Page:History of Corea, ancient and modern; with description of manners and customs, language and geography (1879).djvu/184

160 SINLO. horses, where, and how they could; this strategy would inevitably prolong the stay of the Chinese, whose provisions were not inexhaustable, and who would have extremely bad roads, ahready miry, in retnwing their steps. His second best plan would be, to steal away by night with all the inhabitants of the city ; and hi£^ worst, to attack the Chinese, while yet ignorant of their fighting qualities. " Now do you consider ; concluded the emperor, *' as for me, I believe he will adopt the worst plan, and then the city is our& Meantime, he has found it not so easy a matter as he had imagined to get the head of Gfaisoowun. An aged official in the Gaoli army said to Yenshow, that Chin Wang — the original title of the reigning emperor — ^had already compacted all the "Inner land into one family; that all the surrounding barbarians were yielding themselves up to his wisdom or his arms; and that he had proved his ability too great for them (Coreans) to hope successfully to cope with him. He therefore urged the plan, which the emperor had mentioned to his officers as the best, — ^to keep the army well in hand, never to meet, but always to watch the Chinese; thus to prevent them from carrying out any great measure ; to pick out the best Coreans to be constantly on the move, cutting off the Chinese provisions. Thus they would foil the object of the Chinese who would have to retreat ; and the time to attack them was then, when they began to retreat on those bad roads. This was exactly the strategy of Wundu, by which the Swi army so miserably perished. But Yenshow had much faith in himself, and little in the advice offered. He therefore ordered an immediate advance, drawing up at a distance of forty li from Anshu. A band of a thousand Turkish horse was sent to tempt him out, as the emperor feared he would come no nearer. The Turks fled after a few blows, and were pursued by the Gaoli, who said, " See ! how easily these men are beaten ! And Yenshow showed the manner of man he was, by moving his whole army to the hill eight li south-east of Anshu. The emperor now had his desire, and collected his generals to deliberate as to what should be dona They replied that, before