Prohibited hunting specific game from March to October to preserve breeding stocks and maintain ecological balance. Required binding and heart-removal techniques for slaughtered animals to comply with spiritual practices.
Share plunder equitably
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Distributed spoils of war evenly among soldiers after official approval, ensuring loyalty. Artisans and clerics were exempted from looting to preserve specialized skills.
Organize decimal army units
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Structured troops in groups of 10 (arban), 100 (zuun), 1,000 (mingghan), and 10,000 (tumen) for rapid mobilization. Maintained separate day/night imperial guards (keshig).
Conduct mass winter hunts
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Organized large-scale communal hunts (nerge) annually to train troops in coordination and discipline. Participants encircled game over vast distances using flags and horns.
Promote religious tolerance
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Exempted clergy from taxes and conscription regardless of faith. Consulted leaders from Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Taoism on governance matters.
Establish Yam courier network
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Created a postal relay system with waystations every 20-30 miles. Riders carried paiza identification tablets to requisition fresh horses and supplies.
Execute river diversion tactics
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Redirected waterways during sieges to flood defenses or create crossing points. Used frozen rivers as highways for winter campaigns.
Enforce spoken-word contracts
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Considered verbal agreements legally binding unless proven false. Required in-person testimony from witnesses or confessions for convictions.
Standardize siege weapon designs
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Captured engineers to build standardized catapults and trebuchets. Transported disassembled siege towers by camel caravan.
Mandate universal military service
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Required all free males aged 15-70 to enlist during wartime. Exemptions only for priests, doctors, and grave washers.
Practice strategic betrothals
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Married daughters to allied leaders' sons to cement political bonds. Required sons-in-law to fight in vanguard units as loyalty tests.
Implement crossbow signaling
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Used whistling arrowheads to transmit commands during battles. Different tones indicated advance, retreat, or regroup orders.
Require officer literacy
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Ordered adoption of Uyghur script for military records. Made tribal leaders' children learn writing as hostages in the keshig.
Pioneer germ warfare
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Catapulted plague victims' corpses over city walls. Poisoned water sources with diseased animals during sieges.
Enforce uniform equipment
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Standardized saddle designs, arrowhead weights, and armor materials. Required soldiers to maintain their own gear.
Burn conquered leaders' homes
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Destroyed palaces and administrative centers after victories. Built new capitals on adjacent sites using slave labor.
Mandate mobile governance
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Conducted imperial business from large yurt complexes. Moved capital locations seasonally with grazing patterns.
Reward enemy informants
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Granted wealth and titles to defectors providing military intelligence. Executed returned escapees to discourage espionage.
Host multi-day strategic councils
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Convened fortnightly meetings with generals in a ceremonial yurt. Required attendance under penalty of death for absence.
Ban private wealth accumulation
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Prohibited officers from amassing personal herds exceeding 1,000 head. Redistributed excess livestock to recruits' families.
