The Manchus now, in 1621, held the whole of Liao-tung and the Chinese residents were fleeing in all directions. Thousands of them crossed into Korea and many crossed over to the islands of Ok-kang and In-san near the mouth of the Yalu River and there, huddled together in wretchedness and want, bewailed their pitiable condition.
The prefect of Eui-ju implored the king to forward troops to hold the Manchus in check and the Chinese Gen. Wang wrote the king demanding a contingent of Korean troops to oppose the wild horde that threatened the Ming power. But the king was utterly incompetent, and all Seoul was in a ferment. The king thought only of himself, and looked to it that a comfortable place was arranged for him on the island of Kang-wha, in case it should become necessary for him to leave Seoul. In the early summer a Korean named Yi Yöng-bang, who had gone over to the Manchus body and soul, and had become son-in-law to Norach’i, took a body of Manchu cavalry, crossed over to the islands of Ok-kang and In-san and massacred all the Chinese refugees he could lay hands on. This again struck terror to the heart of the king, and it threw Seoul into a fever of excitement. The king collected nine thousand troops from the southern provinces and stationed them at Su-wŭn, but there was no one whom he could appoint general-in-chief; so he had to recall from banishment Han Chun-gyŭm and confer this honor upon him. Han Myŭng-yŭn was made second in command. He was a man of low extraction but had acquired a certain amount of fame in the Japanese invasion.
In the following year, 1622, the Manchus entered China and were everywhere victorious. They wanted to make a treaty with Korea, but the king could decide neither one way nor the other. His envoys had not reached China and he had no word from the Emperor. The queen memorialized the king in the native script and said, “Those northern savages want to make peace with us, not because of any feeling of friendship for us but because they think they cannot handle China and Korea both at once. So they do this to keep us quiet until they finish with China. The king should make up his mind one way or the other and act. Think of what the Chinese did for us during the late invasion! We were on the very edge of destruction and they succored us. Both king and people should be of one mind and hasten to send soldiers to oppose this common enemy. Even if we do not succeed we shall have clear consciences, for we shall know that we have done what we could to aid China in the hour of her distress.” In the third moon a letter arrived from the Manchu headquarters which read as follows, “You say that you are the child and China is the parent. Well, I am now striking your parent, but you seem not to be able to help her. There is no use in trying to do so.” In answer to this grim pleasantry the craven king sent an envoy with gifts to the Manchu camp, but the gifts and envoy were both spurned with insults.
The Chinese general Mo Mun-nyŭng fled from Liao-tung by boat and landed at Yong-ch’ŭn in Korea. Finding there many Chinese fugitives, and among them not a few soldiers, he organized a little army and marched against the Manchus. In his first fight he was quite successful, coming from the field with the head of the Manchu general, T’ung Yang-jöng. He then made his headquarters at Ch’ŭl-san. With the approach of winter the Manchus crossed the Ya-lu in force and he was outnumbered and had to flee. He sent a letter to the king saying, “I am now here in your territory with a small force, let us unite and drive back this Manchu horde.”[horde.”] But nothing came of it.
The Manchus were exceedingly cruel toward their captives. Having collected a large number they made them sit down in rows and then the Manchu braves went along the line and shot arrows into their victims. If the wound was not instantly mortal the victim was compelled to pluck out the arrow with his own hands and give it back to his executioner.
Meanwhile Korea was going from bad to worse. For many years all official positions had been sold to the highest bidder. Governors and generals paid 30,000 cash, prefects 20,000 and clerks paid 3,000. No office could be procured without an immediate cash payment. The price put upon the office of Prime Minister was so great that for many years no one could afford to take it, and so the place remained vacant, perhaps to the benefit of the people. The king was ruled by a favorite concubine and she made use of her power to enrich her relatives and those attached to her. She and other concubines sent men to the country to peddle offices. Half the money they kept themselves and the other half went to the pockets of the concubines. Such was the desperate condition of affairs when the year 1622 came in; and we must now record the downfall of this wretched[wretched] parody of a king.
A man by the name of Yi Kwi had desired for a long time to find some way of ridding the land of the desperate tyrant, and at last he found five men who were willing to engage with him in the good cause. They were Sim Kyöng-jin, Sim Keui-wŭn, Kim Cha-jŭm, Ch‘oe Myŭng-gil, Kim Nyu. After thinking the matter over and discussing it, they decided that if their plan succeeded they would put on the throne the grandson of Sŭn-jo Tă-wang. Kim Nyu was made the leader in this plot. Collecting money they fitted out a small but select body of soldiers and put Gen. Yi Heung-ip at their head, and the day for the event was set. But one of the men connected with the plot turned traitor and told the king the whole plan. The conspirators learned of it immediately and decided to carry out their program in spite of all. As it happened, the king was in a drunken carouse at the time this interesting bit of information was given him and he forgot all about it. That very night the band of conspirators met at the appointed rendezvous beyond the Peking Pass. But there was trouble, because some soldiers who were expected from Chang-dan had not yet arrived; so a swift messenger was sent to find them. They were met twenty li out and hurried forward. Yi Kwal, with several other generals, went to meet these troops beyond the pass and lead them into the city. They found several hundred soldiers ready for the enterprise; but a man named Chang Yu came in haste from the city and said, “The king has been told. The government troops are coming out to seize us.” Yi Kwi seized Yi Kwal by the hand and said, “Kim Nyu who was to lead us has not arrived and you must be our leader.” So he consented. He gave each soldier a piece of paper to fasten to the back of his collar so that they would be able to recognize each other and not be thrown into confusion. At the last moment Kim Nyu arrived and then there was a quarrel between him and Yi Kwal as to the leadership; but as day was about to dawn they let Kim Nyu take charge.
Having heard that the government troops were coming out of the West Gate they hastened around the mountain and entered the Northwest Gate. When the government troops learned by the great noise and tumult in the city that they had been outwitted, they returned only to find the insurrectionary troops before the palace. They had cut their way through the gates with axes and were setting fire to everything inside. As they entered the king’s apartments he slipped out the back door and scaling the back wall found refuge in a monk’s room. From that place he made his way to the house of one An Kuk-sin where he secured a suit of mourner’s clothes and then went to the house of a physician, Chöng Nam-su. This man however informed the new government as to his whereabouts and he was seized. This occurred in the year 1622.
Prince Neung-yang, the nephew of the deposed king, was elevated to the royal position and crowds of people came and bowed to him as he sat in state before the palace. His posthumous title is In-jo Tă-wang.
His first act was to send a chair to bring back the queen dowager, from the Myŭng-ye Palace; but she, thinking that it might perhaps be a trick on the part of the wicked king, refused to go. She said, “The king himself must come and take me out.” So he came and showed her that the good news was indeed true. She sat on the throne just as she had done in the days of King Sŭn-jo, and when the new king came in he prostrated himself before her and wept; but she said, “Do not weep; this is a day of deliverance, and you should rather rejoice.” Then they brought in the depraved and fallen creature who had tried to play at king but had made a lamentable failure. The queen dowager exclaimed, “This arch-traitor and bloody man has come, and he must be judged here and now or I cannot leave this place. For ten years I have been imprisoned here. Day before yesterday I dreamed that the aged king Sŭn-jo came and said, ‘In a few days you will be delivered.’” The eunuchs brought the royal seals and the insignia of royalty and gave them to the newly appointed king. He banished the deposed king to Kang-wha and his son to Kyo-dong Island. He then gave posthumous honors to Princes Im-hă, Neung-chang, Yŭn-heung, Pu-wön and Yöng-ch‘ang whom the tyrant had caused to be murdered. He also called the queen dowager’s mother from exile on the island of Quelpart.