"The Mongol is the slave of his sovereign. He is never free. His sovereign is his benefactor; he does not serve him for money. Although I was the last of Ghazan's servants, I never needed anything."
-statement of a high ranking Mongol officer captured by Mamelukes during the Il-Khan Ghazan's 1303 Syria campaign, in response to being asked how much he was paid. From Denis Sinor, "The Inner Asian Warrior," (1981), pg 135.
Mongol warriors and officers were not paid by their Khans, instead relying on looting and its redistribution for its allotment. In this method, after the fall of Zhongdu (modern Beijing), the Jurchen Jin capital, thousands of Mongols could now wear expensive silk garments. Further, after the conquests slowed down, providing for their troops (for that was one of the duties of the Khan) became more problematic, and the Il-Khan Ghazan began to provode some of his low ranking soldiers a salary, though high ranking officers still went unpaid, as shown in the above quote.