When the Northern Expedition War was in full swing, the outbreak of April 12 completely ruined the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and also allowed Chiang Kai-shek to successfully establish the Nanjing National Government and nominally become the ruler of the Republic of China, behind which in addition to Chiang Kai-shek's betrayal, there was also the support of the three major consortiums, especially the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortiums, it can be said that the three major consortiums relied on money to support Chiang Kai-shek, of course, they also obtained enough benefits to completely control the economy of the Republic of China, it can be said that the four major families at the beginning were ranked behind them.
Silver
Not only that, when Chiang Kai-shek was fighting other warlords, these consortiums raised military funds for him, purchased various weapons and ammunition, and helped him win a series of wars such as the Chiang-Gui War, the Chiang-Tang War, the Central Plains War, and the Liangguang Incident, which was an important economic foundation for Chiang Kai-shek to monopolize power for a long time.
With the establishment of the Nanjing National Government, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Foundation contributed a lot
The three major consortiums of the Republic of China and the financial support they bring
Three major consortia
The three major consortiums in the Republic of China period are the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium, the North China consortium, and the South China consortium, and the way to control the economy is naturally the bank, of which the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium is the center of gravity of the three major consortiums, and the economic strength is the strongest, after all, the economic center of the Republican period is in Shanghai, and the economic power of the invasion of the great powers is also in Shanghai, especially the comprador capital developed during the First World War is concentrated in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui areas.
Banks during the Republic of China
Among them, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium was the actual operator of industrial and commercial organizations in Shanghai, Tianjin and other major cities at that time, and controlled a monetary capital of 1 billion silver yuan based on banks, with strong financial resources.
The second is the North China Consortium, although the North China Consortium is centered on Beiping, surrounded by a large number of warlords and bureaucrats, and there are a large amount of funds available, but the development of the consortium relies on economics rather than politics, coupled with the collapse of the Beiyang government, the North China Consortium has lost its only political advantage, and has gradually been infiltrated by the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Consortium in the continuous southward migration.
The North China consortium represents the Bank of Communications on behalf of the bank
As for the South China Foundation, with Hong Kong and Guangdong as the core, the scope of activities is basically related to the Nanyang region such as Singapore, mainly overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese businessmen, with obvious geographical characteristics of Guangdong and Fujian nationality, and its earlier participation in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's democratic revolution, which has a deep relationship with the National Government and strong independence.
Chiang Kai-shek who was chosen
Due to the political instability in the Beiyang period, the representatives of the three major consortiums had long begun to plan to find their supporters, especially the victory of the Northern Expedition, the revolutionary wave swept the country, and also made the rule of the Beiyang government precarious, it can be said that the Beiyang government at that time has become the abandoned son of the consortium, forcing them to find a new political spokesperson.
At this time, Chiang Kai-shek was in the limelight, not only supported by the right wing of the Kuomintang, but also the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, a good candidate politically and militarily, the only thing missing was financial support, so the three major consortiums bet on Chiang Kai-shek.
Chiang Kai-shek during the Northern Expedition in 1926
In September 1926, when the Northern Expedition Army first arrived in Wuhan, the three major consortiums sent Qian Yongming of the Bank of Communications as a representative to secretly go to Hankou and give Chiang Kai-shek 400,000 yuan as a meeting gift.
In March 1927, Chiang Kai-shek, who arrived in Shanghai, directly launched the "April 12 coup" and established the Nanjing National Government headed by him, and the task of raising funds to maintain rule was naturally entrusted to the three major consortiums.
On April 1, 1927, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Group contributed 3 million yuan through the Shanghai Banking Association to fund Chiang Kai-shek's launch of 412; On April 25, another 3 million yuan was invested as a reward, and then 30 million yuan of tax treasury bills were issued, which rose to 40 million yuan by early 1928, and it can be said that in less than a year, the three major consortiums raised a total of 80 million yuan for Chiang Kai-shek, which stabilized Chiang Kai-shek's rule.
Coupled with the "support" requested by Chiang Kai-shek before, a total of 136 million yuan of real money flowed into Chiang Kai-shek's pockets, and it can be said that the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium contributed the most effort and gave the most money.
Bloody four-one-two
Scratch someone's back
Why did the three major consortiums support Chiang Kai-shek?
The first is the reason for the Northern Expedition, when the revolutionary wave swept the country, there were strikes of workers in all major cities, and the continuous strikes had threatened the interests of the consortium, especially in Shanghai, the economic center of the Republic of China, and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium took the lead in hoping that someone could solve the dilemma as soon as possible.
Chiang Kai-shek is the best candidate, as long as he finds Chiang Kai-shek, who has just occupied Shanghai, to seek refuge, so that the workers can work normally, stabilize the current situation, and protect their own interests.
In May 1925, Shanghai workers went on strike
The second is to find a backer, after all, there is no political background and backer, his own wealth is fat, plus Chiang Kai-shek has a strong anti-communist ideology, which is consistent with the capitalists' consortium, and helping Chiang Kai-shek in difficult times, the benefits in the future will naturally be a lot.
Chiang Kai-shek's feedback
After Chiang Kai-shek stabilized the situation, he adopted the suggestion of Zhang Gongquan and others of the Bank of China to issue a large number of public bonds throughout the country, and set up a public debt committee, with nine banks among the three major consortiums, including China, Communications, Zhejiangxing, Zhejiang, Jincheng, Yanye, Mainland, Zhongnan, and Sihang Savings Association, as banks to bear public bonds.
This money not only made up for Chiang Kai-shek's expenses in the war, but also allowed the three major consortiums to make a lot of money, for example, according to the regulations at that time, the offtake group only needed to subscribe according to 50% to 60% of the denomination, but at that time it would give interest of 6 to 8% in full, which was quite a lot.
A bond worth $50 issued in 1928
Of course, it is not only the three major consortiums that profit, but also the four major families, at that time, the financial core of the four major families was the central bank, which only had 100 million yuan of capital at the beginning of its establishment, but all of them were offset by public debt, and the four major families did not pay a penny, and they were all trading without capital, and then the four major families used their authority to make the central bank assets grow sharply.
From 1928 to 1936, the capital of the central bank increased from 100 million yuan at the beginning to 1.23 billion yuan, and it can be said that the rise of the four major families began with public debt, and the acquisition and promotion of public bonds completely relied on the banks of the three major consortiums.
In addition, many figures of the three major consortiums successfully entered the National Government and became high-ranking officials, which was also agreed between them and Chiang Kai-shek:
Chen Guangfu
Chen Guangfu is one of the representative figures of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Group, and a famous banker in the Republic of China, founded the Shanghai Commercial Savings Bank in Shanghai, which was the largest commercial savings bank in Shanghai at that time, relying on his shrewd mind, the bank made huge profits every year, and at the same time he was concerned about the situation, seeing the momentum of the Northern Expedition, he raised 500,000 yuan to support Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition, and after the establishment of the Nanjing National Government, he was appointed as a senior adviser to the Ministry of Finance of the National Government, and was also the person arranged by Chiang Kai-shek to be specifically responsible for raising military salaries.
Chen Guangfu
Qian Xinzhi
After returning to China, he served as the manager of the Shanghai branch of the Bank of Communications to raise funds for Chiang Kai-shek, and after the establishment of the Nanjing National Government, he was appointed as the deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance of the National Government, which can be said to be one of Chiang Kai-shek's great contributors to raising military expenses.
Qian Xinzhi
Yu Qiaqing
Yu Qiaqing worked as an apprentice in Shanghai in his early years, then became a comprador, gradually became rich, founded Huitong Yinhao, and then initiated the organization of Siming Bank, and after having money, Yu Qiaqing donated the official title of Daotai and faithfully served imperialism as a comprador and bureaucrat.
Yu Qiaqing
During the Northern Expedition, he served as the president of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, and in view of the fact that the workers' strike affected the interests of the Chamber of Commerce, he secretly contacted Chiang Kai-shek on the eve of the Northern Expedition and fully supported Chiang Kai-shek's rebellion.
Zhang Jiayi
Zhang Jiaying studied economics in Japan in his early years, laying the foundation for entering the financial world in the future, serving as the vice president of the Bank of China during the Beiyang government, Chiang Kai-shek once borrowed 500,000 military salaries to the Northern Expedition during the Northern Expedition, and later gave 5 million to support Chiang Kai-shek's Central Plains War, and after the establishment of the Nanjing National Government, Zhang Jiaying became the general manager of the Bank of China, engaged in banking and industry all his life, and was a clean breeze.
Zhang Jiayi
Of course, there are other personnel, and it can be said that the cooperation between the three major consortiums and Chiang Kai-shek is a typical combination of government and business, and the three major consortiums rely on a strong economic foundation to provide financial support to Chiang Kai-shek and stabilize Chiang Kai-shek's position, and then they are sheltered here by Chiang Kai-shek and continue to develop their own wealth.
However, although these consortiums played a supporting role in Chiang Kai-shek's stability and made a lot of profits economically, with the strengthening of Chiang Kai-shek's rule and the thorough formation of the four major families, the three major consortiums, especially the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortiums, gradually lost their dominant position economically, and many banks and enterprises were merged by the four major families and became vassals of the four major families.