We have already seen that factious fights had been a great cause of weakness all through the years of the invasion, and from this time on party strife was destined to grow more and more fierce and determined until it brought the country to the very verge of anarchy a century later. We must note here briefly the changes which had taken place in the parties. We will remember that at first there were two parties, the Tong-in and the Sŭ-in. During the war the court favorite was Yu Sŭng-nyŭng who gave office to so many men from Kyŭng-sang Province that the name of Nam-in or “South Men” sprang up and a party by that name quickly became organized, but their opponents in order to preserve the political equilibrium instantly seized upon the name Puk-in or “North Men.” At the close of the war the leader of the opposition, namely of the Puk-in, memorialized the king against Yu Sŭng-nyŭng the favorite, charging him with having desired to make peace with the Japanese, contrary to the honor of the country. The king listened to this and banished Yu, but his supporters turned the tables by a counter-memorial in which the charges were more than answered and Yu was restored to all his honors. With the rise of the Nam-in and Puk-in parties the old party lines of the Tong-in and Sŭ-in had not been broken up or lost. During the latter years of the invasion the Nam-in party lost its powerful grip and the Puk-in were often in power, but from the end of the invasion until far into the following reign the Tong-in held the power, and after that for a period of fifty years the Sŭ-in had control of affairs. It may be asked what principles underlay these parties, what settled policies they had that differentiated them either in domestic or foreign matters. We answer that the various parties had but one plank in their platforms, one settled plan of action, and that was to get the ear of the king and seize upon the office-making power and put in every position one’s own partisans. It was the spoils system sublimated, for there was absolutely no admixture of any other element.