64 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
Sometime earlier, when T’aejo lived in his private house, a children’s song
had been circulating among the village people:Outside the Western Capital there is a fire;
Outside Anju Fortress there is smoke and light.
Between the two places, General Yi travels back and forth.
One wishes he could save the people.Not long after, T’aejo turned around at Wihwa Island and marched back
with his army.U Appointed Cho Minsu left chancellor (chwa sijung) and T’aejo right
chancellor (u sijung). Yun Sojong, the vice director (pu ryŏng) of the Court
of Palace Document Office (Chŏn’gyosi), requested an interview through
Chŏng Chi and presented the Biography of Huo Guang (Huo Guang Chuan)
to T’aejo. T’aejo let Cho Inok read the book for him and listened. [After the
reading], Inok strongly proposed that a new king be chosen from among the
members of the royal Wang clan.
Wearing armor and taking eighty eunuchs with him, U rushed at night to
the houses of T’aejo, Cho Minsu, and Pyŏn Annyŏl, in order to kill them.
However, he returned without success because T’aejo and others had stayed
in the military camp established outside the royal palace.
U abdicated the throne and stayed in Kanghwa. T’aejo wanted to choose
the next king from among the members of the royal Wang clan. Cho Minsu,
however, wanted to choose Ch’ang, the son of U, because he was related by
marriage to Yi Im, U’s father-in-law. T’aejo consulted Yi Saek and finally
placed Ch’ang on the throne.
At the time [when T’aejo stopped his military expedition and marched
back with his army], Consort Sinŭi was at her private estate in Chaebyŏktong,
and Consort Kang in her private estate in Ch’ŏlhyŏn, which were both in
P’och’ŏn.^129 His Majesty [King T’aejong] at that time served as the section
chief (chŏngnang) of the Board of Personnel and stayed in Kaegyŏng. Upon
hearing that a disturbance had broken out, he ran directly to P’och’ŏn
without stopping at home. When he arrived [at the home of his mother and
stepmother, namely Queen Sinŭi and Consort Kang], the stewards and ser-
vants responsible for household affairs had already run away. His Majesty,- Located in Kyŏnggi Province.