Page 284 - A History of Siam

a68 A HISTORT OF SIAM
The was the indirect cause of
Champasak expedition
another war, this time with Prince Bun Sarn of Wieng-
chan. A certain named P'ra Woh,
Wiengchan noble,
who had rebelled some time the
previously against
Prince of had fled to
Wiengchan, Champasak territory
and established himself at a named Mot
place Demg,
near the town of Ubon. On the fall of Cham-
present
he made formal submission to but as soon
pasak, Siam,
as the Siamese army was withdrawn, the Prince of
Wiengchan attacked P'ra Woh, captured him, and cut
his head off. King Taksin regarded this as an act of
war against himself, and at once fitted out an army of
20,000 men to invade Wiengchan, The Prince of
Chao
Luang P'rabang, Suriwongsa, joined the Siamese,
but in of his it was several months
spite assistance,
before Wiengchan was captured. The Siamese appear
" "
to have rivalled the Burmese in
frightfulness during
this When the town of P'ak'o 1
expedition. besieging
they terrified the inhabitants by sending women to offer
boatloads of severed heads for sale outside the city wall,
and when at last Wiengchan was captured, they looted
of value on which could their hands.
everything they lay
Among the plunder taken was the celebrated Emerald
Buddha. 1 From this time until 1893 Luang P'rabang
and Wiengchan were Siamese dependencies.
The arrangements made by King Taksin in Cambodia,
which amounted to the under
practically placing country
the rule of two rival were not successful.
joint Kings, very
In 1777 the Maha Uparat was murdered, and the
ex-King Narai died shortly afterwards. King Rama Raja
was of the cause of the death of both
suspected being
1
dose to Wiengchan.
*
According to one legend, this image had at one time been at Aynt'ia, during the
reign of Boromoraja If. There is, however, no real historical evidence that it
was ever in southern Siam until it was taken to Bangkok by Chao P'ya ChakrL