True strategy is the manipulation of human nature. Even when you see through the scheme and realize it is a trap set by another, because the plan satisfies your interests, fulfills your desires, and exerts an irresistible temptation, you will still willingly choose to become their puppet. Lured by immense benefits and threatened by imminent danger, people will easily cast aside dispensable morals to chase the succulent and enticing piece of meat suspended right before their eyes.
Even against one's wishes, even under compulsion—driven by interest, after the conflicting struggles of human nature, in this contest between human nature and morality, the victor is almost always the profound and ineffable side of human nature, while morality and principles always appear so fragile and worthless, easily cast aside like worn-out shoes. How many people, in the pursuit of glory and wealth, have sold their souls to the devil in exchange for a few paltry coins or a boundless future? Swept up and coerced by massive threats and temptations, these people appear so utterly helpless, yet they swallow the bait with sweet willingness, flocking to it in a stampede.
——Preface
A few days after receiving his imperial reward, late one night, the entire Qin Family of several dozen souls died suddenly of unknown causes. Following a four-day official investigation, collection of evidence, and autopsies performed by the coroners, the authorities finally closed the case, officially declaring that the Q…
Chapter 125