Page:History of Corea, ancient and modern; with description of manners and customs, language and geography (1879).djvu/130

106 IMPEBIAL TEN. a breathing space and fled, getting off his horse and running on foot till he got to Graoyang, where one of a band of men froitk Qao Ching, who had been sent in pursuit, overtook the fugitive, and laid hold of him. He spoke out loftily: — "How dare a mean man like you lay your hands on the Son of Heaven ? The soldier replied that he had imperial orders to seize a rebel, and asked who was that Son of Heaven. Every competitor for the imperial crown was of course the Son of Heaven, and every other competitor a rebel and traitor. Wei had proved himself a usurper ; for he was weak and unfortunate — ^a proof that Heaven had forsaken him. Failure is the Criminal, and Success the Honest Man. When he was brought before King Jien, whom a few days ago he regarded with contempt as a petty chief, he refused to acknowledge him as emperor. Whereupon Jien angrily said, " You solitary dead head, do you so eagerly long for the grave of your forefathers ? " But he had pity on the youths and ordered him to be restored to the palace of his father. This he could afford to do ; for not only was the youth weak, but all the officials of the city at once acknowledged Chin as their liege lord. Thus the power of Yen, left by Go so strong that it waa more than a match for Tsin and Chin, is now crumpled up by a power in numbers and resources no proper competitor, but which had a man at the head of aflairs. Chin was therefore master of all Yen lands, the Chow cities and the " Six Barbarians '" having acknowledged his sway. In all, he made an addition to his kingdom of one hundred and fifty-seven Prefectures (Boo), two and a half million families, and nine million, nine hundred and ninety thousand head of people. All Wei's officials were retained in their posts, the only difference made being one of master. Wei was sent to Changan with 40,000 Hienbi families, which would join those who had already fled westward, from the destruction which they had foreseen, (p. 92). So complete was the collapse of Yen, that Gao Ching went on his way to Loongchung without encountering the sUghtest opposition. Before he got to Loongchung, dastard Ping fled to Gaogowli, by whom he was, however, handed over to Chin,