this time sending 140,00 men, supported byadditional Korean troops.18 As far as the Japanese were concerned, the gods protectedthem again by sending another divine wind, the Kami kazi, which again demolished theMongol fleet. The 1281 defeat broke Khubilai’s image of invincibility, and the campaignshe established into Southeast Asia failed to recover this. He over-taxed the people to helpraise money that was lost in the unsuccessful attacks against Japan. Peasants sufferedunder the hardship of increased taxes. There was widespread inflation because thegovernment printed a great deal of paper money. To balance the inflation, Khubilailowered the currency value from 5 to 1.19 Economical problems made Khubilai lesstolerant. He soon became very untrustworthy of merchants, many of them Muslims. Soin the early 1280’s he issued an anti-Muslim legislation. This continued until 1287.20 Atthe same time, he was increasingly supportive of Buddhism, which led to some Buddhistpriests to take advantage of their positions. Although Khubilai tried to rule as a scholarly emperor, the Mongols did not adjustto Chinese ways. The Mongols resisted adjustment and tried to stay isolated from theChinese. They thought Confucianism was anti-foreign. Chinese intellectuals turned awayfrom Buddhism although many Mongols favored it, so Buddhism did not bring the twocultures closer. The Mongol rule soon became increasingly unstable after 1294 whenKhubilai Khan died and succession became a problem. Between 1308 and 1333 therewere eight emperors, two were assassinated and all of them died young.21 Without a ruleof succession, the death of an emperor caused violent conflicts among the different“would-be” rulers. At the time when the empire needed a strong central control to stay inpower, the Mongols wasted their efforts battling over succession. The Chinese alwaysresented the foreigners and, in the end, rebelled and drove them out....
