As soon as this news spread, many people, upon hearing that there would be rewards, began to provide the court with evidence of the Wei family's crimes.
It included everything from land grabbing and harming the people, indiscriminate killing of innocents, favoritism and corruption, forming cliques for personal gain, abducting women, and bullying the market...
When the Wei family was still around, these people fawned over them to survive, doing everything they could to please them.
After the Wei family fell from power, these people rose up against them, fabricating all sorts of charges against them.
It fully exposes the ugliness of human nature.
It's a complete situation of opportunism, with people switching sides.
As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; when a drum is broken, everyone beats it.
Even worse, in order to win rewards from the imperial court, they began to say that the Wei family's dog was extremely domineering and had even forced itself on their own female dog...
However, the person who filed the complaint was slapped away by the judge of the Dali Temple who was handling the Wei family's case.
Originally, the news of the Wei family's downfall was only circulating within and outside the court and among high-ranking officials and nobles, until the court issued another proclamation claiming that the Wei family's case was the result of an investigation led by Sun Jian.
The notice also stated that, in order to reward Sun Jian for his meritorious service in solving the case and averting a major disaster, he was not only given 100 acres of fertile land, 100 taels of gold, and 100 bolts of silk, but was also promoted to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Tiger Guard.
The entire government and the public were shaken.
Most of those who paid attention to the Wei family's affairs were officials and nobles. Although the matter was circulated among the common people, they treated it as mere entertainment.
But the news of Sun Jian's reward caused an uproar among everyone.
The speed at which the news spread was nothing short of lightning.
It's unclear whether it was due to Sun Jian's influence or someone else's instigation.
In an instant, the news spread throughout the streets and alleys of Kyoto, and even the elderly, women, and children heard about it.
As everyone knows, the Wei family was overthrown overnight thanks to Sun Jian!
Sun Jian was once again elevated to the throne of mythology.
...
Kyoto City, the front hall of the Sun residence.
Sun Jian held the notice handed to him by Gu Hu, his lips twitching, a million curses running through his mind.
"wipe!"
"Damn it, the emperor is trying to put me in a very difficult position!"
Hearing the insults from Sun Jian, Gu Hu, who was completely bewildered, looked on in surprise.
"General... what do you mean by that?"
Sun Jian rolled his eyes at Gu Hu, sighed, and rubbed his forehead.
He still doesn't understand whether Gu Hu is smart or stupid.
You might say he's stupid, but sometimes he can say something surprising and hit the nail on the head.
You could say he's smart, but even with such an obvious answer right in front of him, he still can't understand it...
How the hell did he become a captain in the Left Guard Army?
If this level of intelligence were still on the battlefield, wouldn't he be utterly crushed by the enemy's think tank?
Sun Jian explained helplessly, "The Wei family has been operating for many years and is deeply rooted. They have many followers and retainers, and it's impossible to arrest them all."
"Not to mention his cronies and retainers, most of the people in the court, military, and government are members of the Wei family!"
"You could say that the reason Da Gan can maintain normal operations is because half of its members are from the Lin family, half from the Wei family, and the other half are from the royal family."
Upon hearing Sun Jian's words, Gu Hu scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "General... you're exaggerating a bit, aren't you? There should be at least half of them being scholars from humble backgrounds."
"Exaggerate my ass!"
"Do you understand that I'm using a rhetorical device?"
"Although many scholars from humble backgrounds have become officials during the Great Gan period, most of them are not in important positions, do you understand?"
"They have no influence, and they pose no threat, understand?"
Gu Hu nodded, but dared not utter a sound after being reprimanded by Sun Jian.
Sun Jian looked helpless and continued, "If the emperor really arrests all the members of the Wei family, then half of the major operations will collapse."
"So in the end, we can only symbolically eliminate the leaders of the Wei family. The others should be exiled or imprisoned. Those whose crimes are not serious should be reinstated. Do you understand now?"
"oh!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Hu felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and quickly added, "Eliminating the head of the Wei family is like removing the fangs of a poisonous snake; there is no longer any threat. The reinstatement of the officials below will not affect the operation of the major project, right, General!"
"Holy crap!"
"To your sister!"
"Am I discussing large-scale operations with you?"
Sun Jian was utterly speechless.
He realized that discussing issues with Gu Hu was like talking to a brick wall.
Sometimes this guy isn't as quick-witted as Lao Jiang or Lao Cao.
He's such a blockhead...
"Then, General... what do you mean?"
Gu Hu looked aggrieved and continued to press for answers.
It seemed he didn't understand Sun Jian's implied meaning, and he wouldn't give up.
Sun Jian sighed, “It’s true that I solved the case, but His Majesty didn’t need to make this public. He wanted to reward me and promote me, so there was no need for him to use this as a reason or excuse.”
"If he does this, the remaining forces of the Wei family will transfer all their hatred and anger onto me, because I caused their family to be raided, their fortunes to plummet, and their careers to be blocked. I caused them to be homeless, their families to be destroyed, and their lives to be lost. Do you understand now?"
"If the Wei family is found guilty of attempted treason, most of their close associates will be executed and their property confiscated!"
"In the future, the remaining forces and followers of the Wei family will all regard me as an enemy!"
"Do you understand?"
Sun Jian directly pointed out the truth to Gu Hu.
This is just like the Gu family back then!
Gu Yongchang was killed, and most of Gu's close associates were also killed, with only Gu Zijian being exiled.
Then Gu Hu and Gu Zijian began to regard Wei Xian and Li Yigou as enemies, for the same reason!
Unlike the Wei family, the Wei family had too many members. It was like killing nine hundred out of a thousand people, leaving a hundred survivors who would hate Sun Jian.
"That old emperor, he's not rewarding me, he's trying to harm me! He wants to make me a loyal subject!"
"Sure enough, serving a king is like serving a tiger. I just helped him get rid of one potential threat, and he turned around and slapped me first, then gave me a sweet treat."
Sun Jian shook his head helplessly as he finished speaking.
The most ruthless are those in the imperial family; this old emperor's methods are truly vicious.
Thinking about it carefully, this is the first time the emperor has ever treated me like this!
No matter how disrespectful or disrespectful Sun Jian had been in the past, the emperor had never really held it against him.
Sun Jian originally thought that the emperor was magnanimous and tolerant, and that he appreciated his talent. But judging from today's incident, the emperor was actually holding back something big and preparing a big move!
It seems I should be more careful with my words and actions in the court from now on.
"A loyal subject?"
Gu Hu was confused again.
Sun Jian took a breath. "Are you trying to ask why the emperor wants me to be a loyal subject?"
Gu Hu nodded.
"Alright, I've already explained it all to you, so I might as well finish explaining it to you."
Sun Jian said directly, "Our Emperor Ganwu is a rare emperor in history, whether in terms of his wisdom, political acumen, military prowess, or methods."
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