Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2805 The Final Chapter: The Emperor's Curtain Falls, the Era Ends
In the thirty-sixth year of Tianchen, the ninety-five-year-old emperor, the supreme ruler of the Great Jin Chang Kingdom, finally reached the end of his life.

Now, of the emperor's twenty-eight sons, only a tiny fraction remain alive.

The old emperor outlived all his old brothers who had fought alongside him to conquer the world, except for Cheng Yaojin.

Even their sons, few of them survived.

Starting from the Tianchen era, the emperor would send off a large number of old friends almost every year.

Later on, he continued to see off a large number of the sons of his deceased friends every year.

Fewer and fewer people are qualified to talk to Li Xiang, but fortunately, there is always someone who can help.

But now, only one Cheng Yaojin remains!

He finally couldn't hold on any longer!

That’s it! That’s it!
Since I can't keep going any longer, then I'll stop!

This vast empire will eventually be handed over to a new leader, a younger and more energetic leader.

In later generations, Emperor Taizu of the Jin Dynasty became the longest-lived emperor in history, as well as the emperor with the longest reign.

In the autumn of the thirty-sixth year of Tianchen, at the Luoyang Imperial Palace.

In late autumn in Luoyang, dusk comes exceptionally early.

With its last rays of light, the sun slowly sank toward the western mountains, dyeing the clouds on the horizon a brilliant yet poignant crimson.

The magnificent palace was painted with a warm yet desolate golden edge by the last rays of the setting sun.

Outside the Linde Hall, the white marble steps were cold.

Emperor Li Xiang, the supreme ruler, did not lie on the warm dragon bed. Instead, he ordered his men to carry him outside the palace gate. He lay on the cold steps, facing the setting sun that was about to sink.

The crown prince, high-ranking officials, and princes of the imperial family knelt on the ground in a dense, dark mass, their faces filled with grief, holding their breath in solemn silence, and an immense sorrow permeated the air.

But the dying emperor didn't even glance at them, as if they were nothing more than insignificant ants.

Crown Prince Li Yan knelt at the front, tightly holding his father's withered and cold hand, trying to hold back his tears.

The emperor's lips moved very slightly, the sound of which was almost imperceptible.

The prince immediately brought his ear close.

“…Little…Little Twenty-Eight…” The voice was as faint as a spider’s thread.

The crown prince instantly understood, his heart trembled, and he felt a deep sorrow.

He knew that his father always remembered his younger brother, who had been exiled for more than a decade.

He had also seen that in his father's bedroom, the portraits of the two brothers were still hanging, and they had never been taken down.

However, this stubborn old man, who had been defiant his whole life, never admitted it!
He forced back tears and whispered, "Father, rest assured, your son... Your son will immediately draft an edict to pardon my brother and his family from all crimes, restore their princely status, and allow them... to enjoy their old age in peace."

The emperor's eyes moved extremely slowly, as if he wanted to look at the crown prince, but in the end he only closed his eyelids weakly to indicate his approval.

The brows that had been taut, as if there was something left unfinished, finally relaxed a little.

After completing this movement, he seemed to have exhausted even the last bit of strength to support himself.

My gaze returned to the setting sun, now only a fraction remaining, and my eyes began to glaze over. The scene before me blurred and began to spin…

However, in that twilight mingled with the brilliant sunset, what he saw was no longer the majestic palaces and the kneeling officials. Nor was it the boundless glory of the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, the lofty ambitions on the shores of the vast sea, or the power struggles within the imperial court…

He seemed to see...

I saw a young man dressed in black armor, riding a white steed, basking in the dazzling sunlight, galloping away!

The young man had a bright and sharp look in his eyes, and a smug smile that seemed to look down on the world. He pointed his spear into the distance, and behind him were thousands of equally young soldiers who were willing to follow him through fire and water!

His lips, on his face etched with the wrinkles of time, managed to curve upwards with an almost imperceptible arc, albeit with great difficulty and with perfect naturalness.

In that arc, there was no imperial ambition, no vicissitudes of old age, only a trace of pure smile belonging to that young man.

Then, the light went out.

His arm hung limply at his sides.

This old emperor, who ushered in an unprecedented golden age and whose merits and demerits are subject to public scrutiny, breathed his last with a smile that seemed as youthful as ever.

The autumn wind swept across the high steps of the palace, swirling up a few withered yellow leaves and making a mournful sound.

"Father!"

The prince let out a mournful cry and kowtowed heavily, his forehead touching the cold, hard jade steps.

"His Majesty!"

A series of heart-wrenching cries, like a landslide or a tsunami, finally rose and fell, echoing across the palace shrouded in twilight.

The palace bells tolled, one after another, penetrating the palace walls and spreading throughout the entire city of Luoyang.

The bells tolled mournfully, yet solemnly, seemingly announcing the end of an era.

Crown Prince Li Yan—no, from this moment on, he is the sole legal ruler of this vast empire.

After his initial immense grief, he finally raised his head, his face still wet with tears, but his eyes were different. On the surface of his sorrow, a unique majesty belonging to an emperor quickly materialized.

He stood up, turned to the kneeling ministers behind him, his voice hoarse with grief.

"All my subjects, heed my decree!"

The crying subsided, and all eyes turned to the new Lord.

"The late Emperor has passed away, and the entire nation mourns! From this moment forward, in accordance with ancestral traditions, the rites of national mourning shall be observed! The Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices shall swiftly draft the ceremonial procedures, without fail!"

"Martial law is declared in the capital region. All nine gates are locked. All troops are to remain at their posts and are not to move without an imperial edict! Anyone who tries to cause trouble will be killed without exception!"

"The cabinet and the ministers of the six ministries, come with me into the palace to discuss the affairs after the late emperor's death and my ascension to the throne!"

The officials received the decree and sprang into action, and the massive state apparatus began to operate rapidly once again, revolving around the shift in the center of power.

Several eunuchs stepped forward and carefully moved the late emperor's body into the hall to prepare for cleansing, changing clothes, and encoffining.

The new emperor took one last look at his father's peaceful yet strangely smiling face, took a deep breath, resolutely turned around, and walked towards the dragon throne that symbolized supreme power.

His steps were steady, and his figure appeared exceptionally upright and heavy in the last rays of the setting sun.

In the thirty-sixth year of Tianchen, Emperor Ma, who pacified the chaotic world, conquered Southeast Asia in the south, launched an expedition against the Kushan Empire, established ten kingdoms, destroyed the peninsula in the east, seized thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions in the west, drove the grasslands in the north, drank from the vast sea, and brought the plateau under his rule, thus creating the reign of Emperor Ma, the supreme ruler of the Tianchen era, finally passed away in this autumn, in the ninety-fifth year of his life.

The era of Emperor Li Xiang, the founding emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, has finally come to an end!

However, the era belonging to the Great Jin Dynasty continued to move forward.