The ministers exchanged glances and decided to send troops to reclaim every inch of land the Oirats had occupied, sweep away their remaining forces, and never again allow them to run rampant within the passes.
"Contact Yang Hong, Commander-in-Chief of Xuanfu. The two regions will fight jointly," Cao Nai said coldly. "If Yang Hong refuses or fights halfheartedly, ask him where Yang Jun is now."
Yang Jun had committed a capital crime. Their decision not to pursue it now was an opportunity for the Yang Family to atone through merit.
If they dared to muddle through again, then unless Yang Hong intended rebellion, no one would be able to save father and son.
Yang Hong clearly understood this as well. He received the Imperial Decree naming a new emperor one night earlier than Datong Prefecture did.
When he received the decree that evening, he felt it was an opportunity for the Yang Family to escape danger and even rise further. The Emperor had become the Retired Emperor and was in Yesen's hands. His threat to the Ming Dynasty had fallen to its lowest point, while his threat to the new emperor had instead risen.
As long as Yang Hong held Xuanfu, remained loyal to the nation and to the new emperor, and earned sufficiently great merit, major faults could be reduced to minor ones, and minor ones erased altogether.
Yang Hong had only one son: Yang Jun.
Though he hated that iron had failed to become steel, what could he do as a father?
Yang Hong drew a deep breath, made up his mind, and began summoning his generals to formulate Xuanfu's new defense line and intensify the purge of the remaining Oirat troops within the passes.
They had only just finished their meeting and established their various battle plans