866 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
enlist a seaman out of every three adult males and divide the seamen into
two groups so that they can serve alternately, and the household of a seaman
on active duty shall be excused from other labor services.
“1. The service of the firearm- bearing soldiers and rotating clerks from
local districts responsible for wood and fuel supplies for capital bureaus is
also hard. The Board of Taxation shall review the number of functionaries
of each local district and the slaves of government offices and Buddhist
monasteries and readjust the number of recruits so that work and rest can be
distributed evenly among the people.
“1. The law of establishing the land for the military started from the time
when the armies were stationed on the borders, and its purpose was not to
exploit the labor of common people. Except the military colonies in which
troops serving either on land or on the sea actually cultivate, those lands
that are cultivated by the common people under the name of a military
colony shall all be abolished.
“1. When corvée labor is unfairly imposed, it hurts the people seriously.
If there is an unavoidable circumstance from this day forward, the Privy
Council shall review the size of the land and population of each province
and assign the amount of corvée labor in different grades. The governor of
each province shall distribute the corvée labor in different grades in accor-
dance with the size of the land and population of each district, and the mag-
istrate of each district shall do the same in accordance with the size of the
land and population of each household, so that there may not be complaints
about the assignment of corvée labor among the people. Widowers, widows,
orphans, and childless elderly people, as well as the sick people living alone,
shall all be exempted from their taxes.
“1. Since agriculture and sericulture are the foundation of food and
clothing and related to the lives of the people, the governors of various prov-
inces are to divide the counties and districts in their jurisdiction and have
the people construct embankments, prohibit them from setting fire in early
winter, and have them plant mulberry trees in early spring and mulberry
seeds in midsummer, without negligence.
“1. The purpose of installing instructors at the National University and
the schools of the Five Wards in the capital as well as in each province out-
side the capital is to cultivate men of talent, and it is necessary to supervise
the instructors so that they may not neglect their duty.
“1. Whether the people lead a good life depends on the ability of their
magistrates. The officials above rank 6 in the central government shall each