May 17th.

Inside the inn, several men from Rome, dressed in Han-style robes, stood in a row in the courtyard, gazing intently in the direction of the imperial palace.

Beside them stood a Ministry of Rites official dressed in a fifth-rank robe.

"bye!!"

With a soft shout from the official in charge of rites, the Romans first put their palms together, then pressed their left hand down on their right, forming a pillar-hugging posture, and raised them high above their heads before bowing in the direction of the palace.

"Good, not bad!"

Seeing that there were no major problems with the actions of the Romans, the official from the Ministry of Rites nodded in satisfaction.

Upon hearing this, the elderly Roman man named Yudeo straightened up, smiled, and bowed to the Ministry of Rites official.

"Thank you so much, Physician Chen, for your patient guidance over the past few days!"

After half a month of study, Youdeao's Chinese has become much more fluent.

An official from the Ministry of Rites laughed and said, "Your Excellency, there's no need for such formalities. It's rare to see people as dedicated to learning the etiquette of our Great Han Dynasty as you are!"

"The etiquette of the Han Dynasty teaches people to recognize and abide by rules. It is a noble etiquette that has been passed down for many years. Those barbarians naturally do not understand the beauty of this etiquette!"

Like the Han Dynasty, Rome, as a Western empire, was frequently harassed by the Germanic barbarians from the north.

The people and officials in the country also felt the same hatred and contempt for those barbarians.

In Yudeo's eyes, only this great man who paid attention to etiquette in every aspect could be called a true civilized empire.

Even many things within the Han Dynasty, such as culture, clothing, and architecture, were far superior to those in Rome.

At this moment, Yudeo was like a newborn baby, full of curiosity about this mysterious Eastern empire, and trying his best to learn about everything he saw.

"Haha~, Your Excellency speaks well! Only those who understand the etiquette of our Great Han are worthy of being our friends!"

A laugh came from outside the door, and Cheng Yu was seen striding towards them.

Upon seeing this, Yudeo hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Cheng Yu.

"Mr. Zhongde, you've arrived!"

These days, Cheng Yu comes over almost every day to talk with Youdeao and explain some Confucian classics to him.

Cheng Yu's meticulous teaching and profound knowledge deeply impressed Youdeo.

Therefore, Youdeao also respected Cheng Yu very much, and even unconsciously treated him with the respect due to a teacher.

“Mr. Yudeo, there’s no need for such formalities!” Cheng Yu smiled and stepped forward to help Yudeo up, then said, “His Majesty has decreed that you are summoned to the palace for an audience!”

"Ah, His Majesty the Emperor wants to see us...?"

Upon hearing this, Yudeo couldn't help but show a hint of excitement on his face, looking at Cheng Yu as if he couldn't believe it.

Cheng Yu smiled and nodded: "That's good. Get ready and come with me to the palace to pay our respects!"

"Oh, very well, Mr. Zhongde, please wait a moment. I'll go and make the preparations right away!"

Yudeo nodded quickly and then led the young men into the house.

Before long, Yudeo and his companions changed into Roman attire and then followed Cheng Yu into a carriage, heading towards the palace.

Deyang Palace.

To show his respect, Liu Hong specially changed into a royal robe today and also put on the twelve-tassel crown that he had not put away for a long time.

More than ten soft stools were placed on both sides of the hall, and cabinet members such as Chen Fan, Yuan Feng, Cao Song, and Yang Ci sat on the right.

Young people such as Xi Zhicai, Zhou Yi, Zhang Zhao, and Zhou Yi sat on the left.

Liu Hong looked around, then smiled and said, "Since the Roman envoy has not yet arrived, my esteemed ministers may first share their views on Rome!"

In Liu Hong's view, the name "Great Qin" was of great significance and could only belong to China. Therefore, he made everyone call Great Qin "Rome".

Cao Song cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that Rome's dominance in the West is due to its unique strengths. The Han Dynasty and Rome should be on friendly terms!"

Minister of Rites Yang Ci echoed, "Yes, Your Majesty. I have read through historical records and found that Rome was also very wealthy. If we could establish trade relations with them, it would be of great benefit to our Han Dynasty!"

Liu Hong smiled. "You two ministers are right. Establishing trade routes with Rome is very necessary. However, I want more!"

"More?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned and didn't quite understand what Liu Hong meant.

Does the emperor intend to conquer Rome?

That's unlikely, isn't it?

If the emperor wanted to conquer the grasslands and the Kushan Empire, they could understand, since they were not far from the Han Dynasty.

But this Rome seems a bit unrealistic.

Such a long distance, it would take an army at least several years to reach there, the transportation and supply alone would be an insurmountable chasm.

After pondering for a long time, Cao Song's expression changed: "Does Your Majesty mean that you want to assimilate those Romans?"

"That's right, if force can't conquer, then let's start with culture!"

In the past few days, Zhongde has also reported the situation of those Romans to me. They seem to be very enthusiastic about Confucianism and Zhou rites!

This shows that the culture of Rome was far inferior to that of the Han Dynasty.

The Han dynasty could start with culture, educating them to accept Han culture and subconsciously instilling a sense of superiority over the Han.

"In this way, even if we cannot conquer Rome, we can still let the culture of our great Han Dynasty bloom in the distant West, so that future generations will always be proud of Han culture."

Liu Hong's words, though spoken in a low tone, were resounding and thought-provoking, giving a jolt to the assembled veteran officials.

Yes, between two countries, cultural conquest is no less powerful than military conquest.

Can you imagine a world where everyone speaks Chinese?

Even if one day the world changes and the Han Dynasty is gone, its culture will never be lost.

This is true enduring prosperity for all ages!

Thinking of these things, even Chen Fan, who was over eighty years old, couldn't help but show a hint of excitement.

"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that our Great Han should send envoys to Rome to establish permanent political, commercial, and cultural cooperative relations with them!"

"Absolutely! We should also select a group of people to stay in Rome long-term to promote Han culture!"

“In addition to officials, permanent staff should also be sent from the Taiping sect and Confucian scholars to build Taoist temples and schools there.”

In a short time, a group of veteran officials also offered suggestions and proposed various cultural infiltration plans.

They seemed never to have considered whether the Romans would accept Han culture, let alone the possibility that the plan might fail.

This is the superiority of Han culture.

For thousands of years, there has been no race among the surrounding states that the Han Dynasty could not assimilate.

The nearby Southern Xiongnu and Eastern Qiang could not escape the erosion of Han culture, and the distant Rome was no exception.

Afterwards, the group began a detailed discussion about the various terms of trade with Rome.