Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Although there were not many officials who opposed sending troops directly, these officials were older, had rich experience, and were also the most stubborn.

For a moment, officials with different opinions began to argue directly.

Officials from both sides held different opinions and argued fiercely.

Officials who supported sending troops directly shouted "speed is of the essence in war", saying that it would be just the right way to catch the rebels off guard and cut the Gordian knot to minimize the losses.

Officials who oppose sending troops directly, now that they don't know exactly how many enemies there are, how many troops should they send? What if they rush to send troops and get ambushed?
Yunnan is a mountainous area with many mountains and steep ridges, and there are many snakes, insects, rats and ants. Although the Ming army has powerful weapons, it is difficult to use them. How can they be sure of victory? !
While thinking about a quick victory, I felt that it was simply impossible to achieve.

Anyway, there's not a lot to talk about.

Seeing this, Zhu Biao suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. Seeing that the argument was getting more and more intense, Zhu Biao could not help but say, "My dear ministers, please stop for a moment!"

"I and my father have heard your opinions."

"Yunnan Province is now part of the Ming Dynasty. We cannot abandon it no matter what. We will not give up an inch of our territory!"

"It is imperative to quell the rebellion in Yunnan!"

"What you said makes sense, but it seems impossible for you to reach a unified opinion through discussion!"

After saying this, Zhu Biao paused and his eyes fell on the ministers in the hall.

At this moment, there were two officials in the hall who had not spoken a word, one was Li Shanchang and the other was Ouyang Lun.

After learning about the rebellion in Yunnan, Li Shanchang was shocked at first, and then secretly happy, knowing that his chance had come again. So when other officials were arguing, Li Shanchang appeared exceptionally calm. When Zhu Biao's eyes fell on him, he immediately greeted him with confidence and expectation.

He knew that Zhu Biao was going to ask him!
However, Zhu Biao's gaze shifted away from Li Shanchang and did not linger for too long. Having been the emperor for almost two years, Zhu Biao already knew Li Shanchang's true face. As soon as he asked, before he could give a solution, a lot of conditions were put forward to him. Just like the merchants in the market, it must be an equal exchange. Now that the rebellion in Yunnan is urgent, Li Shanchang will definitely wait for a good price. The normal price will not satisfy Li Shanchang's appetite.

Zhu Biao's gaze finally fell on Ouyang Lun.

"Brother-in-law Ouyang, do you have any good suggestions regarding the rebellion in Yunnan?"

"Should we send troops immediately? Or should we wait a little longer? If we send troops, who can do the job?"

For some reason, when asking Ouyang Lun, Zhu Biao felt very relieved. Unlike Li Shanchang, although Ouyang Lun would also negotiate conditions, he was not the kind of profiteer who waited for a good price, but an honest businessman who never dragged his feet. And the more important point was that if he went to Li Shanchang, there would be a high probability of failure, but if he went to Ouyang Lun, there would be almost no possibility of failure!
really.

Hearing Zhu Biao's question, Ouyang Lun frowned. He was targeting him again!
Originally, Ouyang Lun didn't want to pay much attention to it. He had a lot of things to do in the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Clan Affairs, and the Cabinet. He really didn't want to get involved in the Yunnan rebellion.

As a result, Ouyang Lun saw Li Shanchang's envious and jealous eyes.

You old boy!
If you dare to glare at me, I won’t be polite.

Originally, Ouyang Lun had no opinion about Li Shanchang, but Li Shanchang was getting more and more backward and confused as he got older. He had picked trouble with him time and time again, and even glared at him like this today. It seemed that the punishment he had given him before was not enough.

"Your Majesty, although the court has not developed Yunnan Province enough in recent years and even the main roads have not been repaired, the original official roads have been widened and hardened, and the traffic conditions are much better than before. After all, the rebels have been in the mountains and jungles all year round. If a battle really breaks out, it will not be like the grasslands and plains with large open battlefields. It will be difficult for the army to deploy, which is the most disadvantageous point."

"There is nothing to worry about in other aspects such as logistics, morale, and equipment."

As Ouyang Lun finished speaking, all the ministers present were stunned.

I didn't have any objection to what Ouyang Lun said. The key was the tone of Ouyang Lun's voice, calm. Extremely calm. It seemed as if he was not in a hurry at all and regarded the Yunnan rebels as grass!
What seemed like an extremely difficult time to the ministers was extremely simple to Ouyang Lun. His calmness and composure alone was enough to make everyone envious.

"Brother-in-law, do you mean that the court will send troops immediately?"

Zhu Biao asked.

"Yes." Ouyang Lun nodded. "It is better to fight early than late. If Mu Ying could solve the rebellion in Yunnan, he would not have written a memorial asking for help. The Ming Dynasty is vast, and not all the allies are around. I am afraid that other forces around have received the news, including the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Liaodong Peninsula, Japan, and even the Southeast Asia!"

"These regions are either our enemies, or they have been conquered by us, or they are our vassal states. The reason why they are all so obedient is because they are afraid of the military power of the Ming Dynasty. If they knew that the Ming Dynasty could not even suppress a rebellion in Yunnan, would they have other ideas?"

"Therefore, I believe that suppressing the rebellion is not negotiable, and it must be done with thunderous means and a crushing momentum, so as to demonstrate the might of our Ming Dynasty!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang and the ministers in the hall also understood Ouyang Lun's meaning.

"Brother-in-law, I understand this, but you just heard the debate among the ministers. The key is how to wipe out the rebels?"

Zhu Biao asked.

Ouyang Lun spread his hands and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, you are asking the wrong person. I am a civilian official. We still need professionals to fight the war!"

"I have answered all the questions by myself. What do you think the generals of the Ming Dynasty will think?"

As Ouyang Lun said this, the looks of several generals in the hall towards Ouyang Lun changed a lot.

After all, what Ouyang Lun said was equivalent to valuing their status. Military generals value honor the most, and gaining honor is also to gain respect. As the son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty and the chief minister of the cabinet, Ouyang Lun is undoubtedly the most powerful person besides the emperor and the retired emperor.

Such people expressed their willingness to listen to the opinions of their generals, and this alone was enough to win Ouyang Lun's favor.

After hearing Ouyang Lun's words, Zhu Biao felt that it made sense, and immediately prepared to question the military generals of the Ming Dynasty. The generals in the hall were also ready to be questioned by Zhu Biao.

However, at this moment, Li Shanchang spoke.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it is indeed necessary to suppress the rebellion. Our Ming Dynasty has many brave generals, and we can easily suppress the rebellion by picking any one of them. The key to suppressing the rebellion this time lies in the overall logistics. Yunnan Province is remote, and the army will definitely need a large amount of supplies to suppress the rebellion. Logistics is a big challenge!"

"The enemy will certainly attack our logistics, this must be taken into consideration!"

"I recommend Prince Consort Ouyang as the logistics coordinator! As for the selection of the general to suppress the rebellion, your majesty can decide."

Hey!
Everyone was stunned after hearing what Li Shanchang said!
No one expected Li Shanchang to say such a thing. They originally thought that Li Shanchang would argue with Ouyang Lun. Even if they both agreed to send troops, they would still argue about the candidates. However, in the end, Li Shanchang took the initiative to recommend Ouyang Lun, and even gave the choice of the general to suppress the rebellion to Emperor Zhu Biao. Li Shanchang was surprisingly so broad-minded!
Dedicated to Ming Dynasty! ?

Even Zhu Biao smiled after hearing what Li Shanchang said.

"Haha, okay, very good!"

"Lord Li is worthy of being a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. I agree with your suggestion!"

Zhu Biao's expression gradually became serious, "All ministers, listen to my orders!"

"I'm waiting here!"

"The rebellion in Yunnan Province was started by the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the local natives who refused to obey the king. Behind them, there is the Kingdom of Annan fanning the flames. The territory of the Ming Dynasty cannot be lost, and the prestige of the Ming Dynasty cannot be violated. I am determined to send troops to quell the rebellion!"

"I appoint Duke of Song Feng Sheng as the general, and my husband Ouyang Lun as the general manager of logistics, and send troops to suppress the rebellion immediately!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

All the ministers agreed with Zhu Biao's order, and both the Huaixi Party and the Prince Consort Party could accept it.

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite satisfied with Zhu Biao's arrangement. First of all, Zhu Biao was not coerced by the officials. The initiative of this discussion was in Zhu Biao's hands. He deliberately gave up asking Li Shanchang and gave priority to asking Ouyang Lun. After all the operations, he achieved his goal.

In fact, when Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Biao summoned civil and military ministers for discussion, they were also communicating with each other. They had already decided to send troops, and the purpose of summoning ministers was to unify the entire Ming Dynasty. The ministers argued endlessly, and Zhu Biao handled it quite skillfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang had expected to let Ouyang Lun be in charge of the army's logistics. After all, Ouyang Lun's ability in logistics was obvious to all and his battle record was verifiable.

What surprised Zhu Yuanzhang was the finalization of the candidate for the general to suppress the rebellion.

Zhu Biao did not continue to choose Lan Yu. You must know that although Lan Yu's prestige and other aspects were hit because of the previous incident with his adopted son, Lan Yu is still the most powerful general in the Ming Dynasty besides Xu Da, Tang He and other old generals.

Choosing Lan Yu is undoubtedly the option with the greatest possibility of success.

However, Zhu Biao chose Feng Sheng, Duke of Song. Obviously, Zhu Biao still wanted to use the Huaixi Party, but he did not only use Lan Yu, which reflected the mind and means of an emperor.

Although Duke Song Feng Sheng was less capable than Lan Yu, he was a veteran general who had experienced countless battles, both large and small, and had won most of them. He was also a steady person, strict in military management, and clear in rewards and punishments, making him more suitable for suppressing the rebellion in Yunnan.

The most important point is that Duke of Song Feng Sheng knows when to advance and retreat better than Lan Yu. Although Duke of Song Feng Sheng is a member of the Huaixi Party, he also attaches importance to the overall interests of the Ming Dynasty. Overall, he is indeed more suitable than Lan Yu.

Zhu Yuanzhang also agreed with this.

As for the Huaixi Party, except for Li Shanchang who frowned slightly, other Huaixi Party officials including Lan Yu had no objection. They even looked happy, and were glad that Duke of Song Feng Sheng had captured the commander-in-chief of the rebellion.

Moreover, the reason why Li Shanchang frowned was not because he was hiding the truth from Feng Sheng, but because he felt a little worried that Emperor Zhu Biao gave the order directly without asking him, Li Shanchang.

As for Ouyang Lun and the officials from the Prince Consort's party, they had even less objections. If they were to run a certain place or do some project, the officials from the Prince Consort's party would fight for it no matter what. However, they were all civil servants and could not interfere in matters of war. Ouyang Lun often told them that professionals should do professional things.

Besides, Duke of Song Feng Sheng had made great military achievements and had a good record, so there was no reason to oppose him.

Besides, didn’t their boss Ouyang Lun get the job of managing logistics? Naturally, the credit for suppressing the rebellion goes to the Prince Consort’s party.

"Father, what do you think of this arrangement?"

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked sincerely.

"It's a great arrangement. It's settled. The Yunnan issue must be resolved as soon as possible. We must teach Annan a lesson when we have the chance!"

Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that if it weren't for the Kingdom of Annan behind the scenes, the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the natives of Yunnan would never be able to defeat Mu Ying.

"But we can't take this battle lightly. Yunnan has many mountains and rivers, and there are dangerous places everywhere. The enemy will definitely take advantage of these!"

"Feng Sheng, Ouyang Lun."

Zhu Yuanzhang set his sights on the two most important people in suppressing the rebellion.

Named by the retired Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Feng Sheng and Ouyang Lun stood up.

"I am here."

"What I just said is not only to everyone, but also to you two. This battle is more dangerous than the conquest of the Northern Yuan Dynasty last year. But no matter how great the difficulties are, you two must help us defeat the rebels and completely wipe out Yunnan. If you pacify Yunnan, we will give you two merits. If you can teach Annan a lesson, we will give you two great merits!"

"If you fail to do so, I will have the Emperor punish you severely!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Ouyang Lun and Feng Sheng and said in a deep voice.

Ouyang Lun also felt the pressure from Zhu Yuanzhang at this moment. This pressure was invisible. Even though Ouyang Lun did not believe it, he couldn't help feeling nervous.

At this moment, Li Shanchang stood up again.

"Your Majesty, I think that in order to make the suppression of the rebellion go more smoothly, the deputy general for this suppression should also be selected!"

Ok? !

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and nodded, "Li Shanchang, you have considered it more thoroughly. The chief general and the logistics manager are important, and the deputy general is also important. They should indeed be determined together."

Normally, as emperors or emperor emeritus, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and ministers often only need to determine the main general. Others including deputy generals, vanguards, etc. only need to be selected by the main general himself. Only in particularly important wars will even the deputy generals be decided!

There is a world of difference between the value of a deputy general appointed by the emperor or the emperor emeritus and a deputy general appointed by the chief general!
The deputy generals appointed by the emperor or the emperor emeritus not only have a better status and more power, but also can be replaced at any time if the main general does not perform well!
Being able to become the deputy general of the army to suppress the rebellion, the credit he gets will not be low!
It’s definitely a lucrative job!
For a moment, the eyes of many generals lit up.
(ps: Happy New Year! See you next year!) (End of this chapter)