"I order you to thoroughly investigate Gaoling County within seven days and bring all the shops and merchants who are using the name of Qiankun Hall to commit fraud to the fullest extent of the law."

"Let's just let this matter rest, okay?"

Chunqiong had no other choice at this moment; this punishment was indeed much lighter than the crime he was charged with.

Chunqiong quickly agreed.

He only lost all his wealth, but he didn't lose his head. This outcome can be considered a stroke of luck amidst his misfortune.

Who told him to be deceived by someone using fake wine, and then turn around and offer it as tribute to His Highness the Crown Prince?

The poison tester can only test whether the thing is poisonous or not; he can't taste whether it's real or fake.

Seeing Chunqiong shaking his head and agreeing like a grandson, Li Gancheng waved his hand to let it go and dismiss him.

And so the farce came to an end.

Everyone understood that Sun Jian's request for Chunqiong to investigate the matter was merely a formality; he didn't want to get too involved with Chunqiong and didn't actually want him to help with the investigation.

What could a mere county magistrate like him, with such negligible power, possibly uncover? It would all be in vain!

At most, it can only provide some clues, and whether they are useful is another matter.

Since Sun Jian is the manager of Qiankun Hall, only he could investigate and stop such a matter quickly and effectively.

If such counterfeit wines and goods are allowed to proliferate, it will not only damage the interests of Qiankun Hall, but also harm Sun Jian's image.

The matter could be big or small. On a larger scale, what if those counterfeit, substandard wines and fake salt cause a large number of deaths?

Even if one can prove their innocence in the end, it will inevitably lead to a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Seeing that the matter was coming to an end, Li Gancheng first ordered his men to replace the fake Forget-Worry Valley wine on the table at the ministers' banquet, and finally turned to Sun Jian and asked, "Brother Sun, how do you plan to handle this matter?"

Sun Jian's lips curled up. In fact, when he tasted the fake wine earlier, he was shocked that piracy was so rampant in ancient times, but he had already prepared a countermeasure in mind.

As for how to deal with it, it's actually quite simple.

One is that many anti-counterfeiting labels can be designed, which cannot be imitated by others, and can be printed on the wine bottle or affixed to the wine bottle.

Of course, doing just this step is not enough.

Because people who want to make counterfeit liquor can keep the bottles after buying and drinking the Wangyougu liquor and continue to sell pirated versions.

This means that we must work on the sealing, and the sealing technology must be ahead of its time. Any Forget-Worry Valley wine that has been resealed can be considered fake.

As for the practice of some people drilling holes without breaking the seal to extract the wine and then injecting fake wine, Sun Jian also had a solution: to print the method for distinguishing genuine and fake Wangyou Valley wine on it.

For example, checking for black spots or dark spots in drilled holes under strong light, or looking for cracks, uneven bumps or depressions, and warped edges.

Both can be further upgraded in terms of flavor and hop quality.

While these two methods cannot completely eliminate counterfeit alcohol, they at least prevent its proliferation.

Even those who truly want to disrupt the market will weigh the costs and risks.

After hearing Sun Jian's solution, everyone looked at him with admiration.

As the saying goes, there seems to be no problem or trouble in this world that Sun Jian cannot solve.

Li Gancheng slapped the table and exclaimed, "Haha, excellent! Brother Sun truly deserves to be called the number one genius in our Great Gan!"

"Brother Sun, none of the esteemed officials have had a sip of Forget-Worry Valley today, you see..."

Sun Jian shrugged, displaying the arrogance of a nouveau riche: "Haha, Your Highness, what are you saying? It's alright, it's alright. After I return to the capital, I will send five bottles to each of you as a token of my appreciation."

Upon hearing that Sun Jian was giving it away for free, everyone was overjoyed and expressed their gratitude to him for his generosity.

The nouveau riche certainly have a different kind of face.

Five bottles of Forget-Worry Valley, even if they don't drink them, can be resold for over 100 taels.

Although none of the ministers present were short of money, they would remember Sun Jian's kindness.

The guards and servants had already replaced the inferior Forget-Worry Valley wine with other wines, and everyone began to toast and feast.

As the banquet progressed into its second half, another minor incident occurred.

Liu Shiyun, the newly appointed deputy captain of the Tiger Warriors, led his troops to pay homage.

When old friends meet again, everyone is naturally delighted.

The answer to how Liu Shiyun came to be in Gaoling County is actually quite simple.

The Tiger Legion's encampment was actually located at the intersection of Gaoling County and the Lishan area, not far from here.

If traveling at full speed, it would take less than an hour to arrive.

Furthermore, after Liu Shiyun was promoted to Deputy Commandant of the Tiger Guard, he was ordered by the Emperor and dispatched by Yao Tianzheng to be responsible for suppressing locust plagues and assisting in the work in several surrounding counties.

The messengers relayed the news that His Highness the Crown Prince, Lord Yao, and Mr. Sun were all in Gaoling County. Liu Shiyun naturally knew this.

Upon learning the news, Liu Shiyun immediately dispatched 5,000 elite Tiger Warriors, along with a Lieutenant General and three Colonels, to the location.

Regardless of the fact that Liu Shiyun and Yao Tianzheng were teacher and student, and that Liu Shiyun was a direct subordinate of Crown Prince Li Gancheng, just considering his relationship with Sun Jian, Liu Shiyun should have led his troops to protect him after learning the news.

Liu Shiyun owes his success entirely to Sun Jian.

Sun Jian was the most important benefactor in his life.

Otherwise, he would still be just a lieutenant general in the Tiger Army, suppressed by the Wei brothers, with no chance of ever getting ahead.

Compared to his teacher-student relationship with Yao Tianzheng, Liu Shiyun felt gratitude, respect, and above all, heartfelt loyalty towards Sun Jian.

It can be said that if Sun Jian and Crown Prince Li Gancheng were both in danger and Liu Shiyun could only choose one to save, he would definitely choose Sun Jian without hesitation.

No one held Sun Jian in Liu Shiyun's heart as high as he did, not even Emperor Ganwu.

After Liu Shiyun entered the camp, he first led a lieutenant general and three captains to kneel and bow respectfully to Crown Prince Li Gancheng.

"This humble general pays his respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

He then bowed to Sun Jian and Yao Tianzheng.

"This humble general pays his respects to the Grand Commandant General and Governor Yao!"

Seeing the dashing Liu Shiyun, Li Gancheng was overjoyed. After all, this was considered an outer guard of his Eastern Palace. No matter what changes might occur in the future, as long as this force was there, it would be enough to turn the tide in any situation.

"General Liu, there's no need for such formalities. Please rise."

Even though Li Gancheng was the crown prince, he dared not be negligent in front of Liu Shiyun. This is what makes him a truly intelligent person.

While Crown Prince Li Gancheng and Liu Shiyun were exchanging pleasantries, Sun Jian glanced sideways at the officers and generals that Liu Shiyun had brought with him.

It was only when he looked that Sun Jian was truly astonished.

The lieutenant general that Liu Shiyun brought over was a captain under his command, and the three newly appointed captains were actually the three recruits he had seen during the last training session against the Wei brothers.