Jamuqa(扎木和) split the tribe. Two years would pass before they would hear from him. High on the plateau of central Mongolia is a place known as Dalan Balzhut. It was here that Borte's(孛兒帖) prophecy would be fulfilled. Jamuqa ambushed Temujin's(鐵木真) tribe. Temujin, the man who would be Genghis Khan, led an army that was unprepared, outnumbered, and outwitted. It'd been a catastrophic defeat. But there was worse to follow. Jamuqa took the generals he had captured and subjected them to the cruelest of punishments. He boiled them alive.

When Temujin learnt of the atrocity, he made this vow: "By the power of Heaven, I swore to gain my vengeance. Never again would I be defeated, nor my loyal warriors so dishonored."

It was now that Temujin started a revolution.

"They say that the Mongols were descended from the wolf. Like the wolf, we were famous for our ferocity and courage. But to win a battle, we have to fight fiercely, not as individual warriors, but as parts of a whole."

Temujin formed an elite officer training corps, the Keshik(蒙古騎射手). He was building a professional fighting machine, from top to bottom. The Mongol's universal instrument of battle was the bow. Made from wood and animal bone, it had a shooting range of 500 meters. Training in archery and horsemanship was made compulsory for all, even children. They learnt to release their arrows at the exact moment the horses' hoofs were off the ground for maximum accuracy. Temujin had thrown out the old tribal divisions. This was a meritocracy. This was a modern army. Now he was ready.

outwit: gain an advantage through cleverness, outsmart

vengeance: infliction of a punishment as a payback for an injury or a wrong, retribution, retaliation

corps: specialized military unit

meritocracy: government by people selected according to merit.