After they grew up, both of them lived with Ong Khan's tribe and were still very close. Everyday they would compete to see who got up earlier; whichever one got up earlier would get to drink one cup of koumiss out of Ong Khan's own jade cup. Later, after Temujin's wife was kidnapped and was rescued with the combined help of Jamuka and Ong Khan, Temujin and Jamuka exchanged gold and horses and became sworn anda to each other for a third time. The two of them drank out of the same cup in the day and slept in the same ger at night. However, having to migrate with the changing weather and rain, they and their tribes parted. As Temujin's tribe rose in fame and power, Jamuka's tribe was growing nonstop as well. Their friendship was still as strong as ever and was deeper than blood brothers. That's why Temujin, realizing that his brother was not being honored, would ask for him to be honored as well.
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"There are so many Mongolians, where can we find all the titles if we give one to each of them?
How many titles do you think we have?" Wanyan Hongxi, half drunk, casually answered back without much thought. Wanyan Honglie shot his brother numerous meaningful looks trying to get him to stop, but was ignored.
Feeling slighted because of the remark, Temujin offered: "Might Your Excellencies consider giving your humble servant's title to him instead?"
"Are you belittling the titles of the Great Empire of the Jin?" Wanyan Hongxi smacked his leg and shouted. Temujin slammed his palm down on his table and stood up in anger. Finally, barely holding back his fury, he did not say another word and grabbed his cup and drank its conger in one gulp. Wanyan Honglie immediately told a joke and changed the subject.
The next morning, Temujin and his four sons organized five-thousand troops to escort Wanyan Hongxi and Wanyan Honglie to Ong Khan. By the time the sun was barely peeking over the distant horizon, Temujin had already mounted his horse and the five-thousand soldiers had already lined up in perfect formation. The Jurchen soldiers and generals, however, were still fast asleep.
At first, Temujin was impressed by the Jurchen army’s grandeur and organization. But after seeing what an undisciplined and fun seeking group they were, he humphed and turned to Muqali, "What do you think of the Jin army?"
"A thousand of us Mongolian troops can defeat five-thousand of theirs!" Muqali observed.
"I’ve thought so too," Temujin replied with a smile. "But it's said that the Jin Empire has an army of over one million strong. We only have fifty thousand people."
"A million troops can't enter battle all at once," Muqali responded. "Divide and conquer, we can take down ten thousand today and then sweep another ten thousand tomorrow."
"When it comes to military strategy, your opinions are always the same as mine." Temujin smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "A 50 kilogram man can eat ten cows that weigh over ten thousand kilograms. He just won't do it in one day." The two men burst out in laughter.
Temujin settled back straight in his saddle and suddenly saw that Tolui's horse was rider-less.
"Where's Tolui?" He shouted in fury.
Tolui was just nine years old, but Temujin had always been a harsh disciplinarian whether he was training troops or bringing up sons; he never showed mercy to anyone who violated his rules. With him shouting so loudly in anger, all the generals and troops immediately got a bad feeling in their stomachs. General Boroqul, Tolui's mentor, almost panicked and offered: "The kid has never overslept before, let me check."
Just as he turned his horse to gallop off to search for Tolui, he saw two kids come running up hand in hand. One of them, with a silk bandana on his head, was Tolui while the other turned out to be Guo Jing. Tolui ran straight towards his father and shouted: "Dad!"
"Where were you?" Temujin demanded in a harsh tone.
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"Guo Jing and I just became andas down by the river. Look, this is what he gave me." Tolui replied, waving a red handkerchief with a flower embroidered on it in the air. It was something that Li Ping made for Guo Jing.
Reminded of the time he and Jamuka became andas as kids, Temujin's face immediately became calm. "What did you give him?" He asked the two cute and innocent kids standing in front of him.
"This!" Guo Jing replied, pointing to the top of his head, where Temujin saw the golden necklace that his youngest son often wore.
"Now you two have to help and look after each other in the future, you hear?" Temujin said with a smile. Both of the kids nodded.
"Now get on your horses," Temujin ordered, "Guo Jing can come with us too." Ecstatic, Guo Jing and Tolui both mounted their horses.
After another period of waiting, the Wanyan brothers finally finished dressing and exited their gers.
Wanyan Honglie, seeing the Mongolian soldiers were already in formation, immediately ordered his soldiers to fall in. However, Wanyan Hongxi, determined to put the Mongolians in their place, took his time slowly drinking several cups of wine and ate a little breakfast before finally climbing onto his horse. After another hour of general chaos, the ten thousand Jin troops were finally in formations.
The army marched northwards for six days before meeting up with Ong Khan's welcoming committee, comprised of Ong Khan's son Senggum and adopted son Jamuka. Upon hearing that Jamuka was here, Temujin immediately rode forth to meet him. The two men hopped off their horses and bear hugged each other. Every one of Temujin's sons rode forth to greeting their adopted uncle as well.
When Wanyan Honglie first laid eyes upon Jamuka, he saw a tall and skinny man with a few strands of gold in his mustache and a pair of eyes that were filled with energy and enthusiasm. He looked strong and spirited. Senggum, on the other hand, was fat and pale, probably from living in luxury all of his life and not at all like someone who grew up on the Steppe. Not only that, he had an arrogant look on his face and seemingly ignored Temujin whenever he felt like it; a stark contrast to the warmth of Jamuka.
After another day of riding, they were very close to Ong Khan's encampment when two of Temujin's advanced scouts suddenly returned with news. “There are Naimans blocking the way ahead. About thirty thousand of them," they reported.
"What do they want?" Wanyan Hongxi asked, panicking a bit after hearing the news through his translator.
"From the looks of it, they want to fight," the scouts reported.
"They.... they have.... they really have thirty thousand troops?" Wanyan Hongxi stuttered. "That...
that's more than us... this... this...."
"Go and find out what's going on," Temujin ordered Muqali, not waiting for Wanyan Hongxi to finish his sentence.
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Muqali headed off with ten bodyguards while the rest of them stopped and waited. Muqali returned not long after. "The Naimans said that since the great Jin princes granted a title to our Khan, they want to be granted a title too," he reported. "If not, then they say they will take Your Excellencies the princes as hostages until they too are granted titles from the Great Jin Empire. They also said that they want a title that's higher than our Khan Temujin's."
"Demanding titles by force? That... that's rebellion! What do we do?" Wanyan Hongxi's face went pale on hearing this news. Wanyan Honglie began organizing troops into fighting positions in case of any unexpected escalations.
"Brother, those Naimans frequently steal our livestock and cause trouble for us. Are we really going to let them get away with this?" Jamuka said to Temujin. "I don't know what the Jin princes would have us do?"
By now, Temujin had thoroughly surveyed the surrounding landscape and was confident of victory.
"Let's show the Princes how the two of us do things around here!" He replied to Jamuka before letting out a howl and cracking his whip in the air twice, causing the five thousand Mongolian soldiers to simultaneously howl in response and startling the unprepared Wanyan brothers.
A cloud of dust had appeared ahead as the enemy slowly approached, forcing the advanced scouts to return. "Brother, order our boys to charge now!" Wanyan Hongxi said. "These Mongols are of no use
now."
"Let them fight first," Wanyan Honglie whispered back.
Immediately understanding his brother's intentions, Wanyan Hongxi simply nodded and sat back.
The Mongolian soldiers let out another loud shout, but did not move. "What on Earth are these Mongols doing shouting like rabid dogs?" Wanyan Hongxi frowned. "It's not like they are going to scare the enemy away no matter how loud they are."
On the left side of the formation was Boroqul. "Follow me and don't fall behind. See how we defeat our foes," he instructed Tolui, who, along with Guo Jing, were shouting at the top of their lungs just like the others.
In a heartbeat, the approaching army emerged out of the cloud of dust only a few paces away. Yet the Mongolians still did nothing but shout. This time it was Wanyan Honglie who got nervous, seeing how spirited the Naimans were. Fearing his formation would be broken if they continued unimpeded, he ordered: "Fire arrows!"
The Jin army discharged several volleys, but because of the distance between the two armies, most of the arrows fell onto the ground before reaching the enemy. Frightened by the ferociousness showing on his enemies' faces as they gritted their teeth and charged at full speed, Wanyan Hongxi began to panic. "Why don't we just give them what they want; give them some bullshit title and be done with all this?" he turned around and suggested to Wanyan Honglie. "So what if the title is a little big? It’s not like we are going to lose anything."