Book I 107please do not forget them.” Whenever the chancellor met with T’aejo, he
treated T’aejo with utmost courtesy. When T’aejo had to go out to fight
against the enemy, he said, “Since the future of this country is in your hands,
please spare no efforts to save the country and make great achievements.”
A man named Hyejing, who could see the future in people’s faces, once
said to his close friend quietly, “I have read the faces of people all these
years but have never seen a face like that of Yi [Sŏnggye].” His friend
replied, “Even if he were born under a lucky star, he cannot rise above min-
ister of state, can he?” Then Hyejing said, “I am now talking about some-
thing much higher than the minister of state. What I found in him was the
destiny of a monarch. He will certainly replace the Wang clan.”
Before His Majesty [T’aejong] ascended the throne, it happened that the
three armies went hunting in the region of the new capital [Hanyang], and
he also joined them. When a roe deer suddenly jumped out, T’aejo ran after
it and shot it down with a single arrow. Ten or so members of the royal Wang
family were standing on top of the hill and were surprised to see what hap-
pened before their eyes. Looking at one another, they said, “People are
saying that a man from the Yi clan will be the king. He could be the one,
couldn’t he?”
This also happened when the former king [Chŏngjong] was still out of
public view, staying at his private house. He paid a visit to Chancellor Yi
Inim at his home. After the former king left, Yi Inim said to the people,
“This country certainly will be taken over by the Yi clan.”18th Day (Chŏngyu)
It rained. Previously, there had been a long drought. When it rained after the
king ascended the throne, the people were quite delighted.The Privy Council and the officials of both high and low ranks, as well as
hallyang and retired elder statesmen, requested that the king have Cho Pan,
administrative commissioner of the Security Council, dispatched to the
Ming Capital and report to the Ministry of Rites [on his inauguration as the
new king] as follows:
“King Kongmin of our small kingdom passed away without an heir, and
powerful ministers led by Yi Inim enthroned Sin U, the son of traitor Sin Ton.
Being tyrannical and arrogant, U killed many innocent people and then raised
armies to invade Liaodong, China. Yi [Sŏnggye], the commander-in-chief