Chapter 532: Alliances and Coordination

In the third month of the siege, winter came to Shenzhen.

Li Yaozong stood by the window of Wanxiang Dasha, watching the thin layer of frost on the outline of Fenghuang Mountain in the distance.

Outside the window the cold wind howled, but the office was warm; he wore a shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms.

Three reports lay spread on the desk.

One was about the progress of domesticating chips. SMIC's 28‑nanometer production line was already running, and the Fenghuang Chip V revision had entered trial production. But the gap at 14 nanometers could not be filled within three years.

Another listed replacements for automotive parts. Of 372 imported components, domestic substitutes had been found for 210, and 162 were still being worked on.

The third was a plan for in‑house software development. The mapping team said two years, the email team a year and a half, the video team three years. Could overseas users wait three years?

He stared for a long time.

Then he picked up the telephone and dialed a number.

"Old He, how long do you think we can hold out fighting alone?"

He Xiao was silent on the other end for a few seconds.

"Director Li, we're not holding it up alone."

Li Yaozong hummed in response.

"Yes. Not alone."

He put down the telephone and looked out the window.

Fighting alone, it's hard to succeed.

The next morning, Li Yaozong summoned the core team to the office.

Chen Feng, Zhao Ming, He Xiao, Liu Yang, Zhou Ye, Wang Bo, Fang Wenshan, and Lin Jiawen—eight people—sat around the sofa.

Li Yaozong got straight to the point.

"We've been under siege for three months. Chips, parts, software—all are being tackled. But I've done the math."

He picked up a sheet of paper.

"Chips: catch up in three years. Parts: fill in within two. Software: usable in three. How do we survive these three years?"

No one spoke.

He continued.

"I have an idea. We have smartphones, cars, live streaming, chips, systems, six‑axis five‑link CNC machines. Huawei has communications, base stations, HiSilicon. BYD has batteries, motors, whole vehicles."

He looked at the people seated.

"What if the three of us join forces?"

The conference room fell silent for a few seconds.

He Xiao spoke first.

"Director Li, you mean…"

"Alliances and Coordination." Li Yaozong stood up, "Fighting alone, hard to succeed. Three companies together, offense and defense as one."

Fang Wenshan raised his hand.

"Director Li, would Huawei and BYD agree?"

Li Yaozong shook his head.

"I don't know. So we have to try."

He walked to the window.

"President Ren and President Wang are both industrialists. They know better than anyone that this siege isn't aimed at Wanxiang; it's aimed at Made‑in‑China as a whole."

He turned around.

"I'll send invitation letters, inviting them to tour Wanxiang, so they can see our resources."

That day two invitation letters were sent out separately.

A week later, Ren Zhengfei and Wang Chuanfu appeared simultaneously at the entrance of Wanxiang Dasha.

In the elevator, the three stood without speaking.

President Ren was sixty‑nine, his hair silver, but his back straight, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.

President Wang was forty‑seven, in the prime of his strength; a smile on his face, but shrewdness hidden in his eyes.

The elevator stopped at the thirty‑eighth floor.

The doors opened, and Li Yaozong stepped aside.

"Gentlemen, welcome! We've been looking forward to this!"

First stop: Nanshan R&D Center.

Chen Feng waited at the entrance.

"President Ren, President Wang, welcome."

He led the three into the building, swiped the elevator, and pressed the sixth floor.

The elevator ascended.

Ren Zhengfei looked at the card reader inside the elevator.

"Security's pretty tight,"

Li Yaozong nodded.

"The core projects are all underground,"

The elevator doors opened onto a long corridor. At its end were two doors, one leading to the new‑materials laboratory, the other to the underground workshop.

Chen Feng pushed open the heavy sound‑proof door.

Behind the door lay the two‑thousand‑square‑meter underground world.

President Ren stood at the doorway, watching the myriad pieces of equipment, silent for a few seconds.

"This is…"

Chen Feng said, "A photolithography machine. Twenty‑eight nanometers, we built it ourselves."

Director Ren walked over, stood before the two‑story‑high machine, and stared for a long time.

"Can it be used?"

"Yes. Yield is seventy‑five percent, and it's still improving."

Director Ren nodded, saying nothing.

Director Wang walked to the machine tool on the other side.

"Is this a six‑axis machine tool?"

Chen Feng nodded.

"Tian Gong No. 1. We designed it ourselves, wrote the control system ourselves, precision zero‑point‑zero‑zero three millimeters."

Director Wang extended his hand and brushed the silver‑gray body.

"What has it processed?"

Director Tang walked over and picked up a turbine blade.

"A blade for an aircraft engine. Titanium alloy; it used to take eight hours, now three and a half hours."

Director Wang took the blade and looked at it in the light.

It was light, hard, and its surface smooth as a mirror.

He stared for a long time.

Then he returned the blade to Director Tang.

"Fine piece."

Coming out of the underground Workshop, Chen Feng led them to the new‑materials laboratory.

Inside a transparent protective shield, a sheet of material so thin it was almost invisible glimmered with an odd luster.

"Graphene," Chen Feng said, "Its electron mobility is two hundred times that of silicon. Using this for chips, the frequency can exceed three hundred gigahertz."

Director Ren leaned in for a glance.

"Can it be mass‑produced?"

"Three years. Within three years it can go onto the production line."

Director Ren sat up straight, looking at Li Yaozong.

"You've hidden it quite deep."

Li Yaozong smiled faintly.

"If we don't hide it, it won't work."

After touring the R&D center, the three of them returned to the top floor of Wanshang Great Summer.

In the conference room, the tea was already brewed.

Director Ren lifted his teacup and took a sip.

"Director Li, you invited us here not just for a tour, right?"

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Director Ren, you're straightforward. Then I'll speak plainly."

He looked at the two people.

"Wanshang has been under siege for three months. Chips, components, software—all are being tackled. But fighting alone, it's hard to thrive."

He paused.

"I'd like to cooperate with both of you."

Wang Chuanfu set his teacup down.

"How shall we cooperate?"

Li Yaozong stood up and walked to the whiteboard.

He drew three circles, labeling them: Wanshang, Huawei, BYD.

"Wanshang has phones, cars, live streaming, chips, and systems. Huawei has communications, base stations, and HiSilicon. BYD has batteries, motors, and complete vehicles."

He drew several lines between the three circles.

"We can complement each other."

He pointed to the Wanshang circle.

"Wanshang's phones can use Huawei's HiSilicon chips. Wanshang's cars can use BYD's battery‑motor. Wanshang's live streaming can use Huawei's base stations."

He then pointed to the Huawei circle.

"Huawei's base stations can use Wanshang's chips. Huawei's communication equipment can use BYD's batteries."

He then pointed to the BYD circle.

"BYD's complete vehicles can use Wanshang's intelligent driving system. BYD's batteries can use Wanshang's IoT technology."

He put down his pen.

"The three joining forces, offense and defense integrated."

The conference room remained quiet for a long while.

Director Ren lifted his teacup and drank slowly.

Then he set the cup down.

"Director Li, I see your sincerity. I also see Wanshang's resources."

He looked at Li Yaozong.

"Huawei is willing to cooperate."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"I mean the same. Each does their part, cooperating."

President Wang laughed beside them.

"I agree. We can cooperate."

President Wang paused.

"BYD's batteries can be given priority to Wanshang, but the price must follow market rates."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"That's natural."

The three talked for another two hours.

The overall direction was set.

Chip: Wanshang and Huawei co‑develop, sharing technology.

Automobile: Wanshang uses BYD's batteries and motors; BYD uses Wanshang's intelligent driving system.

Telecommunications: Huawei will prioritize Wanshang's network needs.

Software: The three will jointly build a base platform to avoid reinventing the wheel.

Talent: They will open training resources to each other and cultivate jointly.

After the talk, night had already fallen.

President Ren stood up and extended a hand.

"President Li, a pleasant cooperation."

Li Yaozong grasped Ren's hand.

"Pleasant cooperation."

President Wang also extended a hand.

"Three companies joining forces, let's see who still dares to encircle."

All three laughed.

The media's sense of smell is keener than a dog's.

That afternoon, photos appeared online. The three, side by side, walking into Wanxiang Dasha, their backs captured clearly.

The headline was blunt: "Huawei, BYD, Wanshang Triple Titans Secret Meeting."

The comment section exploded.

"What are these three companies up to together?"

"Making cars? Making phones? Making chips?"

"It can't be a merger, can it?"

Fang Wenshan stared at the backend data, watching the news spread at tens of thousands per minute.

He sent Li Yaozong a message:

"President Li, got photographed."

Li Yaozong replied with a single character:

"Okay."

The next day, online rumors grew fiercer.

A media outlet posted: "Huawei, BYD, Wanshang Merger? Insiders Reveal Details."

Then the second article: "Three Titans Secretly Talked for Five Hours, Merger Plan Set."

The third piece: "New Company Named "HuaWanDi", Valued Over One Trillion."

The comment section blew up completely.

"Is it real?"

"If these three merge, the whole world will have to shake three times."

"Should I sell the stocks I hold?"

Fang Wenshan flipped through the backend data line by line.

He called Li Yaozong.

"President Li, should we clarify?"

Li Yaozong thought for a moment.

"No need. Let them guess."

Fang Wenshan was startled for a moment.

"Let them guess?"

"Right," Li Yaozong said, "The more wildly they guess, the higher the attention. The higher the attention, the more those who want to encircle us will have to think twice."

Three days later, the three companies simultaneously issued a brief statement.

"Recent rumors about a three-way merger are false. The three parties have reached a strategic cooperation intention and will conduct deep cooperation in chip, automobile, telecommunications and other fields. Specific details will be announced after implementation."

The statement was short but packed with information.

It's not a merger, it's cooperation.

But the scope of cooperation covers the three major fields of chips, automobiles, and telecommunications.

The comment section's tone shifted again.

"So it's not a merger, it's cooperation."

"Cooperation is good; it's better than fighting alone."

"These three joining forces are enough for those foreign companies to have a drink."

At seven in the evening, Li Yaozong sat alone in the office.

Outside the window, Shenzhen's night was deep. In the distance, the Nanshan Research and Development Center was brightly lit; in the underground workshop, the lithography machine was still running, and in the new materials lab, the young people were still working overtime.

He recalled what General Manager Ren had said when he was about to leave today.

"General Manager Li, this battle can't be won in a year or two. But as long as we stand together, no one can knock us down."

He also recalled what General Manager Wang had said.

"Batteries, motors, and electronic controls are BYD's; intelligent driving, operating systems, and chips are Wanshang's; communications, base stations, and Hisilicon are Huawei's. Together, the three form a complete industrial chain."

He stood for a long time.

Then he turned and walked back to his desk.

He opened his computer and began to read the framework agreement on strategic cooperation.

Outside the window, the city's lights shone as bright as dawn.