Manchu camps.... the garrison of Nam-han.... a trick.... divided counsels.... the king determines to fight it out.... Koreans eager to fight.... the garrison put on half rations.... terrible cold.... message to the provinces.... successful sallies.... the king’s kindness.... the Manchu fence.... the gift refused.... help from the outside....unsuccessfulunsuccessful venture.... plenty and want.... imperial edict.... the answer.... a night attack.... relief party defeated.... other attempts to relieve the king.... a cowardly general.... a clever trick.... Korean defeat.... mutual recriminations.... a ghastly trick.... desperate straits.... correspondence.... a starving garrison.... a heroic answer.... king wants to surrender.... Manchu demands.... fighting continued.

The Manchu army encamped along the southern side of the city from Mo-wha-gwan to the South Gate and outside the East Gate, and the air resounded with the sound of music and drums. At first the soldiers committed no excesses beyond the theft of a few cattle and an occasional woman, but now that it was learned that the king had run away to Nam-han the license became unbounded and men and women were killed in large numbers. The royal treasure houses were looted and nothing was too sacred to be dragged about the streets. That same night a band of the Manchus completely encircled Nam-han, which must be well-nigh ten miles around.

The king set a strong guard all about the wall, appointing Gen. Sin KyÖng-jin to guard the East Gate, Gen. Ku Kweng the South Gate, Gen. Yi SÖ the North Gate and Gen. Yi Si-bak the West Gate. Generals Wun Tu-p‘yo, Ku In-hu, Han Whe-il and Pak Whan went all about the wall with strong bodies of troops, to prevent the entrance of any scaling party. The whole number of troops in the fortress was about 12,000. Gen. Nam An-gap held the important position of Commissariat Chief. The king’s retinue and court consisted of 200 officials, 200 of his relatives, 100 clerks, and 300 servants of different degrees. All these received their salary in rice. Officials of the first and second grades were allowed to have three servants and two horses, those of the third, fourth and fifth grades could have two servants and one horse, while those below these could have but one servant and one horse, The commander-in-chief was Gen. Kim Nyu. His advice to the king was to send the crown prince and the prime minister at once and make the best terms possible. It was decided to deceive the enemy if possible, so Neung Pong-su, a distant relative of the king, assumed the name of the king’s younger brother, and Sim Chip assumed the role of crown prince. Together they sallied out to try their hand on the Manchus. When they came before Mabuda, that hardheaded warrior looked them over, turned them inside out and sent them back to the king with the curt reply that, “As you have been trying to play a trick on us we will now consent to treat with no one whatever except the crown prince himself. If you will send him we will talk with you.” This they demanded in spite of the statements of the messengers that the crown prince was still in mourning for his mother.

When this ultimatum was delivered to the king there was a division of opinion. Gen. Kim Nyu and several others averred that there was nothing to do but comply with the demands But the king said, “I will die first.” Kim Sang-hÖn took the other side and said, “Whoever talks of surrendering so tamely is a traitor.” On the seventeenth the king sent Hong SÖ-bong to the Manchu camp and said, “I am willing to send my second or third son to you but they are all in Kang-wha.” They answered as before, “We will see no one but the crown prince.” When the crown prince expressed his willingness to go, a courtier said, “We have a good strong garrison and shall we tamely surrender and send our future king into the clutches of these highwaymen? If he goes I shall strangle myself with my own bridle.” Another said, “Let us fight them. We are men, not straw manikins.” So the king made up his mind that it would be war and not surrender and he so proclaimed, “We shall fight to the bitter end. Let no one expect or hope for peace.” He then despatched a letter to Kim Cha-jum in P’yung-yang, saying “We are hemmed in here and our forces are small and food scarce, but we have determined to fight it out even though it ends the dynasty. So hasten and come to our aid with all the forces at your command.” The next day the guard of the North Gate made a successful sally, returning with six Manchu heads. This excited the soldiers almost to frenzy, and they were eager to rush out and engage the besiegers. Unfortunately all the rice that had been stored at the river for the provisioningprovisioning of Nam-han had been seized by the Manchus, but the arms and ammunition were safe within the walls. The king took advantage of the elation of the soldiers over this successful sally to make them a little speech, in which he remarked, “Shall we surrender or fight? It is for you to say.” Sim Kwang-su answered grimly for them all and said “Show us the head of the man who advised to surrender.” This referred to Gen. Ch’oe Myung-gil, but the rest did not dare to second the request. From that time the walls were guarded with renewed vigilance. Day after day the smoke of the Manchu camps went up to heaven round about the beleaguredbeleagured fortress. On the nineteenth the king sacrificed at the tomb of On-jo, the founder of the ancient kingdom of Pak-je of which Nam-han was for many years the capital. On the same day Gen. Ku Kweng made a sally from the West Gate and took twenty Manchu heads. This again excited the garrison almost beyond control. The following day a renegade Korean who had gone over to the Manchus came near the gate and parleyed with the guard, urging that the king surrender and make peace; but when the king heard of it he ordered that if the man came again he should not be met at the gate but that the guard should only talk down at him from the top of the wall.

The matter of provisions was one of prime importance, and the king called the chief of commissariat and asked him how many days’ rations there were remaining in the store-houses. He replied that there were enough provisions to last sixty days, but that if great economy were exercised it might last seventy days. He said the horses could have but one measure of beans a day and the servants must get along as best they could, on barley and oats. Someone suggested that as there were a large number of people present who held no important position, the king ought not to feel obliged to support them, but the king vetoed this by saying, “They came here trusting in me and now shall I deprive them of food? No, we will all eat or go hungry together.” The weather was very cold and the men exposed upon the wall suffered severely. Their cheeks, being frost-bitten, cracked open in a very painful manner. In view of this the king ordered that night guards be dispensed with and that no old or feeble men should be put on picket duty in these exposed positions.

The king again sent out a letter to the governors of the different provinces saying, “We are here hemmed in; our life hangs by a thread. Let all loyal men rally to our support, and march against the besieging force.” To Kim Cha-jum he wrote, “For seven days we have now been immured and we have come to the brink of destruction. Come immediately to our aid.”

On the twenty-first there were two simultaneous sallies, from the East and West Gates respectively, and each resulted in the securing of a few trophies. For the encouragement of the soldiers Kim Sin-guk suggested that a schedule of rates be issued offering prizes for Manchu heads. The king’s intention not to surrender was still unshaken, for when a courtier memorialized him urging surrender he burned the document in anger. On the twenty-second a Manchu messenger rode up to the gate and asked if the king were ready to surrender yet. The answer came in the shape of fierce sallies on the South and East sides in which forty heads were taken and in which Gen. Yi Chi-wun, with an iron club, killed two mounted generals. The soldiers were so elated by these successes, which of course could make no difference in the strength of the besieging force, that on the following day they made simultaneous attacks on several sides, in each of which the Koreans had some advantage. The Koreans lost but twenty men while the Manchu loss was much greater. As the Manchus carried their dead from the field, however, the exact amount of their loss is not known. The king celebrated the victory by making a circuit of the wall. The next day was wet and foggy and the cold was even harder to endure than when the weather was clear. Both the king and the crown prince came out in the rain to encourage the soldiers and they and many of the officials gave mats and blankets and the mud-guards of their saddles to help the soldiers to keep dry. The inmates of Han-heung Monastery, inside the fortress, presented the king with forty quires of paper, and several bags of vegetables, but the king distributed them all among the soldiers. Other monks presented three large bowls of honey, for which the king thanked them and gave presents in return.

On the twenty-fifth the Manchus completed a wattle fence completely encircling the fortress. It was thirty miles long and twice the height of a man. Some idea can be formed of the numbers in the Manchu army when we know that this was completed in seven days. Every eighty paces a bell was attached in such a way that if anyone attempted to break through, warning would be given to the sentinels.

There were those outside who sincerely desired to give succor to the king and the court. Gen. Kwun ChÖng-gil, of Wun-ju, gathered a small force and camped on Kum-dan mountain in plain sight of Nam-han, and the king was greatly encouraged, hoping that the Koreans were rallying to his support. When this loyal band attacked the Manchus they were immediately overwhelmed and cut to pieces.

The Manchus caught every Korean they could lay hands on. The more vigorous of these they forced into their ranks, the old men were made hewers of wood and drawers of water, the young women were made concubines and the older women were compelled to cook and wash.

On the twenty-eighth the king sent a present of a bullock and ten bottles of wine to the Manchu headquarters, but received the reply, “Heaven has given us all Korea and we have no need of these things. Take them back to your starving soldiers.”

ChÖng Se-gyu, the governor of Ch’ung-ch’ung Province, was consumed with grief on hearing that the king was reduced to two side-dishes with his rice; so he gave a monk two pheasants and told him to effect an entrance in some way or other and give them to the king. The governor himself came with a handful of men to Ma-heui-ch’un, only forty li from the beleaguered fortress, and there he was attacked in the rear by the enemy. His whole force was annihilated, though he himself escaped by leaping into a deep gorge, intending to commit suicide. But the fall was not fatal. Nam Yang, also, the prefect of Yun-gye, wanted to do what he could, and when he learned of the distress of the king, he arose even on his wedding night and started for the seat of war. His little force was surrounded and he was ordered to surrender, and then it was that he made that memorable reply, “You can conquer my neck but never my knees.” His tongue was cut out and his body was dismembered.

Gen. Kim Nyu had the idea that the Manchu force was weakest on the south and that if a sudden, determined attack were made the line might be broken through. So on the twenty-ninth he called all the generals and gave his orders. They all disagreed with him and considered the project hopeless, but would not show insubordination. A considerable body, therefore, emerged from the South Gate, hastened down the valley against the surrounding line of besiegersbesiegers. These men had no faith in the plan, however, and were prevented from turning back only by the sword of Gen. Kim Nyu which he used on a few as a warning to the rest. Gen. Sin said, “This is actual suicide. Let me take my company and go out here and show you at the cost of my life that this cannot be done.” He pushed rapidly forward and was soon surrounded by the Manchus who had lain concealed in a bend of the hills, and he and his men were all cut down. When the ammunition of his men was gone they clubbed their muskets and fought to the bitter end. Two hundred Koreans fell in this rash adventure and Gen. Kim returned crest-fallen and ashamed. Having no excuse, he tried to lay the blame on others, claiming that they did not support him properly. He also told the king that only forty men had been killed.

Sim Keui-wun who had been left as guardian of Seoul sent a letter to the king saying that he had made a fierce attack on the Manchus encamped at A-o-ga outside the West Gate, but the king afterwards learned that this was false, and that Sim had fled incontinently from before the face of the foe.

When the last day of the year 1636 arrived it found the relative position of the Koreans and Manchus as follows: The Manchu camps were filled with plunder and with women which the soldiers had captured; but what of the children? These the soldiery did not want, and so they were killed and their bodies thrown outside the camps. There they lay in piles and a pestilence was prevented only by the intense cold of winter. In Nam-han the greatest distress prevailed. The provisions had not held out as had been hoped. Food was all but exhausted and horses and cattle were dying of starvation. The king slept in his ordinary clothes, for he had given all his blankets to the soldiers. All he had to eat with his rice was the leg or wing of a chicken. On that last day of the year some magpies gathered and began building a nest in a tree near the king’s quarters. This was hailed as a hopeful omen. It shows to what straits the garrison was reduced that it should have pinned its faith to this childish superstition. It was the sole subject of conversation for some time, but it did the caged Korean king no good.

The next day was new years day of 1637 and the king sent Kim Sin-guk and Yi Kyung-jik to the Manchu camp to offer the compliments of the season. They were there informed that the emperor’s son had arrived and had inspected the army and the forts. Consequently on the following day Hong SÖ-bong, Kim Sin-guk and Yi Kyung-jik hastened to his headquarters and were met, not by the emperor’s son but by a general who said, “You have called us slaves and thieves but our course has been straight and consistent throughout.” He then laid before them an edict of the emperor written on yellow paper, and they were ordered to bow before it. Its contents were as follows:

“The great, the good, the wise, the kind Emperor to the king of Korea. As you preferred allegiance to the Ming Emperor rather than to us and, not content with throwing us over, despised and insulted us, you now have an opportunity to see the fruits of your choice. Of a truth you acted wickedly in breaking your oath, in throwing off the Manchu yoke and in offering us armed opposition. I have now brought an immense army and have surrounded your eight provinces. How can you longer hope to render assistance to your “father,” the Ming Emperor? The Mings are now hung up by the heels, as it were.”

On the next day the king sent his answer couched in the following terms: “The great, the glorious, the righteous Emperor. The little country has indeed sinned against the great one and has drawn upon herself this trouble which lies hard by the door of destruction. We have long wanted to write thus but we have been so surrounded and hemmed in that it seemed well-nigh impossible to get a letter through the lines; but now that the Emperor’s son himself has come, we rejoice, and yet we tremble. The Ming Emperor is no longer our suzerain. In this we have completely reformed. The people on the border have acted badly in ill-treating the Manchu envoys. We are truly on the brink of destruction and we confess all our sin. It is for us to confess and for the Emperor to forgive. From this day forth we wash from our mind all other thought of allegiance and enter upon a new line of conduct. If the Emperor will not forgive, we can only bow the head and die.”

When this abject document was read before the court, before sending it, some thought it too humble, but the leaders said it was the only course left; so it was forwarded to the Manchu camp. Answer was returned that the Emperor’s son had not yet arrived but that when he came he would reply. Strange to say no truce was made and the Manchu soldiers, fearing perhaps that a truce might rob them of the pleasure of scaling those walls that had defied them so long, approached the wall that very night and with scaling ladders a considerable number effected an entrance. But they had underestimated the determination and courage of the defenders, and those who got in were quickly dispersed by Gen. Yi Si-bak. Many Manchus fell in this desperate assault. Almost at the same hour a similar attack was made on the south side but there also the Manchus were check-mated by the watchful guard.

And now a diversion occurred. Generals Ho Wan and Min YÖng from the provinces approached with a force of 40,000 men and seriously threatened the Manchu flank. They were stationed on two opposite hills with a line of sharpshooters between. In the fight which ensued the Koreans held their ground gallantly and at first even made the invaders retreat; but this exhausted their ammunition and when the enemy reformed his lines and came on again to the attack there was nothing to do but retreat. The retreat became a rout and large numbers of Koreans were cut down, including Gen. Ho Wan. The other part of the army under Gen. Min YÖng held out a little longer but an unfortunate accident occurred which threw his troops into confusion. A large quantity of powder which was being paid out to the soldiers suddenly exploded killing a large number of men and depriving the rest of means for continuing the fight. So they met the same fate as the others. Those that the Manchus killed they stripped and burned but many fugitives likewise died of exposure and fatigue.

Gen. Sim Yun had been fortifying Cho-ryung (Pass) but when he heard of the rout of the 40,000 men he took fright and retreated precipitately, telling all he met that there was no use in attempting to do anything. Gen. Kim Chun-yong, however, had more perseverance and came and encamped twenty miles from Nam-han, occupying a position that was specially annoying to the enemy. A fight was the result, in which the Koreans were at first successful, but during the night the Manchus were reinforced and cannon were brought to bear upon the Koreans. All the next day the Koreans fought desperately. Night put an end to the battle and the Koreans finding that all their ammunition was gone, silently separated, burning all bridges as they went.

The admiral of Chul-la Province desired to render aid to the king and so getting together a little fleet of boats he came north to Kang-wha and joined the royal forces there. The governor of Kang-wun Province excused himself from taking active part in the relief of Nam-han on the score of scarcity of food. For this he was afterward banished.

Singular events were happening in the north where Gen. Yang Keun lay with a considerable force a short distance north of Seoul. He was however a coward and dared not move hand or foot. Two other generals felt that they might get into trouble if they did do not something, and they had the happy thought that they ought to report to their superior, Gen. Yang Keun, for they knew he would do nothing, and thus they would be safe, for their responsibility would cease. So they went to him and urged him to advance against the Manchus. But he declined to do so, and even gave them a written statement to that effect. Armed with that they felt quite safe. So there they lay a month till they heard at last of the fall of Nam-han.

Of another stamp was Gen. Yu Rim. He was on the road between Seoul and P’yung-yang and, being attacked by the Manchus, he and his little band defended themselves with such good effect that the Manchu camp resounded all night with wailings for their dead. The Koreans, finding that their ammunition was almost exhausted, then planned an ingenious retreat. Loading their muskets they tied them to trees, attached fuses of different lengths and then silently retreated. The guns kept going off all night and so the enemy knew nothing of the retreat until it was discovered in the morning.

Another effort that was made about this time was that of Generals Kim Cha-jum and Yok-dal who had a following of some 7,000 men. Starting from the north they came down to the vicinity of Song-do. Unfortunately they had no scouts out and suddenly falling in with a Manchu force in the narrow passage a few miles beyond Song-do, they were thrown into a panic and it is said that 5,000 men were killed, though it seems almost incredible that only 2,000 men survived out of 7,000. Gen. Kim escaped by scaling the steep mountain side but his second was caught and bound. The two thousand survivors rallied and attacked the Manchus with such fury that they were forced back and the captured general was rescued. Gen. Kim Cha-jum then made his way to where Gen. Yang Keun was idling away his time, and together they awaited the surrender of the king. We may anticipate a few months and say that after peace was made these two generals were banished to distant places for their criminal cowardice.

Gen. Sin KyÖng-wan, stationed at Ong-jin in Whang-ha Province, was surrounded by the enemy, but the place was so difficult of approach, owing to the roughness of the ground, that they could not reduce it; so, hoping to draw out the garrison they feigned retreat. Gen. Sin was not to be caught thus, and sent out one of his lieutenants to reconnoitre. That man happened to be just recovering from a wound, and so he did not go far, but spent the night in a neighboring inn. He came back in the morning and reported the enemy gone. Gen. Sin then led out his troops to take them to the vicinity of Seoul; but the Manchus, who were lying concealed in the vicinity, rushed out upon him and captured him. He was released only after peace had been declared.

At Nam-han a severe mental struggle was going on. They well knew that surrender and humiliation were inevitable but their pride revolted at the thought, and each tried to throw the blame on the other. This may be illustrated by a single case which will show how mutual recriminations were being made in the very presence of the siege-weary king. Yu Pak-jeung memorialized the king in these words: “Gen. Kim Nyu who holds the rank of General-in-chief is a man of no military skill, a man of jealous, vindictive temperament and his house is full of bribes. When the king came to Nam-han it was almost without retinue, but he, forsooth, must bring sixty horsemen at his back. And the females of his household came in litters. He it was who urged the king to give up the crown prince to the tender mercies of the Manchu wolves. He it was who compassed the humiliation of the king by advising him to send that self-effacing letter which, though so humble, was rejected. This is all the work of Kim Nyu.” Here as elsewhere we see that personal spite has alwaysalways been the rock on which the interests of Korea have been wrecked.

The emperor knew that he had the king secure, and he determined to delay the ratification of a treaty until his captive was reduced to the last crust, in order to brand upon the memory of all Koreans the indubitable fact of their vassalage and to teach them a lesson that they should never forget. And so the days slipped by.

On the sixth of the moon Korean messengers succeeded in getting through the Manchu lines and brought the king letters from his two sons on the island of Kang-wha, but the Manchus were aware of this and redoubled their diligence in guarding the approaches, and so the king was completely cut off from the outside. A few days later a costly joke was played by the Korean Gen. Kim On-yun. He led a small party outside the West Gate and soon returned with two heads. The king praised him and gave him presents of silk. The heads were raised on pikes, but behold, no blood came from them. A soldier in the ranks cried out, “Why is my brother killed twice?” The truth is that the General had beheaded two corpses of Koreans whereby to obtain praise and favor from the king. The king replaced the heads by those of the general and his second.

On the twelfth the king’s emissaries went into the Manchu camp bearing a letter from the king. They were told that a great Manchu general was about to arrive and that they must come again the next day. The people in Nam-han were in desperate straits. All who had advocated continued resistance now urged surrender, excepting Kim Sang-hÖn and Chong On, who said, “Not till every soldier is dead, and all the common people as well, will it be time to think of giving in.”

The next day the messengers presented themselves in the Manchu camp as ordered. The general who received them said, “You broke your former treaty with us. Are you prepared to keep it if we make another?” The messengers beat upon their breasts and cried, “It was our fault and not the fault of the king. We are willing to prove this with our lives.” “But why do you not come out and fight?” “We are an insignificant power and how can we hope to cope with you?” was the humble reply. The Manchu then broke the seal of the king’s letter and read, “When we signed the former treaty you were the elder brother and we the younger brother. When a younger brother does wrong it is for the older brother to correct him, but if it is done too severely a principle of righteousnessrighteousness is broken, and the Supreme Being will be offended. We are dwellers in a corner of the sea. We know nothing but books. We are no warriors. We are weak and must bow before superior force. So we accept the clemency of the Manchus, and we are now vassals and you are our suzerain. When the Japanese invaded our land and we were on the verge of destruction, China sent her hosts and saved us. Our gratitude to them lives in the very fiber of our bones. Even at the risk of incurring your anger we could not bear to cast them off. If now the Manchu power shows us kindness and goes back across the Yalu, our gratitude toward them will be the same. We have been a long time imprisoned here and we are tired and cramped. If you consent to overlook our faults we will engage to treat the Manchu power rightly. These sentiments are engraved on our very hearts and we surrender ourselvesourselves to the clemency of the Manchu emperor.”

Food was now practically gone. The officials themselves were put on half rations and even the king’s daily supply was diminished by one third. At the very most there was enough to last but twenty days more. At this time the Manchus burned the buildings in connection with the royal tombs outside the east Gate, and also those near Nam-han. The smoke of the burning went up to heaven. These acts of vandalism must have been a bitter drop in the cup that was being put to the king’s lips. On the sixteenth Hong SÖ-bong again went to the Manchu camp and asked why no answer was sent. The truth is that the Manchus had determined to first send and reduce the Island of Kang-wha. They answered, “Gen. Kong Yu-duk has gone with 70,000 men to take Kang-wha. We must wait till he returns.” The next day they sent the king an insulting letter saying, “Why do you not come out and fight? We thought we would get at least a little fight out of you. Have not your soldiers learned to load and fire? China is your good friend; why does she not send and help you? Now you are starving and yet you have the impudence to talk about righteousness. Heaven helps the good and punishes the evil. Those who trust us we aid, those who oppose we decapitate. As we have become your enemies you see us here in force. If you will come back to your allegiance we will treat you as a brother. If you wish to live, come out and surrender; if you will come out and fight so much the better. Heaven will decide between us.” This received from the Koreans, starving though they were, the following memorable reply, “We will die and rot here in our fortress before we will surrender thus. Then there will be no one to answer your insulting summons.”

On the eighteenth a Manchu general came near the South Gate and demanded that the king should come out and surrender or else come out and fight. The king thereupon sent a letter to the Manchu headquarters saying that he wanted to come out and surrender but that he did not dare to do so while the Manchu soldiers were prowling about the wall. As the king handed this letter to the messenger Kim Sang-hÖn snatched it from the messenger’s hand and tore it in fragments saying, “How can you bear to send such a letter. Heaven will still favor us if we are patient, but if we send this we are truly undone.” Then followed a scene in which the courtiers almost came to blows. Ch’oe Myung-gil took the fragments of the letter and pasted them together and the next day in company with another general took it to the Manchus. They were met with the gruff reply, “We do not want your letters. We want your king to come out and surrender.” That night the Manchus scaled the wall on the east side and a great panic followed, but Gen. Yi Keui-ch’uk, with a body of picked men succeeded in driving back the enemy. On the twentieth an answer was received from the emperor who said, “The reason why we demand that you come out and surrender is that we may have a visible proof of your sincerity. If we depart now leaving you still king of Korea all will be well. Why should I deceive you since I am conquering the whole world besides? Need I use guile? I desire to punish only those who advised you to cleave to China and prove untrue to us. Before surrendering you must send those men bound to me. I shall kill them but the rest of you will be safe. One thing is certain. I will read no more of your letters.” When the king saw this he cried, “I cannot send those men bound to him.” In spite of the ominous closing words of the emperor’s letter the king again wrote saying, “Korea to the worshipful, glorious, puissant, merciful emperor, greeting. We are narrow and provincial people and very deficient in manners but the contrast between our present mental attitude and that of a few months ago is surprising. Among our councillors some argued one way and some argued another but now starvation has brought us all to the same point and we know that we must become subjects of the Manchu power. But since the days of Silla there has never been seen such a thing as a king going out from his fortress to surrender. We cannot do it in that way. If you insist upon it you will soon have nothing left but a fortress full of dead. I have signified my willingness to surrender but if I should go out to you the people would never again recognize me as king and anarchy will result. I long ago banished the men who opposed the making of peace with the Manchus, so I cannot send them to you, but the emperor must now be gracious and forgive our mistake.” When the Manchu general was about to send this scornfully back Yi Hong-ju told him that it was written by the officials and that nothing more was possible; and that if anyone suggested to the king the advisability of coming out it would mean instant death. But the Manchu drove them away in a rage. One official named ChÖng On violently opposed all these attempts at securing a cessation of hostilities and said it would be better to sit there and rot than to surrender. He urged that the fighting be continued.