Abolition of Slavery
Maybe someone like Yi Seonggye could pop up again someday. But at least it's best to eliminate the obvious ones. Look at that traitor's face. The bastard who sent his son to surrender and then blabbered excuses. Even Dae Geum-chwi, nephew of Daejipseong—who botched an entire army during the first Mongol invasion and crippled Goryeo forces from fighting proper battles throughout the war—led the Ubong Byeolcho and scored victories against the Mongols or recaptured prisoners when they looted the palace. Yeah. Compared to the so-called incompetent warrior officials of the military regime era, these guys' records don't even measure up. Yi Seonggye's ancestors were a far cry dumber than those military officials.
"In the end, you only listen after getting punished. But you ignored the court's orders from the start, forcing us to send a punitive force and waste national strength while our troops took heavy losses. Should I spare you just because you're forfeiting your wealth?"
How much time did it take to march the army all the way here? How much more military supplies were squandered just getting to this point?
"Please show mercy!"
Iansa pissed his pants and slammed his forehead into the ground over and over, just like his distant descendant King Injo. Mercy? No such thing. If they'd handed everything over from the beginning, they could've lived. But these bastards resisted, so the Eastern Region had no choice but to dispatch the punitive force. It might seem like overkill, but leaving Iyangmu and Iansa intact at this critical juncture could embolden other hojok clans—who knows how they'd react? Crushing them hard upfront is the only way to deter the troublemakers.
I jerked my chin at Jusuk, who nodded.
"The Iyangmu clan refused to cooperate with the tax collectors despite repeated warnings, ultimately defying the imperial command. And his son Iansa dared to lay filthy hands on the daughter of the Supreme Commander of the Iron Cannons, a crime that reaches to the heavens and overflows. For this high treason, they are sentenced to execution."
Jusuk pronounced the sentence, and the Byeolcho Army sealed the fate of Iyangmu, Iansa, father and son, along with their retainers who stuck with them to the bitter end.
"At least spare our clan!"
"Where would the seeds of traitors scatter?"
The entire clan was sentenced to execution. It looked like guilt by association, but uprooting not just the Iyangmu line but the roots of the Jeonju Yi clan was essential—otherwise, we'd be leaving hojok power structures intact. The method: shooting by firing squad. Surprisingly, this execution style seemed to sit well with the Eastern Region folks.
Bang! Bang! Bang-bang!
And with that, the Iyangmu and Iansa clan was finished. No forgiving high treason like that—Iyangmu's line was wiped out root and stem.
"There goes Yi Seonggye."
The future King U of Wu would have to thank me someday. Assuming he even existed in this timeline. No Mongol vassalage here, after all—different emperors could rise, or if I didn't like them, I'd scrap the monarchy altogether. Who knew if a Uwang would even appear? I planned to conquer Japan too—would Yi Seonggye's wako pirates even exist then? Sure, national chaos might spawn pirates like the Silla Pirates, but if the country crumbled to mere wako without Yi Seonggye, it deserved to fall. Plenty of talented generals existed back then besides him. This world's Goryeo wouldn't be groaning under wako raids even in the distant future.
"What about the Jeonju Yi clan's nobi slaves?"
Right, as hojok, they had nobi under them. Any need to keep them tied down? We'd already decided to emancipate nobi. The hojok's nobi would be freed gradually, but sparing the survivors after their masters' deaths made sense. Plus, the commoners who followed the Jeonju Yi would inevitably grumble. Free them as yangmin and redistribute the land—that should settle it.
"Emancipate them. We'll dispatch separate local officials too, so the Jeonju county magistrate should cooperate fully with the tax collectors."
"The nobi, you mean?"
Of course—this era's reaction to freeing nobi was predictable. It was heartbreaking, but reality is reality. That's why I planned to change these values. As we dismantled the hojok one by one, we'd free their nobi underneath. Public sentiment would follow inevitably. Even if some preferred nobi life for tax burdens, if we provided the means to pay those taxes, what would they choose? Freedom as true subjects of this nation, every time. To check the hojok, emancipating nobi was non-negotiable—they were the hojok's property, often mobilized as private soldiers.
"You think the nobi under Jeonju Yi were just any slaves? They were surely exploited illegally by that clan. Free them and redistribute the Jeonju Yi lands evenly. This is Eastern Region policy."
Letting them know it's official Eastern Region policy.
"Of course!"
"Good. I'll assume that's settled."
"Yes, Commander."
Being called "Commander" at my age felt off. A flower-like maiden like me getting this treatment—was it too much? Whatever. At least we'd nabbed the Jeonju Yi, removing one variable for the future Mongol wars.
"You look relieved, milady."
I smirked, but Kim Jun frowned in confusion.
"What, after catching the bastard we had to catch?"
How could I not be pleased? That wrapped things up nicely. Now to watch how the other hojok reacted—but after this decisive blow, would any dare resist the Eastern Region?
Not long after the Iyangmu clan was seized, the southern hojok held a meeting.
"They say Jeonju's Iyangmu and Iansa clan resisted and got executed."
Iyangmu and Iansa of Jeonju were dead. Shocking enough to rattle the other southern hojok. They'd been meeting often—half-forced—to share water buffalo breeding and recipes, but the Choe regime's ruthless crackdown left them reeling, prompting this gathering.
"They sent a punitive force over protecting hojok rights?"
"What do you all think?"
"Heard that northern guy, Hong Bokwon, got executed too."
Hong Bokwon was Inju's major hojok lord. Looking back, his execution under the pretext of his father Hong Daesun's treason seemed suspicious. Even Inju's nobi, absorbed as public slaves afterward, were freed under the public nobi emancipation. Piecing it together, it all pointed one way.
"Maybe Supreme Commander Choe is aiming to abolish slavery altogether."
In truth, Hong Bokwon's nobi were freed after his execution when they became state property, per Choi U's public nobi edict. But the hojok saw it differently.
"Then shouldn't we resist?"
"Raising those water buffalo or whatever wrecked my household. How the hell do we resist?"
The water buffalo farming was promising, sure, but all produce went to the state. Their depleted fortunes wouldn't recover. Those dipping into soap trade might scrape by, but buffalo-weary hojok lacked the strength to resist.
"Exactly. And the Eastern Region's new weapons are terrifying."
"We're already cooperating with tax collectors anyway—resisting's pointless. The real issue is nobi emancipation. Didn't Iyangmu's nobi get freed as yangmin?"
This screamed deliberate slave-freeing policy.
"Plus, our nobi heard from ex-Iyangmu slaves."
"So what do we do?"
"We'll emancipate our nobi."
"Free the nobi?"
One hojok finally proposed it. For smaller clans with few nobi, it hardly mattered. The yangmin managing redistributed lands would just pay taxes directly to collectors. Same routine, different order. Best to take it positively.
"They've been prepping since the public nobi emancipation."
"And their rallying figure gets snuffed out like that."
Had Iyangmu and Iansa defied the court, southern hojok might've followed. Tax collectors had hinted at it from the start.
"Better we free our nobi voluntarily and cooperate. At least that'll preserve some rights, no?"
Some rights—like keeping the hojok title to play local overlord, even if they surrendered lands.
But it wasn't just minimal rights.
"This nation's top house is the Ubong Choi clan under His Supremacy. Their nobi outnumber ours by miles."
If so, even the Choi might struggle to free theirs. They couldn't force hojok to abolish slavery then. Not all nobi wanted freedom anyway—heavy taxes made slavery appealing to some. Maybe they could even reverse emancipation.
A few days after returning to Gaegyeong, my legs swelled up bad—I hobbled around for a while. Chunsim massaged them diligently, building up my muscles in the process. At this rate, she'd overpower me someday. The fleeting thought sent a chill down my spine.
Once I recovered, word came that hojok across the regions were emancipating nobi.
"Hojok everywhere are freeing their nobi."
"Suddenly? What are those bastards thinking, handing them over?"
Hojok voluntarily surrendering everything? Them? Really? Hojok were local kings who clung to power tooth and nail. Just look at Iyangmu.
"The yangmin who got land shares now pay taxes directly to collectors."
Powerless hojok—what could they do? Especially after hearing Iyangmu died.
"Hm. Must be thanks to nabbing the Iyangmu clan."
"Probably."
Come to think of it, in original history, the Sambyeolcho rebels promised nobi emancipation—which rallied southern nobi to their cause. Sounds like the southern hojok were spooked good. Their fault anyway, right?
The hojok nobi emancipations rippled back to us. If local hojok freed nobi, could the nation's supreme house sit idle? Nobi were expendable—hire laborers with cash—but royalist factions opposed to us pounced relentlessly.
"Your Supremacy, hojok nationwide are releasing nobi."
"As befits Your Supremacy, you should too."
Free yours too—handle the backlash.
The catch? We'd discussed this ages ago. Nice try drowning us, but no dice.
"Things are moving too fast."
Father sighed deeply, leaning on my shoulder. A dutiful daughter kneads it, of course. Plus, daughters just advise.
"No choice. We'll emancipate too. As this nation's supreme house, we must set the example."
We'd planned to lead anyway—they just stole our thunder. Time to go bold. Father's aides would yield fully then.
Days later, Father invited the civil and military officials to the mansion.
"Your Supremacy, Lady Choi invited us—what's this about?"
"Do you think we'd emancipate public nobi for no reason?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple."
I had Kim Injun—now Kim Jun—gather the nobi in the courtyard. The Choi mansion was massive, yet it brimmed with them. I hauled out a huge chest before them. Father looked displeased, but the arrow had flown. Backing out now would give hojok an excuse not to free theirs. No way.
"What's going on?"
"Yeah, gathering them all like this."
"Choi household nobi, listen up! I'm giving you a chance to become yangmin!"
I stood before them with a torch blazing.
"Huh? What's that suddenly?"
"These are your slave registry documents! Burn them, and you're free! You can leave this house!"
I showed them the wooden chest's contents—stuffed with slave papers. Somewhere underground, the countless souls who'd died advocating Choi nobi emancipation under this roof were probably shedding tears.