370 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
3 commandants, 5 vice commandants, 5 subcolonels, 7 executive officers,
20 captains, and 40 lieutenants.
“The military commissioner (chŏlchesa) of each province should be
appointed from among the members of the royal house or high officials;
vice provincial military commissioner (pu chŏlchesa) from among the offi-
cials of the Security Council; and chief military administrator of infantry
and cavalry (pyŏngma kŏmhalsa) from among the grand masters for excel-
lent goodness (kasŏn taebu), each of them having command of one hundred
soldiers recruited from local districts. The military training commissioner
(pyŏngma tallyŏnsa) should be appointed from among the officials of senior
and junior rank 3, providing one hundred soldiers recruited from local dis-
tricts. And the number of soldiers provided to the commanders, from the
commissioner down to military training administrator (tallyŏnsa p’an’gwan),
should be commensurate with rank and seniority.
“The Middle Army should belong to Left and Right Kyŏnggi Provinces
and the Northeast Region; the Left Army to Kangnŭng, Kyoju, Kyŏngsang,
and Chŏlla Provinces; and the Right Army to Yanggwang Province, Sŏhae
Province, and the Northwest Region.
“1. The reason that the royal guards are divided and assigned to various
units is to imitate the military system of the Northern and Southern Armies
of the Han dynasty. The Southern Army of Han guarded the palace gate,
and the Northern Army policed the capital. The advantage of this system
was the mutual surveillance of the inside and outside forces, which worked
well to prevent any disturbances.
“The battalions currently under the names of Ŭihŭng, Ch’ungchwa,
Ungmu, and Sinmu should be turned into royal guards and assigned to the
Middle Army, while supreme generals and generals- in- chief alternately guard
the palace gate on certain designated dates, leading the officers and troops
at their command. This is to imitate the military system of the Southern
Army of the Han dynasty.
“The battalions named Yongyang, Yonggi, Yongmu, Hobun, Hoyong,
and Hoik should be made into patrolling royal guards and assigned to the
Left and Right Armies, while supreme generals and generals- in- chief with
the officers and troops under their command alternately guard the bridge,
patrol night streets, and defend the four main gates. This is to imitate the
military system of the Northern Army of the Han dynasty.
“As to the supreme general of each brigade and the officers below him,
who are on duty in their turn, the Three Armies Headquarters will issue