100 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people are already fixed on a person,
why don’t we quickly ask him to ascend the throne?”
Realizing that the right moment had finally arrived, His Majesty
[Pangwŏn; later T’aejong] discussed the matter with Nam Ŭn, and Nam Ŭn
met secretly with fifty-two people, including Cho Chun, Chŏng Tojŏn, and
Cho Pak, with whom he had connected and found favorable to his cause.
However, he did not dare report it to T’aejo for fear of T’aejo’s wrath. His
Majesty went in and asked Consort Kang to deliver the message to T’aejo,
but even she dared not report it. So His Majesty said to Nam Ŭn and others,
“You should proceed to urge him [T’aejo] to ascend the throne, while pre-
paring for the ceremony with a display of dignity.”
At first, Kongyang discreetly called His Majesty and Second Assistant
Master (saye) Cho Yong^198 and said, “Since I intend to make a pact with
Chancellor Yi, I want you to take my message to him and bring back the
draft of the agreement after consulting with the chancellor.” He also added,
“You will be able to find some precedents [on drafting a pact].”
Yong replied, “The so-called pact is not really valuable; it is something
despised by sages. Though alliances were formerly made between warring
states, no pacts were made between a ruler and his subject.” Notwithstanding,
Kongyang said, “Just bring me the draft.”
As Yong and His Majesty conveyed the king’s instructions to T’aejo, T’aejo
said, “What can I say? Go ahead and draft a pact as the king instructed.”
Yong withdrew and made a draft as follows: “If it were not for you, how
could I have become what I am now? The Heavenly Deity above and the
Earthly Deity around us are our witnesses. Our descendants must neither
harm nor retaliate against one another. If you should abandon me, this pact
will attest to your pledge.” As Cho Yong presented the draft to King
Kongyang, the king said, “Fine.”
Cho Yong at that time was also in charge of compiling historical records.
He wrote, “The king failed to repay the chancellor [T’aejo] for enthroning
him as king; not only that, he even tried to harm the chancellor. He has lost
the Mandate of Heaven and the hearts of the people. The pact he made,
which sounds pathetic and lame, has become useless.”- Cho Yong (?–1424): a scholar-official of late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn. He served as
director of the Office of Royal Decrees, headmaster of the National Academy, and fifth state
councilor. When he was fourth inspector, he impeached U Hyŏnbo, Kwŏn Chunghwa, and others,
who remained unpunished despite being implicated in the incident of Yun I and Yi Ch’o.