Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Your humble servant He Yong greets Your Majesty!"

In the main hall, a young man with a handsome face, red lips and white teeth, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, knelt respectfully before Li Hong.

When Li Hong saw He Yong, the gloom on his face vanished, and he immediately stepped forward to help him up.

"He Yong, you're finally back. I haven't seen you for so long, and my heart feels empty. Come, come, sit down and talk with me."

He Yong was so moved that he wept bitterly: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. This servant was carrying out the imperial decree and has missed Your Majesty the whole way."

Li Hong laughed loudly upon hearing this: "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Someone, go to the imperial kitchen and fetch some tea and snacks."

Upon hearing this, the two eunuchs who were attending him immediately responded and left the palace gate.

He Yong wiped his red eyes with his sleeve and sobbed, "Your Majesty, this servant has not failed in his mission. During this trip to Haizhou, I made contact with all the foreign tributary states."

They were overjoyed to be able to come and pay tribute to our Wu Zhao Kingdom; this was all thanks to His Majesty's boundless divine might and the blessings of our ancestors.

A visible smile appeared on Li Hong's face. After sitting down with He Yong on a side chair in the hall, he couldn't wait to ask, "Which countries and states have come to pay tribute this time? He Yong, tell me quickly."

"The slave obeys the order."

He Yong sat down halfway in the chair, bowed to Li Hong, and then slowly began to speak: "I won't mention the many servants, lest His Majesty find it boring. Let me just talk about some of the new states that have come to pay tribute this time."

An envoy from the Qian Kingdom personally brought gifts, and Queen Dingguo also sent an envoy to visit, saying that Queen Xu Ruoxi would personally come to offer her congratulations on His Majesty's birthday.

There are also a few scattered small countries whose names I cannot recall due to my poor memory. I have made a list of their names so that Your Majesty may review it at your leisure.

Upon hearing this, Li Hong's originally joyful expression gradually darkened.

He Yong was very good at reading people's expressions. Seeing Li Hong's appearance, he immediately guessed what he was thinking and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, there is another country in the East that seems to be interested in coming to our country to celebrate Your Majesty's birthday."

"Oh? Which country or state is it?"

A light gleamed in Li Hong's eyes once again.

He Yong immediately replied, "The State of Chu wants to trade with my Wu Zhao. The Chu envoys have been staying in Haizhou for two years. This time, when I went to Haizhou, I also met with them on behalf of His Majesty."

Li Hong: "I will naturally not object to the Chu Kingdom wanting to trade with me, Wu Zhao, but the Chu Empress must personally come to celebrate my birthday and participate in the training of all nations."

Even after all these years, Li Hong still thinks about the Empress of Great Chu, whom he has never met, and is very interested in how a woman governs a country with hundreds of millions of people.

He Yong replied with a smile, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, this servant has also conveyed Your Majesty's wishes to the Chu envoy."

If the Chu envoy truly wishes to trade with our Celestial Empire, he will certainly relay this message back to Chu.

Li Hong: "My Wuzhao is a vast and resource-rich land, possessing everything imaginable. The Chu Kingdom trades with our Celestial Dynasty, bringing only endless benefits."

My conditions are simple: if the Empress of Chu is willing to become a tributary state of my Wu Zhao Dynasty, trade will proceed as she wishes.

Li Hong, and even the court officials of Wu Zhao, felt a strong sense of superiority.

They believed that their country's trade with other countries was a great act of kindness from their superior empire to those small, foreign lands, and that there was no such thing as an equal and mutually beneficial relationship.

Especially since Li Hong was so concerned about his reputation, and Wu Zhaoguo was a country that suppressed industry and commerce, he felt that those who came to trade were just a bunch of beggars.

They've come all this way just to get some benefits; treating them as equals is simply impossible.

He Yong replied, "His Majesty's willingness to trade with the State of Chu will surely move the entire nation to tears of gratitude upon hearing this news."

The servant also tried to intimidate the Chu envoy, but the Chu envoy actually presented a large quantity of Chu goods to demonstrate his determination to trade.

Li Hong became interested upon hearing this: "Oh? The State of Chu actually sent a gift. Where is it? Quickly bring it to me so I can see it."

"The slave obeys the order."

He Yong stood up and waved towards the palace gate: "Hurry up and bring these things in."

More than a hundred eunuchs who had been waiting outside the palace gates carefully carried the items into the main hall.

After about fifteen minutes of activity, more than twenty "novelties" were neatly arranged in the main hall.

"Are all these things gifts from the State of Chu?"

"Yes, the Chu envoy said he hopes His Majesty will summon him to the capital so that he can meet with the Emperor in person for a detailed discussion."

Li Hong nodded, and then began to examine the items he had visited with great interest.

The first exhibit is a smooth mirror. When you pick it up, it vividly displays Li Hong's heroic appearance.

"What a fine glass mirror! The workmanship is exquisite, and it is indeed quite smooth. It is a superior piece of work, very good indeed."

Li Hong was full of praise for the mirror.

However, this only applies to products with fine workmanship and a smooth, mirror-like surface.

After all, Wu Zhao Kingdom also possessed glassmaking techniques, and there were workshops in the capital that specialized in making glazed tiles.

Li Hong's inner palace alone has hundreds of various treasures, but the craftsmanship is not as exquisite as the one in front of us.

Then, moving on to the next spot, they found a hand-operated weaving machine.

"Is this a loom? How do you operate it?"

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment. This servant will personally demonstrate it for you."

After saying that, he sat on the spinning machine and began to operate it skillfully.

The sound of the shuttle echoed in the hall, and the eunuchs around stared in disbelief at the sight.

They never expected such fast and efficient textile equipment, which completely overturned their traditional understanding.

Li Hong remained silent, quietly watching the rapidly spinning equipment.

After He Yong left his seat, he said excitedly, "Your Majesty, if our Wu Zhao Kingdom could have such a loom, the efficiency of weaving would be improved, and the people in the weaving workshops wouldn't have to work so hard."

"Ah."

Li Hong nodded and then walked to the next display stand.

"What is this?"

"Your Majesty, this is called a telescope. It can see tiny objects in the distance."

"Oh, is that so? Let me take a closer look."

Li Hong picked up the binoculars and looked out of the palace gate.

After a long pause, he nodded: "Not bad, this thing is really interesting. How come the people in Liulichang didn't think of it? I'll tell the Ministry of Works later and have them come and see why their workmanship isn't as exquisite."

Li Hong was absolutely enamored with this telescope.

Upon seeing this, He Yong said again, "If Your Majesty likes this toy, I will discuss with the Chu envoy again and ask him to send some more over."

Li Hong smiled and waved his hand: "No, don't let people think that I covet these items. If the two countries start trading in the future, then just let the Imperial Household Department make the purchases."

"The slave obeys the order."

After putting down the telescope, he went to a table where astronomical calendar manuscripts were displayed.

"The State of Chu also practices astronomy? That's interesting. I happen to be interested in astronomy and calendar systems as well, so let's take a look."

After saying that, he flipped it open and looked directly at it.

Upon seeing this, Li Hong's expression gradually darkened.