“Your royal highness, with all due respect, I believe that you are mistaken. Gaya is a threat, specially given its ties to Baekje,” Minister Kang’s voice bellowed in the hall of the King’s court, as he made his disagreement with Princess Jihyo’s belief. King Kwangsoo was in the third year of his reign, since the death of his father, and his ministers were currently discussing the annexation of the Gaya confederacy into Silla. 

The Gaya confederacy was situated to the west of Silla, and it was a group of different polities and tribes. Unlike Silla, which was a full-fledged kingdom, the groups within the Gaya confederacy were not ruled by one central body. Instead, each group had their own leader, who sat together with other leaders in a council that made collective decisions for the good of everyone.

In King Kwangsoo’s court, the chief ministers were divided into two factions that had a fundamental disagreement with their foreign policy towards Gaya. Minister Kang Hodong was deeply suspicious of the confederacy and considered them a threat to the kingdom, given the strong political ties of Gaya with the kingdom of Baekje, which was the rival of Silla. He believed that a preemptive attack on Gaya would be a strategic move to ensure that Baekje is unable to consolidate power and conquer Silla.

On the other hand, Minister Yoo Jaeseok, brother of Queen Sunbin and the Sangdaedeung - the highest-ranking minister in the King’s court, believed otherwise. He supported a different policy for Gaya, believing that military action was not necessary. For him, Baekje did not have an interest to conquer Silla, and so, relations with Gaya should be focused on widening trade relations and strengthening diplomacy. Even assuming an attack from Baekje, he also believed that stronger relations through trade and diplomacy would ensure that Gaya would be their ally, and the region would become a buffer in case a war with Baekje broke out.

Princess Jihyo sided with the Sangdaedeung on the matter, being a staunch advocate against warfare. She sat on her throne, to the left of the King, her younger brother, as she listened to an impassioned speech from Minister Kang. For her, the ideas were speculative; just because many of the Gaya tribe leaders were married to noble women from Baekje didn’t mean that war was going to break out soon. 

Minister Kang finished speaking, but King Kwangsoo was still unpersuaded by any of the sides who presented their cases for and against the conquest of Gaya. He cleared his throat, “I believe this issue can be further discussed. I am not persuaded by either side as of now, but I will look into the matter.” 

He turned towards his two most trusted ministers, “Minister Yoo and Minister Kang, submit your respective reports on what you have presented earlier. I shall think this through. Military conquest and alliances are no trifling matter; they entail huge commitments on our part and so we must proceed with caution.”

The King stood up and walked away, followed by his Queen and by his sister, as the rest of the court bowed down in r