Temüjin was about 66 years old. His hair and beard had long since turned white. He had come to lay siege to Ningxia (now called Yinchuan), the fortified capital of the Minyak empire of the Xixia, against whom he had been waging war for over a year, and he had retreated to the other side of the Yellow River (Huang He), not far from the Great Wall, on high ground, a place where he could find some refreshment, for he was already aware that it would not be long before he entered the realm of his brave ancestors.