The king was surprised; after refusing the Japanese request he sent a letter to Beijing to alert the Chinese that the Japanese were actually preparing for full-scale war against the Korean-Chinese alliance.
Raja terperanjat; setelah menolak permintaan Jepang ia mengirimkan sepucuk surat ke Beijing untuk memberi sinyal kepada Tiongkok bahwa Jepang sebenarnya mempersiapkan perang berskala penuh melawan aliansi Korea-Tiongkok.