Why did the Yongle emperor personally lead military campaigns into the Gobi Desert?

Between 1410 and 1424, the Yongle emperor personally led five military campaigns into the Gobi Desert primarily to counter the rise of an effective new Tatar leader named Aruqtai.1

While these expeditions resulted in only a few battles and yielded indecisive victories, they served a critical strategic purpose: they forestalled the development of a new, large-scale Mongol confederation that could have posed a serious threat to China. By conducting these aggressive patrols, the emperor aimed to keep the various Mongol tribes fragmented and prevent them from regaining the power they had held during their past domination of China.12