Overview
The Second Red Turban Invasion of Goryeo was a war fought from the tenth lunar month of 1361 (10th year of King Gongmin) to the first lunar month of the following year. It is a rare case in Goryeo history in which the capital, Gaegyeong, fell to foreign invaders. King Gongmin abandoned Gaegyeong and fled south for nearly a month, making Bokju (福州, present-day Andong, North Gyeongsang Province) his temporary capital. There he gathered troops and retook Gaegyeong. However, shortly after the victory, the leaders of the recovery were caught in a tragedy of mutual killing, brought about by the schemes of Kim Yong.
Date notation: The original records use the lunar calendar. Dates in the timeline and in this article were converted to the Julian Gregorian calendar where a date is recorded; the body text also gives the lunar dates. Events for which only the month is recorded were approximated to the corresponding solar month.
Background
After being defeated decisively in the First Red Turban Invasion (First Red Turban Invasion of Goryeo), the Red Turbans raided the western coast by sea. The main Red Turban force in Manchuria, cut off from its line of retreat by Yuan reinforcements, once again sought an escape route into Goryeo.
Course of Events
Invasion and the Collapse of the Cheongcheon River Defense Line
In the tenth lunar month of 1361 (late October to November in the solar calendar), more than 100,000 men led by Pan Seong, Sa Yu, Gwan Seonsaeng, Ju Wonsu and others crossed the Yalu River, captured Sakju and Ieong (泥城), and gathered at Muju (Yeongbyeon). Goryeo appointed the Vice Chief Councilor Ahn U as Sangwonsu, the Concurrent Chief Secretary Kim Deuk-bae as Dobyeongma-sa, the Vice Commissioner of the Privy Council Yi Bang-sil as Commander of the Northwestern Region, and Jeong Hwi as Commander of the Northeastern Region, and used the Cheongcheon River as its defense line. Yi Yeo-gyeong set up a palisade at Jeolryeong (岊嶺, Jabiryeong), the pass on the road to Gaegyeong, and held it. Yi Bang-sil proposed moving the people and grain of the three prefectures and five counties of the Northwestern Region south of Jeolryeong, and at the same time inflicted damage on the enemy in small-scale battles at Bakju, Gaeju, Yeonju and other places. However, the Red Turbans crossed the Cheongcheon River and defeated the Goryeo army at Anju, and Kim Deuk-bae and the others suffered a heavy defeat at Anju and withdrew to Jeolryeong.
Breakthrough at Jeolryeong and King Gongmin's Flight
Around the eleventh day of the eleventh lunar month (about 8 December in the solar calendar), the Red Turbans broke through the Jeolryeong palisade. (The Korean Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture entry "Bokju Relocation" give the date as mid-November.) Ahn U and Yi Bang-sil gathered their scattered troops and set up a new defense line at Geumgyo Station, 20 ri north of Pyeongsan, but the court had no strength to support them. Kim Yong, Ahn U, Yi Bang-sil, Choe Yeong and others insisted on defending Gaegyeong, but King Gongmin decided to flee.
The royal party left Gaegyeong on the nineteenth day of the eleventh lunar month (16 December in the solar calendar). According to the itinerary introduced in a serialized article in the Gyeongbuk Maeil, they passed Bunsuwon in Paju and Yeongseo Station in Yangju on the twentieth, and Sapyeongwon in Gwangju on the twenty-first; officials and residents had already fled, and only one local magistrate greeted the king. On the twenty-fourth, at Icheon, their clothes froze after being soaked by sleet and had to be dried by a bonfire, and on the twenty-fifth they reached Eumjuk, north of Chungju. They then passed through Chungju, Mungyeong, Yongung and Yecheon, and on the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month (11 January 1362 in the solar calendar) they arrived at Bokju and made it their temporary capital (Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, "Gyeongseong Subok Gongsin").
Fall of Gaegyeong
The Red Turbans passed through Geumgyo Station and Heuiui Station (Ubong) and entered Gaegyeong on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh lunar month (21 December in the solar calendar), where they burned the palaces and engaged in plunder. Over the following two months or so, they stayed in Gaegyeong and prepared for a long-term occupation, but did not move further south.
Preparations for Counterattack at Bokju
King Gongmin, having arrived at Bokju, issued an edict ordering a counterattack. He appointed Jeong Se-un, who had accompanied the king in his flight, as Chongbyeonggwan and gave him the jeolwol (節鉞, symbols of authority) so that he could command all the troops. Jeong Se-un requested that an edict be issued promptly to comfort the people and that troops be conscripted from the various provinces. The forces gathered from the provinces reached 200,000 men, and Ahn U was appointed Sangwonsu, Kim Deuk-bae Dobyeongma-sa, and Jeong Hwi Commander of the Northeastern Region.
Recapture of Gaegyeong (Eighteenth Day of the First Lunar Month)
In the first lunar month of 1362, the Goryeo army under Jeong Se-un assembled at Cheonsusa, east of Gaegyeong, and prepared to encircle the city. Many generals took part, including Ahn U, Yi Bang-sil, Kim Deuk-bae, Hwang Sang, Han Bang-sin, Yi Yeo-gyeong, Ahn U-gyeong, Choe Yeong and Yi Seong-gye. Before dawn on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month (13 February in the solar calendar), taking advantage of a period of snow and rain, the Goryeo army broke through Sunin Gate and entered Gaegyeong. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, more than 100,000 of the enemy, including Sa Yu and Gwan Seonsaeng, were beheaded, and spoils such as the imperial jade seal of the Yuan emperor were also seized. The Goryeo army opened Sunin Gate and Tanhyeon Gate to let the remaining enemy troops escape, and they fled across the Yalu River to Liaodong.
Aftermath of the Recovery: Kim Yong's Scheme
Kim Yong, who had lost the post of Chongbyeonggwan to Jeong Se-un and was jealous of his achievements, fabricated a royal order and urged Ahn U, Yi Bang-sil and Kim Deuk-bae to kill Jeong Se-un. In the first lunar month, they killed Jeong Se-un, and Kim Yong then used the charge of having "recklessly killed a commanding general" to have the three generals executed as well. According to the edict records included in the Korean Wikipedia, Kim Deuk-bae was arrested and killed at Sanyang County on the first day of the third lunar month (day jeongmi, 27 March in the solar calendar), and his head was hung in Sangju. Jeong Se-un was posthumously named Cheomui Jeongseung, and Ahn U, Yi Bang-sil and Kim Deuk-bae were not exonerated until 1391 (3rd year of King Gongyang). Kim Yong attempted to assassinate King Gongmin at the Heungwangsa Temple residence in 1363, failed, and was executed.
Results and Impact
- King Gongmin left Andong on the twenty-fifth day of the second lunar month (21 March in the solar calendar), stayed at Sangju and Cheongju, and reached Heungwangsa in the second lunar month of 1363. After the Heungwangsa Incident, he returned to Gaegyeong only in the intercalary third month. In the same year, 106 people, including 53 of first rank and 53 of second rank, were enfeoffed as Gyeongseong Subok Gongsin for their merit in recovering Gaegyeong. Yi Seong-gye, who was then 29 years old, was also named a first-rank meritorious subject.
- Bokju was elevated to Andong Daedohobu. In connection with Princess Noguk's flight, the legend of the Nodari-balbgi (leg-stepping) game of Andong has been handed down.
- The household registers of Gaegyeong and the surrounding Gyeonggi region disappeared, and central control weakened to the point that powerful families seized land and population more severely. In order to restore relations with the Yuan, the Jeongdong Haengseong was re-established, and the anti-Yuan policy was reversed (Red Turban invasions of Goryeo).
Alternative Views
- Size of the force: Accounts of the Red Turban strength differ, at 100,000 (Encyclopedia of Korean Culture) and 200,000 (main text of the Korean Wikipedia).
- Date of arrival at Bokju: There are two accounts, the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month ("Gyeongseong Subok Gongsin") and the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month (Gyeongbuk Maeil). The timeline follows the former.
- Route of flight: The reference materials do not state which pass was crossed between Chungju and Mungyeong, so the map approximately shows a route passing through Joryeong. The locations of Geumgyo Station and Heuiui Station are also approximate.
References