A concerted campaign against the Ho in…

A concerted campaign against the Ho in their stronghold is finally put in motion in 1876, but it results more in pillaging and looting the inhabitants than in stopping the Ho, who, with their horses, are more than a match for the Siamese and Lao foot soldiers.

Rama V blames the Phuan for having brought trouble on themselves by giving rice, silver, and horses to the Ho, which, in fact, they had done in a desperate effort to appease them.

He rejects further appeals for aid on the grounds that the local leaders will prove incapable of dealing with the situation after the army withdraws.