General Introduction (Ch’ongsŏ) 25military operation. At the same time, the king ordered T’aejo to take a
thousand crack cavalry troops of the Northeast Border and join the forces
in Anju.
Yi Kwisu, deputy commissioner of the Security Council (milchik pusa),^79
Chi Yongsu, administrative commissioner of the Security Council (chi
Milchiksa sa), Na Se, minister of Revenue (p’andop’ansŏ), and An Ugyŏng
[assistant chancellor] took the command of the Left Army; Yi Sun, chief
magistrate of Kaesŏng, U Che, left director of the State Finance Commission
(samsa chwa sa), Pak Ch’un, deputy commissioner of the Security Council,
and T’aejo took the command of the Right Army; and Ch’oe Yŏng became
the commander of the Middle Army and arrived at Chŏngju.
Looking at the commanders who withdrew after suffering defeats, T’aejo
criticized their cowardice and lack of will to fight. The commanders resented
his criticism and tried to avoid him.
At that time, the enemy had already established their camp at Talch’ŏn, in
the district of Suju. The commanders said, “We want you to take charge of
the battle tomorrow by yourself.” Knowing that the generals tried to shun
him, T’aejo was a little worried.
The following day, the enemy advanced in three divisions. Having old
generals take charge of both the left and right sides, T’aejo led the troops in
the middle. Then he ordered each of his divisions to launch full-scale attacks
against their respective enemy counterparts. T’aejo’s horse fell in the mud,
and it seemed that he was momentarily in danger. However, his horse
jumped out of the mire with great force, and the people who saw him were
all surprised. T’aejo shot and killed two or three enemy generals and ended
up defeating the enemy decisively. As he looked around, he saw his two old
generals brandishing their swords wildly, but the enemy had already run
away and there was nothing left but thick dust in the air.
At first, Kim Panggwae, whose Mongol name was Daluhuachi, lived in
Samhaeyang (Kilchu).^80 He married the daughter of Tojo [grandfather of
T’aejo] and had two sons with her, Samsŏn and Samgae. So his sons became
T’aejo’s maternal cousins. Born and raised in the land of the Jurchen, they
were unusually muscular and good at horse-riding and archery. Banding
with bad youths, they wandered about as they pleased on the northern
- The Security Council (Chungch’uwŏn) was once called Milchiksa or Ch’umirwŏn,
which placed more emphasis on the secretarial function. - Also called Haeyang or Kilsŏng.