60 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
suzerain state. King Kongmin served Ming sincerely from the second year
of the Hongwu reign. In his memorial to the Ming emperor, he vowed to be
his subject for all time, and he was truly sincere in making this pledge.
“Honoring the promise by the former king [Kongmin], Your Majesty has
also sent tribute to the Ming every year as instructed. As a result, the Ming
government bestowed the posthumous title of Hyŏllŭng on King Kongmin
and issued a decree authorizing the enthronement of Your Majesty. This
was good for our country, and your excellent virtue well deserves such
fortune.
“It was a good idea to dispatch Pak Ŭijung, academician of the Security
Council, with a memorial [to the Ming emperor] when you heard that
Commander Liu [of the Ming army] was on his way with his troops to
establish a guard unit at Ch’ŏllyŏng. However, it is not good for the country
and its people to carry out a military expedition against the powerful country
[China], and without even waiting for a reply from the emperor.
“Furthermore, in the hot and humid weather during a rainy season such
as this one, bows are loosened, armor heavy, and soldiers and horses easily
exhausted. Under the circumstances, there is no guarantee that we will win
even if we keep pushing ourselves to reach the strong fortress of our adver-
sary. It is doubtful that we can capture the fortress even if we launch attacks.
Besides, if it happens that military provisions fail to be provided, what can
you do? Therefore, we beseech Your Majesty to give a special order to stop
your army from engaging in any further military campaign. Then the people
will be truly happy and gratified.”
U, however, ignored T’aejo’s request and sent a eunuch named Kim Wan
to put more pressure on the army to advance quickly. The commanders of
the Left and Right Armies detained Kim Wan and at the same time made a
request to Ch’oe Yŏng through their messenger that he allow them to with-
draw as soon as possible. Nevertheless, Yŏng paid little heed.
The soldiers became agitated in the military camp as a rumor spread that
T’aejo had left for the Northeast Region at the head of his own army. Not
knowing what to do, Cho Minsu [the commander of the Left Army] gal-
loped alone to T’aejo and asked, sobbing, “If you leave, what should we
do?” T’aejo replied, “What makes you think I would leave? Stop saying
that.” After a few moments, T’aejo spoke to the generals: “If we invade the
borders of China and incur the wrath of the Son of Heaven [Chinese
emperor], we will immediately bring about catastrophe to our country as
well as our people. Based on reason and common sense, I tried to persuade