Page 101 - A History of Siam

A HISTORY OF SIAM 99
"
Him who said : This is My commandment, that
love one another."
ye
While King Rama T'ibodi was engaged in these
with the he was also
negotiations Portuguese, occupied
in fighting against Chiengmai, In 1513 a Chiengmai
General, Mtln P'ing Yi, carried out a raid on Suk'ot'ai
and Kamp'engp'et, capturing prisoners, elephants and
other In the was
booty. 1515 operation repeated.
Suk'ot'ai and Kamp'engp'et were taken by the Laos.
The King of Siam was, however, ready for them. Ac-
companied by his sons, Prince Ek and Prince At'itya,
he drove back the Northern invaders, and followed them
with his victorious army as far as Na'kon Lamp'ang.
A fierce battle was fought on the banks of the Me Wang
River ; the Laos were defeated and Nak'on Lamp'ang
was stormed by the Siamese. Together with other
a celebrated of carved out of black
booty, image Buddha,
stone, was removed to Ayut'ia.
This was the most serious blow which had been
dealt to Chiengmai for many years. It may be, perhaps,
that the advice and assistance of King Rama T'ibodi's

Portuguese Allies had something to do with his rapid
and successes.
striking
In 1518 King Rama T'ibodi undertook the reorganisa-
tion of the system of military service. As has been seen
the ancient Tai had a of
(chapter i.), people system
compulsory military service, which had been in force
since the earliest times. This system was now remodelled.
The whole Kingdom was divided up into Military
Divisions and Sub-Divisions, and every man of eighteen
or more was and was made liable to be
years enrolled,
called up when required. As may be supposed, a large

1 The so-called persecution in the reign of King Fetraja (1688) was in reality
B, political movement against the French.