Queen Seon Deok
Episode 57
Chief Marshal Kim Yushin.
Yes, Your Majesty!
I shall reinstate you as Chief Marshal,
and accord you complete and absolute military authority for this campaign,
so reclaim our lost territory,
and rescue our nation.
Chief Marshal Kim Yushin...
will stake his life to fulfill your command!
However, Your Majesty.
I remain a criminal who could not wash away suspicion on my movement affiliations.
The movement has been disbanded.
Your Majesty.
Wolya is awaiting in front of Ingang Palace.
~ Episode 57 ~
It is the complete roster of movement members.
Your humble servant Wolya shall atone for his misdeeds...
by staking his life and according you his unyielding fealty!
However, Your Majesty!
They are the movement.
They might promise unyielding fealty at the moment, but whether it will be long-lasting...
Their register has already been abolished.
Should the statute change in the future,
you shall never be able to verify their Gaya ancestry.
Even if discrimination is what you wish for, you shan't be able to accomplish it.
A generation is all Gaya descendants will need not to recognize each other anymore.
I shall also release all movement members confined in the inspectorate prisons.
There is no Gaya now.
And neither do its descendants exist any longer.
They're all...
nothing but fellow compatriots!
Stake your life to fight and bring your own salvation,
and rescue this nation,
the one which will harbor your descendants for generations to come.
Your humble servant, Wolya,
shall stake his life and rescue this nation!
We shall rescue this nation!
Does this not imply that Her Majesty risked her life to save yours?
To save me alone, she did that?!
Her Majesty?
If that is truly what you think,
you're not as clever as I envisioned.
I hear that Baekje troops can cover 80 ri per day.
It's true.
It is unbelievable celerity.
And it concerns me.
Unless their horses are blessed with wings, it's an unfeasible speed.
However, that is what they experienced on the battlefield.
For the rear guard could not possibly prejudge conditions on the field,
making an assertion on the matter is out of the question,
but let us be clear, it is impossible.
Impossible?!
But why are you telling me that?
I'm sure you wouldn't wish me to achieve any meritorious service.
Of course, it's certainly not what I would wish to see.
However...
Should I say that I despise the thought of you failing even more?
For the sake of this nation and Her Majesty,
you must triumph, Yushin.
This is the Baekje encampment.
You will find the mobile unit around this mountain.
What is this?
It's an amulet*.
*Used for scaring off evil spirits (made from bamboo hit by lightning)
Amulet?!
It wasn't easy to get these for you,
so if you keep this with you,
you will avoid arrows, and even swords will miss the target.
You must return alive.
You must.
Is that clear?
We shall annihilate the Baekje army, and rescue our nation!
Let us march, fellow Shilla soldiers!
Your Majesty.
Lord Jujin's battalion was heavily defeated in Mt. Geumseong,
and withdrew back to Namcheon.
What?
Isn't Amnyangju the next stop after Namcheon?
Should even our defense line in Amnyangju crumble,
it will take the enemy a single day to reach the capital.
Your Majesty. We must devise a counterplan.
The Commissioner seeks audience.
Your Majesty.
As commissioner in charge of our nation's safety,
I shall stake my life and daringly make a suggestion.
Your Majesty.
Moving outside the palace is most advisable.
Outside?!
In preparation for any and all crises afflicting our nation,
the inspectorate devised appropriate counterplans.
Should Daeya Fortress fall, we devised to build three defense lines,
and safely escort Your Majesty out of the palace.
Considering Baekje's mobility, should Amnyangju fall,
*1 period = 30 minutes
it would only take them about thirty-eight periods* to reach the capital.
We arranged a secret palace in Yulpo Prefecture (Ulsan).
Let us move all the offices, and escort you there.
As for Seorabeol...
Your humble servant and the inspectorate will do their all to protect it.
She cannot leave the capital.
Should she move outside Seorabeol, it would only create even more disorder.
However, it's Amnyangju we're talking about. Amnyangju!
Should even Amnyangju crumble, we cannot guarantee Her Majesty's safety.
Yes, if Amnyangju is conquered, it will already be too late to act.
It cannot happen.
Your Majesty! You can never leave this capital!
Your Majesty, you must do it!
Your Majesty, you would regret that decision.
Your Majesty! The enemy is approaching us!
You must abandon the capital.
- Your Majesty, it cannot happen! - Your Majesty.
May you protect yourself and leave the capital.
You must leave the capital, Your Majesty.
~ Amnyangju - Shilla Army Encampment ~
This is where the Baekje encampment is located.
We are still trailing their mobile unit's movements,
but we still have nothing conclusive in our hands.
Mobile unit...
It can cover 80 ri in a day, and appear out of nowhere,
so we cannot learn its location until they start moving.
Is that mobility even feasible?
Yes, particularly their leader is remarkable.
The one wearing that red helm?
Yes, Chief Marshal.
What happened?
Are there... ghosts amongst Baekje troops?
They disappeared right under our eyes,
but then reappeared behind us in a matter of moments.
Is that even possible?
How can someone disappearing before you emerge from your rear?
That is why they must be ghosts.
Ghosts with their crimson helmets...
Ghosts? Never use that word again.
Are you not spreading terror amongst our troops with that word?
I will keep it in mind.
Warfare is made by people alone.
Such hollow delusions shall never be even mentioned.
But, Your Excellency.
Their covering 80 ri in a day is no delusion.
They all experienced it firsthand,
so wouldn't that be the reason they talk of them this way?
Commander!
Commander.
The mobile unit has appeared.
Where?
They're moving through Yeongi Valley.
Then, are they cutting through Sanyujae?
Godo Daedaegam is setting up a defense line there.
~ Sanyujae ~
It's him.
The red helm.
How shall we proceed?
Await my signal, and then everyone charge.
- Yes. - Yes.
Throw the rocks!
Charge!!
Your Excellency. Shall we trail them?
No.
The Chief Marshal ordered us to set up a line and defend it.
Rebuild the lines!
Yes.
Should we not send reinforcements to Sanyujae?
We cannot let the mobile unit's pace dictate our movements.
There is no use in trailing units with such mobility.
We must first find out their constitution.
That's the key.
Baekje troops!
How could they appear there?
Charge!
I shall face him! Move out!
He threw me around?! Me?!
He's not... human.
- Your Excellency. - Daedaegam.
Our lines have crumbled.
We must retreat!
Your Excellency!
Your Majesty.
You cannot.
Abandoning the capital would severely affect our troops' morale.
If they learn that you were moved out of Seorabeol,
they will end up feeling conflicted, and the people will react negatively.
You will pardon me for saying this,
but could it not be a subterfuge by Bidam and his people?
Before we worry about any subterfuge,
our nation's safety must be our foremost concern.
- However... - Of course,
I shall never abandon my people and flee.
Still...
If they penetrate through Amnyangju, Yeongcheon will be next.
And Yeongcheon is right behind the corner.
I already assigned troops to the area.
But Baekje has over 20,000 troops at its disposal.
Should even Yeongcheon fall...
That is why we must abandon the capital.
We sure do.
We must convince Her Majesty to leave.
If Yushin fails, we manage to leave the capital and then...
gain back control of Seorabeol,
wouldn't Bidam be bestowed absolute military authority?
That should not concern us now.
We first must stop Baekje's advance!
That's right.
The fate of our country depends upon this.
You fool. Who denies that?
Don't they say that crises can become the best of opportunities?
The Commissioner can use this crisis to reclaim all the power we lost!
Ehh... He really doesn't know what he's talking about.
Lord Hajong.
With our country in dire straits, I have no intention of taking advantage of this situation.
Ehh... Commissioner.
You can drop the act in our presence.
Fine, then.
I shall put the matter to rest.
May you head for the secret palace.
I shall remain in Seorabeol.
No, I will not go.
Chunchu, you go there.
Your Majesty!
Should Seorabeol fall to the enemy,
you must lead our campaign against them.
I cannot leave you here and escape to the rear.
Our troops are risking their lives on the battlefield.
How could I let them hear that their ruler fled from Seorabeol?
However, your survival is not only a personal matter,
it involves our entire nation.
Doesn't your safety mean our nation's very existence?
Don't we have you?
But, Your Majesty.
- Seorabeol... - Are you afraid...
that Bidam might gain control of Seorabeol?
Never you worry.
Didn't I say I would remain here?
I shall never...
leave the capital.
Commissioner.
What is the matter?
Her Majesty summoned you.
I shall not leave.
Instead, escort Chunchu to the secret palace.
I cannot leave this place.
Should Seorabeol crumble,
Chunchu will lead our campaign from there.
Arrange for it.
Your Majesty.
I am not Yushin.
For the sake of this country, Yushin might separate you and Chunchu,
but I could never do so.
I cannot separate you.
Bidam.
Here is a plan the inspectorate devised, in case of a national emergency.
You may flee to the secret palace,
while I shall remain here and protect the capital with the inspectorate.
I will not leave.
Does entrusting the capital to me concern you?
Is it...
because you cannot trust me?
It is not that.
Then...
Then, why are you not looking at me?
I was the one who caused my mother, Mishil's death!
And it was merely...
for your sake.
So?
Do you resent me for that?
You have changed.
The first time we met,
I tried to acquire herbs by abandoning you.
And what you did...
was extending me your gratitude.
Whatever the reason, it does not concern me.
It was the first time I had heard such words.
You were the only one who did not point fingers at me for what I did.
What the world around me considered insolence,
you called it confidence.
What they called cruelty,
you praised it as courage, supporting me all the way.
And what they chastised as vile subterfuges,
were lauded by you as brilliant strategy.
On a certain day when I lost my mother,
your question on whether I resented you was not filled with reproach like now,
but with embrace drenched in compassion.
Enough.
Enough with this.
So...
Why?
Why are you now calling my same sincerity a subterfuge,
and my earnest desire to protect you...
the vile machinations of someone who merely wants to gain control of Seorabeol?
You no longer consider me sincere?
Hey... Over there!
Come here right now.
Come!
Touch her and I will slaughter you all!
Do this again, and next time I will not be there to rescue you.
At times, you look like a child.
Do you like it that much?
Since Your Highness trusts me...
Still, you should at least have told me.
If I did...
and then...
you ended up abandoning me as well?
~ Amnyangju Shilla Army Encampment ~
Your Excellency.
How are your wounds?
I am fine.
My apologies.
Was it the red helm?
I was no match for him.
He's a daunting specimen.
How about the mobile unit?
We did not chase the retreating troops,
and were rebuilding our lines,
when, suddenly,
they appeared from the rear.
The rear?!
How long after they retreated?
More than one gak (15 min),
but likely less than two.
Two gak?!
That is all it took them to tour this mountain pass.
How can they cover that distance in only two gak?
Not to mention that it's a mountain pass.
If those reports are indeed true, that would mean over 90 ri per day.
How is that possible?
Is that feasible?
It is beyond any imagination.
Be quiet.
Here is where they disappeared,
and seeing as there were no reports from our patrol troops dispatched there,
it can only mean they're hiding within these premises.
Hence, we shall lure them to the valley and annihilate them here.
Considering your riding skills, I will entrust luring them to you, Bakeui.
Yes, Chief Marshal.
After descending this slope, you will find a shallow pond.
Go past the mud fields next to it, and lure them to Hwayeong Ridge.
Yes.
Deokchung, Imjong and I...
shall be awaiting in ambush.
Yes.
While Imjong's veteran corps attack the mobile unit,
Deokchung and I will take our men and target their flanks.
Yes.
Are you using those mud fields to slow down the mobile unit?
No.
Lord Jujin, I leave protection of our encampment to you.
Certainly.
To your posts at once.
Yes.
Your Excellency.
Why did you not entrust any task to me?
Are you disheartened?
Only the veteran corps can contend with their mobility.
Our crossbow unit...
Await.
The battlefield only gives you one crucial chance to seize victory.
That is when you and your men shall come into play.
It's the mobile unit.
All withdraw!
How did it go?
We were luring them here,
but they abandoned the chase midway, and disappeared.
Disappeared?!
Perhaps they suspected an ambush?
What if they turned around, and...
Withdraw!
It's not 80, but over 90 ri a day they can cover.
We cannot cope with that mobile unit's speed,
so devising any strategy against it is impossible as well.
We cannot predict when and where they will appear,
and attacking the Baekje encampment would be too arduous.
Still, we cannot continue squandering time.
Your Excellency.
Has Bakeui not returned yet?
~ Baekje Army - Gyebaek Barracks ~
Kim Yushin was the spy who infiltrated our camp.
Have you seen him as well?
Yes.
I was surprised myself.
A chief marshal infiltrating the enemy camp?!
If we manage to capture Yushin and reach Amnyangju,
Seorabeol will be right behind the corner.
Did Deokman and the rest of the court leave the palace yet?
No, not yet.
Quite valorous for a slattern.
By the way, Commander.
When will you finally face the Yushin Army?
Unless they find the truth about our secret 90 ri a day,
the Shilla army will continue to be afflicted by confusion.
With the next battle, they will see a mobile unit covering 100 ri a day.
And I will get rid of Yushin once and for all.
Commander.
Your Excellency.
I have returned.
So...
How did it go?
We passed through the mud fields just as you instructed us.
Mud fields?!
They must be drenched in mud?
Of course. I saw it myself.
Indeed.
Chief Marshal.
What is the matter?
There was no trace of mud whatsoever.
How could we let them inveigle us...
with such preposterous subterfuges?
Chief Marshal.
What are you trying to say?
We will have a council.
Tell everyone to gather.
Look who's this!
Is it not the ghost leading the formidable mobile unit,
Commander Gabaek?!
What are you saying?
Don't make fun of me, Commander!
There were two mobile units?!
What is that supposed to mean?
That's right.
We were dealing with a dual unit.
They inveigled us that way,
making us believe they could cover 90 ri in a day.
As we could not cope with such mobility, it was hard to plan any strategy,
and, afflicted by dread, our troops' morale could only fall.
However...
It was nothing but a subterfuge.
How could this...
I ought to... What a travesty.
I thought it could never be possible,
but how could we fall for this?
Is that the reason you lured them through the mud fields?
We shall now devise a strategy on how to hit the Baekje encampment.
Lord Jujin,
cover this bypath, and after setting fire to their supply lines, attack the enemy encampment.
But, if it is truly as you suggested,
wouldn't one of the two mobile units lie in ambush there?
That unit will not move.
What?
While one unit is on the move,
the other must be still, if they want to create the illusion.
Until their secret is revealed, they will not move.
Ahh... yes. Chief Marshal.
We will now go after the real mobile units.
Imjong.
Yes, Chief Marshal.
From here on in, you will become me.
What?
Also, Wolya.
Yes, Chief Marshal.
Now is your turn.
We are prepared for deployment.
Have you made a decision?
You must leave the capital, if...
One day,
suddenly everything changed.
Some tried to slay me as I was a princess.
Others protected me for the same reason, and before my very eyes...
met their demise.
And all those who survived...
knelt before me, addressing me with reverence,
and encouraged me to run towards the lofty aspirations which behooved this crown.
After which, one day, you appeared before me.
As if you did not have a single care or concern in this world,
you plainly addressed me.
And I told you to continue doing so.
You were the last one who treated me like my old self.
And that is why our relationship never really changed.
Even after I returned to the palace,
you brought me flowers,
held my hands as your eyes were filled with concern,
and touched me.
Even if you had ulterior motives, I didn't care.
Because looking at you was like staring at my old self.
I enjoyed it.
So, why?
Why did you change?
For I...
have no name.
Crown princes, princesses,
even the scoundrels parading in the market have a name,
*Rulers were only given posthumous names by their successors, as in "Queen Seondeok"
but a ruler does not*.
All I am is "Her Majesty."
Nobody can call my name now.
I will... I will do it for you.
Calling my name...
means treason.
Even if it is devotion that moves you to do so,
all creation will consider it a treacherous act.
Why did I change?!
Because at the very moment I lost my name,
you became nothing more than an influential subject of mine.
For I am the ruler who must always consider and suspect you.
For I must always suspect and speculate on whether you will become...
another Mishil.
But, Bidam.
Do you even realize...
how arduous that is?
Do you even realize how much I wish to trust you,
and rely upon you?
Do you?
Your Majesty.
You must stay by my side.
Not those who constantly press and urge me,
those who make me feel even more lonesome,
but someone to make eye contact with, someone who brings me flowers,
whose histrionics always comfort me, even when he holds my trembling hands.
You're trembling.
Bidam.
You must be the one.
I tried to hamper it, even stop it.
Purposefully.
I did it all on purpose.
For I thought such trivial feelings could never befit a ruler.
Your Majesty.
Only you think of me as a person,
as a woman.
But I love that.
Love you for liking me as a woman.
But can I really?
Her Majesty deigns you with her presence!
To cope with the crisis which has been afflicting our nation as of late,
I will issue an order.
Your wish is our command.
I hereby deprive Lord Yongchun of his title of Sangdaedeung...
and proclaim Commissioner Bidam in his stead.
As long as hostilities continue,
all troops led by Lord Jujin, Lord Sueulbu, Lord Hojae,
Lord Wangyun and Lord Seonyeol shall all be transferred under his command.
Also, I shall remain in Seorabeol with His Excellency,
to encourage the troops, resist the enemy and rescue our nation.
My apologies, Lord Yongchun.
Don't say that.
Isn't dealing with war matters what counts now?
Yes, we are severely lacking military power.
If you ask them to transfer their troops under Bidam's command,
the nobles will accede without any opposition.
I am glad you understand my wishes.
Does Your Majesty...
really trust Bidam?
Yes, I do.
Bidam... Yushin.
And you as well.
I believe in your skills.
Neither Bidam nor Yushin shall be abandoned,
and I will go on without giving up on them.
Think of gaining and abandoning people as something as serious...
as gaining or losing a country can be.
And before you consider any "state of things,"
you must be prepared to embrace someone.
Bidam as Sangdaedeung?!
Sangdaedeung?!
It's a crafty stratagem of hers.
Stratagem?!
She proclaimed him to such post to quell his anxiety,
and even transferred all those private troops under his command.
By at the same time grouping all the nobles' influence under Bidam's wings,
and keeping a keen eye on them.
Indeed.
Two birds with a stone.
Bidam is quite something himself,
but Her Majesty is second to none.
Should we really transfer control of all our troops to Lord Bidam?
We're on war footing, so we cannot refuse.
But now they're all under Lord Bidam's command...
Now that Lord Bidam is our new Sangdaedeung,
there wouldn't be any major problem.
We should just follow our orders, and continue observing the situation.
Mother.
You worried about my gaining one country to possess someone, right?
And you also said that love means appropriating without reserve, right?
I will try not to do that, now.
I will not take away, but give.
I will not gain, but give up,
and achieve something together.
The path to the throne,
and that long-lasting legacy.
Before the tears drenching her visage,
are they not but a trifling vagary?
~ Baekje, Gyebaek Barracks ~
But if we use this valley to attack,
we will only have one escape route left.
Not to mention that, should troops lie in ambush there,
it would be a disaster.
They will never ambush us on this terrain.
They should likely lie in ambush here,
but that would be much too far from the veteran corps.
It poses no problem.
We shall penetrate through the Amnyangju defense line,
and capture Yushin.
It's Yushin!
Yushin is there!
I shall lure him.
Order our men to withdraw.
Yes.
Withdraw!
Trail them!
Chase them!
Trail them!
The Chief Marshal shall trail them!
Commander.
Chief Marshal Kim Yushin is trailing Commander Gabaek,
and they're headed for Chilmijae.
It's done.
We shall now hit the Shilla encampment.
Yes.
~ Amnyangju Shilla Encampment ~
There is nobody here!
- Nobody! - There is no one.
Commander. We found nobody.
What is all this about?
Annihilate the Baekje army!
~ On The Next Episode Of ~ QUEEN ~*~ SEONDEOK
No meritorious service can be compared with Chief Marshal Yushin's feats.
Think of all she did for Yushin. We cannot oppose her.
I plan to hold royal nuptials.
Are you afraid that the nuptials will affect the throne's succession?
My apologies, Your Majesty.
People change.
Bidam has now his own sphere of influence.
You can write it here and exchange secret communications with the Tang envoy.
How is the Tang emperor faring?
We wonder if, with a woman wearing the crown,
the neighboring nations might besmirch your status.
Confine those men.
We shall break all diplomatic relations with the Tang.
Your devotion must never hurt Her Majesty.
Is it not concern that Bidam might gain power?
All the troops under the Sangdaedeung's command...
shall be assigned to the board, and act as special troops.
But they're already being trained by the Sangdaedeung.
Power is not something that personal whims can affect.
Slay Bidam.