Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2798 Huo Qubing's Grandson, The Sima Gate Incident

In the 22nd year of the Tianchen era, in Luoyang, at the Imperial Palace.

The stench of blood had not yet dissipated, and the palace lanterns illuminated the hall as bright as day, yet this only served to highlight the cold, deathly silence.

The heavily armored imperial guards stood silently, like statues.

Li Xiang, who is 81 years old, did not sit on that supreme dragon throne.

He stood in the hall, his back to the door, looking up at the huge map of the country hanging there.

This is the empire he conquered, the prosperous empire he built!

His figure remained upright, but the weight of time and the chill in his heart made him look like an ancient pine tree whose core had been eroded by wind and snow.

"Your Majesty!"

"The turmoil at Sima Gate has been quelled!"

Huo Qiji, grandson of Huo Qubing and then serving as the Grand Commander of the Imperial Guard, entered in full armor to report.

Blood was still flowing from his armor.

"Bring the people up!"

Li Xiang's voice did not show any obvious fluctuation, but if Wang Meng and others who had been dead for more than 20 years were reborn, they might be able to hear the suppressed anger in the emperor's heart at this moment.

A short while later, two guards dressed in black armor and with expressionless faces escorted a person in.

The man's hair was gray and disheveled, and he was wearing the crown prince's robes, which had been torn and tattered, covered with dust and dried blood.

His face was covered with wrinkles and he had heavy eye bags, looking old and frail, as if he had been burdened by long-term depression. He even looked older than his father, who was over eighty years old.

Having served as crown prince for decades, he is now over 60 years old, yet he still cannot wait for the emperor to abdicate.

He felt he couldn't wait any longer, so he ultimately chose the last option.

However, Huo Qiji, whom he trusted implicitly, was the emperor's man from beginning to end.

His every move was observed by the emperor.

With a wave of Li Xiang's hand, the two guards wisely withdrew, leaving the space to the elderly father and son.

The crown prince, on the other hand, carefully tidied his clothes, his movements meticulous, as if he were not a defeated and captured soldier, but someone attending an important court assembly.

Only then did he raise his eyes, calmly looking at the retreating figure, and said, "Your Majesty, I have arrived."

Li Xiang slowly turned around, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.

He sized up the prince, glancing over the bloodstains on his robes, before finally fixing his gaze on his unabashed eyes.

"They've arrived." The emperor's voice remained calm.

"Bring the six guards of the Eastern Palace that I gave you, and the three thousand privately mobilized soldiers, to 'see' me?"

The crown prince met his gaze without flinching, instead slightly raising his chin.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have come to claim what rightfully belongs to me. It's just a pity..."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of genuine regret rather than remorse, "It was a near failure."

"It should have belonged to you?"

Li Xiang repeated himself, a hint of coldness finally creeping into his voice, "What is rightfully yours? What I give you is what truly belongs to you!"

"Your Majesty has granted me the position of Crown Prince, the power to oversee the country, and nearly sixty years of waiting!"

The crown prince's voice suddenly rose, filled with long-suppressed resentment and a righteous question, "Then what about the throne?"

"When does His Majesty intend to give it to you? Or does he plan to take it with him to his mausoleum?"

"In this world, who has ever been a crown prince for fifty or sixty years?" He took a step forward, his gaze burning, as if he were the one questioning: "Your Majesty, look at your son! Look at your hair! And look at your own! Your son has waited for far too long, so long that the world has almost forgotten that this empire still has a crown prince!"

"It's been so long that I'm starting to doubt whether you've truly chosen a crown prince, or just a figurehead to appease the people!"

A flicker of anger finally crossed Li Xiang's eyes, but more than that, there was a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

"So, you're going to use rebellion to seize it? Use your father's troops to force your father's palace into submission?"

"Yes!"

The crown prince answered decisively, without the slightest evasion; he even gave a cold laugh.

"Am I to be a 'qualified' crown prince, like those pedantic scholars, waiting until my hair turns white from studying books, until my lamp burns out, and finally I have to kowtow to your coffin to express my gratitude?"

"Besides, what have you been teaching your twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth sons all these years? The art of rulership. You've been teaching them these things, how can you expect your son not to have any doubts?"

"Besides, even if our son continues to wait, will he be able to live to see that day?"

"Over the years, the third, seventh, eighth, eleventh, and fifteenth princes have all passed away. How many more years can I hold on?" As he said this, a hint of sorrow crossed the Crown Prince's voice.

Among all the princes of that time, only Prince Jin was his rival.

But it wasn't until the emperor tricked Prince Jin into a southern expedition against the Kushan Empire and then sent him there to be granted the title of prince that he realized that Prince Jin had always been just a whetstone for him, and that his father had never really considered Prince Jin.

It turns out that his crown prince had always been firmly in control.

Yes, that's very reliable!

He is now over 60 years old and has been in the position of crown prince for nearly 60 years, and no one has challenged his position.

However, it was too stable!

How tragic it is when a son is about to outlive his father!
He was not a short-lived person. Throughout history, how could someone be considered short-lived at over 60 years old!

But who can blame him for having such a father?

"Your Majesty, what you taught me when I was a child, I will not shirk my duty!"

The Crown Prince declared firmly, "In the entire world, besides you, only I am most qualified to sit in this position!"

"Your subject is well-versed in political affairs and military strategy. More than half of the officials in the court were selected by your subject. Your subject knows the taxes and people's livelihood of the country like the back of his hand!"

"Your subject has prepared for sixty years, not to end up as a timid, subservient wretch waiting for your charity!"

He abruptly raised his arm, pointing out of the hall, pointing to the entire empire: "This empire needs a new, vigorous emperor! Not one..."

He paused here.

Firstly, what follows is far too blasphemous.

Secondly, he is no longer young and can no longer be described as being in his prime.

Li Xiang listened quietly, the anger on his face gradually dissipating, leaving only an extremely desolate calm.

Suddenly, he laughed again.

Looking at the crown prince he had poured countless efforts into nurturing, Li Xiang felt as if he were looking in a mirror, in which he seemed to see his younger self.

The Crown Prince has always been too kind; Prince Jin is more like him.

Therefore, Li Xiang also felt somewhat regretful that his son was not like his father.

But the next emperor needs a benevolent ruler who governs with kindness, not a powerful ruler who is only interested in expanding his territory.

Therefore, although the Prince of Jin resembled him, Li Xiang never considered him.

Throughout his life, the only heir he truly recognized was the Crown Prince.

However, in the end, everyone was defeated by time!