Generals of the Great Song Dynasty.

Summary

The chapter describes the importance of the Bian River in sustaining the Song Dynasty's capital city of Bianliang, which has a population of over a million. To meet the city's needs, the rulers constructed four major canals, with the Bian River being the most crucial, transporting resources from the southeast. . The chapter then focuses on the arrival of a cargo ship carrying a million catties of copper from Yunnan. This event attracts a large crowd, including officials, commoners, and nobles. Wang Ning An and Cao Yi, who had arrived early, see an opportunity to profit from this. Wang Ning An proposes a plan to command a fleet to sell goods from the Song Dynasty to Jiaozhi and Dali, and then bring back local products while transporting copper ingots, which would generate significant profits. He also suggests setting up a security company and a bank to provide services to the merchants, as he believes that services can generate two-thirds of the profits, while manufacturing only accounts for one-third. However, Cao Yi is skeptical about the capital required to establish the fleet and bank.

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