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

"The first step is to 'create momentum'."

"Although Emerald Tiger is greedy, he is not stupid. He will not blindly invest large sums of money to hoard grain unless he is certain that it is a sure-fire way to make money. So, we need to help him reinforce this impression."

Han Fei looked at Zi Nu: "Miss Zi Nu, I need to use the intelligence network of Zi Lan Xuan to spread the news of the severe drought in Nanyang to the entire Xin Zheng in the shortest possible time. At the same time, we also need to spread the word that Qin has amassed 100,000 troops on the border with unclear intentions, and that the Han court is preparing to levy a large amount of military grain in preparation for unforeseen circumstances."

Zi Nu frowned slightly: "The severe drought in Nanyang is true, but the Qin army's deployment on the border and large-scale requisition of military rations... this is fake news. Once it's exposed, Emerald Tiger will immediately become alert."

"Truth and falsehood, reality and illusion—that is the highest realm of military strategy," Han Fei sneered. "Although Qin doesn't have 100,000 troops stationed there, isn't Prince Ying Chen of Qin currently in Xinzheng? That's the perfect excuse! As for requisitioning military provisions, all I need to do is present a memorial to my father in court tomorrow, stating that border military pay has been robbed and morale is low, requesting an early requisition of autumn grain to appease the troops. This false news will naturally become true news!"

Zi Nu's beautiful eyes lit up, amazed by Han Fei's deep scheming: "In this way, with natural disasters and man-made calamities, Emerald Tiger will surely be convinced that grain prices will skyrocket like never before. He will definitely devote all his wealth to frantically buying up grain in various places."

"That's right!" Han Fei pushed a black piece into the encirclement of white pieces. "This is the second step, 'entering the game.' We need to make him convert all his liquid funds into mountains of grain. Let him dream of getting rich while looking at the full granaries."

"But..." Zi Nu raised the most crucial question, "Even if he has hoarded a large amount of grain, what does that have to do with us getting 100,000 taels of gold? We can't exactly rob his granary, can we? That's Ji Wuye's territory; we can't even get in there."

"Who said we were going to rob food?" Han Fei's lips curled into a sly smile. "I'll make him deliver the money to our doorstep."

Han Fei took a deep breath, his tone becoming extremely solemn: "Miss Zi Nu, the next step is the most crucial third step—'removing the fuel from under the cauldron'!"

"Jade Tiger's hoarding of grain inevitably requires a large amount of capital. Although he is wealthy, most of his money is tied up in intangible assets such as farmland, shops, and jade and antiques. To raise enough funds in a short period to monopolize the entire Korean grain market, he has only one option—mortgaging and borrowing!"

Han Fei stared intently at Zi Nu: "And in this Xinzheng City, besides Emerald Tiger's own bank, there is only one other bank that can absorb so many of his collaterals and come up with such a massive amount of cash."

Zi Nu's heart skipped a beat. She pointed to herself: "You...you mean, Zi Lan Xuan?"

"No, it's Ying Chen," Han Fei corrected. "I plan to cooperate with Ying Chen."

"Ninth Young Master, are you aware of the risks involved? Once Jade Tiger successfully sells his grain at a high price, he will not only redeem all the collateral but also make a fortune. Ying Chen will also make everything. At that time, you will not only not get any money but will have actually done him a huge favor. Moreover, how can we persuade Ying Chen to agree? And even if Jade Tiger pawns his grain, it's still inactive; it takes time to liquidate it. How can we immediately get 100,000 taels of gold to meet our demands?"

Author Feng Yu and Lin personally recommend: I hope you enjoy the story of "The Great Qin: Ying Zheng is my brother, I am the Bad Commander" on Cola Novels.

Upon hearing Zi Nu's concerns, Han Fei not only did not back down, but smiled even more brightly.

"Miss Zi Nu, you're overthinking it. How could I possibly let him sell the grain?"

"He hoards grain so he can sell it to the court and the people at a high price. But what if... the court doesn't need to buy his grain, and the people don't need to buy his grain either?"

"How is this possible?" Zi Nu exclaimed in astonishment. "Nanyang is suffering from a severe drought, and the harvest has failed—that's an undeniable fact. People will die if they don't eat; how could they not buy food?"

Han Fei slowly stood up, walked to the window, pushed open the window, and let the night breeze caress his face.

"Because I will get food from other places."

"The State of Wei! Located in the heart of the Central Plains, Wei is crisscrossed by waterways and is known as the 'Granary of the Central Plains.' This year, Wei has enjoyed favorable weather and a bumper harvest, resulting in extremely low grain prices. I have secretly written a letter and dispatched a trusted confidant to Daliang to contact Wei's major grain merchants. As long as we can raise a deposit, we can continuously transport affordable grain from Wei!"

Zi Nu gasped. She finally understood Han Fei's entire plan. It was an intricately linked, flawless, and deadly trap!

"I understand!" Zi Nu's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "You made Fei Cui Hu spend all his wealth to hoard high-priced grain from Han, borrowing Ying Chen's money to take over Fei Cui Hu's assets, while you secretly transferred affordable grain from Wei. Just when Fei Cui Hu's granaries were full, ready to make a fortune, you suddenly released Wei's affordable grain into the market!"

"That's right!" Han Fei turned around, his eyes gleaming. "At that time, grain prices in Xinzheng will not only not rise, but will plummet! The mountains of high-priced grain that Jade Tiger has in his hands will become a pile of unsellable rubbish! The grain he bought at high prices will only be able to be sold at extremely low prices, or even rot in the warehouse!"

Han Fei walked to the table, placed his hands on the table, and stared intently at the chessboard.

"Since all his funds have been converted into grain, and the grain cannot be sold, his financial chain will completely break! The farmland, shops, jade artifacts, and antiques he mortgaged will all become legal property due to the inability to redeem them on time!"

"But those properties belong to Ying Chen, not to you."

"This is my final step, my most lethal blow!"

Han Fei suddenly slammed a black piece onto the white piece's weak spot, producing a crisp popping sound.

"That's a bet! I want to make a life-or-death wager with Jade Tiger in the imperial court, in front of my father and all the officials!"

"Doesn't he boast that he's the richest man in South Korea, a master strategist? Then I'll bet he can't raise 100,000 taels of silver for military expenses! And the stake is his entire fortune from his Emerald Manor!"

"When he faced a food crisis, his cash flow dried up, and he was being chased by creditors from all sides, this bet of 100,000 taels of gold was the last straw that broke the camel's back!"

"To win the bet, to save his life and his position, he had no choice but to sell everything he owned, even begging Ji Wuye to lend him money, to scrape together 100,000 taels of gold to gamble with me. And the moment he placed that 100,000 taels of gold in the imperial court..."

Han Fei sneered and unfolded his folding fan with a "whoosh".