General Introduction (Ch’ongsŏ) 53
keep his word to Yŏng, leading the soldiers under his command. He hap-
pened to see a roe deer running down a hill, but the hill was so rugged that
his soldiers were unable to chase it. So they took a roundabout way and
assembled at the foot of the mountain. Then, all of a sudden, they heard the
whistling sound of a flying arrow over their heads. As they looked up, they
saw T’aejo running down like lightning on horseback. T’aejo and the roe
deer were still quite far apart, yet he hit and killed it. T’aejo pulled up his
horse and laughingly said, “This one is no bigger than the fist of a child.”
Hyŏn Kwimyŏng, who was a subordinate of Yŏng, was among the soldiers
and saw what had happened. As he reported the story to Yŏng, the latter
was surprised by it and kept praising T’aejo for a good while.
This happened earlier when T’aejo went out hunting in the suburbs of
Songdo [Kaegyŏng]. Upon seeing a pheasant lying on the ground, he ordered
his men to scare it into the air. As the bird took off, he shot it down using a
kodori arrow [which was designed to shoot birds]. On that day, Wang
Pongmyŏng and a royal family member happened to be T’aejo, watching him
from behind. Witnessing his feat, the two men dismounted their horses and
congratulated T’aejo, bowing their heads. Pongmyŏng asked for the arrow
that T’aejo had used, so T’aejo gave it to him and said, laughing, “There is
nothing special about the arrow. It all depends on the one who uses it.”
T’aejo used to make wooden balls, which were as big as pears. He had his
man throw them up in the air from a distance of 50 or 60 paces and hit them
with kodori arrows without ever missing.
In the ninth month, the Ming envoys Zhang Pu and Zhou Zhuo arrived at
the borders and enquired after the health of T’aejo and Yi Saek. At that
time, the reputation of T’aejo and Ch’oe Yŏng was well established, and [the
government] was reluctant to have the Chinese officials meet with them. So
T’aejo and Yŏng were ordered to stay away from the royal palace, and Yŏng
encamped in the suburbs of the capital.
At that time, a Japanese fleet of 150 ships invaded places, including
Hamju, Hongwŏn, Pukch’ŏng, and Hamnan [Yŏnghŭng],^119 and either killed
or abducted our people until those places became abandoned. Sim Tŏkbu,
assistant chancellor; Hong Ching, administrative commissioner of the Secur-
ity Council; An Chu, deputy director of the Security Council; Hwang Hŭisŏk,
senior myriarch of Ch’ ŏngju; Chŏng Sŭngga, great military protector (tae
- These are the districts in South Hamgyŏng Province, all located along the coast of the
East Sea. Hamnan indicates Ssangsŏng or Yŏnghŭng.