The Chinese were being ruled by increasingly inexperienced and younger leaders whose vision of life outside the Forbidden City was virtually non-existent. As a result, the best solutions - ones that would have ensured smooth management of relations with the tribes of the [G 22 / steppe] - were passed over.
By the turn of the century, the attitude that promoted the split between the `civilized' Chinese and the so-called `[G 03 / barbarians]' was resurfacing. North and South rivalled one another for positions at court. The dynasty started moving further and further away from reality and the necessary practicalities required to formulate policies dealing with its neighbors.
Officials were divided into two camps: the first promoted attacking the nomads and rejected all types of relations with them; the second, which included people with first-hand experience in dealing with the nomads, advocated a more tolerant attitude. Political deadlock meant that vital decisions were not made - a characteristic of Ming leadership for many years.
BATU MONGKE:
The Ming had never had to contend with a unified steppe. The leader who united the [G 14 / nomadic] tribes emerged in the 1480s. His name was Batu Mongke. Because the Chinese would not trade with the nomads as they had in the past, Batu Mongke resorted to attack. He also built fixed outposts along the Ming border.
Batu Mongke's power was passed on to his grandsons: Jinang and Anda who based themselves in the Yellow River Loop. Together they ultimately became the most serious threat to the Chinese. This led to further considerations of fortification and improving defences. Among the policies put forward were those of Qiu Zhun (1420-95), an official and scholar who advocated a mixed policy that included strengthening the economy as well as the defence of the empire. Offensive strategies still had tremendous pull, however.
Despite a successful victory over the [G 12 / Mongols] in 1498, other campaigns did little more than draw attention to Ming political and military inadequacies. Following a series of losses to the Mongols, Ming military reforms included repairing and extending Yu Zizhun's wall with the addition of defence ditches, embankments and 14,000 watch towers to 2,133 miles of previously unguarded territory.
Still the nomads kept coming. This led to talk once again of recovering the [G 15 / Ordos], but the resources necessary were not available. Consequently, the decision was made once again to build walls. However, the Ming still failed to define political or military policy and the court continued to be plagued by factional infighting. To make matters worse, Emperor Zhu Houcong (1522-1567) believed a Chinese emperor should have nothing to do with nomadic tribes, which made resolving hostilities between the Chinese and the nomads impossible.
Batu Mongke died in 1532. This sparked off a conflict among the nomads that ended only when [G 01 / Altan Khan] unified the tribes in the 1540s. Altan Khan attempted to make peace with the Chinese, but was unsuccessful. A 30-year period of raids followed during which the nomads attacked the Chinese to gain access to food and other resources.
