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

"I hereby declare that the unification of the classics and the collation of the Five Classics shall officially commence immediately."

"Yan Shigu will take the lead, Chen Huai'an will assist, and all scholars and great Confucian scholars of the Hongwen Academy and the Imperial Academy will participate. Within six months, a unified and finalized version must be produced and promulgated throughout the country."

"Your subjects obey the decree." Yan Shigu and Chen Huai'an immediately stepped forward to receive the decree.

Wei Zheng and the others smiled with relief.

We've finally taken the first step.

Cui Shanwei, Lu Yanqing, and the others gritted their teeth, but could only bow and agree reluctantly.

Li Shimin, observing the varied expressions on the faces of the people below, understood the situation perfectly.

He knew that powerful families were not a monolithic entity, and Chen Huai'an obviously knew it too.

Today's move not only promoted the unification of Confucian classics but also broke the bond between aristocratic families, achieving two goals at once.

However, winning over the Cui family of Boling... this was something that surprised everyone.

Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said, "Now that things have come to this, and the food and wine are all served, let's speak frankly about everything—what needs to be said, what matters, what rules need to be established!"

"Everything will be decided today!"

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something: "Oh, right, take away Wei Zheng's pickled celery!"

Wei Zheng: "..."

Chen Huai'an almost burst out laughing. Besides his hobbies of slaying and taming dragons, Wei Zheng also loved to eat pickled celery, and now Li Shimin was targeting him for this very thing.

But he didn't pay attention to such a trivial matter. He turned his head to observe the expressions of the many Shandong aristocratic families, and finally nodded slightly to Cui Xuan.

The latter returned a smile.

In fact, everyone else guessed wrong.

For Chen Huai'an, once he decided to become an official, he no longer cared about any risks.

In political struggles, deaths are perfectly normal.

If even an emperor could be framed and killed, then he certainly could be.

In Chen Huai'an's view, "I attacked you first, and you were able to kill me. That's your skill. I'm willing to accept defeat and admit my inferiority."

If you failed to kill him, you have to accept the consequences of your bet.

The Cui family clearly succeeded.

Cui Xuan's immediate family members were all brought out, including his entire family, and all of them lost their heads.

This matter naturally ends here.

There are no permanent enemies in the world, only permanent interests.

As long as Chen Huai'an's bottom line isn't crossed, everything is negotiable.

Zheng Jia's biggest mistake was threatening him with his family.

From the moment Zheng Yuanzhu uttered that suggestive remark, all possibilities of cooperation were severed.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Li Shimin propped his head up. "Weren't you arguing fiercely just now? You were fighting quite badly too."

"Why aren't you saying anything now?"

"The imperial examination system needs reform and implementation, great! Now come up with a plan!"

Zheng Yuanzhu, Cui Shanwei, Lu Yanqing and others were all hesitant.

The new imperial examination system was implemented... This was something they had all promised Chen Huai'an. If the interpretation of the classics was not approved, no matter what the imperial examination system was like, it would not have a fundamental impact.

Now that the Confucian classics have been unified... continuing to implement the new imperial examination system would obviously have a fundamental impact on them.

But putting aside the fact that this is also linked to interests such as refined salt, the unification of Confucian classics is already a foregone conclusion. Is there any point in continuing to obstruct the implementation of the new imperial examination system?

What benefits should be offered to stop them?

Seeing that none of the people from the five surnames and seven clans spoke, Du Ruhui vaguely guessed what they were thinking and took out a thick folding book from his pocket.

Ever since he sensed the renewed turmoil in Chang'an, this booklet has never left his side.

"Your Majesty, regarding the new imperial examination system, your subject and Xuanling have recently completed its finalization. Here is a rough outline; please take a look."

Li Shimin waved his hand lightly, and Zhang Anan walked down in small steps, took the folded document from Du Ruhui's hand, and then presented it to him.

"Indeed, to be able to come up with a rough plan in such a short time, my two ministers must have put in a lot of effort." Li Shimin did not rush to open the folding book, but instead praised them.

The content of the folded book is not important, nor is it important how well Du Ruhui and others improved it based on the direction proposed by Chen Huai'an.

Even... the new content of the imperial examinations is not the most important thing at the moment.

The important thing is... whether it can be implemented.

If it cannot be done, then even the best system is useless!

"This is our duty," Fang Xuanling said, bowing. "Your Majesty, since we are to unify the classics and implement a new imperial examination system, we must expedite the process no matter what."

"I propose that, starting before the selection of candidates for this year's imperial examinations, the government should establish unified standards. For both the Jinshi and Mingjing examinations, all examination questions and grading standards should be based solely on the official version. Anyone who adopts private commentaries or alternative interpretations should be rejected!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yuanzhu, Cui Shanwei, and Lu Yanqing's expressions changed drastically.

This is truly digging into their very roots.

Why do the five surnames and seven clans have such a great voice? It's not because they shout the loudest.

Rather, they monopolized the standards for judging right and wrong, good and bad, high and low; serious scholarship, gentlemanly conduct, and superior social status were all decided by them.

The unification of Confucian classics and the binding of the imperial examination system completely abolished their status as academic authorities.

When the imperial examinations only recognized the classics prescribed by the government and made them the only standard answers, students no longer needed to rely on aristocratic families to pursue their studies.

"Is that so?" Li Shimin did not immediately agree, but turned to Cui Shanwei, "What does Minister Cui think of Xuanling's suggestion?"

To kill someone is to destroy their spirit! To kill someone is to destroy their spirit!

Choi Seon-wi's expression was as if he had eaten shit. They had already lost the debate on classical studies, so what could they possibly object to now?

One wrong step leads to another!

"I...don't know." Cui Shanwei said through gritted teeth.

"Oh?" Li Shimin laughed. "Don't know?"

"What about the others? What do you think?"

"I second that!" Wei Zheng, though he didn't get to eat the vinegar celery, was not ambiguous when it came to important matters.

In an instant, the court was filled with voices of agreement.

Lu Yanqing knew that the matter was already settled; the Cui family's betrayal had directly led to their complete defeat.

There's no point in arguing about this now; the only thing we should do is try to make up for the losses.

But where can we make up for it?

Lu Yanqing's expression was gloomy. He glanced at Cui Xuan, his teeth itching with hatred.

"Your Majesty, I have an objection!"

Just then, Chen Huai'an suddenly spoke.

Li Shimin's smug expression froze.

It's so numb!

You always have to cause trouble just when I'm about to make a scene, don't you?

Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, and others looked at Chen Huai'an with some confusion.

Yan Shigu also frowned.

They couldn't understand why, with things having progressed to this point and the final victory about to be reaped, there would still be objections.

Why are there still objections?

Li Shimin only grumbled a few words to himself, but when Chen Huai'an spoke, he still valued it highly: "Any objections?"

"..."