Goryeo - Part 2

-The source material at this point changes to the Goryeosa, which was written during King Sejong's reign.

-King Taejo dies in 943, replaced by his son, King Hyejong.

   -Almost immediately began to face opposition from the nobility due to his "low birth", as his mother, the queen, came from a non-elite family.

      -A civil war actually broke out around this time, with the winners being King Hyejong's brothers (King Taejo's other sons), Wang Yo and Wang So.

-King Hyejong died in 945 due to stress and disease, but it's entirely possible that he was just poisoned or something.

   -The nobility came together and appointed Wang Yo, who was crowned King Jeongjong.

-King Jeonjong was really worried about a Laio dynasty invasion, so he built a massive fortress at Pyeongyang.  

   -BTW, Pyeongyang was really flourishing at this time!  Schools, education, Buddhism, art, etc.

      -King Jeonjong wanted to focus more power into the city since it was further north than its southern co-capital, Gaeseong.

-949- King Jeonjong dies, replaced by his brother, Wang So, who was crowned King Gwangjong.

   -Appointed a Chinese dude as his advisor, and then tried to set up a Chinese-style civil service exam as a pre-requisite for working in the government, as opposed to the goofy birthright crap like the bone-rank system used by Silla.

      -The new class of government workers was called the "yangban" ("men of the sacred bone"), and was divided into two sections- military and civilian.

         -In times of war, however, the civilian section actually controlled the military section, for some reason.

         -Over time, the the civilian yangban began to evolve into its own "educated elite" class.

   -Consolidated military power by conscripting warriors from the nobility's own private armies in the name of national security.

      -He actually got about 300,000 troops by doing this!

   -He also freed a bunch of slaves that allegedly were from free households before the foundation of Goryeo, but they (or their parents) had been enslaved during the wars.

      -This further undermined the power of the nobility.

   -King Gwangjong established relations with the Song dynasty in 972.

-975- King Gwangjong dies, replaced by his son, King Gyeongjong.

-King Gyeongjong set up the "Jeonsigwa" ("Land Allotment System").

   -Confiscated a bunch of private estates owned by government officials and bureaucrats, which was usually a sign of corruption.  These lands were confiscated once the owners died.  This allowed for Goryeo to use these lands as rewards for government offices, but they weren't hereditary, so a family couldn't grow too powerful with them.

   -Passed a flat tax too, only military land and Buddhist monasteries were exempt.

   -During this time, more and more Chinese scholars were brought in to work for the government.

-981- King Gyeongjong suddenly dies of an illness, replaced by his King Seongjong, another grandson of King Taejo.

   -At this point there were a ton of Chinese courtiers.  They couldn't believe that King Seongjong and the Korean kings weren't ruling as complete autocrats, and also were surprised that the provincial lords had any power at all.

      -They convinced King Seongjong to set up the Office of Remonstrance, which was meant to centralize power with the king's government and his inner circle of advisors, and thus weaken the power of the provincial lords.

      -The officials were then sent to each province to oversee its administration.

-Meanwhile. the Song dynasty began to pressure Goryeo into helping them attack the Liao dynasty, and the Liao also tried to get Goryeo to be friendly with them.

   -However, King Seongjeong felt it was too risky to attack the Liao, but he felt that they were still too savage and barbaric to be trusted with peace terms.