In the winter of 1241, the second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Wokoutai, died of excessive drinking, and he did not appoint an heir before his death, and when the news of Wokoutai's death reached the Mongol court, his wife Empress Naimajin immediately took control of the government and wanted to establish his son Guiyu as the new Khan. During his lifetime, Wokoutai did not like his eldest son Guiyu, who wanted to make his grandson Guiyu the heir, and Guiyu was able to become the Great Khan thanks to his mother, Empress Majin.
Portrait of Takayuki
With the help of his mother, Empress Naimajin, Guiyu smoothly became the ruler of the Mongol Empire, but at the assembly that elected Guiyu as khan, the Golden Horde Khan Batu was absent, and it was obvious that the king who had recently conquered Europe did not approve of Guiyu becoming the Great Khan, so he lied that he was ill and did not want to participate in the conference. And Ba du did not participate in the congress, but also laid the groundwork for the loss of the Khan position of the Wokoutai clan, Guiyu only ruled the empire for two years before he died of illness, after his death, Batu immediately supported Tuolei's son Möngke as the new khan, until the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, the power of the empire has been in the hands of the Tuolei clan.
Some scholars have pointed out that the reason why Battus wanted to help Möngke seize the Khan's throne was because of the secret manipulation of a Mongol woman, and this Mongolian woman was Möngke's mother who instigated Lu Hetiani. Just as Guiyu was able to become the Great Khan because his mother was Empress Mazhen, Möngke was able to successfully seize the Khan's throne from the Hands of the Wokoutai Clan, and also thanks to his strong female mother, it can be seen that many of the Mongolian aristocratic women of that era had the ability to intervene in the government.
After the death of Möngke's father Tuolei, Wokoutai used various methods to suppress the forces of the Tuolei family, and soon after Tuolei's death, Wokoutai gave two fiefs belonging to Tuolei to his son Kuotai, and this behavior of Wokoutai caused dissatisfaction among the Tuolei family, and the hot even wanted to unite against Wokoutai. However, at this time, the instigator Lu Hetiani stood up, and she suggested that the family members should not act rashly, and everything should obey the orders of the Great Khan's Nest, and because of the noble status of the instigator Lu Hetiani, other family members could only obey the advice of the instigator Lu Hetiani.
From this incident, it can be seen that instigating Lu Hetianni is a wise woman, if at this time the Tuolei department dares to rebel against the Wokoutai, then the Wokoutai will definitely take the opportunity to purge the Tuolei system on the grounds of disobeying the order, and this act of instigating Lu Hetianni also preserves the power of the Tuolei department's future success in "overturning". After Guiyu became the Great Khan, it immediately caused dissatisfaction among Batu, the son of Shuchi, because Batu and Guiyu had always been at odds, and during Guiyu's western expedition to Battu, the contradictions between the two began to worsen, and the two cousins often quarreled over who had a higher status.
Battus Expedition to the West
When he learned that Guiyu had become the new Khan, Battus was very dissatisfied and refused to participate in Guiyu's enthronement ceremony, resulting in Guiyu's successful ascension to the throne, and he planned to personally conquer the Golden Horde under Batu's rule in retaliation for Battus's support for him. By 1247, Guiyu personally led a large army to the west on the grounds that the land of Central Asia was more suitable for him to alleviate his illness (Guiyu was suffering from severe gout). Since the Golden Horde was far from Mongolia, Battus was unaware of the news that Guiyu was leading his army to the west, nor did he think of intercepting Guiyu's army.
At this time, the opportunistic instigator Lu Hetiani thought that the opportunity for the Tuolei clan to "overturn" had arrived, so she sent a close confidant to travel day and night, and let the close associate go to visit Battu with her own handwritten letter. In his letter, however, he revealed to Battu the news that Guiyu had led an army to the west, and advised Batu to organize an arming as soon as possible, because the clever instigator Lu Hetiani had already seen it at this time, and Guiyu's hasty westward march this time was absolutely ill-intentioned, and the so-called going to Central Asia for recuperation was just an excuse for him.
After reading the letter of instigating Lu Hethini, Battus immediately gathered his army to meet Guiyu, but the disease-ridden Guiyu had not yet set foot on the land of the Golden Horde, and he died on the march. In order to thank Lu Hetiani for his windproof message, Batu decided to help the Tuolei clan seize the Khanate, and soon after Guiyu's death, he invited various Mongol nobles to a meeting in the Golden Horde as King Changzhizong, and at this meeting supported Möngke to replace the Wokoutai clan as the new Great Khan.
However, because the Wokoutai and Chagatai clans refused to attend the meeting, Batu could only send his brother Beerge to lead an army to escort Möngke to the east, intending to hold a new congress on the steppe, and in this meeting, Möngke successfully won. With the strong support of his mother's instigation of Lu Hetiani and the strong support of the Golden Horde, Möngke successfully became the Great Khan, and Batu also received many benefits because of his meritorious service, and later with Möngke's support and acquiescence, Batu continued to expand his territory, laying the foundation for the vast territory of the Golden Horde.