218 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
much privilege and power, I am afraid that I will certainly fall apart. Since
I received your order, I have been unable to sleep soundly or enjoy food as
I had before. Therefore, I sincerely submit to you the way I feel about your
favors, with the hope that you will withdraw them from me.
“As I look back, I started my career by serving under King Kongmin but
fell into misfortune in the middle of my journey and decided to retire and
finish my life reading books. When Your Majesty was out of the public
view, staying at your private home, you met me once and treated me as if I
were your old friend, and I believe it was Heaven that arranged our meeting.
“In the first month of the Mujin year (1388), Your Majesty, together with
General Ch’oe Yŏng, eliminated a host of wicked people who had harassed
and harmed common people for fifteen years and impressed the people with
your virtue. Ch’oe Yŏng, being ignorant, conspired with the false king to
invade Liaodong, China, ordering our army to cross the Yalu River. Your
Majesty, however, turned your army around and marched back, citing the
principle of great justice, and prevented the people of the Three Han [Korea]
from perishing by a cruel death. This indicates that you made contributions
to saving the country.
“Your Majesty around that time employed me as inspector-general. So I
reported to you everything I knew, and there was nothing that Your Majesty
refused to listen to. You straightened the discipline in disarray, proclaimed
justice for all, and employed men of outstanding ability. You rejected cun-
ning men to prevent them from harming people and strengthened the ties
with the suzerain state [China]. You also drove out the false king and
restored the Wang clan once again, and the Son of Heaven was pleased
about it and sent you an envoy to acknowledge your good work. This indi-
cated that your contributions were great enough to restore the peace of the
state, and it was known to the world.
“At first, when Your Majesty recommended me to assume the post of
inspector-general, you resolutely announced to the gods and spirits above
the heavens your will to make a world ruled by peace for thousands of gen-
erations. Rejecting the accusations from wicked gangs and risking the wrath
of powerful families, you abolished the old abuses of the private landholding
system, saved the people from their misery, and increased military provi-
sions in a difficult time. In addition, you displayed military strength by
constructing castle ships and building fortifications and, as a result, reopened
the sea routes and put an end overnight to the Japanese invasions that made
our people suffer for forty years.