once it is implemented, the development process of the entire country may change as a result.
The ordnance industry that produces weapons and equipment, and its upstream industries such as mining, smelting, machining, chemicals, and shipbuilding, are areas that are currently achieving initial industrialization. The substantial upgrading and expansion of related industries is actually equivalent to injecting more resources into the industry, which is consistent with the Executive Committee's long-term strategy of promoting the country's industrialization.
The higher the level of industrialization, the greater the gap in national power between China and other countries of the same era. However, in the past 30 years, the ambitions of the Executive Committee have been limited by various objective conditions.
For example, the large amount of mineral resources needed to develop heavy industry, a sufficient number of senior technical experts, a large number of professional workers who have received basic education and are able to engage in industrial production, and the huge amount of funds needed for industrial infrastructure, all of these have greatly restricted the speed of Hai Han's industrialization.
However, Hai Han is no longer what it used to be. Years of construction have enabled Hai Han to possess a large number of industrial production facilities and professional workers, so the realization of Qiao Zhiya and Bai Kesi’s proposal is not out of reach.
Seeing that no one objected to the funding solution he proposed, Bai Kesi continued to add: "Everyone, what we really lack now is not the funds needed to implement this plan, but the confidence to achieve our goals!"
"We can train tens of thousands of workers and soldiers at the same time, and we are fully capable of achieving explosive population growth in a short period of time without worrying about the lack of immigrants to cover the land we occupy. We have been operating industrial capacity for 30 years, and where should we use it to achieve the greatest benefits? I think it's time to change our thinking."
“Do you remember what we had in mind when we came here to establish the Executive Committee 30 years ago? What we want to do is to build the most powerful country in human history. Now we are neither close nor far from this goal, but if we don’t take action now, we will really be old!”
Bai Kesi's inspiring speech was like a stimulant, rekindling the enthusiasm of these senior officials who were already over 50 years old.
Shi Diwen had already gone to Japan to supervise the war and was unable to attend the meeting, but he had known about this matter before leaving Hangzhou and had specially written a document to express his support for the proposal.
Shi Diwen's attitude is of course not surprising. After all, he comes from a military background and has considerable strength in both the army and navy. If the national policy changes to a radical expansionist tendency, then Shi Diwen and his men will definitely be the beneficiaries.
What's more, after Hai Han established its capital in Hangzhou, many official institutions originally located in Hainan will be relocated here one after another. If this proposal is promoted, a large number of military industrial units will move north to the East China Sea region. This will not only bring a large number of jobs to Shi Diwen's jurisdiction, but will also greatly promote the local industrialization process.
Yan Chujie followed suit and expressed his agreement. Even if we put aside the role of promoting industrialization in the future, he had no reason not to support this proposal, which was obviously beneficial to the military's expansion of its voice. Although Chen Yixin was not in Hangzhou at the moment, if a vote was required on this proposal, it was obvious that he would support it without hesitation. Once this plan was implemented, the Northern Region would certainly be able to get a share of the pie with the rich mineral resources in its jurisdiction.
Although Schneider, Ning Qi, and Yuan Qiuye felt that the implementation method of this proposal needed to be discussed, they had no objection to promoting the country's industrialization process. After all, only by allowing the country to enter industrialization can everyone's common goal be achieved.
What's more, the number of votes in favor of this motion has reached five. Even if Tao Donglai has not yet expressed his position, it is useless to express opposition in this nine-member executive committee.
Yuan Qiuye, who was in charge of agriculture, immediately stated that industrial development was important, but agriculture was still the foundation of Hai Han. Even if they wanted to increase investment in industry and the military, they could not touch the budget allocated for agricultural development. In other words, you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't touch my territory.
Schneider knew that it was meaningless to object at this time. He just emphasized that the use of relevant funds must be strictly controlled and supervision must be strengthened. After all, the funds required for this plan would be quite huge, and it would mean a sudden spending of money. It is inevitable that some people will have different ideas during this period.
"Laoning, what do you say?"
Ning Qi came back to his senses after hearing the question, looked at everyone present and said: "I don't oppose the resolution of the Executive Committee, but I hope everyone can remember that external military expansion is only a means, not an end. If we want to conquer the world, we ultimately need to rely on advanced science and technology and management systems, rather than relying entirely on war. The country we have worked so hard to build cannot become a war machine that only knows how to fight!"
Tao Donglai responded in a deep voice: "What Lao Ning said makes sense. As the helmsman of this country, the Executive Committee must distinguish between means and ends. We cannot fight for the sake of fighting, nor can we let the army influence the decisions of the Executive Committee."
"The expansion of the military system's production capacity and the expansion of militarization are just byproducts and collateral effects of industrialization. We must stay sober, distinguish the primary from the secondary, and ensure that the country moves in the right direction!"
Ning Qi's words undoubtedly revealed the hidden dangers after the implementation of this proposal. After increasing investment in the military industry and relaxing some restrictions on military expansion and conquest, the two fields of military industry will be combined into one, involving more stakeholders, and the influence at home and abroad will definitely increase greatly. At that time, it may not be so easy for the Executive Committee to continue to remain rational.
But the huge benefits are in front of us, and the Executive Committee will definitely not reject this proposal at the moment. The next few years may be a rapid development period. All Ning Qi can do is to serve as a reminder and supervision. If Hai Han really slides towards militarization in the future, at least there are people like him in the Executive Committee who can come out and put the brakes on.
The Executive Committee did not publicly announce the content of this motion, but sent a secret telegram to local officials in power at home and abroad about the final resolution.
For all the time travelers who received the notice, this news came as a surprise, but it also seemed to be a natural progression. The sudden dispatch of troops to Nanjing was just a trigger. At this stage, Hai Han did not seem to need to continue to keep a low profile. It was time to do something that should have been done long ago.