and established new military headquarters there. That same year, Taizu sent an ambassador with a letter to Yejong asking to be recognized as "elder brother". Majority of the officials opposed this request and even considered beheading the envoy, but in the end it was decided not to answer. Support to education and religion In July 1109, two months after yielding the nine forts to the Jurchens, Yejong introduced to Gukjagam, the National Academy, seven courses of study based on the Five Classics, the Rites of Zhou, and military studies. In 1116, he created academic institutions and libraries such as Cheongyeongak () and Bomungak (), and in 1119 he established the scholarship foundation Yanghyeongo (). Although interested in education and culture already upon his accession to the throne, the sovereign identified several advantages in this policy: firstly, government education had long since been outclassed by the prosperity of private schools, but the reform introduced by Yejong gave way to a turnaround that continued into the reign of his successor; moreover, it was a way to strengthen his own authority, damaged by the failure against the Jurchens. Yejong had an interest in Buddhism and Taoism, and supported them throughout his reign, also being guided by geomancy in pursuing the royal building policies. The boundaries between religious beliefs were blurred: in 1106 the king officiated a Taoist ritual in honor of the Supreme Being and at the same time offered sacrifices to King Taejo asking for rain. In 1110, the Song emperor sent some ambassadors and two priests to Goryeo to instruct the people on Taoism, and that same year Yejong began the seven-year long construction of the country's first Taoist temple, Bogwongung (). He also renovated existing temples and religious institutions, and maintained cordial relations with the Confucian scholar, later a Taoist hermit, Kwak Yeo (1058–1130), often inviting him to the palace, asking for advice and exchanging poems. Economic and administrative reforms Sukjong had introduced the use of bronze coins and a silver currency called eunbyeong (). As soon as he ascended the throne, Yejong had to confront the opposing bureaucracy, which still adhered to a barter economy and taxation in kind established by the dynasty's founder Taejo, popular sentiments and the underdevelopment of markets. The sovereign tried to defend the use of the currency by noting that Liao had also introduced it, but the ministers brought the Ten Injunctions of Taejo