496 MILITARY REFORM
Suhang supported the idea of testing the household cloth system in one area.
There was simply no other way to find out whether it would be beneficial or not,
and if it proved faulty. he would willingly change his mind. Two supporters of
the tax rebutted the criticism that the cloth tax should not be imposed in a famine
year by pointing out that it could be collected after the fall harvest, or instituted
in subsequent years after better harvests. Yi Samyong noted that it was under-
standable that the commoners would resent having to pay several p' il of tax under
the current system. but he could not understand why the scholar-officials (sajokl
would object to paying only one p 'il. He also said that the household cloth tax
would reduce existing cvils and was less of a problem than carrying out a major
registration campaign. Kim Suhang agreed with him that the people detested even
the annual supplementary registration investigations and would be sure to
oppose a major one. One could not predict that the household cloth tax would
be fault-free, but at least it would be no worse than the current system.
Many others. however, opposed the system. The sinecured Kim Suhung
rejected both the household cloth and a major registration campaign and sup-
ported a suggestion to cut the quota of troops instead. Another semiretired min-
ister, Chong Ch'ihwa, supported this idea by asking for reductions in the
superfluous Special Cavalry Unit of the Military Training Agency established
by the recently executed Southerner, Yu Hy6gyon. Third State Councilor Min
Chongjung remarked that all empty slots in the military registers caused by deaths
and runaways could be filled by that means. and Censor-General Yu Hon asked
forthe abolition of the Crack Select Soldiers as well. He thought that troop reduc-
tion to save expenses was preferable to a major registration effort. He agreed
with other officials who asked for a weeding out of unqualified students and
military officers by special testing, but hc preferred to fine those who failed their
tests rather than require them to serve as soldiers.
Indeed, several compromisers were heard from as well. The censor, 0 Toil,
approved the household cloth tax but opposed adopting it in a famine year. He
did recommend its adoption after a few years of bumper crops, and its applica-
tion to the capital rather than p'yong'an. He opposed cutting the capital guard
units because thcy wcre "established agcncies." Several other officials agreed
with testing thc tax in the capital region first, for if the people saw that the high
officials were willing to pay the tax. they would not be able to raise any objec-
tions to it. Even the censor Yi Sebaek, who had opposed Yi Samyong and requested
rescission of the order to test it in P'yong'an, said that there was no better alter-
native, and that it could be adopted after an economic recovery. In short, while
only four officials (Yi Samyong, Kim Suhang. Min ChOngjung, and Hwang Yun)
supported immediate adoption of the household cloth plan, four others accepted
the basic idea and suggested postponement until the return of good crops. Eight
officials might be counted among its supporters, while about six were opposed
to it outright. It is by no means certain, as Chong Manjo has written, that the
vast majority of those in attendance were opposed.^40 In fact, if the household tax
is regarded as the most progressive proposal then under discussion, there was a