Following the etiquette taught by the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial, Gu Muduo and the others kept their heads down and followed behind Jian Shuo, not daring to look around. Therefore, they were unaware of the strange looks from the surrounding officials.
Upon reaching the center of the main hall, Gumuduo and several Xianbei people bowed deeply and paid their respects to Liu Hong on the imperial throne.
"Your humble servant, Gumuduo, pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty!!"
The way Gu Muduo and the others performed their greetings was quite methodical, clearly showing that they had put in the effort to learn.
This reminded the officials of the emperor's previous assessment of the Xianbei people, and they couldn't help but frown.
A nomadic tribe that is good at learning is not a good thing for the Han Dynasty.
For a moment, the officials couldn't help but put aside their previous contempt and began to re-examine these Xianbei people.
Liu Hong, seated on the throne, glanced at Gu Muduo and the others with a smile, then chuckled and said:
"No need for formalities!!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"
After exchanging greetings, Gu Muduo finally raised her head to look at Liu Hong on the imperial throne.
When Gu Muduo saw Liu Hong's young face, she couldn't help but change her expression.
Although it was only a glance, Gu Muduo saw a hint of superiority and authority between Liu Hong's brows, which made him feel a chill.
Everyone says that the Han Dynasty chose a child as its emperor, but Gu Muduo has no intention of looking down on him at this moment.
Liu Hong looked at Gu Muduo and the others, and asked in a deep voice:
"What brings you here?"
"Your Majesty, I have come to pay my respects to Your Majesty on the orders of Marquis Tan Shihuai of the Northern Desert, and I have presented this letter of state!"
As they spoke, Gumuduo took out the letter of submission from Tanshihuai and the list of tribute from his bosom, then held them in his hands and bowed, presenting them above his head.
Jian Shuo hurriedly stepped forward to take the official letter and gift list from Gu Muduo, and then presented them to Liu Hong.
Liu Hong took the letter of state and the list of gifts, glanced at them briefly, and then handed them to Zhao Zhong beside him.
"Read these two items aloud to all the officials!"
"promise!!"
Zhao Zhong then took the letter of state and began to read it aloud:
"Your subject, Tan Shihuai, respectfully pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty."
My people have suffered from the oppression of the Xiongnu since the beginning, and have been in dire straits for many years, unable to control their own lives.
Fortunately, the might of the Han Dynasty subdued the Xiongnu, preventing them from acting recklessly, which allowed us to catch our breath and survive until now.
We are deeply grateful for the great kindness of the Han Dynasty. We are willing to serve the Han Dynasty for all eternity and guard the northern desert for Your Majesty to repay Your Majesty's grace!
......”
In this letter, Tan Shihuai adopted the lowest possible stance, displaying humility and subservience in his words.
"Haha, very good! Tan Shihuai still understands the bigger picture! With him in Mobei, I can finally rest easy!"
Upon hearing the contents of the official letter, Liu Hong couldn't help but burst into laughter, appearing extremely happy.
"Your Majesty is right. Now that the Xianbei have submitted, the grasslands will be free from worry!"
Cao Song, who was always good at reading people's expressions, immediately smiled and echoed.
"Yeah yeah!"
"Our great Han Dynasty reigns supreme over all directions! We, your subjects, congratulate Your Majesty and congratulate the great Han Dynasty!"
The officials in the hall also congratulated Liu Hong with beaming smiles.
"Haha~ The Han Dynasty has achieved what it has today entirely thanks to the efforts of all of you. I, your humble servants, offer my congratulations!"
Liu Hong also smiled and praised the officials generously.
Just as Liu Hong and his officials were celebrating with each other, Gu Muduo, who was standing bowing inside the hall, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After the initial excitement subsided, Liu Hong turned to Zhao Zhong and gave him instructions:
"Zhao Zhong, read that gift list aloud as well. Let's see what good things my Marquis of Mobei has sent me!"
"promise!!"
Zhao Zhonggong responded and then picked up the gift list and glanced at it.
Upon seeing the items on the gift list, Zhao Zhong's expression subtly changed.
Zhao Zhong frowned, glanced at Gu Muduo, and then read aloud:
"The tribute is hereby presented as follows:"
"Fifty pairs of ox horns, five hundred fat sheep, one hundred strong oxen, twenty fine horses,..."
There weren't many items, and Zhao Zhong quickly finished reading the list of gifts.
The gift list included not only cattle, sheep, and horses, but also some local specialties from the grasslands, such as medicinal herbs.
Overall, that was very little, and very perfunctory.
Upon hearing about the tribute items presented by the Xianbei, the officials couldn't help but frown.
For a moment, everyone looked at Gu Muduo and the others with hostility.
Grand Commandant Li Ying, his face also contorted with rage, stepped forward and declared loudly:
"Your Majesty, Tan Shihuai is so disrespectful! I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict immediately to reprimand him!"
“Indeed, back then, even a small country in the Western Regions paid more than a thousand times more in tribute than Tan Shihuai did, yet he treats us like this now, clearly showing contempt for His Majesty and for the Great Han!”
Grand Tutor Chen Fan also stepped forward and echoed his sentiments.
“We are a great and mighty nation, the Celestial Empire, how dare they try to fool us with this junk?”
"Since Tan Shihuai has already submitted to us, he still shows such disrespect. I implore Your Majesty to send troops to punish him!!"
"Yes, if we don't show him the might of our Han Dynasty, what will become of our dignity?"
Young men like Tian Feng and Ju Shou also stepped forward, requesting permission to send troops.
In an instant, the officials, who had been overjoyed at Tan Shihuai's submission, all changed their tune and demanded that Liu Hong severely punish the Xianbei.
Upon seeing this, Gu Muduo and the others couldn't help but change their expressions, revealing a hint of fear on their faces.
They knew that the Han officials were tough, but that was only towards those who offended them.
Now, all I've done is send a little less than I should have, and they're threatening to send troops.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
