General Introduction (Ch’ongsŏ) 75“Despite the fact that U was on the throne for two years, no one knew
who his mother was. State Councilor Kim Songmyŏng^148 once said, “Though
it is possible that people do not know who their fathers are, I have never
heard of those who do not know who their mothers are.” He almost got him-
self killed due to his remark but was able to save his life because the Queen
Dowager, the mother of King Kongmin, intervened on his behalf. Kim Yu^149
was killed upon returning to the court after he said to the [Chinese] emperor
that U was not a member of the royal Wang clan. Afterwards, people became
so afraid that they kept silent [about U’s origin].
“U’s wife is the niece of Yi Inim, and she gave birth to Ch’ang. So the
chances for the restoration of the royal Wang clan became even more remote.
Inim took charge of state affairs for fifteen years, committing all sorts of
tyranny and abuse of power and causing damage to the people. Furthermore,
U was so reckless that he attempted to invade Liaodong China, mobiliz-
ing numerous people throughout the country, and he almost caused them
all to die.
“You [T’aejo] and your deputy Cho Minsu persuaded the generals under
your command to stop the military expedition while crossing the Yalu River
and had them march back, arguing that the future of the country depended
on their withdrawal from the war. Your brave decision saved innocent
people from massive destruction, and the state could continue to exist only
because of you.
“You are the bravest among all the army commanders and hold a higher
rank than anyone else at court, but you are not conceited about your honor
- An official of late Koryŏ who served as inspector-general and assistant grand coun-
cilor. He was known to be very straightforward in his remarks about the right and wrong, often
alienating people around him. His remark about Panya, King U’s mother, was condemned by
Yi Inim, one who was in power and deeply resentful of his daring criticism and audacity.
Consequently, he was sentenced to death; however, due to the intervention of Queen Dowger,
King Kongmin’s mother, his sentence was commuted from death to exile. He died in exile. - Kim Yu was a high official during the reign of King Kongmin. He rendered a service
in repulsing the Red Turban bandits and suppressing a disturbance at Hŭngwang Monastery.
After the death of King Kongmin, he visited Ming China as an envoy. According to the History
of Koryŏ, the Ming emperor, being suspicious that King Kongmin was assassinated by
treachery, demanded that he reveal the identity of the traitor who killed the king. Unable to
endure torture, Kim Yu told that Yi Inim was behind the death of the king. Nevertheless, he
did not reveal the identity of King U. After he returned to Koryŏ, Yi Inim learned about what
happened in China through a secret report from a member of the diplomatic mission, who
overheard the conversation between the Chinese emperor and Kim Yu. As a result, Yi Inim
took revenge on him by sending him into exile and thus leading to his eventual death.