The next day was new years day of 1637 and the king sent Kim Sin-guk and Yi Kyŭng-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 Kyŭng-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.”