Ming Pacification of Remaining Forces in Yunnan (1390) (Southwestern Pacification in the Late Hongwu Era)

Timeline

1. 1381Baishijiang, Qujing · QujingThe Ming founder appointed Fu Youde as General Conquering the South, Lan Yu as Left Vice General, and Mu Ying as Right Vice General, leading 300,000 troops into Yunnan via separate routes from Huguang and Sichuan. The Ming forces set an ambush at Baishijiang in Qujing; Mu Ying proposed a feigned river crossing with a flanking force, crushing the over 100,000 defenders under Yuan general Dalima and seizing the gateway to Qujing. Liangwang Bazhawalimi fled to Jinning and hanged himself, Yuan Right Chancellor Guanfubao surrendered, and Ming forces advanced to occupy Kunming.
2. 1382Dali · DaliIn the intercalary second month Ming forces captured Dali, taking the Duan clan prisoner, then took Heqing, Lijiang, and other places, essentially dismantling Yuan rule in Yunnan. The Ming court promptly established the Yunnan Provincial Administration Commission and the Yunnan Regional Military Commission, setting up weisuo garrisons at strategic points to begin direct joint civil-military administration of the southwestern frontier.
3. 1384–1388Wusa and Dingbian area · SouthwestAfter Fu Youde and Lan Yu returned with the army, Mu Ying was ordered by edict to remain to garrison Yunnan. During this period, chieftains in Qujing rebelled and the Baiyi Silunfa twice attacked Dingbian; Mu Ying broke the elephant formations with fire cannons and strong crossbows, beheading tens of thousands, and Silunfa fled. Rebellions by Wusa, Wumeng, Mangbu, and other tribes were also successively suppressed, and Ming forces built forts and military farms every sixty li from Yongning to Dali to consolidate newly acquired territory.
4. 1390Kunming · KunmingBy Hongwu 23, large-scale military conflict in Yunnan had essentially ended; Mu Ying continued to promote weisuo military farming, water conservancy projects, and Confucian education. Tusi officials of Wusa, Wumeng, Mangbu, and others sent their sons to request admission to the Imperial Academy, and the Ming founder bestowed clothing and cash, replacing pure military conquest with civil and cultural conciliation. Southwestern pacification entered a stage of institutional governance, laying the foundation for the Mu clan's hereditary garrison of Yunnan for over two hundred years.