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[At that time, in order for his own accession to the khanate to proceed smoothly, Ögedei could be said to have exhausted every method at his disposal.
First he drew close his second brother, Chagatai. Then he sought the support of figures such as Yelü Chucai, a remnant subject of Jin. Alongside them he brought in the surviving elites of Western Xia led by Gao Zhiyue, and most crucially the Han hereditary commanders headed by Shi Tianze.
Minor forces and scattered retainers were all gathered together. Only then could he finally speak loudly in Tolui's presence.
The two sides remained locked in stalemate for a full two years. In the end, it was Yelü Chucai, fearless of death, who directly confronted Tolui face to face and forced him, however unwillingly, to convene the kurultai assembly.
Temujin died of illness in the autumn of 1227. Not until the autumn of 1229 did Ögedei pass the kurultai vote and formally become Great Khan. Even that single kurultai session dragged on in dispute for forty days.
Thus, three years after Ögedei's accession, Tolui's sudden death at the age of forty could be said to have been entirely reasonable.
After Ögedei's death, the eldest sons who had been campaigning in the West turned back.
Güyük, as Ögedei's eldest son, discovered that he now faced the same problem his father once had.
The commander of the Second Western Campaign was Batu, son of Jochi. By this time Batu was powerful and well armed. If he refused to allow the kurultai to convene, Güyük could not ascend the throne.
However, because news took five full years to travel back from the West while the Mongol princes were returning, during those five years Güyük's mother, Töregene Khatun, governed as regent. By lavishly distributing rewards to royal kinsmen and ministers, she had largely secured support. Even if Batu refused to acknowledge him, Güyük still mounted the throne.
Yet once Güyük ascended and suppressed dissenting ministers, he did not wait a single moment. He immediately set out on a western tour.
The Yuan History is evasive about the purpose of Güyük's western tour, but even a fool knows he went to confront Batu.
Here lay the problem. Güyük belonged to the Ögedei line. Tolui's earlier sudden death had been too conveniently timed, and the two factions could not even sit at the same table.
Before Güyük even arrived, Tolui's faction had already sent word to Batu.
As for Batu's response, unofficial histories provide two versions.
One claims Batu sent envoys to welcome Güyük, causing the Great Khan to feel somewhat embarrassed. Yet at a banquet he was poisoned by the envoy and died.
The other version says Batu's envoy openly denounced Güyük for turning blade against kin and demanded single combat. As a Mongol, Güyük could not shrink back. The two fought and perished together.
In any case, Güyük died suddenly less than a year after becoming Great Khan, during his western expedition.
Afterward, Batu considered taking the throne himself. Yet when he proposed convening a kurultai, fewer than half the eligible representatives responded. Moreover, doubts persisted as to whether his father Jochi was truly Temujin's biological son.
Thus Batu retreated a step and instead supported Möngke, a descendant of Tolui's line, who became the new Great Khan.
After this series of events, the Ögedei Khanate, originally orthodox in succession, lost the throne. Its ally, the Chagatai Khanate, naturally bore resentment toward Möngke of Tolui's line.
Möngke himself had been elevated by Batu, lord of the Kipchak Khanate, and thus could not command the Kipchak Khanate with full authority. As for the Ilkhanate, it was a distant territory that could only be governed through delegation. Its eventual separation was inevitable.
From this perspective, Kublai Khan was in fact the correct choice. He perceived the essence of the kurultai system and instead adopted the Han Chinese system of legitimate primogeniture.
For this reason, scholars often regard Kublai's accession as the marker of the Mongol Empire's end in the narrow sense.
Yet Kublai's decision became the strongest banner for Mongol factions rebelling against him. Their slogan was simple:
"The old customs of this dynasty differ from Han law. Now you remain in the Han lands and follow Han law. What is the reason?"
This was almost a direct question: are you Mongol, or are you Han?
From that moment, the Mongol Empire completely disintegrated.
Temujin had established the kurultai system in order to halt slaughter. Yet in order to defend that aristocratic democracy, force once again had to be invoked.
The unspoken premise of such democracy was simple: whoever possessed the greater strength and the harder fist was more democratic.
It bears a curious resemblance to a certain great power across the ocean.]
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[Server Chat Log]
MarchIfPaid: "Temujin was wise. He saw at a glance that Tolui's descendants were better at playing cuju and did not wish to follow Gao Qiu's example."
FearMeLater: "Aristocratic democracy is not true democracy. Mongolia only proves that aristocratic democracy is inferior to aristocratic autocracy."
LegendInDraft: "That is too extreme. On the steppe, productivity was low and natural disasters frequent. Under such conditions, clans had to band together to survive. Aristocratic elective systems were inevitable. The real issue was that after expansion they failed to reform according to local conditions. In that sense it resembled a larger Jin state."
BattleProofish: "This also answers the old internet question. When Zhu Yuanzhang thrashed the Yuan, where was the Mongol cavalry? The several khanates had already split off voluntarily. They ignored you a century earlier, let alone a century later."
BraveUntilHit: "Right. When Yuan was about to collapse, the Chagatai Khanate was itself splitting. The later Eastern Chagatai Khanate even accepted investiture from Ming."
WearpInSock: "So by that logic, did Mongolia perish because of Temujin?"
KnightInBeta: "Foolish youth, remember this. Do not waste time studying. Just remember that Tang perished because of Li Shimin, Song perished because of Zhao Kuangyin, Ming perished because of Zhu Yuanzhang. Then saying Mongolia perished because of Temujin will sound perfectly reasonable."
FearPending: "Let me add one more. Confucianism perished because of Emperor Wu of Han. China perished because of Qin Shi Huang. There, complete."
"Zhu Yuanzhang: So if I had not founded Ming, there would be no Ming to perish? Is that not absurd?"
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For the Son of Heaven of Ming, the earlier portion had been acceptable. The disputes arising from the kurultai system were little different from what he himself perceived.
But what did Ming's fall have to do with him?
Though he could see that it was the jest of later generations, it nevertheless pierced his lungs.
Especially with his eldest son present.
Zhu Biao forced a smile.
"Father, why trouble yourself with such remarks? By this logic one might say that China perished because of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Would not the sages laugh upon hearing it?"
He spoke thus, yet he understood his father even more clearly.
His father had always wished to create for him the best possible environment of succession. That naturally included eliminating every flaw and hidden danger.
With such a state of mind, it was hardly strange that even idle nonsense could provoke him. Yet human strength has limits, while flaws renew themselves without end. How could they ever be exhausted?
So Zhu Biao added gently:
"Father, when Temujin established the kurultai, he too wished for Mongolia to endure for a thousand generations. Yet within fifty years brothers turned against one another. Did he foresee it?"
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and turned his head aside.
"That was because Temujin was foolish. 'The youngest son guards the hearth' is one matter. But who leaves one hundred thousand troops to him? When a man holds a sharp weapon, killing intent arises. It is no wonder Tolui troubled his brothers."
"So to say Mongolia perished because of Temujin is not entirely false."
Zhu Biao sighed inwardly.
At that moment, new words appeared upon the screen.
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[Server Chat Log]
Li Shimin: "Tang perished because of me. The realm is vast, its affairs countless. I could not bind a thousand years of change nor devise plans for centuries ahead. Thus I bear guilt toward later generations."
Zhuge Liang: "Later generations speak in jest. Why should Your Majesty Erfeng and the Hongwu Emperor take it to heart?"
Li Shimin: "What the Marquis Wu says is correct. I merely exchanged a few lines of laughter."
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Within Ganlu Hall, Li Chengqian set aside other concerns and instead noticed something else.
"Father, who is 'Erfeng'?"
The hall fell quiet.
Li Shimin's brows twitched slightly.