My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 18 The Confucian Masters of the World
Li Xuanba stood up and bowed to Zheng Faxian.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were on him.

Unlike his brothers, Li Xuanba was always a top student and received praise from his teachers on numerous occasions.

Zheng Yuanrui and the others exchanged glances and smiled. They had preemptively revealed Li Xuanba's things, and now they were afraid they would embarrass themselves in front of their teacher.

Li Xuanba looked at Zheng Faxian and said seriously, "A few days ago, I had some conversations with my teacher, and now I have figured it out."

"Oh?"

"Telling without doing."

"Knowledge is not useless; its use lies in enabling people to distinguish right from wrong."

"Some people don't read books, so they don't know right from wrong. Even if bad things happen right in front of them, they can't understand them, can't see through them, and won't care."

As soon as he said that, many people subconsciously looked at Li Yuanji.

Li Yuanji, who was lost in thought, suddenly snapped out of it.

Ok?
what happened?
"Some people read books and can distinguish right from wrong, but they cannot abide by what is right, nor can they stop what is wrong. They can only pretend not to know, or remain indifferent because of their own interests."

"There are also people who have read books, know right from wrong, know to follow what is right, and know to stop what is wrong. They are willing to take risks and pay the price for this, and they will not regret it."

The Zheng family disciples were in an uproar.

What do you mean by that?

You fucking say who knows right from wrong but doesn't follow it?!
Then someone asked, "Mr. Li, we understand what you're saying, but what does this have to do with 'reciting without creating'?!"

"Shut up!"

Zheng Faxian started cursing as soon as he opened his mouth, and the man immediately lowered his head.

Li Xuanba said seriously, "Sages expound principles, but do not establish them, because the principles of sages are not meant to be followed, but to help people know right from wrong. No one in the world can follow the principles established by sages, because there are no perfect people in the world. Even sages themselves sometimes make mistakes."

"But we can listen to the principles expounded by the sages, and then choose to do what we can, gradually cultivating ourselves in the direction they have taught, perfecting our character, stopping wrong things, and doing more good deeds."

"Nowadays, corvée labor is frequent, and I used to blame those scholars who were well-versed in the classics, thinking that they could not offer advice and failed to follow the requirements of the sages. But now I feel that we should not demand others to meet the standards of the sages, much less make others die for the principles of the sages."

"This is what I, your disciple, understand as 'transmitting but not creating'."

Zheng Faxian was stunned and remained in a daze for a long time.

Then I saw his lips tremble slightly, and finally he opened his mouth.

"Good, good, very good, you said it very well, you are already well."

Li Shimin did some mental calculations and realized things were not going well.

Six good words!!
There were two more than him!

The courtyard was quiet. The people's lips moved slightly as they looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock.

Zheng Faxian shook off his previous dejection and became energetic again. He continued lecturing, his voice was excited and his expression was enthusiastic, and the effect was better than before.

After finishing today's lesson, Zheng Faxian gestured for Li Xuanba to follow him, ignoring the others, and quickly left.

The disciples stared blankly as Li Xuanba was taken away, their eyes filled with envy.

Li Xuanba didn't know where Zheng Faxian was taking him, but he didn't ask too many questions and just quietly followed behind Zheng Faxian.

Zheng Faxian asked somewhat jokingly, "Did you hear this answer from someone else as well?"

"This time it was my own idea."

"Humility is essential in scholarship, but it is also appropriate to demonstrate one's abilities. If one lacks confidence in one's own knowledge, how can one engage in debates with the world's leading scholars in the future?"

As Zheng Faxian spoke, he quickly walked inside.

The two walked for a long time, one after the other, and finally arrived at the gate of a courtyard in the north. There were two strong servants at the gate. When they saw Zheng Faxian, they hurriedly bowed and greeted him. Zheng Faxian ignored them and gestured for Li Xuanba to follow him inside.

This was Li Xuanba's first time here, and he had no idea what this place was.

There were quite a few servants inside, but it was much quieter than outside.

Entering a study, Zheng Faxian and Li Xuanba sat down together.

Servants had already served them tea.

Zheng Faxian sized up the little fellow in front of him, staring at him for a long time, then sighed silently to himself. The same question lingered: how wonderful it would be if this were his own disciple.

Judging from his talent in classical studies, if this kid can maintain it, his minimum achievement in the future will be a scholar-official in the court, and he might even go further. After the unification of the North and the South, classical studies will rise again.

The emperor issued an edict to collect all the classics in the land and to reward those scholars who had achieved great success in their studies.

Then, Emperor Wen began to actively promote Confucius, and established Confucius temples in various places, and set up special music and dance performances to worship Confucius.

The imperial court valued those who were well-versed in the classics; as long as you were good at studying the classics, becoming an official was incredibly easy.

All of this indicates that the imperial court wants to revive education and culture, and that a golden age is coming for scholars of classical texts.

This is something that the great families of the Central Plains have been longing for day and night, especially this Mingjing imperial examination—it's wonderful! It's fantastic!
The powerful clans did not oppose the imperial examinations. The higher the status of classical studies, the higher their status would be. Moreover, only the powerful clans could afford to participate in the Mingjing examination. Even those from poor families might not be able to afford it, since the most fundamental requirement for participating in the examinations was a recommendation from someone.
This is also why, in recent years, many wealthy families who made their fortunes through military achievements have begun to require their children to study the classics.

In this context, if a family can produce a person of the caliber of a "master of literature," who leads the study of classics, then that family will gain a significant advantage in the new era, creating a virtuous cycle.

If even one scholar of classical studies emerges who can mentor younger members of the family and recommend more of their own confidants, then a situation will arise where many prominent figures emerge, leading to a monopoly on official positions.

Li Xuanba looked at the silent Zheng Faxian with confusion, not understanding why he had called him here.

Zheng Faxian quickly realized what was going on. He forced a smile. Regardless of whether he was a member of the Zheng family or not, this genius was at least his disciple, which would be beneficial and harmless!

"Xuanba, do you know where this place is?"

"do not know."

"This place is called the North Tower. It's my favorite place to rest. My family's collection of books is here."

"Ok?"

Li Xuanba was somewhat surprised. Zheng Faxian continued, "These houses, both inside and outside, are filled with books of all kinds. Among them are handwritten annotations. For the same book, there are more than ten handwritten annotations alone."

"The sages of today value talent and learning. Although I have read many books, I am not good at debating and cannot become a master. I can only stay at home to teach my disciples, hoping to cultivate a few virtuous talents. Unfortunately, among the current Zheng family members, there are few who can become successful. Among my disciples, the most talented are you and your second son."

Zheng Faxian looked at the servant beside him. The servant went out and returned a moment later with a small wooden plaque.

Zheng Faxian handed the small wooden plaque to Li Xuanba.

"From this day forward, you may enter the North Building at any time and read whatever you wish. If you do not understand something, come and ask me. When the Prefect returns, I will personally visit him and let him know your talent in classical studies!"

"With your talent, as long as you persevere, you will surely become a leading Confucian scholar in the world."

Li Xuanba was taken aback. He looked at the wooden plaque in his hand and bowed deeply to Zheng Faxian.

"Thank you teacher."

When Li Xuanba walked to the courtyard gate, playing with the small wooden plaque, many people were waiting for him.

The two Li brothers, along with many of their classmates, were waiting anxiously.

Upon seeing him come out, the two brothers quickly stood in front of him.

Li Yuanji's face was full of curiosity, and he asked impatiently, "What's wrong? Why are you so late? Were you punished?"

"No, the gentleman said I can go to their family's book collection in the future."

Li Yuanji scoffed, "Isn't this just punishing you? I think that old man is just jealous of you."

"Shut up."

Li Shimin cursed at him, then looked at Li Xuanba with a complicated expression.

He's been working really hard these past few days, how come he still can't beat his brother?

He finally couldn't help but ask, "Xuanba, I've read quite a few books these past few days, but how exactly did you come to understand this level?"

“Brother, I don’t know either. I just went through some things and then I figured it out.”

Have you experienced it?

Li Shimin nodded thoughtfully. He then looked at the Zheng family members in the distance, whose faces were full of flattery, and whispered, "Don't mention anything about the book collection to these people later. These people are wicked and will surely be jealous."

"If you need my advice, then you can say a little bit. If you want to host a banquet, then you can say that the master does not allow it, so as not to ruin our friendship. But don't get too close either."

"understood."

(End of this chapter)