92 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
In the twelfth month, the king additionally bestowed the title of Ansa
Merit Subject^182 on T’aejo.
Wolianghe and Woduoli^183 quarreled over who should take the highest
seat during meetings at court. Woduoli said, “We are not here to argue over
the head seat. In the olden days, Chancellor Yun Kwan^184 subdued our dis-
trict and set up a stone monument in which ‘Koryŏ Territory’ was engraved.
All our people living within the boundary of that territory have admired the
authority and faithfulness of the commander-in-chief” [chegunsa; T’aejo].
Then they stopped quarreling. Knowing that Wolianghe and Woduoli were
sincere in submitting themselves to him, T’aejo invited them to his private
residence and entertained them.
In the first month of the fourth year (1392) of King Kongyang, a member
of the Censorate requested the king to punish Yi Yŏm, deputy commis-
sioner of the Security Council by death for being drunk in the presence of
the king and behaving respectfully.
T’aejo said to the king, “Though Yŏm is undeniably guilty as charged, his
wild words were uttered out of foolish stubbornness. I beg you to forgive him.”
Finally, he was beaten with a heavy paddle as punishment and sent into exile.
As T’aejo has rendered a great service to the country and gained the
hearts of the people, Kongyang tried to avoid T’aejo. The powerful noble
families also slandered T’aejo in various ways because they resented him
for abolishing their private landholdings and knew that Kongyang also was
shunning him. The followers of U and Ch’ang, who established kinship ties
with the royal house, accused T’aejo day and night.
Kongyang, however, believed the accusations brought by those people
and conspired secretly with ministers close to him to have T’aejo removed.
T’aejo’s followers were outraged by the king’s conduct. They drafted a
memorial to the king to clear the false charges against T’aejo but waited for
the right opportunity to submit it.
In the meantime, Pyŏn Chungnyang,^185 the son-in-law of T’aejo’s step-
brother, had closely followed the development of the conflict between- The title means “the merit subject who brought peace and security to the state.”
- They are presumably the chiefs of Jurchen tribes in modern Northern Hamgyŏng
Province and some parts of the Chinese territory across the Tumen River. - Yun Kwan (?–1111) is an official of Koryŏ who served as chancellor during the reign of
King Yejong (1105–1122). He was famous for subjugating the Jurchens in the northern terri-
tory and establishing the Nine Forts there in 1107. - Pyŏn Chungnyang (1345–1398): an official of late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn. He was the
son-in-law of Yi Wŏn’gye, T’aejo’s stepbrother, and a disciple of Chŏng Mongju. Although he