Hongwu Emperor - Warlord State

Warlord State

In 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang's army conquered Nanjing, which became his base of operations and the official capital of the Ming Dynasty during his reign. Zhu's government in Nanjing became famous for good governance and the city attracted vast numbers of people fleeing from other more lawless regions. It is estimated that Nanjing's population increased by 10 times over the next 10 years. In the meantime, the Yuan government had been weakened by internal factions fighting for control and it made little effort to retake the Yangtze River valley. By 1358, central and southern China had fallen into the hands of different rebel groups. During that time, the Red Turbans also split up. Zhu became the leader of a smaller faction (called "Ming" around 1360) while the larger faction, under Chen Youliang, controlled the center of the Yangtze River valley.

Zhu was able to attract many talents into his service. One of them was Li Shanchang, who advised Zhu: "Build high walls, stock up rations, and don't be too quick to call yourself a king." Another, Jiao Yu, was an artillery officer who later compiled a military treatise outlining the various types of gunpowder weapons. Another one, Liu Ji, became one of Zhu's key advisors, and edited the military-technology treatise titled Huolongjing in later years.

Starting from 1360, Zhu and Chen Youliang fought a protracted war for supremacy over the former Red Turban territory. The pivotal moment in the war was the Battle of Lake Poyang in 1363, one of the largest naval battles in history. The battle lasted three days and ended with the defeat and retreat of Chen's larger sized navy. Chen died a month later in battle. Zhu did not participate personally in any battles after that and remained in Nanjing, where he directed his generals to go on campaigns.

In 1367, Zhu's forces defeated Zhang Shicheng's Kingdom of Dazhou, which was centered in Suzhou and had previously included most of the Yangtze River Delta and the Song Dynasty's capital city of Hangzhou. This victory granted Zhu's Ming government authority over the lands north and south of the Yangtze River. The other major warlords surrendered to Zhu and on 20 January 1368, Zhu proclaimed himself Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing and adopted "Hongwu" as his era. His dynasty's mission was to drive away the Mongols and restore Han Chinese rule in China.

In 1368, Ming armies headed north to attack territories that were still under the Yuan Dynasty's rule. The Mongols gave up their capital city of Khanbaliq (Dadu, present-day Beijing) and the rest of northern China in September 1368 and retreated to Mongolia. The Ming army captured the last Yuan-controlled province of Yunnan in 1381 and China was unified under the Ming Dynasty's rule.