King Bongsang烽上王

King Bongsang's name was Sangbu (相夫), and he was the crown prince of King Seocheon. From his youth he was proud and unrestrained, and he was full of doubt and envy. In the twenty-third year of King Seocheon the king died, and the crown prince ascended the throne.

In the first year, in spring, the third month, Lord Anguk Dalga was killed. The king held that Dalga stood in the rank of his fathers and had great merit and works and that the people looked up to him, and so he suspected him and plotted his death.

The people of the country said. "If it had not been for Lord Anguk, the people could not have escaped the trouble of Yangmaek and Suksin. Now he is dead. To whom shall we turn?" There was none who did not shed tears and mourn with one another.

In autumn, the ninth month, the earth shook.

In the second year, in autumn, the eighth month, Murong Hui came raiding. The king wished to go to Sinseong to avoid the enemy, and he had come as far as Gongnim when Murong Hui learned that the king had come out and led his soldiers after him. They were about to catch him, and the king was afraid.

At that time Go Noja, the sohyeong of the northern division and the head of Sinseong, led five hundred horse to meet the king. He met the enemy and struck them with all his force, and the army of Murong Hui was beaten and drew back. The king was glad, and he raised Go Noja's rank to daehyeong and gave him Gongnim as well, to be his fief land.

In the ninth month the king held that his younger brother Dolgo had another heart, and he granted him death. The people of the country held that Dolgo had no crime, and they grieved and were pained for him. Dolgo's son Eulbul fled to the fields and hid.

In the third year, in autumn, the ninth month, Sangnu the guksang died. Chang Jori, the daesaja of the southern division, was made guksang, and his rank was raised to daejubu.

In the fifth year, in autumn, the eighth month, Murong Hui came raiding and reached the Gogugwon plain, and he saw the tomb of King Seocheon and had men dig it open. Some of those who worked there died suddenly, and the sound of music was heard within the tomb, and fearing that a spirit was there he drew back.

The king said to his officers. "The Murong are keen and strong in soldiers and horses, and they have broken into our land many times. What are we to do?"

Chang Jori the guksang answered. "Go Noja, the daehyeong of the northern division, is worthy and brave as well. If the great king wishes to hold off the robbers and give the people peace, there is no one to use but Go Noja."

The king made Go Noja prefect of Sinseong. He governed well and his name carried awe, and Murong Hui did not come to plunder again.

In the seventh year, in autumn, the ninth month, frost and hail killed the grain, and the people were hungry. In winter, the tenth month, the king built the palace buildings wider, and they were most lavish and fair, and the people were hungry and worn out, and the officers remonstrated again and again, but he did not follow them.

In the tenth month the king sent men to seek out Eulbul and kill him, but they did not find him.

In the eighth year, in autumn, the ninth month, a ghost cried at Bongsan. A guest star trespassed on the moon. In winter, the twelfth month, there was thunder, and the earth shook.

In the ninth year, in spring, the first month, the earth shook. From the second month to the seventh month in autumn no rain fell, and the year was a lean one, and the people ate one another.

In the eighth month the king called up the men and women within the country who were fifteen years and older and had them repair the palace buildings. The people lacked food and were worn out by the labor, and because of it they wandered away and scattered.

Chang Jori remonstrated. "The calamities of heaven come one upon another, and the grain of the year has not ripened, and the people have lost their place. The strong wander off to the four quarters, and the old and the young roll down into the ditches. This is truly a time to fear heaven and grieve for the people, to be afraid and to look into oneself. The great king has never thought of this, and he drives starving men and wearies them with the labor of wood and stone, and this goes utterly against the mind of one who is father and mother to the people. And there is besides a hard and fierce enemy next door. If they come upon us while we are worn out, what will become of the altars of the state and of the living people? I beg the great king to think this over well."

The king was angry and said. "The lord is the one the people look up to. If the palace is not grand and fair, there is no way to show his majesty and his weight. Now the guksang means, it seems, to speak ill of me and so seek the praise of the people."

Jori said. "If the lord does not care for the people, that is not kindness. If the officer does not remonstrate with his lord, that is not loyalty. Your servant has taken up the empty seat of guksang, and he does not dare to keep silent. How would he dare to seek praise?"

The king laughed and said. "Does the guksang mean to die for the people? I hope to hear no more of it."

Jori knew that the king would not mend his ways, and he feared besides that harm would reach him, and he withdrew and plotted together with the officers and deposed him, and they welcomed Eulbul and made him king. The king knew that he could not escape, and he hanged himself, and his two sons died following him. He was buried on the Bongsanwon plain and was called King Bongsang (烽上王).