Book II 221However, flattering the king and instigating the Censorate, he accused me,
as well as Chŏng Tojŏn and Nam Ŭn, of being right-hand men of Your
Majesty and sought a chance first to entrap me and then others in the viola-
tion of laws and planned to remove you later. Your Majesty, in spite of being
seriously ill, returned home by employing a carriage that was twice as fast
as usual. On the fourth day of the fourth lunar month, the people across the
country were outraged, and Chŏng Mongju was put to death. Your Majesty,
however, was so generous that you killed none of his cunning clique who
were still alive. Though ill and lying in bed in your home and refusing to see
guests and visitors, you hoped that the member of the Wang clan [King
Kongyang] could realize the gravity of the matter and wisely exercise his
power to give punishment and reward. Nevertheless, the member of the
Wang clan was still too ignorant to realize it, and the wicked gang kept
acting more recklessly until the catastrophe was suddenly before your eyes.
“Finally, on the twelfth day of the seventh lunar month, Heaven became
indignant, and the people were disaffected toward the old regime. Con-
sequently, people across the country suddenly recommended that Your
Majesty be acclaimed as the ruler of the country. Since the hearts of the
people and the Mandate of Heaven reached such a point of seriousness,
what could Your Majesty do, even if you possessed the loyalty of Zizang^91
of the State of Cao?
“Your Majesty, after your inauguration, enfeoffed the member of the
Wang clan [King Kongyang; Wang Yo] as Lord of Kansŏng in Kangnŭng,^92
which reminds one of Cheng Tang^93 of Shang, who sent King Jie^94 into exile
to Nanchao.^95 You also enfeoffed the biological younger brother [Wang U]
of the member of the Wang clan as the Lord of Majŏn County in Kyŏnggi
Province so that he could sacrifice to T’aejo, the founder king of Koryŏ, and
King Kongmin, and this was equivalent to the event in which King Wu of
Zhou enfeoffed Weizi^96 with the territory of Song. You also allowed various
- Xiahou Dun, a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han
dynasty period. He was one of the most trusted generals of Cao Cao. - Modern Kosŏng County in Kangwŏn Province.
- The first ruling king of the Shang dynasty who overthrew Jie, the tyrant king of the
Xia dynasty. - The 17th and last ruler of the Xia dynasty.
- Modern Shouxian, Anhui Province, China.
- The older half brother of King Zhou, the last tyrant king of the Shang dynasty. Weizi
often remonstrated about the misrule of his brother and finally left his court. After conquering