Late in the autumn of 1379 the Japanese were again in dangerous proximity to the capital and the king wanted to move to a safer place. The geomancers’ book of prophecies indicated Puk-so San as “A narrow place and good for a king to live in,” but the courtiers opposed it, saying that there was no large river flowing near by, on which the government rice could be brought by boat to the capital. So it was given up.
There was a Mongol general named Ko-ga-no who had become independent of the main body of the Mongols and had set up a separate government on his own responsibility in Liao-tung. He was wavering between natural ties on the one hand, which bound him to the Mongols, and the dictates of common sense on the other, which indicated the rising fortunes of the Ming. He chose a middle course by coming with his 40,000 men and asking the privilege of joining Koryŭ. The records do not say whether permission was given or not, but we may easily believe it was.
In 1380 the Japanese government sent 180 soldiers under the command of Gen. Pak Kŭ-sa to aid in driving the pirates out of Koryŭ. In the midst of these dangers from freebooters, jealousy was undermining the government at Song-do. Gen. Yi T‘ă-jo had a friend named Gen. Yang Păk-yŭn who now under false charges, enviously made by officials near the king, was banished and then killed. It was wonderful that the fame of Gen. Yi did not bring about his murder.
The Ming emperor thought, and rightly, that the king was a very fickle individual and sent a letter asking him why it was that he had no settled policy but did everything as the impulse of the moment led. The king’s reply is not recorded but that he did not take to heart the admonitions of the emperor is quite evident, for he plunged into greater excesses than ever. His ill-timed hunting expeditions, his drunkenness and debauchery were the scandal of the country. The people thought he ought to be hunting Japanese pirates rather than wild boar and deer. Even while the Japanese were ravaging Ch‘ung-ch‘ŭng Province the king was trampling down the people’s rice-fields in the pursuit of game. He stole the people’s cattle and horses whenever he needed them and if he chanced to see a good looking girl anywhere he took means to possess himself of her person by fair means or foul. He was indeed the son of Sin-don both by blood and by disposition.
This year the ravages of the freebooters exceeded anything that had been known before. The southern provinces were honeycombed by them. Generals Pă Keuk-yŭm and Chöng Chi were sent against them but without result. At last the Japanese laughingly asserted that they soon would be in the city of Song-do. They might have gone there if Gen. Yi had not been sent in person to direct the campaign against them. Hastening south he rallied around him all the available troops and came to Un-bong in Chŭl-la province. He ascended Chöng San which lay six miles from the camp of the enemy. From this point he perceived that there were two roads leading to this camp; one broad and easy and the other narrow and rough. With great sagacity he judged that the Japanese would take the narrow road, hoping to make a counter march on him. So he sent a considerable force by the broad road but selected a band of trusty men to form an ambush on the narrow one. The Japanese acted precisely as he had foreseen. When they learned that the Koryŭ army was approaching they hastened away by the narrow road and so fell into the ambush, where they were severely handled. Fifty of their number were left dead. The remainder sought safety in the mountains but were soon brought to bay. The whole Koryŭ army was called up and the attack upon the Japanese position was begun. It was necessary to attack up a steep incline and Gen. Yi had two horses shot out from under him, and an arrow pierced his leg; but he drew it out and continued the fight. Among the enemy was a man stronger and larger than the rest. He stood spear in hand and danced about, urging on his comrades. He was encased in armor and on his head was a copper helmet. There was no opening for an arrow to enter; so Gen. Yi said to his lieutenant, Yi Tu-ran, “Make ready an arrow and when I strike off his helmet do you aim at his face.” Gen. Yi took careful aim and struck off the man’s helmet and swift behind his arrow flew that of his lieutenant which laid the fellow low. This demoralized the enemy and they were soon hewn down. It is said that for days the stream near by ran red with blood. As the result of this victory 1600 horses were taken and a large amount of spoil, including implements of war.
When the victorious general returned to Song-do he was given a triumphal entry and fifty ounces of gold and other gifts were distributed among the generals who assisted him. It is said that, from that time on, whenever the news came that a Japanese band had disembarked on the southern coast the first word that was spoken was, “Where is Gen. Yi T‘ă-jo?”
The long-suffering emperor at last tired of the erratic[erratic] course of the Koryŭ king and decided to bring a little pressure to bear upon him in order to bring him to his senses. He ordered the king to send him each year a thousand horses, a hundred pounds of gold, five thousand ounces of silver and five thousand pieces of cotton cloth. This was beyond the means of the king, but he succeeded in sending three hundred ounces of gold, a thousand ounces of silver, four hundred and fifty horses and four thousand five hundred pieces of cotton. This large amount of tribute was delivered into the hands of the governor of Liao-tung to be sent to the imperial court, but the governor declared that as the tax was a penal one and not merely for tribute he could not accept less than the full amount required. So he drove the envoy away.
In 1382 the government adopted a new policy in the matter of coast defense. In all the larger seaport towns generals were stationed in charge of considerable bodies of troops and in the smaller towns garrisons of proportional strength. The constant coming and going of these troops was a terrible drain upon the resources of the people but there was no help for it. The piratical raids of the Japanese had now become so frequent that no attempt was made to keep a record of them. It would have been easier for the people to bear had the king showed any of the characteristics of manhood, but his feasts and revels saw no abatement. Frequently he was so intoxicated that he fell from his horse while hunting. He peopled the palace with dancing-girls and it may be said of him as it was of Nero that he “fiddled while Rome was burning.” As the king rode forth to hunt with falcon on wrist the eunuchs rode behind him singing ribald Mongol songs. When other pleasures cloyed he invented a sort of mock battle in which stones were used as missiles. It is believed by many that this was the beginning of the popular “stone-fight,” which is such a unique custom of Korea today. Once he amused himself by pretending that he was going to bury one of his officials alive behind the palace, and he hugely enjoyed the poor fellow’s shrieks and struggles. He made this same official put up his hat as a target, than which hardly anything could be a greater disgrace, for the hat in Korea is the badge of citizenship and is held in such esteem that no one will attend to the duties of nature without taking off his hat and laying it aside.
Being hard pressed by the emperor in the matter of tribute it is said that in 1383 he sent to the Ming court a hundred pounds of gold, ten thousand ounces of silver, ten thousand pieces of linen and a thousand horses. The records say the emperor refused to take it, for it fell short of his demands. It is probable that this means not that it was sent back but that the emperor refused to give a receipt in full of all demands.
In this same year, 1383, the capital was again moved to Han-yang. The reasons alleged were that so many misfortunes overtook the dynasty that it seemed as if the site of the capital must be unpropitious. It was also said that wild animals entered the city, which was a bad sign. The water in the wells had boiled, fish fought with each other, and a number of other fictions were invented, all of which made it necessary to move the capital. It was effected, however, in the face of great opposition. Meanwhile the Japanese were working their will in the south, for Gen. Yi was in the north repelling an attack by the Yŭ-jin forces.