Above 2000 Workmen Preceded The King, And Set Up
Every Night For His Lodgment A Stately Wooden Palace, Richly Painted And
Adorned With Gold.
On this march the king of Pegu constructed a
prodigious bridge of boats over the rapid river Menam, a full league
in length, for the passage of his army.
In the course of this march, the army of Pegu was obstructed by a strong
entrenchment defended by 25,000 Siamese troops. Diego Suarez de Melo,
who served in the army of Pegu with 180 Portuguese, went against this
entrenchment with his own small battalion and 30,000 Peguers; and
carried the work with a prodigious slaughter of the Siamese. The army of
Pegu at length besieged the city of Odia, in which the king of Siam
resided. Odia is eight leagues in circumference, and was surrounded by a
strong wall on which 4000 cannon were mounted, and was farther defended
by a wide and deep wet ditch, and by a garrison of 60,000 combatants,
among whom were 50 Portuguese commanded by Diego Pereyra. After
continuing the siege for some time, being unable to prevail on the
Portuguese under Pereyra to desert the service of the king of Siam, the
king of Pegu abandoned Odia, and besieged the city of Camambee; in
which the treasures of Siam were deposited. That place was strongly
fortified, and defended by 20,000 men with so much valour that the
Peguers were again obliged to desist. At this time Xemindoo rebelled
against the king of Pegu, who sent Diego Suarez against him with 200
Portuguese. Suarez pursued the rebel to the city of Cevadi, but
Xemindoo slipped past him and took possession of the city of Pegu, where
he was favoured by the inhabitants. The queen fled into the castle,
where she was defended by twenty Portuguese, till the king came up with
his army and put the rebels to flight. The army then entered the city,
and put all to the sword, men, women, and children, and every living
thing, sparing those only who took refuge in the house of Suarez, which
the king had ordered to be exempted from this military execution, and in
which above 12,000 saved themselves. The plunder on this occasion was
immense, of which three millions fell to the share of Suarez, who was so
much in favour with the king, that he pardoned a Portuguese at his
intercession who had supplied the rebels with ammunition.
The king of Pegu was soon afterwards murdered in the beautiful city of
Zatan by the Ximi or governor of that place, who immediately had
himself proclaimed king; but was in his turn taken and beheaded by the
former rebel Xemindoo, who usurped the crown. One Mandaragri, who
had married a sister of the former king, raised an army and claimed the
crown in right of his wife; and having defeated that first rebel in
battle, he fled to the mountains, where he married the daughter of a
peasant, to whom he revealed his name and rank.
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