The Strategic Stalemate at Qingyang

In the summer of 1369, Ming general Xu Da found himself in a frustrating predicament outside the walls of Qingyang—a fortified city in modern-day Gansu province. What began as a routine campaign to consolidate Ming control over northwest China had devolved into a grueling siege against the defiant Yuan loyalist Zhang Liangchen. The city’s formidable defenses, coupled with Zhang’s cunning tactics, turned Qingyang into what Xu Da described as “a scalding hot yam”—too painful to hold yet impossible to abandon.

This confrontation emerged from the larger context of the Ming Dynasty’s northern expeditions following their capture of Dadu (Beijing) in 1368. While the Yuan court had fled to the Mongolian steppe, remnants like the Zhang brothers—Zhang Sidao and Zhang Liangchen—held strategic strongholds across Shaanxi and Gansu. Their resistance threatened to become a rallying point for Yuan loyalists, making Qingyang’s capture imperative for Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang’s consolidation of power.

Zhang Liangchen’s Calculated Defiance

Zhang Liangchen, a master of psychological warfare, had already humiliated Xu Da once through a feigned surrender that lured Ming troops into a deadly ambush. His confidence in holding Qingyang rested on three pillars:

1. Geographical Advantages: Perched on the Loess Plateau’s fertile “small highland,” Qingyang’s towering walls and internal wells made it virtually impregnable to direct assault.
2. Strategic Interdependence: Though his brother Zhang Sidao was held hostage by rival Yuan general Köke Temür (Wang Baobao), Zhang Liangchen gambled that Köke Temür would recognize their shared fate—if Qingyang fell, Ningxia would be next.
3. Elite Forces: His personal guard, the “Seven Spears” (adopted sons trained as shock cavalry), and battle-hardened troops inherited from his brother formed an unshakable core.

When Xu Da initiated siegeworks in late May, Zhang responded not with passive defense but audacious sallies. In one notable engagement, he exploited chivalric “gentlemen’s warfare” conventions—expecting Xu Da to allow orderly troop deployments outside city gates—only to find the Ming commander had abandoned such niceties after Zhang’s earlier betrayal. A chaotic melee ensued, with Ming crossbowmen shredding Zhang’s sortie as it retreated.

The War of Attrition and Psychological Combat

As weeks stretched into months, both sides employed increasingly brutal tactics:

– Ming Siege Innovations: Xu Da constructed siege towers (“cloud chariots”) and attempted tunneling, but Zhang’s defenders countered with fire arrows and underground water traps.
– Yuan Deception Tactics: A midnight raid using rope-descending commandos failed when Xu Da’s prepared ambush turned the tables, leaving hundreds of Yuan troops dead from exhaustion after their frantic escape.

The critical turning point came when Zhang’s desperate plea for Köke Temür’s aid ended in disaster—his envoy Zhuke’s head soon adorned Qingyang’s walls as a Ming trophy. Xu Da amplified the psychological blow by having troops chant surrender offers: “Spare all who yield! Kill only the traitor Zhang Liangchen!”

Köke Temür’s Failed Rescue and the Turning Tide

In July, Köke Temür dispatched his elite cavalry commander Han Zha’er (Hazar) on a lightning campaign to relieve Qingyang. Hazar’s forces achieved stunning initial success:

1. Yuanzhou Ambush: At Yuanzhou (modern Zhenyuan), Hazar personally killed Ming commander Chen Shou in a dramatic cavalry duel, exploiting Chen’s reckless charge from the city walls.
2. Jingzhou Gambit: Rather than attacking the expected target of Yimaguan, Hazar circled south to seize Jingzhou—Xu Da’s former headquarters—creating a pincer threat behind Ming lines.

Yet this tactical brilliance couldn’t compensate for strategic shortcomings. Without follow-up forces from Köke Temür, Hazar’s exhausted troops became vulnerable. Ming general Feng Sheng’s timely interception at Jingzhou forced the Yuan cavalry into a desperate southeast retreat, marking the collapse of the relief effort.

The Siege’s Legacy and Historical Significance

By August 1369, Qingyang’s fate was sealed. Isolated and starving, Zhang Liangchen’s forces resorted to eating leather armor before their final collapse. The fall of Qingyang marked:

1. The End of Organized Yuan Resistance in the Northwest: With Köke Temür’s failure to relieve Qingyang, Ming control over Shaanxi-Gansu became irreversible.
2. Evolution of Ming Military Doctrine: Xu Da’s combination of relentless siegecraft and mobile strike forces (like Fu Youde’s 10,000-strong rapid reaction cavalry) became a template for future campaigns.
3. Psychological Warfare Precedents: The propaganda battle—from displayed heads to coordinated chanting—foreshadowed the Ming’s sophisticated use of psychological operations in later conflicts.

Historians now recognize Qingyang as more than a regional battle—it was the crucible that tested Ming capabilities against steppe warfare tactics. While Xu Da ultimately prevailed, the protracted struggle exposed vulnerabilities that would shape Ming frontier policy for decades, particularly in dealing with mobile cavalry armies like those of Köke Temür. The “scalding yam” of Qingyang thus became a cautionary lesson in the challenges of transitioning from rebel army to imperial force.