858 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
T’ak as academician of the Security Council; Chang Ch’ŏl as deputy director
of the Security Council; and Nam Chae as Lord of Ŭiryŏng. Then he had Yi
Munhwa continue to serve as chief royal secretary and, concurrently,
director of the Office of Personnel Appointments and Royal Seals.The king granted pardons to Yi Yŏm, Yu Tumyŏng, and Chang Yunhwa.^53rd Day (Ŭlhae)
Han Kan^6 obtained grapes and presented them to the king. The king was so
pleased that he bestowed 10 sŏk of rice upon him. Whenever the king felt
thirsty, he tasted one or two grapes, and thereafter the king started recov-
ering from his illness.The king ordered eunuch Kim Sahaeng beheaded and his head displayed in
front of the gate of the Three Armies Headquarters. A cunning schemer, he
sought the king’s favor by constructing the royal palace. During the pre-
vious dynasty, he also misled King Kongmin by constructing the hall for
enshrining the portrait of the late queen. Now, at the beginning of the new
dynasty, he was fortunate enough to enjoy the king’s favor again and rose to
Count of Karak and, concurrently, director of the Privy Council. When he
frequented the royal palace, he always rode a sedan chair. On the day when
he was executed, everyone was delighted.^74th Day (Pyŏngja)
Kim Chu, assistant consultative councilor of the Chancellery, was exiled to
Yŏngju^8 because he also abused the people together with Kim Sahaeng,
exerting himself to make the construction work overly elaborate.- Though the behavior of these three officials was controversial at times, it is not clear
what offenses they committed around this time. - A couple of days earlier, Han Kan, manager of the Royal Forest Garden, was ordered
to find grapes for the king. - Kim Sahaeng supervised the construction of palaces and pavilions on a number of
occasions and enjoyed special favors from the king. However, the reason that he was executed
was not his abuse of power or extravagance in spending government money for construction;
it could be his cooperation with Chŏng Tojŏn and his cohorts. - An old name of Ch’ŏnan, South Ch’ungch’ŏng Province.