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32 BIRMAH.
sponded to the act of barbarity inflicted by Beinga
Delia himself on his vassal, the captive king of
Birmah.
The most singular and important event of the reign
of Shembuan, was a powerful invasion of the Birman
dominions by a numerous army of Chinese. Scarcely
was the Siamese war concluded, when the Chinese
emperor, conceiving, probably, that the long and bloody
wars between the Birmans and the Peguans must
have enfeebled the neighbouring state, prepared an
expedition which had for its object to annex the fine
and fertile countries of the Irrawaddy to his immense
dominions. It was in 1767, that the Birman monarch
was informed that a Chinese army of 50,000 men,
supported by a powerful body of Tatar cavalry, had already
advanced from the western frontiers of Yun-nan,
and crossed the mountains that skirt the Chinese and
Birman empires. Shembuan had prepared two armies :
one, consisting of 10,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry,
under Amiou-mee, engaged the attention of the Chinese,
and harassed their progress; while a much greater
force, commanded by Tenjia-boo, a general of high
rank, was directed to get in the rear of the enemy by
a circuitous march over the mountains that lay further
southwards. The Chinese approached by unremitting
marches. Leaving the province of Bamoo to the west,
they penetrated by Gouptong, between which and
Quantong there is a jee, or mart, where the Birmans
and Chinese meet to barter the commodities of their
respective countries. The jee was taken by the
Chinese and plundered; and near Peenjee, the advanced
forces of Amiou-mee sustained an action, in
which, from their inferiority of numbers, they were
worsted and obliged to fall back. This inconsiderable
success led to the total destruction of the Chinese