Letter to the Inspector and Army Commander of Pyeongan移平安道巡察節度使文

This province, after four years of raising troops and hauling supplies, has the people's strength spent, its army provisions short, and its soldiers few and weak. At such a time there is besides an alarm on the western frontier; and though whether the trouble come slow or swift cannot be reckoned beforehand, what is to be feared in it is grave. The court's directions are many, but to meet the moment as it comes rests wholly in the hands of the Patrol Commissioner (巡察使) and the Provincial Military Commander (節度使); it cannot be governed from a thousand ri away point by point and at a distance.

To speak for now of the great shape of it: the whole stretch along the river stands empty, and if the barbarians should lead a great host and take the empty gap and come upon us suddenly, then with worn and remaining soldiers divided to hold a span of several hundred ri the parts cannot reach one another. And if we should try to match strength on open ground with nothing to lean upon, our soldiers' hearts would take fright first, and the many and the few being no match, the shape of victory and defeat could not be fixed beforehand.

We must first look to whether the ground is steep or level and whether the defense there is vital or slack: where there are walls, join the troops of the small forts, put their strength together, and hold fast; and furnish besides a plenty of fire-arms and weapons — matchlocks, the Seungja guns (勝字銃筒), and cannon of every kind — to break the enemy's onset, which drives swift as a whirlwind. Even where there are no walls and moats, if it be a place the enemy must pass, there too one should take stand on the steep ground, make first a shape that cannot be beaten, and wait; and set out among the woods and mountain valleys a show as though troops were there, with drum and horn answering one another and banners in confusion, so that the enemy cannot reckon whether we are many or few — then he can be beaten. The old saying has it, 「Barbarians are easy to break by stratagem but hard to crush by arms,」 and this is the subtle secret of the masters of war. One who is a commander must needs grave it ten parts deep upon himself.

The stretch along the river, from Ganggye to Uiju, makes six garrisons in all. Above Wiwon the provincial aide-de-camp (虞候) is charged with the duty of assisting the defense; below Byeokdong the magistrate of Byeokdong holds the assisting defense besides his own office; and the Army Commander, as chief commander, has the ordering of them all. The court's direction in this was truly no chance thing. Only, it is heard that the several counties along the river have had very little army provisions since the trouble broke out; so troops should be gathered by the measure of what there is to eat, and it must not be that there are troops and nothing to eat. Let the troops of the interior be picked apart as able-bodied men and divided to hold the several places, and let many more gunners and swordsmen from north of the Cheongcheon be added to hold them — this truly cannot be left undone; but what is to be feared is that the army provisions will not suffice and the troops be gathered with nothing to eat. What the court fears lies only here. Let this province look into this matter ten parts closely and dispose of it in good time, that there be no regret of falling short when the need is pressing. The magistrates of the counties south of the riverside as well — of such lands as Sakju, Guseong, Taecheon, and Unsan — are likewise to put their troops in order by turns and make agreement beforehand, so that on hearing of the trouble they hasten to help; and the troops of the interior must be bound by the like agreement, to hold the enemy off by turns. If the plan and the care be fixed beforehand and the posts clearly set out, the soldiers' hearts will not be shaken and strength can be had at the pressing hour; look closely into this as well and carry it out.

The garrison commands of the several provinces number no more than four or five, but this province has six. Seven belong to Pyeongyang, four to Yeongbyeon, four to Anju, two to Uiju, ten to Seongcheon, and two to Guseong. The numbers, many or few, by which they were divided and attached at the first all have a deep intent and are truly no chance thing. In general, ever since the former dynasty the troubles in the west have arisen now above the water, now below the water, and now in both places at once, and their place has not been uniform; and so the troops of the one province were each divided and attached according to what was convenient and near, that in ordinary times the magistrate of the garrison command should drill them by the law, and when there was business each should lead the troops belonging to him and, hearing the chief commander's command, now hasten to help on the field of battle and now block and cut off the vital passes. Though the enemy get his will in one place or two, the troops of the interior were made to interlock like a dog's teeth and to lean upon one another like the cart and its outrigger, so that he should not come deep in. To such far-seeing care nothing can be added.

Of late the soldiery of this province has already passed through training and the skill of the gunners is well worth seeing; so truly, if the chief commander fix his plan first, hold still and quiet and unshaken, and meet things with what is fitting, there will be no fear of spoiling the business. For the rest, the small matters to be disposed of as the moment comes, let this province look into ten parts closely and dispose of them so that nothing goes amiss. Make a register of the number of the soldiery within the province, of what belongs to each garrison command, and of the company officers and the banner chiefs and squad chiefs, and send it up, to be the ground of reference hereafter.

Anju is very well placed, and it stands besides at the pass of the Cheongcheon; so if it be made a place of weight and become as lip and tooth with Yeongbyeon, the shape of the whole province will be firm of itself. Only, the wall's circuit is wide and far and hard to hold. The court would pull down the eastern face of the wall and shift it, building out beyond the fence of the public granary on the ridge behind the local school; but at this time when the people's strength is utterly worn it seems hard to take up such labor again. If those who serve their turn among the naval troops of the three harbors were set to build it with a remission of their turn — the days being cut from a month's turn so that they build the wall twenty days and go — the people's feeling too would seem to find it easy. Now in the season when the ice forms it cannot be lightly begun; but there is no harm in reckoning beforehand to know how wide and how narrow it is and to count how much manpower it needs, and beginning to build next spring; reckon this as well and report.