A discussion.
From high-level officials in US intelligence to Tesser's Marschak and his attending assistants, it was generally agreed that Huarong Technology was being targeted by the Great Xia government.
"Heh heh."
"Strike while the iron is hot!"
"Since Meng Hao's so-called domestically produced lithography machine is just a gimmick, then his main business must still be focused on mechs."
"Currently, major mining countries and battery-producing countries have, at our behest, banned the sale of batteries and lithium ore to Meng Hao!"
US government officials, with an air of arrogant self-congratulation.
He continued to squint, like a cunning old fox gnawing on bones without leaving a scrap, and said,
"Coincidentally, we also have battery manufacturing companies in Great Xia."
"Why don't we proactively contact Meng Hao and provide him with batteries?"
Huh?
Proactively provide Meng Hao with lithium batteries?
Wouldn't that be like sending charcoal in snowy weather?
Before Tesser could object,
The senior US official continued,
"All lithium batteries will be installed with backdoors."
"Once Meng Hao's mechs that use these batteries are offline and sold to the market, we will activate the backdoors."
"Bang bang bang!"
"This way, Meng Hao's mechs will be confirmed to have extremely unsafe rumors."
Hahaha.
These selfish and harmful individuals were stunned for a few seconds, then burst into laughter.
Very good.
An excellent idea.
This is exactly what they wanted: to destroy Meng Hao and make it impossible for him to ever recover.
...
Great Xia.
NG Group Company.
A lithium battery manufacturing enterprise with US background.
As a composite lithium battery factory with an annual output value of nearly 2 billion, it not only provided integrated batteries for Tesser but also served as a supplier for other domestic new energy vehicle manufacturers in Great Xia.
As a company with a market value of nearly 10 billion and an output value of nearly 2 billion, NG Group was a battery manufacturing expert enterprise ranked among the top ten globally and in Great Xia.
Hong Quan, the CEO of NG Asia-Pacific region, was an "expatriate friend" with an Eastern face, born and raised in Great Xia, but had long since joined US citizenship.
Upon receiving instructions from the US, he was somewhat stunned.
He was asked to proactively contact Huarong Technology and supply batteries to Huarong Technology at a price 10% lower than the market price.
"Are those guys at US headquarters being kicked by a donkey?"
"Didn't they just publicly announce a few days ago that they would ban the supply of lithium batteries and lithium ore to Huarong Technology?"
"How is it that in the blink of an eye, I'm being asked to contact Huarong Technology and Meng Hao... and even supply them at 10% below market price?"
While muttering,
A message, meant to be read and then destroyed, was sent to Hong Quan's company email via an encrypted channel.
He scanned the email, which was written in special code and self-destructed upon closing, his brows furrowed.
The email written in special code instructed Hong Quan to install a backdoor in the composite lithium batteries supplied to Huarong Technology.
He was to agree to any amount of lithium batteries Meng Hao requested without hesitation.
As for the loss incurred by supplying at 10% below market price, it would be fully compensated by the company.
If Hong Quan refused to cooperate, he would be impeached and removed from his position as CEO of the Asia-Pacific region at the general board meeting in a month.
If Hong Quan cooperated, he would receive a reward equivalent to 10% of the current sales amount.
Damn it.
Hong Quan's face was extremely grim.
He understood very well that installing backdoors in products supplied to other companies was not only a serious violation of commercial ethics but also against local laws and regulations.
Especially for composite lithium batteries.
Once the backdoor was activated,
An explosion could be as powerful as a rocket launcher.
At best, it could lead to the death of the driver, and at worst, it could cause injury or death to surrounding civilians.
In Great Xia, there was a specific criminal charge for this:
Endangering public safety.
Penalties ranged from seven years to life imprisonment, or even death!
However,
If he refused to comply,
His position would be revoked.
As the CEO of the Asia-Pacific region with an annual salary of millions of US dollars,
Hong Quan was truly reluctant to give up his generous pension and salary.
Moreover,
If there was an additional 10% bonus.
Even if Meng Hao only pre-ordered 10 million US dollars worth of composite lithium batteries, he would receive a 1 million US dollar reward.
"Forget it."
"Let's do it."
"Anyway, US technology is leading the world, and it's impossible for them to detect any backdoors!"
Human beings die for wealth, just as birds die for food.
Hong Quan, his mind clouded by money, gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
He did it.
He picked up the phone on his desk.
"Hello, Assistant? Please contact Huarong Technology. I need to discuss the acquisition of composite lithium batteries with them!"
...
It was no longer news that Meng Hao was being blacklisted by the Western business community led by the United States.
With the cutoff of rare earth resource supply, especially the lack of lithium batteries and lithium ore, it would definitely cause huge losses to Huarong Technology. Although the doors to most foreign rare earth and lithium ore resources were closed, many domestic companies chose to support Meng Hao.
Unfortunately,
These lithium battery manufacturers either had insufficient research and development technology, or their direct source of ore was prohibitively expensive, or their scale was too small to meet Huarong Technology's needs.
The real reason Meng Hao disbanded the first factory was to establish his own lithium battery industry.
However,
Given Meng Hao's personality,
He would never make it public until the matter was completely settled.
Currently,
The site had not yet been cleared, the expansion had not been completed, the new production line had not been assembled, and the Huarong Technology business negotiation representative sent to Great Bear Country had not even made contact with personnel from Mine Company No. 27 in Great Bear Country...
All preparations had not yet begun.
Meng Hao would naturally not make such a high-profile announcement about entering the lithium battery industry... or even the new energy vehicle industry.
At this moment,
He was being fed grapes by Qin Muyan, meticulously refining the design blueprints that were already near perfection, while listening to Chen Hua report on the domestic composite lithium battery industry's support for Meng Hao.
"I didn't expect it."
"It's still our own people supporting our own people!"
"Although the scale of these companies is indeed rather meager, it's a good intention after all!"
Meng Hao temporarily shifted his gaze from the computer screen to the stack of documents Chen Hua handed him.
Currently,
Over thirty Great Xia domestic lithium battery companies had publicly declared their support for Huarong Technology.
It was just a pity that,
The annual output value of the vast majority of these thirty-odd companies was even less than one million.
There were only a mere two or three companies with an output value exceeding ten million.
Moreover, their quality was unsatisfactory, their prices were exorbitantly high, and their production capacity could not even meet ten percent of Huarong Technology's needs.
"Sigh, full of sincerity, but lacking strength."
"Why don't we organize a joint procurement meeting?"
"Invite all the CEOs of these companies who have actively come forward to support us to Shilín, and let's have a chat on the spot!"