362 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
your subjects jointly submit a memorial to you and never cease making
requests. Last time, because the deposition made by the blind fortune- teller
Yi Hŭngmu concerned state security, we jointly submitted a memorial to
you to punish the clique involved in the conspiracy. Your Majesty immedi-
ately ordered the officials of the Censorate and the Board of Punishments to
go to Suwŏn Prefecture and conduct an investigation.
This time, according to the depositions made by Yi Hŭngmu and Pak
Chungjil, ‘Pak Wi secretly sent a man [to the fortune- teller] to read the for-
tune of the state and conspired to restore the Wang clan, which was a serious
act of treason.’ We urge you to order the responsible office to have him
arrested and transferred to Suwŏn Prefecture so that he can be interrogated
in one place together with Hŭngmu and others, and thereby you remove the
source of trouble in advance.” The king did not grant their request.26th Day (Pyŏngsin)
The king inspected the [city] walls under construction.The Censorate and the Board of Punishments jointly submitted a memorial:
“Yesterday we jointly submitted a memorial requesting that the Wang
clan be removed, but failed to obtain your permission. We feel extremely
sorry and distressed that we have to bother you by repeatedly submitting
memorials.
“We believe it is Heaven that is extremely fair and free from personal
favors, and it is people who are extremely foolish and yet wise. Heaven did
not bring evil upon the Wang clan members and bless Your Majesty with
good luck, but it brought evil upon the one who was lawless and blessed the
one who follows the path of virtue. The people did not hate the Wang clan
members and love Your Majesty, but they hated an evil person and loved a
virtuous person. Since you founded a new dynasty, following the will of
Heaven and the wishes of the people, it is natural that you respect the will
of Heaven and the wishes of the people. Why, then, is it that you continue to
disregard the memorials of the Censorate and the officials in charge of law?
To pardon the ones who committed serious wrongdoings is what the Spring
and Autumn Annals warned against, and that one who loves people is also
capable of hating people is a precept left by earlier scholars.
“Realizing that the Mandate of Heaven and the hearts of the people had
already left him, Kongyang withdrew to his private residence to live with