My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 92 This is true classical learning!
Li Xuanba practiced like this for a long time, and Li Shimin and Li Yuanji were tired of watching him.

When Liu Xuan felt it was about time and told him to stop, Li Xuanba was swaying and looked like he was about to fall to the ground at any moment. Liu Chounu helped him up and took him into the house, where he changed into his armor.

Li Shimin and Li Yuanji stood at the door to watch. Li Xuanba, who had taken off his armor, was soaking wet and covered in bruises and marks from training. He was wincing in pain, but still smiled at his brothers.

"Second Brother, Fourth Brother, I was unable to greet you properly earlier because I was wearing armor."

Li Shimin did not answer his brother; instead, he suddenly looked at Liu Xuan beside him.

"Isn't this training a bit too much?"

Liu Xuan's expression remained unchanged. "Nothing in this world can be accomplished easily. You have to endure hardship to do anything. There are no shortcuts. This applies to studying and martial arts."

"My younger brother is still young. What if he suffers any hidden injuries?"

"Dr. Wang comes every two days. If he feels something is wrong, he will stop. Besides, exercise is good for Xuanba. Since he started exercising, his condition has never relapsed."

Li Shimin looked at his younger brother changing his clothes and suddenly felt a pang of heartache. He pursed his lips and remained silent.

Li Shimin felt sorry for him, and San Shi, who changed his clothes, felt the same way.

After Li Xuanba changed his clothes, Liu Xuan led the children to the study.

However, the seating arrangement was somewhat different. Liu Xuan sat in the upper seat, with Li Xuanba sitting next to him. Li Shimin and Li Yuanji could only sit in the back. Normally, Li Shimin would have said a few words to show off, but this time, he was quite well-behaved.

Liu Xuan began lecturing.

After Liu Xuan spoke, Li Shimin probably understood why he had wanted to refuse his mother earlier.

"When in court, he followed the order of benevolence, sagacity, propriety, and righteousness; when at leisure, he listened to elegant and hymn music; when walking, there was the sound of jade pendants; when riding in his carriage, there was the sound of phoenix bells. His dwelling was dignified, his movements were measured, all officials were in their proper place, and all things were in order."

"This is not praise, but a regulation. When speaking of the Way of the Sage in court and listening to the music of peace, there are corresponding regulations for conduct. The Emperor follows them, and then all officials show respect."

In the past, Zheng Faxian's learning was limited to analyzing the classics word by word, but Liu Xuan's approach was to expound on the same principle at length, citing records from several books to prove his point.

For example, the lesson he is now teaching Li Xuanba is 'controlling the emperor'.

Just hearing the name makes me feel that it is extremely blasphemous.

Liu Xuan had an abundance of literature in his mind, speaking eloquently and filtering through various sources. Only Li Xuanba could keep up with his rapid pace and still manage to write down his thoughts. Li Shimin, on the other hand, couldn't keep up. His reading was far less extensive than his younger brother's, and he couldn't understand some of the allusions Liu Xuan mentioned.

As for Li Yuanji, who was standing to the side, he was completely dumbfounded from the start, with a blank expression on his face.

Li Shimin listened very hard and tried to take notes like his younger brother. He could understand some of what Liu Xuan was saying to Li Xuanba how to control the emperor.

According to Liu Xuan's idea, controlling the emperor is controlling the world. Only when the emperor follows the rites can the rest of the people follow them. Therefore, the emperors of the two Han dynasties had to be filial so that the people would be filial. If the law does not grant respect, then the rites can do what the law cannot.

Liu Xuan then recounted the dramatic changes over the past few centuries and the complete collapse of etiquette.

When ministers begin to beat the emperor, when sons begin to throw their elderly mothers to the ground, when the emperor walks around naked and the world becomes disrespectful, morality collapses.

Social morality declined rapidly, and the moral values ​​that everyone used to abide by were severely damaged. Officials plundered wealth with impunity and no longer regarded loving money as a moral defect. Many scholars began to criticize the filial sons of the Han Dynasty, believing that they were just pretending and should not be imitated. The common people followed suit.

Liu Xuan believed that the root cause of the collapse of the ritual system lay not with the Hu people, but with the Confucian scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties.

He felt that the Confucian scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties disregarded propriety and engaged in empty rhetoric, which led to the subsequent chaos. Liu Xuan even criticized Du Yu, a great Confucian scholar of the Jin dynasty, believing that the source of the chaos was these dogs.

Therefore, Liu Xuan was, to some extent, a conservative who advocated restoring the old rites, but he was not entirely a revivalist. He believed that to solve the world's problems, it was necessary to raise moral standards and establish a set of moral rules that everyone should abide by. To achieve this, he said that it was necessary to drastically change the thinking of the ancients.

He felt that we should not stick to the old ways, but keep pace with the times. He believed that the older generation of scholars were beyond redemption and could not be changed. We needed to guide the younger generation of scholars to actively explore, challenge the authority of the past, abandon the lofty and impractical characteristics of the old Confucian classics, and apply the concepts of the classics to the practical application of governing the country. He hoped to usher in another era of free debate.

At first, Li Shimin couldn't understand it, but as Liu Xuan spoke faster and faster, he found that he could actually understand it. Some of Liu Xuan's theories surprised Li Shimin.

This was the first time Li Shimin had encountered such a scholar of the classics. Although Zheng Faxian was also a scholar, he was clearly no match for Liu Xuan. Moreover, his role was to enlighten people, simply explaining the classics to them so that they could understand them.

Liu Xuan's lectures directly address the current state of society, some problems that need to be solved, their origins, and how to solve them.

Li Shimin suddenly became somewhat excited, and when Liu Xuan finished speaking, he felt a little unsatisfied.

So this is what classical studies are all about! Li Shimin immediately understood why his mother had sent him here.

When Li Xuanba rose to thank him, Li Shimin also hurriedly rose to thank him, his eyes no longer showing the previous disdain.

"Teacher Liu, I have a question I would like to ask you."

Li Shimin blocked Liu Xuan's way as he was about to leave and spoke.

Liu Xuan was taken aback. He looked at Li Shimin suspiciously. He didn't think this child could understand him. However, out of respect for the Duke, he nodded and said, "Ask away."

"You just said that the current situation is due to the non-existence of the old rites, but you also said that you hope scholars will challenge authority and change the old rites. What exactly will these new rites look like?"

Liu Xuan frowned slightly as he gazed into the distance, seemingly looking towards an uncertain future.

"After the Jin dynasty murdered its ruler and usurped the throne, scholars of the classics dared not mention loyalty to the emperor or the study of the classics anymore. That's how it was; what the rites would be like from then on depended on what the state would be like."

He wanted to say something more, but he shook his head and quickly left.

Watching Liu Xuan leave, Li Shimin's eyes showed more respect. He looked at Li Xuanba beside him and said earnestly, "Lord Liu is truly talented! What he said makes so much sense!"

Li Xuanba shook his head. "The teacher's knowledge is very profound, but it is not all correct. I do not agree with some of his views."

Li Shimin was taken aback. "You brat, you disagree with what Master Liu said? You've only been studying for a few days and you're already this arrogant?"

He had intended to make a sarcastic remark, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he realized something.

He shook his head with a wry smile and let out a long sigh.

"In the study of classics, I am indeed inferior to you."

"You've truly grasped the essence of what the teacher taught you."

Li Shimin left with the dazed Li Yuanji, while Li Xuanba began applying medicine to his body.

He sat inside the house, and San Shi carefully applied medicine to him.

"My lord, why must you suffer like this? Even if you don't know martial arts, no one would dare to bully you."

"This is something I've always dreamed of."

“You don’t know, I used to be very weak. I would be out of breath after walking a few steps, and I couldn’t sleep at night because of the pain. I had to take a lot of medicine every day. Back then, I could only sit in the room, wrapped up tightly, listening to them tell stories about their martial arts and archery. At that time, I really looked forward to the day when I could be like them.”

"Now that I can finally learn martial arts, what's a little injury? I'm happy!"

Li Xuanba laughed, and Sanshi also grinned foolishly.

"Sanlang!!"

Suddenly someone pushed open the door and walked in casually.

The two looked up and saw that the person who had come was Li Xiuning.

At this moment, Li Xiuning had changed into men's clothing and looked quite heroic. She pushed open the door and found Sanshi applying medicine to her younger brother. She was stunned for a moment, then walked over to her brother and sat down.

Then I saw her take out a small bottle and toss it to Sanshi.

"Practicing martial arts requires enduring hardship. Take this and apply it to any swollen areas. You don't need much; it will help you heal faster."

"Thank you, sister."

"Why are you being so polite to me?"

Li Xiuning reached out and roughly ruffled her younger brother's hair. She blinked and suddenly asked, "I heard that you have a local militia under your command?"

(End of this chapter)