Summary of "Genghis Khan" by James Chambers (Part II)

Chapter II: The Pauper Prince

When Temujin (Genghis) returned home, he found his family living in fear and constantly moving camps to avoid invasions. They only had nine geldings between all of them and a few horses. One day, the horses got stolen while the eldest brother was hunting with his brothers. Upon returning, he gave his horse to Temujin since he was the greatest warrior and Temujin rode off to find the thieves. 

On his journey, Temujin ran into a 13-year-old boy named Bo'orchu, who wanted to help. Bo'orchu hopped on his horse, gave Temujin food, and helped track down the thieves. 

After three days, they found the thieves and got their horses back at night by cutting them loose. They also stole the money originally stolen from Temujin's family. Temujin wanted to pay Bo'orchu back with coins and even horses, but Bo'orchu refused any payment. They swore a sacred vow of friendship, and Temujin rode home. 

Years later, at 16 years old, Temujin went with his brothers to meet the wife he was initially supposed to marry. To his surprise (because of his bloodline), he was allowed to marry the Chief's daughter even though he was poor. He was the descendant of Bonduchar (from Part I). He was gifted a sable cloak. Sable was the most valuable commodity in the steppes. 

Temujin rode to the Christian Keraits with his family and the sable cloak and gifted it to them. Their leader was Toghril, Temujin's father's blood brother. Toghril accepted the offer, and Temujin was now part of his tribe. 

Very soon, Temujin became popular amongst the tribe, and other males started to get jealous of how much everyone respected him. He was even gifted his own servant by a blacksmith who admired him and his father's legend. Temujin had a small clan, and people were envious.

One day, around 300 Merkits (from Part I, they are the clan Temujin's father stole his wife from) invaded Temujin's home camp. 

Temujin told Toghril, and Toghril gave Temujin 20,000 men to fight with and spread the word for more men. Temujin's old childhood friend heard about his situation and gave him another 20,000 men (his name was Jamukha). They invaded the Merkits quickly and got Temujin's wife back. 

Nine months later, Temujin's wife gave birth to a son, and everyone questioned its legitimacy. They had multiple more kids, and Temujin ensured they were all treated equally; he never mentioned nor cared about his first son's legitimacy. He saw it as his fault; his wife was captured in the first place, and the boy had nothing to do with it. 

Eventually, Temujin's tribe grew so large that he and his friends were inseparable. Many warriors now fought under their banner and were eager for plunder, so they swore their oaths of friendship and rode off. 

During their plunder, Temujin gave his followers everything he found and kept very little for himself and his family. Everyone was highly loyal to him, and he had thousands ready to die for him. The Shamans started stories about how he was sent down from heaven to fulfill the prophecies and make everyone rich, so he was prayed to. It was always noted none of this got to his head, and his generosity did not change. 

When Temujin turned 18, everyone elected him as Khan. 

He organized the Mongols as they'd never seen before. He created groups within the military and even had elite titles for those specially trained. The labourers were very efficient, and everyone was thrilled with their work. 

But one day, his best friend Jamukha was threatened by Temujin's new popularity (even if well-earned). So Jamukha sent messages to other chiefs around him, saying he was the only hope for them to stop him. They sent Jamukha troops, and Temujin was defeated by surprise. 

After the defeat, Temujin remained morally strong and made sure everyone was as happy as possible, with everyone who survived and managed to escape. Even the prisoners. 

At the same time, Jamukha was boiling prisoners alive. So everyone in Jamukha's camp started sneaking away at night, searching for Temujin to apologize. Even his greatest warriors.