When I heard this news I met with the _Colao_ and the mandarins of the court to take counsel as to what should be done. And truly it seems that Heaven is assisting the Tartars, for how else could they kill so many thousands of men and take three cities in one day? [65] We all say that this is a punishment from Heaven, like so many other calamities that are being suffered. For example, it did not rain during the whole of last year in the province of Paquin, and so the people went about almost dead. In the province of Xanto the hunger was so great that they ate human flesh, for which there was a public market. A great multitude of rats crossed the river. The fires of heaven burned all the royal palaces. A gale blew down the five towers. There were, also, in the heavens two suns, one swallowing the other--an occurrence, certainly, of dire portent. Another very extraordinary thing beside these occurred. We saw that man called Chanchain enter the palace to kill the prince, in which event the mandarin [_illegible in MS._] wishing to speak to you, my king, in a rather loud voice, in order to show his fidelity. But you did not choose to listen to him, and, instead, you ordered him to be put in the jail, and in fetters, and sentenced to death, on the charge of having disturbed the soul of your mother, who had recently died. We, the mandarins, wishing [to aid?] him, beg you that you may be pleased to pardon him; because it would certainly be a great pity to treat as a rebel a faithful mandarin, who merely showed his love for you.