Qin Dynasty: Ying Zheng is my brother, I am the Bad Commander

Han Fei listened to Zi Nu's question but did not immediately give an answer. Instead, he shook his head slowly with a hint of helplessness and bitterness.

He stretched out his fingers and gently touched the empty white jade wine cup in his hand, feeling the cool touch of the jade on his fingertips, as if this coolness could make his feverish brain a little clearer.

"Actually, whether it was Ying Chen who sent people to steal the 100,000 taels of military pay, or whether the Luo Wang was secretly stirring things up, is no longer important at this point."

Han Fei's voice was soft, yet it carried a sense of world-weariness and helplessness. This was quite different from his usual image as the dissolute and unrestrained Ninth Prince who frequented brothels.

Zi Nu frowned slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in her peach blossom eyes that seemed to see right through people: "Not important? That's a full 100,000 taels of gold!"

Han Fei sighed, slamming the jade cup he held onto the table with a heavy thud. "Even if we now possess irrefutable evidence proving that Ying Chen stole those 100,000 taels of military pay right under Ji Wuye's nose, what can we do? Can we... get it back?"

Upon hearing this, Zi Nu parted her red lips slightly, wanting to refute, but found herself speechless.

Han Fei gazed at the deep night sky outside the window, his eyes becoming incredibly profound, and uttered each word, heavy with weight: "Because, his surname is Ying!"

These three words struck Zi Nu's heart like three heavy hammers.

Upon hearing Han Fei's words, Zi Nu instantly understood. The resentment and doubt she had felt vanished in the face of those three words, replaced by a deep sense of powerlessness.

Yes, his surname is Ying.

The Qin royal family wins!

Behind Ying Chen stood the mighty Qin Empire, a powerful force that loomed in the west like an ancient beast!

Zi Nu was acutely aware of the stakes involved. Even if Ying Chen was indeed the one who did it, even if Han Fei presented the evidence to the Han court, would the King of Han dare to send men to arrest Ying Chen? Would Ji Wuye dare to lead troops to besiege Ying Chen?

The answer is obvious: They dare not.

Not only would they not dare to, but King An of Han would even punish Han Fei, who had uncovered the truth, in order to quell the "anger" of the Qin state.

Because if Han were to attack Ying Chen, it would give Qin an excellent pretext to launch a military campaign.

South Korea, a weak country struggling to survive in the cracks, simply could not withstand the wrath of the Qin state.

"A weak nation has no diplomacy; this is the tragedy of South Korea." Han Fei's voice carried a deep sorrow. "In the face of absolute power, so-called truth and so-called laws are nothing more than tools used by the strong to whitewash the truth. Ying Chen has seen through this, which is why he dares to sit so openly in the Purple Orchid Pavilion, chatting and laughing with us. He doesn't even care if we doubt him, because he knows we can't do anything to him."

"Since this path is blocked, we have no choice but to find another way." Zi Nu took a deep breath, composed herself, and brought the topic back to reality. "The soldiers at the border cannot be without pay, and the deadline the King gave you is almost up. Since the 100,000 taels of gold is a dead end, we can only focus on the only remaining option in front of us."

A glint of light flashed in Zi Nu's beautiful eyes. She looked at Han Fei, lowered her voice, and continued, "You mean... the Jade Tiger?"

A hint of admiration flashed in Han Fei's eyes. He nodded heavily, his previous dejected expression vanishing, replaced by the sharpness and cunning of a hunter eyeing his prey.

"Indeed, it is the Jade Tiger!"

"Ninth Young Master, your idea is good, but putting it into practice is as difficult as climbing to heaven." Zi Nu walked to the table and poured Han Fei another cup of hot tea. "Although Jade Tiger is as cunning as a pig, he is extremely meticulous and treacherous. He is suspicious by nature and extremely stingy, practically a miser. Trying to extort 100,000 taels of gold from him is like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth. Moreover, he has Ji Wuye backing him up. Once we touch him, Ji Wuye will definitely not sit idly by."

Han Fei turned around, took the teacup from Zi Nu, and his eyes gleamed with confidence.

"Miss Purple Maiden, do you know that to strike a snake, you must strike its vital spot, and to catch a tiger, you must use bait? Emerald Tiger is indeed a miser, but he has a fatal weakness—greed!"

Han Fei held the teacup in his hand, toying with it as if it were not a cup, but the head of a jade tiger.

"Greed is the greatest original sin of merchants, and a poison they can never resist. One hundred thousand taels of gold is an astronomical figure for ordinary people, but for Jade Tiger, while it will sting, it won't cripple him. What we need to do is not to 'rob' his money, nor to 'steal' his money, but to make him willingly and voluntarily give us those one hundred thousand taels of gold!"

"Lose?" Zi Nu was slightly taken aback, then realized, "You're trying to set up a gambling trap? But what kind of gambling trap could make him bet 100,000 taels of gold?"

Han Fei smiled slightly, walked to the table and sat down. He reached into the chess basket, grabbed a handful of black and white chess pieces, and began to arrange them on the large rosewood table.

"Ordinary betting games are beneath his notice. What we're betting on is the fate of the nation, natural disasters, and the hearts of the people!"

Han Fei pressed a black piece heavily into the center of the chessboard, his eyes instantly becoming incredibly sharp.

"Miss Zi Nu, do you know what the weather is like in the Namyang area of ​​Korea lately?"

Although Zi Nu didn't understand why Han Fei suddenly asked this, she still answered truthfully: "In the Nanyang area, there hasn't been a drop of rain since the beginning of spring, and there are already signs of a severe drought. Many farmlands have already cracked, and if there is no more rain, this year's autumn harvest will probably be a complete failure."

"Nanyang is a major grain-producing area in Korea. If Nanyang suffers a severe drought and there is no harvest, then the price of grain in Korea will surely skyrocket! As the largest grain merchant in Korea, what will Emerald Tiger do?" Han Fei guided Zi Nu's thoughts.

Zi Nu pondered for a moment and replied, "Merchants are driven by profit. If Nanyang suffers a severe drought, they will inevitably take the opportunity to hoard and speculate on grain, buying up large quantities of grain on the market. Then, when grain prices reach their peak, they will sell it at a high price to reap huge profits. They might even... secretly collude with local officials to conceal the disaster and block the flow of grain from outside into Nanyang, thus completely monopolizing grain prices."

"All correct!" Han Fei snapped his fingers, surrounding the black piece with several white pieces. "This is his greed. He not only wants to profit from the people's hard-earned money, but also from the national crisis! And this is our breakthrough point to defeat him!"