The king returns to Seoul.... military reforms.... message from
China.... Manchu familiarities.... conspiracies frustrated....
Manchu complaints.... pacified.... Japanese offers.... a naval
station.... a lawless Chinaman.... beheaded.... factional fights....
courier system.... a disloyal Chinaman.... envoy to China meets
Roman Catholics.... quarrel with the Manchus.... tribute.... Chinese
renegades.... two great Manchu generals.... a stirring memorial....
a frightened envoy.... war inevitable.... omen.... Emperor
congratulates the king.... divided counsels.... fatal mistake....
panic in Seoul.... the king takes refuge in Nam-han.
On the tenth of the fourth moon the king started back towards Seoul,
which he entered two days later. He was now fully awake to the need of a
well drilled army, and he set to work in earnest drilling one. He
stationed a general at Kang-wha permanently and instituted the custom of
requiring military duty of every citizen under forty years of age and
over fifteen. Some were sent to Seoul to drill for three years. The
first year was spent in learning the methods of guarding gates and
walls, the second in musket practice, and the third in swordsmanship and
archery. When they had been thoroughly drilled they were sent to the
country to drill the militia. In this way an available force of 700,000
men is said to have been trained. If this is the estimate of the number
of able-bodied men between fifteen and forty it gives a valuable clue to
the entire population of the country at the time. At this time the
custom was revived of having the men stand in squads of ten, five in
front and five behind. When the front rank had discharged their pieces
they fell back and the rear line stepped forward and discharged theirs,
while the others reloaded. A Chinese envoy was sent from Nanking with a
message to the king but refused to come further than Ka-do Island, from
which place he forwarded his message, which ran, “How does it happen
that you have made peace with the Manchus?” The king made reply, “The
Manchus overwhelmed us with their vast numbers and it meant either a
treaty or our extinction. We had no time to send and explain matters to
the Emperor.” The Emperor sent a reply to this saying, “I have received
your reply and I am truly sorry for you. You are in no wise to blame.
Now hoard your wealth and by-and-bye you and I will rise and strike
these Manchus to the earth.”
It will be remembered that the king had sent one of his relatives as
hostage to the Manchus, but now, according to the stipulations of the
treaty, he came back, escorted by the Manchu general Yu Hă. The king
sent high officials to meet them outside the South Gate, but this did
not satisfy the Manchu, who was angry that the king did not come in
person. So the king had to go out and meet them and give a feast to the
returning party. When Gen. Yu Hă met the king he wanted to kiss him,
saying that it was a custom by which he showed friendship and a
demonstration that the oath still held firm between them; but the king
refused the osculatory salute and so the general compromised by patting
him on the back.
Late in this year two dangerous conspiracies were made against the
government. The first was by Yi In-jo a former official living in
Kang-wŭn Province. He had a goodly following among the people and made
bold to liberate all the criminals. After looting several towns he went
into camp on a mountain top. The government troops, however, surrounded
him and finally captured him and sent him up to the capital where he was
beheaded together with his two sons. The other attempt was of a
different nature. Yu Hyo-rip, an exile in Che-ch‘ŭn, a relative of the
deposed king’s wife, decided to work up an insurrection. He sent his son
up to Seoul in disguise to make arrangements with a disloyal eunuch.
Soldiers also came disguised as merchants, but all armed to the teeth.
The palace was to be seized on the fourth day of the new year. As
fortune would have it. Hŭ Chŭk, a relative of one of the conspirators,
learned of the plot in time, but only just in time, to inform the Prime
Minister. So when the attack was made the whole party was seized and
with them Yu Hyo-rip himself, who had come up to Seoul in woman’s
clothes and in a woman’s chair. Being questioned about the affair he
testified that he was not the prime mover in the matter but that he had
been set on by the queen dowager, who wanted to put the king’s uncle on
the throne. That aged and respectable woman indignantly denied any
knowledge of the plot and as proof of her innocence she urged that the
said uncle be put to death. All united in this request and it was
finally granted, though against the better instincts of the king who
believed him innocent. We shall see later that the king was right.
The Manchus were still fretful. A letter came post haste from the north
saying, “We have now sent back many captives and you agreed to pay for
the rest, but when they got across the border and were lost to us we
never saw the money. Not a year has passed since the treaty was ratified
and yet you break it with impunity. When the Chinese acted thus we
retaliated by seizing twenty-four of their districts. Now you must send
those men straight back to us.” Among all the courtiers there was but
one dissenting voice, that of Chang Yu, who said, “The government is for
the people and if it gives up any of the people thus, from that hour it
ceases to be a government. Sooner should we let the Manchus destroy the
government outright than comply with such a demand.” This carried the
day, and an envoy was sent north bearing a present of a magnificent
sword, 300 pounds of ginseng, seventy sable skins, but only five of the
men demanded. The Manchus were highly pleased and forgave all that had
been done to displease them. The Japanese hearing of this again sent an
envoy saying, “Those Manchus are a bold lot. They have made a treaty
with you but they do not treat you well. Just say the word and we will
come and whip them for you.” This frightened the king and he wanted to
forward the message to the Manchus but Kim Sin-guk said, “If you do that
you will get the Manchus and the Japanese to fighting each other on
Korean soil and we will be the little fish between two whales.” This
argument carried the day.
In the year 1629 the king established a naval station on Kyo-dong Island
and placed there an admiral to guard that island and Kang-wha from
attack from the seaward side. This was with the expectation that the
court might again find it necessary to seek asylum on the island of
Kang-wha.
A Chinese general. Mo Mun-nyŭng, had been stationed by the Emperor on
Ka-do Island near the mouth of the Yalu, to withstand the Manchus, but
this man was not loyal to China, and had a leaning himself toward the
Manchus. He could see that the Manchus were destined to become masters
of the situation. He was very angry when Korea made a treaty with the
Manchus for he feared that they would try to hurt his reputation with
them. When the Manchus attacked the Chinese in the neighboring mainland
of Liao-tung he never raised a hand in their defense, though it is said,
perhaps wrongly, that he had an army of 300,000 (!) men. On the other
hand he vented his spite against Korea by harrying her northern shores
and killing many captives on their way home from the Manchu territory.
The Emperor tried to call him to account for this but received no reply.
Meanwhile this Gen. Mo Mun-nyŭng styled himself “Son of Heaven beyond
the Sea.” As he thus showed his hand, the question as to his disloyalty
was settled, and Gen. Wŭn Sung-han came from China to call him to
account, a thing he had not foreseen. When Gen. Wŭn approached and
called on him to come and report to him, he dared not refuse, fearing
that the troops under him would not be willing to attack their
fellow-countrymen under Gen. Wŭn. As may be surmised he lost his head as
soon as he arrived in the camp of the latter.
In spite of her military activity Korea was anything but strong. The two
leading parties, the _Noron_ and _Soron_ were quarrelling like cats and
dogs together. There was one constant succession of banishments and
recalls, as one party or another obtained temporary control of the
government. There was no sort of harmony or unanimity in the discharge
of the public business and it had to look out for itself, while those
who should have been attending to it were wrangling. There was a high
honorary title called Chŭl-lang, and the leading men quarrelled so much
over it that the king was at last compelled to abolish it altogether.
And yet in the midst of this strife the king found opportunity to
establish the Mu-hak, a body of 200 men to act as swift couriers. It is
said they could cover 300 _li_ a day, or 100 miles.
The Manchu Gen. Yu Hă, of whom we have spoken, was originally a Chinaman
living in Liao-tung, but had gone over to the Manchus. The Emperor was
furious at this and offered a reward of 1,000 ounces of silver and high
position to anyone who should apprehend him. For a time he went under an
assumed name, but finally with his three brothers he came to Gen. Mo
Mun-nyŭng whom he knew to be secretly disloyal to China. When Gen. Mo
had been executed Gen. Yu came of course under the jurisdiction of Gen.
Wŭn. Shortly after this Gen. Yu was killed in a battle but his three
brothers decided to rise up against the loyal Chinaman. In the midst of
the funeral obsequies of their brother they rose and killed Gen. Chin
who had been left in charge of the Chinese forces, and they tried to
kill the Koreans as well, but in this they were unsuccessful and shortly
afterward were driven out by the Korean forces. When the Emperor heard
of this he was highly pleased and praised the Koreans.
The Manchus naturally considered this occupation of Ka-do as a menace to
them and they sent a force of 20,000 men to attack the Chinese, at the
same time demanding boats of the Koreans whereby to transport their
troops. This was not granted, but the Koreans, in order to avoid the
effects of a too evident leaning towards the Chinese, gave the Manchus
200 bags of rice. But the Chinese did not wait for the Manchus to cross
to the island. They crossed to the mainland and attacked the Manchus
unexpectedly, killing 400 and putting the rest to flight.
During this year, 1631, an envoy to China, Chong Tu-wŭn, while in
Nanking, fell in with an aged Roman Catholic priest named Jean Niouk,
who engaged the attention of the envoy because of his venerable and
almost saint-like appearance. This man was one of the companions of the
celebrated P. Ricci. From him the envoy received some volumes on
science, a pair of pistols, a telescope and some other articles. The
mention of a cannon in the native records is probably a mistake of some
copyist who wrote the word cannon in place of pistol.
The king was told by his officials that the Manchus were sure to invade
Korea again before long and so the island of Kang-wha was well
provisioned and arms were prepared. He was urged to form a junction with
the Chinese on Ka-do Island and make an attack on the Manchus. The
fortresses of Ch’ŭl-san and Un-san in P‘yŭng-an Province were built at
this time and every effort was made to put the country in a state of
defense against the northern hordes. A fortress was also built near
Eui-ju, which was the equivalent of a declaration of war against the
Manchus. The result was soon apparent. A Manchu envoy made his
appearance bearing a missive which said, “Korea has seen fit to break
her treaty with us and she is no longer to be called ‘younger brother,’
but a vassal state. She shall pay us annually a tribute of 10,000 ounces
of gold, 10,000 ounces of silver, 10,000,000 pieces of linen.” The king
replied that he had no gold but that he would give some tiger skins.
These the envoy scornfully refused and returned to the north. The king
was somewhat disturbed by this and ordered an envoy to go to Manchuria
with gifts, but they were all returned untouched. At this the king was
furious and ordered an envoy to go and say that Korea would never again
send tribute nor make peace with the Manchus. Kim Si-yang expostulated
with the king and told him that such a message would be suicidal, but he
was banished on the spot. It is probable the message never reached the
Manchu camp, for we learn that with the opening of new year the king had
come to his senses and sent tribute to the north to the extent of 800
pieces of silk, 800 pieces of linen, 800 pieces of grass cloth, 800
pieces of cotton, 60 tiger skins, 300 sea-otter skins and 800 quires of
heavy paper.
The Korean territory became the asylum for several renegade Chinese
generals who demanded sustenance, and what between these and the Manchus
it became well-nigh impossible to keep on good terms either with the
Emperor or with the Manchus. The latter were continually ravaging the
northern border and were, apparently losing all their former feeling of
friendship. This cannot be wondered at, for the king was openly siding
with the Chinese.
In the spring of 1636 the king ordered a remeasurement of all the arable
land in the three southern provinces. It seems that the people were
thriving and the margin of cultivation was broadening so that a
remeasurement became necessary for a re-estimate of the revenue. At the
same time he despatched two envoys to the Manchu court at Mukden. The
Manchus had just begun to style their empire the Ch’ing or “clear.” And
now for the first time we meet the names of the two great Manchu
generals who were destined to play such a prominent part in the invasion
of Korea. They were called Yonggoldă and Mabudă. These two men came to
the Yalu River and received the king’s missive addressed to the son of
the Ch’ing Emperor. The two envoys were brought into the Manchu
Emperor’s presence, where they were ordered to bow, but refused. They
were forced to a stooping position, but resisted, whereupon they were
stripped, beaten and driven away.
The Manchus were now fully determined to invade Korea and bring her to
her knees once more. In preparation for this the two generals above
named were sent to Seoul as envoys, but in reality to spy out the land
and learn the roads. The officials almost with one voice urged the king
to burn the letters brought by these envoys and to kill the men
themselves. To show the extent of the infatuation of the Koreans it is
necessary to subjoin a memorial which was presented the king at this
time. It said “Since I was born I have never heard of two emperors. How
can these wild savages claim imperial power? Once before a rebel
(referring to Kang Hong-rip) came with these robbers and the king was
compelled to flee to Kang-wha. If at that time we had only cut off the
traitor’s head it would have been to our honor and it would have shone
like the sun and moon. These Manchu robbers are wolves and tigers. How
can we think of casting off our allegiance to China? All our troubles
have arisen because we did not kill Gen. Kang. This news about the
Manchus rends my heart, for, though we live in a distant corner of the
world, we have manners. From King T’ă-jo’s time till now we have been
loyal to the Ming power. Now that the northern savages are growing
strong and we, through fear, are compelled to follow them, we may for a
time escape harm, but in the end the world will scorn us. It was a
mistake for the government to give those envoys a polite reception, and
now the officials sit still while the king is being insulted by
outsiders. Our situation is not only dangerous, it is pitiable. Here we
sit and do nothing to prevent the enemy entering our territory. I see
what the Manchus want. They know we are weak, and they want to hold us
in their hand and make a boast of us. If they want to play at empire why
do they not do it among themselves and not come to us with it? They do
it so as to be able to say that they have Korea in their train. Now let
us be men and cut off these envoys’ heads and put them in a box along
with their insulting letter and send the whole back to their so-called
emperor. If the king does not like my advice let him cut off my head and
send it. I cannot live to see and hear the insults of these savages. The
people of the northern provinces grind their teeth at them and swear
that they cannot live with them. Today must decide the continued
existence or the destruction of this kingdom. The king should send out a
proclamation far and wide for the people to flock to the support of the
royal banners. Then would we all rejoice to die, if need be, for our
country.” This speech is probably an exact expression of the feeling of
the vast majority of the officials and people at that time, but most of
them had the good sense to keep still, for such talk was sure to bring
swift retribution. It is evident the king thought so, for he answered
this warm appeal by saying, “You have spoken very well but it is a
little premature for us to go to cutting off the heads of envoys from a
neighboring power; we will consider the matter however.”
The Manchu envoys had with them some Mongol soldiers to prove to the
Koreans that the Mongols had actually surrendered to the Manchu power.
The envoys asked that these be treated well, but the king had them
treated as slaves. The object of the embassy was nominally to attend the
funeral of the king’s grandmother, but the king deceived them by sending
them to an enclosure in the place where a screen was closely drawn
around. The envoys supposed this was the obsequies and began their
genuflections, but a violent gust of wind blew the screens over and they
saw that they had been duped. They immediately were seized with fear
lest they be foully dealt with and rushing out they mounted their steeds
and fled by way of the South Gate. The boys pelted them with stones as
they passed. The people knew that this was a serious matter and
messenger after messenger was sent after the fleeing envoys pleading
with them to come back, but of course without avail.
The Prime Minister told the king that war was now inevitable and that it
was necessary to call the people to arms at once. The king consented and
the proclamation went forth saying. “Ten years ago we made a treaty with
these Manchus, but their nature is so bad and they are so insulting that
we never before were so ashamed. From the king, down to the lowest
subject all must unite in wiping out this disgrace. They now claim to be
an empire and that we are their vassal. Such insolence cannot be borne.
It may mean the overthrow of our kingdom but we could do no less than
drive the envoys away. All the people saw them go. Of course it means
immediate war and all the people must now come up to their
responsibilities and swear to be avenged on the Manchus even at the cost
of life itself.”
The Manchu envoys delayed on Korean soil long enough to secure a copy of
the proclamation and, armed with this, they crossed the border and made
their way to the Manchu headquarters.
In Seoul there were various counsels. One side argued that the palace at
Kang-wha should be burned so that the king’s mind might not turn toward
that as an asylum. Others said that the king should go to P‘yung-yang
and lead the army in person. We are told that there were many omens of
impending danger at this time. They are of course fictitious, but they
show the bent of the Korean mind. They say that at one place large
stones moved from place to place of their own accord. In another place
ducks fought on the water and killed each other. In another place a
great flock of storks congregated in one place and made a “camp.”
Outside the South Gate there was a great fight among the frogs. In the
south, toads came out and hopped about in mid-winter. A pond in the
palace became red like blood. In summer the river rose so high that it
lapped the foundations of the East Gate. At twenty-seven different
places in Seoul the land rose and fell. Such are some of the popular
superstitions.
The Chinese general in charge of troops on Ka-do Island sent word to the
Emperor that Korea had broken with the Manchus, whereupon the Emperor
sent a letter congratulating the king and praising his boldness. The
Chinese envoy further said, “I came to bring the letter of praise from
the Emperor but at the same time he recognises the great danger in which
you are and he grants permission for you to conclude a peace with them
if you so wish.” But the king had decided on the arbitrament of war and
this pointed hint was not taken.
The king had now collected an army in P’yŭng-yang and he gave each
soldier a present of cotton cloth. The whole number of the army is not
given, but we are told that there were 10,234 skillful archers and 700
musketeers. It seems that the review did not satisfy all, for one of the
leading officials said, “If we take this final step and go to war we
shall all perish, so it might be well to send an envoy and try to patch
up matters with them.” To this another replied hotly, “All the people
are bent on war and are determined to rid themselves of these savages.
You are a traitor to your country to talk of sending an envoy. You are
insulting the king. You are over-riding the will of the great majority.”
But the other answered calmly, “We have no army that can stand before
them an hour and some fine morning we shall all he found dead in bed.
There is no place to take the ancestral tablets, so my advice is to send
generals to P’yŭng-yang and have soldiers well drilled, and at the same
time send an envoy to the Manchus to see how they talk. It may be that
things may be so arranged that we can go along quietly as before. At any
rate it will give us time to prepare. If worse comes to worst and we
have to defend the Yalu we will do our best, but it is evident that if
they once cross we will necessarily become supplicants.” This was too
good logic to be withstood and yet it was worse than nothing, for it was
either just too strong or just too weak, and it threw the whole court
into a fatal uncertainty.
In the tenth moon the Manchu general Mabudă, appeared on the west bank
of the Yalu and sent word to the prefect of Eui-ju saying. “On the
twenty-sixth of the next moon our armies are to move on Korea, but if
within that time you send an envoy we will desist, even though it be at
the last moment.” Gen. Kim Nyu told the king this and urged that the
envoy be sent, but only an interpreter was sent with a letter to the
Manchu chief. When the Manchus saw this man they said “Go back and tell
the king that if he does not send his son and the Prime Minister and
another high official to perform the treaty ceremony before the twenty
fifth of the next moon, our armies will instantly be put in motion.”
Yonggoldă brought out the copy of the proclamation he had brought with
him from Korea and said, “Look at this. It cannot be said that it was we
who broke the treaty first.” A letter was given the messenger for the
king in which was written, “They say you are building many forts. Is it
to block my way to your capital? They say you are building a palace on
Kang-wha to find refuge in. When I have taken your eight provinces will
Kang-wha be of any use to you? Can your councillors overcome me with a
writing-brush?”
When this ominous letter reached Seoul the king and the highest of the
officials wanted to make terms with the Manchus at once, but they were
opposed stoutly by the whole mass of the lesser officials. At last
however a man was dispatched to convey the acceptance by Korea of the
Manchu terms; but the fatal day had passed, and when the messenger met
the Manchus advancing upon Eui-ju, he was seized. As war was now beyond
peradventure Generals Kim Nyu and Kim Cha-jŭm advised that the
prefectural towns along the route that the Manchus would come be moved
back from the main road. This was ordered and the prefectures of Eui-ju,
P’yŭng-yang and Whang-ju were moved from ten to a hundred _li_ back. All
the towns along the way were deserted by their inhabitants.
Gen. Kim Cha-jŭm forced the people at the point of the sword to rebuild
the fortress at Chöng-bang Mountain, but he did not attempt to guard the
Yalu, for he was possessed by the the infatuation that the Manchus would
not come after all. There was a line of fire-signal mountains from
Eui-ju all the way to Seoul but he ordered the fires to be lighted only
as far as his quarters, in case of war, as it would cause great
consternation in the capital. His criminal incredulity and carelessness
were so great that when in the twelfth moon the double fires gleamed
forth along the line from the north telling of the approach of an
invading army, he still averred that it was nothing more nor less than
the envoy heralding his return. He sent no messages nor warnings to
Seoul. He sent a messenger north to discover where the Manchus were.
This man came running back and announced that the north was full of
them. Still the general would not believe it and wanted to kill the man
for deceiving him. The report was however confirmed by so many
eye-witnesses that he was at last compelled to believe it and sent word
to Seoul that the Manchus had come. On the twelfth a letter from the
prefect of Eui-ju announced in Seoul that the Manchus had crossed the
river 140,000 strong. The next day a letter from the tardy Kim announced
that the Manchus had already traversed the province of P‘yŭng-an. This
news was like a thunder-bolt from a clear sky to the people of the
capital. They were thrown into a panic and are described as having
resembled boiling water. The roads were choked with fugitives from the
city. The king said, “Liberate all the captives and prisoners and grant
an amnesty to all who have been banished.” All prefects who had not gone
to their posts were sent forthwith. The king desired to start at once
for Kang-wha, and he appointed Kim Kyŭng-jeung to have military control
there with Yi Min-gu as second. An aged Minister Yun Pang together with
Kim Sang-yong took the ancestral tablets and went ahead to that island.
Then followed the Queen and the Princes, Finally the king appointed Sin
Keui-wŭn to guard the capital.
On the fourteenth the Manchu army entered Whang-hă Province and almost
immediately the news came that they had arrived at Chang-dan only 120
_li_ from Seoul. There they caught the prefect, cut off his hair,
dressed him in Manchu clothes and forced him to act as guide. At noon
the next day the king and the Crown Prince passed out the South Gate on
their way to Kang-wha, when suddenly messengers came hurrying up saying
that the Manchu horsemen had already arrived at Yang-wha-jin on the
river and that the road to Kang-wha was consequently blocked. The king
and his immediate followers went up into the pavilion above the gate and
conferred together. The native chronicler says that “their faces were
white and their voices were like the croaking of country frogs.” And
well they might be. Chi Yö-hă said, “They have come down from the border
in five days and must be very tired. I will take 500 men and go out and
hold them in check until the king can get to Kang-wha.” But Ch’oe
Myŭng-gil said, “We must decide immediately, for the enemy is at our
very doors. We cannot fight them, but I will go out the gate and parley
with them and meantime the king can escape to Nam-han.” To this the king
eagerly assented and Ch’oe took ten cattle and ten tubs of wine and went
out to meet the enemy. All the gates on the south side of Seoul were
closed and the king and his suite started for the East Gate. The crown
prince’s groom ran away and the prince was compelled to hold the bridle
himself. The people crowded around the royal party so closely that it
was almost impossible to move, but finally the gate was passed and the
party hurried forward. At seven o’clock that night the royal cavalcade
entered the welcome gate of Nam-han. So rapid had been the pace that
only six men in the king’s retinue remained until they arrived at their
destination. The rest arrived some time before midnight. They all urged
the king to start at day light and reach Kang-wha by a circuitous route.
This was determined upon, but a storm of sleet and rain came on, which
rendered the roads so slippery that the king was compelled to dismount
and walk. It soon became evident that this would not do. The king was
very cold and the progress was hopelessly slow. So they placed him in a
litter hastily extemporised and brought him back to the fortress. It
turned out that this was fortunate, for the Manchus had guarded every
approach to Kang-wha so carefully that the king never would have been
able to get through. Gen. Ch’oe, who had gone to parley with the enemy,
went beyond the Peking Pass and met Gen. Mabudă and said, “We made a
treaty with you some time since, but now you come down upon us with this
great array. How is this?” The Manchu answered. “It is not we who have
broken the treaty but you, and we have come to learn from the king the
reason of it.” Gen. Ch’oe replied, “Well, you cannot see him. He has
gone to the fortress of Nam-han.”
Together they entered Seoul and there the Manchu general had Gen. Ch’oe
send a letter to the king as follows, “The Manchu general has come to
make a treaty with us, but he says we are all afraid of him and that
even the king has fled. He says that if the king wants to make peace he
must send his son and the prime minister together with the man who
advised the king to break the treaty. They demand an immediate answer.”
That night no answer came and Mabudă charged Gen. Ch’oe with having
deceived him and wanted to kill him on the spot, but the rest dissuaded
him saying “Let us go to Nam-han ourselves.” They made Gen. Ch’oe act as
guide and soon they stood before that renowned fortress. Gen. Ch’oe went
ahead and entered alone. The king seized his hand and said, “You are
come to save us.” But the general said “The Manchu general was
exceedingly angry because you did not answer my letter last night, so he
has now come with a third of his whole force. In order to pacify him we
cannot but comply with his three conditions.” The king replied, “You are
deceived by him. Do you think he has come all this way to be satisfied
so easily as that?”