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

Lu Yanqing, a scholar of the Eastern Palace and a compiler, shook his head and said, "The meaning of the classics is inherently unified. Getting to the root of the matter is just a pretext."

"Yan Shujian said he wanted to collate the Five Classics and unify the text and commentaries. I ask you, what is the significance of this?"

"Does that mean all the Five Classics as they are currently circulating are wrong? The commentaries we have today have been passed down through generations. We can't just turn around and say that our predecessors were all wrong, can we?"

"Are you going to announce to all the scholars in the world that everything you learned before was wrong and that you have to start learning from scratch?"

Li Shousu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and a renowned scholar of genealogy, nodded slightly: "Indeed, it is something that is already unified. Why bring it out to be unified again? It is just an excuse that someone has come up with to satisfy their own selfish desires."

"No need to say anything more!" Cui Xuan said coldly. "In my opinion, the so-called rectification of the source is a joke, completely disregarding the lives of scholars across the country."

Before he could finish speaking, and before Yan Shigu could even reply, Fang Xuanling had already stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over Lu and Li: "What a fine 'originally unified' statement! Scholar Lu, are you blatantly lying?"

"For hundreds of years, the study of classics in the North and South was divided. The South emphasized interpretation and explanation, while the North adhered to the textual analysis. The same Book of Documents had different ancient and modern versions, and the same Analects could have vastly different commentaries."

"Students from different regions each follow their teachers' interpretations. For the same problem, you might say one solution is correct, while I might say another is wrong. Is that what you call consensus?"

"In previous years, the selection of officials by the Ministry of Personnel and the recommendation of local officials were judged entirely based on the scholarly background of the chief examiners. Children from prominent families were familiar with mainstream commentaries from a young age, while students from poor families could not even see the texts approved by the examiners even if they studied hard for ten years. Is this what you call uniformity?"

Changsun Wuji nodded, his tone soft but barbed: "That's right, precisely because the interpretations of the classics are so varied and the standards differ, you have your reasons and I have mine."

"See, isn't this exactly how it is now?"

"Lord Changsun's words are somewhat biased," Li Shousu retorted calmly, his expression unchanged. "The study of classics has been passed down for a hundred years, with each school having its own teachers and methods; this is a good thing in itself, where a hundred flowers bloom."

"The principles of the sages should be continuously explained and developed by various sages and philosophers; how can they be confined by a single imperial edict?"

"If you impose rigid rules and rigid principles, the officials you elect will all rise to power through rote memorization. Do you really expect them to govern the country in the future?"

"If we were to forcibly unify the commentaries and dismiss the teachings of various schools, that would destroy the very foundation of Confucianism, forcing future scholars to memorize only one school of thought, and preventing the emergence of any true great Confucian scholars!"

"That's sophistry!" Yan Shigu interrupted sharply, pointing at Li Shousu, "No one wants to abolish the teachings of any school of martial arts!"

"The imperial court's collation of the Five Classics was to establish an official version and a set of universally accepted commentaries as the standard for selecting officials through the imperial examinations. It did not prohibit private scholars from studying other doctrines!"

"It's like the imperial court establishing weights and measures; does that mean ordinary people aren't allowed to make their own scales at home? But when the government collects taxes and conducts transactions, there needs to be a standardized system!"

"The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for selecting talent by the imperial court, yet there isn't even a unified standard for grading the papers. You all use your own commentaries as the benchmark, and those selected are all your protégés and former subordinates. Where is the fairness in this?"

"Yan Shujian's words sound nice!" Cui Xuan stepped forward. "What official standards? In the end, isn't it just a few of you who make the decisions?"

"Today we can standardize the texts and commentaries, tomorrow we can change the sage's original words, and the day after tomorrow we can change the meaning of the scriptures to suit your own tastes!"

"What are you going to do if you change what students have been learning for over a decade? If local Confucian scholars are thrown into a panic and chaos breaks out, can you, Yan Shigu, bear that responsibility?"

"Whether he can shoulder the responsibility or not is none of Dr. Cui's business," Xiao Yu, who had remained silent until now, sneered.

"Students across the land have long suffered from the lack of a standard. If there were a unified and authentic text, students from poor families would no longer need to search far and wide for teachers and rare copies, and students from wealthy families would no longer need to rely on their family's scholarship to gain an advantage. In fact, it would be the fairest thing."

"As for the widespread panic?"

"In the first year of the Zhenguan era, Your Majesty implemented the equal-field system and reformed the tax system. Which of these measures did not affect the entire country? Yet, the country did not descend into chaos."

"On the contrary, the people feel more at ease because of the rules. The same applies to academic pursuits. With clear standards, students know where to focus their efforts, so how could there be chaos?"

Upon seeing this, Lu Yanqing quickly bowed and said, "Prime Minister Xiao, you are mistaken."

"Land taxation and corvée labor are matters of state administration, while the teachings of the classics are the way of the sages. How can they be confused? State administration can be adjusted according to the times, but how can the teachings of the sages be easily altered?"

"Once this precedent is set, anyone in later generations can alter the interpretations of the classics. Where then is the orthodoxy of Confucianism?"

"Orthodox?" Wei Zheng laughed. "Scholar Lu, are you taking the commentaries and interpretations of your various families as the orthodox teachings of the sage?"

"Did Confucius edit the Six Classics based on your family's version?"

"Since the Han Dynasty, the classics have been lost several times, and the commentaries have been added and supplemented in each generation. They are not immutable."

"The Former Han Dynasty revered the Modern Text School, the Later Han Dynasty valued the Ancient Text School, and the Wei and Jin Dynasties introduced new interpretations. Which dynasty didn't have textual criticism and collation? Yet, in our Great Tang Dynasty, textual criticism became unacceptable?"

"you......"

The two sides argued back and forth, their faces turning red with rage.

Officials from aristocratic families stepped forward to echo Cui Xuan and Li Shousu, while newly rich officials and ministers from humble backgrounds sided with Yan Shigu and Wei Zheng. The two factions clashed fiercely, and the noise in the hall grew louder and louder.

Li Shimin, seated on the dragon throne, remained calm throughout, watching the argument unfold with interest, neither calling for a halt nor offering any opinion.

Chen Huai'an didn't say anything about it.

For now, things seem evenly matched, and there's no need for them to intervene.

only......

Things seem to be developing in a direction they didn't expect.

"Damn it, how dare you spout nonsense here, obstructing the unification of Confucian classics and attempting to monopolize the sacred words!" Wei Zheng was furious. Surrounded and scolded by so many aristocratic families, he was about to lose his temper.

"Damn it!"

Completely disregarding his image, Wei Zheng ran out quickly amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, and returned shortly afterward with several snowballs in his arms.

Then a snowball hit the stunned Lu Yanqing in the face: "Hypocrite, I'll smash you to death."

"You..." Lu Yanqing was stunned by the blow. After recovering, she quickly patted the snowflakes off her face, her face turning red with anger. "Vulgar, utterly vulgar!"

"Vulgar?" Wei Zheng threw another snowball at him, running away as fast as he could. "Today I'll show you what vulgarity really means!"

"Beat them!"

"..."