The king now reinforced the army in the north and at the same time feasted 30,000 monks at the capital in order to influence the celestial powers to bring about a cessation of war. But at the same time the Mongol forces were reinforced by Yŭ-jin troops and with high spirits crossed the Ta-dong river and swept down to P‘yŭng-ju to wreak their vengeance on that place where even yet the Mongol messenger with the letter for the king was languishing in durance vile. By a night attack they took the place, burned it to the ground, killed the prefect and even destroyed every dog and other domestic animal in the place. Then they advanced toward Song-do and soon appeared beneath its walls. There the Mongol generals P‘o-do, Chŭk-kŭ and Tang-go went into camp. They supplied their army by foraging all through the surrounding country, in which operation thousands of people were killed, their houses destroyed and their goods confiscated, especially all kinds of food. The people in the capital were in the greatest distress. Ch‘oe U, the viceroy, stationed all the best troops about his own house and left the inferior troops to guard the palace.
The Mongol general Sal Ye-t‘ap was now in the north. The king had already sent one messenger to ask for terms of peace and had received the following answer; “I am emperor. If you wish to fight it out then come on and fight. If not then surrender, and be quick about it, too.” The king now sent another messenger on a similar errand. He returned with two Mongol commissioners and three more soon followed. They were immediately admitted to an audience and a conference followed, after which the king sent rich presents to Gen. Sal Ye-t‘ap who seems now to have joined the main army before Song-do, and also to the other generals. What the result of the conference was is, for some reason, not stated in the records, but that it was not entirely satisfactory to the Mongols, or if satisfactory not sufficiently so to make them forego the pleasure of plundering, is seen from their next move, for they left Song-do and went southward to the center of the peninsula, the rich province of Ch‘ung-ch‘ŭng.
The cowardly prime minister showed his colors by sending a man to find a retreat for him on the island of Kang-wha, but the messenger fell into the hands of Mongol foragers.