The Seven Guards Of Guanxi And The Northwest Frontier Strategy Of The Ming Dynast

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty,due to the continuous threat of the Mongolian regime in the north,and drawing on the experiences and lessons of the Han and Tang dynasties,Gansu was established in the northwest region,with the aim of isolating the connection between the Mongolia and Xifan,and govern the Western Regions.In addition,the Ming government established seven titular guards,including Hami Acropolis,Handong Acropolis,Chijin Acropolis,Shazhou Acropolis,Anding Acropolis,Quxian Acropolis,and Shazhou Acropolis,collectively known as the seven garrisons in the west of Jiayu Pass.The establishment of the seven garrisons in the west of Jiayu Pass not only accommodated officials from the Yuan Dynasty,but also built a fence in the northwest,becoming a powerful barrier for Gansu,echoing the three acropolis of Wuliangha in the northeast direction,and was a powerful tool to prevent Mongolia from moving southward.In the early years of the Zhengtong,through the management of Tuohuan and Yexian,Oirat became the new hegemon on the northern grasslands,posing a huge threat to the Ming Dynasty.In order to achieve the ambition of rebuilding the Great Yuan Empire,Yexian began to focus our attention on the cities of Hami,Handong,Chijin,and Shazhou.Through various methods such as military coercion,official placement,and marriage,Hami defected to Oirat,and Chijin and Handong were also controlled by Oirat.In the 14 th year of the Zhengtong,Yexian achieved great victory in the military war against the Ming Dynasty,and his personal prestige also reached its peak.Not long after,Yexian killed the Tuotuo Buhua Khan and unified Mongolia,claiming to be the "Grand Khan of Da Yuantian".Faced with the powerful Oirat,Hami,Chijin,and Handong,among others,secretly defected to Oirat and accepted their official positions such as pacification and political participation.However,they still regarded the Ming Dynasty as the suzerain and requested that it be appointed and paid tribute.They themselves did not join the Oirat in attacking the Ming Dynasty.As Yexian killed first,Oirat fell into a state of division,and these also broke away from Oirat’s control and continued to belong to the Ming Dynasty,serving as border fences.But under the influence of Oirat,the Shazhou Acropolis were forced to relocate,leaving only six of the seven garrisons in the west of Jiayu Pass.In the early years of Chenghua,the situation in the western regions began to undergo new changes,and Turpan in the eastern region of Chagatai began to rise and expand eastward.In order to monopolize the benefits of paying tribute,Turpan invaded Hami several times,bringing heavy pressure to the northwest border defense of the Ming Dynasty.Afterwards,around the issue of the revival of Hami,the Ming Dynasty and Turpan engaged in repeated battles.During this period,the Ming Dynasty established the Handongzuo Acropolis in Shazhou and ordered Chi Jin and Handong to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to recover Hami,but it was still unable to completely solve the Hami crisis.In the middle of the Zhengde period,Hami Sudan Baiyaji defected to the Turpan,declaring the complete bankruptcy of the Ming Dynasty’s strategic plan to lead the various tribes under Hami.After losing the Hami Acropolis,the Turpan further advanced eastward,not only forcing the Chijin Acropolis to move inward,but also driving the Handongzuo Acropolis Tuba and other troops to attack the hexi.This meant that the northwest border defense system that the Ming Dynasty had worked hard to manage suffered serious losses.Under internal and external difficulties,the Ming Dynasty gave up the practice of reviving Hami and decided to ignore Hami,acquiesce to the occupation of Turpan,and relocate the population of Hami Acropolis,Chijin Acropolis,and Handongzuo Acropolis to Gansu.As the Hami crisis intensified,the right-wing forces of East Mongolia,such as Yibula and Altus,were defeated by the Dayan Khan and gradually entered the Xihai in the early stages of the Zhengde Dynasty,destroying the Four Acropolis,including Anding.Following this came tribes such as Buerhai,Datong,and Zhengke.In order to hunt down and not harm the troops,Altan Khan entered the Xihai several times since the early years of Jiajing.In the late Jiajing period,Altan Khan not only eliminated enemies such as Yibula and Buerhai,but also took advantage of the situation to subdue numerous clans,including the Four Acropolis.After the Longqing tribute,more and more Mongolian tribes entered the Xihai,reaching one hundred thousand by the mid Wanli period.In the face of the powerful Mongols,the members of the Four Acropolis had little resistance and could only be subjected to their servitude,which in turn harassed the Ming border,indicating the bankruptcy of the Ming government’s long-standing policy of isolating foreign prisoners.In view of the rapid changes in the geopolitical pattern in the northwest,the Ming government decided to appoint a prominent minister,Zhengluo.After Zhengluo arrived,he will appease the Fan people as the core to solve the problem of Mongols.Among the over eighty thousand people recalled by Zheng Luo,the Anding members accounted for a large proportion.Zheng Luo’s actions not only weakened the power of the Xihai Mongols,but also further divided the power of the Fan-Lu alliance.Not long after,with the cooperation of the four acropolises such as Labur and Hongmaoer,the Ming Dynasty achieved the "Three Victories in Huangzhong",and the Xihai Mongols,which had threatened the Ming Dynasty for decades,began to decline.The rise and fall of the seven garrisons in the west of Jiayu Pass was an important historical context in the management of the Northwest Border Region during the Ming Dynasty.As an important part of the Ming Dynasty’s northwest border defense system,the seven garrisons in the west of Jiayu Pass were not only a barrier against foreign enemies and shielding Gansu,but also a strategic target for the Ming Dynasty’s border areas,with dual characteristics.Although the Ming Dynasty repeatedly touted the integration of China and the barbarians,there was still a debate about the differences between China and the barbarians,with internal relations and external conflicts.When the seven garrisons in the west of Jiayu Pass faced external forces,the Ming Dynasty’s support for them was limited,which also affected the effective functioning of the seven garrisons in the west of Jiayu Pass.