simple villagers. But the Burmese chronicles say that they only faced token opposition between Phitsanulok and Ayutthaya. Not all the points of this traditional Thai story can be true as the entire northern campaign took just under five months (23 August 1765 to 20 January 1766). The Burmese chronicles do speak of "petty chiefs" stalling the northern army's advance but it was early in the campaign along the Wang river during the rainy season (August–October). The Burmese general who was actually stationed near Ayutthaya was not Thihapate but rather Maha Nawrahta, whose southern army waited for about a month for the northern army to show up. It appears that the three verified events—petty chiefs resisting Thihapate in the north, Thihapate's campaign period of five months, and Maha Nawrahta staking out by Ayutthaya—have merged to create this popular mythology. First Chinese invasion of Burma (December 1765 – April 1766) In the meantime, an ominous situation had developed in the north for the Burmese. In response to Ne Myo Thihapate's recruitment campaign in the northern Shan states, which the Chinese considered their territory, the Qianlong Emperor ordered an invasion of Sipsongpanna and Kengtung. In December 1765, as the Burmese waged the Battles of Phitsanulok and Ayutthaya, a Chinese invasion force of 3,500 invaded, laying siege to the Burmese garrison at Kengtung. Though battle-hardened Burmese forces eventually drove back the besiegers, Burma was now fighting on two fronts, one of which had the largest army in the world. Nonetheless, Hsinbyushin apparently (as it turned out, mistakenly) believed that the border conflict could be contained as a low-grade war. He refused to recall his armies in Siam though he did reinforce Burmese garrisons along the Chinese border—in Kengtung, Kenghung and Kaungton. Siege of Ayutthaya (January 1766 – April 1767) Battle at the outskirts (January 1766) While the Burmese garrison was battling the Chinese at Kengtung, the combined Burmese armies outside Ayutthaya were as strong as ever. Swelled by the Siamese levies, the combined Burmese invasion force now had 50,000 men, surpassing their pre-invasion strength of 20,000–30,000 men. The Siamese Army, which also gathered up 50,000 men, attempted a last-ditch effort to prevent a siege of the city. In late January, the Siamese forces came out and attacked Burmese positions centered around the Bayinnaung pagoda. Maha Nawrahta's army was on the west side of the pagoda and Thihapate's was on the east. The initial Siamese