474 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
king also posthumously promoted him to assistant chancellor and granted
the title of Ch’ungwi. Then he sent Yi Ch’ŏnu, discussant of the Secu -
rity Council, to offer a sacrifice before Ki’s coffin and ordered the office
responsible to administer his funeral with propriety. He had a son named
Sunhwa.19th Day (Kyemi)
By sending Yi Kak, controller (chegong) of the Capital Constabulary, the
king had Cho Pak, governor of Chŏlla Province, confined in Kongju. Earlier,
Kim Kyesu, a royal messenger, had arrived in Chŏlla Province to conduct a
head count of provincial army troops. Governor Pak discussed this matter
with Kyesu and submitted a report, saying, “Since it is now busy farming
season, it is impossible to conduct a head count of army troops without a
compelling reason.” Later, he was late in submitting a report concerning the
border. So the king was upset at him.The government released the civilian workers recruited from various prov-
inces for the construction of the royal palace and used monks in their stead.
Earlier, Inspector-General Pak Kyŏng and others submitted a memorial to
the king:
“The royal palace should have the king’s private quarters as well as the
offices in which all officials carry out their duties. So the number of rooms
to be made will amount to no less than a thousand, and therefore it will
require tens of thousands of artisans and workers to complete the entire
construction project. If we fill up the workforce with farmers, they will miss
their farming season, and that is a source of major concern.
“Officials always prefer to employ monks when they build their houses,
as they are skilled workers and able to devote themselves to their work
because they have no families. The monks also like to work because they
can receive food and clothes. Moreover, how can you hire unskilled people
when you build the royal palace for the first time? The inevitable result will
be that their crops are ruined and your construction is delayed.
“The number of people who became monks was originally not fixed by
the state, and they comprise one- third of the whole population. Two- thirds
of them are capable of carrying out labor service. Generally, there are three
grades of monks: the ones belonging to the first grade are those who neither
seek to fill their stomachs nor stay at one place permanently, undergoing a