764 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
their swords with blood, and both the capital and the provinces were calm
and peaceful, and the people harassed by tyranny all came to feel the joy of
living. No virtue of fostering the lives of people can be greater than that.
This is the reason one cannot help making the following inscription.”
The inscription on the bell was as follows: “Ah, the Mandate of Heaven
that our king received was profound and extensive. The place he finally
decided on as a new capital was a sunny area north of the Han River. When
Songdo was the capital, the nation was in terrible shape. Then our king took
over the nation and replaced tyranny with benevolence. The people no
longer saw wars, and the clouds looming over the court suddenly cleared.
The wise and talented were united in their efforts to bring about peace.
Those in the near and distant places began to return until the streets were
filled with people and their renewed energy. For this reason, a bell was
made that will be rung at dawn and at night, and we had our achievements
engraved on it so that they can be passed on to posterity as well as preserve
the new capital forever.”The king ordered the officials of the State Finance Commission to go out
with the special commissioners of each province and investigate the amount
of taxes on the salt, which are manufactured by either boiling seawater or
burning sand, as well as fish traps and boat taxes, to find out if the amount
of taxes was adequate.The king gave his instructions to the Privy Council through Yi Munhwa,
chief royal secretary:
“Last time when the Directorate for Adjudication of Slave Lawsuits
reported the problems concerning the slaves whose status is ambiguous, I
specifically instructed that the ones who are clearly men of good [com-
moner] status be ruled as men of good status, the ones who are clearly men
of base status be ruled as men of base status, and as for the ones whose slave
status is ambiguous and therefore it is hard to tell whether they are men of
good status or men of base status, they should be accorded good status but
made to carry out base work and sent to each government agency as run-
ners. Presently, the people belonging to Sŏnju and Yŏngju Post Stations,
whose status is ambiguous according to the records, filed a petition to the
Directorate for Adjudication of Slave Lawsuits and pleaded that they be
granted the status of good men. If you again assign them to the above two
post stations after making them men of good status while having them carry