caused hunger in the capital. Toqto’a proposed another grand plan for rice farming in central Hebei, importing 2,000 South Chinese farmers and spending 5 million ding of currency, all the while assembling another army to attack Gaoyou and reopen the Grand Canal. However, Toqto'a's former protégé and now court rival Hama of the Qanqli and the heir apparent, Ayushiridara, backed by the Emperor's Korean consort Lady Ki, falsely accused him of corruption and induced the Khagan to strip him of his dignities in 1354. They quickly arranged his dismissal and banishment by imperial decree, just as the siege of Gaoyou was nearing victory. Although Toqto’a had a vast number of loyal troops under him, on January 7, he accepted the Khagan's (Emperor's) decree and gave instructions to his soldiers that they must respect their new commander who had come to replace him. Because of his popularity, many of the troops under his command refused to serve under a new commander and left the army or joined the rebels. While Toqto'a was in exile in Yunnan, he was poisoned by Hama's assassins on January 10, 1356. In popular culture Portrayed by Jin Yi-han in the 2013 television series Empress Ki. References 1314 births 1356 deaths Yuan dynasty historians Assassinated Chinese politicians Yuan dynasty right chancellors 14th-century Chinese historians Chinese reformers