ສົນທະນາທົ່ວໄປ

Chao Anouvong gathers back families to Vientiane

To salute the upcoming 450 year anniversary of the transfer of the Lao capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, Vientiane Times is publishing a series of stories related to the history of Laos

Story continued From last saturday

Continuing from our last edition we talk about an episode in the life of King Anouvong, a national hero who fought for Lao independence.

Chao Anouvong aimed to return families to Vientiane.

After sending his son to reign over the kingdom of Champassak, Chao Anouvong was well-prepared for fighting the Siamese to regain independence.

Chao Anouvong went to Siam to ask for some of the Vientiane people who lived there to be returned to Laos, but the king of Siam refused.

Chao Anouvong returned to Vientiane. On his arrival, he was urged by Lao people from both sides of the Mekong River, especially local rulers, to fight for independence from the Siamese.

Meanwhile, the Lao people living along the Mekong River were suffering under the Khorat administrators, who recruited Lao labourers and sent them to serve as slaves in Bangkok and who also imposed higher taxes than ever before on the Lao people.

The situation made the lives of Lao people even more difficult, so they visited Chao Anouvong asking him to fight against the rulers of Khorat as well as the Siamese king.

Eventually, troops, local leaders and king Anouvong made the decision to regain independence. According to Dr Sounet Phothisane, a historian specialising in the life of Chao Anouvong, at the end of the year 1825, the king appointed Chao Thitsa to move troops from Vientiane to fight in Siamese areas including Kalasin, Roi Et, Khon Khaen and other cities nearby, while Chao Yo, a crown prince of King Anouvong, was assigned to move troops from Champassak to fight in the areas of Ubon Ratchathani, Yasothon, Sisaket, Det-oudom and Khukhan.

At the same time, the troops of Chao Latsavong went to Saraburi, while the bulk of the Vientiane troops were able to take over Khorat easily in March of that year and return all Lao families living in Siam to Vientiane.

The Nakhon Ratchasima administrator was tricked into fighting against the troops of lord Kraisongkham, Thao La and Sangkha for the town of Khukhan and was eventually defeated and his army fled to the Khmer kingdom.

Eventually, the king of Nakhon Ratchasima realised his troops had failed because of the cunning plans of Chao Anouvong, who had moved his troo ps to seize Khorat.

The administrator of Nakhon Ratchasima sent soldiers on horseback to Bangkok and informed the king of Siam that Chao Anouvong was a traitor, who had moved his troops to occupy many towns including Khorat, so the king sent troops from Bangkok to fight Chao Anouvong's army.

Finally, the lord of Nakhon Ratchasima decided to try and retake Khukhan town by fighting against the troops of Chao Anouvong while waiting for reinforcements from Bangkok.

The Nakhon Ratchasima army was attacked on the way to Khorat by lord Kraisongkham and suffered heavy losses, with only their leader surviving thanks to assistance from the troops of Kabinburi. When the Siamese reinforcements arrived from Bangkok in the area of Nakhon Ratchasima they saw many Lao families returning to Vientiane.

As a result, the lord of Nakhon Ratchasima made a plan to fight the Vientiane troops and recapture the Vientiane people to serve his administration. His plan was to tell lord Palad to surrender to Chao Anouvong and act as a spy. Chao Anouvong accepted his surrender and appointed lord Phomyokkabat to rule Khorat and oversee the families' move back to Vientiane with some Vientian e soldiers escorting them.

Nakhon Ratchasima troops continued to harass the Vientiane soldiers so lord Phomyokkabat, who was also a Siamese spy amongst the Vientiane troops, asked Chao Anouvong to equip his troops with guns and knives. He claimed the weapons were to use to hunt animals for food for the troops and returning families, so the king granted him permission to take them.

Near the area of Somlit, the Siamese infiltrators convinced the Vientiane troops and returning residents to rest for the night. In fact, however, they were waiting for the troops of Nakhon Rachasima to attack the Vientiane troops.

Late at night, the troops of Nakhon Ratchasima, who were hiding nearby, attacked and overcame the Vientiane troops to recapture the villagers.

The lord of Nakhon Ratchasima and Phomyokkabat then encouraged their troops and the Lao families to set up a base to fight Chao Anouvong.

Chao Anouvong appointed 50 soldiers to go on horseback to observe the situation, but most of them were shot and the survivors returned to inform the king that the families had been recaptured by the lord of Nakhon Ratchasima at Somlit.

With aim of bringing back the families to Vientiane, King Anouvong ordered Chao Soutthisan and Chao Pan to led 3,600 soldiers and 400 horses to fight the troops of Nakhon Ratchasima, while Chao Kampha led 3,200 soldiers to follow as reserve troops.