CHAPTER XVII

KUBILAI KHAN DESTROYS THE SUNG DYNASTY

The summer and autumn of 1261 were passed very quietly. Arik Buga’s horses recovered; he assembled large forces and set out for Kara Kurum, the chief capital of Mongolia. To put Yessugka off his guard and lull all suspicions, he sent a message announcing his visit and with it submission. After that he appeared on a sudden and fell upon Yessugka’s men, whom he crushed. Hurrying southward at once to strike Kubilai, he met him at some distance northeast of Shang tu, on the eastern rim of the great Gobi desert. Arik Buga was beaten and fled northward.

Kubilai, thinking his brother defeated most thoroughly, forbade to pursue him, and turning, marched southward. Arik Buga on hearing of this changed his course, followed quickly, and made a second and more desperate trial. The battle was envenomed and lasted till night put an end to it. Both parties withdrew from the field, and Arik Buga fought no more that year, for just after this battle he learned of Algu’s defection.

Algu, made Khan of Jagatai’s Horde by Arik Buga, took the government from Organa, Kara Hulagu’s widow. His sway then extended from Almalik to the Syr Darya, and soon he had an army of one hundred and fifty thousand. Arik Buga, poor and weak after such numerous reverses, sent three agents to Algu to levy a contribution in cattle, arms, and money. The abundant proceeds of this levy tempted Algu. He seized Arik Buga’s men, since, as he stated, they had made offensive discourses against him. After that Algu met his advisers, who hinted that it would have been better to counsel ere he moved against Arik Buga so actively, but since it was late to retrieve the error, he must acknowledge Kubilai as sovereign and take his side openly.

Algu put the three agents to death, seized all the wealth which they had gathered, and gave the greater part of it to his army. Astonished at this act, Arik Buga resolved to march against Algu at the earliest. He went back to Kara Kurum, gave permission to the heads of the various religions to accept Kubilai should the need come, and then he moved westward very quickly.

Kubilai appeared soon after his brothers’ departure, received the submission of people, and was about to pursue Arik Buga when couriers brought tidings of trouble in China, hence he turned and marched back to that Empire. Kara Buga, who commanded Arik Buga’s advance, met Algu near the city of Pulad, and lost his life in the battle which followed. Algu thought himself safe through this victory. He returned to his home on the Ili and very foolishly dismissed his forces. But Assutai, at the head of a second division, passed the Iron Gate, crossed the Ili, captured Almalik, and seized even the private lands of Algu, who retired toward Khodjend and Kashgar with his right wing, which thus far had been idle. At this time appeared Arik Buga and took up winter quarters on the Ili near Almalik while Algu was retreating toward Samarkand. Arik Buga plundered ruthlessly all winter, and killed every warrior of Algu’s whom he captured. When spring came vast numbers perished from hunger. Arik Buga’s own officers were furious at his treatment of prisoners and most of them joined Yurungtash. Yurungtash, son of Mangu, the late Emperor, was leading at that time Kubilai’s forces in the Altai. Only a handful of men were left Arik Buga, who, knowing that Algu was ready to attack him, tried to make terms with this enemy.

When Arik Buga arrived the year previous, Kara Hulagu’s widow, Organa, came to his camp and declared that she had been dispossessed at his order, and was then waiting for recompense. Thereupon Arik Buga sent Organa with Massud Bey to effect an agreement with Algu. When Organa appeared before Algu and told him the cause of her coming he married her; Massud Bey he placed at the head of his finances. This minister levied large contributions on Bokhara and Samarkand. Algu had great need of money at that juncture, since Kaidu, the grandson of Ogotai, aided by Berkai, the successor of Batu, was advancing to seize his possessions. He now had the strength to repel him.

Arik Buga, left without friends, troops or resources, decided in 1264 to appeal to the mercy of his brother, and went to him. On appearing at Kubilai’s tent men threw the curtain of the entrance around him; thus covered he made his prostrations. Such was the usage in cases of that kind. Admitted to the interior, he stood in the place given usually to secretaries. Kubilai looked at him long, and, seeing that he wept, could not repress his own tears and emotion. “Ah, my brother,” said he at last, “who was right, thou or I?” “I at first, but to-day the right is on thy side,” replied Arik Buga.

At this moment Atchigai, brother of Apishga, approached Assutai and asked: “Is it thou who killed my brother?” “I killed him at command of Arik Buga, at that time my sovereign. He did not wish that a prince of our house should die by the hand of some common man. Kubilai is my sovereign now; should he command, I would kill even thee in like manner.”

Kubilai imposed silence, and added: “This is not the time for such speeches.”

Togachar, a nephew of Jinghis, rose then and said: “The Khan desires no mention to-day of the past. He wishes you to feel nothing but pleasantness.” Turning to Kubilai then, he added: “Arik Buga is standing; what place dost thou give him?” He was seated with Kubilai’s sons and they passed that day in company. On the morrow, however, Arik Buga’s officers were all put in irons, and Kubilai appointed a commission of four princes and three generals to interrogate Arik Buga and his partisans. Arik Buga declared that he alone was responsible, that his officers were not guilty in any way. “How not guilty?” asked Kubilai. “The generals opposed to Mangu drew no bow against him; still it is known to thee how they were punished, simply for intentions. Ye who have begun civil war and slain so many princes and warriors, what are your deserts?” The officers made no reply. “My friends,” said Tuman Noyon, the most aged among them, “do ye not remember, that in raising Arik Buga to the throne we swore to die for his cause should the need come? The moment has come to make good that promise.”

Kubilai praised this fidelity and asked Arik Buga again, who had roused him to the enterprise. He declared at last that Alemdar and Bolga had said to him: “Hulagu and Kubilai are on distant expeditions, and our late sovereign has left you at the head of the principal ulus of the Mongols. Why hesitate? Make yourself Grand Khan immediately.” He had consulted with the other officers; all held that opinion together. The officers present confirmed what Arik Buga had stated, and ten of them were sentenced to pay the death penalty. But to judge Arik Buga himself Kubilai wished the presence of Hulagu, Berkai, and Algu. After waiting a long time for them, princes of the blood and generals then present in Mongolia met to determine the fate of Assutai and Arik Buga. Through regard for Kubilai they decided with one mind to grant life to both princes. This decision was taken to Hulagu, Berkai and Algu for their approval. Algu replied, that, since he held power and office with Kubilai’s consent, he would give no opinion; the other two confirmed the decision.

Arik Buga and Assutai were set at liberty to render homage to the Khan and move about freely. One month later Arik Buga died of illness and was buried near Jinghis and Tului (1266).

The death of Arik Buga, his brother, did not save the great Emperor from civil war, and a long and terrible contest: Kaidu, a grandson of Ogotai, had his claim to the headship of the Mongols. He brought that claim forward and pushed it with such power, skill and resource that Kubilai had not strength enough to suppress him.

This struggle between the descendants of Ogotai and Tului was the greatest and by far the most striking event in the history of Jinghis Khan’s family. Though Kubilai was able to conquer all China and Burma he could not conquer Kaidu. He met him and held him in check,—he had power to do that, and to found at the same time a dynasty in China, but he could not crush him.

We will consider first the subjection of China, and then turn to Kaidu and his exploits.

Kubilai, now Grand Khan, had decided to conquer all China and he began that great work with seriousness. During 1260 he had sent an envoy named Hao king to inform the Sung Emperor of his election. This envoy was to see in addition that the treaty concluded at Wu chang fu with Kia se tao was respected. As soon as the envoy set foot on Sung territory he was cast into prison with all his attendants. This was done at direction of Kia se tao, the real author of the treaty by which the Sung Emperor was made a vassal of Kubilai. Kia se tao had removed from this world every person who knew of that treaty and its various provisions. He was the only man living at that time in China who knew of it. The great point for Kia se tao was that the Sung Emperor must continue in ignorance of his thraldom. This man, whose sacred duty it was to explain the position, used his best power to conceal it, and adhered to his own direful policy at all costs. No one knew the great tragedy of China’s position save Kia se tao, first minister of the Empire.

The arrest of his envoy called forth from Kubilai a statement in 1261: “Since my coming to the throne,” declared he, “I have striven to secure peace to my subjects, hence I sent an envoy to the court of the Sung Emperor to make a firm agreement of amity. That court, little mindful of the future, has become more incursive and insolent. There is no day in which some of its warriors do not harass our borders. I commanded my generals last spring to be ready, but, remembering the sad fruits of warfare, and trusting that Hao king, my new envoy, would return with the results which I hoped for, I waited. I found myself duped very sorely. My envoy was arrested, against all the rules which exist between sovereigns, and during six months I looked in vain for his coming. Hostilities continue, and thus it is clear, that the Sung government wishes no longer for peace with us. Ought a nation, which for so many years has vaunted its wisdom and observance of the rules of good government, to treat us in this way? Its conduct is little in accord with the laws which it boasts of, and resembles that shade in a picture which, giving contrast, brings out the light with more brilliancy, and causes the shade to seem darker. Thus the beauty of China’s laws is in contrast with its government; hence we see the bad faith of the latter more clearly.” Then he notified all to prepare horses and weapons for action, and added: “The truth of my intentions, and the justice of my cause assure victory.”

But the war which the Grand Khan had to wage with his brother, forced him to loiter in action against the Sung sovereign. Barely had he come to Yen king after those two stubborn battles with Arik Buga on the eastern edge of the desert when he heard that one of his commanders, Li tan, had revolted. This general in Shan tung, seizing Se tian che and Itu, slew Mongol garrisons in these and other cities, and declared for the Sung Emperor. Kubilai sent Prince Apiche and General Se tian che against Li tan. They invested him closely in Tsi nan, where the defence grew most stubborn. When provisions were exhausted the besieged ate the flesh of the citizens. After four months of bitter struggle Li tan killed his wife and his concubines and then sprang into Ta ning, a shallow lake, from which he was rescued, and immediately Se tian che cut his head off. As was known, this revolt was upheld by the Sungs, although timidly. Notwithstanding Sung action Kubilai delayed serious war for a time.

When he had reigned forty years and lived sixty-two Li tsong, the Sung Emperor, died, November, 1264. Having no son, he left the throne to his nephew, Chao ki, who took the name Tu tsong when made Emperor.

It was only in 1267 that Kubilai moved against Southern China. In planning the campaign he made use of the knowledge of Liu ching, one of China’s best officers, who had left the Sung cause and gone over to the Mongols. Liu ching had been governor of Lu chiu in Su chuan some time previous and had been calumniated before Kia se tao, the chief minister, by the Su chuan governor. Fearing for his life, he took service with the Mongols. In 1261 he appeared before Kubilai, who made him governor of Kwei chiu, a city on the Hu kuang and the Su chuan border. War being decided, through his advice it was planned to begin by the siege of Siang yang on the northern bank of the Han; the possession of this city would facilitate the conquest of the great Yang tse region.

Kia se tao, either wishing to win back Liu ching, or to discredit this dignitary with the Mongols, made him prince of Yen, and sent him a gold seal with the diploma and insignia of this office. Liu ching arrested the official who brought the emblems, and went with him to the residence of Kubilai, before whom he renewed his expressions of fidelity. The Emperor treated him with honor and cut off the head of the Chinese official.

At command of Kubilai, Liu ching and At chu, son of Uriang Kadai, went with seventy thousand good men to besiege Siang yang in October, 1268. She tian tse was made commander-in-chief of all forces directed against the Sung Empire, and many men of distinction from various lands of the great Mongol Empire, such as Uigurs, Persians, Arabs, Kipchaks and others, offered their services to this renowned general.

It was decided that the city could sustain a long siege, and that they must reduce it by famine. All communication by land was cut off, but the Chinese had a numerous flotilla and could receive arms and reinforcements by the river. The besiegers constructed fifty great barges on which warriors were exercised daily at warfare on the water; still they could not prevent a well manned flotilla which was laden with arms and provisions from reaching the city in the following autumn (1269) during very high water. At chu punished the Chinese while they were nearing Siang yang, and on their way back he seized five hundred boats from them.

After a blockade of one year the Mongols saw the need of investing Fan ching, on the opposite side of the river. The cities were connected by bridges of boats; both sides of the river were dotted with posts and intrenchments, while the river was barred with strong chains and armed barges. Siang yang seemed abandoned to its fate, for Kia se tao did nothing to succor it, but he took immense pains all this time to hide from his sovereign what was happening in the Empire. Despite his precautions the Emperor heard in 1271 that the Mongols were besieging Siang yang, that being the third year of the investment. He demanded information; the chief minister declared that the siege had been raised, and the enemy was retreating. The minister at first was unable to learn who had enlightened the Emperor, but later on he discovered the man and had him put to death for some other cause. Still the Emperor’s questions roused the minister from torpor, and he sent an army under Fan wen hu to relieve the two cities.

On his part Kubilai assembled troops to strengthen the besiegers. He opened the prisons of North China, and thus obtained twenty thousand new warriors. These men gave good service and some of them reached high positions. They marched in three corps and by different routes, and met on the bank of the Han below the point where the flotilla of the Sungs had been stationed. These new troops joined both banks by a boat bridge, and captured nearly all the flotilla. At chu came upon the army of a hundred thousand led by Fan wen hu and sent by the minister. The two vanguards met, and that of the Chinese was cut to pieces, or scattered.

This check spread such a terror among the Sung warriors that the whole army fled, leaving standards and baggage behind it. Still the besieged, whose chiefs were not cast down by reverses, stood firm, and at the end of four years the city was still well supplied with provisions, though salt and a few other articles were needed. The commandant of Ngan lo, a town twenty leagues lower down on the river, undertook to supply what was lacking. He had boats built in a side stream of the Han and he held forth high rewards to all men who would handle them. Three thousand came forward to enter the city of Siang yang, or perish in trying. The boats went in threes; one boat was laden, and a second and a third tied firmly to each side of the laden one. These two were filled with armed warriors, who shot blazing arrows, and with small engines hurled stones and burning coals. They passed both divisions in this manner, breaking through every obstacle by fighting, and entered Siang yang amid endless shouts of delight from the people.

This new flotilla was commanded by Chan shun and Chang kwe, two very brave warriors. Chan shun was killed before reaching the city. Chang kwe in returning to Ngan lo was met by the Mongols, and a desperate hand to hand conflict resulted; every man near Chang kwe was killed, and he was seized. All wounded and blood-covered, he would not acknowledge the Mongols. They slew him immediately and sent four prisoners back to Siang yang with his body. Engineers of great skill in constructing ballistas appeared now in action. These men had been summoned from Persia by Kubilai, and in 1273 they raised engines which breached the walls quickly. The Mongols took the suburbs after terrible slaughter, and then burned the bridge which connected the cities; that done, they turned on Fan ching and stormed it. Fan tien chun, the commander, killed himself, saying that he would die a Sung subject. His colleague, Niu fu, took a company of desperate followers, and fought in the streets against terrible odds, setting fire to the houses, while driven gradually back; the time came when covered with wounds, he threw himself into the flames which his own hands had kindled. The men who fought with him died as he died.

The Mongols master Fedan ching during February, 1273. Kia se tao now offered to lead men himself and give aid to the cities, but, through the Emperor, he commanded himself to remain, declaring his presence at court indispensable. Kao ta, a great enemy of Liu wen hoan, was appointed to lead instead of the wonderfully adroit minister.

The catapults were turned on Siang yang, but the attack began only in November. The machines made a terrible noise; the enormous stone missiles crushed all that they fell upon. The besieged rushed away from exposed spots in terror. Fear spread through the city. Liu ching, who knew Liu wen hoan, the commandant, asked now for parley, and got it, but the two men had barely begun to converse when Chinese warriors sent arrows from the fortress and Liu ching was saved only by the goodness of his armor.

The Mongols, indignant at this action, wished to storm the place straightway, but were stopped by the generals, who informed the besieged that a message had just come to them from Kubilai. It was read in a loud voice and its import was as follows: “A splendid defence, of five years, covers you with great glory. Each faithful subject should serve his own sovereign with his life blood, but to sacrifice thousands of people through stubbornness, only think, is that reasonable or proper, especially for you who are exhausted, without aid, or even hope of it? Submit and no harm will meet any one. We promise to give each of you honorable employment. Ye will be satisfied. We pledge our true word of an Emperor that ye will be satisfied.”

Liu wen hoan accepted these promises, and surrendered the city. He went with Alihaiya then to Kubilai, who showed him clear marks of esteem and named him commandant of troops in Siang yang. The officers under him were given good places in the armies of Kubilai.

The defection of Liu wen hoan produced a colossal sensation. His family was one of the best in the Empire, and many of his relatives sent in their resignations since they had the evil fate to be connected by blood with that traitor. Kia se tao, who was a friend of the family, did not present even one resignation to the Emperor.

Kubilai, exercised by the war in his own family, was inclined to cease

## action on the Yang tse for the present, but his generals explained the

great value of the capture of Siang yang in continuing the struggle and urged that he strike his enemies while the advantage was on his side. The Emperor, Tu tsong, had just died, August, 1274, and had left all affairs to Kia se tao, and others as indifferent as that minister to the interests of China. The chief men wished to put on the throne Chao she, eldest son of Tu tsong, but Kia se tao considered that he himself would hold power more completely, and longer, by choosing the second son, Chao hien, a child of four years. This boy was chosen. The new Emperor received the name Kong tsong, and the Empress Siei shi, a widow of Tu tsong’s father, was raised to the regency.

While preparing to continue the conquest of China most effectively, Kubilai, to explain and to justify his action, issued a rescript declaring that Jinghis, Ogotai and Mangu had striven to establish firm peace with the Sung Empire, and that he himself when only a prince and commander of armies had made a treaty with the Sung court, but that the court broke every promise as soon as he had withdrawn his forces. On ascending the throne he had sent an envoy to reinforce peace and good feeling, but the envoy had been seized and imprisoned with all his attendants, and was held in confinement till that day.

After this declaration had been made, Kubilai appointed She tian tse and Bayan to command all the armies invading Hu kwang and he gave them as lieutenants At chu, Alihaiya, and Liu wen hoan. Another army was to

## act in Kiang nan under Polo hwan and four other commanders. These two

great groups of warriors reached perhaps two hundred thousand. She tian tse died soon after his appointment and the whole command of that first group was given to Bayan, the best leader among all the Mongols.

Bayan was of the Barin tribe. He had passed his youth in Persian regions, and had come on an embassy from Abaka the Ilkhan. Kubilai was so pleased with Bayan’s speech and bearing that in 1265 he took the man into his service, and made him Minister of State very quickly.

From Siang yang, Bayan sailed down the Han toward Ngan lo with a numerous flotilla, but the river was blocked firmly with chains, with piles lashed together, and with barges on which were large forces of warriors well armed and using ballistas. Moreover Ngan lo itself was protected by walls of stone strong and massive in structure. Bayan judged that he could not take such a place without losing much time and many warriors, hence he pondered well over the problem. A Chinese prisoner showed a way out of the trouble, and Bayan took the city. The Mongols made track of strong beams from the river to Lake Teng into which they dragged all their vessels and barges. From this lake they sailed to the Han by an outlet, thus passing Ngan lo without battle. Having taken Sin hing chau and Sha yang, two cities on the right bank of the Han, they sailed down to its mouth, where in command of Hia kwe a strong flotilla was posted to guard the great river. Bayan attacked this line of boats and feigned to force on the left flank a way at all costs through it, but while the battle was raging on that side he seized Sha fu kwe on the other flank, took one hundred war barges, and reached the Yang tse on its north bank, taking nearly all his boats with him. He sent at once a strong fleet across the Yang tse under At chu. Hia kwe, the Chinese general, fearing lest he might be cut off, sailed down with all his flotilla, thus leaving Bayan perfect freedom of action.

Yang lo on the north bank was captured. Han yang surrendered. Bayan crossed the great river with his army, and was preparing a siege for Wu chang fu when Chang yen kien and Ching pong, the commandants of that city, surrendered and passed with their men to the service of Kubilai. Bayan left a strong garrison under Alihaiya and moved toward the east with the rest of his forces.

Ching pong had been charged by Bayan with effecting the submission of Chin y, the Hoang chiu commandant. Chin y demanded a good office. Bayan promised to make him chief inspector of lands along the Yang tse. Chin y then opened the gates of Hoang chiu to the Mongols; he induced the governor of Ki chiu to join also and surrender his city. Many commandants along the Yang tse had served under Liu wen hoan, or men of his family, and these surrendered without waiting for a summons. Chin yen, a commandant in Kiang nan, and son of Chin y, followed the example of his father. The governor of Kiu kiang opened his gates to Bayan, who received in this city the surrender of Nan king, Te ngan fu, and Lu ngan. The kindly reception given by Bayan to all Chinese facilitated his conquests immensely.

Kia se tao, now master of the Sung Emperor, had collected meanwhile a great army, and brought to Wu hu, or to a point near it, a great river fleet which was joined by Hia kwe’s large flotilla. The first minister sent now to Bayan a Mongol captive as envoy, bearing presents of beautiful fruits and proposals of peace on the basis of his first treaty with Kubilai at Wu chang in 1260. Bayan answered by letter that Kia se tao should have spoken before he (Bayan) had crossed the Yang tse, that if he wished peace with sincerity he should seek it in person. This letter was left without answer.

Chi chiu on the Yang tse had also surrendered to the Mongols, and Kia se tao commissioned Sun hu chin to occupy with large forces an island lower down than that city, and give two thousand five hundred boats to Hia kwe to bar the Yang tse to the Mongols. He chose for himself, and the bulk of his army, a position still nearer the sea.

Bayan moved down both banks of the river with infantry and cavalry, but when he was opposite Sun hu chin’s island he opened on the Chinese with ballistas, and ordered an attack by some of his warriors. The Chinese fled in great haste to their vessels, but storms of missiles from both banks sank many of their barges and killed such a large number of men that their blood reddened the river.

This triumph gave immense booty to the Mongols. Kia se tao, informed of the issue by Hia kwe, sailed down the river with all his flotilla. He stopped at the island Kin sha, where he counseled with Sun hu chin and Hai kwe. Nothing could be done, they declared, with warriors who trembled at sight of the Mongols. Kia se tao retired down the river still farther to gather new forces, but in vain; all had lost courage and no man would serve the vile minister. As a result of this last defeat many cities in Kiang nan, whose governors had fled from them, were seized by the Mongols; others were surrendered by the commandants. At the approach of Bayan, Wan li sin, who was governor then of Nan king, despaired of his country, and wishing to die still a Sung subject, invited his relatives and friends to a banquet at which he took poison; the city then fell to the Mongols.

As the time of great heat was approaching, Kubilai wished to spare Mongol forces and instructed Bayan to desist till the autumn. But Bayan expressed his conviction that when one has an enemy by the throat it is not the time to give him a breathing spell. Hao king, Kubilai’s envoy, was still in confinement, and the man’s brother had been sent to obtain his release from Kia se tao. The mission succeeded; Hao king and his suite were set free, but he fell ill on the road, and died after reaching Yen king (Pekin), the capital of the Empire.

Kubilai sent an embassy soon after this to make new peace proposals. Lien hi kien, the chief of this embassy, stopped at Nan king, Bayan’s headquarters, and obtained five hundred men as an escort. Bayan forbade hostile acts on the part of his army, and thus avoided all pretexts for violence to the embassy. In spite of this, Lien hi kien was attacked on the way by Chinese troops, who wounded him and killed his colleague. They took him to Lin ngan, where he died of his injuries. The Sung court sent an officer to Nan king in all haste with a letter declaring that the attack had been made without its knowledge; that the authors of the violence would be discovered and punished; that the Emperor was ready to declare himself Kubilai’s vassal.

Bayan was distrustful, and received all these statements very coolly. He sent to Lin ngan with the bearer of this letter Chang yu, his own officer, to treat for peace formally, but really to see the condition of the capital. Chang yu was assassinated on the journey. Bayan, indignant at such treachery, demanded permission of Kubilai to continue hostilities. The Grand Khan, in answer, recalled him at once to the North to take command against Kaidu, who at that time was pressing him sorely.

Kao shi kie, governor of Yu chau in Hu kwang, planned an attack on Wu chang fu. He manned several thousand large boats and seized the straits of King kiang. Alihaiya, the Wu chang commandant, advanced with a fleet against Kao shi kie, who, fearing the risk of a battle, raised anchor and retired to the great Tong ting lake, where he made his boats ready for action. Alihaiya formed his fleet into several squadrons, which put the Chinese to flight with great promptness. They seized Kao shi kie’s boat, took him prisoner and then cut his head off. The head was fixed on a lance point and shown beneath the walls of Yu chau, which surrendered when summoned.

Alihaiya now attacked Kiang ling. The governor of this city, Kao ta, was among the best officers in China. Dissatisfied with the court which had put other men above him irregularly, he surrendered his city. After some days he wrote to commandants within his jurisdiction advising surrender, and soon fifteen of them yielded. Alihaiya left all who surrendered in command of their cities. Alihaiya was a favorite of Kubilai, who now sent this general a letter of thanks for his action, and gave Kao ta that same office which the Sung government had refused him.

Southern Su chuan was still unconquered, but now Wang liang chin, the Mongol governor, defeated Tsan wan chiu, the Sung general commanding, and besieged him in Kia ting, his capital. Tsan wan chiu surrendered, giving also an account of every place in his province. He was retained then in office. Still Su chuan did not submit altogether till 1278. The great question now for the government was to be rid of Kia se tao, who had grown odious to all men, and in 1274 the regent deprived him of office. This did not sate public hatred, however. Ten accusations were leveled against this vile minister, but the regent whom he had created could not make up her mind to destroy the man, so she confiscated his property, and assigned Fu kien to him as a place of life exile. An official whose father the minister had banished was given the task of conducting the condemned man. This official made it his pleasure to torment the fallen minister as he traveled, and finished by killing him near the end of the journey. For this act he was put to death straightway.

At chu resolved now to attack Chang shi kie, who had a vast fleet of boats on the river. In front of his own fleet he arranged his largest boats and placed upon them one thousand crossbowmen who discharged blazing arrows to fire the opposing flotilla. He followed closely behind to sustain them.

The Mongol fleet bore down with all force on the Chinese. The thousand bowmen sent burning arrows in every direction, and soon the great river was covered with blazing barges and boats. To avoid being burned or taken captive by Mongols many Chinese hurled themselves into the river and perished. Chang she kie fled, leaving more than seven hundred boats in the hands of the Mongols.

Bayan saw the Grand Elan at Shang tu, and convinced him that harm alone could result from stopping operations in China for even a short time. Bayan was sent back to his office and the plan of campaign was fixed promptly. Bayan was to march straightway (1275), and take the Sung capital. His assistants were to operate on the right and the left in the Hoai nan and Kiang si provinces. His own army was divided into three parts and its action repeated in some sense the movements of the combined Mongol forces. The part of this army in which Bayan, the great chief, was present marched through Chang chan; Liu wen hoan led its vanguard.

The Sung court sent corps after corps to succor the city. Bayan crushed all that he met in the field, and then summoned Chang chau to surrender. When both threats and promises proved useless he destroyed the suburbs, and raising a rampart to the height of the walls, he then captured the city. Of the four chiefs who commanded three fell, while the fourth fled and saved himself. The inhabitants were put to the sword without pity. Bayan’s generals, Argan and Tong wen ping, carried everything before them; people were fleeing to Lin ngan in thousands; there was panic in all parts, and terror in the capital. Chin y chong the first minister forced to the ranks every male above fifteen years of age. The Empress sent an envoy to Bayan to explain that the evil done had been done by Kia se tao, whom she had punished, that the sovereign was still in tender years, and that all would be remedied.

Bayan answered that Kia se tao had not murdered Lien hi hien, and bade her remember that when the Sung dynasty won its dominion, the last of the Cheu line, from which the Sungs had snatched Empire, was also an infant. “Think it not strange if your infant is treated as you treated that one.”

Bayan advanced farther. The same envoy appeared from Chin y chong and the Empress to declare that the young Emperor would agree to call himself the nephew of Kubilai, and pay tribute. This too was rejected. Now the Empress sent to say that the Emperor would own himself a subject of Kubilai, and pay yearly tribute. This offer was made without the knowledge of Chin y chong, who wished the court to remove to southern regions and fight to the end there with valor. The Empress would not hear of this project. Bayan was approaching the capital irresistibly; nothing could stop him. The Sung princes advised now to send Ki wang and Sin wang, the Emperor’s half-brothers, to more remote regions, and preserve in this manner the dynasty. The Empress consented and, changing the title of Ki wang to Y wang, and Sin wang to Kwang wang, sent them both to Fu kien, but to different places in the province.

Bayan was met near Lin ngan by the two other parts of his army. In sign that she submitted the Empress now sent him the grand seal of Empire, which he transmitted to Kubilai immediately. Next he summoned Chin y chong to discuss terms of settlement, but this minister, who was opposed to the Empress, hurried off southward. Chang shi kie retired also with his troops to Ting hai, and when Bayan sent an officer of distinction to invite him to surrender Chang shi kie cut the man’s tongue out, and hacked him to pieces. The Empress now made Wen tien siang her first minister, gave him U kien as a colleague, and sent the two men to Bayan on a mission.

The minister told the great general that if the Northern Empire wished China to be on the footing of other kingdoms subdued by the Mongols, he would ask him to retire, at least to Kia hing, where they would settle on the tribute in silver and silk to be paid every year, and on the places to be occupied. “But if your plans,” added he, “are farther reaching, and you think to destroy the Sung dynasty, be assured that the road to your object is long, and you will fight many battles ere you reach it. The south is not in your power yet. We shall defend ourselves; the issue of arms is ever changing. Who knows that the whole position will not be reversed utterly?”

Bayan dismissed U kien and detained Wen tien siang under pretext of arranging a peace with him; the minister protested against this. Seeing Chinese officers who had gone over to the Mongols, he reproached them for their infamy very sharply, not sparing even Liu wen hoan among others. Bayan sent him to Kubilai, but the minister escaped from his guards on the way.

To govern Lin ngan Bayan now appointed a council of Mongols and Chinese, under presidence of Man hu tai and Fan wen hu; he charged also Ching pong to obtain from the Empress an order to all governors of provinces to submit to the Mongols, and, to render this more emphatic, the great functionaries signed it at his instance. All obeyed except one, Kai hiuen hong, whom no threats could intimidate.

Four Mongol officers, at command of Bayan, took the seals of departments, and seized every register book, historical memoir, and map in each archive; these were all carefully placed under seal. Troops were stationed in every part of the capital and exact order continued. Bayan, whom the Emperor and Empress demanded to see, excused himself under pretext that he knew not the right ceremonial on such an occasion, and next day he left the city. Two Chinese dignitaries were charged with watching the palace, for no reason whatever were they to lose sight of the Empress. This was done under guise of showing boundless respect for her.

Very soon after, Atahai, a general, with a large suite of officers, appeared at the palace. His first act was to abolish all etiquette observed with the Emperor and Empress. Meanwhile he invited the Emperor and his mother to set out for Kubilai’s court in Shang tu, without waiting. After this notice had been given, the Empress with streaming eyes embraced her little boy, lately heir to the Empire: “The son of Heaven spares thy life,” said she. “It is proper to thank him.” This heir of seven years, a creation of the dead Kia se tao, fell on his knees at the side of his mother; their faces were turned toward the north, toward Shang tu; nine times did they strike the floor with their foreheads in saluting Kubilai the Grand Mongol.

The son and mother were then placed in an equipage and left Lin ngan and their Empire forever. With them went a great company containing all the princes and princesses of the Sung family who were in the capital at that time, besides ministers, high functionaries, men of letters of great note and marked influence. All these took the road northward, and surely a mournful procession followed the Emperor.

The regent, the Emperor’s grandmother, fell ill and was left in Lin ngan for recovery. A number of Chinamen, desperate at seeing their Emperor led captive with the chief men of the government and some of the best minds of China, made efforts to save them. Twice did they rush at the escort of Mongols which was led by Atahai and Li ting, but the escort was too strong to be broken; the Mongols repelled the Chinese after a desperate encounter in each case.

When the young Emperor was reaching Shang tu, Kubilai sent his first minister to meet him. Orders had been given to treat all captives properly. The Emperor was reduced to be a kong, or prince of the third order; Hiao Kong was the title accorded him. The Empress mother and the regent were stripped of their titles. Jambui Khatun, the Grand Khan’s chief wife, tried to soften the lot of the mother by delicate attention.

Lin ngan, the capital of the Emperor, is said to have been very large and magnificent. It was built amid lagoons and had twelve hundred bridges, some having piers of such great height that vessels of two hundred tons could sail under the bridge. In the city was a beautiful lake surrounded with palaces and mansions. On the islands of this lake were pleasure houses where marriage feasts were held and great banquets given. There were three thousand baths in Lin ngan, each large enough to accommodate one hundred persons at a time. Marco Polo states that the Emperor’s palace was the largest in the world. It contained twenty halls, the most capacious of which was used as a state banquet room; aside from these there were one thousand chambers richly decorated in gold and colors. The city contained ten large markets; 1,600,000 houses and seven hundred temples. The inhabitants dressed richly, all, except the lowest class of laborers and coolies, wearing silk.

The Grand Khan had received the gold, silver and other precious objects taken in Lin ngan from the palace. The princes and princesses of Kubilai’s court gazed with delight on these spoils of a mighty dynasty, but Jambui Khatun could not keep back her tears as she turned to the Grand Khan and said to him: “It has come to my mind at this moment that the Empire of the Mongols also will finish in this way.”

South China remained still unconquered. While Bayan was moving on Lin ngan invincibly, Alihaiya was advancing through Hu kuang and had laid siege to Chang cha. He attacked with such vigor that after some days the city suffered excessively. The Mongols delivered a general assault, won the rampart, and the fate of the place was decided; a part was on fire, and the fall of the whole was a question of hours at the utmost. At this juncture an official from a city of importance, who chanced to be there with two sons who had just come of age, made those sons put hats on their heads (the hat being a symbol of manhood). That done, he cast himself into the flames with them and his household; Li fu, the governor of Chang cha, honored greatly the memory of this visitor, and feeling sure that every official would be true to the dynasty, he summoned a certain Chin tsong and said to him: “I will not dishonor my blood by surrender; I ask you to despatch all my family, and then show to me the same service.” In vain did Chin tsong strike the earth with his forehead, in vain did he beg of the governor to relieve him from such a terrible service. Li fu was unbending, and as he insisted, Chin tsong, weeping bitterly, agreed to obey him. Wine was given all who were ready to die, and while under its influence death touched them easily. When Li fu presented his head it was swept from him with one blow of a sabre. Chin tsong set fire to the palace immediately; then he ran to his house, where he slew his own wife and children; that done, he killed himself. All the officials, save two, and a great number of officers and people followed the governor; some sprang into wells, others hanged themselves, or took poison. On entering Chang cha the Mongols were astonished to find the place almost deserted.

Alihaiya then summoned the other cities of Southern Hu kuang; nearly all of them surrendered without raising a weapon to defend themselves. At the same time in Kiang si Sung tu kai made great progress. Eleven cities of this province submitted, and Fu chau also was taken. Bayan had been summoned to appear at Shang tu immediately. Sung tu kai told him at parting, that the Sung princes had assembled many troops in Fu kien and Kuang tung, and that they intended to enter Kiang si. Bayan enjoined on Argan and Tong wen ping, whom he left in command near Lin ngan, to leave those princes no time to strengthen their armies.

When the Sung princes, brothers of the Emperor, came to Wen chau from Lin ngan, the officers who followed or joined them, made Y wang, the elder, chief governor of the Empire, and associated with him his brother Kwang wang. These brothers entered Fu kien, where the two leading cities were on the point of submitting to Hoang wan tau, whom Bay an had made governor of that province very recently. The new governor had guaranteed to reduce the whole province. The Sung

## partisans seized arms immediately. The Mongol governor was defeated and

driven out of the province; his troops deserted and joined the Sung forces.

The two princes arrived at Fu chau, the capital, and Y wang, who was nine years of age, was made Emperor with all needful ceremony. The sovereign had a numerous army divided into four corps, which were to operate in the south and along the Yang tse, on both sides of that river. At this juncture appeared Wen tien siang, who had escaped from the Mongols during the second attack on the men who were taking the young Emperor to Shang tu. To him was now given the conduct of the struggle, and he strove to rally the Chinese, and rouse their love of country. A proclamation of the young Emperor stirred up the nation, and great levies were made, which disquieted the Mongols.

When Bayan obtained a command from the Empress, the Emperor’s mother, requiring every Sung subject to submit to the Mongols, At chu sent a copy to Li ting shi, who had tried to rescue the Emperor and who was defending Yang chiu with great stubbornness. Li ting shi answered from the ramparts, that he knew no command save that to defend the place assigned him by the Empress through a document from her own hand. At chu obtained a new command in still stronger language, and addressed to Li ting shi directly. Li ting shi discharged arrows at the man bringing this document.

At chu redoubled his efforts to cut off supplies from his opponent. In despair that he could not conquer one city, while Bayan had reduced a whole province so quickly, and with it the capital of the Empire, he tried other methods. He sent Li ting shi a letter in which Kubilai promised to grant every wish of his. Li ting shi burned this letter, and cut off the head of the man who had brought it. All other cities besieged in those regions had fallen by famine, if not conquered otherwise; hunger was reaching Yang chiu, but how closely was not known to the Mongols at that time.

At At chu’s request Kubilai wrote to Li ting shi as follows: “If you will obey even at this hour, I am willing to carry out former promises, and pardon the murder of my envoy.” Li ting shi would not receive this new letter, and learning that Y wang was Sung Emperor, he left the defence of Yang chiu to Chu hwan and set out with his colleague, Kiang tsai, and seven thousand men to join his new sovereign. Barely had he gone from the city when Chu hwan surrendered.

At chu sent a strong corps of cavalry to hunt down the two fleeing commanders. One thousand Chinese were slain in this labor, and Li ting shi was forced into Tai chiu, where he was surrounded immediately. Two leading officers in that city betrayed it to the Mongols. Li ting shi, seeing that his last hour was near, sprang into a pond which proved to be very shallow. He was dragged out of it promptly and with Kiang tsai hurried back to Yang chiu. At chu left nothing undone to win these two men to Kubilai, but since both were unbending he killed them.

Tong wen ping and Argan made progress in Che kiang. They won a victory over the Sung army in Chu chiu, and in Fu kien took a fortress, called Sha u. These Mongol successes were followed by Chinese defections and the surrender of cities. This constrained the Sung court to think of its safety. Chin y chong and Chang shi kie assembled a very large fleet, and a considerable army. The Emperor embarked with his court and the army and sailed away southward to Tsuen chiu (the Zaitun of Marco Polo). This port was the seat of much commerce; the harbor was crowded with vessels at all times. The commanders now seized certain ships which they needed. These, as it seemed, belonged mainly to the governor, a very rich merchant. The governor was so greatly enraged at this action that he attacked all who landed, and even forced the fleet to sail out of the harbor; that done, he delivered his city to the Mongols.

Alihaiya had laid siege for three months, with great vigor, to Kwe lin fu, the capital of Kuang si, but failing to conquer the desperate resistance of the governor Ma ki, he tried softer methods. He obtained from Kubilai a diploma appointing Ma ki commander-in-chief of Kuang si, and sent him the document by an officer. Ma ki burned the diploma, and cut down the officer. Kwe lin fu, built at the meeting of two rivers, was exposed at one side alone, where the whole garrison could face any enemy. The Mongol general dug out new beds for the rivers and turned them; the city was assailable now upon every side and he stormed it. His army swept over the walls like a torrent, but Ma ki met the foe worthily. He fought from street to street, from one square to another, till at last, when covered with wounds, and bleeding his life out, that brave man was captured, but died shortly afterward. All the inhabitants were put to the sword without pity.

The capital taken, Alihaiya divided his army into various detachments, which he sent to seize the chief cities of that province.

Ki wang, or Y wang, the young Emperor, sailed to Hweï chiu, not far from the present Hong Kong, and sent one of his officers to Sutu, the Mongol commander, with a letter for Kubilai, in which he offered submission. Sutu sent his son to Shang tu with the bearer of this letter. Meanwhile operations continued, and soon the whole province of Kuang tung, attacked the year previous, had submitted.

At this juncture Kubilai summoned Bayan from South China, directing him to leave there only those who were needed to guard conquered places. Li heng would command troops of that kind. All others were to strike in the North at his enemy Kaidu. After Bayan’s departure the Sung party attacked and retook many cities in the four southern provinces. Chang shi kie made great levies in Fu kien, equipped a large fleet and laid siege to Tsuen chiu, but Sutu forced him afterward to raise it. Sutu declared that the Chinese were not to be trusted, and fell back on the old Mongol method of slaughter. City after city was put to the sword without mercy or favor. Since many southern cities had been retaken by Sung forces Kubilai in 1278 sent fresh troops to that part of the Empire, and ordered Ta chu, Li heng, and Liu se kwe to cross the Ta yn ling mountains, while the fleet, under Sutu and others, would attack the Sung squadron.

Sutu now swept all things before him till he reached Chao chiu, where he met firm resistance. Not wishing to delay, lest he be late in the south, he sailed on, and joined the land forces near Canton, which surrendered. After this success he returned to Chao chiu and laid siege to it regularly. The place was built strongly, and Ma fa, the commandant, was so active and resolute that after battering it for twenty days and storming it repeatedly Sutu could show only small progress. Then the commandant made a sortie in which he burned the battering engines of the Mongols, but surrounded at last by greater forces, he perished in a murderous struggle. His men broke and fled to the city; the enemy ran with them, rushed in throngs to the gates, swept through them after the Chinese, took the place, and put all to the sword without exception.

The young Emperor had no port in which to anchor his vessels with safety. Hence he wandered about on the sea without a resting-place, till in May, 1278, at the age of eleven, he died, on Kang chuen, a desert island. Most of the officials and high personages who followed him were averse to this wandering existence, and were ready to submit to Kubilai, but Liu sin fu opposed them with the uttermost vigor. “We have,” said he, “a son of Tu tsong with us yet and we must make him the Emperor. We shall find warriors and officers in plenty. If Heaven has not decreed ruin to the Sungs, do ye doubt that it can raise their throne to its former magnificence?”

These words roused the chiefs; they placed Kuang wang on an earth mound, knelt, and rendered homage. Ti ping was the name given the new Emperor. Liu sin fu and Chang shi kie were his ministers. The Chinese headquarters were mainly on water, their fleet was very great, and carried large forces. This fleet retired to straits in the Gulf of Canton which lay between the mountain Kiche and the island of Ya i. The position, as it seems, was a good one. In every case it was the last refuge and stronghold of the Sung dynasty. Chang shi kie had built on the summit of the island a modern palace for the Emperor, and barracks for the warriors. He worked with great zeal to revictual the vessels and provide all that was needful for every one. Provisions came from Canton and other places, from cities which were subject to the Mongols, as well as the Chinese. Wen tien siang, in spite of his losses, recaptured Canton, and held it, at least for a season.

At this time Chang hong fan explained to Kubilai in a letter that to end the great struggle successfully Kuang wang must be mastered. Kubilai sent him a sword set with jewels, and made him commander-in-chief of the armies appointed to subdue the new Emperor. The first act of the general was to crush the land forces; as these were mainly new levies and the Mongols were veterans, they fled at the earliest onset and their officers were taken captive. Among them were Wen tien siang, chief commander, with Liu tse tsiun and Tsiu fong. The last of these killed himself and the second was burned to death over a slow fire. Wen tien siang begged for death earnestly, but Chang hong fan would not grant it. After asking him in vain to give homage by bowing northward, Chang hong fan sent him to Kubilai, and freed all his friends and relatives who were captive.

The armies of the Sung Emperor were destroyed. The last blow remained, that against the sea forces. Chang hong fan put his army in ships and sailed in past the island called Ya i. The Chinese land troops were intrenched on the island very firmly, and the Chinese fleet seemed secure from attack on the north side, since the water in that part was too shallow, as they thought, for the large Mongol vessels.

Chang hong fan reconnoitred his opponents, and saw that their vessels were unwieldy, so he took a number of his light boats, filled them with straw soaked in oil and ignited them. Favored by a strong southern wind, he sent these burning boats forward to strike on the Chinese. But Chang shi kie had covered all his front barks and their rigging with mud, hence they were not fired and the attack proved fruitless.

Canton had been taken by the Mongols a second time and occupied. Chang hong fan now received thence a reinforcement of men, and also of vessels. These latter he posted north of Ya i, and prepared to attack the Sung fleet, which was west of the island, between it and the mountain. Attacks were made on the north and the south simultaneously. The battle continued all day. The Chinese were unbroken in the evening, but in the fleet there was something approaching a panic; the commanders had lost control for the greater part. Chang shi kie and his colleague determined to reach the open sea under cover of a mist which was present in every place. The Chinese emerged from the straits with sixteen bulky vessels and there formed the front of the squadron. Liu sin fu boarded the Emperor’s vessel to save him; that ship was larger than others and more difficult to manage. They sailed on, however, till they came to the mouth of the channel, which was blocked by Mongol barges lashed one to another securely. There was no chance to move forward and to return was impossible.

Liu sin fu, seeing this, had his children and wife hurled into the water. Then, telling Ti ping that a Sung sovereign should prefer death to captivity, he put the boy Emperor on his shoulders and sprang into the sea with him. Most of the dignitaries followed this example, and drowned themselves.

More than eight hundred ships fell into the power of the Mongols. Later on Chinese corpses in thousands were floating on those waters. Among them was that of Ti ping, and on it was found the seal of the Empire. When Chang shi kie heard that his sovereign was dead he went to the ship of the Empress and tried to induce her to aid him in choosing some relative of the Sung family and making him Emperor. But when she learned of the death of her young son she sprang into the sea without further discussion, and was followed by the ladies of her service. Chang shi kie found her body and buried it on the mainland. He then sailed away for Tung king, where he had faithful allies with whom he intended to return and install a new Emperor if possible. But in crossing the Gulf of Tung king, Chang shi kie was met by a terrible tempest, and perished.

Meanwhile Su liu i, his colleague, fell, slain by his own men. When he was dead all people in China submitted, and Kubilai Khan found himself master of an Empire, for which the Mongols had been fighting for more than five decades. Thus the Sung family vanished after ruling three and one-fifth centuries over China.

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