Goryeo - Part 1

-936- The peninsula is once again reunited.
   -Towards the former lands of Silla, Goryeo was merciful and respectful.
      -Aristocrats are able to keep their massive estates and wealth.
      -From the Silla royalty and aristocracy, King Taejo had 6 queens, 23 official concubines, and probably hundreds of other sex partners.  Because he had so much offspring from so many different mixes in bloodline, the bone rank lost its meaning and died out.
   -However, King Taejo was still pissed off at Hubaekje, and kept them isolated from power.
      -Goryeo's power was concentrated in Pyeongyang and Gaeseong in the north.
-Meanwhile, King Taejo looked to the north for invasion.
   -He had always flirted with the idea of invading Balhae, but now that the kingdom had fallen and the land was overrun with Khitan hordes.
      -The Khitans also set up shop in Manchuria/Northern China, occupying these lands as the Tang Dynasty crumbled.
         -They actually began to transform themselves into a legit empire, with lots of Chinese culture, tribal/clan chieftain bureaucracies, and even the Khitan leader crowning himself emperor of his own Khitan empire, now known as the Liao dynasty.
            -The Khitans had invaded Balhae and had used the oppressed Malgal population to rise up against their Gogoryeo overlords, and then, under Khitan rule, the Gogoryeo aristocracy who didn't flee the kingdom ended up being enslaved!
      -It's also possible that the Khitans could have invaded Goryeo, but they were more interested in invading more Chinese lands instead.
-Anyway, why were there two capitals of Gaeseong?
   -This is because Gaeseong is the very center of the Korean peninsula (hence why it's right on the DMZ).   Also, a Seon (Zen) monk prophesied that a powerful ruler would come out of Gaeseong due to its significant location in accordance with Korean geomancy.  This ruler would have the "Mandate of Heaven".
      -This was a big deal because in East Asian history, this was only reserved for Chinese emperors.  So King Taejo was comparing himself to a Chinese emperor, complete with Pyeongyang being his own imperial city.
         -Soon, Seoul and Gyeongju were made imperial capitals as well.
-King Taejo died in 943.
   -He warned future rulers of blindly copying Chinese culture and styles of governing, but obviously this was inevitable.
   -Also, before he died, the Khitans tried to make peace in order to not have to worry about Goryeo attacking them, but King Taejo had refused.  He was pissed at them for conquering Balhae, and future rulers would continue to have frosty relations with them.
   -He also died still hating Hubaekje, and decreed that the former kingdom would not have any imperial buildings built there or any government officials come from there, believing that they were a "perverse and rebellious people".
   -He also had supported Seon geomancy.  He considered present-day Jeolla Province and South Chungcheong Province to be bad places of moral decay, and this belief continued even into the Joseon Dynasty.  That's why there aren't any government official tombs built southwest of Seoul!
   -He was also very particular about respecting geomancy and keeping Korean Buddhism in line with its rules in order to have the empire last.  He took Buddhist celebrations and religious holidays out from under the control of the aristocracy (which was rife with corruption) and restored them under royal control.
   -Finally, he encouraged future rulers to be well-educated and to study history, so it could serve as a warning or guide for future rulers.