Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 329, Burning Down the Buddhist Temple

Of course, upon seeing the Buddha statues in the temple, Zhang Yuan quickly realized he had gone to the wrong place and hurried back to the real royal palace.

In reality, only five or six minutes were wasted throughout the entire process.

However, if Rama III had decisively fled, those five or six minutes might have truly determined his fate.

Unfortunately, fate was not on his side this time.

The Huaiyin army quickly stormed into the palace.

Rama III tried his best to escape under the protection of his servants, but was blocked by a group of Huaiyin soldiers.

Although Rama III tried to dress as simply as possible, his robes still gave him away.

"She's wearing silk!"

"He must be a big shot, don't let him get away!"

The soldiers rushed forward, using sheathed swords to fight the enemy in an attempt to capture them alive.

Rama III's servant was punched in the armpit by the Huaiyin army and fell to the ground on the spot.

Rama III, enraged, drew a jewel-encrusted sword and slashed at the Huaiyin army in front of him.

Unfortunately, the inlaid gems do not improve the sword's attributes.

The battle-hardened Huaiyin Army easily dodged the flawed attack, and with a backhand slash, struck Rama III squarely in the face as he leaned forward, leaving his face covered in blood.

Dawn dispelled the darkness, but it could not dispel the greed of foreign lands.

The Great Xi Empire, the 20th year of the Longqing reign, the first day of the month, at the fifth quarter of the hour of Mao (5:45 AM).

The Grand Palace in Bangkok fell, and King Rama III of Siam was captured alive by the Huaiyin Army (his identity was confirmed).

The people of Siam will never forget this day.

Foreign bandits barged into their sacred palace and temples, killing the guards and monks protecting the national treasures with swords and then greedily plundering their country's wealth.

This was the darkest moment in Siamese history.

Naval Vice Admiral Shen Dangchen ordered cannons to blast open the gates of the Jade Buddha Temple.

The Huaiyin army captured the abbot here.

This monk claimed to be some kind of "King of Monks".

Shen Dangchen interrogated the Sengwang, asking where the most precious treasures in the temple were hidden.

The Sangha King refused to respond, only chanting mantras in the hope that the Buddha would punish these rude robbers.

"Cut off his head!"

Shen Dangchen issued the order.

The Huaiyin soldier coldly raised his sword, showing no pity for the monk in his magnificent robes, and brought the blade down.

The head of the Sangharaja rolled to the ground.

The Buddha's blessing did not come.

Shen Dangchen then turned his gaze to the other monks.

Soon, a monk who appeared to be of high status was arrested.

Where is the treasure hidden?

……

When the three round heads on the ground came together, the fourth monk finally gave in.

Led by a monk named Phra Si, the bandits from Huaiyin found Siam's national treasure, the Jade Buddha enshrined in the Jade Buddha Hall of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

This jade Buddha statue is 66 centimeters tall and 48 centimeters wide. It was crafted from a single, flawless piece of jade more than 400 years ago in Siam. Its value is immeasurable, and it is Siam's most precious national treasure.

How high is his status?

As a Buddha statue, it has three sets of pure gold robes, corresponding to the hot season, cool season and rainy season of Siam. Every time the seasons change, the monarch of Siam will personally change its robes.

"What a good baby!"

Shen Dangchen sighed, then ordered his men to carry the treasure onto the ship.

What Siamese national treasure?
Isn't this the Buddhist treasure that was stolen from China during the Yuan Dynasty? It should be returned to its rightful owner!

The Jade Buddha is just the most symbolic treasure of the Jade Buddha Temple; there are many other priceless treasures, too numerous to count.

Examples include a vajra made of pure gold, a crystal-clear lotus-shaped magic weapon, a purple-gold alms bowl, a glass fairy and golden lion, an ivory pagoda with a pendant pearl, and a golden-paged sutra, among others.

There are simply too many to count, and too many to move.

To put it simply, even the murals on the walls were made of glazed tiles inlaid with gold, which the Huaiyin soldiers painstakingly pried off bit by bit with swords and axes and took away.

Outside, there's a golden stupa, said to have been built to commemorate the parents of King Rama I. At the base of the stupa are twenty monkey statues holding up the stupa, which are also quite treasured...

Of course, one point must be made clear.

The Huaiyin army did not come here to plunder foreign treasures.

They were all brave soldiers and people worthy of respect.

This visit is merely a response to the damage previously caused to China by Siam.

As for the actions we are taking now.

It's like catching a thief and confiscating their stolen money.

It was Siam that started the war, harming so many people in China, causing countless families to be displaced, and resulting in enormous losses.
All that is being done now is merely collecting a small amount of interest for Siam's previous actions.

This is undoubtedly just and reasonable.

The Great Xi Empire, the 20th year of the Longqing reign, the second day of the month.

The Huaiyin army, after looting for a day, still hadn't finished moving all the treasures. The canals of Siam were simply too small to transport all the looted treasures back.

During this period, some civilian organizations launched attacks against the Huaiyin Army.

The result was naturally invalid, and the organization's members were publicly executed by the Huaiyin Army to intimidate the Siamese people.

On the same day, the Huaiyin army occupied the nearby Wofo Temple and Jinfo Temple.

These two temples are probably the second or third largest in Siam.

Its wealth is in no way inferior to that of the Jade Buddha Temple.

In the Golden Buddha Temple, there is a four-meter-tall, cross-legged pure gold Buddha statue. It weighs over 10,000 kilograms and shines with golden light. It is a genuine priceless treasure.

The Huaiyin army mobilized three hundred-man squads and went to great lengths to transfer the golden Buddha to the ship. During the process, the golden Buddha was accidentally knocked, leaving a small dent on its knee.

The Huaiyin soldiers in charge of transporting the supplies were afraid of being punished, so they explained that it was because Buddha saw our Heavenly Dynasty's army and knelt down on his own initiative.

When the news spread, it was nothing more than a laugh for the Huaiyin Army, but for the people of Siam, it was a ruthless trampling of their faith.

Compared to the Golden Buddha Temple, the Reclining Buddha Temple on the other side was even more cruel.

In the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, there is a huge gilded reclining Buddha, which is a Buddha statue lying down.

This Buddha statue is 46 meters long and 15 meters high. It is gilded all over and inlaid with gemstones and pearls. It is the most sacred and genuine statue in the Siamese Buddhist temple.

It's obviously impossible to take all of these Buddha statues with us.

The Huaiyin army brutally smashed the Buddha statue, stripped off the gilding and gemstones, and took it away, leaving only the severely damaged Buddha statue behind.

In the days that followed, the Huaiyin Army could be seen everywhere in Bangkok.

They pushed away carts laden with treasures, presumably having looted another Buddhist temple or palace.

The sixth day of the twentieth year of the Longqing reign in the Great Xi Empire.

A sizable army of about five thousand men arrived and, under the banner of rescuing the emperor, engaged the Huaiyin army in battle.

The result was naturally that they were suppressed by the Huaiyin Army.

The prisoners were buried alive on the spot.

However, after this battle, Zhang Yuan realized that it was time for them to leave.

This is just the first wave. They are foreigners after all. If they continue to stay here, countless more resistance armies will come later.

Two days later, the Huaiyin army finished its reorganization and withdrew with countless treasures and King Rama III.

(End of this chapter)