Reforms, Divine Titles, and the Jin's Fiery Gambit
Before heading back to Yodong amid the Jin Dynasty and the Mongols, there were a few loose ends to tie up.
"This is also the numeral system used in the Great Song Dynasty. With our vast territories and growing population, I believe it's worth introducing for more systematic tax management. It should start with the Household Bureau, the Three Departments, the War Ministry, and the Works Ministry. The Yodong Governor's Office is already using these numbers, and the Jurchens there have adapted to them quite efficiently."
The officials from the Household Bureau and Works Ministry were also consulted on these numerals.
"Hmm, it's not a bad idea at all. Processing tax collection rates and conversions with these would speed up calculations and boost collection efficiency."
"Using zero to clearly mark empty places makes it far simpler than abacus or counting rods, and it could prevent corruption."
As the military regime dragged on, plenty of people were skimming from the shadows. Introducing Arabic numerals to key departments would certainly help.
And it helped in other ways too.
"Milord, wouldn't it be better to introduce these numbers gradually?"
"Even the illiterate martial officers can memorize them easily. Why are you opposing this? Have you been secretly embezzling state revenues, perhaps?"
Her father, the military regent, calling the martial officers illiterate—it was the funniest thing. Those opposing the numerals were the embezzlers who had no choice but to get caught. Of course, for now, they'd only be used in major departments, but it was clear they'd spread everywhere while she was in Yodong.
A few days after the cabinet meeting ended. She'd worried there might be backlash, but things had stabilized—perhaps thanks to the military regime's momentum. The bureaucrats had no choice but to get used to Hangul and these numbers. She'd been anxious about potential roadblocks like in Joseon, but now she could finally exhale the breath she'd been holding.
Watching her, her father sipped his tea, staring in disbelief.
"Good grief, you dive right in with these radical changes the moment you arrive."
"I have no choice, Father. I can't stay in Gaegyeong forever, can I?"
So, it was best to handle what she could while she was here. Once this much was in place, it would spread on its own, and she wouldn't need to intervene for a while.
"True enough. Well, if you don't want to, we could appoint a separate governor for Yodong."
"That wouldn't work right now. Besides..."
"Besides what?"
"The Jurchens in Yodong are calling me Han."*
The Jurchens in Yodong alone numbered well over 1.5 million. The Khitans absorbed into the region after Subutai's defeat were still floating around without roots, but they knew they had nowhere else to go—they'd have to follow eventually.
"They're calling you the Jurchen khan? Isn't khan the Mongol title for their ruler?"
If he'd studied history a bit, he'd know about the khan title. It was the supreme leader of northern nomadic peoples—essentially their emperor. Originally, it referred to Mongol or Turkic rulers. In actual history, the Jurchens' Nurhaci was later called Han (capturing the khan's meaning), and after receiving the Yuan's imperial seal from the Chahar in Inner Mongolia, he claimed succession to the Mongol Empire and used Great Khan. A Jurchen calling someone khan at this time was centuries ahead of schedule. And for a Goryeo woman like her to be called that? Even more unusual.
They probably saw her as qualified since she'd crushed even the Mongols, their would-be overlords.
"Yes. They must have been awestruck by how I annihilated the Mongol army."
"Heh, I suppose so. The Jurchens have suffered greatly under the Mongols. Beating an army stronger than theirs? Of course they'd be impressed. Why else would the Jurchens rampaging in the Nine Northeastern Castles during King Yeongjong's reign quietly submit to Goryeo rule?"
Exactly. Back when the Nine Castles were built, the Jurchens had been a menace. But the Jurchen state of Dongjin in Yodong fell to Goryeo, and that same Goryeo had now repelled the Mongols twice, proving its might. Weakened Jurchens had no choice but to follow.
She chuckled at her father's words.
"That's why timing is everything. Wan An Agalta unified the Jurchens easily thanks to Goryeo's Jurchen campaigns, then used that strength to smash the chaotic Liao and found the Jin. We've reclaimed Yodong the same way, so to solidify it, we should humor the Jurchens for now and fully integrate them into Goryeo."
The Jin had been driven to the Central Plains, but even before that, the imperial family had pushed Sinicization, leaving the Manchurian Jurchens somewhat alienated. They were probably a bit resentful.
"Still, it's amazing. My daughter, a woman, being hailed by the Jurchens?"
"I looked into it, and they worship a goddess unique to them called Abkaï Hehe."
What kind of name is Abkaï Hehe? They could've picked something cooler. Translating it to Hanja might make it sound better, but still.
"In that light, it's fortunate you're in a woman's body rather than a man's for stabilizing Yodong. You can rule the Jurchens by leveraging Abkaï Hehe."
"That's the plan."
It wasn't what she'd wished for, but reality left her no choice.
"The Buddhist factions won't stay quiet about that."
"Abkaï Hehe exists only in Yodong. Even if the Buddhists complain, what can they do when it's for Jurchen unification? Besides, I plan to equate her with Sosono, founder of Goguryeo and Baekje, and teach that to the Jurchens."
This was just governance strategy, not deification. And she wasn't claiming it herself—she was simply accommodating what the Jurchens wanted for unity. Far in the future, Sosono might even eclipse Jumong in fame here.
"I see. With the Wan An clan barely clinging to life in Kaifeng, you must look like the new Jurchen leader to them. So, was that business about establishing an imperial reign title at the cabinet meeting sincere?"
"Sincere, but not entirely."
"What do you mean?"
"Emperor is fundamentally a Central Plains title. We've borrowed Song culture, but claiming it would be like declaring ourselves a Central Plains state. Instead, why not revert to Taewang, like ancient Goguryeo that ruled the Malgal precursors to the Jurchens? Externally, we could claim Haedong Cheonja."
There can't be two emperors under one heaven. Song would love to smash Jin and declare their emperor the sole one if they could. But Goryeo declaring an emperor now? After all the deference Song had received, it'd seem outrageous.
So, Taewang for independence, while using Haedong Cheonja officially for Song trade. Not a universal emperor, but one limited to east of the sea. Song could accept that.
"Fair point, but isn't the timing premature?"
"Yes. But we must prepare. If the Mongols, Jin, and Song hold China steady and our territories stabilize, why not?"
Of course, they'd need to lay the groundwork internally and reshape ministries for an empire. First, develop Yodong. With how hastily they'd taken it, the Jurchens might defect without her. At minimum, bind them under Goryeo's worldview.
Above all, if she kept being called Abkaï Hehe, civil officials would nitpick. This imperial title talk was preparation: revere the emperor as absolute leader, while she's just the Jurchens' Abkaï Hehe. That should suffice.
Jin Dynasty, Hebei Front
Jin commander Wan An Jin-hwa-sang was utterly dumbfounded. The culprit was the Goryeo firecracker in his hand.
"Heh, with our national fate hanging by a thread and the dynasty crumbling, this is what Great Jin's soldiers are playing with?"
"General, it's insolent, but it keeps the troops going. We have to give them some diversion against the Mongols' brutality."
"Even so. These firecrackers came via Song merchants, not official Goryeo trade. With our dire straits, they must've sold weapons for them."
"Punish the ringleaders for now."
The Jin army was in shambles. They barely held Kaifeng, but the state was barely functioning. Could he punish soldiers who'd rallied to fight for the country under him? In their desperation, Wan An Jin-hwa-sang was inclined to let it slide.
Then a thought flashed through his mind.
Firecrackers? The ones that shoot fireballs into the sky?
"Wait. How do you use this exactly?"
They dragged the ringleader over and made him demonstrate the Goryeo firecracker.
"Just light it."
Fizzle... whoosh!
Flames shot into the night sky with a sound none had ever heard, blooming overhead.
"Goryeo developed this?"
"Why, what's wrong?"
"What if we used it militarily?"
No reports of Mongols using firecrackers yet.
"Militarily?"
Mongol pressure was intense. They were nearly at Kaifeng's gates. What if...?
Wan An Jin-hwa-sang, rallying Jin remnants, prepared a night raid on the Mongols—using firecrackers in an bizarre tactic. Soldiers assigned to the assault lit as many smuggled Goryeo firecrackers as possible. The unprecedented sight panicked the Mongol horses into chaos.
"What the hell is that?!"
"The horses are bolting!"
One firecracker threw the vanguard into disarray; the rear followed. Wan An Jin-hwa-sang ordered a full assault.
"All-out attack! Repel the Mongols!"
The counterstrike inflicted heavy Mongol losses, but the weakened Jin couldn't press the advantage. Tului arrived with reinforcements to retrieve the beaten Mongols, forcing them to pause. Wan An Jin-hwa-sang's reversal made even the Mongols hesitate.
Mongol Chancellor Yalu Choeje sought an audience with Ogedei.
"Why not spare Jin in exchange for tribute and head west?"
"We can't even beat those Jin scum? What is this?"
"We can win, but at great cost."
"Hmm."
There was another reason for this mess. They'd sent 50,000 elites against Goryeo in the second invasion—only to get massacred like dogs—neglecting the Jin front.
"No. We can't spare Jin considering our relations. Can't we maintain the front and still expedition west?"
"Possible with more auxiliaries there."
Jin no longer had its old power. Even victories weren't decisive—just pushing Mongols back. An alliance with Song might help, but Song remained pathetically neutral, not even dreaming of reclaiming lost lands.
Jin's doom was long sealed. Once rotten, it could only collapse into Mongol hands.
But to Yalu Choeje, maintaining the Jin front meant permanent peace with Goryeo. Their cavalry numbers were formidable. A steppe push by that scale would hurt badly. Goryeo wouldn't overextend stabilizing Yodong, though.
"The east is blocked by Goryeo inevitably, but the west is open. We'll launch the expedition."
Ogedei judged realistically. Unable to press Goryeo harder, pivot west.
"Understood. As you command."
Due to Goryeo, the Mongols attacked Jin in the center while starting their western campaigns.
All this was the butterfly effect created by Choi Yeon.