84 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
placing me on the throne. If one discusses your service, one finds it unsur-
passed throughout history.
“You are to serve our royal house until all your descendants enjoy the
benefits, generation after generation. Nevertheless, who could imagine that
wicked people would secretly conspire to produce an evil plot?
“This is, in fact, my own mistake, not yours. So I reprimanded myself
seriously and at the same time was about to bring the suspects to justice.
Under these circumstances, you abruptly submitted your resignation.
Though you may have thought about it seriously, it was certainly not what I
expected from you.
“Since the king and his subjects are one body, how can I forget [your
great service] even if the tall mountains become flat and the wide rivers
become dry? Do not decline the offer I have made, and return to work as
soon as possible.”
In the first month of the Sinmi year (1391), the third year of King Kongyang,
the king reorganized the Five Armies (Ogun) into Three Armies (Samgun)
and a Headquarters Command (Toch’ongjebu), which took control of
both central and local armies, and appointed T’aejo commander-in-chief
(toch’ongjesa).
In the third month, T’aejo requested his resignation by submitting a
memorial to the king: “Your Servant is a very mediocre person and yet
arose to the position of commanding general and chancellor because of spe-
cial treatment from the government. However, Your Servant has accom-
plished nothing and failed to assist you in ruling the state. Therefore, Your
Servant feels that he must step aside so that a man of ability can be found,
and His Majesty can rule the state with benevolence. That was the reason
Your Servant rendered his resignation twice, but Your Servant has failed so
far to gain Your Majesty’s permission, and he is now more worried than
ever. As Your Servant reflects on this matter, the states are different in their
sizes, and the nature of the affairs of state in former times is not same as it
is today, but there is no change in the fact that His Majesty and the subjects
have difficulty in seeing each other.
“Emperor Gaozu of Han,^170 the dynasty founder, was good at employ-
ing men of talent, but when it came to treating his merit subjects, men of
intelligence were disappointed in him. Emperor Guangwu of Han,^171 the- Also called Emperor Gao, he founded the Han dynasty and ruled from 256 b c to 195 b c.
- The founder of the Later Han or Eastern Han. He reunified the whole of China in 36 a d.