As they had done so much contribution, both Fan and Wen was awarded great riches. Gou Jian even offered half of the state to Fan. But Fan rejected and decided to live in seclusion（隔离，隐退） for knowing Gou too well. As a hermit, Fan wrote to his friend Wen. In his letter, Fan said, "When all the flying birds have been shot down, the good bow is put away; when all the hares have been bagged, the hounds（猎犬） are killed for food. I suggest you withdraw in order to avoid disaster." Wen took his advice and pretended to be ill and stopped attending imperial court meetings. But it was too late. Gou Jian believed the slanderous（诽谤的） gossips about Wen and ordered Wen to kill himself. Later, people use it to mean trusted aides are eliminated when they have outlived their usefulness." 

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