The westward movement of the Manchu soon…

The westward movement of the Manchu soon involves them in a struggle with the last of the great khans, Ligdan Khan of the Chahar Mongols.

Ligdan has been attempting to reestablish Chahar predominance among the Khalkha, particularly among those tribes inhabiting the region south of the Gobi.

These efforts alarm his neighbors, who call upon Nurhaci for assistance.

For several years, it appears that the Manchu conqueror has met his match because Ligdan possesses some of the military prowess of his ancestors.

Although he cannot prevent the Manchus from gaining control of the territory of the neighboring Ordos Mongols, Ligdan beats back Manchu efforts to move farther west.

After his death in 1634, however, Mongol resistance to the Manchus collapses in southern Mongolia.

This is the period of the Mongolian national hero, Choghtu Khong Tayiji (or Tsogto Taji), who is said to have been the only northern Mongol aristocrat to have led his subjects against the Manchus in defense of the southern Mongols.