Koryŭ was now whirling in the outer circles of the maelstrom that was destined to engulf her. So long as the king revelled and hunted only and did not interfere with outside affairs he was endured as an necessary evil but now in the opening of the year 1388 he determined upon an invasion of Liao-tung, a plan so utterly foolhardy as to become the laughing-stock of reasonable men. It was an insane idea. The constant inroads of the Japanese demanded the presence of all the government troops, for the sending of any of them out of the country would be the signal for the Japanese to pour in afresh and with impunity. In the second place the king could not hope to cope with the great Ming power that had just arisen and was now in the first blush of its power. The kingdom of Koryŭ was essentially bound to the Mongols and she pursued her destiny to the bitter end. In the third place the Ming power had now obtained a firm foothold in Liao-tung and an invasion there would look much like a plan to finally attack that empire itself. In the fourth place the finances of the country were utterly disorganised and the unusual taxes that would be required to carry out the plan would take away all popular enthusiasm for it and desertions would decimate the army. But in spite of all these drawbacks the stubborn king held to his point and as a preliminary measure built a wall about Han-yang where he sent all the women and children for safety. By this act he acknowledged the extreme hazard of the venture. It is not unlikely that he was so tired of all other forms of amusement that he decided to plunge into war in order to make sport for himself. The emperor seems to have been aware of the plan for he now sent an envoy to announce to the Koryŭ court that “All land north of Ch‘ŭl-lyŭng belongs to the Mongols, and I am about to erect a palisade fence between you and them.” When this envoy arrived at Song-do the king feigned illness and would not see him. A letter was sent in reply saying “We own beyond the Ch‘ŭl-lyŭng as far as Sang-sŭng, so we trust it will please you not to erect a barrier there.” He then called in all the troops from the provinces in preparation for the invasion. His ostensible reason was a great hunting expedition in P‘yŭng-an Province for he knew the people would rise in revolt if they knew the real purpose. The Japanese were wasting the south, the people were fainting under new exactions to cover the expense of the repairs at Han-yang and it is said the very planting of crops was dispensed with, so disheartened were the people.