- Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan
Emperor Wuzong of Yuan (Chinese: 元武宗, 1281-1311), also known as Külüg Khan (
Classical Mongolian : Külüg qaγan,Khalkha Mongolian : Хөлөг хаан "Hölög haan"), born Khayishan, was theEmperor of China and ruled as Emperor or Khaan of theYuan Dynasty ,khanate ofMongol Empire .He was the eldest son of
Darmabala andDagi of the influential Khunggirad clan, and the full brother of Ayurbarwada. Since his uncle Temür Khan did not have a legitimate heir, he was considered a major candidate for the emperor. In 1299 he was sent toMongolia to assume an army that defended the western front of the Yuan againstKaidu and other princes ofCentral Asia under him. In 1301 he defeated Kaidu, who died from a battle wound. In recognition of the great victory, Külüg Khan was given the title of Prince Huanning (懷寧王) in 1304. In 1306 he forcedMelig Temür to accept a surrender in theAltai Mountains . For these military achievements he gained a high reputation among Mongol princes and non-Mongol corps.In 1307 when Temür Khan died, he returned eastward to
Karakorum and watched the situation. Temür's widowBulughan of theBayaud tribe had kept away the Khunggirad-mothered brothers of Khayishan and Ayurbarwada and attempted to set up Ananda, a cousin of Temür. The Khunggirad faction arrested Ananda and Bulghan by coup and recalled Ayurbarwada and Dagi from Henan. Then Khayishan decided to hold the coronation ceremony inShangdu just as his great-grandfatherKublai Khan did, and advanced southward with the most part of his army. He was welcomed by Ayurbarwada, who gave up emperorship, and ascended to the throne. In return, he named Ayurbarwada as theCrown Prince (皇太子). He had executed Ananda and Bulghan before succession.The Khayishan administration was founded on the unstable balance between Khayishan, his younger brother Ayurbarwada and their mother Dagi of the Khunggirad clan. Khayishan appointed Ayurbarwada as Crown Prince on the condition that he would pass the status to Khayishan's son after succession. He generously gave bonus to imperial princes and Mongol aristocrats, and enjoyed popularity among them. Meanwhile he was plagued by financial difficulties which was caused by free-spending policies and longstanding military spending. So he brought back the Shangshusheng (尚書省, "Department of State Affairs") for financial affairs in parallel with the Zhongshusheng (中書省, "Department of Central Governing") for administrative affairs. He changed branch offices of Zhongshusheng to those of Shangshusheng to strengthen monopoly in salt and other goods. He issued new bills called Zhida-yinchao (至大銀鈔) to replace Zhiyuan-chao (中統鈔). His anti-inflation plans did not achieve adequate results in his short reign, and dissatisfied Han Chinese officers and commoners.
He gave key posts to his retainers who had followed him since he had been stationed in Mongolia. He favored non-Mongol corps including the
Kipchak , theAsud and theQanglï . In contrast, he did not reward abundantly the Khunggirad faction who had carried out a coup against Bulghan.In 1310,
Kaidu 's son Chapar, who tried to unsuccessfully overthrowKebek , gave up to Khayishan, ending half-century lasted wars between Mongol khanates.Immediately after Khayishan died and Ayurbarwada succeeded in 1311, the unsatisfactory Khunggirad faction came together under his mother Dagi and purged pro-Khayishan officials. It also broke Ayurbarwada's promise to appoint Khayishan's son as Crown Prince. It drove Khayishan's sons Kuśala and Tugh Temür out of the central government. Pro-Khayishan generals cherished grievances until they managed to set up Tugh Temür in 1323.
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