The History of Korea (vol. 1 of 2)Hulbert, Homer B. (Homer Bezaleel)
History
The History of Korea (vol. 1 of 2)
Hulbert, Homer B. (Homer Bezaleel)
Korea -- History
The siege of Kang-dong was prosecuted vigorously and soon the greatest
distress prevailed within the walls. The leader finally gave up hope and
hanged himself, and the 50,000 men came out and surrendered. Gen. T‘ap
reviewed them, took off the heads of a hundred of the leaders and
released the remainder. The Mongol leader wished to make a visit to
Song-do to see the king but he could not leave his army, so he sent an
envoy instead. He gave the Koryŭ generals rich presents and released 700
Koryŭ captives that had been previously taken. Many Kitan captives were
put into the hands of the Koryŭ generals as a result of the decisive
termination of the war against Kitan and many of the heretofore
inaccessible parts of the north were opened up, and they were called the
“Kitan District.”
Ere long the Mongol envoy approached Song-do and the king sent out a
messenger to meet him, but this did not satisfy him, for he exclaimed
“Why did not the king come out to meet me?” It took some persuasion to
induce him not to turn back. When he had audience with the king he wore
the heavy fur clothing of his native country with a fur head-dress, and
carried a sword and a bow. Approaching the king he seized his hand and
showed him the letter from the Mongol emperor, Genghis Khan. The king
turned pale and was exceedingly embarrassed at this familiarity, and the
officials asked each other how the presence of this barbarian could be
endured. They induced him to retire and assume Koryŭ garments, after
which he reappeared and the king presented him with gifts of gold,
silver, silk and linen.
Gen. Cho Ch‘ung accompanied the retiring Mongol and Yŭ-jin allies as far
as the Yalu where they bade him an affectionate adieu and declared that
he was a man of whom Koryŭ should be proud. The Mongol general, Hap
Chin, left forty men at Eui-ju to learn the Koryŭ language and told them
to stay there till he returned. Gen. Cho then returned to P‘yŭng-yang
where he was lionized and fêted. The old man Ch‘oe Chung-heun feared
that Gen. Cho would attempt to throw him down from his high position and
thought it would be better to have him near by, where he could watch
him; so he forged a letter purporting to be from the king, ordering him
to come down to the capital. He obeyed.
It seemed at this time that the relations of Koryŭ and the Mongols would
remain friendly, but if Koryŭ thought this she was destined to be rudely
awakened. The Mongol and Yŭ-jin allies sent to Myŭng-sŭng and said
“Koryŭ must send an envoy and do obeisance each year.” This was said in
so offensive a way that it seemed to be an attempt to provoke war. We
are not told what answer was given but it sufficed for the time to
secure peace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account