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

The significance of the Silk Road was to facilitate the exchange of the finest goods between the East and the West.

The silver coins that Li You and Yin Hongzhi wanted to mint were the Sasanian Persian silver coins, which were the most widely circulated in the world.

They were very willing to accept these silver coins to buy goods from foreign merchants.

Dou Jun suddenly felt that if he had met these two people earlier, he might have been able to make a lot of money with them.

Born into a merchant family, his greatest wish in life was to possess immeasurable wealth.

Dou Jun gritted his teeth: "My lord, I can't control the Dou family, but I can control my own money. I have several private residences in Yangzhou, where there's a total of 90,000 strings of cash buried. I'm willing to use this as capital to join your business, what do you say?"

Li Youqi asked, "Didn't you always say you had 60,000 strings of cash? How come it's 90,000 strings now?"

Dou Jun smiled wryly and said, "The 60,000 strings of cash were my working capital invested in business, while this 90,000 strings of cash is my private savings."

Li You looked Dou Jun up and down, feeling that this guy might be hiding a lot of money somewhere else.

"Are you really willing to give it up?"

"Absolutely true!"

"Dou Jun, you need to think this through. The money that my Huang Chao army makes is for the purpose of rebellion. Even if you make money by giving us your money, it will not be your money. Instead, it will be reinvested in Huang Chao's army."

Upon hearing this, Dou Jun's previously excited expression instantly fell.

The key to the benefits of having a secret stash of money lies in the word "secret".

Yin Hongzhi, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but feel annoyed when he heard what Li You said.

A full 90,000 strings of cash!

Why not pretend to agree to this person's request? Once you have the money, he won't have a say in what happens next.

Dou Jun thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "My lord, the money I, Dou Jun, have made from my investment doesn't belong to me now, but what about later? If you ultimately succeed in your rebellion, wouldn't I also make a fortune?"

Li You smiled slightly: "You're quite clever, aren't you? As long as you don't do anything opportunistic and stick with Huang Chao's army wholeheartedly, a steady stream of wealth will naturally await you, understand?"

"I understand, I understand!"

Having understood the hidden meaning in Li You's words, Dou Jun's expression changed from gloomy to cheerful, and he smiled broadly again.

He's a pretty optimistic person.

Li You means that the money you lose now will be compensated to you in the future.

"Dou Jun, you have 90,000 strings of cash in Yangzhou, but you're not in a hurry to take it out... Uncle, how's the preparation for our Huimin Bank going?"

Yin Hongzhi frowned: "We've encountered some problems, mainly..."

Li You waved his hand: "We'll discuss the bank matter in detail tomorrow night. I have other things to arrange today. Sanwa, go and call all the leaders of the stronghold over."

"promise!"

The leaders sat around Li You.

As the number of people in the mountain stronghold continued to increase, the number of talented individuals promoted by Li You also gradually increased.

The saying goes that everyone is different, and because everyone has different talents, those who truly possess management skills are actually a minority.

Of course, such people are also more likely to stand out, be noticed by their superiors, and thus be promoted and given important responsibilities.

This is a common phenomenon in a normal and positive group.

However, in a positive and progressive group, superiors tend to use their cronies rather than those who are truly talented.

"The first matter is to transfer manpower to Raozhou and Xuanzhou. Xuanzhou needs 500 men, and Raozhou needs even more, 1,000. The mountainous area of ​​Raozhou will be developed as a new base for my Huang Chao army, understand?"

"clear!"

"The second matter is that my Huang Chao army and people have been working in the Tongbai Mountains for more than two years, and have already cultivated more than 7,000 mu of terraced fields. According to your reconnaissance, the developable land in the Tongbai Mountains has basically been developed. Next, I will send 3,000 men to the Dahong Mountains in the south to develop a new base."

Li You chose Suizhou because it was sandwiched between two mountain ranges: Tongbai Mountain to the north and Dahong Mountain to the south.

Now that Tongbai Mountain has been almost fully developed, Dahong Mountain should follow suit.

As for Suizhou City, located between the two mountain ranges, adhering to the principle of "a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow," we will leave it alone for the time being.

"Qin Yun, the important task of opening up the Dahong Mountain area is entrusted to you."

"promise!"

"The third matter is that during this trip down the mountain, I witnessed the advantages of light boats and convenient ships. The goods we produce in Raozhou and Xuanzhou also need to be transported in by water and land. Therefore, I have decided to select capable personnel to go down the mountain to find a suitable place for shipbuilding nearby, set up a shipyard, and build boats of various sizes. Liang Mengbiao, you will handle this matter."

"promise!"

"The fourth matter will be carried out within our mountain stronghold, and this is relatively easier. We need to allocate personnel to build a large thatched hut within the stronghold to serve as a private school. From now on, not only will the children in the camp need to learn to read and write, but officers and soldiers of all ranks will also take turns studying in the private school. I will also personally impart some knowledge to you, understand?"

"clear!"

Thanks to Li You's persistence, Arabic numerals and the multiplication table have spread throughout the camp.

However, the overall literacy rate of Huang Chao's army was not high, less than 10%.

Many of the newly recruited slaves didn't even have their own names.

This situation must be changed. It must be understood that an army armed with knowledge and culture surpasses an army that is largely illiterate in both cohesion and combat effectiveness.

Putting everything else aside, suppose a superior officer transmits military orders in writing. When the order reaches a lower-ranking officer, the officer laughs and says, "I can't read! The order can't be carried out!" Forget about fighting a war; even retreating would be a struggle.

Li Youjian built this school not only to teach these people to read, but also to pass on other things to them.

Li You had been thinking about these things for a long time, but due to being tied up with various matters, he hadn't had time to do them.

The mountain stronghold now has a large population, and many slaves are also continuously pouring in.

With the ingenious method of minting copper and silver coins, the funding problem was greatly improved, the entire production process was revitalized, and Li You no longer needed to do many things by hand. Therefore, he could reserve more energy to try new things.

"The fifth matter is the improvement of coarse salt. I will discuss this matter with Hongxin separately. Those of you who have received other orders should quickly prepare manpower. If you encounter any problems, come to me."

"promise!"

The so-called private discussion actually involved Li You, Yan Hongxin, and Yin Hongzhi.

Li You also called Dou Jun over.

This man comes from a merchant family; now that he's up the mountain, we should give him something to do.