524 MILITARY REFORMNitrate Bureau (Yonsoch'ong) in 1650, but its facilities and operation were less
than adequate; the nitrates were often left outside in the rain and lost their potency,
As mention cd above, gunpowder production was financed initially by a gun-
powder tribute levy, to be paid in kind, imposed on local districts according to
their size, but after the adoption of the taedong land surtax, the government was
supposed to purchase gunpowder on the market with surtax revenues. Evidently,
Hyojong was reluctant to apply the new system to gunpowder manufacture. After
1653 Ch'ungch'ong Province, one of the first provinces to institute the taedong
system, did become a major location for the manufacture of gunpowder from
nitrates, but the government continued to allocate gunpowder quotas to each dis-
trict. The entire province of Kyongsang was forbidden from purchasing gun-
powder from any other province to fulfill the government quotas. That is, the
government insisted that each district take responsibility for manufacturing its
own quota, like the backyard furnaces of Mao's Great Leap Forward. This sys-
tem imposed a heavy burden for those districts unskilled in its manufacture and
undoubtedly increased the cost of production because the people had to scurry
around gathering wood for fuel, axes, and cauldrons for boiling and refining the
ore. One official recommended in 1654 that districts that did not usually man-
ufacture gunpowder simply be allowed to purchase it on the market.
Nevertheless, Hyojong wanted to make Ch'ungch'ong the base for gunpow-
der production, not only because it was close to the capital, but also because he
was afraid that the manufacturing techniques would be leaked to Japan if its
production were allowed in Kyongsang Province in the southeast. He also feared
that if it were produced in the northern provinces, the Manchus might become
suspicious of Korean intentions. While the fear of Manchu discovery had in fact
led to a completc cessation of nitrate manufacture in the north, unauthorized,
private nitrate and gunpowder production had already developed in Kyongsang
in the south, so much so that both items circulated on the open market. In 1654
the commander of the Defense Command even bought his supply on the mar-
ket there.
Manufacture of these substances required iron for boiling cauldrons, which
sometimes broke apart if allowed to cool. The government encouraged iron min-
ing, particularly in the rich veins of the hills near UJsan. On the other hand, lit-
tle progress was made in solving the problem of the shortage of supply of sulfur
needed for converting nitrates to gunpowder. China was now cut off since the
Koreans were afraid of arousing Manchu suspicions, and Japan was left as the
only source of supply.6^3 Again, King Hyojong and many of the active officials
at the time were obviously more aware of the problems involved in increasing
gunpowder supplies than Yu Hyongwon. but their efforts had not been successful.
Walls and FortsHyojong was also interested in building up walls, fortresses, and fortifications- one of the concerns of Yu Hyongwon as well-but Hyojong was subjected to