Northwest China. One of Genghis Khan’s first enemies was the XiXia people, who had an army of 150,000 soldiers. He besieged their capital, Wulahai, with high walls. The Mongols, lacking effective siege weapons, proposed a truce on the condition that the besieged surrender all their cats and dogs. They then tied burning bushes to their tails and let them return to their homes, setting fire to the city, which surrendered.
