In full view of everyone, the emperor suddenly fainted, which was a little scary to the ministers.
The ministers in the palace suddenly became frightened and uneasy.
"His Majesty!"
"What's wrong, Your Majesty?"
"Is Your Majesty okay?"
The ministers were bustling with people, and many people leaned forward to see what was going on with Liu Hong. The scene became chaotic for a while.
It was Liu Bei who stood up at this time and took charge of the situation.
He transferred palace guards into the court and formed a blockade in front of Liu Hong to prevent the officials from getting too close.
"Your Majesty is ill and needs to go back for medical treatment and rest immediately. Please return home in an orderly manner and wait for Your Majesty to wake up! The court will notify you separately at that time."
After Liu Bei gave the order, although the officials were frightened and worried, they did not take much action.
Because currently, there is only one force in Luoyang City.
The emperor's power controlled the entire situation, and there were no opponents left.
Lu Zhi looked at Liu Bei, and Liu Bei looked at Lu Zhi and nodded to him.
Lu Zhi said nothing more, nodded, pulled Cai Yong beside him and turned around to leave.
Before Cai Yong could even react, he was pulled away by Lu Zhi.
The court officials left one after another at the request of the palace guards. Liu Bei and others followed the Queen Mother Dong's team to the palace and waited in the side hall for news of the palace doctor's diagnosis and treatment.
Soon, the news came.
The doctors all knelt down in front of Empress Dowager Dong and begged for mercy, because Liu Hong's condition was hopeless.
His physical condition was deteriorating rapidly and there was nothing he could do.
Empress Dowager Dong burst into tears and demanded that these quack doctors be taken out, killed, and buried with Liu Hong. Fortunately, Liu Bei arrived in time, stopped Empress Dowager Dong, and rescued these doctors.
After a period of confusion, Empress Dowager Dong calmed down and said nothing. Zhang Rang asked the palace servants to prepare a meal for everyone. Only then did Liu Bei and others remember that they had not eaten much all day and were now very hungry.
After a feast of food and drink, Empress Dowager Dong sent news that Liu Hong had woken up and was summoning Liu Bei and others.
When Liu Bei and others heard this, they immediately dropped the tableware and food in their hands and rushed to Empress Dowager Dong's bedroom.
After arriving at the dormitory, Liu Bei found that Empress Dowager Dong was wiping her tears in front of Liu Hong's bed, and little Liu Xie was crying beside Liu Hong's bed. Liu Bei and others approached and saw Liu Hong lying on the bed, furious and pale.
It seemed that he was really exhausted.
Seeing Liu Bei coming, Liu Hong's eyes brightened a little, and he stretched out his hand towards Liu Bei. Liu Bei quickly stepped forward and held Liu Hong's hand.
"Your Majesty, I'm here!"
"Xuande, I probably won't get better..."
"No! Your Majesty will definitely recover!"
"Stop talking about this..."
Liu Hong shook his head and slowly said: "I can no longer protect Xie. Next, Xie will be entrusted to you. After my death, Xuande will be the general, Dong Zhong can be the hussar general, and grandpa will continue to be the minister. Order, Jian Shuo will be the chariot and cavalry general, you must control the military power, the court, and protect the association to secure the throne, do you understand?"
Will Liu Bei succeed him as general?
This is equivalent to the posthumous edict designating Liu Bei as the assistant minister.
Everyone looked at Liu Bei, but they didn't feel anything special.
Originally, in this incident, Liu Bei was the strongest player on Liu Xie's side. Everyone regarded him as the backbone. He deserved the title of general and would not cause any objections.
Zhang Rang had no objection anyway.
Jian Shuo felt guilty when facing He Jin, let alone Liu Bei.
Dong Chong had some ideas, but he also recognized Liu Bei's clan identity and military exploits, so he didn't want to compete with Liu Bei.
Empress Dowager Dong is now filled with sadness and does not want to discuss these issues.
So the arrangement was approved.
Seeing that they had no objections, Liu Hong felt relieved. Then he moved his head with great effort and looked at Liu Xie beside him.
"Xie..."
"Father!"
The young Liu Xie stepped forward and knelt beside Liu Hong.
Liu Hong nodded.
"Xie, my father can't protect you, but everyone else here can protect you. Your eldest mother, your uncle, General Liu, Zhang Changshi, and Captain Jian, they are all people who can protect you. You You have to trust them and use them, remember?"
"I remember it, I remember it!"
Liu Xie nodded while sobbing.
"Just remember."
Liu Hong forced a smile and touched Liu Xie's face: "Also, you must remember that although your brother made a mistake, his crime will not lead to death. When you become the emperor, you must do your best to protect him. Your brother, let him live, you two brothers must live well."
"Um!"
Liu Xie held Liu Hong's hand tightly and nodded vigorously.
Liu Hong closed his eyes and rested for a while, then opened his eyes again and looked at Liu Bei and the other four.
"Everything from now on, as well as my son's association, will be entrusted to you."
"His Majesty!"
The four of them fell to the ground and cried, whether it was out of true love or out of necessity to show off.
Liu Hong said nothing more and waved his hand, telling them all to leave and do what they should do. Only Empress Dowager Dong and Liu Xie stayed in the palace.
The four of them gave Liu Hong a final salute and then slowly left the palace.
Empress Dowager Dong hugged Liu Hong and couldn't stop crying.
Liu Xie knelt aside and kept crying.
Liu Hong felt the powerlessness of his life gradually disappearing, and the scenes of his life flashed before his eyes like a fleeting horse. Nostalgia, unwillingness, fear, hatred, relief...all the emotions finally turned into a long sigh.
Is my life worth it or not?
The illness tortured him, the fear of the gradual loss of life tortured him, and a vague expectation of relief sprouted in his heart. He didn't know whether he was afraid of death or longing for the final relief. .
In the end, the only sound in his ears was the sobs of Empress Dowager Dong.
He suddenly remembered something.
"Mom, when I was little, you sang that song when you put me to sleep, can you sing it to me again?"
Empress Dowager Dong was stunned when she heard this.
"ah?"
"I want to hear that song..."
"Okay, okay, my son wants to listen, I will sing, I will sing..."
A not so beautiful song sounded in Liu Hong's ears. Even so, he felt that it was an unforgettable sound of nature.
Listening, listening, he felt like he was back in his childhood when he was not wealthy but carefree. The sunshine in the spring afternoon of that year shone on him and he fell asleep comfortably.
The four people standing outside the hall did not chat, they just stood quietly.
Liu Bei just stood there quietly, scenes of getting along with Liu Hong flashing through his mind. From the first meeting at the age of nineteen to the farewell at the age of twenty-eight, Liu Hong was not without weight in his heart.
Although the two parties inevitably use each other's advantage, Liu Hong's trust and cooperation are also indispensable factors for his achievements along the way, in addition to his careful planning and strong strength.
From this perspective, Liu Bei suddenly felt a little reluctant to let go of this guy.
but……
There is still time for manpower.
Liu Hong's death was also part of this plan. If he did not die, many changes would occur.
Liu Hong, wait for me a hundred years later, and we will meet under the spring.
At that time, there were no more conspiracies and calculations.
I don’t know how long it took, maybe it was just one stick of incense, or two sticks of incense, or maybe an hour, when a shrill cry broke the peace inside and outside the palace.
"My son!!!!!!"
Empress Dowager Dong's cries reached the ears of four people outside the palace. Although Zhang Rang, Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong were mentally prepared, their expressions changed drastically and they looked back at the palace in shock.
Liu Bei closed his eyes, and two lines of uncontrollable tears slid down his cheeks.
"His Majesty!!!!!!"
Jian Shuo shouted, knelt down on the ground, kowtowed and cried repeatedly. Zhang Rang and Dong Zhong were slower to react and kowtowed and cried together.
Liu Bei spent a lot of effort to stop his tears. He felt that this was the third most difficult thing he had ever done in his life.
The first difficult thing is to establish the foundation of Street Fighter.
The second most difficult thing was to rescue Lu Zhi from the rebel army.
Liu Hong is dead.
He died on a day that profoundly affected the future direction of this empire.
At the same time, he died in his mother's arms.
In the sound of his mother's children's songs, Liu Hong completed this short life for him but not short for all people in the world.
An absurd, tangled, chaotic life.
His death was the end of one era and the beginning of another.
