As I said in the other thread, we should not see any serious Mongol invasion of Europe as their RL campaigns, which were party probing, part limited conquest. Any serious attempted conquest would probably take at least a decade and launched only after Eastern Europe was thoroughly transformed into the Arsenal of the World (TM). Their invasion, when finally launched, would have been methodical, patient, and adopted to their opponents' tactics and strategy. Just like how they conquered China.
When they were fighting the Chinese, we have remember that they mostly fought as infantry, in that southern China was notorious difficult for cavalry, with forests, small mountains, and numerous canals and rivers dissecting the region. And the fact that there were numerous fortified points meant tons of siege warfare as well.
Their adaptability is at its peak, when they--who were nomads who only a generation ago had never a single warship to their name--built a mighty armada to take the fight to the central provinces of southern China. There's an old Chinese proverb that to take north China you need horses; to take south China you need ships.
When they were fighting the Chinese, we have remember that they mostly fought as infantry, in that southern China was notorious difficult for cavalry, with forests, small mountains, and numerous canals and rivers dissecting the region. And the fact that there were numerous fortified points meant tons of siege warfare as well.
Their adaptability is at its peak, when they--who were nomads who only a generation ago had never a single warship to their name--built a mighty armada to take the fight to the central provinces of southern China. There's an old Chinese proverb that to take north China you need horses; to take south China you need ships.