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The Crisis of the Tumu Fortress (), also known as the Tumu Crisis (; mn, Тумугийн тулалдаан), or the Jisi Incident (), was a frontier conflict between 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, ...
and
Ming 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 ...
dynasties. The Oirat ruler of the Northern Yuan, Esen, captured the
Emperor Yingzong of Ming Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in 1 ...
on September 1, 1449.


Beginning of the conflict

In July 1449, Esen Taishi launched a large-scale, three-pronged invasion of the Ming with khagan Toqtaq-Buqa. He personally advanced on
Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 cens ...
(in northern
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
province) in August. The
eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
official Wang Zhen, who dominated the Ming court, encouraged the 22-year-old Emperor Yingzong of Ming to lead his own armies into battle against Esen. The size of Esen's army is unknown. The Ming army of about 500,000 was hastily assembled; its command was made up of 20 experienced generals and a large entourage of high-ranking civil officials, with Wang Zhen acting as field marshal. On August 3, Esen's army crushed a badly supplied Ming army at Yanghe, just inside 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 ...
. The same day the Emperor appointed his half-brother
Zhu Qiyu The Jingtai Emperor (21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), born Zhu Qiyu, was the seventh Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1449 to 1457. The second son of the Xuande Emperor, he was selected in 1449 to succeed his elder brother Emper ...
as regent. The next day he left
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
for
Juyong Pass Juyong Pass () is a mountain pass located in the Changping District of Beijing Municipality, over from central Beijing. The Great Wall of China passes through, and the Cloud Platform was built here in the year 1342. Mountain pass Geography ...
. The objective was a short, sharp march west to
Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 cens ...
via the Xuanfu garrison, a campaign into the
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
and then a return to Beijing by a southerly route through Yuzhou. Initially the march was mired by heavy rain. At
Juyong Pass Juyong Pass () is a mountain pass located in the Changping District of Beijing Municipality, over from central Beijing. The Great Wall of China passes through, and the Cloud Platform was built here in the year 1342. Mountain pass Geography ...
the civil officials and generals wanted to halt and send the emperor back to Beijing, but their opinions were overruled by Wang Zhen. On August 16, the army came upon the corpse-strewn battlefield of Yanghe. When it reached Datong on August 18, reports from garrison commanders persuaded Wang Zhen that a campaign into the steppe would be too dangerous. The "expedition" was declared to have reached a victorious conclusion and on August 20 the army set out back toward the Ming.


Wang Zhen

Fearing that the restless soldiers would cause damage to his estates in Yuzhou, Wang Zhen decided to strike northeast and return by the same exposed route as they had come. The army reached
Xuanfu Xuanhua is an urban district of Zhangjiakou in northwestern Hebei Province, China. Xuanhua is a very old city with a rich military and agricultural history. Xuanhua was historically the "Gateway to Beijing", which lies to its southeast. As a c ...
on August 27. On August 30, the Northern Yuan forces attacked the rearguard east of Xuanfu and wiped it out. Soon afterwards they also annihilated a powerful new rearguard of cavalry, led by the elderly General Zhu Yong, at Yaoerling. On August 31, the imperial army camped at the post station of Tumu. Wang Zhen refused his ministers' suggestion to have the emperor take refuge in the walled city of
Huailai Huailai () is a county in northwestern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhangjiakou. Huailai County is a center for grape wine production, with the China Great Wall Wine Company ...
, just 45 km ahead. Esen sent an advance force to cut access to water from a river south of the Ming camp. By the morning of September 1 they had surrounded the Ming army. Wang Zhen rejected any offers to negotiate and ordered the confused army to move toward the river. A battle ensued between the disorganized Ming army and the advance guard of Esen's army (Esen was not at the battle). The Ming army basically dissolved and was almost annihilated. The Northern Yuan forces captured a huge quantity of arms and armour while killing most of the Ming troops. All the high-ranking Ming generals and court officials were killed. According to some accounts, Wang Zhen was killed by his own officers. The Emperor was captured, and on September 3 he was sent to Esen's main camp near Xuanfu.


Aftermath

Esen attempted to use the captured emperor to raise a ransom and negotiate a favourable treaty including trade benefits. However, his plan was foiled in the
Defense of Beijing The Defense of Jingshi (), also known as the Defense of Beijing (), was a battle that took place between the Oirats and the Ming dynasty in 1449. Background As a result of trade sanctions issued by the Ming dynasty, Esen Taishii of the Northern ...
due to the steadfast leadership of the Ming commander in the capital, General
Yu Qian Yu Qian (; 1398–1457), courtesy name Tingyi, art name Jie'an, was a Chinese official who served under the Ming dynasty. Biography Yu Qian was born in Qiantang County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He started his career in the Ming civil service after o ...
. The Ming leaders rejected Esen's offer, Yu stating that the country was more important than an emperor's life. The Ming never paid a ransom for the return of the Emperor, and Esen released him four years later. Esen himself faced growing criticism for his failure to exploit his victory over the Ming and he was
assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
six years after the battle in 1455.


Statistics

The defeated Ming forces were numbered around 500,000.Nolan, Cathal J. ''The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650, Volume 1: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization'' Greenwood Press (January 2006) p.15

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See also

*
Defense of Beijing The Defense of Jingshi (), also known as the Defense of Beijing (), was a battle that took place between the Oirats and the Ming dynasty in 1449. Background As a result of trade sanctions issued by the Ming dynasty, Esen Taishii of the Northern ...
*
Battle of Yehuling The Battle of Yehuling, literally the Battle of Wild Fox Ridge, was a major decisive battle fought between the Mongol Empire and Jurchen-led Jin dynasty during the first stage of the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty. The battle was fought ...
*
Battle of the Kalka River The Battle of the Kalka River (russian: Битва на реке Калке; uk, Битва на річці Калка) was fought between the Mongol Empire, whose armies were led by Jebe and Subutai, and a coalition of several Rus' principalit ...


References


Works cited

*


Further reading

*"Cambridge History of China, Volume 7, The Ming Dynasty", edited by Twitchett and Mote, 1988. *Frederick W. Mote. "The T'u-Mu Incident of 1449." In ''Chinese Ways in Warfare'', edited by Edward L. Dreyer, Frank Algerton Kierman and John King Fairbank. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1974. *The Perilous Frontier, Chapter 7, 'Steppe Wolves and Forest Tigers: The Ming, Mongols and Manchus', Thomas J Barfield {{Ming dynasty topics Battles involving Mongolia Battles involving the Ming dynasty Great Wall of China 1449 in Mongolia 1449 in Asia 15th century in China Conflicts in 1449 Huailai County Military of Zhangjiakou History of Zhangjiakou