When the Mongol and Koryŭ envoys returned from Japan they were accompanied by a Japanese envoy. The king hurried them on to Peking where they were received by the emperor with great delight, who hoped that he had now gained his point. But he did not relax his preparations for an invasion, for he commanded the king to hasten the construction of boats and the collection of provisions. Everything however was hindered by the rebels on Quelpart who built there a strong fortress and made it a center from which to harry the southern islands and even parts of the mainland. The exchequer was exhausted and the people could not endure further taxation. Many of them fled from their homes to escape the exactions of the government. It is said that one day the king himself had to get along without any side dishes or condiments.
The land seemed doomed to misfortune. A marauding party of Japanese landed at Keum-ju and the people, in fear of their lives, treated them well and gave them whatever they asked for. This the renegade Hong Ta-gu told the emperor with embellishments of his own and averred that Koryŭ was making friends with Japan with a view to an invasion of China. The action of the people of Keum-ju made this seem probable. This fed the emperor’s suspicions of Koryŭ’s bad faith and added materially to the overwhelming difficulties under which the land was already staggering.
The matter of the Quelpart rebels came to an issue when they began ravaging the coast of Chŭl-la Province, burning at one place between twenty and thirty ships and carrying away a number of Mongol soldiers as prisoners. The following spring a strong body of Mongol and Koryŭ troops crossed to Quelpart, overthrew the stronghold of the rebels and placed there a garrison of 500 Mongol and 1000 Koryŭ troops.
The eventful year 1273 opened with a vigorous demand on the part of the emperor that the king prepare 300 vessels, for which he was to supply not only the labor but the materials as well. At the same time the vanguard of the army of invasion, 5000 strong, came to Koryŭ, perhaps to see that the commands of the emperor were promptly complied with. They brought 33,000 pieces of silk to use in purchasing supplies for their maintenance. Silk was the very last thing that the poverty-stricken people of Koryŭ wanted, but it was forced upon them and they had to buy whether they wished or not. The king in attempted obedience to the Emperor’s demands assembled 3500 carpenters and other artisans necessary to the building of the boats, and the work was begun.
The Mongol governor who had been placed at P‘yŭng-yang was a man of dark and fierce aspect and he was universally feared and hated. He also demanded the society of the fair sex and seized women right and left. Famine stared the capital in the face and the emperor was obliged to send 20,000 bags of rice to relieve the distress. In spite of the inauspiciousness of the times the crown prince who had been plighted to a Mongol princess was sent to Peking where the nuptials were celebrated. No sooner had this been done than the emperor sent to Koryŭ the main body of the army which was to cross the straits and attack Japan. It consisted of 25,000 men. Thus slightingly did the great conqueror gauge the prowess of the Island Empire.
King Wŭn-jong died while the prince was in China and the emperor hastened to confer upon the latter the insignia of royalty and send him back to take charge of affairs at home. This prince’s name was Ko, posthumous title Ch‘ung-ryŭl. The princess, his wife, did not accompany him to Koryŭ at first but waited to follow at leisure. When the young king arrived at Song-do has first act was to send an escort to bring his Mongol queen to him.
The events above recorded had followed thick and fast upon each other and now the great and long contemplated invasion of Japan was about to become an accomplished fact. The entire army of invasion rendezvoused on the southeastern coast of Korea, opposite the islands of Japan. It consisted of 25,000 Mongol troops under Generals Hol Ton, Hong Ta-gu and Yu Pok-hyöng; and 15,000 Koryŭ troops under Gen. Kim Pang-gyŭng. The flotilla that was to carry this army across the straits consisted of 900 boats. Sailing from the shores of Korea the fleet made for the island of Iki near the mainland of Japan. Entering the harbor of Sam-nang they found a small garrison stationed there. Generals Kim and Hong attacked and routed this outpost, returning to the fleet, it is said, with 1000 heads. From this point they approached the mainland, landing at several points for the purpose of making a general advance into the country. The Japanese however attacked them briskly and checked the advance, but were themselves checked by a Koryŭ General, Pak, whom the Mongols praised highly for his valor.
It was a foregone conclusion that the allied Koryŭ and Mongol forces must retire sooner or later. Forty thousand men could do nothing on the Japanese mainland. So they retired slowly back to their boats. Nature aided the Japanese, for a storm arose which wrecked many of the boats and many more were scattered, so that the total loss to the allied forces was something over 13000. The scattered remnants of the fleet rendezvoused as best they could at the harbor of Hap and from there made their way back to Koryŭ. So ended the first attempt to subdue the Land of the Rising Sun.
Meanwhile events were not at a standstill in the peninsula. The king went as far as P‘yŭng-yang to meet his bride. Escorting her back to the capital he gave her a palace of her own, fitted up according to her fancy. The records say that she had sheep skins hanging in the doorways. This would probably be in accord with Mongol ideas. The former Queen was lowered to the position of second wife or concubine. The Mongolizing tendency had now gone so far that the king ordered the officials to adopt the Mongol coiffure. The order was not obeyed until after long and heated debate, but at last the conservatives were voted down and all submitted to the new style. At the same time the Mongol dress was also adopted.
An amusing incident is reported as having occurred about this time. A courtier named Pa-gyu observed to the king, “The male population of the country has been decimated but there are still plenty of women. For this reason it is that the Mongols take so many of them. There is danger that the pure Koryŭ stock will become vitiated by the intermixture of wild blood. The king should let each man take several wives and should remove the restrictions under which the sons of concubines labor.” When the news of this came to the ears of the women they were up in arms, as least the married portion; and each one read to her spouse such a lecture that the subject was soon dropped as being too warm to handle. When the king passed through the streets with Pa-gyu in his retinue the women would point to the latter and say “There goes the man who would make concubines of us all.”