Mongol Empire to some extent for murder. Any resistance to Mongol rule was met with massive collective punishment. Cities were destroyed and their inhabitants slaughtered if they defied Mongol orders. Under "Yassa", chiefs and generals were selected based on merit. The empire was governed by a non-democratic, parliamentary-style central assembly, called kurultai, in which the Mongol chiefs met with the great khan to discuss domestic and foreign policies. Kurultais were also convened for the selection of each new great khan. Genghis Khan also created a national seal, encouraged the use of a written alphabet in Mongolia, and exempted teachers, lawyers, and artists
Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty expelled his opponents like Wen Tianxiang and Li Fu. Because the financial revenue of the late Southern Song state was very low, Jia Sidao tried to reform the regulations for the merchandise of lands with his state field law. Gunpowder weapons like the "t'u huo ch'iang" were deployed by the Chinese against the Mongol forces, which fired bullets from bamboo tubes. After Kublai was elected Great Khan of the Mongols in 1260 he was eventually able to conquer the Song to the south, but at great cost. From 1260 to 1264, he faced civil insurrection within the Mongol side led