ROYAL DIVISION MODEL 395
ing Kim Chajom and his leading cohorts with anti-Manchu officials. Isolated
politically, Kim turned to the Ch'ing court for aid, infonning it secretly through
Manchu language interpreters of Hyojong's purge of Manchu sympathizers and
neglect of strict use of Ch' ing year periods in dating books and documents.
The Manchu Prinee Dorgon, a hardliner on Korean policy, had become regent
in r643. He directed the campaigns to capture Beijing, destroy the army of Li
Tzu-ch'eng in r644, and complete the conquest of south China in r646. When
Hyojong asked Manchu permission in T 649 to rebuild forts and walls against a
possible Japanese attack, Prince Dorgan suspected his motives and sent a mis-
sion to investigate the purge of Kim's faction. Korean officials succeeded in
putting them off by explaining that military decisions were made collectively
by the Border Defense Command (Piguk or Pibyonsa) rather than any anti-
Manchu clique, and that Kim had been dismissed only because he happened to
be chief royal physician at the time that King Injo died. No sooner did they depart,
however, than Kim was exiled.
After the Ch'ing envoys returned home, however, Dorgon had the Hsiin-chih
emperor send a letter to the Korean king citing direct testimony from Korean
provincial officials interviewed by the Manchu envoys to refute Hyojong's con-
tention of a Japanese threat that warranted reconstruction of fortifications in the
south, mobilization of troops, and the laying up of weapons. The emperor sug-
gested that the Koreans were in fact preparing for war with Ch'ing China and
that in such circumstances he had no choice but to "make preparations," which
was tantamount to a threat of invasion. I
When Prince Dorgon died in r650, Hyojong's government was allowed some
respite from Manchu suspicions, but Kim Chajom's so-called Fallen Party (Nak-
tang) faction was placed in jeopardy. His son, Kim Ik, attempted a military coup
in r651 by using the soldiers of Suwon district and the Defense Command
(Suoeh'ong) at the Namhan fort, with the objective of placing Prince Sungson
(Sungson 'gun) on the throne and eliminating his father's anti-Manchu rivals: the
Original Faetion (Wondang) of Won Tup'yo and the Mountain Faction (Sandang)
of Kim Chip, Song Siyol, and Song Chun'gil. But the latter succeeded in orches-
trating the execution of Kim and his son and removing all pro-Manchu officials
from crucial military command positions like provincial army and navy com-
manders in Kyonggi and Kyongsang provinces, the magistrate of Kwangju who
commanded the Namhan fort, and the commander of the anti-Manchu division
stationed in Kyonggi Province.^2
Nevertheless, the death of Prince Dorgon did not mean that King Hyojong
would be able to carry out a major military build-up in anticipation of renewed
hostilities with the Manchus. The court and country were still under the sharp
surveillance of Ch' ing authorities who arrived in Korea on hoth official and unof-
ficial business one or more times a month. Hyojong was able to soothe Manchu
suspicions at the time, but any effort too ambitious or visible to rearm the nation
would risk discovery and reprisal. Because the country was also pressed finan-
cially both because of poor crop conditions and the costs of putting up frequent