Ch’oe Chung used his wits for the purpose of personal emolument and his credulity also led him into all kinds of difficulties. His grand mistake was in casting off an aged slave, Kim In-jun, who had served his father and grandfather faithfully and deserved better treatment at the young man’s hands. The worm, thus trodden upon, turned and bit to the bone. It was as follows. The aged servant, gaining access to the king, told him that the young viceroy was dead and in a moment secured another man as leader of the soldiers. Clad with his new power the vengeful old man caught and killed some of the most intimate friends of the viceroy and in the early morning gained access to the viceroy’s house and hunted him from room to room. He found him hidden in a disused chimney flue from which he was speedily drawn forth and dispatched. When the old slave announced this to the king the latter said “You have done me a great favor”, and could hardly refrain from tears. The king then destroyed the picture of Ch’oe Chung-heun who had founded the viceroyalty, and distributed the ill-gotten wealth of the Ch’oe family among the people. It is said that even the lowest citizen received at least three bags of rice or other grain. At the same time all Ch’oe’s following were banished.
The year 1258 had now come, the last that the aged king Ko-jang was destined to see. In this year the Mongols came again as usual. They began by building and garrisoning a fortress at Eui-ju. Then Gen. Cha Ra-dă with a small body of a thousand troops came southwards as far as Su-an in Whang-hă Province. It shows how utterly shorn of power Koryŭ was, that this general should dare to penetrate so far into the land with only a thousand men at his back. Hearing of this the aged king decided to try a little artifice. He came out of Kang-wha, across the straits to Tong-jin on the opposite bank, in order to make it appear that he had complied with the emperor’s command. Gen. Cha demanded that the crown prince also come out. He made a line of camps all the way from Song-do to Tong-jin and settled down as if he intended to stay and see his orders obeyed. The king had retired to the island again upon the near approach of the Mongols and now the latter redoubled their demands and ravaged more remorselessly than ever. They swarmed all about Kang-wha and nothing but a narrow strip of water lay between the king and that more than half savage army. The water proved, however, an effective barrier. All this time another Mongol force under Gen. San Gil-dă was wasting the northern and eastern districts, The people of Wha-ju and of fourteen other towns, led by one Sin Chip-pyŭng sought refuge on Cho-do island but finding this insecure, moved to another; but some Koryŭ renegades led Mongol troops there and overthrew the little colony.
The king now altered his tactics. Sending an envoy to China he said “I have desired to obey the emperor but hitherto I have been prevented by the powerful officials. Now that the viceroy has been put out of the way I will go back to Song-do and do as you shall direct. But we are surrounded by your soldiery and it is hard to move. We are like mice when the cat is about. Let them be ordered back home and I will do as you direct.”
Meanwhile two traitors in the north had overpowered the Koryŭ general and had gone over to the enemy. The whole north was therefore without a single defence and was being held by these two traitors under Mongol orders. Such was the unhappy condition of affairs when the year 1258 came to a close.
Chapter VII.
The Mongols a fixture.... a royal envoy.... his reception.... palaces on Kang-wha destroyed.... the regency.... Mongol troops ordered away.... standing complaint.... a singular custom.... pirates.... the prince finds Kublai Khan.... the prince returns to Korea.... Mongol policy conciliatory.... again suspicious.... tribute remitted.... king goes to China.... Sun silenced.... Chinese envoys to Japan.... accompanied by Korean envoys.... Kublai’s message to Japan.... specified charges against Koryu.... Mongol general murdered.... envoys to Japan shabbily treated.... Kublai orders Koryu to aid in the invasion of Japan.... Kim Ehun destroyed.... Japanese captives sent to Peking.... revolution.... the emperor threatens.... king reinstated.... king goes to China.... his requests.... returns.... sedition.... preparations to invade Japan.... officials’ wives restored.... a remarkable commissioner.... Kublai proclaims the Yuan empire.... Japanese envoy.... rebellion on Quelpart.... finances in bad shape.... Koryu falsely accused.... rebellion stamped out.... Koreans build boats for the Mongols.... the army of invasion.... the expedition sets sail.... attack.... driven back by storms.... the king’s Mongol queen.... Mongol coiffure and dress.... argument for plurality of wives.... women’s rights.... another envoy to Japan.
The year 1259 opened with the sending of an envoy to China but he was waylaid, robbed and killed by Koryŭ ruffians; thus Koryŭ was ever discredited in the eyes of China. The Mongols now began to make fields about P‘yŭng-yang with the intention of making that city a permanent Mongol center. They repaired the walls of the town and constructed new war boats on the river.
The king came to the decision that there was no possibility of ridding himself of this incubus but by sending the crown prince to China. When Gen. Cha Ra-dă heard of this he was highly pleased. Of course it would appear that he had brought about this happy result. This was in the third moon and Gen. Cha expected the arrival of the prince the following month. When he heard that he was not to start till the fourth moon he was angry; the king therefore hurried the preparations and sent the prince off in the third moon. The escort consisted of forty men, and there were three hundred horse-loads of gifts. In good time all arrived at the court of the Mongol emperor. Gen. Cha however did not enjoy his triumph, for at this very time he sickened and died.
When the prince arrived at the Chinese court the emperor was away on a campaign[campaign] against the Sung Empire in the south; so he announced himself to the official in charge at the capital, Song Kil. The latter asked if the king had as yet gone back to Song-do, to which the prince replied in the negative, but added that the king would go as soon as possible if the emperor demanded it. Song Kil rejoined “How can we recall the soldiers so long as the king does not leave Kang-wha?” The Prince replied “Gen. Cha said that if I came the troops would be recalled. If they are not recalled the people will have no hope except in flight.” When Song Kil heard this he countermanded an order which had been given for additional troops to be sent into the peninsula. Word was sent, instead, ordering the destruction of the palaces on Kang-wha. The order was obeyed and it is said that the fall of the buildings sounded like distant thunder. But the aged king who had suffered so many vicissitudes of fortune was not to survive this great shame, and in the summer of 1259 he passed away.
Koryŭ was now without a king and the crown prince was far away in China. It was decided to form a regency to[to] act until the return of the prince. At first it was conferred upon the second son of the deceased king but the officials, remembering that the dying king had said “Put my grandson in as regent until the prince returns”, made the change, and the crown prince’s son, Sun, became regent pending his father’s return.