The Naiman Khan had attracted some of Chiluku’s commanders, and on collecting the wreck of his late father’s army he saw himself at the head of considerable forces. To begin his plot easily he begged leave of the Gurkhan to assemble the scattered remnants of the Naiman army, then wandering through northeastern lands of the Kara Kitan Empire. These men might be employed, he said, in Chiluku’s service. The weak and kindly old sovereign consented, gave his daughter’s husband rich presents, and confirmed his title Gutchluk, or the Strong Man. The false son-in-law went on his mission. From Iwil, Kayalik and Bishbalik, crowds rushed to his standard. He was joined by the chief of the Merkits, who had fled before the Mongols. These men began to win wealth by incursions in every direction. Further hope of booty caused other bands to follow quickly. Still Gutchluk could not seize the Empire without an ally, and the Empire, or at least a large part of it, was his object. He turned to Shah Mohammed who had withdrawn from subjection to Chiluku, and had received even the homage of Osman, the Khan ruling then over Transoxiana and Samarkand. Gutchluk asked Shah Mohammed to fall on the Empire, and seize the western part for this service. The Shah gave a favorable answer. Meanwhile a Kara Kitan army was despatched to Samarkand by Chiluku to bring Osman back to obedience. Shah Mohammed hastened to render aid to his vassal, but before his arrival the Kara Kitans were recalled to meet Gutchluk, who had now opened war on his father-in-law, the Gurkhan. While Chiluku’s army was absent in Samarkand, Gutchluk seized in Uzkend the state treasures, and hurried then by forced marches to surprise Bela Sagun. Chiluku, though old, took the field promptly in person, and defeated his son-in-law, who retired in despair after losing a large force of warriors who were killed or taken captive. Meanwhile Shah Mohammed had crossed the western boundary accompanied by Osman, and met the Kara Kitan forces commanded by Tanigu. He attacked these and captured the commander. The defeated troops while marching home robbed their own fellow subjects and plundered without distinction; Bela Sagun, which preferred Mohammed, would not open its gates to them. Besieged by the troops of their own sovereign they fought for sixteen days, hoping daily to see the Shah’s army. The city was taken by assault, and the people were slaughtered. Fifty-seven thousand persons perished under the sword edge.