Report on Investigating the Amount of Army Grain Now Remaining查報軍糧見在數狀
天兵經過一路各官糧儲大抵皆蕩敗之餘當初意其不能成形近來諸處之糓運續輸運艱難湊合足可支給自義州賫糧可到定州自定州賫糧可到安州義州則本倉之糓頗優不足則昌朔二邑之糓可以連續添補定州安州則悉以他處之糓輸運前後唐兵已曾散給之外總計今日見在之數白造米田米幷二千五百石豆二千六百五十餘石唐兵支給一日之糧必用三升以此計之萬兵一日之糧爲二百石二千五百石則當爲萬兵半月之糧若五千兵則可支一月豆一馬支給一斗則二千六百餘石亦萬馬三四日之料此雖似不足而龜城所儲亦當添補安州站見在糓數雜米幷二千六百八十餘石豆一千七百七十石米數比定州稍優而豆則似爲不足然若未留連則猶可支給臣之患意賊勢方熾而我軍形勢孤弱人多㥘戰雖時時抄擊少有所獲而我軍死者過當至於人民逐日被死掠者不計其數萬一賊悉合醜類散漫西下則事之寒心非可以一二計前日。天兵之敗乃將帥失䇿輕敵之致非兵之罪也卽今秋氣已高馬足方健若請數千精兵與我軍先定約束誘引出來與之掎角馳驅於平原曠野之中則些少殘寇可以立盡此是何等大事何等機會雖有小弊有不暇計况見儲糧穀之數不至於蕩然無計。朝廷各別處置圖惟萬全長䇿不勝懇望之至
The provisions of each district along the one road by which the Ming troops pass are for the most part only what was left after everything collapsed, and at the outset we supposed they could not be brought into any shape. Of late, with the grain of several places shipped in one after another and gathered with difficulty, there is enough to supply them amply. Provisions can be carried from Uiju and reach Jeongju, and carried from Jeongju and reach Anju. At Uiju the grain of the home granary is quite ample, and if it falls short it can be added to in succession from the grain of the two districts of Changseong and Sakju. Jeongju and Anju have all had grain shipped in from elsewhere.
Setting aside what has already been distributed to the Ming troops before and since, if one reckons up the whole amount remaining at Jeongju today, it is two thousand five hundred seok of white rice, hulled rice, and field rice together, and something over two thousand six hundred and fifty seok of beans. The daily provision supplied to the Ming troops uses three seung without fail. Reckoning by this, a day's provisions for ten thousand troops is two hundred seok, so two thousand five hundred seok makes a fortnight's provisions for ten thousand troops, and for five thousand troops it could supply a month. As for the beans, if one mal is given per horse, something over two thousand six hundred seok is three or four days' feed even for ten thousand horses. This seems likely to fall short, but it can also be added to from what is stored at Guseong (龜城). The grain remaining at the Anju station is something over two thousand six hundred and eighty seok including mixed grains, and one thousand seven hundred and seventy seok of beans. The amount of rice is a little more ample than at Jeongju, but the beans seem likely to fall short. Still, so long as they do not halt for long, it can be supplied well enough.
What your servant fears is that the enemy's strength is just now flourishing while our troops' strength is solitary and weak, and that the men greatly dread battle. Even when we strike from time to time and gain a little, those of our troops who die are excessively many, and the people who are killed and plundered day by day cannot be counted. Should the enemy join all their hosts and spill down westward, the pitiableness of the matter could not be reckoned as one thing or two.
The Ming troops' defeat the other day was because the commanders lost their plan and made light of the enemy, not the fault of the soldiers. Now the autumn air is already high and the horses' hooves are just growing firm. If we were to ask for several thousand picked troops, settle an agreement with our own troops beforehand, lure the enemy out, close on them front and back in a pincer, and drive them on the open plain, the few remaining enemy could be wiped out where we stand. How great a matter this is, and how good an opportunity! Even were there small drawbacks, there is no leisure to weigh them. Still less is the amount of grain laid up so utterly empty that nothing can be done. Your servant most earnestly hopes that the court will dispose of this with particular care and plan a long policy of full security.