The Old Man's Gift
That old man's involvement seemed obvious at first glance, but that was a separate issue altogether. There was no way he'd just dump people who were living comfortably in America into Goryeo. Reports described them as emaciated and dehydrated—this had to be a case of drifting on a raft. If they'd come from Asia, they'd have ridden the currents from South America across the Pacific, then caught the Kuroshio Current northward to wash up on Tamna. They must have rationed their food carefully among the three of them to survive that long voyage. Carrying that much provisions in the first place meant they'd planned to leave America for good.
"Their language is completely incomprehensible, so we've been communicating with gestures as best we can. For now, they've got unidentified grains and various items on them."
This timing lined up with how things were in America back then. Drifting all the way to Asia was a miracle in itself, but the most plausible path for that miracle was riding the currents from South America. Whether the old man orchestrated it or not, it wasn't entirely implausible. In the original history, Goryeo was a wasteland around this time anyway. With central authority crumbling, Tamna probably handled these castaways in their own way—sending them back or dealing with them quietly. That was the story I decided to go with. Pure coincidence that they'd crossed over from there.
The Tamna official who'd come with the natives showed me the items he'd obtained through them.
"This is some kind of knotted cord script, and these are grain seeds?"
Kidney beans, corn, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes. Good Lord.
We'll do our own exploration as planned. But what if we could get sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and the rest? Was this what the old man had hinted at? If this wasn't his scheme but just how history originally unfolded, how massive an opportunity had Goryeo squandered? It confirmed they'd come from South America. Was this the Inca Empire era? No, probably the Chimú Kingdom before that. Either way, it was clear. So why had they come all this way? The fact that they'd come prepared suggested they were fleeing something.
Let's think about what might have driven them to escape. Even if I was pretty sharp, I had zero knowledge of South American languages from this era. Sure, they might be scared of this totally alien environment and people, but these natives were showing excessive wariness even toward me. Wary of a woman with my looks? If they'd come from some civilized society, they'd recognize someone of high status at a glance. It was a peculiar mix of caution and fear. And these three were quite young—especially the girl who looked like she was in her early teens.
South America definitely had traditions of child sacrifice. A sudden thought hit me, so I grabbed a brush and drew on paper: an altar with people being sacrificed, children fleeing the scene, then boarding a raft. I showed it to them.
"%$#$^&%#@@!"
They shouted something, eyes widening as they nodded frantically, tears streaming down their faces. So, pictures it was for talking to these folks. We could just take what they'd brought and deal with the three of them appropriately, but kids this young? Kinda pitiful.
Interestingly, they didn't have their own writing system. Those knots they'd brought were it—quipu, the knotted cord records used for ages in South America. That's why they never bothered developing a full script. First step: communicate via drawings and get scholars to set up a proper dialogue. Teaching them Hunminjeongeum through the scholars wasn't a bad idea either. Time to reassure them.
I drew a picture of myself as this country's leader—South American chief vibes—and placed my hand on my chest. Showing I was the one in power. They seemed to get it already, still looking terrified. So I took the sacrifice drawing from before, slapped an X over it, and let them know nothing like that happened here. Not sure if they fully understood, but they visibly relaxed, so it worked.
"Try communicating like I did just now, then teach them Hangul."
I entrusted the matter to Park Songbi.
"Yes, my lord."
It seemed like human sacrifice was the culprit. Having these people around would let Goryeans learn more about America.
"We've gained so much already. Our food supply's about to get a lot more diverse."
Diversified grains, that is. The chilies we know for kimchi wouldn't come until we pushed into Central America at least, so that could wait. But with these seeds, we'd get kidney beans, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and more.
"Do you know what these are?"
Kim Jun eyed my beaming smile and asked.
"They brought them, so they're edible crops. Isn't variety in grains a good thing, even if it's not what we're used to? Do a good job with this."
"Yes, my lord."
I filled Father in on the situation too.
"I heard nobles from a distant land arrived. Where from? Champa or Srivijaya? We've had royalty from Nanzhao before, haven't we?"
I knew exactly where, but saying "the Chimú Kingdom in South America" wouldn't ring any bells for him. Only someone with 21st-century knowledge like me could pull that off.
"Even Song merchants don't know the place, so it must be far away. We're going to try growing their seeds. Planting them will diversify Goryeo's crops."
"Mm. Handle it well. It's the kind of thing that'll cement you as my successor anyway."
"I will, Father."
We decided to cultivate the seeds in Jeolla Province and other southern regions first. Need to build up stock before spreading them. They might not match the future varieties, but better than nothing.
The natives got scholars teaching them Hangul directly. The script was perfect for anyone—Samhan folk, Jurchens, whoever. Great propaganda for how ideal it was. Nice, right? Promoting these seeds and artifacts would alert Goryeo officials to that distant continent's existence, sparking inevitable interest. At the least, it'd get reactions for forming an exploration fleet.
First, I summoned the Minister of the Board of Agriculture, Song Eon-gi—a guy Yi Jang-yong dealt with often. And his deputy, Ryu Gyeong.
"Let's grow these together. Near Gaegyeong and in the south."
"From those nobles?"
Yeah. Beans, corn, squash for starters. Corn was a bitch on poor soil. Even Jeolla, Korea's breadbasket, had limits. Good compost helped, but Korea wasn't there yet. Future Korea was different, but for this era, corn needed the three sisters farming method—the Native American combo for tricky corn. The beans fixed nitrogen for the corn, corn stalks supported the squash, and squash vines shaded out weeds and kept soil moist. They complemented each other's weaknesses, cutting labor during growth and boosting yields with simultaneous harvest. But planting and reaping demanded massive manpower.
Best shot for corn in Goryeo right now.
"Yes, grain seeds. The natives say plant them together. Let's try it. More crops can't hurt. We've got plenty of seeds—Gaegyeong and the south sound good. Just like this."
I handed over my drawing of the three sisters method. I'd made it look like the natives drew it.
"Understood, my lord."
The minister didn't argue. Soon after, through the Royal Granaries and farms, they sowed the seeds centrally and south. This alone showed how the bureaucrats saw me now. This is what being the military regent's heir feels like.
Mongol Karakorum
Around this time, the Mongols pushed hard on their western expedition. With the strategy faltering, they aimed to hold their conquests there—turning Jin into a subcontractor—and focus west.
"Batu commands the western expedition army, with Boroldai second."
"As you command, Great Khan."
Batu's army marched west as in original history, annihilating the Volga Bulgaria Khanate near Kazan in Russia. Volga Bulgaria had formed when the Bulgar Khanate splintered, survived Khazar conquest, and a Bulgar faction pushed north to Kazan, building an Islamic state. Trade boomed along the Volga, with capital Bulgar swelling past 50,000 at its peak. King Gabdulla Chelbir had routed a Russian-Kipchak alliance under Tal Tal Turn and Subutai, and warned Mongols of defeat at Parwan. A nation like that had to be crushed.
Mongols mobilized 120,000 troops. Same as original history's force, despite two losses to Goryeo. They prioritized the west anyway, leaving minimal guards against Goryeo.
"Goryeo might risk it all, but they're profiting from steppe routes too. No reason for them to attack us."
Yalu Choeje judged Goryeo wouldn't strike. Honestly, Goryeo hurt the Mongols worst right now. Pure Mongol forces—no auxiliaries—slaughtered 70,000 across two invasions. Few survivors, and unmentioned by Yalu Choeje: the Choe regime was using those Mongol warriors as laborers. Top threat, yet he figured Goryeo wouldn't move.
Last time, they'd rushed peace fearing Goryeo rebellion. In hindsight, even then, hitting Mongols would've strained an unstable Yodong for them. Tiny nation grabbing vast Yodong—stabilize first, right? No different now. Plus, Yalu Choeje had deliberately shown Goryeo silk road trade perks. They'd even formed the Trading Bureau for it. No adventurism from them. Above all, that Choi Yeon woman seemed cautious. The bureau was her creation; if it dodged Mongol eyes, fine—but they took transit passes, traded with the great food nation, took artisans. Goryeo couldn't hit Mongols. Not while stabilizing Yodong and building strength.
So Mongols formed 120,000: 30,000 core Mongols mixed with Turkic nomads, Han Chinese, etc. Off to Europe. To avenge past defeats and recover losses from Goryeo via western gains.
"Revenge is good, but how far?"
"To restore authority shattered by two Goryeo losses, we crush them utterly. Especially since they beat General Subutai—total devastation to instill Mongol terror."
"Mm, do it."
Having lost to them once, then bled in Goryeo, Batu and Boroldai resolved to massacre Bulgaria thoroughly for lost prestige.
Batu and Boroldai's army clashed with Volga Bulgaria's at Kernkek, led by Ilham Khan. But learning from past failure, Mongols bypassed defenses, filled moats with captives, and butchered the Bulgars.
"Kwaaaagh!"
"No! We can't beat these bastards!"
100,000 regulars and conscripts slaughtered; Ilham Khan fled to Bilär for last stand.
"No! I've ruined my ancestors' victories!"
"Kahahahaha! Unlike those Goryeo bastards, these fools are too easy!"
Many veterans from Goryeo defeats—pride in the dirt—ran wild in Bulgaria, inflicting massive damage. Bilär held a final defense, but the nation was doomed. The capital fell.