Part II, The Mongol World War, 1211-1261, Chapter 4, Spitting on the Golden Khan Summary and Analysis

By 1210, the Mongols grew in power and a new Golden Khan ascended to the Jurched Throne. He demanded the submission of Genghis by envoy and stifled Mongol trade routes. Genghis refused to submit, and after three days of discernment, he and his people decided to go to war. The Jurched kingdom was the second largest of the many kingdoms in modern China. Prior to the Jurched threat, Khan had subdued and absorbed the Tangut, who had 150,000 soldiers, and he continued to compile his own tactics. Khan's war against the Jurched would set the world ablaze. They prepared to cross the Gobi, as the Mongols were well suited to travel long distances. They traveled light and subsisted on...