"Here you go!"
Liu Shiyun ordered several of his trusted officers to stand guard outside Sun Jian's tent. At this moment, only Gu Hu, Sun Jian, and three centurions of the Left Guard remained inside the tent.
Seeing that Liu Shiyun had dismissed his men, Gu Hu also sent out three centurions to wait.
After clearing the room of people, Liu Shiyun asked directly, "General, may I ask what your purpose and reason were in joining the Tiger Legion?"
Sun Jian looked at Liu Shiyun with an appreciative gaze.
Not bad, young man!
Not only is he brave and skilled in martial arts and commanding troops, but he's also surprisingly intelligent.
Even Gu Hu, who had always followed him, had not noticed this. Gu Hu thought that it was just that His Majesty wanted to pave the way for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne and let Sun Jian, who was the Crown Prince's tutor, take over the military power of the Tiger Army.
But to everyone's surprise, Liu Shiyun, whom they had only known for two days, saw right through him.
With Gu Hu and Liu Shiyun in the tent now on his side, Sun Jian had no intention of hiding anything. He told them everything without reservation, from his arrival in the capital, including his encounter with assassination and framing, to Yao Tianzheng's manipulation in the court, and his learning of His Majesty's intentions.
After hearing this, the two men looked solemn and shocked, speechless for a long time.
After a long pause, Liu Shiyun was the first to break the silence.
"I never imagined that so many things had happened before, General. What I didn't expect was that His Majesty and Master Yao had foreseen this day long ago."
Liu Shiyun shook his head in admiration.
"Yes, they buried your sharp blade in the treasure chest so that the person who breaks the deadlock could open it one day, and also to check the Wei family and the factional strife."
Sun Jian smiled. He had already been shocked before, but now it was Liu Shiyun and Gu Hu's turn to be shocked.
Liu Shiyun continued to exclaim, "His Majesty and Lord Yao are so far-sighted and their plans are so profound. They are truly admirable and worthy of our respect."
Gu Hu, however, offered a different perspective: "General Liu, don't you think that besides being admirable and pitiful, there's also something terrifying and tragic about him?"
This matter has been planned for several years, without any leaks, with subtle clues and hidden details.
Even the Wei family at that time was extremely loyal to the royal family.
Many members of the Wei family fought and died for this great empire, protecting it.
Many members of the Wei family were buried far from home, their bodies wrapped in horsehide, their loyalty and courage shining as bright as the sun and moon.
Although the Wei family is now forming cliques and engaging in factional struggles, this cannot erase their past achievements!
He was so loyal a few years ago, yet the current emperor treated him this way, just to prevent the changes that are happening today. It truly proves the saying that "the imperial family has always been ruthless, and serving the emperor is like serving a tiger."
Sun Jian glanced at Gu Hu. He knew in his heart that perhaps Gu Hu's temperament had changed a lot over time after experiencing the changes in the Gu family, but he couldn't say such things in public.
Fortunately, everyone here is one of us. If there were outsiders here, Gu Hu could very well have gotten himself into a lot of trouble because of those words.
"Shut up!"
Sun Jian glared at him.
Gu Hu was so frightened that he quickly covered his mouth.
"Keep such disrespectful words to yourself from now on, okay?"
"Yes, Your humble servant has remembered!"
Gu Hu nodded seriously.
Sun Jian thought to himself: Gu Hu, although you are brave in battle, you are too hasty. You don't need to remind me of this. The royal family's style and methods are obvious to everyone. Why do you have to say it out loud...
Seeing the awkward situation, Liu Shiyun quickly added from the side: "Even without His Majesty's and Master Yao's instructions, the three Wei brothers will surely be eliminated from this day forward!"
"yes!"
"They deserved to die!"
Upon hearing Liu Shiyun's words, Gu Hu nodded in agreement.
He had been so sympathetic to the Wei family that he forgot the saying, "Every pitiful person has something hateful about them."
If it weren't for our general's brilliant military strategy and skillful command, we would probably have been dragged down by the three Wei brothers!
"General, since His Majesty and Governor Yao have asked you to investigate the problems within the Tiger Legion and replace them, what are your thoughts?"
Upon hearing Liu Shiyun's words, Sun Jian frowned. "There are only a few reasons why the army can have problems."
"He embezzled grain and salaries, formed cliques for personal gain, privately recruited soldiers, and plotted a rebellion."
"The two points of embezzling grain and salary and plotting rebellion can be ignored for the time being, which leaves only forming cliques for personal gain and privately maintaining troops."
After listening to Sun Jian's analysis, Gu Hu and Liu Shiyun both frowned.
Neither of them understood why Sun Jian said that individual acts of embezzling silver and plotting rebellion could be ignored.
"Are you curious why I, a captain, am so certain after only two days in the Tiger Legion?"
Sun Jian looked at the two men with great interest.
Liu Shiyun and Gu Hu nodded in unison, clasped their hands in salute, and said, "General, may you explain this to us in detail?"
"That's easy to say."
Sun Jian shrugged and said, "Think about it. If it were simply a matter of embezzling grain and salary, His Majesty and Yao Tianzheng wouldn't have needed to set up such a big scheme, go through so much trouble, and bury you years in advance. It's like sharpening a knife for ten years only to use it once. It's making a mountain out of a molehill."
"Besides, the Emperor... uh... His Majesty the Emperor!"
Sun Jian got a little carried away and almost blurted out the emperor, whom he often cursed in secret, right in front of the two of them.
Fortunately, they changed their tune in advance.
"Besides, His Majesty is so wise and powerful, and he is the founder of the dynasty. How could he not know that nine out of ten officials are corrupt?"
"Small-scale corruption can be overlooked, but few dare to commit big-scale corruption."
"Besides, the Tiger Legion only has 30,000 soldiers, and not all of them are from the Wei family. They have spies everywhere, so even if he wanted to line his own pockets, he wouldn't be able to embezzle much."
"Perhaps he was greedy, but it was only a small part, and not our goal this time."
“Think about it, the Wei family could easily find someone to take the blame for such a minor embezzlement and let it go. But His Majesty’s goal is for me to take over the position of Commander-in-Chief. This little crime is far from achieving that goal.”
"Therefore, the simple embezzlement of grain and salary can be disregarded."
Sun Jian's analysis was logical and reasonable, and the two nodded in agreement.
"As for the intention to rebel, that's completely unrelated."
"The army protecting the capital consists of one inner and two outer guards. Whether it is the left and right guards, or the Dragon Cavalry and Tiger Cavalry, they all belong to the emperor's army."
"All the generals and soldiers know very well that so many troops cannot be turned by the Wei family alone. Even if he had a real purpose, or even just a thought, he would probably bring down the Wei family as well. The three Wei brothers are not that stupid, and Wei Xian is even less so."
Sun Jian shrugged and held up two fingers: "Using the process of elimination, that leaves only forming cliques and privately maintaining troops. I guess that's the real direction of our investigation."
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