The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Chapter 103 Let's take a look at the true nature of these powerful families!

At this moment, Sun Fujia was also shocked by the scene of hundreds of thousands of scholars kneeling and weeping in the East Market.

"This grandson of the emperor is not even twenty years old, yet he has managed to gather such popularity in such a short time!"

Upon hearing Li Xiang's suggestion to submit his last memorial, he immediately snapped out of his daze.

"Hmm? Okay, okay, someone, quickly bring paper and pen!"

Just now, Li Xiang had a reckless look on his face, and Sun Fujia only wanted to scare him. But now, seeing Li Xiang's solemn expression, Sun Fujia felt he couldn't bear to do it.

That brat—in the end, he does know fear. His face was beaming just now; perhaps he was only thinking that after he died, no one would mourn or lament his passing?

As death loomed, he finally revealed a solemn expression.

He even wants to submit a memorial to the throne—does he want to leave behind some loyal and honest words for His Majesty in his final moments?

"There's no need for paper and pen. I'll trouble Minister Sun to write down what I said today and then inform him."

"This memorial of mine is not only for the emperor, but also for the poor and needy, and for all the people of the world to know," Li Xiang said.

Li Er, that old tyrant, is very cunning. If I only showed these words to him alone, he might feel that they threatened the balance of his court and hide or throw away the memorial so that no one else would know about it.

To say these words in public and spread them far and wide would not only have a wider impact, but would also make those powerful families even more uncomfortable!

Perhaps these words will be recorded by one of the students present and appear in some unofficial history, and will be read by some thoughtful and ambitious person in the future.

Perhaps this will allow China to break free from the scourge of feudalism sooner, give birth to new ideas, and avoid some of the tragedies that should have happened in history.

When they heard that Li Xiang had something to say to them, the group of scholars from humble backgrounds and common people all fell silent.

Even the scions of noble families hiding behind the carriage curtains looked coldly at Li Xiang on the Xingtai platform, waiting to hear what his last words would be.

Gentlemen.

A long wind swept across the high platform of the East Market, the clanging of heavy iron shackles echoing incessantly. The young figure atop the execution platform stood tall and straight as a pine tree, his bearing dignified and awe-inspiring. All eyes were fixed intently on Li Xiang.

The entire East Market was silent, save for the gentle whistling of the wind, as everyone awaited his heartfelt words.

"Today I, Li Xiang, die here, having attained what I sought, and I have no regrets."

As soon as he finished speaking, the scholars below the stage trembled, and their suppressed sobs almost burst forth again.

"Gentlemen, there is no need for you to mourn for me," Li Xiang said with a grin. "A dying man's words are often wise. I hope that not only the emperor, but also you will heed my honest advice."

"Confucian classics can be used to cultivate oneself, establish virtue, clarify etiquette, and govern the people; they are the foundation of a nation and the basis of one's character."

"But! Be careful not to let Confucianism become a tool for others to exploit you."

His tone abruptly shifted, his voice suddenly becoming solemn and resounding: "The study of self-cultivation is insufficient to encompass the principles of heaven and earth; the theories of rites and laws are insufficient to exhaust the uses of all things!"

"Reforming the imperial examination system is imperative, and not only should its unfair selection process be addressed, but its fundamental reliance on Confucian scholarship should be eliminated!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent, countless people's pupils shrank, and their faces were filled with shock!

Since Emperor Wu of Han exclusively promoted Confucianism, scholars throughout the land have regarded Confucianism as the orthodox doctrine, leading to the decline of other schools of thought and the stagnation of various academic disciplines. For thousands of years, people have held the deeply ingrained belief that only by studying Confucian classics and adhering to etiquette and law can one attain the correct path of learning and enter officialdom.

At this moment, Li Xiang publicly overturned the age-old conclusion, which was undoubtedly earth-shattering. It overturned the fundamental principles of scholarship that all scholars had believed in for thousands of years!

These words were so shocking that the group of poor scholars looked up blankly, staring at the young man on the high platform, all of them deeply shaken.

Even Sun Fujia looked at Li Xiang in astonishment, not understanding why he would utter such shocking words.

Inside the carriage, Zheng Ren looked at Li Xiang on the execution platform in front of him in astonishment, thinking that Li Xiang had gone mad.

Even if you thought you were going to die, why say such things?

Could it be that they want to undermine the roots of their family's traditional learning by questioning the orthodoxy of Confucianism?

To question Confucianism is tantamount to isolating oneself from the world!

Even if he has such a great reputation among these poor students, once he says this, many poor students who were originally loyal to him will surely abandon him like trash!

Remembering that Li Xiang's execution was merely a sham, Zheng Ren couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude.

This brat uttered such rebellious words, only to find himself still alive—

Hehe, when he realizes that his arrogant words have made him lose face in the world, I wonder what his expression will be?

Faced with the astonishment and doubt of the crowd, Li Xiang remained unmoved:

Before the vast expanse of time measured in millennia, all policies and advice will eventually fade. Only ideas, enduring the relentless flow of time, will continue to shine brightly and radiate light!

What he wanted to do was, before leaving this place, try to plant this seed of thought and see if it could sprout ahead of time and make this land and this nation even greater.

Being half a step ahead of the times makes one a genius; being a full step ahead makes one a madman. It was no surprise that everyone considered him a madman at this point.

Amidst the astonishment and commotion, Li Xiang, his hands in shackles, spoke eloquently: "Confucianism is not as profound as it seems. The words of the sages are generally without error. However, some prominent Confucian families like to take things out of context, ostensibly annotating the sages, but in reality, they are forcing their own interpretations of simple truths according to their own ideas!"

"They want to turn Confucianism into theology, and Confucianism into a religion! They want to prevent ordinary people and scholars from understanding the Confucian classics!"

"Only in this way can they, under the guise of 'family tradition of learning,' monopolize Confucianism, and consequently, the imperial examination system, firmly controlling the path to advancement for everyone in the land!"

"This is the true foundation of those powerful clans!"

Inside the carriage, Zheng Ren's gloating expression froze.

Looking out of the car, he saw that the scholars from poor families who had been making a ruckus had become serious again, and then they all seemed to be deep in thought. He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"—Father?" Inside the carriage, Zheng Jingzhi's face was also very pale.

His family's scholarly tradition was his last and greatest asset.

Even so, that arrogant brat exposed him with a single sentence in front of everyone.

However, Li Xiang wasn't finished speaking. He continued, "But will they be satisfied with merely controlling all the promotion ranks?"

"No, they won't!"

"But even so, it's just a return to the old Nine-Rank System. In their eyes, this is simply what should be expected!"

'

"Powerful families are born to exploit the common people! Poor people are born to be enslaved and exploited by them!"

"They've been exploiting us for a thousand years! And they want to exploit us for another thousand!"

"Do you agree with their thinking?"

"No way!" "No way!!!"

Initial doubts about Li Xiang gradually turned into anger.

Zheng Renzhe's expression changed, and the carriages of many other aristocratic families also began to tremble at this moment.

All of this clearly demonstrates the unease of the people in the carriage at this moment.

"They won't be satisfied, so what else do they want?"

"What they want, of course, is eternal wealth and power! Merely controlling the ranks of advancement is not enough; what they want to control is the source of power!"

"Why transform Confucianism into theology? Because not only do they want to prevent the poor and common people from understanding Confucian classics, they also want the emperor to be unable to understand them!"

"The Confucianism they want to establish as the foundation of this world can only be interpreted through the lens of their aristocratic families and their family traditions!"

"They want the emperor to be trapped by the powerful families! They want the emperor to be controlled by them! Whatever the emperor does, whether it's right or wrong, he has to listen to them!"

"If you pay a little attention, you'll find that many things can be explained in this way."

"For example, why was the deposed crown prince infamous, while the King of Wei was considered a wise king? Because the King of Wei was close to them, while the deposed crown prince was not close to the powerful families."

Why didn't the emperor dare to change the imperial examination system? Because the right to decide lay with the powerful families! If they didn't want to change it, even the emperor would be in the wrong!

'

"What they want is to define the morality of the world! What they want is to control right and wrong, black and white!"

Zheng Ren almost fell off the carriage seat abruptly. Hearing Li Xiang's roar outside, he felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and a chill run through his body.

He felt that the true nature of these aristocratic families was laid bare in this bustling East Market, under the watchful eyes of everyone.

That brat suddenly ripped it open!

These words—these words—

The emperor must not hear this!

"Quick! Stop him!"

"Stop him!"

Zheng Renze instinctively shouted at the top of his lungs.

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