Requesting One Chain of Command for the Generals請諸將號令出一。啓
被擄逃還女人所言雖不可盡信亦當有一二近似者所謂仇法谷賊屯前此諸將之報皆無所載今始因女人知之是皆體探之不密賊情之不察極爲駭愕今雖欲往圖所當先爲詳盡哨探悉得其形勢險夷軍士所從入處然後密約諸將乘機疾趨如狄靑之夜渡崑崙關乃可有功此在都元帥臨時處置不必預禀於千里之外軍令不嚴人心縱恣之弊誠有如應瑞所言者然軍令不嚴實出於體統不一令出多門之致今以慶尙諸將言之則旣有元帥總領諸軍則諸將凡有進取之事皆當密禀於元帥聽其可否元帥亦當出令於諸將指揮方略進退遲速之間動合事機而如有聞令不行逗留誤事或輕動取敗者必以軍法繩之如身之使臂臂之使指母得違越參差則體統自然相維而軍令肅然矣近觀諸將所報參以南方之事軍中大體不立而各自行令防禦使兵使巡邊使等官皆擁主斷之權所謂助防將守令以下彼此相牽不知適從更生怠慢翫愒之念欲進則進欲退則退因以不及期會則必以他將爲解如往日金應瑞高彥伯爭一鄭希玄互相紛挐是其驗也今此應瑞所請之事誠合事機則都元帥卽參酌事勢畫授方略傳令各陣約束進退如此而不遵號令者則惟有劒耳至如倉卒遇賊不及申由於元帥者則亦於其處見在主將聽其號令如助防將別將以下聽防禦使兵使節制而違令者亦爲行法不必更禀於。朝廷而求其處置以此意。下諭于都元帥權慄申勅諸將一體施行何如
The words of the woman who was taken captive and fled back cannot all be believed, yet one or two of them must come near the truth. The enemy camp at Gubeopgok (仇法谷) of which she speaks was nowhere entered in the earlier reports of the several generals, and only now have we learned of it through this woman; all of this comes of a watch that is not close and of a failure to gauge the enemy's true condition, and it is most alarming. Even if we would now go and act against it, we ought first to scout it closely and learn in full how rugged or level the ground is and by what roads troops may enter; then, after a secret compact with the several generals, we must seize the opening and race there as Di Qing (狄靑) crossed the Kunlun Pass (崑崙關) by night, and only so will there be merit in it. This is a matter for the Supreme Commander to handle as the moment requires, and there is no need to ask leave beforehand from a thousand li away.
The evil by which military orders are not strict and men's hearts grow unruly is indeed as Kim Eung-seo (金應瑞) has said. But the slackness of military orders truly arises from this: the chain of command (體統) is not one, and orders issue from many gates. Take now the several generals of Gyeongsang Province. There is already a Commander-in-Chief who leads all the troops, so whenever the generals have an advance or an attack in hand they should all ask the Commander-in-Chief in secret and hear his yes or no; and the Commander-in-Chief for his part should issue orders to the generals and direct the plan of operations, so that advance and retreat, slow and swift, fit the turn of affairs at every move. If any man hears an order and does not carry it out, or hangs back and spoils the business, or moves rashly and is beaten, he must without fail be dealt with by military law, so that it is as the body moves the arm and the arm the fingers, with nothing crossed or out of keeping; then the chain of command will knit itself together of its own accord and military orders will be grave and strict.
Looking of late at the reports of the several generals and comparing them with affairs in the south, we find that no great chain of command stands in the army: each man issues orders of his own, and the Defense Commanders (防禦使), the Provincial Army Commanders (兵使), and the Border Inspectors-General (巡邊使) all hold in their grasp the power to decide as they please. The Assistant Commanders (助防將) and the magistrates below them are pulled this way and that and do not know whom to follow, and a mind to be idle and merely pass the days grows upon them besides, so that they advance when they wish to advance and withdraw when they wish to withdraw. Then, when they fail to reach the appointed place at the appointed time, they are sure to put the excuse upon another general. The proof of it is how Kim Eung-seo and Go Eon-baek (高彥伯) wrangled in the past over the single person of Jeong Hui-hyeon (鄭希玄) and became tangled in confusion with each other.
Now, if what Kim Eung-seo has asked truly fits the turn of affairs, let the Supreme Commander at once weigh the situation, draw up the plan of operations for him, and send orders to each camp to govern their advance and retreat; and for any man who, after this, does not follow the command, there is only the sword. Where the enemy is met all at once and there is no time to ask the Commander-in-Chief, the command of the chief general (主將) who is on the spot is to be obeyed: let the Assistant Commanders and the Detached Commanders (別將) and those below them come under the control of the Defense Commanders and the Provincial Army Commanders, and let any man who disobeys an order likewise be dealt with by law, without asking the court again for its disposal. Would it not be well for Your Majesty to instruct the Supreme Commander Gwon Yul (權慄) in this intent, that he may charge the several generals firmly and have it carried out as one?