General Introduction (Ch’ongsŏ) 95permission, His Majesty importuned T’aejo more strongly. T’aejo finally
decided to leave at night, despite his illness, and His Majesty helped him
until he arrived home safely.
When His Majesty [T’aejong] became second royal secretary (taeŏn), Yi
Sŏngjung,^195 academician of the Security Council (Milchik chehak), the
younger brother of Yi Talch’ung, sent his son Hyu to His Majesty and pre-
sented a precious sword decorated with gold, which was an heirloom of his
family. His Majesty and his consort accepted the sword while sitting in their
room. The consort said, laughing, “What is the meaning behind this gift?”
The following day, His Majesty visited Sŏngjung at his house to express his
gratitude for the gift. Then he asked, “Why did you send such a sword to a
Confucian scholar such as myself?” Sŏngjung replied, “I sent it to you
because I believed that it could be better used by you; such a sword is not
intended to be used by a man such as myself.”
Chŏng Mongju instigated the members of the Censorate to submit a joint
petition to the king, requesting that Cho Chun, Chŏng Tojŏn, and others be
executed. When this happened, T’aejo sent his son [Panggwa; later King
Chŏngjŏng], his brother Yi Hwa’s son-in-law Yi Che, and his aides Hwang
Hŭisŏk, Cho Kyu, and others to the court to see the king on his behalf. They
said, “The Censorate now contends that at the meeting in which Your
Majesty was selected as the new king, [Cho] Chun tried to promote some
other person, but Your Servant [T’aejo] blocked his attempt. This is not true.
Who is the one Chun tried to promote, and who is the one who claims to
have heard me talk about blocking his attempt? I beseech you to summon
Chun and others, as well as the members of the Censorate, and let them
defend themselves in your presence.”
Though they repeated this request several more times, Kongyang refused
to listen to them. In the meantime, the slanders and accusations made by
petty-minded people increasingly grew worse so that disaster could strike
at any time. His Majesty [T’aejong] asked T’aejo’s permission to kill Mongju,
but T’aejo did not allow him to. His Majesty went out to meet with the former
king [King Chŏngjong], Yi Hwa, and Yi Che, and went in to see T’aejo again.
He said, “They say that Mongju will send his men to interrogate Chŏng
- Yi Sŏngjung (1330–1411): an official of late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn. He served as
commissioner of fortress construction in 1396; however, he was briefly imprisoned for failing
to construct a fortress safely. He became a minor merit subject and grand master for illustrious
government.