Book XIV 853
well as merit subject for marching the army back home (hoegun kongsin).
In the Kyŏngo year (1390), he was appointed assistant grand councilor of
the Chancellery, and in the Sinmi year (1391), he concurrently assumed the
position of senior military protector of the Soaring Falcon Guard. After the
king ascended the throne, he was given the title of minor merit subject and
appointed assistant consultative councilor of the Chancellery. Arriving at
the time [of the disturbance], he appeared on the scene with his son Wŏnji,
but unable to decide at the critical moment, he ended up dead with his son.
He had three sons, and Wŏnji was the eldest. The younger sons are Ŭnji
and Yŏnji.
Nam Chae, Chancellery scholar, was the elder brother of Nam Ŭn. Earlier,
by order of the king, he went to offer a sacrifice at Mt. Songak, and upon
hearing that a disturbance had broken out, he returned to the capital and
visited various princes. Someone contended that he also should be punished
[like his brother Nam Ŭn], but Our Majesty [T’aejong] responded, “Since
Chae did not join his brother Ŭn in the treasonous activity from the begin-
ning, he shall not be implicated in this incident. Let him go and stay at my
house.” Thereupon, the king issued a royal decree:
“On the eleventh day of the sixth lunar month of the twenty- ninth reign
year of Hongwu, the emperor sent us envoys, including Yang Tiemuer, Song
Boluo, Wang Li, and Niu Niu [assistant director of the Seals Office], and
demanded that we send Chŏng Tojŏn to the Ming court. At that time, Tojŏn
was suffering from a bloated stomach and unable to rise. Once again, on the
seventeenth day of the fourth lunar month of the thirtieth reign year of
Hongwu, the Ministry of Rites [of China] sent us a letter carrying the
instruction of the emperor, which said, ‘The king of Chosŏn now employs a
man named Chŏng Tojŏn. What kind of assistance did the man provide to
the king? If the king fails to realize the danger [of having him at his side],
he will certainly be a cause of troubles in the days to come.’
“Having received such an instruction and warning from the emperor
once again, I intended to send away Tojŏn, but his illness was too serious to
undertake a journey to China. This was the reason his visit to China was
delayed. After Tojŏn recovered from his illness, my eldest son [Yi Panggwa]
said to me, ‘Tojŏn should be made to go to the Ming capital.’ Resentful,
Tojŏn conspired with Nam Ŭn, military commissioner of the Three Armies;
Sim Hyosaeng, the father- in- law of my youngest son, Pangsŏk; Chang