"Oh? Du'erbi River Guard and Tulusiting Mountain Guard, near the great mountains of the north? Grand Eunuch, this is the first time in decades that Jurchen garrisons from the Northern mountain have come to offer tribute again! This is great joy, great joy indeed!"
"When China is at peace, distant peoples submit of their own accord. Grand Eunuch Luo, there is no need for the court to maintain Nurgan; the barbarians of the Northern mountain will come to pay tribute all the same. This is truly joyous news worth celebrating!"
"Ahaha! It is indeed good news worth writing down and making known to His Majesty!"
The sun-and-moon banner over the traveling headquarters snapped in the wind, while ranks of armored Ming soldiers stood in attendance. The great hall was packed shoulder to shoulder, thick with the smoke and fire of power. Kaiyuan's civil and military officials, along with the chieftains of the various Tame Jurchen tribes, were all arranged inside, some seated, some standing. And the two chieftains kneeling in the center of the hall were exceptionally fierce and powerful in build, with long, tangled braids on their heads, faintly bearing the look of Wildmen.
However, the great personages of the court did not care about any of that. So long as the other side could produce a Garrison Bronze Seal, arrive at Kaiyuan, and come to pay tribute according to the court's rules, then even if they came from a Wildman background, rewarding them with some goods and wealth was no matter. After all, the imperial Ming was rich under all four seas, its might spread across the world, and it did not care about bestowing generous gifts on distant barbarians. What was more, the submission of these distant barbarians was not merely proof of the Great Emperor's majesty;