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

Three days later, Li You, along with Yin Hongzhi, Yan Hongliang, Zan Junmo, Dou Jun, and Chao Yang, mustered five hundred elite soldiers and descended the mountain, preparing to go to Bozhou, contact the Bozhou army, and then proceed to Boling and Qinghe.

The journey was quite long, and most of it required traveling by boat.

However, Huang Chao's army, from top to bottom, has now adapted to daily life by boat.

Li You issued an order to Yin Shaokang, instructing him to transmit any important information from the operation directly to the Bozhou army, which would then relay it to him.

The group drifted on the water for more than twenty days before arriving in Yangzhou.

Dou Jun was very familiar with the place, so he led the leaders off the ship and took them for a tour of the city.

Li You and his group also went to check out the Yangzhou branch of Huimin Bank.

Customers came in droves to deposit and collect their goods, creating a bustling scene.

The group stayed in Yangzhou for a day to rest, and then turned around and entered the Grand Canal, heading north along the river.

After another twenty days of sailing, they disembarked at Rencheng in Yanzhou, Shandong, and then traveled by land (Rencheng is today's Jining).

To avoid suspicion, the group traveled by night and rested by day. On the fifth day, they finally encountered the soldiers sent by the Bozhou army to meet them. Under their guidance, Li You entered the Bozhou army's camp in the mountains for the first time.

Gao Shen and Zhang Lan, along with the generals and officers of the Bozhou army, warmly received them.

Li You discovered that the soldiers of Bozhou also lived in thatched huts, but their size was much larger than that of Huang Chao's army, and they were much more solidly built. Each hut had a large communal sleeping area, accommodating about fifty people.

According to Gao Shen, the main reason is that it's too cold in winter, and people have to sleep crammed together to keep warm.

That's what they say, but the hardships and difficulties involved are really hard for outsiders to understand.

"My lord, ever since we learned your charcoal-making technique, we can now put braziers in every room to keep warm, and it's much warmer than before."

"Oh? Did anyone experience dizziness or discomfort while sleeping at night?"

"How...how did you know, my lord?"

"Charcoal is useful, but some of the smoke is poisonous. Think of a way to build a chimney over the brazier to vent the smoke outside, or have someone stand guard every night while we sleep, ventilating the area periodically and checking if any of our comrades have been poisoned. In short, the smoke must be vented out and not inhaled by the soldiers, understand?"

"Okay, we'll send someone to take care of it right away!"

Li You nodded: "There's one more thing. I ordered you to expand your army. How many men have you added so far?"

"Following the lord's orders, they were sent down the mountain to recruit more than a thousand people from various prefectures in Hebei."

"Oh, that's not bad."

"We owe it all to the support of Qizhou Bank. Without the money, it would have been really difficult to get people up the mountain."

"Hmm, it seems that my establishment of a branch in Qizhou will not only benefit the surrounding merchants, but also benefit ourselves."

"Yes, this time, I followed the lord's example and let the people who wanted to join the Bozhou army bring their wives and children with them to go up the mountain. So the camp has more people than before, and it's become quite lively."

"You've done a good job. The other unmarried soldiers also need to be taken care of. Fairness must be ensured, understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Alright, I'm a little hungry. Let's eat first. After we eat, we'll hold a military review and I'll get to know the generals and officers of the Bozhou army."

Soon, the food was served.

The staple food is yellow millet rice, which is steamed millet.

In northern China during the Tang Dynasty, the most widely cultivated grain crop was millet, followed by wheat, and then rice.

This is mainly because millet is drought-resistant and has a slightly higher yield than wheat.

Moreover, stone mills were not yet widespread at that time, and only wealthy families could grind wheat into flour to make noodles.

Therefore, noodles were considered a high-end food at the time, and most people could only cook millet to eat.

The side dishes prepared by the Bozhou army were quite similar to those of Huang Chao's army, including wild vegetables and mountain delicacies, as well as a pot of wild fish soup.

Li You took a bite and knew that the Bozhou army had already learned the method of refining crude salt.

"General Gao, when you went down the mountain to purchase supplies, how much did coarse salt cost per pound?"

"We buy it by the bushel; one bushel of salt costs 20 coins."

"Shandong is the land of salt and iron, and the salt here is really cheap. Once your camp has more people, go down the mountain to get more coarse salt, boil it into white salt, and sell it to earn some military funds."

"Okay, we'll go get it done right away."

At this point, Li You's heart stirred. He put down his rice bowl, turned to Yin Hongzhi, and asked, "Uncle, are there any salt fields in Shandong?"

Yin Hongzhi said, "Of course there are. Salt fields are everywhere in Qingzhou, Laizhou, Dengzhou, Mizhou, and Dizhou. The people of Shandong have been making a living from salt for over a thousand years."

"How strict is the government's control?"

"It's not strict; most saltworks are privately run."

"Then let's put up the money and lease more salt fields, and we'll do the work ourselves."

Salt is a necessity that everyone needs, so it is often subject to government control.

However, the early Tang Dynasty was one of the periods when the control over the salt industry was most relaxed. It wasn't until after the An Lushan Rebellion, when the country was short of money, that they thought of reviving the salt industry to save the country's life.

"Alright, I'll have Shao Kang send someone over to carefully consider this matter."

After the meal, Gao Shen and Zhang Lan gathered the officers and soldiers of the Bozhou army and introduced them to Li You.

"His name is Fan Ping, from Xingzhou, Hebei. He is skilled in archery and horsemanship, and he is the best fighter in the army."

"Greetings, my lord!"

Li Youyi saw that the man was extremely sturdy and tall, a muscular man.

"His name is Liao Zhun, from Mingzhou, Hebei. As his name suggests, he is a sharpshooter in the army."

"Greetings, my lord!"

"This kid is Gao Biao, my nephew. He's quite skilled in martial arts, and his usual weapon is a horse lance."

"Greetings, my lord!"

"His name is Cao Boyan, a native of Dingzhou, Hebei, and he is skilled in using two swords."

"Greetings, my lord!"

Are you from Dingzhou?

"That's right, I'm from Li County, Dingzhou."

"Have you ever been to Boling City?"

"I've been there. It's the most prosperous place in Dingzhou, even more prosperous than Anxi City."

"Alright, you'll come along on this mission. I'll need your help in some way."

"promise!"

"His name is Lin Pu, from Pingzhou, Hebei. He is skilled in using a long-handled broadsword."

"Greetings, my lord!"

The Tang Dynasty's Mo Dao was a double-edged sword designed specifically for killing cavalrymen, and it looked somewhat like Yang Jian's double-edged, three-pointed sword.

"His name was Tao Zhantian, a native of Yingzhou, Hebei, and he also used a long-handled broadsword."

"Greetings, my lord!"

The above six men were the most outstanding young generals in the Bozhou army.

"This is Mr. Wang. He is in charge of the camp's provisions, horses, and equipment. He is our strategist."

"Wang Fangde greets my lord."

Yin Hongzhi smiled and said, "Mr. Wang is an old friend of mine. We were once friends who risked our lives together. He deserves great credit for the Bozhou Army's success today."