Although Ceng Shengwu was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, his position was actually a bit awkward.
It was not that his ranking in the Cabinet was somewhat low, but because of the current composition of the Cabinet.
If Ceng Shengwu was the Vice Secretary of the Cabinet, perhaps it would be better, but he was not.
Ceng Shengwu went to the Northwest for the military reform and wasted a lot of time there, causing his current ranking in the Cabinet to be low. In fact, in the Cabinet, Shen Shixing, Yu Youding, and Wang Xijue were of the same year.
Although it was not to the extent of forming a clique for personal gain, most of the time, the three of them would still support each other.
This was not a good thing for Ceng Shengwu. Although he had the support of the Emperor, it was useless to just support him.
Ceng Shengwu was clear about this, and as the Emperor, Zhu Yijun was also clear about this.
But this time, the establishment of the Grand Council was a big opportunity for Ceng Shengwu.
First of all, he understood military politics because he had done it before. In addition to the credit of the Northwest Army reform and the trust of the Emperor, Ceng Shengwu was very confident about entering the Grand Council.
Once he entered the Grand Council, his status would inevitably be greatly improved, and he would not be inferior to Shen Shixing.
With this benefit, Ceng Shengwu naturally had no reason to object. Now that Liang Menglong stood up to support him, Ceng Shengwu naturally was not willing to fall behind, so he also stood up.
"Your Majesty, this official thinks the establishment of the Grand Council is a good thing!" Ceng Shengwu said in a powerful voice.
With Ceng Shengwu's words, the others also stood up and echoed.
Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction, his eyes staring at Shen Shixing and the others. The meaning was very clear, you all have to show your attitude.
At this point, Shen Shixing naturally would not object anymore.
"This official agrees!"
Under Shen Shixing's lead, the others also followed and echoed.
"Since you all agree, then this matter is settled!"
Zhu Yijun nodded, then said with a smile: "Regarding the establishment of the Grand Council, I have a preliminary plan, and I will take advantage of today to tell you."
"The Military Affairs Department will set up six Ministers of the Grand Council to participate in the military affairs, and set up a number of Ministers to act as staff members."
"As for who will enter the Grand Council, I need to think about it carefully!"
As for the Grand Council, Zhu Yijun had no intention of rejecting it, nor did he intend to seek anyone's opinion.
"To put it bluntly, I'll take away all the stuff in the Cabinet. I don't want those who are not in the Hanlin Academy or those who are ranked according to seniority in the Cabinet.
I have the final say in the Grand Council, and I decide on the candidates myself.
The matter was soon settled, and the court meeting was dismissed.
In the following days, there were two major events in the imperial court. One of them was the establishment of the Grand Council by the emperor, which made the people in the imperial court wonder who could set up the Grand Council.
Everyone in the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers wanted to join the Grand Council. It was a big yamen!
Although it was unknown what kind of yamen it would eventually develop into, judging from the current situation, at least in the two years of preparation for the Northern Expedition, the Grand Council was bound to be an important yamen.
His status would even surpass that of the Cabinet. No one would not care.
The second major event was the arrival of the vassal king in the capital.
After nearly two years of preparation, Prince Jin's branch finally began to enter the capital on a large scale.
More than a dozen vassal kings finally set off from Shanxi. They would soon arrive in the capital and enter the imperial palace in the western suburbs.
In fact, Zhu Yijun didn't care much about this matter, because he didn't have to worry about it.
Wang Xijue was really a talented person. In the past year, he used both hard and soft tactics and various means endlessly. Without making any mess, he finally settled Prince Jin's branch.
With the arrival of Prince Jin's branch in the capital, the Daming's vassal kings officially began to enter the capital.
This also meant that the pressure on the Daming's royal family would suddenly reduce, and the princes from all over the country would begin to enter the capital one after another.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Yijun sat behind the dragon writing desk, holding a pen in his hand, thinking about the candidates to enter the Grand Council.
In fact, it was very difficult to choose the candidates in the Grand Council. Zhu Yijun actually felt that six places were a bit much.
But if it was less, Zhu Yijun felt that he couldn't arrange it.
First of all, on the military side, there were two Honours, British Duke Zhang Yong and Dingguo Duke Xu Wenbi. No matter from which angle, these two people must enter. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to hold up the Honours.
In addition to them, Qi Jiguang also had to enter. He was the general he personally chose for the northern expedition.
The military side occupied three places. Ceng Shengwu had to enter the civil service. One reason was that he didn't go to the northwest for a long time, and the other was to weaken the power of the Cabinet.
The story of Shen Shixing's three ministers was indeed very good, but Zhu Yijun didn't want them to stick together.
If Wang Xijue wasn't busy with the opening of the vassal state, Zhu Yijun would have already started with their triangular combination.
Now that there was the Grand Council, it was natural to promote Ceng Shengwu.
The second candidate was Liang Menglong, the former Governor of Ji Liao.
First of all, he knew the military. Second, he had worked in Ji Liao and had experience. In addition, the Ministry of Works was now organizing to open the craftsman register for military craftsmen. Letting him enter the Grand Council would make this matter better coordinated.
The last position was prepared by Zhu Yijun for Li Biao, the Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard.
Military supervision had to be put on the agenda, and he wanted to establish the Imperial Bodyguard with a military police nature. Therefore, a position in the Grand Council for Li Biao, the Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard, was the most suitable.
In addition, with the separation of the Imperial Bodyguard, things would soon be on the right track.
"Bring me a cup of tea!" Zhu Yijun put down the pen in his hand, rubbed his swollen forehead, and said.
Zhang Jing, who was serving at the side, hurriedly brought over a bowl of warm tea and then placed it on the table. He said carefully, "Imperial Majesty, there are endless things in this world. Imperial Majesty, you still have to pay attention to your dragon body!"
Zhu Yijun glanced at Zhang Jing, then waved his hand and said, "It's not as easy as you make it sound!"
The matter of the six Grand Council Ministers had been settled, so the Traveling Minister had to be decided as well.
Zhu Yijun was prepared to focus on the Traveling Minister, mainly on the younger generation, such as the Hawks in the military.
Liu Wei, Ma Gui, Ma Dong, these new powerful figures, and the Honours in the pro-war faction, such as Marquis Linhuai's Li Xichao, Count Xining's Song Liang, these people would be the main force of the northern expedition.
As for the civil officials, the young people that Zhu Yijun had trained could also be brought out for a walk.
These people would be Zhu Yijun's future team, and the northern expedition was the prelude to their ascension.
When the northern expedition was over, the old people in the court should also retire.
At that time, these new people would naturally rise to the top.
Putting down the brush in his hand, Zhu Yijun let out a sigh of relief. He turned to Zhang Jing and said, "This is the list of Ministers of the Grand Council that I have drawn up. Let the cabinet draft the decree!"