General Introduction (Ch’ongsŏ) 21Secretariat (Xingsheng) of Shenyang, to invade the lands of Samsal
[Pukch’ŏng] and Holmyŏn [Hongwŏn]. Commander-in-Chief (to chihwisa)
Chŏng Hwi engaged Nahachu’s army several times and suffered a number
of great defeats in succession. So he requested that the government send
T’aejo to help him in battle against Nahachu, and the government, at last,
appointed T’aejo provincial military commander of the Northeast Region,
with orders to join Commander-in-Chief Chŏng Hwi.
In the seventh month [of the eleventh year of King Kongmin], Nahachu
led tens of thousands of troops and established his base camp at Taldandong
in Hongwŏn. He was joined by Cho Sosaeng and T’ak Togyŏng, [his co-
conspirators from Koryŏ]. He also ordered Nayantiemuer, myriarch of Hala,
and various commanders including Boyanfuxia, to start out first, leading an
advance party numbering over a thousand.
T’aejo met the advance party of enemy soldiers at Wŏnp’yŏng^74 of
Tŏksandong^75 and routed them, and then pursued them over the mountain
passes, Hamgwallyŏng and Ch’ayuryŏng,^76 killing virtually all of them. He
also collected countless weapons and pieces of armor dropped by the enemy.
On that day, T’aejo withdrew his troops to a valley called Tapsanggok
and made his camp there. This move made Nahachu very angry, so he [pur-
posely] set up his camp at Tŏksandong, [the place where he lost his first
battle with T’aejo]. T’aejo launched a surprise attack during the night, and
Nahachu’s army was forced to return to Taldandong [in Hongwŏn] in defeat.
Then T’aejo encamped at Saŭmdong.^77
T’aejo sent scouts to the Ch’ayuryŏng Mountain Pass, and they saw that
many of the enemy soldiers had been sent out to gather firewood. After
hearing the scout’s reports, T’aejo said, “The art of warfare prescribes that
one attack the enemy at their weakest point.” He ordered his soldiers to
capture or behead all the wood gatherers. He also led a seasoned cavalry
force of six hundred over Ch’ayuryŏng. When he arrived at the foot of the
mountain pass, the enemy belatedly realized the situation and tried to fight
back. Accompanied by over ten cavalry soldiers, T’aejo attacked the enemy
and killed one of their officers.
When T’aejo first arrived at the scene of the battle and asked why several
commanders of his forces had repeatedly suffered defeat, they replied:
- Located 90 li north of Hamhŭng Prefecture.
- Located 40 li east of Hamhŭng Prefecture.
- Mountain passes located north of Hamhŭng, South Hamgyŏng Province.
- Located 25 li north of Hamhŭng.