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

"The palace is heavily guarded, so it's almost impossible. Besides, in the current situation, it's easy to alert the enemy. Your mother asked that assassin to tell you to live well and never return to Chang'an."

Li You sighed, "Uncle, please ask someone to send more money to Mother."

Yin Hongzhi nodded: "Don't worry about these things, I've arranged everything. I will never let the people of Yongxiang bully her."

Yongxiang was the place in the Tang Dynasty palace where concubines who had made mistakes were imprisoned.

"Uncle, did you also plant assassins in Chang'an?"

"Not bad, but the quantity is relatively small, only about thirty."

"We'll have more manpower available in the future, so we can send more people."

"it is good."

The group walked to the stream and found a place to sit down.

On the opposite hillside, textile workers are directing others to harvest ramie planted on the slope.

This includes Yan Jiu.

After arriving at the mountain, she was assigned to the Gold Army and became a textile apprentice, learning weaving techniques.

Yan Jiu, with her sharp eyes, spotted King Qi and his entourage, and stopped what she was doing to take a closer look.

Li Youzheng was talking to Yin Hongzhi, so he didn't notice Yan Jiu on the hillside.

……

"Uncle, do you have any connections in Luoyang who can raise silkworms and weave silk, or any skilled craftswomen?"

"Yes, there are quite a few people in this line of work. I have a dozen or so looms on my estate in Yiyang."

Those who were good at business at the time, like Li You, discovered the monetary value of silk, so many engaged in weaving.

Besides being used as money, silk could also be used to make clothes. Clothes in ancient times were actually quite valuable. Ordinary people could not afford many clothes throughout the year and often patched up their old clothes.

"According to my estimates, the purchasing power of silk is five to six times that of linen. If it can be woven, it will be a great profit."

Seeing Li You's greedy appearance, Yin Hongzhi couldn't help but laugh.

"You'er, I remember you used to love hunting, you were too lazy to even read books, and you never studied the ways of commerce. How come you've become such a shrewd businessman now?"

"Uncle, you don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. Now that we're expanding, money is needed everywhere. When we raise an army again in the future, it will probably cost money like water. It's always good to prepare in advance."

Yin Hongzhi nodded in agreement.

"Uncle, speaking of the ways of business, there's something I'd like to ask for your opinion on."

"What is it?"

"Have you ever heard of 'public funds', Uncle?"

Yin Hongzhi thought for a moment, then said, "This is an edict issued by Li Yuan to fill the vacancies in officials' salaries and maintain the daily expenses of the government offices. You'er, why are you asking about this?"

Li You recounted the events that had occurred in Xiangzhou to Yin Hongzhi.

"Hiss... This monk Yuanjue is really something."

"When I was in Chang'an and Luoyang, I also heard about temples lending money."

"They call this thing longevity money, or sometimes incense accumulation loan."

"Many impoverished scholars who failed the imperial examinations would go to temples to borrow money when they ran out of money in Chang'an."

Li Youqi asked, "You're down on your luck and still borrowing money? Aren't you afraid you won't be able to pay it back?"

Yin Hongzhi laughed and said, "They are from poor families, but they are not that miserable. These days, most people who can study and take the imperial examinations have surplus land in their families, and a very few families even have more than 10,000 acres of land."

"The reason why these scholars fell into poverty was probably because they imitated those dissolute young men in Chang'an, either by pretending to be cultured or by frequenting brothels and taverns, which led to the exhaustion of their money and forced them to borrow from others."

It turns out it was his philandering that caused it.

"However, there are also outstanding individuals among the poor. Once they pass the imperial examination and obtain an official position, repaying their debts is naturally not a problem. Some temples, in order to curry favor with the government, have even reduced or waived their loans after the candidates pass the examination. There are many other examples."

Li You laughed and said, "Uncle, I've heard that very few people pass the imperial examinations, only about a hundred each year, and most of them are from prominent families. Rather than wasting money staying in Chang'an, wouldn't it be more comfortable to return to our hometown, Xianju?"

Yin Hongzhi sighed and said, "That's true, but among the scholars in this world, who doesn't want to rise to the top in one step and bring glory to their ancestors? Moreover, after passing the imperial examination and reaching the rank of sixth grade or above, the whole family can be exempted from corvée labor and taxes. When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs rise to heaven."

Li Youdao said, "Uncle, let's get back to the government's capital system. Whether it's government lending or a money exchange like the one run by Monk Yuanjue, in my opinion, they're all the same kind of business."

"The clerk who colluded with Yuanjue was named Luo Yuyang. These two were too greedy; most of the money they obtained went into their own pockets. Only a mere 30% was actually used for the expenses of the Xiangzhou government."

"Thirty percent?"

"I have carefully studied the account books and also audited the monk Huizhen. In the end, it turned out that there was only 30%. And this 30% of the wealth is more than enough to cover the salaries of the officials in Xiangzhou."

Yin Hongzhi was stunned for a moment, then said, "Extremely profitable, extremely profitable!"

Li You smiled slightly: "Uncle, please don't get excited. I was thinking, could we use the money we have to open a money exchange shop and cooperate with the government offices of various prefectures and cities across the country to earn this profit?"

"I think we can also take this opportunity to try and get our hands on the local government's money bags."

Yin Hongzhi asked, "You obtained Monk Yuanjue's account books, as well as his disciples who managed the money?"

"good."

"With what these people have in their minds, this matter should be feasible. I will send someone to Luoyang to ask those experienced pawnshop owners." Yin Hongzhi keenly realized the "advantages" of this business and had already begun to consider its feasibility.

When it comes to rebellion, Yin Hongzhi is serious.

As long as it benefits the cause of rebellion, Uncle Yin will support it unconditionally.

Li You added, "Yuanjue and his ilk are too greedy; they're practically draining the pond to catch all the fish, causing unrest among the local people. If we open a money exchange, we absolutely mustn't set the interest rate too high, or we'll easily run into trouble."

Yin Hongzhi asked doubtfully, "What if we lose money if the interest rate is too low?"

"It doesn't matter if we lose money. Our main goal is to infiltrate the government's financial system and establish connections with officials at all levels. This will make things much easier, whether it's intelligence gathering or other matters."

"I understand. It's like you're going to place a monk named Yuanjue in every prefecture of the Tang Dynasty."

"The situation varies from place to place. Some state governments may have reasonable financial situations and do not need our help."

"You'er, you're mistaken. The court's taxes are only so much each year. The royal family takes a portion, the army takes a portion, and high-ranking officials in the court take a portion. The remaining money has to be used for disaster relief, dredging waterways, and this year the emperor is going to send troops to attack Goguryeo. The share that actually reaches the middle and lower-ranking officials is pitifully small."

Yin Hongzhi's view is relatively objective and reasonable.

He hadn't even mentioned those powerful families who never paid taxes; these people were the persistent parasites that plagued the Tang Empire.