Yan believed that, unless he was able to modernize and revive Shanxi's economy and infrastructure, he would be unable to prevent Shanxi from being overrun by rival warlords.
Yan percaya bahwa, kecuali jika ia mampu memodernisasi dan menghidupkan kembali ekonomi dan infrastruktur Shanxi, ia tidak akan mampu mencegah pengambilalihan Shanxi oleh panglima perang lain.