Battle of Buir Lake

The Battle of Buir Lake was a 1388 battle between the Chinese Ming and Mongol Northern Yuan forces at Buir Lake. The Ming army was led by General Lan Yu, who undertook the military campaign against Toghus Temur, the Mongol khan of the Northern Yuan. The Ming army found and defeated the Mongol horde at Buir Lake, capturing many of their people.

Battle of Buir Lake
Date1388
Location
Buir Lake, China–Mongolia border
Result Decisive Ming victory
Belligerents
Ming dynasty Northern Yuan dynasty
Commanders and leaders
General Lan Yu Toghus Temur, Khan
Strength
150,000 soldiers ---

Background

Bolstered by the successful military campaign against the Mongol commander Naghachu and his Uriyankhad horde in 1387, resulting in Naghachu and his horde's surrender, the Hongwu Emperor ordered General Lan Yu to lead an army on a military campaign against the Mongol khan Toghus Temur.[1]

Battle

In December 1387, the Hongwu Emperor ordered Lan Yu to lead a campaign against Toghus Temur.[2] Lan Yu led a Ming army comprising 150,000 soldiers in the campaign.[1][2][3]

Lan Yu and his army marched through the Great Wall to Daning and then Qingzhou, where they were informed by spies that Toghus Temur was encamped near Buir Lake.[1] Subsequently, the Ming army advanced northward across the Gobi Desert,[1][2][3] eventually reaching Buir Lake.[1][2]

They did not see the Mongol horde when they came within 40 li of Buir Lake, disheartening Lan Yu, but his vanguard commander, General Wang Bi (王弼; Marquis of Dingyuan), reminded him that it would be foolish to return with such a large army without accomplishing something.[1] They eventually found out that the Mongol horde was northeast of Buir Lake, and they approached under cover of darkness and a sandstorm.[1] On 18 May 1388, near Buir Lake, the Ming army launched an attack against the Mongols, who were caught off guard.[1] The battle concluded with the Ming capturing many of the Mongols, but Toghus Temur escaped.[1][2][3]

Aftermath

The Hongwu Emperor issued a proclamation, praising Lan and comparing him to the famous General Wei Qing of the Han.[1] Lan was eventually created Duke of Liang (涼國公) with a stipend of 3,000 shi and given the title Grand Tutor (太傅, which was an honorific) for his military successes.[1] Six of Lan's subordinates were made marquises, while the other officers and soldiers received generous rewards.[1]

Langlois (1998) stated that the Ming captured 100 members of Toghus Temur's family (including Ti-pao-nu, his younger son), 3000 princes and their subordinates, 77,000 men and women from the camp, various imperial seals of office, and 150,000 domesticated animals, but that Toghus Temur and his eldest son T'ien-pao-nu escaped.[2] Dreyer (1982) stated that the Ming captured 3000 notables, 70,000 ordinary Mongols, many domestic animals, the Mongol crown prince and his younger brother, but that Toghus Temur escaped.[1] Tsai (2001) stated that the Ming captured Toghus Temur's second son, General Qarajang, hundreds of thousands of Mongol people, and their livestock, but that Toghus Temur and the crown prince escaped.[3]

In his flight from the Ming army, Toghus Temur eventually arrived at the Tula River, where he was murdered by the Mongol chieftain Yesüder.[4]

References
  1. Dreyer, Edward L. (1982). Early Ming China: A Political History, 1355–1435. Stanford: Stanford University Press. pp. 142–143. ISBN 0-8047-1105-4.
  2. Langlois, John D., Jr. (1998). "The Hung-wu reign, 1368–1398". The Cambridge History of China, Volume 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN 0-521-24332-7.
  3. Tsai, Shih-shan Henry (2001). Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN 0-295-98109-1.
  4. Kim, Hodong (1998). "The Early History of the Moghul Nomads: The Legacy of the Chaghatai Khanate". The Mongol empire and its legacy. Leiden: Brill. p. 293. ISBN 90-04-11048-8.
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