54 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
hogun);^120 and others led our army and fought with the Japanese enemy at a
place north of Taemullyŏng Mountain Pass^121 of Hongwŏn. All of them
were defeated and fled. Tŏkbu alone ran into the enemy line but fell off his
horse after being hit by a spear. As the enemy tried to attack him once more,
a subordinate named Liuhelangha came to his rescue quickly, killing three
enemy soldiers. Liuhelangha took a horse from the enemy and gave it to
Tŏkbu, and the two barely escaped the invaders after killing those who
blocked their way. Thus, our army led by Tŏkbu also suffered an over-
whelming defeat, and the enemy’s morale rose sharply.
T’aejo volunteered to fight against the Japanese invaders and arrived at
the district office in Hamju. In the military camp where the commanders
were gathered, there was a pine tree, which stood 70 paces away from them.
T’aejo called his officer and said, “I am going to shoot arrows at the certain
cones of certain branches of that pine tree. I want you to watch me.” Then
he shot willow leaf arrows at the target. When he shot arrows seven times
and hit the targets seven times, the soldiers who watched his performance
broke into cheers and chants, stomping their feet.
The following day, T’aejo moved to T’oadong and made his troops lay in
ambush on both sides of a valley. The enemy soldiers, who occupied the
high ground in the east and west mountains of T’oadong, were surprised to
hear the sound of the conch from a distance. They said, “That must be a
signal from Yi’s army.”
T’aejo marched slowly into the area, leading a cavalry force of 100,
including Yi Turan, senior military protector (sang hogun); Ko Yŏ, executive
captain (sanwŏn); Cho Yŏnggyu, director of Office for Palace Ceremony and
Sacrifice Supplies (pan Wiwisi sa); as well as the officers An Chonggŏm, Han
Nahae, Kim Ch’ŏn, Ch’oe Kyŏng, Yi Hyŏn’gyŏng, Ha Sŏkchu, Yi Yu, Chŏn
Se, Han Sau, and Yi Togyŏng. Watching our army pass them by at a slow
pace, the enemy forces did not dare attack because they were unable to figure
out the intention of their adversary. Instead, the troops on the eastern side
moved to join the ones on the west. T’aejo went up the mountain to the east,
which the occupying Japanese had just left. Sitting on a chair, he ordered his- A military official of rank 3b who belonged to the Five Commands (Owi). During the
Koryŏ period, tae hogun was called general-in-chief (tae changgun) and served as one of the
vice commanders of Two Armies and Six Commands. After Chosŭn dynasty was established,
he served as vice commander of Ten Commands with a changed title, towi ch’ŏmsa. However,
during the reign of King T’aejong, the title was changed again into tae hogun and fixed perma-
nently thereafter. (Yŏkchu kyŏngguk taejon, p547) - Located 30 li east of Hongwŏn.