Throughout 1282 , the Mongol command made preparations for the upcoming invasions of Champa and northern Burma . The objective of the Burma campaign was to take over northern Burma but no further ; the emperor did not sanction an attack on Pagan itself . At least one army consisted of 14 @,@ 000 men of the erstwhile Persian Khwarezmid Empire under the command of Yalu Beg was sent to Yunnan to reinforce the Burma invasion force , which again was made up of Turks and other central Asians . On the Burmese side , the king managed to raise an army although given his low standing with his vassals , he probably could not have raised a large one . By mid @-@ 1283 , a Burmese army led by generals Ananda Pyissi and Yanda Pyissi was deployed at a fort at Ngasaunggyan .