Paris to determine when to organize the aid, if at all. Pigneau was thus forced to use funds raised in France to enlist French volunteers and mercenaries. He also managed to procure several shipments of arms and munitions from Mauritius and Pondicherry. Meanwhile, the Royal Court of Siam in Bangkok, under King Rama I, warmly welcomed Nguyễn Ánh. The Vietnamese refugees were allowed to build a small village between Samsen and Bangpho, and named it Long-kỳ (Thai: Lat Tonpho). Ánh had stayed in Siam with a contingent of troops until August 1787. His soldiers served in Siam's war against Bodawpaya of Burma (1785–86). On 18 December 1786, Nguyễn Ánh signed a treaty of alliance with the Portuguese in Bangkok. In the next year, António (An Tôn Lỗi), a Portuguese from Goa, came to Bangkok, brought Western soldiers and warships to Ánh. This disgusted the Siamese and Ánh had to refuse the aid from Portuguese. After this incident, Ánh was no longer trusted by the Siamese. Having consolidated their hold on southern Vietnam, the Tây Sơn decided to move north to unify the country. However, the withdrawal of troops from the Gia Dinh garrison weakened their hold on the south. This was compounded by reports that Nguyễn Nhạc was being attacked near Qui Nhơn by his own brother Nguyễn Huệ, and that more Tây Sơn troops were being evacuated from Gia Dinh by their commander Dang Van Tran in order to aid Nguyễn Nhạc. Sensing Tây Sơn vulnerability in the south, Nguyễn Ánh assembled his forces at home and abroad in preparation for an immediate offensive. Ánh secretly left Siam in the night, leaving a letter in his house, he decided to head for southern Vietnam by boat. As the Vietnamese refugees were preparing to leave, people nearby heard about it and reported it to Phraya Phrakhlang. Phraya Phrakhlang reported it to King Rama I and the Front Palace Maha Sura Singhanat. Sura Singhanat was extremely angry, he chased them personally. At dawn, Sura Singhanat saw Ánh's boat at the mouth of the bay. Finally, the Vietnamese escaped successfully. Ánh arrived at Hà Tiên then to Long Xuyên (Cà Mau), but he failed in his first attempt to recapture Gia Dinh, having failed to convince the local warlord in the Mekong Delta, Vo Tanh to join his assault. The following year, Nguyễn Ánh finally managed to persuade the warlord to join