And now, strange to relate, Quelpart, at the instigation and under the leadership of Ho-dok-ko Pul-wha, who had been stationed there three years before to take charge of the horse-breeding industry, revolted from the sway of Koryŭ and became at least nominally a part of the Yuan empire.
In order to reward the soldiers who had done such good work in the north the king levied a special tax on the people which they gave with such poor grace that they called it the “tax without reason.”
In 1362 the emperor of China, led to it by the empress, whose seditious relatives had forfeited their lives in Koryŭ, proclaimed one Hye, called Prince Tok-heung, a relative of the king, as king in his place. But Koryŭ well knew that the old time power of the Mongols was gone and so prepared to resist the order.
Early in 1363 the king at last re-entered his deserted capital. A strong force was sent north to guard against the pretender and an envoy was sent to Peking to ask why there were two kings for Koryŭ. The emperor replied that the newly appointed one was the right one and that he must be received in Koryŭ. To this the envoy replied “Though you kill me and smear my blood upon my clothes I will not accompany the pretender back to Koryŭ.” The emperor praised the envoy’s bravery and did not insist upon the demand.
A Koryŭ official named Kim Yong-an, whose evil deeds we have already related, now desired to kill the king and bring in the pretender. A eunuch, An To-jok, knew of the plot and on the appointed night personated the king and was killed by the assassin’s hand. The plotter was forthwith seized, drawn and quartered and his limbs were sent throughout the land as a warning to other malcontents. The emperor was urged to send the pretender as a prisoner to Koryŭ but of course he refused. Not only so, but he also ordered the king to send the royal seals to Peking. The king refused and began preparations for defense against a possible invasion.
He did not have to wait long, for with the opening of the year 1364 a Mongol army 10,000 strong crossed the Yalu and besieged Eui-ju. In the fight at that point the Koryŭ forces were completely routed, though not till after great valor had been shown by Gen. An U-gyŭng against overwhelming odds. The Koryŭ forces retreated in disorder to An-ju. Panic prevailed among all the people of that section for they thought the horrors of the former Mongol invasion were about to be repeated.
The king sent Gen. Ch‘oe Yŭng with a considerable force to An-ju where he made all his generals swear to stand by the colors to the last. He executed a number of fugitives as an example to the rest and soon succeeded in restoring some semblance of order in the camp. Gen. Yi T‘ă-jo was ordered with 1,000 soldiers from the northeast province to An-ju. Also generals Yi Sun, U Che, and Pak Ch‘un were ordered to the same point, and the army thus consolidated assumed large proportions, but the men were miserably dressed and fed, and the death rate was high. Desertions were of frequent occurence[occurence].
Gen. Yi T‘ă-jo’s influence in the northeast is proved by the commotion that followed when he left. The remnant of the Yŭ-jin tribe, led by Sam Seun and Sam Ka seized the whole of this northeast and the people were longing for the return of Gen. Yi. These two Sams were cousins of Gen. Yi and they had fled beyond the northern border and joined the wild Yŭ-jin folk.
The combination of the generals gave great confidence to the troops and when the battle was joined at Chöng-ju the Mongol forces were badly defeated. A Mongol general’s body was taken and sent all about that section to encourage the people and make them believe their troubles were near an end. Gen. Yi blamed the other generals for not following up their advantage and they became angry and said “If you are so brave, you had better try it yourself.” So the very next day he led the army out and surrounded the Mongol forces at Su-ju near the sea, where another glorious victory was won. That night the remnant of the Mongols fled back to the Yalu. Gen. Yi gave chase and it is said that only seventeen of the Mongol army got back in safety across that Rubicon of Korea. This done, Gen. Yi returned to his northeast province and drove back to their haunts the wild tribe who had taken advantage of his absence.
Gen. Yi T’ă-jo was steadily rising in favor although like Wang-gön he wisely stayed as far as possible from his royal master. The king now conferred upon him the title of Mil-jik-sa which means “The Messenger who Restores Confidence and Firmness.”