A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Our entire Li clan rose up in Taiyuan, fought in the south and north, destroyed Western Qin, pacified Daliang, and conquered Yang, Zheng, Liang, Han and Wu. All of these were defeated by our Li clan."

"Since my ascension to the throne, I have worked diligently to govern the country, appointing only the talented, recovering the Western Regions, conquering the Great Xia, welcoming back the Wei family, expanding our territory, and creating the prosperous Zhenguan era, where all nations came to pay tribute!"

"What merit does the Cui family possess that makes them worthy of second place?"

"What merits have the Lu, Zheng, and Wang families made that they are listed before the Li family?"

"Rebuild!"

Li Shimin threw the first draft in his hand hard at Gao Shilian's head. He never expected that Gao Shilian would repay him in this way, given how much he trusted him!

If Fang Xuanling's wife hadn't also come from one of the five prominent families and seven prestigious clans, and if there weren't more suitable candidates available, he would have cut off Gao Shilian's head right now and replaced him with someone else.

"The ranking of clans should be determined by their contributions to the world today. Otherwise, if those with great merit are ranked lower and those with no merit are ranked higher, everyone in the world will chase after their birth, and who will be willing to strive for the people? After all, merit is of little use!"

"Do you know what to do?"

Gao Shilian kowtowed fiercely, his face turning deathly pale as he sensed Li Shimin's murderous intent. "Your Majesty, I understand."

"Go. If the repairs still don't satisfy me, you don't need to come see me again."

Li Shimin said coldly.

After Gao Shilian returned to the Ministry of Personnel, he tore up the "Clan Records" in his hand in front of several adjutants.

"His Majesty has ordered the revision of the Clan Records."

"If this compilation of the Clan Records fails to satisfy His Majesty, I, Gao Shilian, will offer my head to His Majesty. But before I offer my head to His Majesty, I will first send my colleagues down to accompany me."

Gao Shilian stared coldly at the group. He was about to lose his life, so what did he have to fear from the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families?

Could the five surnames and seven noble families save Li Shimin's life?

Save the eggs!

Under the threat of death, Gao Shilian and his companions withstood the pressure from the five clans and seven prominent families, and completed the revision of the "Clan Records" in the twelfth year of the Zhenguan era.

This edition of the "Clan Records" places the Wei family as the highest class, while the Li family of the Tang Dynasty, namely the Longxi Li family, is the first class.

The second class included the maternal relatives of the Changsun clan and the nobles of Guanzhong, such as the Fang clan of Fang Xuanling, the Du clan of Du Ruhui, the Li clan of Li Jing, and the Cheng clan of Cheng Yaojin.

The old gentry families of Shandong, including the Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Wang families, as well as the Li family of Zhao County, were classified as the third class.

According to the official ranks and family size of the imperial court, the other clans were classified into ranks 4 to 9.

This new edition of the "Clan Records" was presented to Li Shimin, who then nodded in satisfaction.

This version of the "Clan Records" is exactly what he wanted.

He then ordered this edition of the "Clan Records" to be distributed throughout the land. The aristocratic families naturally tried their best to stop it, but to little avail.

This move completely shattered the aristocratic order that had existed since the Han Dynasty: it shifted from "bloodline determining social status" to "official rank determining social standing." The Wei family remained aloof, while the Li Tang imperial family was supreme, and the new Guanzhong aristocracy replaced the old Shandong gentry as the core of the ruling class.

The old Shandong gentry were suppressed: the Cui, Lu, Zheng, Wang, and Zhao County Li clans were demoted and their social status plummeted. The practice of "selling marriages" was curbed, and the attitude of aristocratic families towards imperial power began to change.

With the help of this "Clan Records", Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Li Jing and others entered the higher ranks through official titles, and scholars from poor families could enter officialdom and rise through the ranks through the imperial examinations, paving the way for the Li Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties to further suppress the powerful clans and develop the imperial examination system.

Its influence extends far beyond politics, reaching into everyday life as well.

For example, marriage concepts shifted from "considering family background" to "considering official rank and family background." The imperial family, nobles, and high-ranking officials became the first choice for marriage alliances. The old gentry of Shandong had no choice but to intermarry with the new elites, which accelerated their social assimilation.

The idea that one should marry a woman from one of the five noble families and marry off a daughter to a man from one of the five noble families is now a thing of the past.

More significantly, it made it possible for someone to rise from humble beginnings to become a high-ranking official, with bureaucratic politics completely replacing aristocratic politics. Under Li Shimin's impetus, Ma Zhou would become the first commoner to rise to the position of prime minister, ushering in a new era.

However, although the "Clan Records" greatly damaged the hard and soft power of aristocratic families, they were still ranked in the third tier of the "Clan Records", and occupied the vast majority of the fourth and fifth tiers.

More importantly, the Li imperial family, which ranks first, and the Tang dynasty nobles, which rank second, are all families that have risen to prominence in recent decades. Their populations are relatively small, and compared to those large families that have developed for hundreds of years, they are simply insignificant.

The combined strength of the first and second-tier families is less than that of any one of the third-tier clans, including their direct descendants and relatives within five degrees of kinship, not to mention their vast branch lineages.

Although the power of aristocratic families and clans remained immense, the achievements of the "Clan Records" are undeniable, and its significance is profound.

In the same year, Li Jing achieved brilliant results in the Battle of Daxia.

After cooperating with Zhai Hong, Li Jing gained official recognition from the Great Xia Dynasty and became an ally, thus rightfully seizing the territory he had occupied.

Having established a base of support, Li Jing began leading his army to launch attacks in all directions, continuously eliminating the surrounding warlords according to the boundaries he had drawn with Zhai Hong.

By the twelfth year of the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin had almost completely occupied half of the territory north of the Heng River in the Great Xia Dynasty.

The current Great Xia Dynasty is divided into three powers: the Tang Dynasty, which occupies the northeastern part of the Heng River and part of the southeastern part; the Zhai Hong Dynasty, which occupies the northwestern part of the Heng River and part of the southwestern part; and the Xia Jie Dynasty, which occupies the other areas south of the Heng River.

Xiajie has the largest territory and the largest population among these three regions, but its combat strength is the weakest.

He was also convinced by the indigenous people south of the Ganges. The teachings of Brahmanism had penetrated their very bones, and even after being ruled by Han culture for hundreds of years, they still could not be saved from the pit of Brahmanism.

The various inhumane operations were unheard of by Xia Jie, and even Changsun Wuji exclaimed that they had broadened his horizons.

Before going to war, this group of people required their generals and commanders to perform rituals. If they did not, they would feel that they were not protected by the gods and would become timid and hesitant on the battlefield. Even seasoned veterans would be afraid of new recruits.

However, once the ritual is performed first, this group of people can exert their normal fighting power at certain times.

What surprised Changsun Wuji even more was that the battlefield etiquette of this group was comparable to that of the pre-Spring and Autumn period.

We will never launch night raids, never kill prisoners of war, never fight in the rain, never fight at dawn or dusk, and we will not kill deserters, prisoners of war, women, children, the elderly, or clergy. We will not engage in night raids, ambushes, encirclements, or cutting off supplies. We must fight a fair and head-on battle.

One-on-one duels must be between opponents of the same level: King versus King, General versus General, Cavalry versus Cavalry.

If violated, the soldiers would absolutely mutini, and even a general with great prestige in the army would not be able to stop it.

They believed that if they violated these rituals, they would be cursed by the Brahmins, their souls would suffer endless torment, and they would never be able to be reborn.