Book II 215let the members of the royal family and high officials be dispatched to per-
form the sacrifices, and on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month and
regular holidays, the provincial military commissioner should carry out the
sacrifices.”Cho Chun, right chancellor, Nam Ŭn, director of the Security Council, Yi
Kŭn,^83 second royal secretary, and others went in to see the king. The king
gave following orders: “Lately, natural disasters have taken place very
often, and there must be a reason behind them, which I fear to believe are
the reprimands of Heaven. Sometime in the Mujin year (1388),^84 many
people were executed and their properties and slaves seized and reverted to
the government. Consequently, their wives, concubines, and children suf-
fered isolation and led a life of miserable poverty, and their grievance and
resentment must have grown day by day. I am afraid that the reprimands of
Heaven have to do with that. Except those who belong to the royal family of
Koryŏ or who have committed treason, those indicted that year with their
properties confiscated until the day I ascended the throne should all be par-
doned and their properties and slaves returned to their wives and sons so
that they can continue their livelihoods.”
2nd Day (Musin)
The king personally paid a visit to the coffin hall of Pae Kŭngnyŏm and
ordered Kim Sahyŏng, vice grand councilor, to offer a sacrifice to him.
Deeply mourning the death of Kŭngnyŏm, the king called those who were
in charge of the funeral and expressed his condolences. Since Kŭngnyŏm
had no son, An Sun, the grandson of his sister, presided over the funeral.- Yi Kŭn (? –1398 AD): an official of late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn. He served as inspector
general, minister of personnel, and director of the Security Council. However, he was killed
during the First Strife of Princes in 1398. - According to the History of Koryŏ, the Mujin year started with the execution or exile
of high officials who long abused power, and among those who were executed were Im Kyŏnmi,
To Kilbu, Yi Sŏngnim, etc. The same year, it also happened that King U ordered the military
campaign against Liaodong, China, and T’aejo, at Wiwha Island in the Yalu River, turned his
army around to march back home.