Page 202 - A History of Siam

i 2 A HISTORT OF
9 SIAM\
In the same year King Bintal of Burma was over-
thrown and executed. He had caused great misery by
" "
at in food his wives and
conniving profiteering by
courtiers during the siege of Ava. His brother, the
Prince of Prome, became King, assuming the title of
Maha Pawara T'ammaraja, 1
These events in Burma greatly encouraged King Narai
in his design of subduing Chiengmai. He was by no
means satisfied with the performance of his Generals
on the first and determined to a
expedition, place younger
and more energetic man in charge of his armies. His
choice fell on his foster brother, P'ya Kosa T'ibodi
K'un Lek. P'ya Kosa, on assuming command, horrified
all the old hands by his merciless severity. He had
realised that what was wanting in the Siamese army was
strict and obedience. Deserters and slackers
discipline
short shrift from
got him, and he saw to it that his orders
were obeyed. On one occasion he gave instructions for
the of a stockade with the narrow ends of the
building
bamboo buried in the earth. A certain officer, observing
that this was contrary to the usual method of putting the
ends assumed that the General had made
big downwards,
a mistake, which he took upon himself to set right. He
for this offence with his head.
paid
P'ya Kosa was, of course, quite right, and readers who
have tried to induce folk in Siam to do a
country
on a new will have with
job system every sympathy
him.
At the end of 1 66 1 Kosa left for
P'ya Ayut'ia Chiengmai
with his army, followed not long afterwards by the King.
about
In all, 100,000 men were engaged on this expedition,
a far larger army than had ever before been put into the
field for an invasion of No serious resistance
Chiengmai.
1
Pye, in Harvey's History of Burma.