26 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
border, but they were afraid of T’aejo and tried to restrain themselves from
behaving recklessly. Since T’aejo was born and grew up in Hamju, like his
ancestors before him, the reputation and power of his family had already
been well established among the people. So the residents regarded T’aejo as
their parent, and the people of Jurchen were also afraid of his power, while
admiring his authority.
Then Samsŏn and Samgae happened to hear that T’aejo had left for the
Northwest Border to carry out a mission. So they raised a Jurchen army and
captured Hamju [of Koryŏ]. Chŏn Ido and Yi Hŭi, the military commanders
in charge of defending Hamju, ran away, abandoning their men, while
Commander-in-Chief Han Pangsin and Provincial Military Commander
Kim Kwi advanced their troops as far as Hwaju (Yŏnghŭng). However, they
were also defeated and withdrew to Ch’ŏlkwan (Ch’ŏllyŏng). So the regions
north of Hwaju were all occupied by the enemy. As the royal armies suf-
fered repeated defeats, the generals and soldiers were extremely demoral-
ized, and they simply waited day and night for T’aejo to return.
In the second month, T’aejo arrived at Ch’ŏlkwan with his army from the
Northwest Border. The people were overjoyed, and the morale of the com-
manders and soldiers was greatly lifted. Carrying out a coordinated opera-
tion with the commanders Han Pangsin and Kim Kwi, he advanced to attack
the enemy in three prongs and won a great victory. As he recaptured Hwaju
and Hamju, the towns that had fallen into the enemy’s hands, Samsŏn and
Samgae fled back to their land and never returned [to Koryŏ]. The king
promoted T’aejo to assistant royal secretary, raising his rank to grand master
for service and assistance (pongik taebu). Furthermore, the king bestowed
upon him a prestigious title, “Extremely-Sincere, Brilliantly-Faithful, and
Respectfully-Assisting Merit Subject” (Tansŏng yangchŏl iktae kongsin), as
well as a golden belt. These gifts were tokens of his increased trust in and
reliance on T’aejo.
Zhao Wu was originally a Yuan general. As the Yuan dynasty declined,
Zhao captured Kongju, leading the troops under his command. T’aejo said
to his subordinates, “This man [Zhao] will cause disturbances eventually,
so he should be kept under control.” Then he raised his army and attacked
Zhao. However, admiring his courage and fighting skills, T’aejo only shot a
few dozen kodori arrows at him, thereby sparing his life. Zhao Wu finally
dismounted his horse and paid his respects to T’aejo.
Deeply impressed by T’aejo’s magnanimity and admiring his great char-
acter, Zhao volunteered to serve T’aejo to the end of his life. He did not even