Argued with my boss in a meeting yesterday, and got a raise today???

Yesterday afternoon during a meeting, my boss pointed to a massive mess left by the previous employee and asked who would take it on. The whole room went silent like a funeral, everyone looking down and pretending to be busy. The boss scanned the room, his eyes finally locking onto me: "You're most familiar with this project, so you take it." I had been working overtime continuously that day and my brain was fried. Without thinking, I immediately replied: "Boss, the previous person left 300 unresolved issues on this project and there's no documentation. Taking this now is basically suicide. I have four projects on my plate already. If I take this one, you need to assign two of my current projects to someone else, otherwise, I won't be able to finish." As soon as I finished speaking, the entire conference room fell dead silent. All my colleagues looked at me with the 'rest in peace' expression. I thought to myself, 'I'm done for. I'll be updating my resume to become a food delivery driver after work today.' But then, this morning, my boss called me into his office. I thought I was going to get fired. Instead, he quietly handed me a Starbucks coffee and whispered: "Actually, I know it's a disaster project. I had to ask because of pressure from above. Yesterday, you were the only one who dared to speak the truth. Everyone else just nodded along and played dumb. I sent the project back, and by the way, I've applied for a project bonus for you." ...??? So the real secret to workplace success isn't about working hard and enduring, but about being a rational and well-reasoned madman?