On August 25, 1227, Genghis Khan died during his personal conquest of Western Xia, and before his death he passed the Khan's throne to his third son, Wokoutai, and declared that even if Wokoutai had only one suckling child, he would inherit the Khan's throne more than others. After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongols were busy attacking the Western Xia, so Wokoutai did not ascend the throne directly, and for two years before Wokoutai ascended the throne in 1229, Genghis Khan's youngest son Tuolei had been holding the power of the empire in the name of overseer.
Portrait of Genghis Khan
Two years after Genghis Khan's death, the Mongol nobles held a Kuriletai assembly on the banks of the Krullen River to elect a Great Khan to succeed Genghis Khan. Some of the Mongol nobles who attended the congress wanted to oppose Genghis Khan's will, believing that they should adhere to the old system and make their youngest son, Tuolei, the new Great Khan. However, because Genghis Khan's eldest son Shuchi was dead at that time, Chagatai, as the second brother, resolutely supported Wokoutai and took the lead in saluting Wokoutai, so Wokoutai became the new Great Khan.
The reason why Wokoutai was able to successfully become the Great Khan, his second brother Chagatai can be said to be indispensable, so Wokoutai has always maintained a good relationship with Chagatai after he ascended the throne, and still calls Chagatai his brother after becoming the Great Khan, and will listen to Chagatai's opinions on some decisions. However, Wokoutai is a ruler after all, and he will still resolutely defend his "interests" in the face of some matters that threaten his power.
Portrait of Wokoutai
After the end of Genghis Khan's western expedition, the land in the eastern part of the Khwarazm Kingdom was granted to Chagatai, and this land in Central Asia was not called a khanate at that time, because although the ownership of the land belonged to Chagatai, the actual power was firmly in the hands of Wokoutai. As soon as he ascended the throne, wokoutai began to actively control Central Asia, and the clever wokoutai understood that the fiefdom of his brother Chagatai was very important to the Mongol Empire, and the rich river region of Central Asia provided the empire with considerable taxes, and the good horses produced there were also necessary for the Mongol cavalry.
The reason why Wokoutai was able to firmly control the land of Central Asia was from a strategy after Genghis Khan ended his western expedition. In 1224, after Genghis Khan ended his Western Expedition, he appointed Hui Renya Lao Wachi as the governor of the Hezhong region, and let him manage the towns in the Hezhong region.
Under his administration, the hezhong region began to recover from the destruction of the Mongol army, and Yalao Wachi became the most powerful person in the hezhong region.
Towns in the River Region
Therefore, after Wokoutai ascended the throne, he immediately got in touch with Yalao Wachi, and the clever Yalao Wachi also chose to be loyal to Wokoutai, and he himself became an agent of Wokoutai's rule of Central Asia. At that time, Chagatai had been living with his men in the steppes of eastern Central Asia, and he could only control his army, but he could not intervene in the towns in the river region. Soon after, Chagatai began to clash with Yalao Wachi, and in 1238, Bukhara's sieve maker Tara launched an uprising against the Mongols, chagatai sent troops to suppress it, and after quelling the uprising, wanted to slaughter Bukhara according to the custom.
However, at this time, Yalao Wachi stood up, he opposed chagatai slaughter of Bukhara residents, and reported the matter to Wokoutai, as a result, Wokoutai decisively supported Yalao Wachi and demanded that Chagatai not allow the slaughter of the city. Soon after this incident was over, Chagatai began to continuously target Yalao Wachi, who had given a piece of land north of the Amu Darya River to his subordinates without consulting with Yalao Wachi.
When Yalao Wachi learned of this, he reported it to Wokoutai again, and as a result, Wokoutai was furious and criticized Chagatai, and Chagatai had no choice but to admit his mistake when he saw the situation.
Portrait of Chagatai
Later, however, in order to appease his brother Chagatai, Wokoutai still gave the land to Chagatai. However, this incident also completely intensified the contradiction between Chagatai and Yalao Wachi, and Chagatai began to be angry with Yalao Wachi, and Yalao Wachi did not give in, and even threatened Chagatai's ministers in the name of Wokoutai.
When Wokoutai was alive, he firmly controlled the land of Central Asia by relying on only one old Watchi, so some Central Asian historians thought that Wokoutai's method was very clever.
After Chagatai's death in 1241, in order to prevent the nobles who supported Chagatai from retaliating against Yalao Wachi, Wokoutai immediately recalled Yalao Wachi to the Central Plains and appointed Yalao Wachi's son as the governor of Hezhong. Shortly after Yalao Wachi left for the Central Plains, Wokoutai died, and Yalao Wachi was ostracized by Wokoutai's wife, Empress Naimajin, for his discord with another Hui courtier, and it was not until After Guiyu Khan ascended the throne that Yalao Wachi was reused.