In the North the adherents of Ming wang, the pseudo Sung Emperor who desolated Shen si and Honan, were beaten in Shen si by Chagan Timur, the Mongol general. Liau fu tong, Ming wang’s first minister, had mastered Honan for the greater part, and now wished to capture Kai fong fu, the capital of Honan, and [[401]]establish in that place the court of his sovereign. Two army corps which he had sent to Shan tung committed great ravages. Pe pu sin, chief of one corps of these warriors, entered Shen si somewhat later, captured Tsin long with Kong chang, and laid siege to Fong tsiang. Chagan Timur, who hastened to rescue this city, surprised Pe pu sin and captured his baggage. Pe pu sin fled to Su chuan and thus saved himself. The rebel force which had burst into Shan tung and taken many cities defeated Talima che li and laid siege to Tsi nan, the chief city of Shan tung and its capital.
When Tong toan siao arrived from Honan with a Mongol division he defeated the rebels at the walls of Tsi nan and then left the place; but barely had he gone when Mao kwe, who commanded the pseudo Sung forces, attacked this central city of Shan tung and captured it. Then he pursued Tong toan siao, closed with his forces, and killed him in battle. After this victory in 1357 Mao kwe seized the city of Ho kien and made raids to the very edge of Ta tu, the capital of the Mongol Empire. It was thought by some members of the council, that the Emperor should immediately withdraw from Ta tu, but the minister, Tai ping, opposed this, and summoned Liu kara Buga, a good general, who defeated Maok we, and forced him back on Tsi nan, which he had taken. While one of his detachments was threatening the capital in this way Liau fu tong seized Kai fong fu, from which the governor had withdrawn on a sudden. Liau fu long then established his Emperor in that city, which had been a residence of the Kin dynasty just previous to its downfall. Then he sent north of the Hoang Ho two divisions of warriors under Kwan sien seng and Po te u pan, who had ravaged Shan si for the greater part. The first of these leaders took a long turn northward to Liao tung, whose capital, Liao yang, he plundered, and even touched the border of Corea while ravaging. Doubling back, he made the long march to the Emperor’s great summer residence, Shang tu, which he captured and pillaged; and his warriors burned Kubilai Khan’s splendid palace in that city.
In the South Siu chiu hwei had made himself master of most of Hu kwang and a part of Kiang si. Chu yuan chang, the coming Emperor, strengthened his position in Kiang nan, and set about conquering Che kiang in its Eastern division. He received the submission of the pirate, Fang kwe chin, who, threatened in the West by [[402]]Chang se ching and in the south by Chin yiu ting, master in Fu kien, preferred to be vassal of a man whom he trusted. The pirate agreed to surrender Wen chau, Tai chu, and King yuen in southern Che kiang when they came to him; he sent also his son Fang kwan as a hostage. Chu, believing the word of this pirate, sent his son back to him, and on receiving the above mentioned districts he returned to Nan king, where he formed a strong council to govern those newly won places.
While Chu yuan chang was thus increasing and strengthening his power, division was rapidly weakening the other two parties. The life of Mao kwe, the Sung general, was taken by his colleague, Chao kiun yong. To avenge Mao kwe, Siu ki tsu set out at once from Liao yang and overtook Chao kiun yong at Y tu, where he struck him down straightway and killed him. Dissensions were still more rife among Siu chiu hwei’s partisans. Chin yiu liang, a general of this founder of the Tien wan would-be dynasty, had just captured Sin chiu (Kuang sin) on the eastern border of Kiang si after a siege which was famous for desperate resistance (1358). The defenders were led by Ta chin nu of the blood of Jinghis, and by Beyen Buga, a descendant of the Idikut of the Uigurs. Both these men perished in the deadly encounter. The provisions in the garrison became so reduced that the warriors ate the flesh of those of their comrades who had perished. At last they killed all of the inhabitants who through age or weakness could not aid in the defence and used them for food. The place was finally captured by means of an underground passage. At this juncture Siu chiu hwei wished to transfer his capital from Han yang to Nan chang fu, a recent conquest, though the general who was with him opposed it lest his influence might be lessened.
The pretender went by way of Kiu kiang. Chin yiu liang went out to meet him under pretext of showing great honor, but when Siu chiu hwei had entered Kiu kiang, the gates were closed quickly behind him, and troops, waiting silently in ambush, cut down his attendants. Chin, master now of the Emperor’s person, spared his life and his title, but he confined him, and called himself Prince of Han. Somewhat later he marched on Tai ping, with his prisoner, and when he had captured that city he beat the Sin chiu to death in his barge, with a crowbar.
Chin now proclaimed himself Emperor, named his dynasty the [[403]]Han, and returned to Kiu kiang, whence he had set out on his enterprise.
Chagan Timur, the Mongol general, seeing the Sung party divided, planned now to capture Nan king with Liau fu tong and his Emperor. He so arranged the march of his three army divisions that they arrived over different roads simultaneously. Nan king thus found itself invested on a sudden. He cut off all provisions, intending to weaken the city, or perhaps take it by famine. When he saw that provisions in Nan king were exhausted, he delivered a general assault in the night time, scaled the walls, and took the place. Liau fu tong escaped to Ngan fong with his Emperor.
In 1353 Togan Timur had made Aiyuchelitala his heir, and published a general amnesty. Seven years later the heir in accord with Ki, the Empress, his mother, wished that Tai ping, the first minister, should prevail on Togan to resign and leave him dominion. The minister would not try this experiment, hence they strove to destroy him. The heir had poisoned a number of the minister’s partisans to weaken him. Tai ping, exposed then to every blow and attack of a daring conspiracy, retired from his office. Power passed after that to a eunuch, Pa pu hwa, and to Cho se kien, two infamous men who had no thought except to increase their own wealth and authority, and who kept the weak and debauched Emperor in complete ignorance of all things around him.
A quarrel between two Mongol military chiefs at this critical moment is of interest: Chagan Timur, acting in Shan si, had retaken Tsin ki from the rebels. Polo Timur, the Tai tung fu governor, declared that this district belonged to his province, and should not be detached from it. He advanced with troops therefore to take the place. Chagan protested. The Emperor settled the boundaries and the generals withdrew, each man to the region assigned him. Hardly had they obeyed when the Emperor commanded Chagan to yield up Ki ning to his rival, but Chagan replied that Ki ning was needed to defend Kai fong fu, and reassembling his warriors he moved now against Polo. Again orders came from the Emperor; the movement was stopped, and the governors laid down their weapons, though unwillingly.
This same year (1360) a storm rose in the North, which at first seemed more dangerous by far than the rebellion in China. More than once had the Emperor ordered princes of his family to aid [[404]]him with troops in defending his dominions; but now one of these princes, Ali hwei Timur, seventh in descent from Ogotai, tried to seize the throne for his own use, instead of helping its occupant. This prince was advancing with aid, but when some days march from the Great Wall of China, he declared that Togan Timur the Emperor was powerless to preserve that which he had received from his ancestors; that he had lost more than half of it already. Ali hwei then invited the Emperor to yield what remained of the inheritance. Tukien Timur, whom the Emperor sent to crush this bold rebel, was beaten and withdrew on Shang tu to find refuge. The Mongol court was in terror and hurried on forces, but at this juncture the rebel prince was betrayed by his own men, and delivered to the Emperor’s general who commanded him to be put to death immediately.