554 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
14th Day (Kyemyo)
Kim Chŏksŏn, who visited Japan as envoy in response to the visit of the
Japanese, returns home.Four Jurchen chiefs, including Shui Wu and Di Jie, defected from Wuliangha
and came to our country. At the end of the Three Kingdoms, the northern
territory above P’yŏngyang was mostly a hunting ground of Jurchen people.
During Koryŏ, the government forcibly relocated people in the south to the
northern territory and secured the border by constructing long walls
extending from Ŭiju to Yangdŏk.^56 The people who had to go north were
reluctant to settle down and often rose in rebellion. So the government sent
troops to suppress them, but a man named Chang [Sagil], a member of the
powerful family of Ŭiju, continued to be rebellious against the government.
In the southern part of the country, Japanese marauders were rampant.
They invaded everywhere, ravaging our land over several thousand li from
east to west and burning down our fortresses, which were several hundred
li away from the sea. So many people were killed that their skeletons cov-
ered the land, and there were no signs of life in the villages and towns.
The region north of Anbyŏn was mostly occupied by Jurchens, so it was
beyond the control of our government. King Yejong of Koryŏ sent an army
deep into the region and established garrisoned forts, but those forts soon
fell into the hands of Jurchens. So they existed only in name.^57
Since our king ascended the throne, his influence has extended as far as
the people of the Northwest Region so that their livelihood was settled and
they enjoyed working for their livelihood. They reclaimed the land, and the
population began to increase day by day.
Chang Sagil of Ŭiju voluntarily subordinated himself to the king and
later became a member of the dynasty- founding merit subjects. Thereafter,- Ŭiju is located in North P’yŏngan Province, and Yangdŏk in South P’yŏngan Province.
The former is close to the Chinese border and the latter close to Yŏnghŭng in South Hamgyŏng
Province. - In 1107, the second year of the reign of King Yejong (1105–1122), Yun Kwan led a
military expedition to secure the northern territory, which was mainly on the Hamhŭmg Plain,
a region inhabited by Jurchens. After occupying the region, he constructed the so- called Nine
Forts and garrisoned them for defense. “However, unceasing Jurchen attacks alternating with
diplomatic appeals, as well as jealousy in the Koryŏ court of Yun Kwan’s success, led ulti-
mately to the return of the region of the Nine Forts to the Jurchens.” (Ki- baik Lee, p. 128)