The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 98: Northern Myanmar and Southern Thailand are not short of heavyweights
November 1766, , the st year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty.

The Burmese army's northern surprise force broke through the office of the Zhanda chieftain at Lianhua Mountain. Dozens of the descendants of the Zhanda chieftain Dao family died for their country, and the chieftain's building was set on fire by the Burmese soldiers.

After looting, the Burmese army burned down Taiping Street, not far from Lianhua Mountain, and encircled the Qing army from behind.

The Qing army guerrilla squad stationed at Tongbi Pass was caught off guard and had only one or two hundred soldiers, so they could only hold on.

On the second day, the Burmese army climbed over the cliff and appeared behind the pass, setting up cannons to bombard.

Bandi was unable to defend the pass and had to fight his way out. The Burmese army pursued him closely and caught up with Bandi halfway. Nearly a hundred Qing troops under Bandi were killed and Tongbi Pass fell.

Tongbi Pass was the retreat route of Tiebi Pass. Its fall indicated that the Qing army's retreat route had been completely cut off.

Yunnan Governor Li Shisheng was shocked. He had never thought that the Burmese army would be so bold as to directly attack Yunnan and cut off his retreat, so he quickly ordered Zhu Lun of Lengmu to retreat.

Zhu Lun had long been unable to hold on and led his army towards Tiebi Pass in a panic. Along the way, they abandoned their armor and weapons, and almost all of their baggage and weapons were lost. More than 3,000 people escaped with their lives.

Li Shisheng had no idea how many Burmese troops were behind him, and only then did he become frightened. He quickly sent an urgent messenger to ask for help from Yang Yingju, the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou.

At this time, Yang Yingju even wanted to kill Li Shisheng, because Li Shisheng's tens of thousands of men were all the military forces in Yunnan.

Apart from a few hundred governor's standard-bearers, Yang Yingju could not mobilize any other support forces.

Do I want him to send a report of defeat to Beijing immediately and ask me to dispatch troops to rescue him before the news of the victory at Xinjie reaches Beijing?
Do you still want your head?
Besides, the emperor has many spies in Kunming and other places. It would be disastrous if the news got out.

In order to prevent the news from spreading, Yang Yingju actually instructed his subordinates to burn Li Shisheng's letter for help. What an unbelievable thing to do!
As long as the enemy doesn’t appear in front of me, hehe, then hey, hey, hey, then hey, hey, hey, as long as the enemy doesn’t appear in front of me ...

Li Shisheng was dumbfounded. He had no other choice but to withdraw another 900 elite soldiers from the more than 10,000 Green Camp soldiers, and send them to recapture Tongbi Pass under the command of guerrilla general Ma Chenglong, garrison commanders Ma Yun, Shen Hong and others.

At the same time, behind Tongbi Pass, Liu Decheng, the general of Linyuan Town, and Qingtai, the guerrilla general, led 2,100 troops to station at the Nandian Tusi. Li Shisheng also ordered them to attack Tongbi Pass from behind, intending to attack it from both sides.

But Liu Decheng and others were not Li Shisheng's direct subordinates, and they had many conflicts with Li Shisheng on a daily basis. At this time, they pretended that the traffic was not smooth and delayed their progress.

When guerrilla Ma Chenglong arrived outside the Haiba River, he did not see Liu Decheng's messenger appear, so he reported to Li Shisheng that the water in front of Tongbi Pass was rushing and they could not attack rashly without Liu Decheng and others coming.

Li Shisheng had lost his composure at this point. He was furious and ordered Goshaha's general Tian Rong to go to Ma Chenglong to supervise the battle and make sure they crossed the river.

Ma Chenglong had no choice but to lead his troops across the river himself, but the river was turbulent and above the waist, and the gunpowder and other supplies carried by the Qing soldiers were completely soaked.

It is the coldest time of the year now. Although Yunnan is not as cold as the north, it is not completely cold either.

After Ma Chenglong's troops crossed the river, the officers and soldiers were shivering with cold, throwing their weapons on the ground and busying themselves with making fire to dry their clothes.

At this moment, the Burmese army, which had long observed their arrival, suddenly rushed out. Even though Ma Chenglong was known for his bravery, he was powerless in the face of this situation.

An hour later, all 900 men under Ma Chenglong's command were killed, except for seventy or eighty who had not yet crossed the river.

Ma Chenglong and garrison commander Shen Hong were also killed in the battle, while garrison commander Ma Yun, who was guarding the rear, managed to escape with his life.

After Li Shisheng received his reward, his mind became clear and he no longer relied on a few hundred people to open up a retreat route.

He even sent Deputy General Chen Tingwen, guerrilla Shao Yingbi and others, and mobilized more than 3,000 officers and soldiers who were capable of fighting in the Tiebi Guanzhong area to open up the rear route.

At the same time, he led the old, weak and disabled soldiers to defend Tiebi Pass and resist the attack of the Burmese army.

The Burmese army also knew that it had reached a critical moment, so they relied on Tongbi Pass to hold their ground, and fought back and forth with the Qing army's deputy general Chen Tingwen and others in their respective camps.

At this moment, Liu Decheng, the general of Linyuan Town, who was located behind Tongbi Pass, and others stopped when they arrived at the Ganya Tusi residence.

They held grand banquets and allowed their soldiers to abduct women and send them to the military camps to rape and abuse them, and to rob people of their property and feast on them.

Li Shisheng ordered him to attack seven times, but Liu Decheng ignored him.

He believed that Li Shisheng would be punished immediately for his defeat, so he could completely disobey his orders and even cursed Li Shisheng's messenger.

Even a shameless person like Yang Yingju couldn't tolerate such behavior.

He sent the Magistrate Meng Ning to Ganya with the governor's military order to supervise the army. If Liu Decheng did not go to fight again, he would be executed without mercy.

Liu Decheng was forced to send his troops southward reluctantly.

At this time, the Burmese army had already traveled hundreds of miles across Chinese territory, killing more than a thousand Green Camp soldiers and tens of thousands of our border residents.

They felt they had achieved their objectives and feared being surrounded by the Qing army from front and back, so they set up signal fires outside the camp at night and released horses to create a false alarm. In fact, they had already retreated.

The Qing army was unaware of this and fired guns and cannons around the empty camp for a whole day and night. When noon came and the Burmese army still did not come out to fight, they plucked up the courage to go and investigate, only to find out that the Burmese army had escaped.

When Yang Yingju, the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, learned about this, instead of consolidating his defenses, he shamelessly reported another great victory, saying that more than 5,000 Burmese soldiers had been killed and that the government army had won a great victory.

He was so shameless that people in Yunnan could not tolerate it. In order to avoid being implicated, some officials began to secretly write letters to me to tell me the truth.

. . . .

At the time when the Qing army's Green Camp in Yunnan was in great prominence, the situation in Ayutthaya, Siam, was improving.

After all, the elite troops of King Meng Bo of the White Elephant only had a strength of 50,000 people. Suddenly, they were missing 10,000 people, more than 2,000 flintlock rifles, and a dozen cannons. The difference was quite obvious.

Even King Agada of Siam, who had been hiding in the temple recently to pray and pray for the Buddha to appear and drive away the Burmese, clearly felt the difference.

However, he chose not to take this opportunity to boost morale, strengthen the city defenses, and inspect equipment.

Instead, he put on a grand ceremony, taking out more than ten thousand kilograms of fine rice, fish, meat, fruit, etc. to reward the monks who had prayed with him during those days. He also dispatched royal ceremonial guards and went to various temples in the city to make donations.

This is simply outrageous. You have to know that the Burmese army has been besieging the city for eleven months. Now in Ayutthaya, not to mention ordinary people, even ministers of the level of Taksin can only barely get enough to eat rice porridge and dried fruits.

When Zheng Tai from Phraya Phetchaburi came to visit, Zheng Xin only treated him to rice noodles with fresh fish, and each person only had one bowl, no more.

It was difficult for ordinary soldiers to get enough to eat, civilians could only eat one meal a day, and the elderly, the weak, women and children were already in a dying state.

Commander Pi stood behind Taksin, watching King Agada's grand procession of worshiping Buddha, tears streaming down his face.

Among Taksin's camp, he was the most loyal to Siam. At this moment, he felt as if he were pierced by thousands of arrows. He collapsed and roared:
"Before the previous king passed away, he did not want Aghada to succeed him.

Looking back today, the late king was so wise. His attitude is no different from that of Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong, and he is far inferior to Emperor Jie and Emperor Zhou.

If Pi, the commander-in-chief, was heartbroken, then the British, French, Dutch, and other merchants and missionaries who had joined the Chinese in resisting the Burmese army at the Dutch trading post south of the city immediately sensed the impending disaster. Three days later, these Europeans, through French and Portuguese soldiers serving the Burmese army, approached King Mengbo of the White Elephant and declared that they would immediately withdraw from Ayutthaya if he would forgive them.

He also handed over all his military equipment - 500 flintlock rifles, 5,000 kilograms of gunpowder and a large amount of lead bullets - to the White Elephant King.

King Meng Bo of the White Elephant was such a smart man. If he had not been so arrogant and chosen to provoke the Qing Dynasty at this time, he would basically be ranked among the top three kings of Myanmar.

Although this was a change in the Europeans in Ayutthaya, he immediately realized that something must have happened in the city, so that the Europeans who had been determined to help the Siamese defend the city a few days ago suddenly decided to run away.

So, the White Elephant King summoned the European representatives in the city and easily learned from them about King Agada's outrageous actions.

The 32-year-old Burmese king immediately knelt down excitedly and prayed to the moonlight.

"Alangpaya, the work you didn't complete six years ago will finally be completed by your son.

We, the Burmese, will once again capture the Thai king and bring him to Ava, and once again make him our slave."

Alangpaya was the title of Mongpo's father, Yongjiya, the founding king of the Konbaung Dynasty, which means the king who is about to become a Buddha.

Six years ago, Yongjiya should have captured Ayutthaya, but during a test firing of an artillery, he was seriously injured and died due to an accidental explosion of the barrel. The Burmese army had no choice but to retreat.

In fact, this is also the biggest reason why King Agada of Siam was obsessed with praying in temples.

Because King Agada believed that Yongjiya was despising the Buddha by claiming to be a king who was about to become a Buddha, the Buddha sent down thunder and fire to kill him.

Now Yongjiya's son, White Elephant King Mengbo, has come again, and King Agada is naturally waiting for the Buddha to "take action again."

"The Buddha has the virtue of loving all living things. It seems that you are truly repentant.

Three days later, at 7:00 PM, I will lift the blockade in the southeast for one hour. You can run for your lives."

After the prayer, the White Elephant King Mengbo showed mercy and spared these Europeans who had killed and injured many Burmese soldiers.

Because of the news they brought, King White Elephant had a better solution for dealing with the Siamese in the city.

. . . .

On the tenth day of December in 1766, just three days after hundreds of Europeans fled the south of the city, a huge explosion was heard in the direction of the Burmese army stationed. Brilliant flames shot straight into the sky in the evening, illuminating the sky with an orange-red color.

Afterwards, rumors began to spread in Ayutthaya that the Burmese army's gunpowder depot had exploded.

Meng Bo, the White Elephant King, who was inspecting the gunpowder depot, was also seriously injured and died at the moment of success, just like his father Yong Jiya.

Less than a day later, the rumors became more and more realistic. Some soldiers even said that they saw a secret funeral in the Burmese army camp, and the Burmese army siege in several places was weakened.

King Agada was overjoyed when he heard this. The scene of his escape from death six years ago appeared in his mind again.

He firmly believed that it was his piety that moved the Buddha, causing him to choose the Siamese again among his two most pious races.

Otherwise, why would the Burmese army's attack power suddenly weaken, why would the gunpowder depot explode and injure the White Elephant King, and why could the Europeans in the southeast of the city break out easily?

This is all clear evidence!
King Agada, in a good mood, walked out of the temple for the first time and returned to the palace, where he summoned all the high-ranking officials and nobles above the rank of royal in the city to discuss important matters.

At the meeting, King Agada even wore monk's robes and looked like a madman.

He tried his best to use so-called auspicious signs, even those as small as ants, to prove that his prayers had worked and that the Buddha had helped the Siamese again.

It was called a meeting, but in fact it was King Agada’s personal performance.

He proudly declared to all his ministers who once thought that he was not as good as Prince Wu Bentong and that he would never be able to succeed to the throne if Prince Wu Bentong had not suffered from leprosy.

He was the King of Siam chosen by the Buddha and the Buddha's most beloved follower in the world.

Finally, King Agada announced that ten days later, all the military forces in the city would attack in six directions under the illumination of the Buddha's light, eliminate the sixteen camps of the Burmese army surrounding Ayutthaya, and repel the Burmese army.

The first route was led by Zheng Tai of Phraya Phetchaburi, with 2,000 troops.

The second route was led by Phraya Taksin, with 3,000 troops.

The third route was led by Phraya Korat, with 6,000 troops.

The fourth route was led by Phraya Songkhalok, with 3,000 troops.

The fifth route was led by the commander of the imperial guards, Phraya Aphalaja, and consisted of 3,000 soldiers.

The sixth route was led by Phraya Phakrang and consisted of 3,000 soldiers.

There were exactly 20,000 troops in the six armies, almost all of them came out. After that, there were only 2,000 to 3,000 regular troops and 20,000 to 30,000 volunteers left in the city.

Zheng Xin looked as pale as death. This attack plan was simply a suicide plan.

But he did not refute anything, because he and Zheng Tai had the fewest soldiers, only 5,000 in total, but the Burmese camp they were going to attack was the most elite of the Burmese troops.

Najin Phraya Samkhalok, who had Chinese ancestry on his mother's side, had only 3,000 soldiers and was also going to attack the camp of 5,000 to 6,000 Burmese troops.

However, King Aghada's confidant Phraya Korat led an army of 6,000 to attack the weakest camp of the Burmese army.

Not only was this attack plan suicidal, King Agada also intended to kill Zheng Tai, whom he had disliked for a long time, and even Zheng Xin.

Even if the plan succeeds in repelling the Burmese army, he will be badly injured.

If Zheng Xin dared to raise questions at this moment, King Agada might use him as a sacrifice.

In an instant, Zheng Xin's face turned pale, and his eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

He himself said not long ago, "If the king wants his subjects to die, the subjects must die." After receiving the news and the promise of aid from Mo Zibu,

Now it suddenly changed into
"Zhonghang Shi treated me like an ordinary person, so I treated him like an ordinary person in return. Zhi Bo treated me like a great man, so I treated him like a great man in return."

"I will leave the city to attack Burma on December 20th." After returning to the mansion, Zheng Xin only said this to Wei Changle who had been waiting, and then ordered someone to send him out of the city.

(End of this chapter)