e whole
of that district, and sacked a large part of it.
The decision reached in the consultation by the mandarins was that the
king should order all the noted captains who were not holding office,
and who had retired to their homes, to come to the court; that a
large number of soldiers should come from all the provinces to lend
aid and to meet the demands of the occasion; and that the mandarins
who were for various reasons at their homes should come to the court
of Paquin. All this was soon carried out by the king's order. He
likewise commanded that heavy taxes should be gathered for supplying
the soldiers; that a large number of horses should be collected;
land that the tuton, or the viceroy of that district, should be
imprisoned. He sent another viceroy in his place with extensive powers,
even with authority to put to death the chief captains who, on account
of their fear, were contemplating flight. He sent other mandarins
of great executive ability and prudence to help the viceroy; and,
in order to prevent excitement among the people, he ordered that the
students [_letrados_] [5] of the district should not come that year,
as usual, to the court for examination and graduation as licentiates,
but promised them their degrees for the following year. In addition
to this, he ordered that the news from Leatum should not be divulged
to the people. Although the gates of the city of Paquin and those of
the royal palace had always had a strong guard of soldiers, he doubled
the guard and closed the gates at sunset. And although, according to
the custom of the Chinese, people could enter wearing spectacles and
a mask, now, as a greater precaution, when one came through the gates
of the city they made him show his face, in order that they might
know whether he was a friend or not, and in order that enemies might
not come into the city unperceived. All this has been brought about
by their fear. The king likewise ordered that four hundred thousand
soldiers should be stationed at different places and posts of the
province of Leatum to impede the passage of the Tartars. The Corias,
who were subject to China, sent the king seven hundred horses as a
present, and ten thousand infantry to help in the war.
The western Tartars, hearing of the good fortune of the eastern
Tartars, came upon invitation to the aid of the latter, but were
defeated by the Chinese. Another neighboring nation also came for the
same purpose, but they were bough
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