Book I 105rul ing the country and the people, he withdrew and proceeded to his pri-
vate home.
“Carrying out administrative and military affairs is extremely compli-
cated and important, and therefore not a single day should be allowed to
pass without a person in command. It is appropriate that you ascend the
throne and thereby fulfill the wishes of the spirits and the people.”
T’aejo, however, adamantly refused the request, saying, “From antiquity,
emperors and kings did not arise unless they had the Mandate of Heaven.
Knowing that I lack [the requisite] moral strength, how can I assume
the task?”
As he did not comply with their request, the high- and low-ranking offi-
cials, the hallyang, and the retired elder statesmen gathered around T’aejo,
blocking his way, and would not withdraw. They exhorted him, with even
greater fervor, to take the offer.
That day, T’aejo had no choice but to proceed to Such’anggung, where a
hundred officials stood in their ranks to greet him on the west side of the
palace gate. T’aejo dismounted his horse, walked into the palace, and
ascended the throne. However, he received the felicitations of his ministers
while standing in front of the pillars, instead of seated on the throne.
He ordered the officials above the rank of ministers of the Six Ministries
to come up to the upper hall and said, “Even when I became chancellor, I
harbored apprehension and constantly worried that I would be unable to ful-
fill my duties. How could I have imagined that I would see the events of this
day? Should I have been in good health, I could have run away on horseback.
However, just now, I suffer from ailing hands and feet to such a degree that
I am unable to move my body freely. I want you to assist me, all working
together to help me overcome my deficiencies in virtue and ability.”
Thereupon, he ordered all the high- and low-ranking officials, who had
served in the previous Koryŏ dynasty both in the capital and the provinces,
to carry on with their regular duties as before. Then he returned to his own
residence.
Sometime before T’aejo rose to the throne, he had a dream in which a
divine man descended from Heaven and gave him a golden ruler, saying,
“Chancellor Kyŏng Pokhŭng,^4 though he is upright, is already old, and- Kyŏng Pokhŭng (?–1380): an official of late Koryŏ who served as chancellor during the
reign of King Kongmin.