public, they were accompanied by pages bearing betel boxes, swords, and silken
umbrellas, as is the manner of Malay kings.
To’ Râja remained in his village of Bûkit Bĕtong, on the banks of the Jĕlai river,
and Wan Bong, with his army, speedily conquered the whole of Pahang as far as
Kuâla Sĕmantan. Thus more than half the country was his, almost without a
struggle; and Wan Bong, flustered with victory, returned up river to receive the
congratulations of his friends, leaving Pănglîma Râja Sĕbîdi, his principal
General, in charge of the conquered districts.
The Râjas at Pĕkan, however, were meanwhile mustering their men, and, when
Wan Bong reached Kuâla Tĕmbĕling, he received the unwelcome intelligence
that his forces had fallen back some sixty miles to Tanjong Gâtal, before an
army under the command of Che’ Wan Âhman and Che’ Wan Da. At Tanjong
Gâtal a battle was fought, and the royal forces were routed with great slaughter,
as casualties are reckoned in Malay warfare, nearly a score of men being killed.
But Che’ Wan Âhman knew that many Pahang battles had been won without the
aid of gunpowder or bullets, or even kris and spear. He sent secretly to Pănglîma
Râja Sĭbîdi, and, by promises of favours to come, and by gifts of no small value,
he had but little difficulty in persuading him to turn traitor. The Pănglîma was
engaged in a war against the ruler of the country, the Khalîfah, the earthly
representative of the Prophet on Pahang soil, and the feeling that he was thus
warring against God, as well as against man, probably made him the more ready
to enrich himself by making peace with the princes to whom he rightly owed
allegiance. Be this how it may, certain it is that Pănglîma Râja Sĕbîdi went to
Wan Bong, where he lay camped at Kuâla Tĕmbĕling, and assured him that after
the defeat at Tanjong Gâtal, the royal forces had dispersed, and that the Pĕkan
Râjas were now in full flight.
'Pahang is now thine, O Prince!' he concluded, 'so be pleased to return to the
Jĕlai, and I, thy servant, will keep watch and ward over the conquered land, until
such time as thou bringest thy father with thee, to sit upon the throne which thy
valour has won for him, and for his seed for ever!'
So Wan Bong set off on a triumphal progress up river to Bûkit Bĕtong,
disbanding his army as he went. But scarcely had he reached his home, than he
learned, to his dismay, that Che’ Wan Âhman and Che’ Wan Da, with a large
force, were only a few miles behind him at Bâtu Nĕring. Pănglîma Râja Sĭbîdi,
with all his people, had made common cause with the enemy, whose ranks were
further swelled by the very men who had so lately been disbanded by Wan Bong