Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 980 - 809: Overlooking Between Heaven and Earth (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 980: Chapter 809: Overlooking Between Heaven and Earth (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

At this moment, a chorus of despondent wails from numerous young Confucian scholars resonated in front of Wen Temple, their expressions as dismal as if they were mourning the loss of their parents.

The "Commentaries of Guliang", though one of the three traditional interpretations of the "Spring and Autumn Annals", was still comparatively acceptable.

It was not often regarded as an original classic, and Confucianists primarily used this text and the "Commentaries of Gongyang" to adjudicate legal cases.

However, the "Book of Documents: Old Version" had been acknowledged as orthodoxy up to the present.

They had dedicated their lives to studying it, and now it turned out that it might be declared false by The Court.

In the future imperial examinations, on what foundation would they rely?

Yet these individuals no longer harbored any thoughts of creating a disturbance, for the words of Prince Fenyang were so well-founded that they could not conjure any rebuttals.

Anyone who had truly comprehended the classics and historians, and who reflected deeply, could realize that the "Book of Documents: Old Version" bore signs of forgery.

In particular, the locations mentioned within were not limited to Henan and Jincheng.

Some erudite individuals upon close inspection found that there were more than ten instances in the "Book of Documents: Old Version" where place names appeared that did not exist until after the Western Han Dynasty.

Surely the Great Sage could not have written the "Book of Documents" after the Western Han Dynasty?

Although Qi Cultivators are known to have long lifespans, the Great Sage might have already attained the Divine Heavenly level.

Yet, it is said that the Great Sage and his Seventy-two Sages merged with the Tao.

In order to promote Confucianism and protect humanity, the Saint and his disciples had already passed from this world at the beginning of the Warring States Period.

So, at this moment, the sole thought in the minds of these Confucian scholars was to rush to the bookstores to purchase annotations of the "Book of Documents: Modern Version" and the works of Prince Fenyang.

Considering the contemporary Court and Prince Fenyang’s grasp of great authority, the focus naturally was on books like "Explore and Rectify Things" and "Dialectics".

However, several Daru present still clutched their ancestral tablets, refusing to leave.

One middle-aged Daru sneered, "You actually want to eliminate the ’Book of Documents: Old Version’ from the imperial examination? Do you think the officials at The Court and Shangshu Hu of the Ministry of Rites will let you act so recklessly? Especially Shangshu Hu, whose main classic is the Shangshu."

But, as he finished speaking, Minister of Rites Hu Ying, with his hands clasped behind his back, emerged from within the Wen Temple, "Your words are misguided! From the day I began my studies until now, I have always regarded the Shangshu as the core classic, delving deeply into it. However, upon reflection, the ’Book of Documents: Old Version’ indeed appears suspicious of forgery. Unless evidence proves that it is the genuine classic of Confucianism, The Court can only dismiss this study."

His expression turned slightly somber and his gaze became a bit opaque.

Hu Ying had arrived not long ago and had been listening to the entire dialogue between Li Xuan and the Confucian scholars.

In his heart, Hu Ying did not wish to dismiss the "Book of Documents: Old Version".

Hu Ying, who had meticulously studied the Shangshu, had already realized that the "Book of Documents: Old Version" might be a forgery.

In the past, at the end of Han Dynasty, Daru Zheng Xuan and Ma Rong likely also recognized the true nature of the "Book of Documents: Old Version".

Although they belonged to the Old Text school and vigorously promoted the "Book of Documents: Old Version," they only annotated the twenty-eight Chapters passed down by Qin scholar Fu Sheng in the "Book of Documents: Modern Version" and made no comments on the additional twenty-five Chapters of the old text.

Yet Hu Ying never dared to openly question the Shangshu, because at least ten percent of all Confucian scholars studied the "Book of Documents: Old Version" as their primary classic and relied on it for their Haoqi cultivation.

Once the "Book of Documents: Old Version" was proven to be a forgery, not only would numerous Confucian scholars possibly see their Haoqi cultivation rendered invalid, but it could also cause the Confucian system, painstakingly built since the Han Dynasties, to collapse overnight.

Moreover, Hu Ying privately believed that, although the "Book of Documents: Old Version" was interspersed with personal biases of some Han Dynasty scholars, some of the principles it contained were correct.

But now that Li Xuan, as a leading figure among contemporary Daru and the Hufa of Neo-Confucianism, had initiated the questioning, tearing down the curtains of illusion, the "Book of Documents: Old Version" could no longer be sustained.

Hu Ying knew that the "Book of Documents: Old Version" had many inconsistencies and that once scrutinized by many Confucian scholars and subjected to widespread debate, more evidence of its fraudulent nature would be found.

Even if Hu Ying was reluctant, he did not wish to defend the "Book of Documents: Old Version" further, lest he became a laughingstock for future generations.

Upon hearing his words, those few Daru turned ashen, trembling like dying men.

As Minister of Rites, Hu Ying was the patriarch of Confucianists; if he refused to endorse the "Book of Documents: Old Version", then the entire Confucian area would lack the strength to oppose Prince Fenyang.

The old Confucianist with white hair spat out a mouthful of blood, but still, he stood unwavering like a solitary peak, his gaze burning with fury at Li Xuan and Hu Ying.

"The millennia-old legal tradition of our Confucianism must not be destroyed because of you! Prince Fenyang, under the guise of Confucian teachings and Neo-Confucianism, your works, ’Explore and Rectify Things’, ’Dialectics’ and others, are all heretical nonsense.

I, Yan Jiu from Dengzhou, am willing today to invoke the name of my ancestor Yan Hui, descendant of the fifty-third generation, and offer the refined spirit and vital essence of the few of us to invite the spirits of the saints in the Wen Temple, to determine the authenticity of your Confucian path, Prince Fenyang! I wonder, does His Highness Prince Fenyang dare accept this challenge?"

In that moment, the entire street before the Wen Temple fell silent.

All eyes were filled with shock as they turned towards Yan Jiu, the white-haired old Confucianist, and Li Xuan.

Minister of Rites Hu Ying frowned immediately, "Elder Master Yan, why do you torment yourself——"

"Minister Hu, you need not say more."

The old scholar with a flick of his sleeve said, "My mind is made up! Besides, at this point, I have no way out."

He looked down at his increasingly wrinkled and aging skin, and then he laughed at himself in self-mockery.

The questioning of the "Book of Documents: Old Version" by Li Xuan had destroyed the foundation of his Haoqi cultivation.

At his age, he was incapable of changing his fundamental beliefs.

And once his Haoqi disappeared, he wouldn’t have much longer to live.