The Chinese could afford to employ people to fight for it. In the borderlands, the Mongols met a force of heavily armed mercenaries, who were loyal as only mercenaries could be.

Reinforced by the mercenary troops, they marched into the fertile plains of Northern China. Few of the Chinese villagers had seen a Mongol warrior before, and few of the Mongols would have journeyed this far into China. It was the clash of two alien cultures. There was only one certainty: the Chinese would never forget them.

The Mongols plundered without mercy. And from each conquest, Genghis Khan took his own reward: a highborn wife from the vanquished.

"The greatest fortune a man can have is to conquer his enemy, steal his riches, ride his horses and enjoy his women. "

Further east lay an even greater prize. With a population of 350,000, 13th century Beijing was one of the most sophisticated cities on Earth, capital of the Northern Chinese Empire, famous for its grand palaces, gilded temples and markets overflowing with silks and spices. In his quest to take these riches for himself, Genghis Khan faced one huge problem: Standing between him and the conquest of the city was a wall.

borderland: a district near the border between two countries or areas

mercenary: a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army

highborn: wellborn, of good family, of noble birth

gilded: covered with a thin layer of gold