Yongle Emperor - Military Accomplishments

Military Accomplishments

Mongol nomads were still causing some problems for the Ming Dynasty. Yongle prepared to eradicate this threat. He mounted five military expeditions into Gobi Desert and Siberia and crushed the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty that had fled far north after being completely defeated by Emperor Hongwu. He repaired the northern defenses and forged buffer alliances to keep the Mongols at bay in order to build an army. His strategy was to force the Mongols into economic dependence on the China Proper and to launch periodic initiatives into Mongolia to cripple their offensive power. He even successfully compelled Mongolia to become a tributary to Ming Dynasty, with all the tribes submitting and proclaiming themselves vassals of the Ming, and wanted to contain and isolate the Mongols. Through fighting, Yongle learned to appreciate the importance of cavalry in battle and eventually began spending much of his resources to keep horses in good supply. Yongle spent his entire life eradicating the Mongols nomads threats. After a series successes, Mongol Nomads threats were almost eliminated.

Vietnam was another headache during Yongle's reign. In 1406, The Yongle Emperor responded to several formal petitions from members of the (now deposed) Trần Dynasty, however on arrival to Vietnam, both the Tran prince and the accompanying Chinese ambassador were ambushed and killed. In response to this insult the Yongle Emperor sent two armies led by Marquis Zhang Fu and Marquis Mu Sheng to conquer Vietnam. As the royal family were all executed by the Ho monarchs Vietnam was integrated as a province of China, just as it had been up until 939. With the Ho monarch defeated in 1407 the Chinese began a serious and sustained effort to Sinicize the population. Unfortunately for the Chinese, their efforts to make Vietnam into a normal province met with a significant resistance from the local population. Several revolts started against the Chinese rulers. In early 1418 a major revolt was begun by Lê Lợi, the future founder of the Lê Dynasty. By the time the Yongle Emperor died in 1424 the Vietnamese rebels under Lê Lợi's leadership had captured nearly the entire province. By 1427, the Xuande Emperor gave up the effort started by his grandfather and formally acknowledged Vietnam's independence on condition they accept vassal status.