328 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
“1. Our warships are the reason that the attacks of the Japanese pirates
have abated somewhat in recent days. Whenever a seaman deserts or dies,
the lesser garrison commander or battalion commander should immediately
send an official notice to the district magistrate to fill the vacancy, and the
governor and provincial military commissioner should frequently check it
out. If there is anyone among the local magistrates who fails to fill the
vacancies of missing seamen, he should be beaten with a paddle ten times
per person, and the punishment can be increased to an additional degree per
person and extended up to ninety strokes with a paddle, but he will be
allowed to return to his job. However, if the missing seamen number more
than ten, the magistrate responsible will be subject to one hundred strokes
with a heavy paddle and dismissed from his office.
“1. When the royal guards from various provinces travel back and forth
to report to their duty stations, they recklessly pass through local districts,
harassing the people and causing damage to their crops. The people find it
very distressing. From this day forward, they should be prohibited from
entering the districts and required to make camp in open fields. Anyone
who violates this injunction should be punished according to the law along
with the head of his group.
“1. When the slaves belonging to the warehouses of the Royal Palace and
other government agencies go out to local provinces to collect taxes, they
move in a large group, taking a number of horses with them. They ruth-
lessly collect taxes, using all kinds of unlawful means. Hence, from this day
forward, each slave should not be allowed to take more than one horse with
him when he goes out to collect taxes, and the collection of personal proper-
ties other than land taxes should be strictly prohibited.
“1. The people who have no properties migrate from one place to another,
and consequently the number of households decreases day after day. Once
the household registration is made up, and it happens that the registered
people continue to migrate, the head of a migrating family will be subject to
one hundred strokes with a heavy paddle, and the one who receives the
migrating family into his village should also be subject to the same degree
of punishment. The village head who fails to immediately report on the
newcomers to the authorities should be subject to seventy strokes with a
heavy paddle. The magistrate who fails to return the newcomers to their
original birthplace or neglects to interrogate them should be subject to sixty
strokes with a heavy paddle; after the punishment, however, the magistrate
should be allowed to go back to his job.