Tribute in Lieu of Conquest
If a population agreed to pay the Mongols tribute, they were spared invasion and left relatively independent. While populations resisting were usually annihilated and thus did not pay a regular tribute, exceptions to this rule including Korea (under the Goryeo Dynasty), which finally agreed to pay regular tributes in exchange for vassaldom (and some measure of autonomy as well as the retention of the ruling dynasty), further emphasizing the Mongol preference for tribute and vassals (which would serve as a somewhat regular and continuous source of income) as opposed to outright conquest and destruction.
Different tributes were taken from different cultures. For instance, Goryeo was assessed at 10,000 otter skins, 20,000 horses, 10,000 bolts of silk, clothing for 1,000,000 soldiers, and a large number of children and artisans as slaves.
Read more about this topic: Destruction Under The Mongol Empire
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