How people used to travel the world

[of thirty], Lord over many lands and many provinces; and he was Uncle to
the Emperor Cublay Kaan of whom we are speaking
There was a great Tartar Chief, whose name was NAYAN,[NOTE 4] a young man
[of thirty], Lord over many lands and many provinces; and he was Uncle to
the Emperor Cublay Kaan of whom we are speaking. And when he found himself
in authority this Nayan waxed proud in the insolence of his youth and his
great power; for indeed he could bring into the field 300,000 horsemen,
though all the time he was liegeman to his nephew, the Great Kaan Cublay,
as was right and reason. Seeing then what great power he had, he took it
into his head that he would be the Great Kaan”s vassal no longer; nay
more, he would fain wrest his empire from him if he could. So this Nayan
sent envoys to another Tartar Prince called CAIDU, also a great and potent
Lord, who was a kinsman of his, and who was a nephew of the Great Kaan and
his lawful liegeman also, though he was in rebellion and at bitter enmity
with his sovereign Lord and Uncle. Now the message that Nayan sent was
this: That he himself was making ready to march against the Great Kaan
with all his forces (which were great), and he begged Caidu to do likewise
from his side, so that by attacking Cublay on two sides at once with such
great forces they would be able to wrest his dominion from him.