 dynasty on 18 December 1271 , sought to cut off the retreat of Song refugees in all directions . In Pagan 's case , he had ordered the Mongol governor of Dali to tighten control of the borderlands , and in January 1271 to send a mission to Pagan to demand tribute . The tribute he demanded was nominal . Given his higher priority preoccupations elsewhere , the emperor was not looking to replace the regime at Pagan . At the border , the ruler of the Wa and Palaung regions submitted to the Mongols .   When the Mongol envoys led by Qidai Tuoyin showed up , the Pagan court led by Chief Minister Ananda Pyissi was well aware of the military power of the Mongols and advised King Narathihapate to use diplomacy . The king was furious at the demand and kept the Mongol envoys waiting for weeks . The court finally devised a compromise : the envoys were sent back without ever seeing the king . Accompanying them was a Burmese envoy who carried a letter expressing friendly sentiments and the Burmese king 's wish to one day worship a Buddha tooth at Beijing . The king then promptly ordered an expedition , which retook the rebellious borderland regions in April 1272 . The rebel leader A @-@ Pi ( အပိ ) was brought back to Pagan . Dali relayed the news to Beijing but did not carry out any military action .   = = = Second Mongol mission ( 1273 ) = = =   At Beijing , Kublai Khan , who was preparing an invasion of Japan , decided against a war with Pagan — for the time being . On 3 March 1273 , he sent a 4 @-@ member delegation led by an imperial ambassador , the First Secretary to the Board Rites , to Pagan . The delegation carried a letter from the emperor . The letter says :   " If you have finally decided to fulfill your duties towards the All @-@ Highest , send one of your brothers or senior ministers , to show men that all the world is linked with Us , and enter into a perpetual alliance . This will add to your reputation , and be in your own interests ; for if it comes to war , who will be the victor ? Ponder well , O king , Our words . "   This time , the Burmese king received the imperial envoys but still refused to submit . ( The Burmese chronicles say that the king was so insulted that he had the envoys executed . But both Burmese inscriptional evidence and Yuan records indicate that the envoys were not executed . ) At any rate , the imperial envoys did not get back to Yunnan in due time . The newly formed Yunnan government sent another delegation to investigate the whereabouts of the delegation , but the delegation could not reach Pagan because of an ongoing rebellion en route .   = = = Mongol consolidation of borderlands ( 1275 – 76 ) = = =   Meanwhile , in 1274 , the former Dali Kingdom was officially reorganized as the Province of Yunnan , with Sayyid Ajjal Shams al @-@ Din Omar as governor . In May 1275 , the governor sent a report to the emperor stating that the embassy had not returned ; that the Burmese evidently had no intention of submitting ; and that war was the only way forward .   But the emperor rejected an outright invasion . Just coming off a disastrous Japanese campaign , the emperor was unwilling to commit the central government troops to what he considered a low priority affair . He was now focused on delivering the final blow against the Song ; the emperor ordered the Yunnan provincial army to secure the borderlands in order to block the escape path of the Song refugees . He also sanctioned a limited border war if Pagan contested the takeover . As planned , the Yunnan army proceeded to consolidate the borderlands in 1275 – 76 . ( Elsewhere , the main Mongol armies had captured most of the Song territory by 1276 . )   By 1277 , at least one Burmese vassal state named " Gold Teeth " ( modern Yingjiang ) had submitted to the Mongols . Like in 1272 , the Burmese government responded by sending an army to reclaim the rebellious state ; but unlike in 1272 , the Mongols had posted a sizable garrison there . Though it was ultimately under Mongol command , many of the officers and most of the soldiers of the garrison were Turkic @-@ speaking peoples or people from the further west : Turks from Samarkand , Bukhara , Merv and Nishapur , but also captive soldiers from the Persian Khwarazmid empire , the Kipchaks , and even Bulgars from the lower Volga .   = = Border war ( 1277 – 78 ) = =   What followed was a border war in 1277 – 78 . It was reported mainly in the Yuan dynasty chronicle and the travelogue of Marco Polo . Although the Burmese chronicles have no
Ġdynasty Ġon Ġ18 ĠDecember Ġ12 71 Ġ, Ġsought Ġto Ġcut Ġoff Ġthe Ġretreat Ġof ĠSong Ġrefugees Ġin Ġall Ġdirections Ġ. ĠIn ĠPagan Ġ' s Ġcase Ġ, Ġhe Ġhad Ġordered Ġthe ĠMongol Ġgovernor Ġof ĠD ali Ġto Ġtighten Ġcontrol Ġof Ġthe Ġborder lands Ġ, Ġand Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ12 71 Ġto Ġsend Ġa Ġmission Ġto ĠPagan Ġto Ġdemand Ġtribute Ġ. ĠThe Ġtribute Ġhe Ġdemanded Ġwas Ġnominal Ġ. ĠGiven Ġhis Ġhigher Ġpriority Ġpre occup ations Ġelsewhere Ġ, Ġthe Ġemperor Ġwas Ġnot Ġlooking Ġto Ġreplace Ġthe Ġregime Ġat ĠPagan Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġborder Ġ, Ġthe Ġruler Ġof Ġthe ĠWa Ġand ĠPal aun g Ġregions Ġsubmitted Ġto Ġthe ĠMong ols Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWhen Ġthe ĠMongol Ġenv oys Ġled Ġby ĠQ id ai ĠTu oy in Ġshowed Ġup Ġ, Ġthe ĠPagan Ġcourt Ġled Ġby ĠChief ĠMinister ĠAn anda ĠPy iss i Ġwas Ġwell Ġaware Ġof Ġthe Ġmilitary Ġpower Ġof Ġthe ĠMong ols Ġand Ġadvised ĠKing ĠNar ath ih ap ate Ġto Ġuse Ġdiplomacy Ġ. ĠThe Ġking Ġwas Ġfurious Ġat Ġthe Ġdemand Ġand Ġkept Ġthe ĠMongol Ġenv oys Ġwaiting Ġfor Ġweeks Ġ. ĠThe Ġcourt Ġfinally Ġdevised Ġa Ġcompromise Ġ: Ġthe Ġenv oys Ġwere Ġsent Ġback Ġwithout Ġever Ġseeing Ġthe Ġking Ġ. ĠAcc omp any ing Ġthem Ġwas Ġa ĠBur m ese Ġenvoy Ġwho Ġcarried Ġa Ġletter Ġexpressing Ġfriendly Ġsentiments Ġand Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġking Ġ' s Ġwish Ġto Ġone Ġday Ġworship Ġa ĠBuddha Ġtooth Ġat ĠBeijing Ġ. ĠThe Ġking Ġthen Ġpromptly Ġordered Ġan Ġexpedition Ġ, Ġwhich Ġret ook Ġthe Ġrebellious Ġborder land Ġregions Ġin ĠApril Ġ12 72 Ġ. ĠThe Ġrebel Ġleader ĠA Ġ@ - @ ĠPi Ġ( Ġá Ģ ¡ á Ģ ķ á Ģ Ń Ġ) Ġwas Ġbrought Ġback Ġto ĠPagan Ġ. ĠD ali Ġrelayed Ġthe Ġnews Ġto ĠBeijing Ġbut Ġdid Ġnot Ġcarry Ġout Ġany Ġmilitary Ġaction Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠSecond ĠMongol Ġmission Ġ( Ġ12 73 Ġ) Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAt ĠBeijing Ġ, ĠKub l ai ĠKhan Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġpreparing Ġan Ġinvasion Ġof ĠJapan Ġ, Ġdecided Ġagainst Ġa Ġwar Ġwith ĠPagan ĠâĢĶ Ġfor Ġthe Ġtime Ġbeing Ġ. ĠOn Ġ3 ĠMarch Ġ12 73 Ġ, Ġhe Ġsent Ġa Ġ4 Ġ@ - @ Ġmember Ġdelegation Ġled Ġby Ġan Ġimperial Ġambassador Ġ, Ġthe ĠFirst ĠSecretary Ġto Ġthe ĠBoard ĠR ites Ġ, Ġto ĠPagan Ġ. ĠThe Ġdelegation Ġcarried Ġa Ġletter Ġfrom Ġthe Ġemperor Ġ. ĠThe Ġletter Ġsays Ġ: Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠIf Ġyou Ġhave Ġfinally Ġdecided Ġto Ġfulfill Ġyour Ġduties Ġtowards Ġthe ĠAll Ġ@ - @ ĠHighest Ġ, Ġsend Ġone Ġof Ġyour Ġbrothers Ġor Ġsenior Ġministers Ġ, Ġto Ġshow Ġmen Ġthat Ġall Ġthe Ġworld Ġis Ġlinked Ġwith ĠUs Ġ, Ġand Ġenter Ġinto Ġa Ġperpetual Ġalliance Ġ. ĠThis Ġwill Ġadd Ġto Ġyour Ġreputation Ġ, Ġand Ġbe Ġin Ġyour Ġown Ġinterests Ġ; Ġfor Ġif Ġit Ġcomes Ġto Ġwar Ġ, Ġwho Ġwill Ġbe Ġthe Ġvict or Ġ? ĠP onder Ġwell Ġ, ĠO Ġking Ġ, ĠOur Ġwords Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠThis Ġtime Ġ, Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġking Ġreceived Ġthe Ġimperial Ġenv oys Ġbut Ġstill Ġrefused Ġto Ġsubmit Ġ. Ġ( ĠThe ĠBur m ese Ġchron icles Ġsay Ġthat Ġthe Ġking Ġwas Ġso Ġinsulted Ġthat Ġhe Ġhad Ġthe Ġenv oys Ġexecuted Ġ. ĠBut Ġboth ĠBur m ese Ġinscription al Ġevidence Ġand ĠYuan Ġrecords Ġindicate Ġthat Ġthe Ġenv oys Ġwere Ġnot Ġexecuted Ġ. Ġ) ĠAt Ġany Ġrate Ġ, Ġthe Ġimperial Ġenv oys Ġdid Ġnot Ġget Ġback Ġto ĠYun nan Ġin Ġdue Ġtime Ġ. ĠThe Ġnewly Ġformed ĠYun nan Ġgovernment Ġsent Ġanother Ġdelegation Ġto Ġinvestigate Ġthe Ġwhereabouts Ġof Ġthe Ġdelegation Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġdelegation Ġcould Ġnot Ġreach ĠPagan Ġbecause Ġof Ġan Ġongoing Ġrebellion Ġen Ġroute Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMongol Ġconsolidation Ġof Ġborder lands Ġ( Ġ12 75 ĠâĢĵ Ġ76 Ġ) Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMeanwhile Ġ, Ġin Ġ12 74 Ġ, Ġthe Ġformer ĠD ali ĠKingdom Ġwas Ġofficially Ġre organized Ġas Ġthe ĠProvince Ġof ĠYun nan Ġ, Ġwith ĠSay y id ĠAj j al ĠSh ams Ġal Ġ@ - @ ĠDin ĠOmar Ġas Ġgovernor Ġ. ĠIn ĠMay Ġ12 75 Ġ, Ġthe Ġgovernor Ġsent Ġa Ġreport Ġto Ġthe Ġemperor Ġstating Ġthat Ġthe Ġembassy Ġhad Ġnot Ġreturned Ġ; Ġthat Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġevidently Ġhad Ġno Ġintention Ġof Ġsubmitting Ġ; Ġand Ġthat Ġwar Ġwas Ġthe Ġonly Ġway Ġforward Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBut Ġthe Ġemperor Ġrejected Ġan Ġoutright Ġinvasion Ġ. ĠJust Ġcoming Ġoff Ġa Ġdisastrous ĠJapanese Ġcampaign Ġ, Ġthe Ġemperor Ġwas Ġunwilling Ġto Ġcommit Ġthe Ġcentral Ġgovernment Ġtroops Ġto Ġwhat Ġhe Ġconsidered Ġa Ġlow Ġpriority Ġaffair Ġ. ĠHe Ġwas Ġnow Ġfocused Ġon Ġdelivering Ġthe Ġfinal Ġblow Ġagainst Ġthe ĠSong Ġ; Ġthe Ġemperor Ġordered Ġthe ĠYun nan Ġprovincial Ġarmy Ġto Ġsecure Ġthe Ġborder lands Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġblock Ġthe Ġescape Ġpath Ġof Ġthe ĠSong Ġrefugees Ġ. ĠHe Ġalso Ġsanctioned Ġa Ġlimited Ġborder Ġwar Ġif ĠPagan Ġcontested Ġthe Ġtakeover Ġ. ĠAs Ġplanned Ġ, Ġthe ĠYun nan Ġarmy Ġproceeded Ġto Ġconsolidate Ġthe Ġborder lands Ġin Ġ12 75 ĠâĢĵ Ġ76 Ġ. Ġ( ĠElse where Ġ, Ġthe Ġmain ĠMongol Ġarmies Ġhad Ġcaptured Ġmost Ġof Ġthe ĠSong Ġterritory Ġby Ġ12 76 Ġ. Ġ) Ġ Ġ ĠBy Ġ12 77 Ġ, Ġat Ġleast Ġone ĠBur m ese Ġv ass al Ġstate Ġnamed Ġ" ĠGold ĠTe eth Ġ" Ġ( Ġmodern ĠYing jiang Ġ) Ġhad Ġsubmitted Ġto Ġthe ĠMong ols Ġ. ĠLike Ġin Ġ12 72 Ġ, Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġgovernment Ġresponded Ġby Ġsending Ġan Ġarmy Ġto Ġreclaim Ġthe Ġrebellious Ġstate Ġ; Ġbut Ġunlike Ġin Ġ12 72 Ġ, Ġthe ĠMong ols Ġhad Ġposted Ġa Ġsizable Ġgarrison Ġthere Ġ. ĠThough Ġit Ġwas Ġultimately Ġunder ĠMongol Ġcommand Ġ, Ġmany Ġof Ġthe Ġofficers Ġand Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġsoldiers Ġof Ġthe Ġgarrison Ġwere ĠTurk ic Ġ@ - @ Ġspeaking Ġpeoples Ġor Ġpeople Ġfrom Ġthe Ġfurther Ġwest Ġ: ĠTurks Ġfrom ĠSam ark and Ġ, ĠBuk h ara Ġ, ĠM erv Ġand ĠNish ap ur Ġ, Ġbut Ġalso Ġcaptive Ġsoldiers Ġfrom Ġthe ĠPersian ĠKh war az mid Ġempire Ġ, Ġthe ĠK ip ch aks Ġ, Ġand Ġeven ĠBul gars Ġfrom Ġthe Ġlower ĠVol ga Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠBorder Ġwar Ġ( Ġ12 77 ĠâĢĵ Ġ78 Ġ) Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠWhat Ġfollowed Ġwas Ġa Ġborder Ġwar Ġin Ġ12 77 ĠâĢĵ Ġ78 Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġreported Ġmainly Ġin Ġthe ĠYuan Ġdynasty Ġchron icle Ġand Ġthe Ġtravel ogue Ġof ĠMarco ĠPolo Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġchron icles Ġhave Ġno