It suddenly became quiet in the imperial court, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Li Xianzi was able to tell the exact position of the sentence in the Legend of Göyang the first time because he had prepared for it. But how could he tell the problem of this scholar of Qi Kingdom accurately the second time?
The officials didn't think that Li Xianzi had memorized all the scriptures by heart, so much so that he could recite from which page and from which line. Nobody could do this, not even the Grand Scholar Zhou, and not even the Grandmaster of Literature of Qi State.
The officials glanced at the old man surnamed Meng, wondering if Li Xianzi had colluded with this old man.
If so, it would explain why the Emperor suddenly replaced Grand Scholar Zhou with Li Xianzi.
Yet, was it so easy to bribe this old man?
While the officials were feeling doubtful, the Emperor Jing was not calm either. The reason he chose Li Yi was because he trusted Li Yi. In fact, he didn't believe that Li Yi could compete with the scholar of Qi Kingdom in the scriptures.
Only Li Xuan was leaning against a pillar next to the old general, idly counting the number of birds that flew across the sky in front of the palace.
No matter who it was, to compete with Li Yi would be foolish if they weren't.
The moment he agreed to compete with the scholar of Qi Kingdom, his opponent had already lost.
"You have indeed surprised this old man." The old man surnamed Meng had finally gotten serious when he looked at Li Yi.
Li Yi, on the other hand, was wondering when the competition would end. There was no point in asking about it. Did it have to end only when one side admitted defeat?
If this old man was shameless, he wouldn't be able to go home for breakfast in the morning.
"Is it my turn to ask?" Li Yi asked the old man.
The old man surnamed Meng narrowed his eyes and nodded.
"In the third year of Emperor Wu of Qi's reign, Wei Jing, the Left Prime Minister, used the excuse that women were disrupting the governance of the country and asked Emperor Wu to abolish the Empress. When Emperor Wu and his subjects submitted their reports, Emperor Wu only said one sentence, and Wei Jing was convinced and never mentioned the matter again." Li Yi looked at Old Man Wei and asked, "How did Emperor Wu respond to Wei Jing?"
The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom was taken aback. Then, his expression changed slightly.
Among the officials, many of them changed their expressions. What was wrong with Li Xianzi? Why did he ask about the affairs of the Qi Kingdom? Wasn't it obvious that he was asking about the Qi Kingdom?
"Nonsense!" The old man surnamed Meng frowned and said, "In the third year of Emperor Wu's reign, the Qi Kingdom was founded not long ago. Empress Wen Jing is a virtuous and virtuous woman. How can there be chaos in the government?"
"Ahem, Lord Meng, Li Xianzi didn't make irresponsible remarks. It's true." The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom coughed lightly and said.
The old man surnamed Meng frowned even more and asked, "Why hasn't this been recorded in the history books? Which scripture did it come from?"
"This is a secret of the royal family. All the books related to it have been destroyed. It's normal that Lord Meng doesn't know about it." The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom shook his head and said, "Lord Meng, you don't need to ask anymore. Let's continue."
…
…
In the Zheng-li Hall, the ambassadors of the Qi Kingdom and the officials of the Jing Kingdom finally saw the most unique debate they had ever seen in their lives.
According to the usual procedure of the debate, one side would ask questions and the other side would answer. Then, the one who asked the question would take advantage of the other side's loopholes to attack. The scene was fierce and spittle flew everywhere. In the end, one side would be speechless and admit defeat …
However, the situation today was completely different.
Li Xianzi never asked the Great Master of Literature to explain the meaning of the Scripture, nor did he ask strange questions like in the beginning. But his questions were more tricky. A great master of literature couldn't answer the questions he asked, so how could he explain the Scripture?
Even the Grand Scholars of the Hongwen School suspected that Li Xianzi had fabricated the scripture. However, when the eunuch found the original text in the Hongwen School, they could only look at him as if he was a monster.
He could even remember such an obscure scripture. Even if the Great Master of Literature had a good memory, it was impossible for him to remember all the scripture for thousands of years. At this time, he could only suppress his anger in his heart and ask more and more incisive questions. The great scholars in the court all frowned.
However, the result also surprised them.
No matter how the old man surnamed Meng asked, Li Xianzi always gave perfect answers, so perfect that the old man couldn't find any loopholes to attack. The whole debate was orderly. The old man surnamed Meng asked questions and Li Xianzi answered. Li Xianzi asked questions and the old man surnamed Meng couldn't answer. After a few rounds, the old man surnamed Meng couldn't keep calm anymore.
The expressions on the faces of the envoys of the Qi State were as if they had seen a ghost. The scene that they had witnessed today had a huge impact on them. Their Old Master had been firmly suppressed by that young man from the beginning to the end. What else did he not know?
On the other hand, the officials of the Jing Kingdom looked relaxed. If they had known that Li Xianzi was so powerful, they wouldn't have worried for so long. Judging from the appearance of the Great Master of Literature of the Qi Kingdom, it was only a matter of time before he admitted defeat.
The Third Prince of Qi Kingdom revealed a look of astonishment. He looked at the old man who had once again sunk into deep thought because of Li Yi's question. He walked to the old man's side and whispered, "Old Meng …"
After a long time, the old man surnamed Meng raised his head and said in a low voice, "I've lost."
There was no resentment or unwillingness in his voice. He had indeed tried his best, but how could the young man in front of him be so familiar with the scriptures that it was shocking? Even though he had studied the scriptures for decades, he was still far from being able to match up to him.
He even had a feeling that he wasn't facing a person, but the Great Master of Literature Hall of the Jing Kingdom …
"I didn't expect the Jing Kingdom to have such a young and outstanding talent. I admit defeat." At this point, the old man surnamed Meng didn't continue the debate. Since the young man's answers left him with no room to argue, how could he continue the debate?
"Thank you for letting me win …" Li Yi said, cupping his hands.
He had thought that the great Confucian debate would be high-end and impressive, but he didn't expect it to be like this. It was an open-book exam, and the answers to all the questions could be easily found in the books …
However, what Li Yi didn't know was that today's so-called Scripture Debate had not only exceeded his expectations, but it had also exceeded everyone's expectations. It had simply created a new era of Scripture Debate. In the future, when the great Confucian scholars discussed this matter, they could not help but sigh. Perhaps it was Li Xianzi who had caused the chaos in the study of Scripture Debate today …
The Old Prince's task had been successfully completed. Just as Li Yi was about to leave, the old man surnamed Meng suddenly asked, "What did the Martial Emperor say to Wei Jing?"
"Old Sir, do you really want to know?" Li Yi looked at him with a strange expression.
The old man surnamed Meng wasn't the only one who wanted to know. Even Emperor Jing and the officials were intrigued by Li Yi's words and looked at him one after another.
"I'm all ears," the old man surnamed Meng said with a nod.
"If you say another word, I'll cut off your dog head!" Li Yi said with a smile.
The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom opened his mouth slightly. After a moment, he shook his head and could only smile bitterly.
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