should retreat, Than-Lan persuaded Dein to stage a surprise attack of their own in due time. As the Martaban troops collected the plunder on the battlefield, Than-Lan's and Dein's units came out of the woods and went after the Martaban command. Taken by surprise, Byattaba and his two brother commanders fled by boat, after which the rest of the Martaban troops surrendered. Than-Lan and Dein raced to Martaban, and got to the city where the defenders quickly surrendered. The rest of the province in the south also submitted. After the improbable victory, an overjoyed Razadarit gave Than-Lan a princely title of Smin Byat Za, (lit. "Lord Diamantine Warrior") and also appointed him governor of Donwun, the ancestral town of the ruling dynasty. Co-Chief Minister–General After Martaban, Byat Za joined Dein as the king's two most senior ministers and commanders. The chronicle Razadarit Ayedawbon portrays Byat Za and Dein as the adults who guided and tempered the ambitious, brash young king. Limited war doctrine The chronicle reports a didactic episode in which Byat Za politely lectured the young king about statecraft. It came at the end of the Irrawaddy delta campaign of 1389–1390. By then, Razadarit's forces commanded by Byat Za and Dein had defeated the rebel forces led by Viceroy Laukpya of Myaungmya. When the king learned that Gov. Lauk Shein of Bassein (Pathein) had escaped with "ten elephant loads of gold and silver", he ordered Byat Za and Dein to go after him and recover the loot. With 700 troops and 10 war elephants, Byat Za (and Dein as his deputy) pursued Lauk Shein all the way to the gates of Sandoway (Thandwe), in the neighboring kingdom of Arakan (modern Rakhine State). A siege ensued but both sides wanted to end it quickly. Sandoway was unprepared to withstand a long siege, and Byat Za with only 700 troops could not afford one. The two sides soon reached an agreement. The governor of Sandoway handed over Lauk Shein, along with his family and loot, to Byat Za, who in turn lifted the siege. Byat Za and his commanders then learned from Lauk Shein's men that Sandoway was starving and had only four or five days' worth of food left. Byat Za's deputies then urged him to resume the siege; they felt the town would fall within 10 days, and they could take the town's gold and silver. Byat Za flat