As soon as Duke Zhang Yong opened his mouth, all eyes turned to him, including Zhu Yijun.
Duke Zhang Yong's position was definitely the highest among the five officials in the Grand Council.
Firstly, the House of Lords had a high status. Secondly, the House of Lords had a successor.
Although the House of Lords did not have a lot of people, the eldest son had no heir, and the second son was sick, the third generation of the House of Lords had a ruthless person, and that was Zhang Weixian. He was basically destined to be the number one person in the military in the future.
Not only was he strong, but he was also deeply trusted by the Emperor. Once the old man retired, Zhang Weixian would definitely be put in an important position.
"I think the northern expedition is a big strategy. The court has been preparing for it for several years. Are we going to start a war just for the Duoyan Tribe?
I don't think it's appropriate. The court is not ready yet. "
"We can fight, but not now, and not just the Duoyan Tribe."
As soon as Duke Zhang Yong's words came out, the hall became much quieter.
All eyes were focused on the other ministers of the Grand Council, the most important of which was Qi Jiguang.
Although the two dukes were of high status, everyone knew that the current number one person in the Daming Military was Qi Jiguang.
Although Qi Jiguang was getting on in years and didn't manage things much, his status was still there.
He was a living legend of the Great Ming Dynasty's military. This was very important.
Who was the Emperor's most trusted general? It was definitely Qi Jiguang. This was very important.
The other two ministers of the Grand Council were the cabinet scholar Ceng Shengwu and the Ministry of Works Minister Liang Menglong.
Both of them were not simple people. Not only did they know military strategy, but they were also ministers trusted by the Emperor. Many times, their words carried more weight.
As for the Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard, Li Biao, he basically did not participate in this kind of thing.
"I think they should be beaten!"
To everyone's surprise, the one who spoke was the Ministry of Works Minister Liang Menglong.
The fact that Liang Menglong spoke first was not the key point. The key point was that he supported Xu Wenbi. This was unexpected.
Xu Wenbi had not expected this. He looked at Liang Menglong in surprise, wanting to hear what he had to say.
"The northern expedition is a huge war. It is indeed not worth it to act rashly for the Duoyan Tribe."
"But I believe that because the northern expedition is a war, it should be fought.
My Daming's border has not fought a major battle for many years. If a great battle suddenly breaks out, regardless of whether it is the soldiers, generals, or local transport officials, all of them will be an enormous test. "
"I think it's fine to attack the Duoyan Tribe before the war."
"Firstly, it can train the troops. Secondly, it can show the determination of the Imperial Court. Therefore, I agree with Dingguo Duke's words. I think that this battle should be fought, but I don't think that we can just attack the Duoyan tribe."
"Attack the Three Duoyan Guards! Send your troops out of Jizhou, Jinzhou, and Shenyang. Attack the Three Duoyan Guards at the same time and defeat them in one battle.
If we go south, we can take Chahar. If we go north, we can take Horqin. "
Liang Menglong spoke boldly, but he had his own reasons.
"Once the Imperial Court sends troops to attack the Duoyan Tribe, it is hard to guarantee that the other two tribes will not send troops as well. Since that is the case, we might as well start with the Three Duoyan Guards.
If Chahar and Horqin also send troops, then we can directly fight a major battle. "
Everyone looked at Liang Menglong in shock. No one had expected this Minister of Works to play such a big game.
"I think that Minister Liang's words are reasonable!"
Ceng Shengwu, who was sitting above Liang Menglong, also spoke up. His attitude was very clear: they should be fought.
"All the officials should know that Buyan Chechen of Chahar is getting old and is about to die. I believe that this is the best time to fight.
Everyone should also know what Buyan Chechen did a year ago. "
The moment Ceng Shengwu said this, everyone's expression changed.
Buyan Chechen had indeed done something a year ago. In order to solidify his position, he had taken out an item to prove his legitimacy. This item was the Heirloom Seal.
In history, this Heirloom Seal had fallen into the hands of Huang Taiji.
Whether it was true or not was not determined, but it was true that Daming did not have the Heirloom Seal.
Rumor had it that the Meng Yuan Empire had brought it to the Prairie, so the authenticity of the Heirloom Seal was not that important.
Once Daming defeated Buyan Chechen and obtained the Heirloom Seal, then he would be the real one.
Liang Menglong's meaning was very simple. While Buyan Chechen was about to die, he would step on him and take his life while he was sick.
It would be even better if he participated in the battle and obtained the Heirloom Seal.
Did Zhu Yijun want the Heirloom Seal?
Of course he wanted it!
There was no doubt about this. Whether he was real or fake, even if he was fake, he was the real one.
Once he got his hands on this Imperial Jade Seal, his prestige as the Emperor would definitely increase greatly.
At that time, he would truly be able to suppress the entire country, far surpassing Taizong and Taizu.
Out of the five Grand Council Ministers, four of them had expressed their stance. Only the last one was North Placating Marquis Qi Jiguang.
Everyone's gazes were focused on him, waiting to see what he would say.
"This official thinks!" Qi Jiguang said slowly. "Fight!"
"This official agrees with Minister Liang. Before the big battle, we should indeed use small battles to train our troops. The Duoyan Tribe is too small. This official thinks that we should fight the Three Duoyan Guards."
"This official asks Your Majesty to allow this official to go to Liaodong to supervise this battle!"
Zhu Yijun's gaze swept across everyone's faces. He knew that he could not suppress it this time.
If he suppressed it, it would dampen his spirit.
After a moment of silence, Zhu Yijun nodded. "Since you all think so, then fight!"
"Divide the troops into three groups and wipe out the Three Duoyan Guards. Draft an edict!"
Zhu Yijun said loudly. "Appoint the Governor of Ji and Liao, Wu Dui, as the Governor of the South Army. Zhang Xueyan as the Commander of the South Army. They will command the troops of Ji Province, Changping, Baoding, and Xuanfu. They will be the Southern Army."
"The Southern Army will leave from Daning Xi Feng and attack the Duoyan Tribe."
"Appoint the Duke of Dingguo, Xu Wenbi, as the Commander of the Middle Army. He will command the Liaodong Army to attack from Jinzhou and attack the Taining Tribe."
"Appoint the North Placating Marquis, Qi Jiguang, as the Commander of the North Army. He will send 100,000 troops from the Right Camp to attack the Fuyu sect.
North Placating Marquis, this battle will be the most difficult for your troops. You must guard against Horqin's troops in the north. "
"After this battle, the Three Duoyan Tribes will no longer exist in this world. I will give you this opportunity. Do not disappoint me!"
Everyone hurriedly stood up and knelt in the center of the hall. "We obey the edict. We will wipe out the Duoyan Tribe in one battle!"
Zhu Yijun nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to Ceng Shengwu and Liang Menglong and said, "You, I will leave the transportation of rations and the distribution of military supplies to you."
"The Cabinet, the Commander-In-Chief's Office of the Five Armies, and the Six Ministries must cooperate fully. Anyone who slacks will be severely punished."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The two of them hurriedly bowed and said, not daring to be negligent.
The meeting ended quickly. The next day, the Jing Camp began to move. Qi Jiguang began to mobilize troops to Liaodong.
The officials who passed the edict to Ji and Liao also left the capital and rushed to Ji and Liao.