25. Genghis Khan’s Most Trusted General?
Muqali’s enterprising feats against the Jin in northern China cemented his reputation and the esteem of Genghis Khan. When war broke out with the Khwarezmian Empire of Central Asia in 1218, Genghis took most of the Mongol army west to conquer Khwarezm and named Muqali his viceroy in China. He gave his trusted general a royal title, showered him with more lavish praise and gifts than he had given any of his other generals, and left him behind with 20,000 men to keep the Jin in check until Genghis’ return.
In the Khan’s absence, Muqali exceeded expectations. He not only held off the Jin, whose armies still numbered in the hundreds of thousands but went on the offensive against an enemy that outnumbered him by more than 10 to 1. He repeatedly wrong-footed the Jin and kept them off balance by feints, rapidity of action and aggressiveness, and attacks from unexpected directions. By the time Genghis returned in 1222, Muqali had conquered most of northern China. He died of illness the following year, while besieging a Jin fortress.
