420 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
“The quality of military forces outweighs their numbers in importance.
We would like to request that each province carefully enlist soldiers, while
fixing their numbers. In the case of the cavalry, one soldier should be
selected from among five capable men, and in the case of the infantry, one
soldier from among three capable men. If such a system is implemented,
soldiers who travel will be able to avoid the hardship of carrying heavy
loads of equipment either on their shoulders or heads, and those who are
exempt from military service can have the opportunity to improve their
livelihoods at home. In an emergency, those who stay at home can also be
recruited for military service.
“In times of peace, soldiers should be allowed to take care of their farms,
and during the agricultural off- season, the officers of the units that the sol-
diers are assigned to should inspect the weapons, while training them so
that they can be ready to serve under their commanders. Then the soldiers
will be more strengthened in their readiness and there will be no lack of
provisions for them.
“The members of the regular royal guards should be chosen from those
in the units of the Three Armies Headquarters as well as from the royal
guards of various security divisions. However, only those who are quick
and brave should be provided with stipends, and others who do not belong
to this group should be excluded from the payroll. Additionally, when those
who received land are too old and sick to serve, they should be replaced with
their mature sons or sons- in- law or nephews.
“1. At the end of the previous dynasty, land administration fell into dis-
array. Powerful people grabbed land for themselves, and household regis-
ters were almost abandoned so that the people of good (commoner) status
were undistinguishable from the lowborn. Consequently, litigations increased
by the day, and feuds drove families apart as people tried to occupy moun-
tains and fields for their own benefit, depriving others of their land. They
also abused their power by seizing the slaves of others and, much worse,
even turned commoners into people of low birth. As a result, they made the
people resentful and the spirits indignant, and eventually brought an end to
the reign of the previous dynasty.
“When Your Majesty was out of public view before you ascended the
throne, you deeply deplored this terrible situation. Thus, you finally changed
the abusive land administration, and many of the irregularities disappeared
by themselves. However, the problem concerning slaves still remains unre-
solved, constantly causing lawsuits. We request that Your Majesty create a