1637.] Some account 0/ the Wars between Burmah and China. 131 



river, a part of the army, consisting of 150,000 foot and 15,000 

 horse, under general Yi'n-tsu'-ta-yeng, was detached by the route of 

 Nuay-leit near Mo-wun against Bamd. His Majesty had before, 

 anticipating the return of the Chinese, ordered Kaung-toHn to be 

 reinforced and filled with provisions, so as to enable it to hold out 

 under its governor Bala-men-den, and now directed that two armies 

 should proceed from Ava, one by water up the Erdwadi to Ba-m6 

 under the Let-we'-weng-mhu', and the other by the land route to 

 the westward of that river, under the Wun-gyih Maha-tsi'-thu', 

 who should be joined by all the force he might find at Md-gaung, 

 Md-nhyen and other towns in that neighbourhood, and then march 

 by the Tsandd (Santa*) route, and attack the Chinese. On the 30th 

 January, 1 768, the Wun-gyih marched with 22 divisions, consisting 

 of 20,000 foot, 2,000 horse, and 200 war elephants ; and on the 4th 

 February, the water force, under the Let-we'-weng-do-mhu', con- 

 sisting of 1 1 divisions, 15,000 men, and with 300 boats carrying 

 guns and jinjals, proceeded up the Erdwadi towards Ba-md. 



From Shyd-mue-lo&n mountain another portion of the Chinese 

 army, consisting of 10,000 horse and 100,000 foot, under general 

 Tsheng-ta-lo-ye' marched by the Tsandd route against Md-gaung. A 

 body of 5,000 horse and 50,000 foot also took post on Thinzd-nuay- 

 lein mountain, whilst the force under general Yi'n-tsu'-ta'-yeng, 

 when it reached Ba-md, stockaded itself along the bank of the river 

 at the spot where the mart is held. 



The governor of Kaung-to&n, not having sufficient force to go out 

 and attack the Chinese, employed himself in repairing the old and 

 constructing new defences, &c. about that town. The Chinese, leav- 

 ing 3,000 horse and 30,000 foot with three generals to defend their 

 stockade at Ba-md, advanced with 70,000 foot and 7,000 horse under 

 general Tsu'-ta-yeng himself, and invested Kaung-to&n, which they 

 assaulted with scaling ladders, axes, choppers, hooks and ropes ; but 

 the garrison, as previously arranged, met the assailants, not only 

 with a heavy fire of cannon and musketry, but with large boilers of 

 hot dammer and molten lead, and long pieces of heavy timber, which 

 they let fall upon them. The Chinese were driven back with great 

 loss, declaring that the besieged were not men, but nuts\ or inferior 

 celestial beings. The Chinese then stockaded themselves around 

 Kaung-toiin at a distance of more than 140 cubits. 



The Let-we'-weng-mhu', or Burmese general, commanding the 



* The Burmese pronouuce Tsanta as Tsandd- 



f The Burmese nat is the same as the Hindu Devah, and most of the Bur- 

 mese nats are taken from the Hindu Mythology. 

 8 2 



