Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2788 The Minister Dies, the Emperor Vomits Blood
On the shores of the vast sea, Emperor Li Xiang personally ordered the slaughter of three thousand sheep to reward the three armies.

The campfire burned day and night, and Li Xiang and his soldiers drank and danced together, sharing this most glorious moment belonging to the Great Jin Dynasty.

Li Xiang then ordered that all the female herders captured along the way be generously rewarded to the meritorious soldiers as recognition and reward for their achievements.

On the grasslands, the conqueror can enjoy everything the loser has to offer.

And now, as the final conqueror, the Great Jin Dynasty is no exception.

Not only can they enjoy the other party's cattle and sheep to their heart's content, but they can also enjoy the wives and daughters of these losers to their heart's content.

Meanwhile, inside the main tent, the emperor personally enjoyed the dance performed by Ögedei's daughter-in-law.

And on the spot, they had a unique exchange.

The children of the grasslands, their hearts are as bold as their character.

Compared to women from the Central Plains, they possess a unique charm.

However, the turning point in one's fate often occurs at the moment when one is at one's most triumphant.

On this day, the sky was no longer as bright as it had been in the previous days, but began to become somewhat gloomy, while the waves of the vast sea continued to tirelessly pound against the shore.

A lone rider, covered in dust and mud, charged at an almost frenzied pace, breaking through the outer sentry posts and heading straight for Li Xiang's central army camp.

The knight didn't even have time for his horse to come to a complete stop before he tumbled off in a panic, holding a letter wrapped in dark feathers high in his hand.

In the Great Jin Dynasty, the different colored feathers on the news reports each had their own unique meaning.

The color black, being the color of a crow, is used to symbolize the most urgent and ominous information.

"Urgent dispatch from Luoyang!!!"

Upon hearing this, the celebratory atmosphere instantly froze, and everyone who saw the dark feather felt a chill run down their spines.

The messenger handed the message to the guards in front of the tent, then collapsed and fainted.

He kept chasing after the emperor's trail all the way.

After passing the royal court, they ran past Langjuxu Mountain.

However, the various tribes of the Great Jin Dynasty had long since run wild like horses, and no one knew where they had chased each other off to.

He didn't know how long he had been chasing them; several warhorses had died along the way.

Only today was this letter finally delivered to the emperor's camp.

The joyous clamor in front of the imperial tent came to an abrupt end. Emperor Li Xiang of the Great Jin Dynasty, who was enjoying the service of the Yuan Mongol princess and chatting with generals such as Huo Qubing and Xing Tian, ​​had his smile freeze in that instant.

When he saw the dark feather on the letter, even before he opened it to see its contents.

However, an ominous premonition still inexplicably arose in Li Xiang's heart.

This ominous premonition even made him instinctively afraid to open the envelope.

However, this is ultimately impossible.

Whether he opens the envelope or not, what has already happened cannot be changed.

Li Xiang suddenly stood up, even overturning the wine table in front of him. Wine bottles rolled all over the ground, and the mellow wine seeped into the cold sand.

He rushed forward, almost snatching the letter from the box, his fingers trembling slightly with fear, and roughly twisted off the sealing wax.

Unfolding the letter, Li Xiang recognized the handwriting; it was Fang Xuanling's. Decades of serving as both ruler and subject had made him able to recognize the handwriting of his most trusted ministers almost with his eyes closed.

While he led troops on campaigns, the Crown Prince oversaw the state affairs, with three veteran ministers, Wang Meng, Zhuge Liang, and Fang Xuanling, jointly assisting the Crown Prince and managing state affairs.

This small parchment scroll, with its extremely brief contents, struck Li Xiang's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Your humble servants kowtow ten thousand deaths in gratitude. Former Minister of Personnel, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Marquis of Dongxiang, Wang Meng... passed away on the third day of the second month... A mourning is held in Luoyang..."

There seemed to be some more details about Wang Meng's death and his posthumous arrangements, but Li Xiang could no longer make them out.

His gaze was fixed on the words "passed away," his mind went blank, and all the sounds around him—the wind, the waves, the soldiers' breathing, the laughter of the Yuan Mongol princess—seemed to vanish in that instant.

Wang Meng, the old man who had followed him since he was twelve years old, for 43 years, offering him advice, coordinating logistics, stabilizing the court, and acting as both a teacher and a friend.

Now, it's gone?
Decades of weathering storms together, decades of harmonious relations between ruler and subject, decades of trust and reliance—all seemed to be severed in an instant by this flimsy letter.

Yes!

Back then, he was just a twelve-year-old boy. At that time, Wang Meng, who was in his twenties, was at the peak of his youthful vigor!
They once rode horses together, stood before a vast map, and discussed the future empire they envisioned.

While the young man led his troops into battle, the young man silently took care of all his worries from the rear.

But, without realizing it, a full forty-three years have passed!

I don't know when it started, but that once spirited young man has long since turned white-haired and is on his deathbed!
"puff!"

A mouthful of bright red blood gushed out of Li Xiang's mouth without warning, splashing onto the cold sand in a shocking sight.

"His Majesty!!"

"Imperial Physician! Call the Imperial Physician!"

Huo Qubing, Xing Tian, ​​and the others beside him were shocked and hurriedly stepped forward to help him up.

Li Xiang swayed, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.

All the high spirits and boundless ambition that came with sweeping away the northern deserts and drinking from the vast sea quickly faded from those eyes, leaving only immense, unbelievable grief and emptiness.

His hand fell limply to his side, and the urgent letter announcing his death fluttered to the ground.

Li Xiang opened his mouth, as if to say something, but no sound came out.

Only tears, without warning, silently surged from those once sharp but now broken eyes, sliding down their cheeks and mingling with the blood at the corner of their mouths.

Scenes from the past forty-three years flashed through his mind like a movie during his ritual.

His vision went black, and his body fell straight backward.

"His Majesty!!!"

The place of celebration on the shore of the vast sea was instantly thrown into chaos.

The generals' exclamations, the soldiers' fearful glances, and the hurried footsteps of the imperial physicians mingled with the ever-present sound of the waves.

The newly erected monument still stands, symbolizing supreme glory.

Its creator, however, collapsed under the sudden bad news and fell into deep grief and coma.

Historical records state that when the emperor ascended the throne at the vast sea, he erected a stone tablet to commemorate his achievements, rewarded his troops, and was filled with boundless pride. However, a sudden letter of mourning arrived from Luoyang, reporting the death of the Marquis of Dongxiang. Upon reading it, the emperor was overcome with grief, vomited blood, and fainted beside the monument to his achievements. From that moment on, his health deteriorated, and his imperial authority was diminished. The sound of the waves of the vast sea became a lament, and the place of his triumphant return was transformed into a scene of mourning.