The wisdom of Genghis Khan was manifested in all his
accomplishments. He came from one of several nomadic tribes occupying an area
of Central Asia plagued by drought. Game had become scarce and farming almost
nonexistent. Before becoming the Great Conqueror, he was namedTemujin. His
father had been a chieftain of the Kiyad and was murdered by another clan.
Temujin recognized early on that the ongoing conflict among the tribes would
end badly for all. Strong and ruthless, he was a brilliant military strategist
who made the necessary alliances to build a small army. With it he set about
conquering each of the warring tribes and bringing them under his banner.
After successfully uniting the tribes into a Mongol confederation,
he sought to feed his impoverished and malnourished people. He gazed beyond his
border. Temujinknew that Western Xia and its Tangut population had irrigated
its grasslands and raised large cattle herds. So he went to war with the Tangutand
invaded Western Xia. By 1209 heprevailed and had it under his control along
with itsHexi Corridor, an important East/West trade route. Once again Temujindemonstrated
wisdom by assimilating the Tangut advances in literature, architecture, music
and the artsinto the Mongol culture. He utilized the trade goods and foodstuffs
of this new Mongol conquest to improve the economy of the combined territories.
Having added Tangut soldiers to his army,Temujin also was collecting tribute.
Soon he received an emissary from the Emperor of the Jin
demanding his ownsubmission and tribute from the Mongols as his vassals. His
people had long suffered under Jin influence and arrogance. The Jin had a huge
army estimated at 600,000 men that dwarfed that of Temujin. But, the Jin Dynasty
was extremely wealthy. From his spies,Temujin knew that the Jin army was
occupied far to the South with border wars. Making the most of his opportunity,
with a force of 70,000,he marched into the Jin Empire, successfully raiding
wherever he went. He concentrated the raids on rural areas, terrorizing the
inhabitants. Very soon these people were flocking to the cities for protection.
After selecting such a city Temujin laid siege using siege weaponry and
strategy he had taken from Muslim and Chinese engineers. City after city fell
to the Mongols. Soon Temujin and his army, burgeoning with Jin deserters, were
at the gates of the Jin capital Zhongdu (Beijing). The capital was overcrowded and
could not begin to feed all the people. Before long Jin soldiers were ordered
to execute the peasants which pushed the remaining population towards
rebellion. Now the Jin Emperor sued for peace and agreed to payTemujin a huge
annual tribute. Quickly the Jin Emperor moved his court away to Kaifeng.
Feeling double crossed Temujin took Zhongdu and all it possessed. The Mongol’s
spoils of war were mind boggling.From there Temujin’s forces went deep into
China, plundering everywhere they went. Vast quantities of gold, silver and
jewels were constantly being transported back to Karakorom, then the Mongol
capital.
As a result of his external victories he had been given the
title of Genghis Khan. His first conquest came in the West over the Khanate of
Kara-Khitan, a country of almost a million square miles. Its treasury of
Chinese coins, operating gold mines and annual tribute provided him with new
wealth and ongoing income.
Next Genghis Khan sought trade with Persia.But Persian
officials responded tohim by slaughtering his trade caravan and beheading his
ambassadors. Enraged, Genghis Khan dispatched part of his army under two of his
best generals to invade that country. After capturing several rich cities the
generals had barely penetrated Persia. It was then they received orders from
Genghis Khan to hunt down and kill or capture the Shah of Persia. The Shah
panicked and fled Persia in the face of the Mongol onslaught. The wealth of
Persia was beyond counting and now it belonged to Genghis Khan.
The Mongol raids brought Iraq, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan,
Armenia, Kiev, several Russian provinces among other nations under Genghis
Khan. He, himself, led the invasions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern
India. Gold, silver and jewels poured out of these countries and into Genghis
Khan’s coffers.
In 1227 the Great Conqueror died. Since then, finding the
Tomb of Genghis Khan has been the obsession of tyrants, adventurers and
treasure hunters alike. All have failed. It is a Genghis Khan fact that,
looking at a map today, he had conquered a geographic area which would include
30 countries and 3+ billion people.
The legend says that, in order to keep his tomb’s location
secret, Genghis Khan slaughtered hundreds if not thousands of his captives
after they had been forced to dig his burial site. He had amassed untold wealth
with enormous quantities of jewels, gold and silver from his conquests which is
believed to be buried with him.
So why hasn’t his crypt been found in almost eight hundred
years? In Michael B. Hickland’s The
Guardian of Genghis Khan’s Tomb, the Great Conqueror extracts a sacred oath
from a special advisor. It binds both this trusted counselor and his family
forever to protect the tomb and the most immense treasure ever known.
Now, in a remote Asian river valley, a beautiful English
scientist’s chance discovery of an ancient artifact tied directly to Genghis
Khan ignites a furious race among China, Russia and the United States to find
that crypt. The stakes are huge, putting the young woman along with her
American sponsor at the center of the confrontation.
Can The Guardian of
Genghis Khan’s Tomb manage to keep the gravesite safe and his beloved
country, a fledgling democracy, from being overrun? Or will war break out
between the world’s Superpowers? This e-novel is a fast paced historical
fiction thriller full of turns and twists. It ends with a conclusion that would
stun even the Great Conqueror himself.
