Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

"Grandpa..."

"As long as you are diligent, you can safeguard the family business in Luoyang. Take care of your younger siblings... If you have a son in the future, choose one and name him You, so that he can carry on the family line..."

"Grandpa, our family is all alive. Let's go to Luoyang together!"

"Sigh... Father doesn't want to move anymore..."

Yin Shaokang understood that his father was telling him what to do after his death.

The father and son chatted for half the night in the field.

As dawn broke, Xiao Yu suddenly rushed over.

"Master, Qin Yun reports that His Highness Prince Qi is unharmed. He faked his death and escaped to the south with several thousand soldiers!"

"What?!"

"Are you telling the truth?!"

"It's absolutely true, the deceased King Qi was a stand-in!"

Yin Hongzhi clenched his fists.

He felt like he was back to normal.

……

Thousands of miles away.

Li You led his 5000 troops, preparing to enter the mountains.

As a wise man once said, it is easy to defeat the bandits in the mountains, but difficult to defeat the bandits in one's heart.

Li You's current strategy is to first become a "mountain bandit".

Mountain bandits are good, that's just right.

Fortunately, although the Tang Dynasty at that time had already shown signs of its economic center shifting south, the population of the southern regions, except for Wuyue, Taihu, Jiannan Road, and Jianghuai, was very small.

It was not until the An Lushan Rebellion broke out that the northern economy and social structure suffered a severe blow, leading to a significant population migration.

Through continuous development, it was not until the Southern Song Dynasty that the economy of the South finally caught up with that of the North.

With a small population, the government's power is weak, making it more suitable for hostile forces like Li You to hide.

Of course, the mountains are not a paradise, especially the primeval forests that have not been developed by humans.

Poisonous snakes, ferocious beasts, miasma, and poisonous gas were unavoidable.

How easy is it to survive in such a pristine place?

The first problem Li You needed to solve was to identify a relatively easy-to-develop area within the vast Tongbai Mountain range.

But right now, he had no map or navigation, and was completely in the dark. For the time being, he could only interrogate the poor woodcutter who had been captured.

"I'm just a woodcutter, how would I know anything about this!"

"Think carefully, when you were chopping wood, did you ever encounter anyone who lived in the mountains?"

"Well... I've only ever seen bandits; they do ruthless killings in the mountains... and a few unorthodox Taoist priests too."

"Bandits? If you encountered bandits, why didn't they arrest and kill you?" Yan Hongxin asked suspiciously.

"Sir, I was hiding behind a big rock and didn't dare to make a sound!"

Based on the woodcutter's description, there must be human activity in this mountain area, but the number of humans is quite small.

However, these "indigenous peoples," having conducted their initial explorations, certainly knew more information than those who came later.

Li You thought for a moment, then asked, "What's your name?"

The woodcutter replied, "My name is Liu Dashun."

"Who will you sell the firewood you've chopped?"

"Sell it outside Guangzhou, where there are people who specialize in collecting firewood."

The Guangzhou mentioned by Liu Dashun is located near present-day Xinyang.

North of the Tongbai Mountains lies Guangzhou; south of the Tongbai Mountains lies Suizhou.

"Are there many woodcutters like you who come here to chop wood?"

"There are more than ten people who come regularly... Young master, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm being chased by my enemies, so I came here to escape."

"With so many of you, how come you're still being hunted down by your enemies?"

"Sigh, you don't understand. There are big and small enemies. Some enemies are too ruthless; you can't beat them even if you outnumber them."

Li You gestured to Yan Hongxin, who then took out more than a dozen copper coins from his person and handed them to Liu Dashun.

When Liu Dashun received the copper coin, a look of surprise appeared on his face; it was the first time he had ever touched a real copper coin.

"Young master, you fled from the north, didn't you?"

"That's right, how did you know?"

"People in the north like to use copper coins, but we have very few copper coins here, so everyone uses hemp cloth to buy things."

Li You continued, "Brother Da Shun, I led several thousand men here to escape and settle down, hoping to find a way to survive. If you cooperate with us, you'll reap the rewards. But… let me make this clear: if you dare to try anything funny, this Brother Yan here is a ruthless killer!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Dashun's hair stood on end.

Li You laughed heartily: "Don't be afraid. From now on, when you woodcutters go into the mountains to chop firewood, we'll all meet again. We're all good people, not bad people, and we'll take care of you. Brother Da Shun, how much can you earn on a trip to Guangzhou to sell your firewood?"

Liu Dashun was a little confused; he couldn't figure out whether Li You was telling the truth or not.

But the other party did give me money, and quite a lot of it.

The saying "He who takes a bribe is bound to be obligated to do so" has existed since ancient times.

However, Liu Dashun was certain of one thing: the young man before him was definitely not a "good person".

"I can carry fifty catties of firewood in one trip, and it takes four days to get to Guangzhou. After about ten round trips, I can collect five hundred catties of firewood and then go to the Zhou family to get a bolt of hemp cloth."

"Master Zhou, do you only sell your firewood to this one family?"

"Yes, that's their specialty. They collect our firewood, then burn it into charcoal and resell it to other people."

There are actually people doing this kind of business.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. As long as there is demand, merchants will emerge, which in turn forms an industry.

Charcoal is made by stuffing wood into an earthen kiln and allowing it to slowly carbonize in a sealed environment. During this process, substances such as cellulose in the wood decompose, leaving only carbon. Produced charcoal is small in size, lightweight, and burns efficiently, making it easy to transport and use, and thus a relatively common commodity at the time.

"Can't you make charcoal yourselves?"

"We can burn charcoal, but the kilns we make ourselves aren't good enough. The charcoal made by the Zhou family is much better."

Looking at the lush, dense forest behind him, Li You suddenly thought that burning wood was a pretty good idea.

However, right now, we must first settle the several thousand people we have on hand before proceeding with the next step of the plan.

After purchasing supplies along the way, and with the grain originally transported from Xingyang, feeding five thousand people for three months was not a problem. However, after three months, Li You's rebel army would have to worry about the source of food.

If you can't even get enough to eat, who would want to follow you as a bandit?

He called Yan Hongxin aside.

"Hongxin, these woodcutters in the mountains know quite a lot. You should send someone to capture a few more, the more the better."

"Does Your Majesty intend to enter the charcoal business?"

"This business is feasible, but not now. I'm thinking of setting aside a group of soldiers and laborers to cut firewood and sell it for money. This would free up many mouths to feed and alleviate the pressure on the army's food supply."

"I think it's feasible. It would be best to take down the Zhou family who collect timber in Guangzhou, and then we can make our own charcoal to sell."

"No, absolutely not! We're new here, and if we want to settle down, we should keep quiet and avoid attracting the attention of the authorities."

"Your Majesty is right, I was too hasty."

"Also, from now on, don't call me Your Majesty anymore. We need to change the way you address me to avoid suspicion."

"What...should we change it to?"

Li You thought for a moment and said, "From now on, you shall call me Lord."

"promise!"

"With so many people coming into the mountains, we must learn how to grow crops. We can't just sit around and do nothing... Oh, and those Zheng family women who know how to weave must be well protected. The soldiers must not harass them."

Yan Hongxin nodded, indicating his understanding.

"Did they bring their spinning wheels and looms for weaving?"

"As per... my lord's orders, bring them all."

"That's good. Once the soldiers are settled, we'll buy them the materials and get them to start work."

If the other soldiers are the fighting force, then the female weavers are the golden army.

During the Tang Dynasty, only high-quality linen could be used as currency; inferior linen was not acceptable.

Although Li You has escaped his initial perilous situation, he is still a novice in how to build a proper base for rebellion, so he must seize every opportunity to earn money or food.

There are many things to do right now. Li You and Yan Hongxin discussed for a long time and listed all the necessary items on paper, noting their importance and urgency.

The words were written by Li You. Yan Hongxin suddenly realized that his lord's handwriting... seemed to have become much uglier.