576 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
imperial instruction: ‘The king of Chosŏn tends to be suspicious and has
caused problems repeatedly. There were a number of inappropriate words in
the memorials that he submitted to commemorate the New Year, so I intend
to detain his envoys who brought them in our capital. You officials of the
Ministry of Rites, send an official dispatch to Yi So- and- so [Sŏnggye] and
have him send the wives and female servants of his envoys so that they can
live in our capital. I will have his envoys and their attendants work in the
various departments of our government. Yi So- and- so keeps sending his
officials to spy on the situation here, and that is unacceptable. If he does not
send us the old and young officials [responsible for the controversial memo-
rials], I will have all of his envoys sent to Jinchi Guard Unit.’ ”10th Day (Chŏngyu)
In response to the prolonged drought, the king ordered that the drinking of
alcohol be prohibited.13th Day (Kyŏngja)
The drought has persisted for a long time, prompting the censorial officials
to propose countermeasures: “First, current public construction works
should be suspended; second, the families of the workers who died of ill-
ness during the construction of the city walls should be exempted from
labor service; and third, investigations should be conducted into the delay in
adjudicating the cases of prisoners, both in the capital and local provinces,
and the officials responsible punished if they committed any wrongdoing.”The king had the families of the envoys detained in the Ming Capital pro-
vided with rice and beans according to their rank and seniority. The mother
of Yu Ku was provided with 80 kok [of rice and beans]; the family of Chŏng
Sinŭi with 50 kok; the mother of Kim Yakhang with 50 kok; and the families
of retinue members were also provided with [unspecified amounts of] grain
of different grades.14th Day (Sinch’uk)
The prisoners both in the capital and the provinces were all released except
those who were sentenced to capital punishment either by beheading or
strangulation.