신라 군제(軍制)에서의 군령권(軍令權) 인식과 행사

Abstract

Examined in this article is the authority to command the military, which was practiced and preserved in the ancient Shilla dynasty. How this authority -which solely belonged to the King- was perceived and then executed, is the particular focus of this work.<BR> The authority to command the military was of course an authority to deploy military assets, soldiers and resources alike. Therefore it was an authority that could not be shared in any event, and it was also never to be interfered with from exterior forces. Kim Yu-shin did not mind a conflict with So Jeong-bang of Dang over the issue of punishing Shilla soldiers, and when the Dang government offended Shilla by treating the Shilla King as more or less the same with yet another local lord of China, King Munmu dared changing the Shilla command structure to become identical with its Dang counterpart, so that he could declare his position and status as same with that of the Dang Emperor. The exclusiveness of this authority to command the military was also visualized by objects and protocols that symbolized the authority’s delegation and retrieval. The Weol that Kim Yu-shin was in possession of was a symbol of military command, just like the Jeongjeol of Dang or Jeoldo of ancient Japan. King Munmu’s visit to the ancestral mausoleum right after the fall of Goguryeo was also a ritual retrieving the delegated military command.<BR> The authority to command the military was designed to control individuals within the command structure by punishments and rewards, but the authority itself was also never arbitrarily wielded. The commander of the Shilla military officialized wartime rules of punishment and reward as well as its resolve to abide by such rules, by issuing Seo declarations. Such rules had to be observed and followed by all parties, regardless of their ranks, including the commander himself. As following orders was crucial in military operations, and one could only pay the ultimate price with one’s own life, the spectrum of the punishments was rather narrow. The commander was granted with a certain range of discretion in rewarding soldiers under his command, but predetermined procedures had to be followed as well. From records of Shilla rewarding meritorious deeds right after the fall of Goguryeo , or from relevant regulations of Dang and Japan, we can see that Shilla was equipped with a system to reward meritorious actions performed in the time of war.