ABSTRACT
The last emperor of the Mongol Yuan dynasty to rule China had been driven out of Dadu but had escaped to the Mongolian steppes. He continued to call himself
emperor and was able to recover a certain amount of power. Many Mongols had been left in various parts of China when the Yuan emperor withdrew. Some of these switched their allegiance to the new Chinese dynasty and were, for the most part, incorporated into the Ming army. Others, however, continued to resist Ming control. In the mountains of Shanxi, in particular, groups of Mongols held out against Ming forces for a couple of decades, sometimes with support from local Chinese. The Mongols still had a considerable empire outside China (even if, by this time, there were several distinct, and sometimes mutually hostile, Mongol khanates). They were capable of becoming a serious threat to Ming power. During the first dozen or so years after the founding of the Ming dynasty, the passes north of Beiping were fortified and sections of a new Great Wall were built. At various later times during the dynasty, further work was undertaken on the Wall, creating a very solid defensive line all the way from Shanhaiguan in the east to Jiayuguan in the west. This Ming wall is the Great Wall usually visited today.
