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

"Giving up when faced with difficulties is only human nature... By the way, when you and Shao Kang were contacting merchants in Luoyang, you weren't using the Yin family's identity, were you?"

"Of course not. We use the name 'Wei Clan' on the surface. Shao Kang's alias is Wei Kang, and mine is Wei Wan. I also selected a loyal servant from my household to impersonate the head of the 'Wei Clan.' When conducting business with outsiders, we also refer to ourselves as 'Wei Clan Trading Company.'"

"Well, that's good. Since other merchants are unwilling to cooperate, let's start doing it ourselves first. Once they see the benefits, they'll naturally beg to invest."

"Shaokang and I thought the same thing, but with our limited funds... we can probably only do copper coin withdrawal business in a few major cities for now. We can also do lending business, but we dare not lend out too much money at once."

"Ultimately, it all comes down to a lack of funds... How much cash do we have right now?"

"Including last year's surplus, we have a total of 120,000 strings of copper coins, all of which have been distributed to Luoyang. We also have some cloth and other valuables left, but we will keep them for other purposes."

Li You nodded. Huimin Bank would naturally be involved, but it couldn't possibly invest all available resources into it.

"The production capacity from the copper mines in Xuanzhou and Raozhou hasn't arrived yet. Once the next batch of copper ingots arrives, we'll calculate the output and see how many copper coins we can mint. How many coins can we mint from the copper ingots I brought this time?"

Yin Hongzhi smiled and said, "Seventeen thousand catties of copper ingots can be used to mint about three thousand strings of cash. Even at this rate, it will take three months to produce ten thousand strings of cash. More than two thousand Sasanian Persian silver coins have also been minted from the silver ingots, and I have distributed these coins to Shao Kang."

As he spoke, Yin Hongzhi took out more than a dozen silver coins from his body and handed them to Li You to examine.

Li You held the coin in his hand and saw that the obverse of the coin depicted an elderly foreign man wearing a hat similar to that of Tang Sanzang. The reverse side featured Zoroastrian altars and sacrificial scenes.

One reason he went to personally inspect the two important copper mines was to mint coins, and the other reason was the Huimin Bank.

"It all depends on the actual output of the copper mine. The potential of the copper mines in Xuan and Rao prefectures is far from being fully developed. I think it should be more than 17,000 catties per month."

"You'er, that kid named Dou Jun has 90,000 strings of cash in his private savings, doesn't he? We can borrow it."

"I am still observing him. It is too early to say whether he is trustworthy."

"The person is inside the mountain stronghold, so we can investigate slowly. The copper coins are inanimate objects, and they're just buried anyway, so we might as well dig them up and use them quickly. As long as Dou Jun is honest, we can give him the principal and interest in the end."

"Alright, Third Brother!"

"My lord."

"Go and call Dou Jun over."

"promise!"

Dou Jun had been busy with salt production these past two days. When he heard Li You calling him late at night, he assumed that his lord wanted to inquire about the salt.

Upon hearing the idea of ​​a "people-benefiting bank," Dou Jun was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.

"You...you people mint copper coins, so that's what you're up to!"

"You could say that."

"If this succeeds... merchants across the land will never need to carry copper coins again! Amazing, amazing!"

"Stop commenting, are you going to vote or not?"

"I've already invested, but... my lord, could I possibly take a small share?"

"Alright, I'll give you 15% of the original shares."

"Fifteen percent? How much is that?"

Li You had no choice but to explain the rules for marking percentages to Dou Jun again.

"My lord, I offered 90,000 strings of cash, and you offered 120,000 strings, so why are you only giving me 15% of the share capital?"

"This business is huge, and other merchants will definitely join later. If I give you all the capital, what will happen to the others?"

Yin Hongzhi said, "Dou Jun, you should be content. If our Huang Chao army hadn't had enough wealth in the early stages, how could this business have come to you?"

Dou Jun laughed and said, "Look at what you're saying, I was just venting."

The three continued their discussion on the topic of establishing Huimin Bank.

"Including your money, we can invest 210,000 strings of cash right now. Wait another two or three months until the mines from Raozhou and Xuanzhou are delivered to the mountains, then we can find some more from other sources to make up 240,000 strings of cash. With 30,000 strings of cash allocated to each branch in a major city, we can open eight branches in the first phase."

Li You paused for a moment, then said, "Gentlemen, you can think about where to open these eight branches."

Yin Hongzhi said, "Chang'an and Luoyang definitely need to be included, and Yizhou Prefecture should also be included."

Dou Jun said, "Yangzhou should also be released, as well as Nanjing, Qiantang, and it would be best to release one of them as well."

Qiantang refers to Hangzhou, while Bianzhou refers to Kaifeng.

Li You asked suspiciously, "Why should one be placed in Bianzhou as well?"

Yin Hongzhi said, "Bianzhou is the throat of the national waterway, bustling with merchants and travelers, and all the country's goods are concentrated here. It should be released."

"Okay, that makes seven. Where do we put the last one?"

"Taiyuan?"

"Youzhou?"

Yin Hongzhi and Dou Jun each suggested a place.

Li You replied, "Our Huang Chao army started in Shandong, and I have always kept the people of Shandong in my heart. As for this last one, I will decide to place it in Qizhou."

Qizhou was the starting point for Li You's military campaign.

Leaving aside other cities for the moment, Li You secretly resolved to fight back in Qizhou and Shandong in a glorious manner!

"Let's start with these eight. We can gradually expand the program as more copper coins are minted."

In reality, once things really took off and the snowball effect grew, Huang Chao's army didn't need to establish branches in other cities; others would handle it. Of course, that's all hindsight.

The three of them discussed the potential details for more than an hour.

Dou Jun suddenly said, "My lord, Mr. Yin, I have thought of an important question."

"you say."

"Will the authorities come after us?"

Yin Hongzhi paused for a moment, then said, "It's possible. But in the early stages, it'll probably just involve more bribes. If the government truly realizes the influence of the Huinong Bank later on, they might take action. The worst outcome would be to shut down the Huinong Bank directly. But I think there's still plenty of time before that day comes. Let's get the bank up and running and make some money first."

Li You laughed and said, "I think you two don't need to be so nervous. Think about it, don't government officials also need to do business? Don't they have a need for funds? What government business doesn't require money?"

"Once the bank is up and running, we can openly do business with government officials, attracting them to deposit their money. It'll be a mutually beneficial arrangement, and that's the beauty of the world. If something really goes wrong, they'll be too busy protecting our Huimin Bank to even think about shutting it down."

Dou Jun slapped his thigh: "Brilliant, brilliant!"

Li Youdao said, "Actually, our biggest competitors are not the government, but other big merchants, especially those who have millions of strings of cash but no money to make. Once they see that our Huimin Bank is making money, they will definitely invest heavily to imitate us. At that time, banks of all sizes will spring up like mushrooms after rain throughout the country."

Dou Jun said anxiously, "That's right, what should we do then?"