General Introduction (Ch’ongsŏ) 79reached Heaven, and your loyalty moved the spirits of my royal ancestors.
The justice and fairness you showed in carrying out your duties won the
attention of the country, and your incomparable benevolence gained the
hearts of the people. When Heaven and people try to help together, things
are easily accomplished. That was the reason the restoration of the royal
house could be accomplished without much difficulty. You were also finally
able to repay King Kongmin for his favors.
“In olden days, the Duke of Zhou was enfeoffed with the dukedom of the
east for his service to the country. Likewise, I intend to reward you for your
loyalty by investing you and your children with the land and titles as well as
the privilege of pardon for generations. I will also have your portrait hung,
and the inscriptions of your service carved into the wall. I have reported this
to the Royal Ancestral Shrine in the presence of my heir apparent.
“Ah! This reward is too little to repay for your outstanding service! You
saved the people, revived the royal house, and rescued our country. How
can I possibly repay you for such great service?
“You are the restoration merit subject whose reputation is equal to that of
Grand Preceptor Pae [Hyŏn’gyŏng], but your responsibility is much heavier
than that of A Heng [Yi Yin]^160 of Shang. If you build the structures and
rules of the government that can be a model for the generations to come, and
assist me by finding talented people and reinvigorating our government so
that the state can be preserved, you will be honored forever through the
sacrifices of the people, and I may be able to share some of your honor,
though I hardly deserve it.
“If your children emulate you in their loyalty and integrity and assist my
successors sharing happiness with the state, what could be better than that?”
The king also proclaimed his royal decree to commend T’aejo for having
his army march back and bestowed 100 kyŏl of farmland upon him.
In the fifth month, Wang Pang, Lord of Sunan, and Cho Pan, associate
com missioner of the Security Council (tongji Milchiksa sa), returned from
their trip to China and reported as follows:
“The Ministry of Rites [of Ming China] said, ‘Two people from your
country visited our court. One was Lord of P’ap’yŏng and the other com-
mandant (chungnangjang) Yi Ch’o. They appealed to the emperor, saying,
‘Chancellor Yi [Sŏnggye] of Koryŏ placed Wang Yo [King Kongyang] on
- A minister of the early Shang dynasty who helped Tang of Shang, the founder of the
Shang dynasty, to overthrow King Jie of Xia.