Book II 171Inspectors submitted a memorial to the king once again: “In ancient
times, during the reign of Taizong of Tang, those who spoke evil words
because of mental disease were also indicted by the censors. Pu and Hae
presently have no such problems and yet dared to spread wicked words and
deluded the people. Therefore, it is impossible to allow them to stay in the
capital.” So the king additionally ordered to have Hŏ Hae banished.The Directorate for Merit Subjects submitted a memorial to the king:
“Sixteen people, including Left Chancellor Pae Kŭngnyŏm and Right Chan-
cellor Cho Chun, clearly understood where the will of Heaven and hearts of
the people were. So they raised you up to the throne after having discus-
sions and deliberations and finally succeeded in devising ways to accom-
plish their goal.
“Their success, of course, largely owed to your distinguished virtue and
contributions, which moved Heaven and pleased the people; however, it also
happened because they were outstanding in their loyalty and commitment
for the great cause. Their contributions, as you have already stated in your
royal decree, cannot be forgotten until tall mountains become flat and great
rivers go dry.
“They should be awarded with the title of dynasty-founding merit subject
first class, their portraits hung in the newly built pavilion in the court, and
their contributions engraved in a memorial stone. In addition, titles of
nobility and grants of lands should be conferred on them.
“The titles of nobility should also be conferred on their parents and wives
by skipping three ranks, and their sons in a direct line of descent awarded
with protected privilege (ŭm) by skipping three ranks, and in the case of
those without sons, their nephews and sons-in-law awarded the same privi-
lege by skipping two ranks.
“They should all be provided with certain amounts of land and certain
numbers of slaves, seven domestic servants (kusa),^9 and ten private soldiers
(chinbaep’aryŏng),^10 as well as the privilege of direct appointment after
passing the civil service examination.
- Kusa refers to domestic servants provided by the government to royal family mem-
bers, merit subjects, and high officials. - It refers to private soldiers provided by the government to royalty, merit subjects, and
high officials.