Jin merchants are a general term for merchants who were active in Shanxi during the 500 years of the Ming and Qing dynasties. These merchants started with integrity, mainly engaged in the salt industry, ticket number and other businesses, of which the ticket number is the most famous business of Jin merchants. Jin merchants have been developing for hundreds of years, and their ticket number business is all over the country. After the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the Manchu government controlled by the Empress Dowager Cixi had to borrow money from the Jin merchants for compensation. From here, we can also see the strength of the Jin merchants at that time.

After entering the Republic of China, the Jin merchants declined rapidly. Especially after the Xinhai Revolution, all departments in Shanxi were unprepared, and the money released could not be recovered, but the deposits came to withdraw one after another. For a time, the power of Jin Shang shrank significantly. This change made Jin merchants realize that the traditional business model was no longer suitable for the current China, so they urgently needed to reform. Therefore, the big ticket number of Shanxi Jin merchants united to prepare for the establishment of a bank. It's just that the situation in Beiyang was unstable at that time. Frequent changes in government have made many efforts by the entire Jin merchants come to naught. After Yan Xishan took charge of Shanxi, he relied on the Jin merchants, but Yan Xishan's own strength was limited, and it was difficult to prevent the decline of the Jin merchants.

And the policy of the Northeast is to suppress Yan Xishan by supporting the Jin merchants, and let him know that even if the Northeast does not send troops, it still has the means to restrain him.

The penetration of the Northeast into the Jin merchants began with the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce. After all, after Tuoba Huiji took power, the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce has been administratively separated from the government, and the political significance of the representation is not as strong as that of the government. In addition, as the most powerful enterprise in Beijing, it is normal for the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce to participate in this kind of financial investment.

The contact of the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce made the Jin merchants very excited, after all, this is the first time that the government has come forward to care about private investment since the founding of the Republic of China. Especially after the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce sent Feng Yong's handwritten "integrity-based" plaque, the Jin merchants finally collectively turned into Beijing. After all, Beijing's orthodox status has been determined, and Feng Yong's attitude represents the attitude of the entire Beijing government towards the Jin merchants. Jin merchants have been united since ancient times, otherwise they would not have a long history of hundreds of years, and they have done business all over the world.

Yan Xishan also got the news about the cooperation between the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce and Jin Shang, but he didn't care. Some fallen merchant has nothing to threaten him except for some money. What's more, he has now gained a firm foothold in Shanxi, and it is no longer the time when he was in turmoil.

In this case, the cooperation between Jinshang and the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce has become extremely easy. Soon, the funds of the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce were invested in Shanxi, and the resources of the Jin merchants were utilized, and in just a few days, the Sanjin Bank opened and spread all over the country at a faster speed. With the reputation of Jin merchants for hundreds of years and the backing of the central government, Sanjin Bank immediately became the most popular bank in the country, absorbing huge private capital in just a few days. After all, in these turbulent times, a strong and stable bank is very important to the people.

Then, after the Sanjin Bank raised sufficient capital, it began to issue the currency of the Beijing government in the Beiyang, Southwest, and Liangguang regions. At this time, the reputation built up by the Jin merchants over hundreds of years played a huge role. For a time, banknotes printed with the portrait of Feng Shaoshuai in the Northeast circulated throughout the country.

Since the headquarters of Northeast Bank moved to Beijing, it was officially renamed Bank of China and became the central bank of the Republic of China. The first step in the establishment of the central bank was to issue the Beijing government's own currency. Of course, paper money is the mainstay. After all, in this era, the world's major developed countries use paper money, although the use of paper money has a certain risk, but it is undeniable that paper money is light, which greatly strengthens the liquidity of the entire currency and greatly promotes trade. The official title of the banknotes in the Northeast is Zhongyuan, but because there is a photo of Feng Shaoshuai on it, and Feng Shaoshuai has been deified among the people, the common people like to call him Feng Yuan.

For the issuance of Beijing banknotes, all forces adopted orders prohibiting circulation in their own territories, and established an exchange rate between the local currency and the Chinese yuan. But now the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce has promoted Zhongyuan to the whole country in one fell swoop by virtue of the commercial channel of the Jin merchant ticket number. The acceptance of the people has made the government very weak to pass the ban order.

Zhongyuan is so popular with the people, in addition to its lightness, it also has its value preservation. The value of the Chinese yuan was directly linked to gold, so it was not as easy to depreciate as the currencies issued by other domestic forces, and the Northeast Army defeated Japan and achieved the first brilliant victory of modern China against foreign aggression, which made the name of the central government in Beijing famous throughout the country. Coupled with the trust in the Jin Shang ticket number, they blindly believe in Zhongyuan. Another point is that now Sanjin Bank provides a way for ordinary people to flee from the turbulent Beiyang, the southwest, and the northeast. Ordinary people can pledge their assets at the local Sanjin Bank, and then go to the local Sanjin Bank to exchange for the equivalent amount of Zhongyuan after going to the Beijing government area. And this kind of discount, Sanjin Bank will not deliberately suppress the value of assets.

With the assistance of the Sanjin Bank, the number of displaced people who fled from Beiyang and southwest to Northeast China increased significantly.

With the Sanjin Bank as the pioneer, the Beijing government did not hesitate at all, Li Jun, in his capacity as president of the Central Government's Administrative Yuan, announced that the Zhongyuan is the only currency in China, and the rights to issue and change the Zhongyuan are in the central bank, and local governments are not allowed to participate in the issuance and circulation of currency.

As soon as the Beijing government's order came out, it immediately spread throughout the country. In the face of the strong Beijing government, all forces had to choose to compromise, after all, the circulation of Zhongyuan has become an established fact. The original order prohibiting the circulation of the Zhongyuan was changed to the circulation of the Zhongyuan and the currency issued by the local government. After all, the Beijing government order is to promote Zhongyuan, not to control other forces.

Shanxi is the province with the richest coal resources in China. After the founding of the Republic of China, especially after Yan Xishan took charge of Shanxi, Shanxi's coal production increased substantially, and these coals were naturally not used internally, but marketed throughout the country. Originally, Shanxi's coal trading was done with real gold. However, after the establishment of Sanjin Bank, the stability of Zhongyuan was valued, and merchants began to abandon the use of cumbersome real money transactions in favor of Zhongyuan. Under these circumstances, Zhongyuan began to flow into Shanxi in a large amount. The real money was collected by the Sanjin Bank and fell into the hands of the Jin Merchants and the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce. Among them, of course, Jin merchants took the small head, and the big head was taken by the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce.

In just half a month, China's economy changed abruptly, and Zhongyuan was marketed from Beijing's ruling area to the whole country. And with the stability of Zhongyuan, commercial trade gradually became prosperous. The commercial boom meant that the government also collected more taxes, could buy more guns and ammunition, and raised more troops.

But Yan Xishan's face is not good-looking now. The reason was that the Jin merchants refused to cooperate with his government. After the establishment of Sanjin Bank, the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce did not simply cooperate with a few and give up other Jin merchants, but was inclusive, and the large households in the Jin merchants were all snare by Sanjin Bank and took the line of the central government. The rapid development of Sanjin Bank has made the originally embarrassed Jin merchants become wealthy again. Under the operation of the Beijing government and the instruction of the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce, the trade of Jin merchants in Shanxi has decreased dramatically. Anyway, now that Sanjin Bank has gained a firm foothold in the country, and there is a strong Beijing government behind it, even if Shanxi Province does not have any income, it will not affect the interests of Jin businessmen.

Therefore, when the country became prosperous because of the popularization of Zhongyuan, the market in Shanxi has shrunk on a large scale. Sanjin Bank only collects funds, and without loans, it cannot promote the prosperity of industry and commerce. His Yan Xishan's pockets couldn't bulge. Without money, even if he Yan Xishan has great ability, it will be difficult for him to develop greatly.

If Yan Xishan still did not understand the purpose of the Beijing government, then he would not have been able to dominate the chaotic environment of the Republic of China for so many years. Yan Xishan also took some measures to prosper the market. It's a pity that the effect is not played. It was only at this time that Yan Xishan discovered how many resources the Jin merchants controlled in the land of the Three Jin Dynasty.

When Shanxi's economy was facing pressure from the northeast, on the battlefield in Henan, Wu Peifu finally seized the opportunity to bypass Yang Aiyuan's Jin army and attack Zhao Qi's Yu army. Although Yang Aiyuan tried his best to save it, it was a pity that the combat effectiveness of the Yu army was too poor. Before Yang Aiyuan's support arrived, the Yu army collapsed on a large scale. Zhao Kui himself escaped with serious injuries, which exacerbated the collapse of the Yu army.

Faced with this situation, Yang Aiyuan decisively abandoned the central region of Henan and returned to northern Henan, preparing to regroup and fight Wu Peifu again.

Although Yang Aiyuan's idea was good, the Yu army was too unsuccessful, and when Zhao was seriously injured, the Yu army collapsed automatically, and most of the 20,000 Yu army reserves in northern Henan were scattered before Yang Aiyuan returned to the division. By the time Yang Aiyuan was reorganizing the army in Xinxiang, Henan, the entire Yan-Zhao coalition army was less than 30,000 people. Moreover, more than 10,000 of them were panicked within the Yu army, and they had no combat effectiveness at all. On the other hand, Wu Peifu, because he solved Zhao Kui, his morale won a big victory, and now he is sweeping the entire central Henan, and he will be able to move north in a few days.

Yang Aiyuan couldn't sit still. He urgently telegraphed Yan Xishan to report the intelligence on the battlefield in Henan. Ask Yan Xishan to send reinforcements.

Taiyuan, Shanxi, Yan Xishan's official residence.

Yan Xishan received a telegram from Yang Aiyuan, a beloved general, and the face of a Shanxi peasant became tangled. He urgently summoned his confidants and generals to discuss.

"Overseer, I am willing to lead the army south, I will definitely keep the northern part of Henan, and I will never let the army of Beiyang overwhelm my Shanxi border." Shang Zhen said loudly.

"Hey! Now is the time of our three troubles, the Beijing government is aggressive, and the Beiyang government also wants to annex us. Our desire to survive in the gap between the two major forces may not be realized. Yan Xishan was also depressed. Originally, his Shanxi was in the middle of the two major forces, which could be a good buffer zone. However, neither Beijing nor Beiyang is a conservative force, and both want to destroy each other and monopolize the whole country. Therefore, sooner or later there will be a war between the two of them, and there will be no need for buffer forces at all. Whether it is the economic aggression of the Northeast or the military oppression of Beiyang, its essence is the same, it is to make Yan Laoxi bow his head.

(To be continued)