King Myeongjong. During the rule of military dictator Yi Ui-min, Choe and his brother Choe Chung-su became unsatisfied with his reign. One of Yi's sons, Yi Ji-yeong, seized Chung-su's chickens. When Chung-su confronted the thief, he was tied up instead.The angered Chung-su then plotted with his brother, Chung-heon, to overthrow Yi Ui-min's regime. In 1196, Chung-heon and his brother assassinated Yi while he was visiting a mountain pavilion. The brothers then raced for the capital and managed to convince General Baek Jon-yu (백존유;白存儒), a military officer in the capital to support his cause. Choe was also able to gain the approval of Myeongjong for his killing of Yi. With government forces, the Choes were able to defeat the armies of the Yi loyalists. In 1197, Choe then replaced the weak Myeongjong with King Sinjong, Myeongjong's younger brother. Dictator Chung-heon started to reorganize the government, but Chung-su unseated the Crown Princess and tried to marry his daughter to the Crown Prince. Choe Chung-heon immediately intervened and a bloody struggle between the Choe brothers ensued. In the end, Chung-su lost and was beheaded by Choe Chung-heon's troops. Choe Chung-Heon was said to have wept when he saw his brother's head and gave a proper burial. Choe established a government where he can work with both ministers and military officials to stabilize his regime. He also appointed several of his relatives to high government positions to slowly expand his power. King Sinjong fell ill in 1204 and secretly begged Choe to preserve the kingdom and not overthrow it. Choe respected this last request from the king and gave the throne to Sinjong's son who became King Huijong. Sinjong died of disease immediately thereafter. Huijong was determined to retrieve all the former powers that military dictators and usurpers had taken from the kings, including by removing Choe. Choe had been given the ranks of Prime Minister of the State, and Royal Protector, with power equivalent to the kings. Rebellions Soon, two rebellions struck at once. One was led by Pak Jin-jae, Choe's nephew, and the other was a movement to resurrect Silla. Both rebellions were destroyed by Choe. This was followed by the Slave rebellion, led by one of Choe's own slaves, Manjeok (만적). The slaves killed their masters and gathered on a mountain, around 100 strong. This rebel army was easily terminated, and the bodies of the dead were thrown into a river,