Book XV 863*
Chŏng T’ak was exiled to Ch’ŏngju, and Pak P’o to Chukchu. After the
crisis^19 was stabilized, Pak P’o thought that the contributions he made were
equal to those of other officials. Dissatisfied with his reward, he complained
to Chŏng T’ak: “Though Yi Mu joined the ranks of [King Chŏngjong’s]
merit subjects, his contributions were suspect in the hearts of the people.
Besides, he conducted himself so inconsistently that he is unpredictable.”
Upon hearing his complaint, Kim No, director of the Security Council,
relayed it to Cho Yŏngmu, and Yŏngmu in turn reported it to Our Majesty
[T’aejong]. After Our Majesty reported it to the king, he became so furious
that he drove out the two [complaining] officials. At first, Yi Mu tried to
maintain neutrality, watching the situation develop until he made his final
decision. When he joined the rank of merit subjects, men of intelligence
scorned him.
The king purified himself from the Kyŏngjin day and ceremoniously pro-
ceeded to the tent temporarily established (akch’a) on the grounds of the
Royal Ancestral Shrine on the Pyŏngsul d ay.^20 He personally offered a
sacrifice and reported his enthronement on the following Chŏnghae day.
Finishing the ceremony, the king returned to the temporary quarters and
received felicitations from various officials. Thereupon, the royal carriage
returned to the main audience hall, and the king sat on the throne and had
his royal decree proclaimed:
“The king speaks as follows: I respectfully believe that the former king
[T’aejo] founded a new dynasty in accordance with the principle of Heaven
and the hearts of the people and established rules and regulations that would
serve as permanent laws for generations to come. Unfortunately, traitorous
subjects such as Chŏng Tojŏn, Nam Ŭn, and others banded together and
secretly conspired to seize power for themselves. As a result, they tried to
establish a young nothos as the heir to the throne, reversing the due order
of old and young and disturbing differences between legitimate and ille-
gitimate. They caused estrangement among our brothers, instigating us one
against another, and the effects from it became unpredictable. Fortunately,
- It refers to the day in which the First Strife of Princes took place.
- The period from Kyŏngjin to Pyŏngsul day is six days. If the king ascended the throne
on the following Chŏnghae day, the whole process of inauguration took seven days.