On the morning of the twenty-fifth the Manchus sounded a parley at the West Gate and three of the officials accompanied them to the camp of the enemy. There they were told, “The Emperor is very angry because you do not surrender, and has ordered the destruction of the kingdom. He is to leave tomorrow and then you will have no opportunity to surrender, though you should wish.” The bombardment was renewed and many breaches were made in the wall and many of the garrison were killed, but the survivors quickly piled bags of sand in the breaches and poured water over them. This instantly froze and made a good substitute for a wall. But the soldiers were discouraged and came to the king in crowds demanding that the men whom the Manchus had called for be sent. It was evident that something must be done at once, and Hong Sö-bong undertook another visit to the enemy’s camp, where he said, “Tomorrow the Crown Prince and the other men that you have demanded will come out to you.” But they answered, “We do no want to see the Crown Prince, but the king himself.” To emphasize this, letters were shown proving that Kang-wha had fallen into Manchu hands, and a letter was delivered to them from one of the captive princes to the king. They were likewise told, “The Crown Prince and one of his brothers must go to Manchuria as hostages. The king must understand that there is nothing to fear in coming out. The kingdom will in that way be preserved.” So they took the prince’s letter and wended their way back to the fortress. When the letter was opened and read a great cry of sorrow arose from the whole court. Someone suggested that the Manchus were trying to deceive them, but the king answered, “No, this is my son’s own hand,” and he added, “As Kang-wha is taken of course the ancestral tablets have been destroyed. There is then no longer any need to delay our surrender.” As a preliminary to that final act the king ordered that all documents in which the Manchus were spoken of slightingly be collected and burned. The next day a letter from the king was taken to the Manchu headquarters, wherein he said, “As the emperor is about to return to the north, I must see him before he goes. If not, harm will result. If evil befalls me in this step it were better that I take a sword and end my life here. I pray you make some way whereby I can surrender without endangering my kingdom.” The messenger explained that the king feared that the Manchu soldiers might fall upon him when he came down from the fortress. The Manchu general answered, “Wait till you get orders from me; then come down.” Kim Sang-hön could not endure the thought of surrender and so attempted to take his own life by hanging, but someone cut him down. Chöng On likewise after an apostrophe to his “frosty sword” plunged it into his bowels, but the wound did not prove fatal and the king had him well cared for.