The Battle of Buir Lake (sometimes spelled Battle of Buyur Lake; ), was fought between the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and the

Northern Yuan The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongols, Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen people, ...

Buir Lake Buir Lake ( mn, Буйр нуур, Buir nuur; ) is a freshwater lake that straddles the border between Mongolia and China. It lies within the Buir Lake Depression. The Chinese city of Hulunbuir is named after both this lake and Hulun Lake, which ...

in 1388. The Ming army was led by General Lan Yu, who undertook the military campaign against Uskhal Khan (Tianyuan Emperor), the Northern Yuan ruler. The Ming army defeated the Northern Yuan horde at Buir Lake, capturing many of their people.

Background

In 1387 the

Ming campaign against the Uriankhai The Ming campaign against the Uriankhai, or the Battle of Jinshan (), was a 1387 offensive military expedition of the Ming dynasty's army led by General Feng Sheng against the Uriankhai horde of the Mongol chieftain Naghachu in Manchuria. It con ...

led to

Naghachu Naghachu ( mn, Naγaču, script=Latn; ; d. 1388), also written as Nahacu, was an ethnic Mongol leader and general of the Northern Yuan in Manchuria, which was under Liaoyang province of the former Yuan dynasty. Originally a Yuan official, he had wo ...

and the Northern Yuan's surrender in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

and the expansion of Ming territory into

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical subregion of Asia; its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by American historian and political scienti ...

. The Ming then turned their sights to Buir Lake.

Battle

In December 1388, the Hongwu Emperor ordered Lan Yu to lead a campaign against the Northern Yuan monarch

Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür Uskhal Khan ( Mongolian: Усгал; Mongolian script: ; ), also called the Last Lord of Northern Yuan () or by his era name the Tianyuan Emperor (), born Tögüs Temür (; ), was an emperor of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1378 to 13 ...

, located on the modern-day border of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. Lan led a Ming army comprising 150,000 soldiers in the campaign. Lan and his army marched through the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

to Daning and then Qingzhou, where they were informed by spies that Tögüs Temür was encamped near Buir Lake. Subsequently, the Ming army advanced northward across the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

, eventually reaching Buir Lake. They did not see the Northern Yuan horde when they came within 40 ''li'' (about 20 km) of Buir Lake, disheartening Lan, 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. They eventually found out that the Northern Yuan horde was northeast of Buir Lake, and they approached under cover of darkness and a sandstorm. On 18 May 1388, near Buir Lake, the Ming army launched an attack against the Northern Yuan forces, who were caught off guard. The battle concluded with the Ming capturing many of the Northern Yuan soldiers, but Tögüs Temür escaped.

Aftermath

The Hongwu Emperor issued a proclamation, praising Lan Yu and comparing him to the famous General

Wei Qing Wei Qing (died 106 BC), courtesy name Zhongqing, born Zheng Qing in Linfen, Shanxi, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty who was acclaimed for his campaigns against the Xiongnu, and his rags to riches life. ...

of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. Lan was eventually created Duke of Liang (涼國公) with a stipend of 3,000 ''shi'' and given the honorific Grand Tutor (太傅) for his military successes. Six of Lan's subordinates were made marquises, while the other officers and soldiers received generous rewards. Langlois (1998) stated that the Ming captured 100 members of Tögüs Temür's family (including Tianbaonu, 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 Tögüs Temür and his eldest son Tianbaonu escaped. Dreyer (1982) stated that the Ming captured 3000 notables, 70,000 ordinary Mongols, many domestic animals, the Northern Yuan crown prince and his younger brother, but that Tögüs Temür escaped. Tsai (2001) stated that the Ming captured Tögüs Temür's second son, General Qarajang, hundreds of thousands of Mongol people, and their livestock, but that Tögüs Temür and the crown prince escaped. In his flight from the Ming army, Tögüs Temür eventually arrived at the

Tula River The Tula River ( es, Río Tula) is a river in Hidalgo State in central Mexico, and a tributary of the Moctezuma River. Geography It runs through the city of Tula de Allende and begins as a drainage channel for the Valley of Mexico, which contain ...

, where he was murdered by the Mongol chieftain Yesüder.

References

{{Authority control

Wars involving the Northern Yuan dynasty

1388 in Asia