854 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
Chihwa, one of his relatives; and others to harm Panggwa and other princes,
relying on the forces of Pangsŏk. They nearly plunged the country into
chaos, but with the help of Heaven and Earth and our royal ancestors, they
were seized and executed.
“My eldest son is by nature sincere and cautious, practicing loyalty and
filial piety. Hence, he deserves to be crown prince, and all officials, regardless
of their ranks, request that he be designated as heir apparent. Therefore, on
the twenty- seventh day of the eighth lunar month of the thirty- first reign
year of Hongwu, I make a report to the Royal Ancestral Shrine and desig-
nate him as my rightful heir of succession.
“Ah! Since it is prohibited to be rebellious toward the king and parents,
the conspirators were seized and executed. Moreover, the eldest son was
also already designated as heir apparent, and therefore the Altars of Earth
and Grain became secure. At the beginning when the disturbance is sup-
pressed and the heir apparent is appointed, it is appropriate that special
amnesty for prisoners be dispensed. Except those committed by the Tojŏn
clique, the offenses and crimes, whether they were already discovered or
not yet discovered prior to the early dawn of the twenty- seventh day of the
eighth lunar month of the thirty- first reign year of Hongwu, shall all be
pardoned unless they are subject to capital punishment either by beheading
or strangulation.”[The king] had Kang Kyegwŏn, Lord of Sangsan; Yi Chi, Prince Sunnyŏng;
O Mongŭl, Lord of Posŏng; Chŏng Sinŭi, administrative commissioner of
the Security Council; Kang T’aek, general- in- chief; Chŏng Chin, the son of
Chŏng Tojŏn; and the members of their clique taken into custody in the
Capital Constabulary Prison.Wang Cho, Lord of Kwiŭi, and his brother Wang Kwan died.[The king] had Cho Saŭi, former assistant military commissioner; Yi Yŏm,
right director of the State Finance Commission; Yi Paegyu, Lord of
Wansŏng; and Yi Cho, third minister of personnel, confined in the Capital
Constabulary Prison.
He also had Chŏng Chin and Kang T’aek assigned to the navy of Chŏlla
Province; General- in- Chief Han Kyu, Son Wŏnman, and Song Ch’ŏnu to
the navy of Kyŏngsang Province; Yi Pogŏm, director of the Royal Stable
Court, and General Im Tŭkbang to the navy of Kangwŏn Province; former