752 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
sacrifices cannot be abolished, what can we do to avoid such a problem?
You visit Kim Sahyŏng, right chancellor, and ask his opinion about it.”
Kim Sahyŏng replied, “Since those districts are located along the travel
route, they have already suffered abuses for a long time. If we reduce their
burdens by giving them the benefits of exemption on various duties that are
hard to fulfill, and if we also reduce the number of officials who travel to the
Northeast Region, the residents of those districts will be able to breathe a
sigh of relief.”3rd Month
1st Day (Musin)
Upon arriving at Somadong, the royal carriage stopped. The king talked with
Kim Sahyŏng, right chancellor, and Nam Ŭn, Lord of Ŭisŏng, about their
friendship and the hardships prior to his enthronement, and the way they
offered wine and interacted was like old times. When the royal carriage
stopped at Changdan, the king ordered Yi Cho, fourth royal counselor, to com-
pose a funeral ode for Kyŏng Pokhŭng, chancellor of the previous dynasty,
and offer a sacrifice to his tomb on his behalf. That night, the king had a dream
in which he composed a poem, and the couplet [he attached to Yi Cho’s poem]
was as follows: “The sound of drums and bells shakes the whole country, /
and it is leveling the ground to build Three Han States that will last forever.”3rd Day (Kyŏngsul)
The king ordered the workers recruited for the construction of the palace
walls to be released to go home. The workers who died of illness were fifty-
four in total. The king ordered the office concerned to provide their fami-
lies with rice and beans and to allow exemption from corvée labor for
three years.Yi Chik, inspector-general, and others submitted a memorial to the king:
“When Queen Hyŏn was critically ill and the officials both in the capital
and the provinces ran about in fear and surprise, and Your Majesty in sad-
ness and anxiety was preoccupied with the prayer for her recovery, eunuch
Cho Sun secretly carried away the silverware, clothes, and horses to his
house, which were to be used to pray for the long life of the queen [at the
Buddhist monastery].