Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 59: Carrying Foreign Powers
Rare earths actually never refer to a specific type of mineral deposit, but a category of mineral deposits.

All relatively rare and rarely distributed elements in nature can actually be called rare earth elements. Zheng Yi only used one element of the rare earth element: samarium.

Combining samarium and cobalt to make an alloy is his permanent magnet material.

But there was no need to explain this to the two girls. They wouldn't understand even if he explained it, and this was already his core secret.

It’s not a question of whether it can be believed or not, but why would he take the initiative to tell others about confidential information when there is no need to spread it?

Samarium and other elements coexist in monazite, a rare earth mineral, which is extracted from tin mine tailings.

As for tin mines, 40% of the world's tin mines are in British Malaya and are now controlled by them.

Another 30% or so are in China.

Siam, Australia, and Indonesia also have tin mines, but most of them are controlled by the Chinese.

Besides him, no one knows how to make monazite. Even if monazite is made, no one knows which of the dozens of metal elements in it is the permanent magnetic material.

This can be called the core confidential technology of Taiyou Machinery.

Of course, monazite can be extracted from more than just tin mines, but in this day and age, the world's understanding and use of rare earths are still very limited. He said that monazite comes from tin mines, so this thing must come from tin mines.

Other motor companies can certainly go around the world to find monazite through other methods, but this process can take a few years or even decades. The specific development of rare earths is inherently full of contingency, randomness, and uncertainty.

For such a long time, which motor company could have resisted coming to him to buy samarium?

Motor and electrical companies that cannot obtain permanent magnet materials will definitely be eliminated by the times. At present, only he has this material, and monazite is almost entirely monopolized by the Chinese.

Zheng Yi also briefly introduced to them the scarcity and uniqueness of this thing, and how it happened to exist in the tailings of the tin mine.

The Chinese, especially those in Malaya, and especially those in Kuala Lumpur, do have a certain say in tin mines.

The two of them understood immediately.

Zheng Yi: "As early as a month ago, I asked Brother Li Xiaoshi to set up a tin mining association throughout Southeast Asia, just like the rubber association. One of the most important aspects is the unified sale of tailings and monazite, even including Australian tin tailings."

"This material is originally in small quantities, so we can achieve unified purchase and sales. We are confident that we can, through normal commercial means, at least monopolize more than 90% of the world's monazite resources within five years.

If we can control more than 70% of the market share within ten years, we will be able to control at least 50% of the resources even after or years.”

"So, the price of this thing depends entirely on my and my brother's mood, and this is our weapon."

As he spoke, Zheng Yi's face couldn't help but show some light, and he was in a very good mood.

I had a crazy night last night. Although I have a little kidney deficiency, my lower back still hurts a little.

But after the release, the pressure that had been suppressed in my heart for a long time has been reduced a lot, and today I heard the good news that the research was successful.

Naturally, his mood was also relaxed. He was so happy that he even took out a cigar from his pocket and started smoking without caring that this was a laboratory.

Qian Qiwen said, "This is British Malaya, after all. Do we Chinese really have the capital to negotiate with the British?" Zheng Yi had naturally thought about this question before and explained, "Indeed, you have a point, and we should be on guard. But you have to understand that 20th-century Britain is no longer the same as 19th-century Britain."

“Ordinary people may not understand this, but I believe the top brass of the British government are aware of it.

Although the nominal owner of the Nanyang region is still Britain, its real owner has quietly become the Americans. It's just that they tacitly agree not to break this window paper.

"American?"

Wang Qiaoyun and Qian Qiwen both expressed confusion.

They were clearly ruled by the British Colonial Office, so why did they say that the masters of Southeast Asia were Americans?

Obviously, even if they are not ignorant poor people, they are no different from ordinary people when it comes to international politics.

Zheng Yi was unwilling to discuss such boring international politics with them, so he changed the subject and said:
"Simply put, the British rule is still based on the rule of law. Especially when dealing with other powers, they are very reasonable. The UK in the 20th century was far less powerful than the British Empire in the 19th century."

“So I plan to first use permanent magnet materials to cooperate with electrical companies in other countries, and then bring electrical companies from other countries to cooperate with British electrical companies.
Finally, we used the power of the British Electric Company to negotiate with the British Colonial Office in exchange for their tolerance of our Chinese small-scale military manufacturing enterprises.

"Simply put, it means to carry foreign powers with you."

Carrying foreign things with you is not just something that can be done in the country, it also applies to the British.

After all, Britain's ability to rule Southeast Asia in the 19th century was due to its invincible navy, while Britain's rule in the 20th century relied solely on inertia.

All of Britain's fleets, military forces, and military forces that can be deployed at any time in the Far East are far smaller than the US military forces in the Far East.

In terms of military strength of Asian navies, the US Navy is actually first, the Japanese Navy is second, and the British Navy is third.

Ordinary British people were still immersed in the glory of the British Empire, and even completely looked down on the Japanese as a yellow race, but the British political leaders were still very rational, so the British have always attached great importance to safeguarding the interests of Americans in their colonies.

Moreover, it has always adopted a policy of appeasement towards Japan, avoiding its sharp edge.

Try not to provoke others if you can.

In fact, although Nanyang is still a British colony, half of its annual imports are Japanese goods, and the currency used by Nanyang Chinese in cross-border exchanges has long been US dollars instead of pounds.

At least in the 20th century when imperialism was the mainstream, the biggest international order was the one with the biggest fists and the most warships, and the range of the cannons was the only truth.

"All motor companies around the world will have requirements for rare earths, and I'm the only one who can currently provide them. So, I'm planning to use the supply of rare earths as a precondition to lure other motor companies in Europe and America into the trade, and exchange them for complete sets of power technologies, including motors, electrical components, and inverters."

"Then, under the name of a joint venture, we will negotiate with British Power, handing over all monazite trading rights as a condition for establishing a joint venture with British Power. This will allow us to form a three-party partnership, control rare earths, and establish a mutually beneficial relationship with them. We might even indirectly become a shareholder of British Power."

"For the Colonial Bureau, the largest capital enterprises in the Far East are Shell Oil and British Electric. This one is responsible for securing British Electric. I also have another technology prepared for Shell Oil."

"As long as I can be an indispensable and unbreakable partner of these two enterprises, the Colonial Office will naturally tolerate his many outrageous behaviors."

(End of this chapter)