The Fractured Landscape of Early Ming China

In the turbulent years following the Ming Dynasty’s establishment (1368), the northwest frontier remained a bleeding wound in Emperor Hongwu’s new empire. While Zhu Yuanzhang’s forces had captured Dadu (Beijing), ending Yuan rule nominally in 1368, remnants of Mongol power under commanders like Köke Temür (Chinese: Wang Baobao) and his lieutenant He Zongzhe continued devastating guerrilla campaigns across Gansu and Shaanxi.

This was no conventional war. The Mongol remnants operated as mobile warlords, living off the land through systematic plunder. Historical records from the Ming Veritable Records describe villages left “as hollow as gourd shells” after their passing. The 1370 campaign against Fengxiang and later Lanzhou exemplified this brutal warfare – not for territory, but for survival through terror.

He Zongzhe’s Tactical Gamble

The Mongol commander’s 1370 maneuvers revealed a chilling pragmatism. After failing to relieve the siege of Qingyang (庆阳), He abruptly abandoned Fengxiang’s siegeworks where his 15,000 troops had been stalled for fifteen days. Ming scout reports noted his forces “moved like autumn wind through grass” toward Lanzhou, but this was no orderly retreat.

Contemporary accounts describe He’s new strategy:

1. The Scorched-Earth Calculus – With supply lines severed, his cavalry transformed into roving bandits. Villages along the Tao River reported losing not just grain stores but entire populations – women and able-bodied men dragged north as slaves.
2. Psychological Warfare – Deliberate atrocities near Lanzhou’s walls aimed to terrify defenders. The Military Preparations of the Ming records citizens “clutching infants while watching smoke pillars mark their ancestral homes’ destruction.”
3. Geographical Brinksmanship – By positioning between the Yellow River and Qilian Mountains, He dared Ming generals to pursue into terrain where “ten men could hold against ten thousand.”

Xu Da’s Chess Game

The Ming response under Grand Marshal Xu Da displayed operational artistry. While personally overseeing Qingyang’s siege, he coordinated:

– The Phantom Division – General Fu Youde’s 3,000 cavalry conducted a 300-li flanking march through today’s Huajialing Mountains, aiming to cut He’s retreat. Archaeological finds of Ming horse armor near Dingxi confirm their route.
– The Bait Trap – Feng Sheng’s slower infantry advanced conspicuously from Jingning, deliberately allowing detection to panic He into premature withdrawal.
– Logistical Innovation – Implementing Zhu Yuanzhang’s “war sustains war” doctrine, Xu ordered captured Mongol grain trains redistributed to starving Fengxiang civilians – a propaganda masterstroke.

The Lanzhou Catastrophe

When He’s forces finally reached Lanzhou in winter 1370, the scene horrified even veteran observers. Magistrate Zhang Wen’s dispatches described:

“Refugees packed against frozen city walls like stacked firewood. Those unable to pay gate tolls – mostly elderly – were left outside, where we heard Mongol laughter as they burned alive…”

Ming defensive preparations proved tragically inadequate:

| Defense Resource | Available | Required |
|——————|———–|———-|
| Garrison Troops | 2,800 | 15,000+ |
| Grain Reserves | 800 dan | 5,000 dan |
| Armored Cavalry | 47 | 300+ |

Yet the siege’s abrupt end revealed He’s true weakness – his army, though terrifying, lacked siege engines or staying power. When Feng Sheng’s banners appeared, the Mongols vanished northward after just nine days, taking 12,000 captives but leaving strategic objectives unfulfilled.

The Emperor’s Foresight

Zhu Yuanzhang’s handwritten edict to Xu Da (preserved in the First Historical Archives) shows remarkable prescience:

“Let not a single acre near the frontier remain unwatched… The northern barbarians are like wolves who taste blood – having savored Lanzhou’s weakness, they shall return.”

This prophecy materialized within months as Köke Temür launched his own devastating 1371 offensive. The emperor’s controversial “Empty Frontier” policy – forcibly relocating 450,000 civilians inland – stemmed directly from He Zongzhe’s exposed vulnerabilities.

Tactical Legacy

Modern military historians note this campaign’s influence on:

1. Mobile Defense Doctrine – Later Ming border commanders like Qi Jiguang would emulate Xu Da’s combination of fixed fortresses and rapid reaction forces.
2. Scorched-Earth Precedents – The Kangxi Emperor’s campaigns against Galdan consciously replicated Zhu Yuanzhang’s frontier denial strategies.
3. Ethnic Policy – He Zongzhe’s mixed Mongol-Turkic forces presaged the Later Jin’s use of allied tribes against Ming China.

A 2018 archaeological survey near Lanzhou’s Yuanhe Bridge uncovered mass graves containing victims with bound wrists and arrow wounds matching Ming descriptions. These silent witnesses confirm the human cost when warfare transforms from battles between armies to struggles over civilian survival – a dilemma China’s northwest frontier would face repeatedly across centuries.