The princes of the Mongolian steppe opposed Kublai Khan from the time when Möngke sent Kublai Khan to the south.
After Meng Ge came to power, he made the destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty his primary goal. He first sent Kublai Khan to destroy Dali, and then summoned Kublai Khan back and let him run the territory of the original Jin Dynasty (known to the Mongols as "Mo Nan") to prepare for the future attack on the Southern Song Dynasty.
After Kublai Khan arrived in The South of the Province, he began to recruit han intellectuals from the original Jin dynasty. Including Yao Shu, Hao Jing, Lian Xixian and many others. With the help of these Han Intellectuals, Kublai Khan's thought soon became Sinicized. For example, they lived in the houses of the Han people, built the royal city of the Han people, and carried out local management according to the system of the Han people. According to the methods of the Han People, the administrative system was set up, and schools were opened, taxes were collected, and so on.
(Kublai Khan stills)
Kublai Khan's practice was immediately met with great dissatisfaction from the princes of the Mongolian steppe. There are three main points they oppose: First, Kublai Khan changed the law of his ancestors and did not follow the rules of the steppe, but did things according to the rules of the Han people. This is a number of forgotten ancestors, a great rebellion. Second, Kublai Khan collected taxes according to the methods of the Han People, but the taxes he collected were not handed over to the central treasury, and most of them were intercepted by him. Third, Kublai Khan established an independent kingdom in the south. Including some ministers such as Yao Shu and Hao Jing, they only recognized Kublai Khan, not Möngke Khan. Therefore, the princes of the Mongolian steppe kept saying in front of Möngke that Möngke must punish Kublai Khan.
Möngke did not take it seriously at first, but the princes of the Mongolian steppe talked too much, and he was moved. Began to "hook test" Kublai Khan's ministers. The so-called "hook test" is mainly to check their accounts to see where their taxes have gone.
This time, the "hook test" tortured those under Möngke enough. However, in the end, Möngke was merciful and stopped the operation. Kublai Khan was relieved of his military powers and allowed him to go home and become a "rich man."
However, this dismissal was not long after being restored by Kublai Khan. Because at that time, meng ge led an army to attack the Southern Song Dynasty. Möngke's military operation was divided into three parts, one part of which was led by Tacha'er, attacking south from the Central Plains; part of which was led by Möngke from Sichuan to the east; and part of which was led by Wuliang Hetai, attacking from the south to the north. The attack of Möngke and Wuliang was still so-so, but Tachar's attack was very bad. Therefore, Möngke had to call out Kublai Khan, who was idle at home, and ask him to lead his army to fight.
During this military operation, Möngke had his younger brother Ali Buge guard the base camp in Mobei Town.
Soon, Meng Ge was killed in Diaoyu City, Sichuan (there is also a saying that he died of illness).
(Stills of Mungo)
After Möngke's death, he encountered the problem of Kublai Khan and Ali Buge competing for the Khan's position. At that time, Ali Bu brother had almost the support of the entire steppe princes, while Kublai Khan received little support. But the end result was that Kublai Khan gained the Khanate, while Ali Bu brother failed. What's going on?
I think there are three main reasons.
First, Kublai Khan was stronger than the first.
After Möngke's death, Ali Bu Brother brought letters to Kublai Khan many times, asking Kublai Khan to hurry back to the north of the desert to discuss the opening of the Kuritai meeting and recommend the new Great Khan.
Ali's idea was very clear, that is, to let Kublai Khan return to the north, control him, and then dispose of it as he wanted.
Of course, Kublai Khan would not be at his mercy, so he took the initiative first, gathered some people to open the Kuritai, and recommended him as the Great Khan. In this way, he raised the banner at once. In ancient times, communication was not developed, and ordinary people did not understand the truth. When they saw Kublai Khan as a Great Khan, they thought he was really a Great Khan.
After Kublai Khan became the Great Khan, Ali did not go to Kuritai again and asked everyone to promote him as the Great Khan.
Although he won the collective support of the princes of the Mongolian steppe, he was already one step too late, and in terms of public opinion, he did not take the initiative.
(Ali Bu Ge stills)
Second, Kublai Khan controlled the military power.
Kublai Khan's army was the part of the army that he led to attack the Southern Song Dynasty from north to south, and this part of the army was trained by him, brave and good at war, and was extremely well trained on the battlefield of the Southern Song Dynasty. At the same time, Kublai Khan himself ran the south for many years, and he still had great military strength.
Ali's army was relatively small, and there were very few troops left in the country at that time. After Möngke was killed on the battlefield in Sichuan, the army that fled to the northern part of the Mongolian desert was actually only 20,000 people, and it was still a part of the weak soldiers.
Therefore, in terms of combat strength, Kublai Khan is far higher than Ali Bu brother.
Kublai Khan received Hulagu's support.
At that time, the Mongol army was divided into four parts: one part was the main army led by Möngke, part was the left wing army led by Kublai Khan from north to south, and the other part was the right wing army led by Wuliang Hetai from south to north. Another part, led by Hulagu, attacked West Asia.
Only 20,000 of Möngke's army eventually returned to the north of the desert under the command of Ali Buge. The army of Wuliang Hetai was finally integrated into the hands of Kublai Khan. All that remains is Hulagu's army, Hulagu's army, which also influences the trend of the entire battlefield.
However, on hulagu's case, Kublai Khan once again took the lead first. He sent someone to contact Hulagu and said to Hulagu, "If you support me, then I will allow you to be independent." In other words, you can establish your own independent kingdom in West Asia.
This is a great temptation for Hulagu. Because if Hulagu supports Ali's brother, then he is at most a prince. But if he chooses to support Kublai Khan, then he will become the Khan of the hegemonic side.
What's more, Ali Hadn't found anyone to contact him, so he supported Kublai Khan.
Kublai Khan's power was absolutely superior, and at the same time he wanted to solve the problem by force. Therefore, even if Ali Bu Brother had the support of the entire steppe princes, he was still not Kublai Khan's opponent.
(References: The Secret History of Mongolia, The Golden History of Mongolia)