"Your servant Cheng Yi pays his respects to Your Majesty!!!"
Cheng Yi announced his name loudly and prostrated himself before Cao Mao with full ceremonial reverence.
Cao Mao set down the memorial in his hands, rose with a smile, and strode over to him.
"Lord Cheng! Hahaha, rise, quickly!"
Smiling, Cao Mao helped him up and looked him over, then exclaimed, "What a fine appearance! A fine servant of mine indeed!"
Cheng Yi had never imagined that the emperor would show him such respect and courtesy.
After all, he had never met the emperor before, and his accomplishments over the years could hardly be considered particularly great.
But Cao Mao thought otherwise.
After Cao Zhen pacified Liangzhou, the Western Regions had formally come under Great Wei's rule. The kings of the Western Regions had sent men to offer tribute and expressed their willingness to accept investiture and jurisdiction from Wei's Son of Heaven.
Even the Greater Yuezhi had once sent envoys to pay their respects.
Yes, the Kushan Kingdom.
Yet the struggle between Wei and Shu had shaken Great Wei's control over the Western Regions.
Whenever that fellow Jiang Wei went on campaign, he sought to use every force available to him, including the kings of the Western Regions and the Qiang and Hu within the borders.
These people also watched to see which way the wind blew. If Jiang Wei proved unstoppable, they would immediately declare their willingness to submit to Great Han.
After the Shu Kingdom fell, they finally saw the situation clearly and no longer dared waver between the two states.
After achieving unification, Cao Mao had only a few things left to do.
First, he had to knock down the Menfa so thoroughly that they would not dare raise their heads for over a century. Next