Ariq Böke
Kublai now controlled three of the four possible supply lines to Karakorum. Kadan, Kublai's Ögedeid ally, defended the territories of the former Western Xia from Ariq Böke and commanded the forces stationed in Gansu. Kublai's troops guarded the area surrounding Yan (modern Beijing). The only supply line still open to Ariq Böke was the Yenisei River valley in the northwest. When Kublai's army advanced towards Karakorum in late 1260, Ariq Böke retreated from Karakorum to a tributary of the Yenisei. The oncoming winter then compelled Kublai and Ariq Böke to encamp their armies and wait for spring.