268 COBEA. and spear, marched from victory to victory, driving back the successive armies of, and taking city after city from, the Mongol, who had become as weak as he was wicked, and weak because wicked. This Chinese monk rapidly rose in power, assumed the imperial title of Ming or " Bright," and took a wife to found a family. What with the widely extending "rebellion'* of this monk, whom the Chinese welcomed as a deliverer, and with the dissatisfied Mongol princes raising the standard of rebellion in various directions, instead of supporting their own dynasty,— the Yuen family thought it high time to look out a quiet retreat where they could be able to defend themselves and their accumu- lated treasures, "if the worst came to the worst" This is the only explanation we can think of giving to the fact that, at this critical juncture, Tasutumor was sent from Peking with the title of king of Corea, and with a force to suppport it News of his approach flew before him ; and when he got to the banks of the Yaloo, Coreans rose up from all sides and gave him such a reception that he fain had to flee to his native capital again ; thus weakening instead of strengthening the imperial cause. In 1368, six years after that abortive atten^pt, the warrior monk was enthroned in Peking, emperor of all China.* Next year Wang Jwan, the king of Corea^ sent an ambassador with letters of congratulation to the new emperor, to hia new capital of Nanking, and the pleased emperor formally acknowledged him king of Corea. Some great men were soon after banished by
- The Yuen commandant of liaotung gave in his submission at the summons of
the new dynasty; and the new emperor divided Liaotung into districts. The Circuit of Woolangha, north of TU pang tai, and south of Heiloong kiaog, was the Jkming Circuit or Loo of Yuen ; San Wei was north of the Hung skwi, and included the pcesent Kirin. From Sifung Kow, via Kwangning to Hiienfoo, was called Topenboo; and FoayU hodoo stretched from Whangniwa via Mookden, and Tiding to Eaiyuen. Daning loo was the regions of Liaosi, now called Kingchow, Yichow, and eastwards across the Liao to Baiyun shan ; this was the ancient Woolangha; the people there lived wherever they found grass and water. This, therefore, is the south- eastern portion of Inner Mongolia, where the people still — except the numerous Chinese settiers — *' live where they can find grfws and water." The country districts iMtween Shan hai gwan and Eingchow were very largely occupied by Mongols, even in the seventeenth century.
