At this evil juncture Tsui li, who commanded the eastern side of the capital, made himself master of the city in all parts. He had the governor of the palace, the minister of state and ten other high dignitaries killed in his presence. Immediately afterward he proclaimed them as worthy of death for their failure in duty. He entered the palace with armed hand, held a council and proclaimed Prince Wa nien tsung ko as regent. He sent men in the name of the Emperor’s mother to bring that prince to the city. He came without delay and was now regent. Tsui li made himself first minister, chief commander and head of the Imperial Council. One of his brothers was made city governor, and another one prefect of the palace. All his dependents had places. He judged now that he needed the Mongols to protect him in office, and he sent his submission to Subotai. That commander approached the main gate of the city. Tsui li, arrayed in royal fashion, went out with a brilliant attendance to the Mongol, as he might to a father. On returning Tsui li, to prove his submission to Subotai, burned the outlooks and the wooden towers on the walls of the city. A little later he had the regent, the Empresses, and all members of the reigning family assemble in a palace which was guarded by his confidants. He went himself then to live in the Emperor’s palace. He sent jewels and other precious objects to Subotai from the treasury; he sent even the state robes of the Emperor and Empress as gifts to the Mongol commander.
Tsui li summoned now to his palace the daughters and wives [[305]]of all those great lords who had gone with the Emperor, and detained those of them who pleased him. Next came an edict compelling the people to bring their silver and gold to the palace. After this came domiciliary visits, and many men perished under torture while striving to save even some of their wealth from Tsui li’s endless rapacity. During a visit made by this man and his wife to the Empresses, who recompensed him for services alleged but never rendered, the two helpless women gave Tsui li the most precious effects in their possession. He brought the dowager to write to her son, the Emperor, urging him to submit to the Mongols. This letter was taken to Nin kia su by his nurse, an old woman. Tsui li now seized the two Empresses, the regent, all members of the reigning family, male and female, to the number of five hundred, and sent them to Subotai’s camp ground in chariots; he sent Kung yuan tse, a very wise person, a descendant of Confucius; he sent men learned in law and philosophy, and in the Taoist religion; he sent also physicians, artists, actors and embroiderers.
All men of the reigning family were put to death straightway by Subotai. The two Empresses and the princesses were sent to Mongolia; while traveling to Kara Kurum they suffered want and privations of every kind.
Foreseeing the fall of the capital Subotai made a statement to Ogotai, the Grand Khan, substantially as follows: “The city has made such resistance, so many warriors and officers of the Mongols have fallen, that, by the law of Jinghis, we should pillage it.” Ye liu chu tsai hurried to the Khan and explained that those people would be his subjects, that among them were many men of great skill and value, that by killing them he would ruin the profit of his conquest. Ogotai hearkened to the wise counsel of Ye liu, and ordered that none should suffer death except members of the Kin family. Thus the kind minister saved many people. He also had the law canceled which ordained death to inhabitants of cities taken by storm, or by siege operations.
And now let us find the Kin sovereign. Soon after his arrival at Kwe te fu the fleeing Emperor, to satisfy his troops, who declared that Baksan had caused the defeats in Shan tung, had the man tried by a council of war and then executed.
Fucha kuan nu, a certain general, seized control of Kwe te fu [[306]]after killing Li tsi with three hundred mandarins, and also the governor. Kuan nu’s mother had been captured after Baksan’s defeat. Temutai, a Mongol commander, was besieging a town twenty leagues south of Kwe te fu; the Emperor charged Kuan nu to insinuate to Temutai that if his (Kuan nu’s) mother were restored he would bring the Emperor to accept peace conditions. Temutai sent back the woman, and began to negotiate. Kwan nu and Temutai had held many meetings. Meanwhile Kwan nu prepared a secret attack, and surprised the Mongol camp during night hours; arrows with fireworks increased the confusion. Temutai’s forces fled, and he lost more than three thousand men in crossing a river. Kwan nu, made chief commander because of this victory, now obtained complete control, and left not a trace of authority to the Emperor.
At this juncture Uku lun hao, governor of districts in Southern Honan, proposed that the Emperor make Tsai chiu his capital. Nin kia su was quite willing, but Kuan nu would not hear of a change which would cost him control of the Emperor’s person. There was no outcome now for the Emperor but to be rid of the minister, so one day Kuan nu was killed while entering his sovereign’s chamber. The falling monarch had still one hope left in connection with Tsai chiu: Wu shan, a general in the south of Honan, had a force seventy thousand in number. Ogotai the year previous had made a treaty with Li tsong, the Sung Emperor, and the latter, thinking it time to destroy the ancient foe of his dynasty, had agreed to send troops to Honan on condition that after the fall of the Kins that whole region be restored to his Empire. Meng kong, who led the Sung army, now attacked and defeated Wu shan in the Ma teng group of mountains. He captured, moreover, nine forts which that general had held there, receiving besides the surrender of all that was left of his army.
The Kin Emperor had set out for Tsai chiu before this disaster. His escort was nearly three hundred men; of these only fifty were mounted. On arriving he placed at the head of affairs Hu sha hu, a member of his family, a general of skill and a statesman. This minister made every possible effort to form a new army; soon he had ten thousand mounted men, as the nucleus of his forces. It was his plan to convey the Emperor to Kong chang, a safe place in Shen si, and act then with vigor, but the sovereign’s intimates [[307]]were opposed to this journey, and prevailed on him to stay in Tsai chiu to the ruin of himself, and his dynasty.
The apparent remoteness of the Mongols gave confidence for the moment, but the Mongols soon made their appearance. Small parties came from the army of Tatchar, who was only waiting for the capture of Lo yang to surround the Kin sovereign’s last refuge. Lo yang had sustained a long siege, and had forced the Mongols to raise it. Tsi yang shen, who had rendered great service in regions north of the river, was still in command. His forces, however, were few, and long resistance was this time impossible; hence he put himself now at the head of a chosen party and strove to break through the enemy, but was seized arms in hand fighting valiantly. Tatchar tried to win over so splendid a warrior, and implored him most earnestly to show homage to Ogotai, to prostrate himself with face looking northward, but he bowed toward the south, saluting in this way Nin kia su, his own Emperor, and suffered death for his action.
Tatchar was the son of Boroul, one of Jinghis Khan’s four great heroes, and now being free he moved on Tsai chiu to end the Kin dynasty. His army was reinforced by twenty thousand good warriors under Meng kong and Kiang hai, whom the Sung Emperor had sent because of his alliance with Ogotai. The two commanders brought with them three hundred thousand sacks of rice for the Mongols. After two months’ blockade provisions were so scarce in the city that human flesh was used as food and disease ravaged terribly. The defenders armed every man who could labor. All young women who had strength enough dressed in men’s clothes, and carried fagots and stones to defend the last refuge of the Emperor. After many attacks the Sung forces and the Mongols made a fierce assault, and seized a small part of the bulwarks. To their astonishment they found a new wall in the rear of the first one, and a broad moat between them.