Hunminjeongeum
"I suppose so."
"Then, it doesn't have to be me. To put His Majesty the Emperor at ease, send one of my younger brothers to the royal family. That way, His Majesty will be reassured, and our house will be secure."
It was a marriage alliance between the Choi clan and the royal family, after all. Of course, from Gojong's perspective, it might be unpleasant. After all, both Manjong and Manjeon had lowly mothers. In the original history, wasn't Choi Hang—Manjeon—plagued by a complex about his mother's humble origins? Manjong was probably no different.
But a marriage to a princess made it irrelevant. Especially now that the slave system had been abolished and social status was effectively liberated. It was a situation that would make the slaves who revolted during Choi Chungheon's time laugh from the grave.
Hmm, those two need to prove their worth soon enough.
Yeah. It was about time those boys started working for the Choi clan. Better to settle this matter decisively.
So, after a long while, I met with the two of them.
"Sister, are you saying one of us has to marry into the royal family?"
"That's right. One of you two has to do it. I know it's not the nicest topic for our reunion, but you've grown into fine young men."
It was high time they got married. Why hadn't it come up already? Honestly, talks should have started ages ago.
"But we only have you as our sister. Why?"
Ah, these brothers. Why couldn't they ever leave the shelter of their sister's skirts?
Unfortunately, you're just expendable items for political maneuvering.
"I hate to send off my cute little brothers too. But I can't keep you under my skirts forever. Or do you want me to get married instead?"
It was a binary choice. Did they want to see their precious sister marry some other man, or would they go themselves?
"We don't want that."
"Right. Sister sleeping with some other guy..."
Are they insane? Me sleeping with some other guy? As if that would ever happen. If anything, I'd be the one rejecting them. No matter how great the man, I wouldn't want it.
"You can't talk to your sister like that. Anyway, it's what the Emperor wants. And for our house's stability, someone has to marry. I'd love it if one of my dear brothers stepped up."
I placed my hands on Manjeon and Manjong's shoulders, smiling softly. Softly only. If they wanted to keep seeing this smile, they'd obey.
My brothers had been gaslit for years. They'd become dependent on me. What if this sister turned into one of those scary women they knew? Would they distance themselves? No. After all that conditioning, they'd cling harder, desperate not to be abandoned.
From childhood, I'd drilled into them to avoid women. And now, because of it, they were frantic not to lose their sister. It was almost pitiful.
No helping it. Better they grow up like this than turn rotten like in the original history.
"Then what about the other one?"
"If you want, you can come with me to handle affairs in Yodong."
I couldn't just abandon Yodong yet. I needed to stay as its governor a bit longer. I'd come here personally for the spread of Hunminjeongeum and the introduction of Arabic numerals. Their issue was just a bonus.
"This is naturally something for the elder brother to handle."
Here, Manjeon yielded to Manjong. As the younger, he'd pass the glory to his brother. Or more likely, shove the hassle onto him.
"Shouldn't you do it, little brother? I'll live peacefully with sister in Yodong."
Peacefully my ass. I'd given them the option because Yodong would be my base for a while, not just playing around in Gaegyeong.
They looked ready to grab each other by the collar any minute.
With no choice, I made them decide without fighting. I taught them rock-paper-scissors, best of three.
And the winner was Manjeon, who took it with three scissors in a row.
"No way. I lost?"
"Hahaha! Brother, how do you lose three times the same way? If this were war, three lives wouldn't be enough!"
Thus, winner and loser were decided. The loser would marry into the royal family—but compared to his original history of tyranny, it wasn't bad at all.
The matter was settled quickly. Emperor Gojong seemed regretful about missing me.
"It's a pity, but unavoidable."
"My son is handling major duties in the provinces. He won't fall short in royal etiquette."
Our Manjong had been well-raised in the clan. Father had probably prepared for this. Whether I'd kill or spare them later, I'd use them for the Choi clan's benefit.
The marriage wouldn't happen immediately. A union between the royal family and the Choi clan was an auspicious event. You couldn't hold something like that small and modest.
"Don't underestimate the royal family too much."
"Sister, can't you stay in Gaegyeong this time?"
"I'm the Governor of Yodong. I have to stay a while longer. Even if I have to move my base back to Gaegyeong later."
Probably around when Father dies. Until then, I'd hold Yodong. To fully integrate my Jurchen supporters as Goryeo subjects, I needed to stay and win hearts.
Then I attended the Council of Ministers.
Some frowned at a delicate woman like me joining the prime ministers' meeting, but I was the daughter of the Supreme Commander, and despite my gender, the top contributor in both Mongol wars. No seat was off-limits.
Here, I secured the ministers' support for the Hunminjeongeum issue. I'd already planted the idea in the provinces that it was simple and convenient.
"This Hunminjeongeum is easy to learn. More convenient than Khitan or Jurchen scripts."
Khitan and Jurchen scripts were harder to learn and write than even Hanja.
"But abandoning Hanja feels off."
"Agreed. Honestly, it's inefficient now. And do commoners even need to learn to read?"
Right. Especially for bureaucrats like them, why create something new when Hanja existed?
"We have to. Of course, no forcing it—only volunteers at the national level. And offer job placement as an incentive for learning."
"That's true, but..."
"If we see ourselves as the world's center, using an independent script over Central Plains Hanja is vital. Hanja aside, since we're integrating Jurchens as subjects, a unified script is a given. We should adopt the easy one. Above all, it's about authority. Why did Khitan and Jurchen create harder scripts than Hanja?"
Why did those Khitan and Jurchen bastards force such things?
"To strengthen their independence. To show they differed from the Central Plains Han Chinese with their own language."
Exactly. So the answer was clear. We needed the same—for our own autonomy.
In the original history, we groveled to China as "mother," snatching crumbs, only to be mocked in modern times as a Chinese vassal by Chinese and Japanese. I hated that future.
"Precisely. The need for a unified script is clear. Now that we've taken Yodong, our empire's foundation is long established. If we won't kowtow to Song, we must spread our script for our people's autonomy."
Of course, it wouldn't spread as widely as in the original history right away. Forcing it with military power would alienate the people, and the key was creating an environment where learning was necessary.
Personally, I believed it would follow naturally as the nation developed. Opportunities requiring literacy would multiply, right?
"Empire's foundation—you mean proclaiming ourselves Emperor?"
"Jin is a swamp-bound colt, and Song acknowledges our Yodong recovery. In this situation, what's stopping us from imperial founding? But unlike Song, we must preserve our uniqueness."
Imperial founding—hwangje geonwon, the goal of Myocheong's rebellion during the western capital relocation movement. Declaring ourselves an empire internally and externally to claim equality with China.
Who wouldn't want it? They just pandered to Chinese dynasties' egos. Internally, didn't they still call themselves Emperor? China wasn't blind to Goryeo's "outer king, inner emperor" for centuries—they just turned a blind eye since Goryeo lacked power.
But now, with national strength backing it, we could declare it openly.
"But imperial founding requires caution."
"Naturally. So, in the direction of preserving our independence."
There wasn't much opposition to the script itself. Just reluctance to abandon Hanja.
These bureaucrats were appointed by the military regime anyway. They had to accept the next military dictator's orders.
"Very well. I hear the Supreme Commander has already set up schools in the household and Gaegyeong to teach it. If we get His Majesty's approval, it's not bad."
"Indeed. Our household is already learning it. So, the ministers approve?"
Choi U delivered the finishing blow. With the Choi clan's momentum sky-high, spreading the script served the national interest. His retainers like Jusuk and Daejipseong chimed in that they were already learning Hunminjeongeum.
"Then, for promulgating this script, what should we name it?"
Now to name the script. Candidates emerged: Hunminjeongeum as in original history; Haedongjeongeum meaning "true sounds of the eastern sea country"; Cheonggujeongeum incorporating ancient name for Korea; Dongbangtongmun meaning "script unifying the east."
But there was a catch. Unlike original history, this Hangul was for integrating foreign ethnicities too. It embodied cultural pride and autonomy while assimilating others. Broader than just "teaching the people."
"Haedong and Cheonggu refer only to us. We need something more inclusive—either Hunminjeongeum or Dongbangtongmun."
"Dongbangtongmun implies only the east. Since Jurchens will be our people too, treating Samhan and Jurchens equally, isn't Hunminjeongeum better?"
In the end, it became Hunminjeongeum as in original history. But with broader meaning, encompassing many ethnicities. The moment Hunminjeongeum—also called Goryeo script—was officially promulgated.