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

Zheng Jingzhi was stunned.

Li Xiang's face changed so quickly. One moment it was as gentle as a spring breeze, the next it was like a violent storm.

He was still young and had never seen someone whose face could change so quickly, like turning the pages of a book.

By the time he realized what was happening, the outer courtyard was already filled with uproar. Many Confucian scholars had flushed red faces, as if they themselves had been humiliated.

Of the three thousand students at the Imperial Academy, more than two thousand were from the three schools, which were only for sons of aristocratic families and officials.

And these students from the three academies were almost all going to take the Mingjing exam!

As for why the Mingjing exam was necessary... the saying goes, "A thirty-year-old Mingjing graduate is old, a fifty-year-old Jinshi graduate is young." It's simply because the Mingjing exam was easy!

But if these words were put on the table, wouldn't it mean that these sons of noble families and officials who were planning to take advantage of loopholes were actually all ignorant and incompetent?

Li Xiang's words were practically an insult to all of them!

"No noise!" Kong Yingda saw that someone was so agitated that they even tried to push Li Xiang, so he quickly spoke up to control the situation.

He certainly hated that Li Xiang was still alive, but Li Xiang could not be allowed to get into trouble at the Imperial Academy!

"Perhaps the Imperial Grandson is unaware," Kong Yingda said. "The Mingjing examination, in addition to the written test, also requires examination in calligraphy and essays on the interpretation of the classics."

"It's not as simple as the grandson of the emperor says."

His words were both a defense of the students and a condescending assertion that Li Xiang was unlearned and ignorant of the difficulty of understanding the classics.

"The study of the classics is as vast as the sea, containing all the teachings of the sages. Even after decades of study, most people only grasp the superficial aspects."

"Is that so?" Li Xiang asked.

"If that's the case, then I'd like to offer some guidance. Confucius said, 'A gentleman who is not dignified will not command respect, and his learning will not be firm.' How should one interpret this?"

Kong Yingda's face lit up with joy. This brat, was he really going to overestimate himself? If he didn't resort to sophistry but instead wanted to debate the classics, why should Kong Yingda be afraid of him?

If I could refute this brat in court, wouldn't that be a great opportunity to boost my reputation?

Confucius said, “If a gentleman is not dignified and awe-inspiring, his learning will not be solid.” Kong Yingda shook his head.

Kong Anguo's commentary states: "固 (gù) means to obscure." The author's own commentary on the Five Classics states: "This chapter encourages people to become virtuous. The so-called..."

The old master could speak fluently, and a single sentence could be extended into a lengthy discourse of tens of thousands of words.

Li Xiang immediately interrupted him, saying, "Wait. I have a different opinion."

The saying "Without severity, there is no authority" is Confucius's teaching to future generations: "A gentleman must strike hard when he hits someone; otherwise, he cannot establish authority!"

"If the beating isn't severe enough, the lesson won't be truly effective!"

"What does Master Kong think?"

"You!" Kong Yingda was stunned for a moment. Even the group of students who were glaring angrily at Li Xiang were stunned at this moment.

"Absurd! Absurd! This is blasphemous!" Kong Yingda's face immediately flushed red, and he could no longer maintain his arrogant demeanor. "How dare this brat insult Confucius!"

"No insults intended." Li Xiang shrugged, looking nonchalant. "You have your code of conduct, and I have mine."

"Confucius was nine feet six inches tall, such a strong man must have been extremely skilled in fighting. How do you know that his original intention was not what I meant?"

"Why don't you call Confucius out and have him judge?"

"You! You! You!" Kong Yingda was almost driven mad by Li Xiang.

His fingers trembled, and he hesitated for a long time before finally managing to utter:

"The Analects clearly records this; there's no room for your sophistry!"

"Yes." Li Xiang's expression changed again, turning cold and stern.

"The Analects clearly states the truth, yet you have been 'annotating' and 'interpreting' it for thousands of years, just randomly pondering the words of the sage."

"What you've come up with is this kind of scholarship that excludes the poor and protects the powerful. Do you really think that no one else knows about your ulterior motives and schemes?"

"If Confucius were still alive, do you think he would have treated you, Kong Yingda, with neither respect nor authority?"

"You!" Kong Yingda took a deep breath. "Annotating the Five Classics is for the benefit of all scholars and Confucianists..."

"Annotate, annotate, annotate the Five Classics my ass!" Li Xiang interrupted without hesitation.

"The Five Classics are right there; which one can't understand them? Why insist on interpreting them according to your commentaries, Kong Yingda?"

"Confucius's teachings have already been explained very clearly, so why do later generations insist on getting bogged down in the minutiae and trying to interpret and annotate the Five Classics?"

"Instead of letting the Five Classics interpret me?"

This phrase, "The Five Classics interpret me," is unconventional yet incredibly bold!

Not to mention the students, even Kong Yingda was stunned!

"The Five Classics interpret me..." Wang Xuance, who had been silent all along and was just observing, was now completely stunned by Li Xiang, and his heart was filled with surging emotions!

Even among the many instructors of the Imperial Academy around Kong Yingda, some showed expressions of shock and began whispering among themselves.

"Your annotations of the Five Classics are nothing more than an attempt to elevate them so that ordinary people cannot see or touch them, yet still perceive them as grand and awe-inspiring," Li Xiang said.

"However, in reality, it is nothing but empty talk and useless knowledge, only suitable for the wealthy and powerful to advance their careers and enter officialdom!"

Li Xiang pointed to a corner on the outer edge of the crowd. There sat students who were dressed in tattered clothes, had rough faces, were very reserved, and were even noticeably older than many of the other students.

"Do you really think that these students from humble backgrounds are inferior to you so-called Confucian scholars who study and annotate the classics?"

"The fundamental purpose of the Imperial Academy is to cultivate talent for the nation, regardless of social status or family background; it selects individuals based solely on their abilities and academic qualifications!"

"But what about now? The Imperial Academy, the National Academy, and the Four Gates Academy, with more than two thousand students, are all filled by the sons of high-ranking officials and aristocratic families; the three academies of law, calligraphy, and mathematics are relegated to a corner, with very few places available, and only three to five people are recommended each year, making it the only narrow path for children from poor families."

"You use the teachings of the sages as a pretext, treating commentaries and annotations as your own set of golden rules, using these commentaries, annotations, and interpretations to set up layers of barriers. Those who follow your path can simply memorize the commentaries and pass the imperial examinations, achieving rapid advancement in their careers."

"Those who go against your wishes, even if they possess extraordinary talent, will be condemned as heretics and expelled from the imperial examinations!"

"Do you think I, Li Xiang, have come here solely because of a personal grudge against Kong Yingda?"

"I have come here to expose yet another festering sore and fig leaf that no one dares to rip off in this Great Tang Dynasty!"

"We expose your manipulation of academic authority, your factionalism, and your suppression of dissent within the Imperial Academy, the highest institution of learning in the nation!"

"Kong Yingda is disloyal and unjust, attempting to poison our Great Tang, turning our scholars into empty talkers who harm the country, and leaving no path for those from humble backgrounds to advance!"

"I, Li Xiang, am not yet of age, and my words carry little weight. But I, Li Xiang, will not agree!"

"I, Li Xiang, want to tell the world that your Imperial Academy uses the three schools of learning to forcibly create barriers and uses commentaries on the classics to imprison poor families."

"Turning Confucianism into a tool for aristocratic families to monopolize official positions, and the imperial examination into a ladder for powerful families to maintain their privileges!"

"Where righteousness lies, I will go, even if it means facing a million men! I, Li Xiang, fear neither death nor dishonor!"