Jiang

Jiang, known also as Merchant Jiang, is a minor villain in the video game Jade Empire. He's a winemerchant operating in the trade village of Tien's Landing. He appears in the second chapter as a crucial character in the subquest of the Great Dam.

Biography
While the merchant vessel called the Lucky Night was moored in Tien's Landing, Inquisitor Lim of the Lotus Assassins opened the Great Dam, drying the lake that covers the flooded ruins of Old Tien's Landing. The level of the river passing through Tien's Landing lowered, forcing the Lucky Night to prolong her stay. The sailors were frustrated by this and the majority of the villagers saw hunger. For the winemerchant Jiang, however, times were profitable. The disgruntled sailors bought wine from him, having saved lots of silver from their past sales. Jiang became a rich man, but it wasn't enough for him. His wine storage was large enough to last for many months, and he knew the sailors to have much more silver to spent.

When the last Spirit Monk arrives in Tien's Landing, Jiang isn't initially interested to converse with them in the midst of his business. He's also one of the few merchants who doesn't sell any goods for them. However, Jiang spots the Spirit Monk conversing with Minister Sheng, correctly suspecting that Sheng has given them the key to the ruins so that they can reach the Great Dam through them and close it. Jiang knows that if the Great Dam is closed and the river's level is high again, the crew of the Lucky Night will depart with their silver. Unwilling to lose his lucrative position, Jiang approaches the Spirit Monk after they're done with Minister Sheng. He asks them to destroy the controls of the Great Dam, leaving it open forever. Unconcerned for the lives it would doom, he offers twenty percent of his profits to date as a reward.

If the Spirit Monk closes the Great Dam, the Lucky Night sets sail from Tien's Landing. Vengeful over the end of his wine business, Jiang attacks the Spirit Monk with two thugs, only to be killed. If the Spirit Monk decides instead to take up Jiang's offer, they remove from the controls the Jade Heart, a magical gem that provides the control over the dam. The controls are damaged beyond repair in the resulting explosion, leaving the Great Dam permanently open. The Spirit Monk gives the Jade Heart to Jiang as evidence. Jiang gives the reward he promised in the form of over two thousand pieces of silver and the Gem of Purpose. Jiang can then be left to continue his wine business with the despondent sailors. Alternatively, Captain Ing can be manipulated to kill Jiang in the name of revenge. Whichever way Jiang dies, his business is taken over by his assistant Shipeng who has an assortment of items for sale.

Personality
Jiang considers himself a man of business and believes that everything has a value. Happy with the great income coming from unhappy sailors looking for a drink, he's content to keep the sailors trapped in Tien's Landing and the town wilting because of the low river. He's even willing to render the Great Dam permanently open just to keep up his ludicrous wine business. As far as he's concerned, the people who suffer for it aren't adaptable or farseeing enough to survive. He considers the possibility of using his silver to become highly influential in the following years by restoring Old Tien's Landing and controlling most of the surrounding land. If his offer to the last Spirit Monk is first refused, he calmly gives them a chance to reconsider. He rewards them with the silver he promised if they do what he asks, but if they close the Great Dam, he tries to kill them to collect his payment.