My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 23 The Great Sui Dynasty's Number One Exam Taker

"Come! My lord! Don't be afraid! Run into him!"

Liu Chounu held a tattered shield, his eyes wide as he stared at Li Xuanba in front of him.

Li Xuanba gritted his teeth, donned his wooden armor, and, also wielding a shield, charged towards him.

"Boom~~"

Liu Chounu was truly impolite. He turned sideways, ducked, and used his shield to strike Li Xuanba, who was coming at him. The moment the two collided, Li Xuanba was thrown away and fell to the ground.

Liu Xuan was so frightened that his face turned pale and his hands were trembling.

Li Xuanba got up from the ground again, rubbing his buttocks, looking disheveled.

Seeing that Li Xuanba was alright, Liu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, but Liu Chounu was still shouting, "My lord! The shield must not be let go! Continue!"

"Ahem! Wait!"

Liu Xuan couldn't help but interrupt him.

When Liu Chounu suggested that he come and assist with the training, Liu Xuan was quite happy. He thought that having a real military expert to help him should be able to teach him something real. But he didn't expect that this guy was really treating Li Xuanba like a common soldier!
According to Liu Chounu, elite soldiers in the army had to practice this "ramming method," which involved running from a distance and then knocking down any target blocking their path.

Liu Xuan didn't think much of it when he heard him recount the story, but when he saw Li Xuanba being knocked away again and again, he couldn't sit still any longer.

This isn't some common soldier, this is the Duke of Tang's most beloved son!

If you cause any damage to this vehicle, do you think I'll even make it out of Xingyang alive?

Liu Chounu was taken aback and looked at Liu Xuan in confusion. "Lord Liu, what's wrong?"

“Well, Sanlang is still young, and this kind of collision method may not be suitable for him right now. I’m afraid it might hurt his body.”

"what"

Liu Chounu wanted to explain that he had released his force; although the impact seemed violent, he had only restrained himself and gently pushed after receiving the impact. However, since Liu Xuan was the master of martial arts, he had no choice but to obey.

Liu Xuan also improved the training according to Liu Chounu's instructions, changing the long run around the yard to a shuttle run, and removing the "ram" from the "ram" method, turning it into a charging formation commonly used in the army.

As for the method of throwing the hammer, it was Liu Chounu who provided guidance. Liu Chounu could throw the wooden hammer very far. There were specific techniques to throwing it, from the exertion of force to aiming. This old soldier was quite skilled.

From Li Xuanba's own perspective, although many of his actions seemed more violent and dangerous after Liu Chounu's assistance, he was not as tired as usual and it seemed to be more effortless.

Having completed his training for the day, Li Xuanba still had something to ask Liu Xuan.

"Master, today I went to the Zheng family's north building and looked at many annotations."

"Most of these annotations are tedious, and although I find them difficult to read, I can still manage to get through them. However, the differences between the different annotations are too great, and even the objects being annotated differ. I really don't know which book to read or which interpretation to believe."

Li Xuanba told Liu Xuan about the difficulties he was facing.

Liu Xuan burst into laughter after hearing this.

Li Xuanba's actions reminded him of when he was young.

Even when Liu Xuan was young, he was known as a genius. His comprehension ability surpassed that of all his peers. At the age of ten, he could draw a square with his left hand and a circle with his right hand, recite, count, and listen at the same time, and he could do all five things at the same time without making a mistake.

Such talent astonished the elders of the clan, so when Liu Xuan was still very young, he was sent to study with masters.

Because of his exceptional talent, Liu Xuan didn't choose to specialize in any one book; instead, he decided to learn everything.
Thus, at the age of thirty, this genius mastered all the commentaries on the Zhou Li, Li Ji, Mao Shi, Shang Shu, Gong Yang, Zuo Zhuan, and the Analects by Kong, Zheng, Wang, He, Fu, and Du.

He claimed to be able to teach all thirteen schools of thought, and to have all the historical and philosophical works in his heart.

Many people in the Sui Dynasty looked down on Liu Xuan, but no one ever dared to debate with him.

Everyone questions his character, but no one dares to question his academic abilities.
Li Xuanba's current experience reminded Liu Xuan of his own youth. He shook his head and sighed, "I understand you."

"I totally understand that feeling of seeing a room full of jewels and wanting to eat them all, but not knowing where to start."

"Therefore, you should start by learning the simplest etiquette. There are eight authoritative commentaries on etiquette, so you should begin with those."

Li Xuanba was dumbfounded.

"Master, do I have to learn everything?"

"How difficult could it be? If you read one book a day, you can master one in a year. In about twenty or thirty years, you can learn all of them."

"Oh, how do you pronounce it?"

"Just read it casually, it's something you can learn in one glance!"

Li Xuanba's expression was beginning to resemble that of Li Yuanji. Liu Xuan, however, was very excited, "In this way, before you're even forty, you'll have mastered all the classics, knowing everything and understanding everything. All the commentaries in the world will be in your heart, and then you will...you will..."

The smile on Liu Xuan's face gradually froze.

and then?
What can be done?
Are you teaching people how to use a hammer?
Li Xuanba could see clearly that the teacher's smile froze, and his state suddenly plummeted from his previous excitement to a low point, his eyes losing their luster.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Li Xuanba.

"You come with me."

This was the first time Li Xuanba had seen his teacher so serious. He lowered his head and followed his teacher inside.

The two entered the study. Liu Chounu couldn't understand what they were saying, but he still dutifully stood guard at the door, doing his job as a personal guard.

Liu Xuan sat in the seat of honor, and let Li Xuanba sit to his side.

He pondered for a long time, then said in a low voice, "There's no need to read so many books."

"Master, I don't understand."

"Reading is certainly not a bad thing, but if you focus all your attention on books, you'll only know how to read and won't be able to do anything practical. You'll see those who are far inferior to you, those who know nothing, rise to high positions and point fingers at you. They know all the道理 (principles/truths), but none of them can be put into practice."

"In the end, they couldn't even support their families and had to do things they didn't want to do, bearing the stigma."

Liu Xuan's voice grew softer and softer, and suddenly, he looked up at Li Xuanba.

“Xuanba, although your brother asked you to become my disciple before, that was to teach you martial arts. But if you are still willing to learn the classics from me, I can teach you.”

"The Zheng family's collection of books is nothing special. All the classics in the world are in my heart."

Li Xuanba didn't hesitate at all; he stood up and bowed.

"Master!"

Liu Xuan then laughed. He formally helped Li Xuanba up and joked, "My fees aren't cheap."

"Master, can I give it to you in the future?"

"Hahaha, alright, I'll allow you some time to stall, but don't forget!"

Liu Xuan had taken in a large number of disciples, basically accepting anyone who paid him. However, he did not find any disciples who could inherit his mantle. He had not discovered anyone with such talent. He originally planned to end this farce and leave as soon as Li Yuan arrived.

But now, he felt a little fond of this disciple in front of him, who was somewhat talented. He was hardworking, had a talent for studying classics, was well-behaved and sensible, knowledgeable and reasonable, humble and eager to learn, and had no trace of a spoiled brat. Hmm, he was a good successor.

After the Duke of Tang returns, I'll have a good talk with him. Even if he doesn't teach you how to use a hammer, surely he's qualified to teach you the classics?
With these thoughts in mind, Liu Xuan began his first lesson.

“When studying annotations, you don’t need to believe them or even understand them. The most important thing about annotations is the era of the annotator. The same thing can be interpreted differently by Han people and by Jin people. Different eras can always be interpreted in different ways.”

"What you need to learn is this: every era has its own problems, and every great person has their own solutions. And most of these problems are repeated, so the solutions can be learned from."

"It is enough to understand the principles of Confucianism. The important thing is to be able to apply them. Just reading books will only lead to a miserable end. In the future, you cannot become an old scholar who only reads books. Such people are the most useless. They can't do anything, and they can't even get others to sit down and listen to their lectures."

"If you're going to do it, you have to become a powerful scholar. Only then can you carry out your principles and get the whole world to sit down and listen to them."

"I'm not just going to teach you how to learn principles, I'm also going to teach you how to get others to listen to your principles!"

When Liu Xuan left, Li Shimin was waiting outside; he was waiting for his younger brother.

He was blocked by Liu Chounu and not allowed to go in.

Li Shimin experienced what Li Yuanji felt; he tried many methods, but the old man was completely unyielding and wouldn't listen to reason.
When Li Shimin saw Li Xuanba, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Liu Chounu but did not say anything bad about him. He simply pulled Li Xuanba away.

"Third brother, how have I treated you on a daily basis?"

That was the first thing he said.

Li Xuanba raised his head, his expression quite serious.

"Brother, I'll help you gather men and quell the bandits."

Li Shimin was overjoyed.

"You help me comfort the dead and save the innocent."

"what???"

(End of this chapter)