844 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
gate. Grasping Pangbŏn’s hands, Prince Chŏngan said, “If Nam Ŭn and the
others removed our group, I figured you would not be able to eventually
escape from the danger. So I called you before to join us. Why didn’t you
listen to me? Though you have to go away to a distant region now, it won’t
be very long before you’re back. Farewell. Farewell.”
Being sent to T’ongjin^46 for exile, Pangbŏn crossed Yanghwado Ferry^47
and stayed at a nearby guesthouse. Panggan, together with Yi Paekkyŏng
and others, had a discussion with the members of the Privy Council and sent
a man and had Pangbŏn killed. Having learned that Pangsŏk and Pangbŏn
had died, Prince Chŏngan secretly said to Sukbŏn: “If I tried to save a man
such as Yu Mansu,^48 then how much more so in the case of my brothers?
Without letting me know, Yi Kŏi and his son killed my brothers, only con-
sulting with the Privy Council. Since the hearts of the people are not yet
settled, I have to secretly endure it without revealing my anger on my face.
I want you to keep this to yourself.”
The soldiers captured Pyŏn Chungnyang, No Sŏkchu, Nam Chi, and the
others and brought them before Prince Chŏngan. Then Chungnyang looked
Prince Chŏngan in the face and said, “I have kept you in my heart for sev-
eral years now.” The prince said, “You are despicable.”^49 Chi was a brother
of Ŭn. He served as military commissioner of the right royal guards (usang
chŏlchesa) at that time. They were all locked up in the Palace Patrol Prison
and brought out to be beheaded on the road later. When Yi Che came out,
Price Chŏngan told him to go home.The king at last designated Prince Yŏngan as crown prince and issued a
royal decree, which read as follows:
“To establish the eldest son born of the legal wife as crown prince is the
law and the tradition handed down for ten thousand generations. Since the
rightful heir is like a fortress, my hope depends on him. Contrary to what
was handed down, however, I, your father, designated the youngest son,
Pangsŏk, as crown prince, abandoning the legitimate eldest son, and that- Modern Kimp’o.
- The old ferry, located in Map’o County, is now replaced by a bridge.
- Yu Mansu was originally a cowardly person, but T’aejo liked him and made him a
minor merit subject. A little earlier, knowing well who he was, Prince Chŏngan tried to save
Yu’s life, but his aides prevailed on him to kill him because Yu vacillated and joined the con-
spirators led by Chŏng Tojŏn and Nam Ŭn. - The exact words, according to the text are “That mouth is also a piece of meat.”