The king returns to Seoul.... military reforms.... message from China.... Manchu familiarities.... conspiracies frustrated.... Manchu complaints.... pacified.... Japanese offers.... a naval station.... a lawless Chinaman.... beheaded.... factional fights.... courier system.... a disloyal Chinaman.... envoy to China meets Roman Catholics.... quarrel with the Manchus.... tribute.... Chinese renegades.... two great Manchu generals.... a stirring memorial.... a frightened envoy.... war inevitable.... omen.... Emperor congratulates the king.... divided counsels.... fatal mistake.... panic in Seoul.... the king takes refuge in Nam-han.

On the tenth of the fourth moon the king started back towards Seoul, which he entered two days later. He was now fully awake to the need of a well drilled army, and he set to work in earnest drilling one. He stationed a general at Kang-wha permanently and instituted the custom of requiring military duty of every citizen under forty years of age and over fifteen. Some were sent to Seoul to drill for three years. The first year was spent in learning the methods of guarding gates and walls, the second in musket practice, and the third in swordsmanship and archery. When they had been thoroughlythoroughly drilled they were sent to the country to drill the militia. In this way an available force of 700,000 men is said to have been trained. If this is the estimate of the number of able-bodied men between fifteen and forty it gives a valuable clue to the entire population of the country at the time. At this time the custom was revived of having the men stand in squads of ten, five in front and five behind. When the front rank had discharged their pieces they fell back and the rear line stepped forward and discharged theirs, while the others reloaded. A Chinese envoy was sent from Nanking with a message to the king but refused to come further than Ka-do Island, from which place he forwarded his message, which ran, “How does it happen that you have made peace with the Manchus?” The king made reply, “The Manchus overwhelmed us with their vast numbers and it meant either a treaty or our extinction. We had no time to send and explain matters to the Emperor.” The Emperor sent a reply to this saying, “I have received your reply and I am truly sorry for you. You are in no wise to blame. Now hoard your wealth and by-and-bye you and I will rise and strike these Manchus to the earth.”

It will be remembered that the king had sent one of his relatives as hostage to the Manchus, but now, according to the stipulations of the treaty, he came back, escorted by the Manchu general Yu Ha. The king sent high officials to meet them outside the South Gate, but this did not satisfy the Manchu, who was angry that the king did not come in person. So the king had to go out and meet them and give a feast to the returning party. When Gen. Yu Ha met the king he wanted to kiss him, saying that it was a custom by which he showed friendship and a demonstration that the oath still held firm between them; but the king refused the osculatory salute and so the general compromised by patting him on the back.

Late in this year two dangerous conspiracies were made against the government. The first was by Yi In-jo a former official living in Kang-wun Province. He had a goodly following among the people and made bold to liberate all the criminals. After looting several towns he went into camp on a mountain top. The government troops, however, surrounded him and finally captured him and sent him up to the capital where he was beheaded together with his two sons. The other attempt was of a different nature. Yu Hyo-rip, an exile in Che-ch‘un, a relative of the deposed king’s wife, decided to work up an insurrection. He sent his son up to Seoul in disguise to make arrangements with a disloyal eunuch. Soldiers also came disguised as merchants, but all armed to the teeth. The palace was to be seized on the fourth day of the new year. As fortune would have it. Hu Chuk, a relative of one of the conspirators, learned of the plot in time, but only just in time, to inform the Prime Minister. So when the attack was made the whole party was seized and with them Yu Hyo-rip himself, who had come up to Seoul in woman’s clothes and in a woman’s chair. Being questioned about the affair he testified that he was not the prime mover in the matter but that he had been set on by the queen dowager, who wanted to put the king’s uncle on the throne. That aged and respectable woman indignantly denied any knowledge of the plot and as proof of her innocence she urged that the said uncle be put to death. All united in this request and it was finally granted, though against the better instincts of the king who believed him innocent. We shall see later that the king was right.

The Manchus were still fretful. A letter came post haste from the north saying, “We have now sent back many captives and you agreed to pay for the rest, but when they got across the border and were lost to us we never saw the money. Not a year has passed since the treaty was ratified and yet you break it with impunity. When the Chinese acted thus we retaliated by seizing twenty-four of their districts. Now you must send those men straight back to us.” Among all the courtiers there was but one dissenting voice, that of Chang Yu, who said, “The government is for the people and if it gives up any of the people thus, from that hour it ceases to be a government. Sooner should we let the Manchus destroy the government outright than comply with such a demand.” This carried the day, and an envoy was sent north bearing a present of a magnificent sword, 300 pounds of ginseng, seventy sable skins, but only five of the men demanded. The Manchus were highly pleased and forgave all that had been done to displease them. The Japanese hearing of this again sent an envoy saying, “Those Manchus are a bold lot. They have made a treaty with you but they do not treat you well. Just say the word and we will come and whip them for you.” This frightened the king and he wanted to forward the message to the Manchus but Kim Sin-guk said, “If you do that you will get the Manchus and the Japanese to fighting each other on Korean soil and we will be the little fish between two whales.” This argument carried the day.

In the year 1629 the king established a naval station on Kyo-dong Island and placed there an admiral to guard that island and Kang-wha from attack from the seaward side. This was with the expectation that the court might again find it necessary to seek asylum on the island of Kang-wha.

A Chinese general. Mo Mun-nyung, had been stationed by the Emperor on Ka-do Island near the mouth of the Yalu, to withstand the Manchus, but this man was not loyal to China, and had a leaning himself toward the Manchus. He could see that the Manchus were destined to become masters of the situation. He was very angry when Korea made a treaty with the Manchus for he feared that they would try to hurt his reputation with them. When the Manchus attacked the Chinese in the neighboring mainland of Liao-tung he never raised a hand in their defense, though it isis said, perhaps wrongly, that he had an army of 300,000 (!) men. On the other hand he vented his spite against Korea by harrying her northern shores and killing many captives on their way home from the Manchu territory. The Emperor tried to call him to account for this but received no reply. Meanwhile this Gen. Mo Mun-nyung styled himself “Son of Heaven beyond the Sea.” As he thus showed his hand, the question as to his disloyalty was settled, and Gen. Wun Sung-han came from China to call him to account, a thing he had not foreseen. When Gen. Wun approached and called on him to come and report to him, he dared not refuse, fearing that the troops under him would not be willing to attack their fellow-countrymen under Gen. Wun. As may be surmised he lost his head as soon as he arrived in the camp of the latter.

In spite of her military activity Korea was anything but strong. The two leading parties, the Noron and Soron were quarrelling like cats and dogs together. There was one constant succession of banishments and recalls, as one party or another obtained temporary control of the government. There was no sort of harmony or unanimity in the discharge of the public business and it had to look out for itself, while those who should have been attending to it were wrangling. There was a high honorary title called Chul-lang, and the leading men quarrelled so much over it that the king was at last compelled to abolish it altogether. And yet in the midst of this strife the king found opportunity to establish the Mu-hak, a body of 200 men to act as swift couriers. It is said they could cover 300 li a day, or 100 miles.

The Manchu Gen. Yu Ha, of whom we have spoken, was originally a Chinaman living in Liao-tung, but had gone over to the Manchus. The Emperor was furious at this and offered a reward of 1,000 ounces of silver and high position to anyone who should apprehend him. For a time he went under an assumed name, but finally with his three brothers he came to Gen. Mo Mun-nyung whom he knew to be secretly disloyal to China. When Gen. Mo had been executed Gen. Yu came of course under the jurisdiction of Gen. Wun. Shortly after this Gen. Yu was killed in a battle but his three brothers decided to rise up against the loyal Chinaman. In the midst of the funeral obsequies of their brother they rose and killed Gen. Chin who had been left in charge of the Chinese forces, and they tried to kill the Koreans as well, but in this they were unsuccessful and shortly afterward were driven out by the Korean forces. When the Emperor heard of this he was highly pleased and praised the Koreans.

The Manchus naturally considered this occupation of Ka-do as a menace to them and they sent a force of 20,000 men to attack the Chinese, at the same time demanding boats of the Koreans whereby to transport their troops. This was not granted, but the Koreans, in order to avoid the effects of a too evident leaning towards the Chinese, gave the Manchus 200 bags of rice. But the Chinese did not wait for the Manchus to cross to the island. They crossed to the mainland and attacked the Manchus unexpectedly, killing 400 and putting the rest to flight.

During this year, 1631, an envoy to China, Chong Tu-wun, while in Nanking, fell in with an aged Roman Catholic priest named Jean Niouk, who engaged the attention of the envoy because of his venerable and almost saint-like appearance. This man was one of the companions of the celebrated P. Ricci. From him the envoy received some volumes on science, a pair of pistols, a telescope and some other articles. The mention of a cannon in the native records is probably a mistake of some copyist who wrote the word cannon in place of pistol.

The king was told by his officials that the Manchus were sure to invade Korea again before long and so the island of Kang-wha was well provisioned and arms were prepared. He was urged to form a junction with the Chinese on Ka-do Island and make an attack on the Manchus. The fortresses of Ch’ul-san and Un-san in P‘yung-an Province were built at this time and every effort was made to put the country in a state of defense against the northern hordes. A fortress was also built near Eui-ju, which was the equivalent of a declaration of war against the Manchus. The result was soon apparent. A Manchu envoy made his appearance bearing a missive which said, “Korea has seen fit to break her treaty with us and she is no longer to be called ‘younger brother,’ but a vassal state. She shall pay us annually a tribute of 10,000 ounces of gold, 10,000 ounces of silver, 10,000,000 pieces of linen.” The king replied that he had no gold but that he would give some tiger skins. These the envoy scornfully refused and returned to the north. The king was somewhat disturbed by this and ordered an envoy to go to Manchuria with gifts, but they were all returned untouched. At this the king was furious and ordered an envoy to go and say that Korea would never again send tribute nor make peace with the Manchus. Kim Si-yang expostulated with the king and told him that such a message would be suicidal, but he was banished on the spot. It is probable the message never reached the Manchu camp, for we learn that with the opening of new year the king had comecome to his senses and sent tribute to the north to the extent of 800 pieces of silk, 800 pieces of linen, 800 pieces of grass cloth, 800 pieces of cotton, 60 tiger skins, 300 sea-otter skins and 800 quires of heavy paper.

The Korean territory became the asylum for several renegade Chinese generals who demanded sustenance, and what between these and the Manchus it became well-nigh impossible to keep on good terms either with the Emperor or with the Manchus. The latter were continually ravaging the northern border and were, apparently losing all their former feeling of friendship. This cannot be wondered at, for the king was openly siding with the Chinese.

In the spring of 1636 the king ordered a remeasurement of all the arable land in the three southern provinces. It seems that the people were thriving and the margin of cultivation was broadening so that a remeasurement became necessary for a re-estimate of the revenue. At the same time he despatcheddespatched two envoys to the Manchu court at Mukden. The Manchus had just begun to style their empire the Ch’ing or “clear.” And now for the first time we meet the names of the two great Manchu generals who were destined to play such a prominent part in the invasion of Korea. They were called Yonggolda and Mabuda. These two men came to the Yalu River and received the king’s missive addressed to the son of the Ch’ing Emperor. The two envoys were brought into the Manchu Emperor’s presence, where they were ordered to bow, but refused. They were forced to a stooping position, but resisted, whereupon they were stripped, beaten and driven away.

The Manchus were now fully determined to invade Korea and bring her to her knees once more. In preparation for this the two generals above named were sent to Seoul as envoys, but in reality to spy out the land and learn the roads.roads. The officials almost with one voice urged the king to burn the letters brought by these envoys and to kill the men themselves. To show the extent of the infatuation of the Koreans it is necessary to subjoin a memorial which was presented the king at this time. It said “Since I was born I have never heard of two emperors. How can these wild savages claim imperial power? Once before a rebel (referring to Kang Hong-rip) came with these robbers and the king was compelled to flee to Kang-wha. If at that time we had only cut off the traitor’s head it would have been to our honor and it would have shone like the sun and moon. These Manchu robbers are wolves and tigers. How can we think of casting off our allegiance to China? All our troubles have arisen because we did not kill Gen. Kang. This news about the Manchus rends my heart, for, though we live in a distant corner of the world, we have manners. From King T’a-jo’s time till now we have been loyal to the Ming power. Now that the northern savages are growing strong and we, through fear, are compelled to follow them, we may for a time escape harm, but in the end the world will scorn us. It was a mistake for the government to give those envoys a polite reception, and now the officials sit still while the king is being insulted by outsiders. Our situation is not only dangerous, it is pitiable. Here we sit and do nothing to prevent the enemy entering our territory. I see what the Manchus want. They know we are weak, and they want to hold us in their hand and make a boast of us. If they want to play at empire why do they not do it among themselves and not come to us with it? They do it so as to be able to say that they have Korea in their train. Now let us be men and cut off these envoys’ heads and put them in a box along with their insulting letter and send the whole back to their so-called emperor. If the king does not like my advice let him cut off my head and send it. I cannot live to see and hear the insults of these savages. The people of the northernnorthern provinces grind their teeth at them and swear that they cannot live with them. Today must decide the continued existence or the destruction of this kingdom. The king should send out a proclamation far and wide for the people to flock to the support of the royal banners. Then would we all rejoice to die, if need be, for our country.” This speech is probably an exact expression of the feeling of the vast majority of the officials and people at that time, but most of them had the good sense to keep still, for such talk was sure to bring swift retribution. It is evident the king thought so, for he answered this warm appeal by saying, “You have spoken very well but it is a little prematurepremature for us to go to cutting off the heads of envoys from a neighboring power; we will consider the matter however.”

The Manchu envoys had with them some Mongol soldiers to prove to the Koreans that the Mongols had actually surrendered to the Manchu power. The envoys asked that these be treated well, but the king had them treated as slaves. The object of the embassy was nominally to attend the funeral of the king’s grandmother, but the king deceived them by sending them to an enclosure in the place where a screen was closely drawn around. The envoys supposed this was the obsequies and began their genuflections, but a violent gust of wind blew the screens over and they saw that they had been duped. They immediately were seized with fear lest they be foully dealt with and rushing out they mounted their steeds and fled by way of the South Gate. The boys pelted them with stones as they passed. The people knew that this was a serious matter and messenger after messenger was sent after the fleeing envoys pleading with them to come back, but of course without avail.

The Prime Minister told the king that war was now inevitable and that it was necessary to call the people to arms at once. The king consented and the proclamation went forth saying. “Ten years ago we made a treaty with these Manchus, but their nature is so bad and they are so insulting that we never before were so ashamed. From the king, down to the lowest subject all must unite in wiping out this disgrace.disgrace. They now claim to be an empire and that we are their vassal. Such insolence cannot be borne. It may mean the overthrow of our kingdom but we could do no less than drive the envoys away. All the people saw them go. Of course it means immediate war and all the people must now come up to their responsibilities and swear to be avenged on the Manchus even at the cost of life itself.”

The Manchu envoys delayed on Korean soil long enough to secure a copy of the proclamation and, armed with this, they crossed the border and made their way to the Manchu headquarters.

In Seoul there were various counsels. One side argued that the palace at Kang-wha should be burned so that the king’s mind might not turn toward that as an asylum. Others said that the king should go to P‘yung-yang and lead the army in person. We are told that there were many omens of impending danger at this time. They are of course fictitious, but they show the bent of the Korean mind. They say that at one place large stones moved from place to place of their own accord. In another place ducks fought on the water and killed each other. In another place a great flock of storks congregated in one place and made a “camp.” Outside the South Gate there was a great fight among the frogs. In the south, toads came out and hopped about in mid-winter. A pond in the palace became red like blood. In summer the river rose so high that it lapped the foundations of the East Gate. At twenty-seven different places in Seoul the land rose and fell. Such are some of the popular superstitionssuperstitions.

The Chinese general in charge of troops on Ka-do Island sent word to the Emperor that Korea had broken with the Manchus, whereupon the Emperor sent a letter congratulating the king and praising his boldness. The Chinese envoy further said, “I came to bring the letter of praise from the Emperor but at the same time he recognises the great danger in which you are and he grants permission for you to conclude a peace with them if you so wish.” But the king had decided on the arbitrament of war and this pointed hint was not taken.

The king had now collected an army in P’yung-yang and he gave each soldier a present of cotton cloth. The whole number of the army is not given, but we are told that there were 10,234 skillful archers and 700 musketeers. It seems that the review did not satisfy all, for one of the leading officials said, “If we take this final step and go to war we shall all perish, so it might be well to send an envoy and try to patch up matters with them.” To this another replied hotly, “All the people are bent on war and are determined to rid themselves of these savages. You are a traitor to your country to talk of sending an envoy. You are insulting the king. You are over-riding the will of the great majority.” But the other answered calmly, “We have no army that can stand before them an hour and some fine morning we shall all he found dead in bed. There is no place to take the ancestral tablets, so my advice is to send generals to P’yung-yang and have soldiers well drilled, and at the same time send an envoy to the Manchus to see how they talk. It may be that things may be so arranged that we can go along quietly as before. At any rate it will give us time to prepare. If worse comes to worst and we have to defend the Yalu we will do our best, but it is evident that if they once cross we will necessarily become supplicants.” This was too good logic to be withstood and yet it was worse than nothing, for it was either just too strong or just too weak, and it threw the whole court into a fatal uncertainty.

In the tenth moon the Manchu general Mabuda, appeared on the west bank of the Yalu and sent word to the prefect of Eui-ju saying. “On the twenty-sixth of the next moon our armies are to move on Korea, but if within that time you send an envoy we will desist, even though it be at the last moment.” Gen. Kim Nyu told the king this and urged that the envoy be sent, but only an interpreter was sent with a letter to the Manchu chief. When the Manchus saw this man they said “Go back and tell the king that if he does not send his son and the Prime Minister and another high official to perform the treaty ceremony before the twenty fifth of the next moon, our armies will instantly be put in motion.” Yonggolda brought out the copy of the proclamation he had brought with him from Korea and said, “Look at this. It cannot be said that it was we who broke the treaty first.” A letter was given the messenger for the king in which was written, “They say you are building many forts. Is it to block my way to your capital? They say you are building a palace on Kang-wha to find refuge in. When I have taken your eight provinces will Kang-wha be of any use to you? Can your councillors overcome me with a writing-brush?”

When this ominous letter reached Seoul the king and the highest of the officials wanted to make terms with the Manchus at once, but they were opposed stoutly by the whole mass of the lesser officials. At last however a man was dispatched to convey the acceptance by Korea of the Manchu terms; but the fatal day had passed, and when the messenger met the Manchus advancing upon Eui-ju, he was seized. As war was now beyond peradventure Generals Kim Nyu and Kim Cha-jum advised that the prefectural towns along the route that the Manchus would come be moved back from the main road. This was ordered and the prefectures of Eui-ju, P’yung-yang and Whang-ju were moved from ten to a hundred li back. All the towns along the way were deserted by their inhabitants.

Gen. Kim Cha-jum forced the people at the point of the sword to rebuild the fortress at ChÖng-bang Mountain, but he did not attempt to guard the Yalu, for he was possessed by the the infatuation that the Manchus would not come after all. There was a line of fire-signal mountains from Eui-ju all the way to Seoul but he ordered the fires to be lighted only as far as his quarters, in case of war, as it would cause great consternation in the capital. His criminal incredulity and carelessness were so great that when in the twelfth moon the double fires gleamed forth along the line from the north telling of the approach of an invading army, he still averred that it was nothing more nor less than the envoy heralding his return. He sent no messages nor warnings to Seoul. He sent a messenger north to discover where the Manchus were. This man came running back and announced that the north was full of them. Still the general would not believe it and wanted to kill the man for deceiving him. The report was however confirmed by so many eye-witnesses that he was at last compelled to believe it and sent word to Seoul that the Manchus had come. On the twelfth a letter from the prefect of Eui-ju announced in Seoul that the Manchus had crossed the river 140,000 strong. The next day a letter from the tardy Kim announced that the Manchus had already traversed the province of P‘yung-an. This news was like a thunder-bolt from a clear sky to the people of the capital. They were thrown into a panic and are described as having resembled boiling water. The roads were choked with fugitives from the city. The king said, “Liberate all the captives and prisoners and grant an amnesty to all who have been banished.” All prefects who had not gone to their posts were sent forthwith. The king desired to start at once for Kang-wha, and he appointed Kim Kyung-jeung to have military control there with Yi Min-gu as second. An aged Minister Yun Pang together with Kim Sang-yong took the ancestral tablets and went ahead to that island. Then followed the Queen and the Princes, Finally the king appointed Sin Keui-wun to guard the capital.

On the fourteenth the Manchu army entered Whang-ha Province and almost immediately the news came that they had arrived at Chang-dan only 120 li from Seoul. There they caught the prefect, cut off his hair, dressed him in Manchu clothes and forced him to act as guide. At noon the next day the king and the Crown Prince passed out the South Gate on their way to Kang-wha, when suddenly messengers came hurrying up saying that the Manchu horsemen had already arrived at Yang-wha-jin on the river and that the road to Kang-wha was consequently blocked. The king and his immediate followers went up into the pavilion above the gate and conferred together. The native chronicler says that “their faces were white and their voices were like the croaking of country frogs.” And well they might be. Chi YÖ-ha said, “They have come down from the border in five days and must be very tired. I will take 500 men and go out and hold them in check until the king can get to Kang-wha.” But Ch’oe Myung-gil said, “We must decide immediately, for the enemy is at our very doors. We cannot fight them, but I will go out the gate and parley with them and meantime the king can escape to Nam-han.” To this the king eagerly assented and Ch’oe took ten cattle and ten tubs of wine and went out to meet the enemy. All the gates on the south side of Seoul were closed and the king and his suite started for the East Gate. The crown prince’s groom ran away and the prince was compelled to hold the bridle himself. The people crowded around the royal party so closely that it was almost impossible to move, but finally the gate was passed and the party hurried forward. At seven o’clock that night the royal cavalcade entered the welcome gate of Nam-han. So rapid had been the pace that only six men in the king’s retinue remained until they arrived at their destination. The rest arrived some time before midnight. They all urged the king to start at day light and reach Kang-wha by a circuitous route. This was determined upon, but a storm of sleet and rain came on, which rendered the roads so slippery that the king was compelled to dismount and walk. It soon became evident that this would not do. The king was very cold and the progress was hopelessly slow. So they placed him in a litter hastily extemporised and brought him back to the fortress. It turned out that this was fortunate, for the Manchus had guarded every approach to Kang-wha so carefullycarefully that the king never would have been able to get through. Gen. Ch’oe, who had gone to parley with the enemy, went beyond the Peking Pass and met Gen. Mabuda and said, “We made a treaty with you some time since, but now you come down upon us with this great array. How is this?” The Manchu answered. “It is not we who have broken the treaty but you, and we have come to learn from the king the reason of it.” Gen. Ch’oe replied, “Well, you cannot see him. He has gone to the fortress of Nam-han.”

Together they entered Seoul and there the Manchu general had Gen. Ch’oe send a letter to the king as follows, “The Manchu general has come to make a treaty with us, but he says we are all afraid of him and that even the king has fled. He says that if the king wants to make peace he must send his son and the prime minister together with the man who advised the king to break the treaty. They demand an immediate answer.” That night no answer came and Mabuda charged Gen. Ch’oe with having deceived him and wanted to kill him on the spot, but the rest dissuaded him saying “Let us go to Nam-han ourselves.” They made Gen. Ch’oe act as guide and soon they stood before that renowned fortress. Gen. Ch’oe went ahead and entered alone. The king seized his hand and said, “You are come to save us.” But the general said “The Manchu general was exceedingly angry because you did not answer my letter last night, so he has now come with a third of his whole force. In order to pacify him we cannot but comply with his three conditions.” The king replied, “You are deceived by him. Do you think he has come all this way to be satisfied so easily as that?”