Letter to the Hamgyeong Inspector and the Southern and Northern Army Commanders移咸鏡道巡察使南北兵使文
鍊兵一事。朝廷命下外方所爲尙未有頭緒虛度時日良爲可歎兵曹頃日磨鍊武學事目。啓下知委其意欲使邑求於其面面求於其里里求於其村村求於其人所謂綱擧而目隨卽古者比閭出兵之遺意無徵發往來之擾無合聚餉食之費一番整勅之後百事惟意平時則如鄕徒習射之爲而防備土賊患難相救有急則各哨官旗隊總領其所鍊之軍而聽其調用允爲利益此事若善爲措置則萬一遇有邊患精勇俱發有手足相救之形而括軍擾民之弊可以袪矣且本道南官各邑多有從軍力戰之人而或功多而賞典不及頗有怨望之心或上之人無推起使用之者而在家間臥者亦不爲少此輩隨便盡爲調發或施俵賞饋遺蠲除完護之恩使人情聳動而相慰且雖調出而勿爲發遣分力作爲一隊使之自當一面大槪治兵之事如治亂繩必以誠心臨之勤加振作又必有賞罰之柄而頻數試才有所勸獎然後可期成效矣各別申勅施行
On the one business of drilling troops the court's command has come down, yet what the outer counties do has still no thread to it and the days are spent in vain, which is truly to be sighed over. The Ministry of War drew up articles for military study in days past and reported them to the sovereign and they were handed down and made known; and their intent is to have the county seek it of its wards, the ward of its villages, the village of its hamlets, and the hamlet of its men. This is what is called raising the net-cord and the meshes following after, and is the surviving intent of the old way of raising soldiers from the villages. There is no clamor of coming and going to summon and gather them, and no cost of feeding them when gathered; so once they are put in order, every business will go as one would have it.
In ordinary times it will be as when the village companies practice archery, guarding against the robbers at home and succoring one another in calamity; and when there is a pressing need, each company officer and the banner chiefs and squad chiefs lead the soldiers they have drilled and follow where they are called and used. It is truly a profitable thing. If this business be well disposed of, then should we meet even one frontier trouble in ten thousand, picked and nimble soldiers will go forward together and there will be the posture of hand and foot succoring one another; and the old evil of scraping troops together and throwing the people into clamor can be done away.
Further, in the several counties of Namgwan (南關) in this province there are many men who followed the army and fought hard; and of these, some, though their merit was great, have had no reward reach them and bear no little resentment in their hearts, while others, having none above to draw them out and raise them up and use them, lie idle at home, and these too are not few. Let all this company be called out as is convenient, and let some be given a share of reward and sent food, and have their labor service remitted, and let the grace of looking after them be shown, that human feeling may well up and they may console one another. And though they be called out, do not send them elsewhere, but divide their strength and make one squad of them and have them take charge of one ward themselves.
In general the governing of troops is like the governing of a tangled cord: one must come to it with a true heart and rouse it up diligently, and one must hold besides the handle of reward and punishment and test their skills often, so that there is something to encourage them; only then can the accomplishing of any effect be looked for. Charge them with this particularly and put it in practice.