EXPEDITION AGAINST CHINA AND DEATH OF OGOTAI
In 1234 a great Kurultai was summoned by Ogotai at Talantepe, and one
at Kara Kurum, his new capital, the year following. At the second
Kurultai it was decided to make three great expeditions: One against
the Sung Empire; another to bring down Corea, which had shaken off
Mongol rule; a third to countries north of the Caspian, the Caucasus
and the Black Sea, and westward indefinitely. The Grand Khan wished to
march himself with this last expedition, but at the instance of princes
of his family he yielded, and appointed Batu, second son of Juchi, to
chief command in those regions.
An army under Hukatu was sent to the borders of Cashmir and India.
Persia had been reconquered by Chormagun. Jelal ud din had perished in
1231, there was no male descendant of the Kwaresmian Shah, and Iran was
governed by Mongol officials.
The attack on Corea was of easy execution, but the expedition against
China was difficult, and to it we will turn in advance of the others.
After the destruction of the Kin dynasty the Mongols disregarded their
agreement with the Sung sovereign and yielded up merely a small part of
Honan, a southeastern bit of that province, joining all the rest to
their own immense Empire. Chao fan and Chao kwe, two Imperial princes,
were indignant at this perfidy, and explained to their Emperor, that
the Hoang Ho was the true northern boundary of the Empire, to which
southern Shen si should be added; they urged the need of using force to
win that which had been refused them, that which was theirs, both by
right and agreement. They must regain their ancient capitals: Pien
king, Lo yang, and Si ngan fu. Members of the council declared that
this policy would bring back the Mongols, that it would be disastrous
to send warriors from afar to hold ruined cities which they would have
to provision, moreover the Empire lacked money, trained troops, and
good generals. The Emperor Li tsong was deaf to these arguments, and
gave command promptly to march on Pien king with a corps of ten
thousand.
Meanwhile Tsui li, who had given Pien king to the Mongols, was made
master in that capital. The three chiefs, who served under him, were so
incensed at his arrogance, that they swore to destroy the vile traitor.
The moment these men heard that a Sung general was advancing with an
army they declared to him their submission by letter, feigning
meanwhile to work in accord with Tsui li the deceiver and tyrant. To
carry out their plot better Li po yuan, one of the three, had fire set
to a gate of the city, Tsui li hurried to the place and when he arrived
there Li po yuan, who had gone with him, plunged a dagger blade into
his body so deftly that Tsui li fell from his horse and died near the
feet of the animal. Soldiers posted at the gate for the purpose
attacked the attendants of the dead man and finished them promptly.
Tsui li’s body was tied to the tail of a horse and dragged to the
palace, where Li po yuan spoke to the people in these words: “Tsui li
was a murderer, a robber, a tyrant, a debauchee, and an infamous
traitor. No man so evil as he has lived in old times, or in our day.
Did he merit death?” “To chop such a man into bits while alive would be
very small punishment!” shouted out thousands. His head was exposed to
the people and his body was made a burnt offering to the spirit of Nin
kia su, the late Emperor. Tsuan tse tsai, the Sung general, occupied
Pien king, and his force was strengthened soon by another of fifty
thousand. From these two armies reinforcements were sent to Lo yang
without waiting.
On hearing that Li tsong had invaded Honan Ogotai began action
immediately. His troops surprised, near Lo yang, a second Sung corps
fifteen thousand in number, which marching from Pien king to Lo yang
had pitched its camp at the Ho on the bank of that river. The Mongols
scattered this corps and camped near the walls of the city. The Chinese
issued forth and engaged them. Neither side won, but the Sung troops
were forced to abandon Lo yang through a dearth of provisions. Through
lack of food also the Sung generals left Pien king and turned
southward. The cities of Northern Honan were nearly deserted, and all
of them suffered from hunger.
Ogotai recalled Subotai, whom he destined for Europe, and sent to the
Sung court an envoy to reproach it with oath breaking. Li tsong sent
his envoy to Kara Kurum to allay the coming tempest, but the journey
was useless, war had been fixed at the Kurultai. Three army corps were
now to attack the Sung Empire, one under command of Prince Kutan,
Ogotai’s second son, aided by Tagai, a general who was to invade Su
chuan, that great western province; a second, under Prince Kutchu, the
third son of Ogotai, while the generals Temutai and Chauju were to
march on Hu kuang and subject it. In Kiang nan a third army was to act
under Chagan and Prince Khon Buga.
Kutan marched through Shen si and, while passing Chung changan,
received from the governor the submission of that city, the only one in
all the Kin Empire which had not yielded to the Mongols. Kutan left the
governor in office, but commanded him to march with his warriors who
were placed in the vanguard. Kutan passed through Han chong
southwestward, took Mian chiu, whose commandant Gao kia was killed
during battle. Chao yan na, the governor of Han chung, hastened to
occupy Tsing yen, the key of Su chuan, and was besieged there by
Mongols, but Tsao yuan, the commandant of Lu chiu, hurried forward to
help him, and drove the Mongol chief northward. Next Tsao threw himself
on Ta an, besieged by Wang shi hien, saved that city, at least for a
season, and retired, after defeating a large Mongol force in the
neighborhood.
These successes were gained over Kutan’s advance guard. When his main
forces appeared the Chinese, who were greatly inferior in numbers, met
them between Su chuan and Shen si, in wild mountain defiles, but had to
flee near Yang ping and cease their resistance. After this victory the
Mongols entered Su chuan without serious effort. In one month they took
many cities, seized the best parts of the province, and massacred
multitudes of people. The governor of Wen chau, unable to defend the
place, poisoned his family, cremated their bodies, burned up what
belonged to the treasury, burned his own property, his diploma of
office, and then stabbed himself as the Mongols were bursting into the
city. His lieutenant was chopped into bits by the victors, who put to
the sword every soul that remained, both of troops and inhabitants.
When he had ruined Su chuan in the west Prince Kutan went back to Shen
si, and the Chinese returned to their ruins. In 1237 Ching tu was
reoccupied by the Chinese, but in 1239 Tagai, Kutan’s assistant,
reëntered Su chuan, captured many places, took Ching tu and sacked it a
second time. He wished now to enter Hu kuang, the next province, by
Kwei chiu, a city on the north bank of the river Yang tse, but Meng
kong, the Sung general, had put western Hu kuang into such a good state
of defence, that this plan was a failure; he even took Kwei chiu from
the Mongols.
Meanwhile Prince Kutchu, whose chief camp was at Teng chu in Honan,
entered Hu kuang in 1236. To him the commandants of Siang yang fu
surrendered the city with immense stores in it. Kutchu took Tsao yang,
he took also Li ngan, but died shortly after.
Prince Kutchu was beloved greatly by Ogotai, and to him he had destined
the Empire.
Temutai laid siege now to King chiu, but Meng kong, who was sent by the
governor of the province, defeated him at the walls of the city and
freed twenty thousand Chinese who were captives.
At the end of 1237 Khon Buga, the Mongol prince, captured three cities
abandoned by their commandants, and advanced to Hoang chiu on the river
Yang tse and besieged the place, but was forced later on to withdraw
from it. He laid siege to another large city the year following but
failed to take it.
In 1238 the Mongol general, Chagan, invested Liu chiu, a city of Kiang
nan; a sudden and vigorous sortie forced his withdrawal, and he lost
some part of his force while retreating. In 1239 Meng kong gained three
victories over the Mongols and captured four cities. In February, 1240,
Wang tsie, the Mongol envoy, appeared at the Sung court for the fifth
time, with offers of peace which were rejected. Wang tsie died before
his mission was ended, and the Sung governor delivered his body to the
Mongols. In the beginning of 1240 also a number of Mongol army corps
marched by various roads into China. No further mention, however, of
fighting is made till after Ogotai’s death the year following.
While Mongol armies were attacking Corea, ravaging China, devastating
Russia, Hungary, and Poland, and spreading dismay throughout Western
Europe, Ogotai was passing his time in delights, enjoying the chase,
and his own taste for drinking. At Kara Kurum, where he had built a
magnificent palace called the Ordu Balik and by thirty-seven relays of
posts connected the city with China, he passed only one month of the
springtime, the rest of that season he lived a day’s journey from the
capital, in a palace called Kertchagan built by Persians, who strove to
outdo or to rival those architects from China who at Kara Kurum had
shown what their skill was. From Kertchagan he went back to Kara Kurum
for some days and then passed the summer at Ormektua where he held
court in a white Chinese tent, lined with silk embroidered with gold
very deftly. In this tent, known as the Sarai Ordu, or Golden Horde,
there was room for one thousand persons. The Grand Khan spent forty
days at Lake Kosa. From there he went to Ongki near the Great Gobi
desert where he lived all the winter; that was the time of grand
hunting and field sports. In this region Ogotai had an enormous corral,
or inclosure of earth and stakes called chehik. It was six miles in
circuit, and had many doors to it. Troops stationed at long distances
on all sides had orders to advance on this central inclosure and urge
forward beasts, driving them through the doors into this immense
roofless prison. Game was killed first by the Grand Khan and then by
his family, permission going down by degrees till common men had their
chance finally.
Ogotai drank to excess, for which Jinghis had reprimanded him
frequently. Jagatai, to whom he deferred very notably, charged an
official to see that he drank only a given number of cups each evening.
Ogotai dared not disobey his elder brother, but he eluded the order by
using larger cups, and the officer was silent.
One day Ye liu chu tsai brought in an iron ring greatly rusted by wine.
“If wine acts on iron in this way, how must it injure the stomach?”
said Chu tsai. This example struck Ogotai greatly, but he could not
shake off the habit. One day in March, 1241, he fell ill after hunting.
Turakina, his wife, alarmed very seriously, turned to Chu tsai hoping
that he might bring Heaven to restore the Grand Khan to her. Chu tsai
counseled just deeds and benevolence. “Power has been given by the
Khan,” said he, “to men who sell places, and traffic in justice.
Innocent people are groaning in prison because they have revolted
against the wrongs done them. Let an amnesty be issued.” Turakina
wished to have the amnesty published immediately, but the minister told
her that this could be done only at Ogotai’s order.
When the Khan came again to his senses all men imprisoned, or exiled,
were pardoned. He regained his health that time, but a new attack came
some months later. Against Chu tsai’s advice he had hunted five days in
succession. On the way from the field he sat drinking till midnight.
The sixth morning his body was lifeless. This Grand Khan had reigned
nearly thirteen years, and was fifty-six years of age at his death
hour, December 11, 1241. He was mild for a Mongol of that time, fond of
luxury and generous in gift giving. He was tolerant of the various
religions, and in general very amiable considering his position. He was
fond of hunting and wrestling, often sending to Persia for renowned
wrestlers. He was a statesman as well as conqueror, and framed laws
which held the Mongol Empire together for a long period.
After Ogotai’s death all the roads to his residence were guarded
immediately, so that no man might leave the place and couriers were
sent off in every direction to stop travelers wherever they might find
them, till the members of the Grand Khan’s family had officially
received the tidings of his death.
Ogotai had appointed Kutchu, his third son, to be his successor, but
this young prince died in Hu kuang five years earlier, 1236. Shiramun,
son of Kutchu, had been at the court, and Ogotai destined him also to
Empire. But Turakina, a self-willed and determined woman, wished Kuyuk,
her own eldest son, to be chief of all Mongols. Kuyuk, born in 1206,
had served against the Kin Empire; later he had gone to the west with
Batu. Ogotai had ordered him back very recently, and he was on the way
home when he heard of the death of his father.
Princes of the blood and chiefs of the army received invitations from
Ogotai’s widow to assemble for the Kurultai; meanwhile at the instance
of Jagatai and others the regency was given to Turakina. The regency
began by ejecting Ching kai the grand chancellor, an Uigur. A
Mohammedan, Abd ur Rahman, who had come some time earlier to Mongolia
with merchandise, had won the good-will of Turakina completely; a short
time before Ogotai’s death he had offered to farm all the revenues of
China. Chu tsai had fixed the income of parts lying north of the Hoang
Ho at five hundred thousand ounces of silver. After Honan had been
conquered the receipts rose to one million one hundred thousand. Abd ur
Rahman offered two million two hundred thousand; Chu tsai replied that
five millions might be collected, but that sum, he said, would be
grievous to tax payers. Turakina, putting aside the advice of Chu tsai,
now gave Abd ur Rahman control of the finances of the Empire. It is
stated that Chu tsai, foreseeing the destruction of all that he had
labored for, grew despondent and died of grief. In any case this
remarkable man died June, 1244, at the age of fifty-five years. By his
influence over Ogotai he had saved many lives. He had also founded two
colleges, one at Yan King, the other at Pin Yan in Shan si, and
published a work on astronomy.
Soon after Ogotai’s death Temugu, his uncle, who was Jinghis Khan’s
youngest brother, approached the Khan’s residence with his army, and
made a faint move toward a seizure of the Empire. Turakina sent to ask
why he came to “his daughter” so numerously attended, and sent him his
son, who had been living at Ogotai’s residence. On hearing that Kuyuk
had arrived from the west and had reached the Imil where his yurta was
established Temugu dropped his plan, and replied that he wished to
condole with his daughter on the loss of her husband; after that he
withdrew to his own place.
The assembly to elect a new sovereign was to be at Talantepe, but did
not meet till 1246, because of Batu’s endless loitering. Batu liked
neither Kuyuk, nor the regent, his mother, and feigned to have a sore
leg which prevented his traveling. As he was the eldest prince of the
family the other members were loath to elect a new sovereign in his
absence.
At the prayer of the regent Batu at last gave his word to be present at
the Kurultai, but he came not, so the Kurultai was assembled without
him, and Kuyuk was elected.
Turakina died two months after Kuyuk was made Grand Khan, thereupon the
many enemies of Fatima, a Persian woman, the adviser and intimate of
Turakina, conspired to destroy her. She was accused by a Samarkand
Moslem, named Shira, of having brought on Prince Kutan, Kuyuk’s
brother, the disease from which he was suffering at that time. Kutan
sent an officer to Kuyuk to complain of Fatima, and demand that she be
punished should his illness prove fatal. Kutan died, hence Kuyuk
commanded the trial of Fatima. She was bastinadoed and tortured till
she declared herself guilty. Every opening of her body save her nose
was sewed up and closed tightly; after suffering dreadful anguish for a
time she was wrapped in felt blankets firmly and thrown into a river;
her friends were put to death also. The turn came soon to Shira himself
who, accused of bewitching a son of Kuyuk, was put to death with his
wife and whole family.
Kuyuk, suffering from gout, the result of drink and dissipation, set
out in 1248, during spring, for his own domains to find a more favoring
climate. Siur Kukteni, Tului’s widow, fearing lest Kuyuk might be
hostile to her nephew Batu, who had not come to do homage, warned the
latter to be on his guard at all seasons. There was no reason, however,
for this caution, since Kuyuk died on the road, being seven days’
journey from Bish Balik, the Uigur capital.
After Kuyuk’s death, which took place in his forty-third year, the
usual precautions were taken to keep back the news till the principal
chiefs of the family were informed of it. All ways were stopped and
information was sent to Siur Kukteni, and to Batu.
Batu had set out at last from the banks of the Volga to give the new
sovereign due homage, and had come to Alaktak when news of Kuyuk’s
sudden death reached him. He halted at once under pretext of resting
his horses and, observing the national usage, gave his consent to the
regency to Ogul Gaimish, who held the first place among Kuyuk’s
consorts. She was the daughter of Kutuk, chief of the Uirats. Meanwhile
Batu called a Kurultai at Alaktak. The descendants of Ogotai refused to
attend, since the Kurultai should be held, as they said, in the land of
the Mongols. They sent, however, Timur Noyon, governor of Kara Kurum,
with full powers to act for them, and to confirm the decisions of Batu,
and the majority of princes.
At this Kurultai, composed mainly of Juchi’s descendants and those of
Tului, that is descendants of Jinghis Khan’s youngest and eldest sons,
Ilchi Kidai of the Jelairs declared that they had engaged to choose no
man as sovereign unless a descendant of Ogotai so long as that branch
remained living. “Yes,” answered Kubilai, son of Tului, “but ye were
the first to infringe Jinghis Khan’s laws, and disregard Ogotai’s will.
Ye put Altalun, Jinghis’ daughter, to death without reference to
Jinghis Khan’s statute that no descendant of his may suffer death until
judged by an assembly of his or her equals. Ye put Kuyuk on the throne
in defiance of Ogotai, who had appointed Shiramun to succeed him.”
These two complaints were brought up by those who had determined to
take the throne from descendants of Ogotai. Batu, who was also their
enemy, had agreed with Siur Kukteni, to elect her eldest son, Mangu.
This widow of Tului had an all powerful support in the army. The
arrangements by which Jinghis had given the greater part of his troops
to Tului assured preponderance to this branch. When the throne held an
Emperor the combined army was under the sovereign, but in time of
interregnum each part of it recognized the authority of that prince to
whom it belonged, and who was its only commander. After the death of
Tului his army of one hundred and one thousand out of a total of one
hundred and thirty passed to his four sons by his chief wife Siur
Kukteni: Mangu, Kubilai, Arik Buga and Hulagu. During the minority of
these princes their mother, sure of the commander whom she had bound to
her, governed with rare judgment the numerous tribes which were subject
to her children. Honored by Batu and many other princes it was easy for
her to place one of her sons on the throne, since the candidates among
Ogotai’s descendants were too young in years yet to be personally
considered.
Mangusar, a general, was the first in the assembly to propose Prince
Mangu, whose courage and wit he extolled, giving instance of his
brilliant career, under Kuyuk, in China, and in western lands under
Batu.
But princes offered the throne first of all to Batu, as the eldest of
his family. When he refused they begged him to point out a candidate
and promised in writing to choose him. Batu refused to do this, but,
changing his mind in the night, he deferred the next day to their
wishes, and said in the meeting, that to govern the Empire a prince of
ability was needed, and one who knew Jinghis Khan’s yassa in all
points. In view of this he proposed to them Mangu as his candidate.
This prince refused the great honor, and resisted the prayers of the
Kurultai for many days in succession, till his brother rose, and said:
“We have all promised to follow Prince Batu’s decision. If it be
permitted Mangu to break his word now, other princes may follow his
example in future.” Batu applauded these words, and Mangu ceased
resistance. The moment he accepted, the whole assembly saluted him. A
new Kurultai was appointed for the following spring to be held in
Jinghis Khan’s home land near the sources of the Onon and the Kerulon
when Mangu was to be recognized by all princes, and by the chiefs of
the army.
Ogul Gaimish, Kuyuk’s widow, was to be regent in the meanwhile assisted
by her two sons: Khodja and Nagu. The only, or at least the main care
of this regency was to dispose of tribute by giving orders in advance
on the provinces. Ogul Gaimish was given greatly to sorcery and spent
much of her time with magicians. The Mongol Empire was thus left to
many evil influences.
Khodja and Nagu disavowed the agents who in their names had voted for
Mangu. They informed Batu, that they could not hold to decisions of a
Kurultai assembled far from the land of Jinghis, and moreover
imperfect. Batu enjoined on them to visit the coming Kurultai, and
added that the princes had chosen the man whom they held the best
fitted to govern the Empire, and that their choice was now made and
irrevocable.
The rest of the year passed in fruitless discussions between Mangu’s
partisans, who strove to bring the malcontents to their way of
thinking, and the competitors of Mangu who protested against the
election. Batu sent his two brothers, Berkai and Togha Timur, with a
strong corps of troops to escort the new Grand Khan to the Kurultai,
and seat him on Jinghis Khan’s throne. The descendants of Ogotai, and
the son and successor of Jagatai refused to appear there, declaring
that the election of Mangu was illegal, and that the throne belonged by
right to a descendant of Ogotai. Agents sent time after time by Batu
and Siur Kukteni implored them not to rend the Empire through
factiousness. Batu informed them that children were incompetent to
manage Jinghis Khan’s great possessions.
The princes persisted, however, in refusing. Berkai, after waiting a
year, asked for orders from Batu, who commanded to install Mangu
without further discussion, declaring that those who made trouble would
pay with their lives for so doing. The princes descended from Juchi and
Tului, with the nephews of Jinghis, met at Koitun Ola, the place
designated, and made a last effort to bring the heads of the houses of
Ogotai and Jagatai to share in the meeting. An officer sent to Ogul
Gaimish, and another to Yissu, son of Jagatai, announced that the other
princes had assembled, and were waiting. Khodja and Nagu, seeing that
opposition was fruitless, gave a promise to come, and fixed the date of
arrival. The term passed, but they came not. An order was given to
astrologers to name the day and the hour for installation. The
installation took place July, 1251, with the ceremonies which were
usual and proper. When the princes inside the Imperial pavilion put
their girdles on their shoulders and prostrated themselves nine times
before Mangu, their example was followed by ten thousand warriors
ranged round the tent on the outside.
The Grand Khan commanded that no man should work on that day, that all
should forget every quarrel and yield themselves up to rejoicing. He
wished to make Nature participate in the festival, and enjoined that no
man was to sit on a horse, or put a burden on anything living. No
person was to kill an animal, hunt, fish, wound the earth by digging,
or otherwise, or trouble the calm of the waters, or their purity.
On the morrow a rich feast was given by Mangu in a tent of rare stuffs
and great splendor. At his right sat the princes descended from
Jinghis, at his left the princesses. A similar feast was given each day
for seven days in succession. Each day every guest wore a dress of new
color; each day three hundred horses and bullocks with five thousand
sheep were eaten, while two thousand cart loads of wine and kumis were
drunk to drive away thirst and console the great company.
In the midst of this feasting and pleasure a man, known as Kishk, made
his way to the Grand Khan’s pavilion with the statement that he had
discovered a plot against Mangu and the princes assembled. He declared
that while looking for a mule which had strayed from him he fell in
with a body of men going forward with carts, which at first he had
thought to be filled with supplies for the Kurultai. He came on a lad
and walked for a time with him. The lad mistook Kishk for one of the
party, and asked the mule owner to help him in fixing his cart which
was injured. Kishk turned to assist; and seeing the cart filled with
arms asked the lad why he was taking them. “I have the same as the
others,” replied he. Kishk was astonished at this, and after some
cautious inquiries discovered that the princes Shiramun, Nagu and
Khodja were going to the Kurultai to make use of the moment when all
would be drunk to finish Mangu and his followers. Kishk declared that
through eagerness to tell what he knew at the earliest he had made in
one day three days’ journey.
The story was received with astonishment at first, and seemed
altogether unreal. Kishk was asked to repeat it, so he told all the
details again and in such fashion this time that every doubt vanished.
Each prince wished to go himself and look into the matter. It was
decided to send Mangusar, the chief general, and the first person who
in the Kurultai proposed that Mangu should be raised to the throne;
with him went two or three thousand men. The princes were not more than
two days from the Ordu.
Mangusar reached their camp very early in the morning and, having
surrounded it, approached the tent of the princes with one hundred
horsemen. He called to them that it had been reported to Mangu that
they were coming with evil intentions. If that were false they could
clear themselves quickly by going to the Ordu at once. If they would
not go, he had orders to take them. The princes came out of their tent,
and, seeing that their camp was surrounded, said that they were on the
way to give homage to Mangu, and were about to continue their journey.
They were forced, however, to follow Mangusar, and were permitted to
take only twenty men with them as an escort.
Arriving at the Ordu they offered their presents by nines according to
Mongol custom. The first two days they took part in the festival
unquestioned, but on the third day the three princes were arrested when
ready to enter the Grand Khan’s pavilion. Next day Mangu himself
questioned them. He began by saying that, though the charges might seem
improbable, he was bound to convince himself and thus destroy all
suspicions against them, and punish their accusers.
The princes denied the whole story with firmness. Mangu questioned
Shiramun’s governor, who was forced by the bastinado to avow the
conspiracy, but it was made, he declared, by him and his officers
without knowledge of the princes; after these words he drew his own
sabre and killed himself. A commission of generals under Mangusar was
formed to report on the confessions of the officers of the three
princes from whom the avowal of a plot was at last forced.
Mangu wished to pardon these officers, but his generals and relatives
declared that he should not let slip that chance to be rid of his
enemies. Yielding to this advice he had the officers put in irons;
still he wavered and again asked advice of his chief men. They advised
him one after another, but even then he continued irresolute. At last
seeing Mahmud Yelvadje, the one man who till then had kept silence, he
summoned him and asked why he said nothing. Yelvadje cited Alexander,
who sent a confidant to ask Aristotle how to treat a detected
conspiracy. Aristotle took the man to a garden; while they were walking
he ordered to pull up some well rooted trees and plant feeble saplings
instead of them. No other answer was given. The man went back and told
Alexander, who understood; he had all the conspirators slain, and sent
their young sons to replace them.
Mangu, struck by the story, put to death seventy officers. Among them
were two sons of Ilchi Kidai then in Persia. Stones were forced into
the mouths of these sons who were stifled in that way; the father was
arrested in Khorassan and conveyed to Batu who took life from him. The
three princes were pardoned through the intercession of Mangu’s mother.
In February, 1252, Mangu lost his mother, Siur Kukteni. She was a niece
of Wang Khan and a Christian; they buried her next to her husband,
Tului. In August, 1252, Mangu went to Kara Kurum to judge hostile
princes and princesses. With Ogul Gaimish, he was especially angry,
since she, when summoned to render him homage, had answered that Mangu
and the other princes had sworn not to choose a Grand Khan unless from
among the descendants of Ogotai. Both hands and arms of Ogul Gaimish
were sewed up in a leather bag, and she with Shiramun’s mother was
taken to the residence of Siur Kukteni. Mangusar stripped her there of
all clothing and then proceeded to interrogate. She reproached him
indignantly with exposing her body, which had never been seen by any
man save a sovereign. Both women were declared guilty of trying to kill
Mangu by magic. They were rolled up in felt rugs and drowned
immediately. The sons of these two women confessed that their mothers
had incited them not to recognize Mangu. Kadak and Chinkai, the chief
counsellors of Ogul Gaimish, were put to death also. Buri, the grandson
of Jagatai, was delivered to Batu, who had him killed in revenge for
words used when in liquor.
The three princes were spared by Mangu in view of their kinship: Khodja
was sent to Suligai, east of Kara Kurum; Nagu and Shiramun were ordered
to the army. When Kubilai was going, some time later, to China, Mangu
as a favor let him take Shiramun on that journey, but when Mangu
himself went to China he had Shiramun drowned, through mistrust of this
young man, who had been destined to the throne by his grandfather. The
greater part of Ogotai’s descendants were sent to various places and
deprived of the troops which were theirs by inheritance. Mangu gave
those troops to other princes devoted to his person. He spared only
Kadan Melik and the sons of Prince Kutan, who had come with good grace
to give homage. He not only left them their troops, but gave each man
one of Ogotai’s ordus, and one of his widows.
Not content with punishing the highest, Mangu wished to strike down
throughout the empire all who had signified attachment to Ogotai. He
had the power to act thus, for his armies formed one immense chain from
Eastern Mongolia to Otrar. Belu, a judge, was despatched to discover
offenders, and punish them with death, in the countries of Jagatai,
while a second inquisitor was sent to the armies in China. Two corps
were sent at the same time to the Kirghis and the Kemjuts.
Strong now on his throne through destruction of enemies, Mangu
dismissed all the princes and generals who had come to the Kurultai.
Berkai and Togha Timur received splendid gifts for themselves, and for
Batu, their brother. Kara Hulagu received the inheritance of Jagatai,
his grandfather, and was charged to put to death Yissu, his uncle,
placed on the throne by Kuyuk, the late sovereign. Kara Hulagu died on
the way to his possessions, but Organa, his widow, carried out the
sentence on Yissu, and took the inheritance.
Mangu, to reward the mule driver Kishk, made him a Terkhan, and gave
him much treasure.
The fate of the Uigur sovereign shows how Mongol Khans treated their
vassals. We remember Bardjuk, the Idikut, very well in connection with
Jinghis, whom he followed most faithfully. As recompense Jinghis gave
the Idikut his daughter Altun Bighi in marriage. This marriage was
deferred by the death of the conqueror. Ogotai wished to carry out the
desire of his father, but before he could do so Altun Bighi herself
died, and Bardjuk died soon after. Bardjuk’s son Kishmain went to
Ogotai’s court and received his father’s title of Idikut, or sovereign
among the Uigurs. He too died soon after, and Turakina, the regent,
appointed her brother Salendi to the Uigur dynasty.
This new Idikut, who was a Buddhist, made haste to give homage to Mangu
at the time of his accession, but just after he had started a slave
accused him of planning to slay all Mohammedans, not only in the
capital, but throughout the whole Uigur kingdom, when assembled in
their mosques on a Friday. One of Mangu’s officials received the
accusation and sent a messenger straightway for the Idikut. Salendi
returned without delay to Bish Balik and was confronted with the slave,
who told the whole plan minutely. Salendi denied every point with great
firmness. The slave demanded to take the affair to Mangu to be judged
by him. Seif ud din, the official, sent him to the Grand Khan, and soon
after the Idikut was summoned for trial. Questioned and put to torture,
he ended by confessing that he was guilty. The Grand Khan sent him back
to Bish Balik for execution. On a Friday his head was cut off by his
own brother, Okendji. Two of his higher officials, condemned as
accomplices, met death by having their bodies cut in four pieces
crosswise. A third man, named Bela, was condemned to death also, but
Mangu, wishing to win from High Heaven the cure of his mother,
reprieved all who were sentenced to death upon that day. Bela was
already at the place of execution and stripped of his garments when
grace came, but his children and wives and his possessions were taken
and he was sent on a mission to Syria and Egypt.
When Mongol princes granted life to a criminal he was either sent to
the army, where he might die with some profit to his sovereign, or he
was employed on a perilous mission, or was sent to some country with a
death-dealing climate.
The slave who had accused Salendi got his recompense and became a
Mohammedan. When he returned to Bish Balik after the death of the
Idikut, he roused so much terror in the Uigurs who would be endangered
by his ill-will that they hastened to pay court to him and offer rich
presents.
After Mangu had rid himself of all the Uigurs who might favor Ogotai’s
descendants he gave the kingdom to Okendji, who had been his own
brother’s executioner.
After Ogotai’s death the Mongol forces, disposed on the southern border
of what had been once the Kin Empire, made attacks from time to time on
Su chuan, Kiang nan and Hu kuang; they merely ravaged, took cities, and
retired then with booty. It might be said that in Mangu’s reign the
only thing favorable to Mongols was the death of Meng kong, the
greatest general of China, the man who had frequently stopped them, and
often defeated their forces.
In 1252 Mangu gave Honan to Kubilai, his brother, as an appanage, and a
part of Shen si with it also. In the same year, having previously
consulted Chinese sages as to all needful and proper details, he made a
great sacrifice to Heaven from a mountain top. The year following he
directed that a census be taken of the people in Russia. Yun nan was
made up at that time of several small kingdoms, independent for the
greater part. Toward the end of 1252 Wang te chen, a commander of
Mongols, made some advance in Su chuan. He pillaged Ching tu, and took
Kia ting fu, thirty leagues to the south of it, thus opening Kubilai’s
way to him. Kubilai in October, 1253, marched from Lin taow, where he
had assembled an army. Under him was Uriang Kadai whose father,
Subotai, had done most toward Mangu’s elevation. Uriang Kadai was
charged by the Grand Khan with the real command of this expedition.
Kubilai traversed all Su chuan, and after a march of great trials, over
mountains which seemed quite impassable for an army, he crossed on
rafts the Kin sha (Golden Sand), a large river. The king of the Mussu
man, the first people beyond the Kin sha, submitted. The sovereign of
the next people, the Pe man, made no resistance, but his nephew
defended the capital. Kubilai took the city, and put the nephew to
death, but he spared the inhabitants.
Tali, the capital of Nan chao, received Mongol rule without fighting.
Yao shu, his adviser, told Kubilai how Tsao pin, sent by a Sung Emperor
to seize Nan shan, did the work without killing a person, and even
without stopping any traffic in the city. Kubilai declared that he
would show a like wonder. Shortly after this he mounted his stallion,
and arriving at the walls of Tali, he unfurled silk banners, on which
it was written in large characters that to kill man or woman was
forbidden under penalty of death. In virtue of this statement on the
flags, and possibly for some other cause also, Tali opened its gates,
and this conquest cost only five lives, those of the city’s two
commandants, who slew the three officers sent to ask for surrender.
Kubilai did not go beyond Tali; he returned to Mongolia and left Uriang
Kadai to master those southern regions. After Nan chao, the Mongol
chief attacked and subjected the Tupo or Tibetans, a war-loving people,
between one and two millions in number. Many of these entered his army,
which was thereby strengthened greatly. Some even served in the
vanguard and acted as scouts in attacking.
Towards the end of 1254 Uriang Kadai left his armies in the field, and
returned to Mongolia to report to Mangu the work done in the south
beyond China. Sent back the next year, he entered through Lower Tibet,
and continued his conquests. The kingdom of Ava as well as two others,
was either subjected or terrified into yielding. Two years later, in
1257, the Mongol general appeared on the edge of Tung king (Gan nan)
and summoned its sovereign, Chen chi kung, a vassal of the Sung
Emperor, to own himself tributary to Mangu. Since his envoys did not
return to him the general entered Gan nan and marched to the Tha River,
which runs through the whole kingdom lengthwise. On the opposite bank
he saw the enemy’s army with an immense force of elephants in order of
battle. The Mongols, disposed in three parts, crossed and routed the
enemy. The king hurried into a boat, sailed with the current and fled
to an island; a part of his army escaped in boats also.
Uriang Kadai ordered Che she tu to lead a division to the other bank of
the river, but not to give battle till the rest of the army had crossed
over. Che she tu was to seize all the boats, or take a stand between
them and the enemy. Instead of obeying he put the enemy to flight
before the other divisions could cross and prevented thereby the
capture of the army. Uriang Kadai in his rage gave a biting reproof and
threatened a trial, whereupon Che she tu immediately took poison and
died.
Kiao chi, the Gan nan capital, surrendered, and now Uriang Kadai found
his envoys in prison. They had been bound with bamboo cords so firmly
that the bonds had entered their flesh, and one of the men died the
same hour in which he was liberated. Uriang Kadai was so enraged at
this spectacle, that he gave up the city to be sacked by his warriors.
After his troops had taken nine days of rest, he turned northward for a
time to escape the great heat of the region. In 1258 the Gan nan king,
Chen chi kung, resigned in favor of his eldest son, Chen kuang ping.
The latter now sent his son-in-law and many great lords on an embassy
to Mangu, who at that time was marching against the Sung empire.
In 1256 Mangu had assembled a Kurultai at a place called Orbolgetu.
During two months he treated the princes of his house with
magnificence. All other guests summoned thither he met in the same way,
and gave them rich presents. At this time came the submission of Corea,
which, since 1247, had ceased to pay tribute. The success of Mongol
arms in that country forced the king to render homage in person.
Kubilai’s kindness and justice made him very popular in China. Because
of this, and of calumny, Mangu became jealous, thinking that his
brother wished empire. Hence in 1257 Kubilai was recalled, and replaced
straightway by Alemdar. Alemdar arrested a number of Kubilai’s fiscal
agents and put them to death, saving two, touching whom he was waiting
for the Grand Khan’s decision. Kubilai suffered keenly, his life was in
danger, and he hesitated seriously in action. The sage Yao shu, his
adviser, declared that since he was the first subject of his sovereign,
he should give an example of obedience. This Chinese sage advised a
return to Mongolia with his family as the best way to soften the
suspicions of his brother and remove every danger. This advice was
regarded and followed. When they met the two brothers could not
restrain tears. No reference was made to Chinese matters. Alemdar was
recalled, and his commission was ended.
Mongol conquests in the south encircled the Sung Empire; the one
question now was to completely subdue that country. There was an old
pretext for attacking the Empire: In 1241 Turakina, the regent, had
sent an envoy, Yuli massa, to make peace proposals and discuss them.
This envoy was arrested as soon as he touched Sung territory, and
imprisoned in a fortress with his suite of seventy persons. The envoy
died shortly after, but the members of his suite were detained in the
fortress until 1254. That year the Mongols besieged Ho chiu, before
which they were defeated by Wang kian, the city governor. The Chinese,
to show how much peace was desired by them, freed the suite of the late
envoy, or at least those who were still living.
In October, 1257, Mangu set out for the Sung Empire, leaving government
at home to Arik Buga, his brother, with Alemdar as an assistant. In May
of the following year he marched to Shen si and fixed his camp near the
Liu pan mountains, made famous by the death of his grandfather. In
August, three months later, he advanced to Su chuan, his first field of
action.
Mangu had adopted an elaborate plan by which Su chuan, Hu kuang and
Kiang nan would be attacked simultaneously. He would march against Su
chuan with an army in three divisions; a second army, under Kubilai,
would lay siege to Wu chang, where Uriang Kadai was to join him after
marching directly from Gan nan (Tung king) through the provinces of
Kuang si and Kwei chiu. Togachar, son of the Utchugen, was to strike
King shan in the province of Kiang nan with a third army.
Niuli with a strong force, preceding the Emperor, moved on Ching tu,
where Adaku, a Mongol commander, was besieged by Liu ching, a Sung
general, whom Niuli defeated, thus relieving the city. After that he
marched forward, but no sooner had he gone than the place was attacked
by Pu ko chi, the Su chuan governor. Adaku was killed in the action
which followed, and the city was taken by the governor. Niuli turned
back then and thrust in his forces between Ching tu and the Sung army
outside it. Through lack of provisions the city surrendered a second
time, but now to the Mongols, and the Sung army then retreated. Niuli
received the submission of many places in that region and the rank of
general-in-chief was conferred on him as reward.
Meanwhile the Grand Khan arrived at Han chung and wished greatly to
capture Ku chu yai, a fortress twenty leagues west of Pao ning and
commanding the road through the mountains. Niuli left at Ching tu a
strong garrison and marched to take this mountain stronghold. Chang
shi, a Sung general captured recently, was sent in advance to persuade
the commandant of Ku chu yai to surrender. Chang shi entered the city,
but, instead of persuading the commandant to surrender, or trying to
persuade him and then returning to Niuli, he remained in the
stronghold.
Mangu himself now marched against the place and, overcoming all
obstacles, brought his army up to it. After ten days of siege work one
gate of the city was surrendered by Chao chung, a traitorous officer of
the garrison. The Mongols entered in secret, but there was soon a
fierce and keen struggle in the streets, during which Yang li, the
commandant, was killed and the garrison scattered. The house of Chao
chung, the traitor, was spared in the looting and destruction which
followed; he himself was rewarded with a rich robe of honor, and the
command of a city. Chang shi, the Sung general who did not, or would
not persuade the city to surrender, was captured a second time, and
next day the Grand Khan had him quartered, that is, his body was cut
lengthwise and crosswise. After this, much of Western Su chuan was
subjected. The struggle was stubborn and desperate in some parts; in
others there was only indifference, or treason. On February 18, 1259,
the Mongol New Year, a great feast was given by Mangu, near the
mountain Chung kwe. At this feast Togan, a chief of the Jelairs,
declared that South China was dangerous through its climate, and that
the Grand Khan should go northward for safety. Baritchi of the Erlats
called this advice cowardly, and advised the Grand Khan to remain with
his army. These words pleased Mangu, who remained, wishing greatly to
capture Ho chiu. Tsin ko pao was sent to the city with a summons, but
Wang kian had him slain as a traitor immediately.
Now began the siege of Ho chiu, very famous for stubbornness on both
sides. Yang ta yuan, the investing commander of the Mongols, began the
action, but Mangu himself arrived soon with the bulk of his forces and
took his position in front of this city, which stood between the Kia
ling and Fiu Rivers. During March and April a number of assaults were
delivered. In May there was a dreadful tempest and rain poured down for
three weeks without ceasing. Each side tried to cut off supplies from
the other and harass it. After desperate struggles a division of the
Sung forces destroyed a bridge of boats built on the Fiu by the
Emperor. Over this bridge the besiegers were bearing provisions. A Sung
corps, ascending the Kia ling on a thousand barges, was attacked from
both banks by the Mongols, a hundred barges were sunk and the rest
driven back to Chung king, whence they started.
In June assaults were very frequent, but with no profit to either side.
One night in July a Mongol general scaled the ramparts with picked
warriors and held his position till daybreak. Then, seeing Wang kian,
the Sung commander, who was about to begin action again, he shouted:
“Wang kian, life is granted to warriors, as well as to citizens; it is
better to surrender in season.” Barely had he uttered the words when a
stone from a catapult killed him. His men on the ramparts were now left
unsupported and fled. This was the last attack made on Ho chiu by the
Mongols at that time. Their assaults had been many and resolute, and
they had lost thousands of men in them; dysentery was raging, Mangu
himself had fallen ill of it, and he resolved now to defer all attacks
and blockade the position. Leaving three thousand picked men, he led
the rest of his troops to Chung king, which he intended to capture, but
twelve days later he died (Aug., 1259) at Tiao yu, a mountain one
league from Ho chiu, and to the east of it. The chiefs of the army
decided to raise the siege and retire toward the north, taking with
them the body of their sovereign. Mangu’s son Assutai conducted the
corpse to Mongolia, where it was buried, near the graves of Jinghis and
Tului.
Mangu was generous but stern by nature. He often distributed largess
freely among his troops, but insisted that they should be held under
severe discipline at all times. In the Su chuan campaign he strictly
forbade his men to plunder. On learning that Assutai, while out
hunting, had destroyed a wheatfield, he reproved him sternly and had
several of his companions punished. He carried discipline so far that
once, when a soldier disobeyed orders and forcibly took an onion from a
peasant, he was put to death immediately. Though tolerant of all
religions he was superstitious, and under the influence of shamans, an
influence apparently baneful. A story is told of one of Mangu’s wives,
who, having given birth to a son, summoned a shaman to read the boy’s
horoscope. The man predicted long life, but the child died in a few
days. Severely censured by the mother, the shaman for self-protection
accused a nurse, recently executed for causing by sorcery the death of
a princess. The mother, to avenge the death of her child, had the son
and daughter of that nurse killed, the first by a man, the latter by a
woman. This so angered Mangu that he imprisoned his wife for seven
days, and banished her from his presence for a month. He commanded that
the man who killed the boy of the nurse should be decapitated and his
head hung around the neck of the woman who had killed the girl, then
that she should be beaten with blazing firebrands, and put to death.
When Mangu died so unexpectedly, his brothers were far apart. Hulagu
was in Syria, Arik Buga was at Kara Kurum, the Mongol capital, and
Kubilai, the successor according to the Mongol system, was in China.
Wu chang fu, built along the south bank of the Yang tse directly in
front of the Han, must be taken by Kubilai, such was the order which
Mangu had given him. In 1258 Kubilai set out for this work from Shang
tu, a city which he had founded recently, and which was famed later on
as his capital in summer. He advanced slowly, and only in August, 1259,
did he halt at the Ju in Honan. He moved thence toward Wu chang fu, and
captured strong places near the line of his marching. It was while on
this march that he heard of the death of his brother. He made no delay
for that reason, however, but crossed the Yang tse in the face of a
numerous and active flotilla.
He laid siege at once to Wu chang fu and sent a division of troops to
Kiang si, where they captured two cities. These brilliant actions
roused fear in Lin ngan (Hang chau), the Sung residence. The Emperor up
to this time had not known of the Mongol invasion; for his minister had
deceived him systematically, and now he received a vast number of
petitions from all sides, declaring the minister a traitor and
demanding that death be inflicted for his treason. The Emperor removed
the man promptly and replaced him by Kia se tao. Command was given Kia
se tao to advance on Wu chang at the head of an army and succor that
city. Immense levies were ordered and the Emperor distributed silver
and silk to those who took part in making them. The new minister, a man
given only to letters, knew nothing of war, or the problem of
governing. Moreover, he was desperately reckless, without conscience,
and remarkably cunning. His one object was to keep power by all means
which his mind could invent. The time favored him greatly, since the
Emperor was weak and the court had small honor. The army had no respect
for Kia se tao, but he had no thought to save the Sung Empire by
fighting, hence disregarded the army. He made offers in secret to
Kubilai, who was attacking Wu chang with much vigor. Kia se tao engaged
that the Sung Emperor would own himself a vassal of the Grand Khan, the
sovereign of the Mongols. Kubilai had received an official account of
the death of Mangu, still he rejected the minister’s proposal. But when
letters came from his partisans, who urged him to hasten and prevent
the attempts to be made by Arik Buga, he consulted his generals, and
Hao king, one of them, explained very clearly that Arik Buga, master at
Kara Kurum, the home capital, and Duredji, governor of Yen king (now
Pekin), the capital of China, would act as one man to exclude him, who
as first prince of the blood should be regent and preside at the
Kurultai; hence the urgent need that he go to Mongolia immediately.
Arik Buga wished supreme rule and Kubilai knew that Alemdar and Duredji
would help him to win it in every way possible. Because of all this
Kubilai decided to accept the conditions just offered by Kia se tao,
which, moreover, were favorable. It was agreed then that the Sung
Emperor was to own himself a vassal of the Grand Khan, and give two
hundred thousand ounces of silver, with two hundred thousand rolls of
silk yearly as tribute. The Yang tse was to be the boundary of his
lands.
These conditions concluded, Kubilai marched northward with the best of
the cavalry, leaving orders with his generals to await Uriang Kadai.
Uriang Kadai had been commanded by Mangu to join Kubilai’s army at Wu
chang, bringing with him the thirteen thousand men furnished by subject
nations on the south, beyond China. After he had defeated, on the
border, armies more numerous by far than his own, he laid siege to Kwei
tiu, the capital of Kiang si, defeated a second Chinese army, and
reached Southern Hu kuang, where he laid siege to Chang shi. The treaty
now made by Kubilai forced him to desist and cross the Yang tse with
his forces.
The two southern generals in command of auxiliaries, reduced now from
thirteen to five thousand, led the rear guard of the army, and were
crossing the river on a bridge built of boats when Kia se tao broke
this bridge by sending barges in full sail against it. One hundred and
seventy men left on the southern bank were cut down by the minister.
Kia se tao kept the Sung Emperor in ignorance of the treaty, and
attributed the Mongol retreat to his own splendid valor and management.
The massacre of Uriang Kadai’s rear party was exhibited as a triumph
and Kia se tao was summoned to the court to be honored by a brilliant
reception.
Kubilai encamped outside the walls of Yen king, and complained to Arik
Buga of the levies of men, beasts and money which the latter was
making. Arik Buga gave quieting answers; he wished to attract Kubilai
and his partisans to the Kurultai which had been summoned. Beyond doubt
he either had taken means to assure a majority on his side, or he
wished to get Kubilai into his clutches and kill him.
Duredji, who was then at Pekin, urged that Kubilai and the princes in
his army proceed to the Kurultai. It was answered, that Kubilai must
post his troops first on their cantonments. Duredji sent this answer to
Arik Buga, and remained with Kubilai, who went to Shang tu, the place
fixed by his adherents for a special election.
Kubilai’s party met, and since the position was so serious as to brook
no delay, it was impossible for them to wait for Juchi’s and Jagatai’s
descendants or for Hulagu, who was then in Persia. Kubilai was elected
immediately and without opposition and placed on the throne with the
usual formalities, 1260.—This election was the beginning of a contest
which in the sequel destroyed the Mongol Empire.—A deputation of one
hundred was now sent to inform Arik Buga of Kubilai’s election and
enthronement. Duredji tried to flee, but was arrested and forced to
reveal the intrigues of Arik Buga; he was then put in prison. Kubilai
appointed Apishga, son of Buri, as successor to Jagatai, and sent him
home with his brother, but both these princes were seized in Shen si
and taken to Arik Buga, who kept them in prison.
Meanwhile at Kara Kurum Arik Buga was not idle. He sent Alemdar to levy
troops among tribes in the north, and distribute silk and silver among
them; he sent two other men to Shen si, and these two were able to
induce certain governors and generals in China to declare for Arik
Buga, who, supported in this way, did not hesitate to take the
sovereign title. At the head of his party was Kutuktai, once the chief
wife of Mangu. With her were associated Mangu’s sons: Assutai,
Yurungtash and Shireki, also several of Jagatai’s grandsons.
The two claimants continued to send envoys to each other all that
season without reaching an agreement. In the autumn Arik Buga sent out
an army commanded by Karadjar, and by Chumukur, a son of Hulagu. This
force was defeated by Kubilai’s vanguard. Discouraged by this check,
Arik Buga’s troops scattered, and he himself sought Kirghis regions for
protection after he had put to death Apishga and his brother—those two
Jagatai princes friendly to Kubilai—and the deputation of one hundred
sent with news of that emperor’s election.
In Shen si Arik Buga made no better progress: Straightway after his
election Kubilai sent to that province and to Su chuan as governor Lien
hi hien, an Uigur by birth, one among the best of his generals. This
new governor hastened to Si ngan fu and made Kubilai’s authority
triumphant very quickly. Arik Buga’s agents had arrived two days
earlier, and were striving to win all that region for their master. The
new governor seized those two men and cast them into prison. Learning
meanwhile that Kubilai had issued an amnesty which would arrive very
soon, he had the two put to death while in prison, and published the
edict after its arrival. Three corps of troops led by Prince Kadan were
now sent by the governor against Kundukai, Arik Buga’s commander, who,
unable to take Si ngan fu and needing reinforcements, withdrew
northward to meet Alemdar, who was bringing fresh troops from Mongolia.
After these two generals had joined forces, they turned toward the
south and were met by Kubilai’s army in Middle Shen si, somewhat east
of Kin chau. The battle which followed was stubborn to the utmost, and
for some time the issue was doubtful, but at last Arik Buga was
surrounded and suffered so bloody and crushing a defeat that the
campaign was ended. Kundukai and Alemdar were both killed in this
battle, and China was secured to Kubilai, who now moved north and,
entering Mongolia, established his camp at the river Ungki for that
winter. Kara Kurum lacked supplies and, since it received them from
China, Kubilai determined to stop every movement to Mongolia and had
means to enforce this decision. Want soon appeared in the capital. Arik
Buga was in need of arms and provisions; still he persisted, and
transferring to Algu, who was with him, the inheritance of Jagatai, he
directed the new Khan to send arms and supplies, and to guard the west
strictly, so that no aid might reach Kubilai from Hulagu, or from
Berkai. Arik Buga was still in the Kem Kemdjut region, and fearing to
make an attack in his weakness, he sent a message to Kubilai saying
that he repented and acknowledged him as the sovereign, that he would
stand before him at once were his horses in condition to travel, though
he would prefer to await the arrival of Berkai and Hulagu, whom he had
asked with other princes to arrange the affairs of the Empire.
Kubilai answered that he would be glad to see Arik Buga even earlier
than other princes. Then, leaving his cousin, Yessugka, in command of
the capital to await the arrival of Arik Buga and escort him to the
main camp, Kubilai went to Kai ping fu, and sent his army to its
cantonments.