Ma Chao was slightly excited, because the Chongde Hall was a large hall that was more commonly used to hold court meetings in the two palaces of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, all large-scale ceremonies and court meetings were generally held in the Chongde Palace. This is the core of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the most concentrated power.

Just when Ma Chao was full of excitement, a small yellow door suddenly appeared on the top of the Danqi, and shouted downward, interrupting Ma Chao's thinking: "Hundreds of officials enter the court!" ”

The team of 100 officials originally stopped in the wide square in front of the Chongde Palace, and after the small yellow gate gave the order, the team of 100 officials immediately moved when they heard the sound and began to walk up the Danqi in an orderly manner. Danqi is the red painted steps in the palace and the open space on the steps and in front of the temple gate. I don't know how many steps I walked, until Ma Chao's calf was a little sore, and the civil and military teams of the hundred officials finally walked to the Danqi on the pedestal.

Walking outside the palace gate, the ministers began to take off their shoes and socks in an orderly manner, untied their swords, and handed them over to Xiaohuangmen for safekeeping, and they would wear them when the court meeting was over. Taking off his shoes and socks in the cold winter is really a bit unkind, and Ma Chao has to endure it. Then the ministers rushed into the temple. Ma Chao raised his eyes and saw that the Chongde Hall was very wide, almost the size of two gymnasiums, enough to accommodate hundreds to thousands of people; The central position in the north of the main hall is the throne where the emperor is located, and the throne is also located on the high platform, and the throne on the high platform is several levels away from the smooth wooden floor of the main hall; Behind the seat is a wide lacquer screen, in front of which is a black and red table, and on either side stand a number of small yellow doors and palace laves, all of whom hide their hands in their sleeves, bow their heads slightly, and stand silently; A pair of palace ladies stand on the left and right of the throne, each holding a huge palace fan made of peacock feathers; There are also several rows of beams standing symmetrically in the hall, and these pillars are all made of towering giant trees embraced by several people; Under the throne, between the pillars of the temple, there are neatly arranged seats, each preceded by a lacquered wood table.

Ma Chao, like other ministers, found his seat, straightened his clothes, and sat down. Ma Chao looked around, He Jin, Yuan Kui, Cao Song and other five people were at the front, in addition to the three who had already known, there were two others that Ma Chao did not recognize. But being able to sit at the forefront of the "five mansions" such as the general, Shanggong, and Sangong, Ma Chao could guess that the other two were Sikong Ding Gong and Situ Xu Xiang by thinking about it with his toes.

In Ma Chao's impression, these two people have a very bad reputation in history. Ding Gong is a well-known wall grass, after Dong Zhuo entered Beijing, when he proposed to abolish Liu Debate and change Liu Xie, Ding Gong actually took the initiative, and also personally presided over the abolition ceremony in the Chongde Hall of the North Palace. And Xu Xiang is the party's ten permanent servants, so he holds great power and ascends to the position of Situ, one of the three princes.

Looking left and right, kneeling around and sitting in the seats opposite were Lu Zhi, Liu Yu, Huang Wan, Han Rong, Wu Fu and others. Because the Han system of 100 officials is divided into two classes, the first class of civil officials is in the west, and the first class of military attaches is in the east, so He Jin, Wu Fu, Ma Riyan and other military attaches sit on one side of the main hall, and Yuan Kui, Ding Gong, Huang Wan, Lu Zhi and others, including Ma Chao, all sit on the other side. In order not to expose the relationship, they did not look at Ma Chao. Ma Chao had to sit quietly and wait for the meeting to begin.

While waiting, Ma Chao suddenly noticed that someone was watching him from behind. Looking back, his gaze crossed one after another Jinxian crowns, and finally fell on one person. Ma Chao looked at it, and saw that the man was not very tall, and his face was slightly dark; A pair of small eyes were held up by the dark apple muscles, and a strange light danced inside; Between the thick short hair, there is an elusive smile. When the man saw that Ma Chao had discovered him, his eyes did not dodge, but raised his eyebrows at Ma Chao, and his smile became thicker.

Ma Chao glanced at it and looked back, sighing in his heart that since he came to Luoyang City, the stranger's facial expressions had become more and more difficult to understand. And the man deliberately raised his eyebrows at the end, obviously on purpose, in order to deepen his impression of that person. Ma Chao was a little moved in his heart, and secretly planned to wait for the future, so he took the initiative to come forward to talk, face him, and see what he was going to do.

Just as Ma Chao was pondering, there was a sudden sound of footsteps in the quiet hall. Ma Chao looked at it, and from the left side of the throne came a small yellow door with his head bowed, he pinched small broken steps and walked quickly to His Majesty Dan, stood still, and shouted loudly: "The Son of Heaven is coming to the court, and all officials are welcome!" ”

Hearing this, the officials quickly stood up from their respective seats, walked quickly to the center of the main hall and lined up in two shifts, and then knelt down and kowtowed, shouting in unison: "Wait for the ministers to meet Your Majesty!" Long live Your Majesty! ”

Ma Chao, who was mixed in the crowd, was no exception, kowtowing in a proper manner. At the beginning of the salute, Ma Chao heard footsteps, presumably Liu Hong, the son of heaven; After the salute was over, Ma Chao couldn't wait to see what this legendary senseless faint monarch looked like, so Ma Chao ignored the etiquette and secretly raised his head to look at the throne on the high platform. Sure enough, I saw that on the throne, there was a group of eunuchs surrounding a middle-aged man in a black court robe, and the middle-aged man strode to the throne. This person is a little obese and looks ordinary, but because of the backdrop of the royal crown dress, he has a faint bit of calm temperament on his body, which makes people dare not look directly.

Seeing that the famous Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty looked like this, ordinary and a little obese, Ma Chao was a little disappointed for no reason. However, Ma Chao also thought about it, if an emperor looks different from ordinary people, whether he is particularly handsome or ugly, the historian will never be stingy with pen and ink. If Liu Hong is good-looking, he will definitely write a few strokes in the history books, but since the history books are not written, it can only show that he is an ordinary person. And Liu Hong is known for his extravagance, and obesity is not surprising.

Liu Hong was about to sit down, but he was stunned. For he saw an unfamiliar face in the crowd kneeling down in unison, and they were looking directly at him. Ma Chao and Liu Hong looked at each other, and saw that Liu Hong was stunned at first, and then Ma Chao clearly saw Liu Hong's chubby face, and the corner of his mouth on the right side rose slightly. Ma Chao hurriedly lowered his head.

Then I heard a voice from the throne: "All the kings, get up!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ma Chao joined other ministers in responding in unison.

The officials got up from the ground one after another, walked back to their seats, and knelt down. After Ma Chao sat down, he looked at Liu Hong again, and saw that Liu Hong had already put away his smile, his eyes looked ahead, and his face was expressionless. Ma Chao still had the smile that Liu Hong had just shown slightly in his mind, and he had been trying to guess the intention behind this smile. Is it gratifying? Is it disdainful? Is it a hint? Ma Chao couldn't guess.