758 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
22nd Day (Kisa)
The king arrived in the suburbs of Mokch’on.Yŏ Ch’ing, inspector of horse- raising (ch’ungma chŏmgosa) of Cheju,
Bailiff Pak Anŭi, and others arrived and presented the records of horses and
oxen. The number of horses amounted to 4,414, and that of oxen to 1,914.Kim Sŏnch’i, former deputy commissioner of the Security Council, died.
Sŏnch’i was a native of Sangju and a son of Kunsil, director of the Court of
the Royal Clan (Chongbusi).^19 He started his public service as an officer in
the previous dynasty and rose to vice commandant.
In the Imo year (1342), he became the deputy of Yu T’ak, chief provincial
military commissioner of Chŏlla Province, and fought against Japanese
marauders, killing several dozen of them. In the Imjin year (1352), he became
administrator of Naju. During his term, a powerful family in his district
forced a clerk of Chindo County into lowly status, so he restored the man
back to his original social standing.
Returning to court, he became chief of the Criminal Administration
Bureau (Togwan) and the Personnel Bureau (Ibu), and, leaving the court
again, he served as surveillance commissioner of two provinces, Chŏlla and
Yanggwang.
In the Sinch’uk year (1361), when he served as director of the Directorate
for Palace Buildings, he joined Yi Am, supreme field commander (towŏnsu)
of the Northwest Region, to defend against Red Turban bandits. When he
arrived in P’yŏngyang, the strength of the enemy camp looked overwhelm ing,
and the military commanders were afraid. When the supreme field com-
mander ordered Sŏnch’i to burn the prefecture warehouses to prevent the
enemy from securing military provisions, Sŏnch’i said, “If you destroy the
warehouses and the enemy has no place to get provisions, they will invade
even farther into our territory. Therefore, it is not a good idea.”
The supreme field commander became furious and reproached Sŏnch’i,
but General- in- Chief An U, who was standing next to him, spoke slowly:
“What he says makes a sense.” Consequently, the supreme field commander
followed Sŏnch’i’s advice. That winter, Songdo, the nation’s capital, fell to- An agency responsible for maintaining the genealogy and monitoring the activities of
all royal relatives.