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

"Alright, I'll send someone to do it."

Li You's conversation with Wang Fangde made him realize that the Tang Dynasty court had not done a good job in many areas of Hebei.

What is poison to you is honey to me.

If the imperial court loses the support of the people in Hebei, then Huang Chao's army will have a great opportunity to make a difference in Hebei.

While uncovering the weaknesses and contradictions of the Tang Dynasty, Li You gradually came to understand just how difficult it was to govern such a vast country.

Even a powerful ruler like Li Shimin and his advisors Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, who worked diligently for twenty years, still had many shortcomings.

This is an advantage for rebels like Li You, but it is difficult for ordinary people caught up in it.

After finishing his discussions with Wang Fangde, Li You rested for two days, sorted out his thoughts, and then began to talk with his subordinates again, this time with Yin Hongzhi and his son Yin Shaokang.

There's no need to discuss the topic of "social contradictions in the Tang Dynasty" with the two of them anymore. The main purpose is to calculate the expenses of Huang Chao's army, first calculating last year's figures, and then making this year's budget.

Although the combined income from the industries in Tongbai Mountain Village in Suizhou, Xiangzhou, the copper mines in Xuanzhou and Raozhou, and Huimin Bank was already substantial, Huang Chao's army still incurred considerable annual expenses. How to achieve a balance between income and expenditure was a problem that Li You and the Yin family father and son had to consider.

Roughly calculated, the total expenditures over the next twenty years of the Zhenguan era would likely amount to 600,000 strings of cash.

The net profit of Huang Chao's army from various industries in the nineteenth year of Zhenguan was 380,000 strings of cash.

In other words, income does not cover expenditure.

In the twentieth year of the Zhenguan era, Huang Chao's army still had to find ways to make up for the shortfall of 220,000 strings of cash.

Fortunately, the minting business continues uninterrupted, and it is expected to increase production capacity to 30,000 strings per month.

With this ballast industry in place, Li You doesn't need to worry too much about the fiscal deficit.

As for whether this money would cause inflation in the Tang Dynasty, Li You felt it definitely wouldn't.

According to intelligence reports from assassins in various regions, the Tang Dynasty is currently experiencing a currency shortage, with the total amount of currency simply insufficient, not to mention inflation.

"Uncle, Shaokang, I have some plans for Shandong. A portion of Huang Chao's army will also be deployed there. We'll be involved in the salt fields of Qingzhou, Laizhou, Dengzhou, Mizhou, and Cangzhou in Hebei. Shaokang, this requires your personal attention. As for Huimin Bank, you should hand it over. Liang Wenjin at the Chang'an branch is a talented individual; let him manage the bank for now."

"Okay, but besides the saltworks, what else can we do in Shandong?"

Yin Shaokang had some doubts about the King of Qi's arrangements.

Yin Shaokang had already received news of the profits from salt production, but the King of Qi's intentions certainly went beyond just salt production.

Li You took out a map from the cabinet, which he had drawn earlier and had written a lot of text on it.

"In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, I raised an army in Qizhou. Although the event was hasty, the people of Qi sincerely welcomed our army's policy of distributing land and grain. At its peak, the rebel army numbered as many as 60,000. My personal guard, Wang Sanwa, as well as leaders such as Zhou Chuji and Niu Qibao, all joined at that time. There are still more than 2,000 veterans from Shandong who are alive today."

"Although my title of King of Qi was bestowed upon me by the imperial court, the people of Qi have indeed treated me well. Therefore, both in terms of sentiment and reason, the first battle fought by our Huang Chao army after its establishment should be fought in Qi."

"In the eighteenth and nineteenth years of the Zhenguan era, we have been active in the south. Our forces have now expanded to about 20,000. Although we cannot be called a strong and well-equipped army, we are already capable of doing some important things. The assassins I sent to Qi to scout have also gathered a lot of information about Shandong, including Qizhou, Langya, Gaoping, and the current situation of the people of Xingyang."

"Having seen this intelligence, I have long desired to return to Shandong and raise an army. However, I have too many miscellaneous matters to attend to and simply have no time. Taking advantage of this incident of stealing books in Hebei, I have decided to lead my troops back to Shandong and settle this unfinished business!"

After speaking at length, Li You paused and took a sip of water.

The Yin father and son exchanged a glance; it seemed that the King of Qi valued Shandong highly.

Li You continued, "Shandong possesses the benefits of salt and iron production, yet the people live in great misery. Why? Mainly because of the excessive exploitation by powerful families, and many officials are also scions of these families. Pei Hong, the governor of Qizhou whom I killed years ago, seized a great deal of land, and I myself have even encroached upon the land of the people. We, these vermin, are all sinners who prey on the people!"

"Two years ago, many of the lands I distributed were taken back by powerful clans through various means. Many of the people of Qi who trusted me were persecuted to death by these clans for defending their lands. All of this has deepened my sins."

"Uncle, Shaokang, come and look at this picture."

Yin Hongzhi and Yin Shaokang stood up and moved closer to the Shandong map.

"At the beginning of the uprising, I destroyed three powerful families: the Wang family of Langya, the Xi family of Gaoping, and the Zheng family of Xingyang. In order to appease the descendants of these three families, the court provided each of them with more than 10,000 mu of fertile land. Among them, the Zheng family of Xingyang received as much as 50,000 mu of land."

"In just two years, the Zheng family of Xingyang expanded the land they controlled from 50,000 mu to 150,000 mu. The Wang family of Langya occupied another 70,000 mu, and the Xi family of Gaoping occupied another 80,000 mu. Moreover, the amount of land occupied by these three families is still increasing."

"Besides these three families, there are more than twenty other large and small aristocratic families in Shandong, such as the Wang family of Donghai, the Xie family of Caoxian, the Tian family of Dongchang, the Kong family of Qufu, and the Liu family of Jiaodong, all of which own vast amounts of land. Even the smaller aristocratic families own tens of thousands of acres of land. These aristocratic families also have vassal families, and when you add them all up, it's an astronomical number."

This map drawn by Li You basically marks all the prominent families in Shandong, and can be called a "pictorial map of prominent families in Shandong".

"Besides aristocratic families, there are also those from humble backgrounds."

"According to the information I have received, many families that claim to be from humble backgrounds are actually prominent local families, and they also own a great deal of land. Apart from not being allowed to hold official positions, these families behave exactly like the aristocratic families."

"What we need to do next is to make the powerful families and the so-called 'poor families' relinquish all the land they control and distribute it to the people of Qi. The profits from salt and iron should also be put into the hands of Huang Chao's army."

Yin Hongzhi asked worriedly, "My lord, this is causing too much of a commotion. What if the government sends troops to punish us?"

Li Youdao said, "I will slowly mold them, starting with small aristocratic families and then those from humble backgrounds, and finally deal with stubborn scoundrels like the Zheng family. As for the government troops' suppression, I will not hide this time; I will lead the people of Shandong to give them a sound beating!"

"this……"

"Uncle, since ancient times, no one has ever established an empire without merit. To seize the world, we must first lead troops to conquer it, and then win several great battles. Who in the world will submit to us?"

Yin Hongzhi took a deep breath: "My lord is right, it's time for us to make our move."

Li Youdao said, "Uncle, those powerful and humble families in Shandong may seem intimidating, but they're all paper tigers. Even if each family has two thousand people, twenty families together would only amount to forty thousand. And the total population of Shandong is well over a million."

"What we are about to do benefits the common people, not the powerful clans. The number of people on my side will only increase. We must teach the people to take up arms and fight against the corrupt and decadent powerful clans to reclaim the land that rightfully belongs to them."

"After clearing out the powerful families and the poor families in Shandong, we can start in Hebei and Jiangnan, and finally Guanzhong and Taiyuan."

"I also want to tell the people and the world: the land allocated to us shall not be bought or sold from this day forward!"

"Cannot be bought or sold?"