[note 1] As a young boy, he left his native village of Atawgana (အတောဂန), and came to work as a servant in the household of Gov.

In the following years, the king went on to put down revolts in the Mon-speaking regions of Lower Burma although he could not retake the Tenasserim coast.

The king entrusted him to command a special military battalion made up of 500 ethnic Shan warriors.

[2] The commoner had begun eyeing the throne for himself especially after Saw Zein's recent battlefield setbacks at Prome (Pyay) in the north and at Tavoy in the south.

Inside the palace, Sit Thingyan's men managed to overcome Zein Pun's troops.