The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

On the 20th day of the first month of the second year of Zhenguan, it was Minor Snow.

Within just over ten days, undercurrents surged in Chang'an, and an inexplicable atmosphere enveloped the entire officialdom.

Everyone sensed the awkward atmosphere and took sides, either trying to win people over or suppressing them.

At this moment, the officialdom of Chang'an is like a bomb that has already been planted. As long as someone steps forward and lights a fire, it will explode immediately!

And today, the person who lit the fire has arrived!

At the usual court assembly, Yan Shigu was the first to stand up, bowing deeply, holding a memorial in his hands: "Your Majesty, I... have something to report!"

As soon as he spoke, the expressions of many people in the court changed.

Their expressions naturally did not escape Li Shimin's notice, but he said nothing, and said gently, "What does Minister Yan have to report?"

Yan Shigu didn't even look up, holding the memorial, and said firmly: "Nowadays, there are different versions of the classics in the world, and the commentaries are all different. There is no unified standard for what constitutes proper learning, what constitutes gentlemanly conduct, or what constitutes a superior family."

"His Majesty chose Zhenguan as the reign title with the intention of upholding the principles of 'moderation and righteousness.' The Duke of Anguo also said that standards are the foundation of a nation."

"It's like the bow wielder and the bow maker. The bow wielder can have their own preferences, like heavy bows, light bows, or even modify the bow themselves, but the bow maker cannot cater to anyone's preferences. The bow he makes must be accurate and precise!"

"The requirement that every bow be made exactly the same is essential to ensure that everyone can use the same bow. This is the principle of fairness and justice, and it was also His Majesty's original intention in choosing Zhenguan as the reign title!"

"At this moment, our court officials are the bow makers, and Confucian classics are the bow itself. The meanings of various Confucian classics are being distorted extensively, and the knowledge of scholars throughout the land is mixed and chaotic, with each person having their own interpretation!"

At this point, Yan Shigu took a deep breath. He knew there was no turning back now, and of course, he had no intention of turning back. He said, word by word, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that Your Majesty issue an edict, with the Imperial Academy taking the lead, to summon Confucian scholars from both the North and South to collate the Five Classics and standardize the text and commentaries!"

"Get to the root of the matter and unify the interpretation of the scriptures!"

As the last eight words were spoken, Chen Huai'an and the others' eyes lit up, while many others looked extremely grim.

Zheng Yuanzhu sighed softly and closed his eyes.

He didn't expect Chen Huai'an and Yan Shigu to be so ruthless, taking the initiative to form a group and immediately demanding to rectify the errors and unify the interpretation of the scriptures.

If they could have cooperated and avoided conflict in the past, now that Yan Shigu has uttered these words, there is no longer any possibility of cooperation between them.

The only option is to fight to the death!

They've already made their move; now it's their turn to retaliate!

"I object!"

Cui Xuan's face darkened. He stepped forward, pointed at Yan Shigu's nose, and yelled, "Yan Shigu, you expect every word you utter to be correct and proper? I want to ask you, where is the correctness? Where is the properness?"

"Is 'China' defined by you? Is it defined by your Yan family? And now you want your Yan family to take the lead?"

"To get to the root of the matter and unify the interpretation of the scriptures? Absurd, utterly absurd! Haven't the interpretations of the scriptures already been unified long ago?"

"Confucianism has long been deeply ingrained in people's hearts. How do you intend to unify it? How do you intend to change it? Do you expect it to be changed to the interpretations of the classics that your Yan family approves of?"

"Then what are you going to do with all the scholars in the world? What are you going to do with all the students? If you change the scriptures to your preferred interpretation, all their decades of hard work will vanish in an instant. Is that what you want to see?"

Cui Xuan retorted sharply, "You're digging up the very foundations of everyone in the world!"

"What a joke!" Yan Shigu retorted without backing down, "Leaving aside what I just said about gathering Confucian scholars from both the North and South to jointly collate the Five Classics and unify the text and commentaries, when did I ever say that I wanted to replace the principles of the world with those of my Yan family?"

"Even if the Yan family were to take the lead in upholding the same principles, what difference would it make? I, Yan Shigu, would like to ask you all: Does the Yan family not have the right to do so?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an, Wei Zheng, and others all showed strange expressions, and even Li Shimin almost burst out laughing.

The Yan family's power was indeed not as great as that of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, but this was because they were unwilling to annex land and had always valued integrity.

But if you try to compete with them in terms of historical depth, you're in for a tough time.

Their ancestor was Yan Hui, the most outstanding disciple of Confucius and the head of the Seventy-Two Disciples of Confucius!

In terms of Confucian morality, the Yan family truly has the right to say this.

Cui Shanwei's gaze turned icy: "So, Yan Shujian admits that he wants to monopolize the classics, replace the doctrines with those of your Yan family, and make the world only accept your doctrines?"

"Don't try to distort the truth here!" Yan Shigu sneered. "You know better than I do what I mean!"

"Since the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, who has monopolized the right to interpret Confucian classics? Don't you know the answer?"

"Don't try to pass your hypocritical act on to the world!"

"I'm making this clear: the new imperial examination system must be implemented, and the interpretation of the classics must be unified!"

"This is not about forcing everyone to accept only one doctrine, but about enabling all scholars to recognize correct principles and the unified interpretations of the classics by the imperial court!"

Yan Shigu's words resonated deeply: "Judgments of right and wrong, good and bad, high and low should be decided by the imperial court and by the people of the world, not by one party!"

Before Cui Shanwei could speak, Wei Zheng spoke first: "Well said. Yan Shujian's words are reasonable. Judgments of right and wrong, good and bad, high and low are never the opinions of one party alone."

"The world has suffered from inconsistent writing styles and commentaries for far too long; it's time for a unified standard!"

"Zhenguan era, Zhenguan era!"

"When the reign title was initially chosen, Minister Chen proposed Zhenguan, and His Majesty approved of its principle of moderation and righteousness, as did many other ministers!"

"If we are to uphold impartiality and righteousness, then how can the principles of the world be without impartiality and righteousness?"

Wei Zheng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I second that opinion!"

Du Ruhui smiled and said, "I agree with what Supervisor Yan said."

"At the end of the first year of the Zhenguan era, His Majesty ordered that Xuanling and I work together to improve the new imperial examination system."

"But after much thought, I still felt that something was missing, and now it seems that what was missing was a unified interpretation of the scriptures."

"If the interpretations of the classics are not unified, and the results of right and wrong are ambiguous, no matter how perfect the imperial examination system is, it will always be unfair!"

"Yan Shujian proposed that the Imperial Academy take the lead in convening Confucian scholars from both the North and South to collate the Five Classics. I think this is an excellent suggestion!"

"This would not only prevent the interpretation of the classics from being monopolized by any one school, achieving a unified understanding and rectification of the classics, but also perfectly align with the original intention of choosing the 'Zhenguan' reign title."

Just as Du Ruhui finished speaking, another voice rang out.

"What Duke Cai said makes sense, but I think this matter... should be handled with caution."

"..."