Although depicted in higher action and exaggeration, Marco Polo did in fact take many aspects from a Mongol-conquered China. Yet during the Yuan Dynasty (when China was one of the 4 Khanates and was ruled by Kublai, Genghis Khan's grandson) he didn't engage in many of the epic action sequences as seen throughout the show. In fact, Kublai Khan welcomed people like Marco Polo. Merchants and scholars were welcomed and no longer seen as low scum as they previously were seen by Confucian bureaucrats.