9 The Invasion of China

Chapter 8 The Invasion of China In 1210, the Golden Khan, ruler of the Jurched Empire, died. The new Golden Khan, his son, sent an ambassador to meet with Genghis Khan. To the Jurched people of China, the Mongols were nothing but a raggedy band of nomads. The Jurched representative demanded that Genghis Khan bow to the power of the great Golden Khan. If Genghis Khan was lucky, perhaps the Golden Khan would give him a meager bit of treasure in exchange for his loyalty and military service.

1210年，女真帝国的统治者金汗去世了。 他的儿子，新晋金汗，派使者去见成吉思汗。 对中国的女侠来说，蒙古人不过是一群衣衫褴褛的游牧民族。 女侠代表要求成吉思汗向伟大的金汗低头。 如果成吉思汗幸运的话，也许金汗会给他一点点财宝来换取他的忠诚和服兵役。

But Genghis Khan would bow to no man. Instead, he cursed the Golden Khan's name and spit in the direction of China. Then he jumped on his horse and galloped off. This was a declaration of war. Genghis Khan knew it. In the spring of 1211, he summoned his people. The Mongols separated themselves into men, women, and children to pray for guidance. After three days at the top of Burkhan Khaldun, Genghis Khan came down from the mountain and announced to his people: "The Eternal Blue Sky has promised us victory and vengeance."

但成吉思汗不会向任何人低头。 相反，他诅咒了金汗的名字，朝中国的方向吐口水。 然后他跳上马疾驰而去。 这是宣战。 成吉思汗知道这一点。1211年春，他召集了他的臣民。 蒙古人把自己分成男人、女人和孩子来祈求指引。 在布尔汗·赫勒敦山顶呆了三天之后，成吉思汗从山上走下来，对他的人民宣布：“永恒的蓝天承诺给我们胜利和复仇。”

That May, 65,000 Mongol soldiers left for China, crossing the six-hundred-mile-wide Gobi Desert in just one month. When they arrived, they began terrorizing the countryside, burning villages and destroying crops.

同年5月，65000名蒙古士兵在一个月内穿越了600英里宽的戈壁沙漠，前往中国。 当他们到达后，他们开始恐吓农村，烧毁村庄，毁坏庄稼。

Peasants fled to the Jurched's walled cities for protection, clogging the roads. The cities overflowed with refugees. With too many mouths to feed and the crops destroyed, food became scarce. People starved to death. THE MONGOL WAR MACHINE GOING TO WAR TOOK A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT. BUT THE MONGOLS THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING. SCOUTS WENT AHEAD OF THE ARMY TO CHECK FOR WATER SOURCES, ROUGH TERRAIN, GRAZING LAND, AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS. ONCE A ROUTE WAS CHOSEN, THE ARMY LEFT. EACH MAN CARRIED ONLY WHAT HE NEEDED—FLINTS TO START FIRES, SEWING NEEDLES, DRIED MEAT AND MILK PASTE, CANTEENS, LASSOS, AND ARROWS. BECAUSE OF THIS, THERE WAS NO NEED FOR A SLOW-MOVING SUPPLY TRAIN, VULNERABLE TO ATTACK. BUT THE MONGOL ARMY WAS NOTHING WITHOUT THEIR HORSES. THEY TRAVELED ENTIRELY ON HORSEBACK, SWIFTLY AND

农民们逃到有城墙的城市寻求保护，堵塞了道路。 城市里挤满了难民。 由于太多的人要养活，庄稼被毁，食物变得稀缺。 人们饿死了。蒙古人的战争机器投入了大量的精力。 但是蒙古人考虑到了一切。 侦察兵走在军队前面，检查水源、崎岖的地形、牧场和人类居住地。 一旦选定了路线，军队就离开了。 每个人只带了他需要的东西——生火的燧石、缝纫针、干肉和奶糊、水壶、套索和箭。 正因为如此，就不需要移动缓慢、容易受到攻击的补给列车了。 但是蒙古军队没有马就什么都不是。 他们完全骑在马背上旅行，又快又快

EFFICIENTLY. EXTRA HORSES WERE BROUGHT TO BE MILKED, EATEN, OR RIDDEN WHEN OTHER HORSES GREW TIRED. IF THE MEN RAN OUT OF WATER, THEY DRANK HORSES' BLOOD. SOLDIERS FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THEIR COMMANDERS TO A FAULT. THEIR LOYALTY AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY MADE THEM AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE. The Mongols used many methods to attack the Jurched cities. They enslaved Jurched engineers and had them build catapults, which threw stones or vats of boiling liquid at the walls. They dammed rivers to flood the cities. They built oversize bows called ballistas that shot large arrows that could break through walls.

高效。当其他马累了的时候，额外的马被牵来挤奶、吃东西或骑。 如果水喝完了，他们就喝马血。 士兵们错误地听从了指挥官的指示。 他们的忠诚和自给自足使他们成为不可阻挡的力量。 蒙古人使用了许多方法来攻击女真人的城市。 他们奴役Jurched工程师，让他们建造弹射器，向城墙投掷石头或大桶沸腾的液体。 他们在河流上筑坝以淹没城市。 他们制造了一种叫做“弩”的超大弓，这种弓射出的大箭可以穿墙而过。

Trickery worked, too. In the "dogfight" tactic, the Mongols purposefully dropped their supplies and rode away. To the Jurched, this looked like the Mongols had retreated. The city gates were opened and the Jurched emerged to collect the supplies the Mongols had "dropped." The Mongols quickly raced back and entered the city. The great Jurched cities fell—Shenyang, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi. The Jurched surrendered. The Golden Khan pledged

骗术也奏效了。在“狗斗”战术中，蒙古人故意丢下他们的补给品，骑马离开。 对女真人来说，这看起来像是蒙古人撤退了。 城门被打开了，女侠们出来收集蒙古人“丢下”的补给。 蒙古人迅速赶回城中。 伟大的沦陷城市——沈阳、山东、河北、山西。 女兵投降了。金汗承诺