Disgraced at Court, nevertheless Chong Mong-ju had been too popular with the provincial priesthood.

Yunsan had been compelled to hold his hand, and Chong Mong- ju, apparently sulking on the north-east coast, had been anything but idle.

His emissaries, chiefly Buddhist priests, were everywhere, went everywhere, gathering in even the least of the provincial magistrates to allegiance to him.

It takes the cold patience of the Asiatic to conceive and execute huge and complicated conspiracies.

The strength of Chong Mong-ju's palace clique grew beyond Yunsan's wildest dreaming.