And the King being in the city of Mollabamdyn,settling all that was necessary for the siege of Rachol,there came to him people of the King of Bisnaga,and the people of Domaar,and also many other captains with an infinitude of people.As soon as they had joined and everything was put in order,and after his Brahmans had finished their ceremonies and sacrifices,they told the King that it was now time,that the pagodas had given sign of conquest,and that he should advance.
Then he sent the Moors in the royal service to lead the van,and Camanayque,the chief of the guard,pitched the camp very near the ditches of the city of Rachol,and every captain halted his people according to the commands given.The people of the City received them with many shots from heavy cannon that they had,and from many firelocks,and many arrows and musket-shots,so that those of the besiegers who arrived close to the ditches suffered heavily and wanted to retreat.But the King would not permit this,saying that he would not have sent them there were it not that he would soon effect an entry into the city,and if not,that they should all die;wherefore his men were compelled to attack the city,and did so in many brave and severe fights.In these many of them lost their lives,since those of the city were in very strong position and well acquainted with everything that was necessary for their defence,while the King's troops never ceased their attacks on the city.The captains,seeing how badly the attack was going in consequence of the number of soldiers killed,had recourse to lavish gifts and stratagems,as thus:--They began to buy (from the soldiers)the stones which they took from the walls and towers,and they paid them according to the value of the stone;so that the stones were worth ten,twenty,thirty,forty,and fifty FANAMS.[545]By this device they contrived to dismantle the wall in many places,and laid the city open;but since the city was in itself so strong,and the soldiers who were in it were such chosen men and so used to warfare,they killed many of the King's people.Yet not for that did they cease fighting,but every day and at every attack they became bolder,in consequence of their greed for what the captains gave them,for the money had the power of taking from them the terror of death which had inspired them before.They also gave them something for dragging away a dead man from the foot of the wall.So the fight dragged on for a space of three months till the Ydallcao came up with reinforcements.
Now I wish you to know more of the situation,and of the city,and the people which it held.This city of Rachol lies between two great rivers,and in the midst of a great plain where there are no trees except very small ones,and there are great boulders there;from each river to the city is three leagues.One of these rivers is the northern boundary,and beyond it the country belongs to the Ydallcao,and the other is the boundary to the south which is the boundary of Narsymga.This plain lies in the middle of these two rivers,and there are large lakes therein and wells and some little streams where the city is situated,and a hill which looks like a woman's breast and is of natural formation.The city has three lines of strong walls of heavy masonry made without lime;the walls are packed with earth inside,and it has on the highest point a fortress like a tower,very high and strong;at the top where the fortress stands is a spring of water which runs all the year round.It is held to be a holy and mysterious thing that a spring which is in a lofty situation should in some way never be without water.Besides this spring there are several tanks of water and wells,so that the citizens had no fear of being ever taken for lack of water;and there were in the city supplies for five years.There were eight thousand men as garrison and four hundred horse and twenty elephants,and thirty catapults (TRABUCOS)which hurled heavy stones and did great damage.The towers which are on the walls are so close together that one can hear words spoken from one to the other.Between these and all around they posted their artillery,which consisted of two hundred heavy pieces,not to mention small ones.As soon as the people of the city knew of the arrival of the King's troops,and after they had received a captain of the Ydallcao who came with some soldiers to the city,they closed the gates with stone and mortar.The chief fight which takes place is on the east side,because on the north and south sides it stands on huge rocks which make it very strong;and,the city being besieged on all sides,the camp of the King was on the east side,and so was the strength of the attack.
