Captain!
It's trouble!
The Chief Commander Yi Il is calling the troops together and launch an
attack against the barbarians!
Are you certain of this?
Yes, sir.
He will get the entire northern army wiped out!
State your business!
I am the former garrison captain of Chosan Yi Soon-shin.
I must see the Chief Commander immediately.
Is it true that you are launching an attack against the enemy with
the northern army alone?
It is not a matter for a common soldier to be concerned with.
You can't do this. We don't have a chance!
The enemy is much stronger than you think!
I've checked out the enemy camp as well!
Then why?
It is His Majesty's order.
What His Majesty wants is for us to defeat the enemy,
not to lose his entire northern army!
You must request aid from the central army!
The central army?
You want me to tell the King that I am an incompetent commander who
has been wrong about the enemy all along?
I have no intention of bearing that kind of shame.
I know you want to destroy me. Then you can redeem yourself.
But I am North Base Commander Yi Il!
I will not yield to a defeated captain like you!
What is the meaning of this?
Please reconsider, sir.
Leave.
One defeated warrior is enough.
You must request aid!
I said leave!
There is no shame in asking for help. But there is shame in defeat!
And in losing the subordinates that you loved like your own children!
I will do anything.
I will be the first to march into the lion's den if you ask.
But you must find a way to win.
Chosun has already lost enough soldiers and innocent civilians!
Commander!
Leave at once. I don't need your counsel!
What is the cause for the sudden change of strategy, Commander?
I will speak when all of the leaders are gathered.
Who else are we expecting?
Are these the men we were waiting for?
Leaders?
They are wrongdoers serving their sentence as common soldiers.
This is a state of emergency.
A careful reconnaissance has revealed disturbing activities in the enemy camp.
We need all the resources we have, so do not question my judgment.
Very well. But why did you postpone the attack?
If you deem the situation to be urgent shouldn't we launch an attack as soon
as possible?
We will not engage battle anytime soon.
I intend to write to His Majesty and request aid of the central army.
Chief Commander!
It's a decision I made after a through investigation and careful consideration.
We will wait until the central army arrives.
The leaders are baffled and confused. Their men will be confused as well.
I don't have to tell you how rescinding this kind of command
will be perceived, Commander.
Encourage your men and keep them disciplined.
That is your duty as their leader.
You can't rescind an order to go to war. It could bring result worse than defeat!
I know.
Then why?
We can't win with what we have. It's an impossible fight.
Is that Yi Soon-shin's judgment?
It is my decision.
He came to me and kneeled before me.
He said one defeated general is enough.
If I request aid now, there will be consequences for me and most of the
leaders in the north for our failure to see this coming.
But if I can defeat the enemy by kneeling before His Majesty and
admitting my oversight, that is the right decision.
That is the only decision that a true warrior can make.
Yi Soon-shin made me realize that.
Your Majesty, I urge you to send aid to the north without delay.
No, Your Majesty. That would be a costly undertaking we cannot afford.
The Jurchen tribes are consolidating their power and threatening the north!
How could expense be an issue when the frontier is in imminent danger?
Imminent danger in these peaceful times?
Why are you trying to cloud His Majesty's judgment and breed fear
into the people by propagating talks of war?
I question your ulterior motive!
Ulterior motive? Restrain your tongue!
What else could I call it?
The North Base Commander Yi Il reported peace in the north not long ago.
Why are you causing this commotion?
The one who requested deployment of the central army is none other than
Commander Yi Il.
Your Majesty!
The warriors in the frontier and the ministers at court are working together
one to stop the enemy.
Who is your enemy? I wonder...
Your Majesty...
Chung Unshin (Minister of Military)
Did you see the look on Yoon Du-su's face?
You should've been there. It was quite a spectacle!
Sung-ryong, I got to hand it to you. You are one amazing tactician!
He certain is.
Not all man can test the King at the risk of his best friend's life.
You are our greatest hero. We were in great deal of fear when His Majesty
seemed to be leaning toward the Westerners for a while.
I just hope His Majesty doesn't acquire malady of the eyes.
He as to look to the east and then to the west back and forth all day.
How could His Majesty rest if his eyes are exhausted?
Malady of the eyes?
I hope that doesn't happen. It would be impiety to allow it.
Now that His Majesty's trust with us Easterners again,
he will gradually find peace and comfort.
Isn't that right?
So don't give us anymore excuses and come back to the royal court.
This is our chance to secure His Majesty's firm support.
You don't know how troubled I was when I heard about the tragedy in Nok-dune
since your friend Yi Soon-shin's trouble is Easterners' trouble as a whole.
But now I am thankful that Captain Yi lost that battle.
It gave us a chance to win His Majesty's heart, so it was a blessing in disguise!
What is the meaning of this?
A blessing in disguise?
You are thankful for the tragedy in Nok-dune since we, the Easterners have,
become more powerful for it?
If we turn a blind eye to the death of our soldiers and innocent civilians and
think only about acquiring power, how are we different from the Westerners?
You can't do anything without power. That's politics.
Politics for whom?
What meaning could politics possibly hold for us who turned the death of
innocent people into an instrument to further party interests?
I will not discuss politics with those who ignore their purpose
and occupy their time pursuing their own benefit.
And if this is politics, I will never return to the royal court.
Remember. You cannot expect the King to care for his people if his officials do
not care for the people.
And this of all ways is a sure way to lead the king to his fall!
Anger provokes an angry response for most of us.
But he who smiles when angry and frowns when he should smile is
a man hard to fathom...
Your Majesty...
That is Yu Sung-ryong. He is impossible to fathom.
I suppose he tricked me again...
How do I punish him?
Former Viceroy of Kyung-sang Province Yu Sung-ryong,
receive the royal command!
How do you propose I punish you for the contempt you have shown against the
throne testing and deceiving the king?
I appoint you Minister of Justice and bind you to servitude of the country
as your punishment so wander no more.
Your grace is immeasurable, Your Majesty!
I will lay down my life in your service, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty...
I will not run away again.
If I have to fight I will fight, and if have to die I will die.
I'm starting over... like this...
I'm not only bringing former garrison captain of Chosan Yi Soon-shin back to
service as the Emerging Warrior but I also intend to put him in charge
of strategy in this operation.
You are to follow his direction and obey his orders.
You may begin.
This is Shijun tribal village. At the present enemy leader Chief Ulginae is
carrying out an extensive consolidation of Jurchen tribes.
For now... we are mainly dealing with four neighboring tribes that came
together with great unity.
These four tribes are located relatively close to each other,
and they come together periodically to conduct their military training.
The total number of accessible men is anywhere from ten to twenty thousand.
We Chosun army will focus our attacks on these four tribes.
But if our movements are detected by the enemy, they will quickly come
together and prepare for an all-out war.
Under all circumstances, an all-out war is disadvantageous for us,
and only a raid will guarantee success.
Element of surprise will be crucial to us.
The enemy absolutely must not know that an army is being mobilized.
Uniforms must not be allowed during transport of the central army.
That includes all high ranking officers.
If they move in disguise of traveling merchant groups, transporting weapons
should not be a great problem.
The enemy must not be allowed to find out that the troops of the six camps
are being transferred out of their posts.
Civilians will have to be deployed to make certain that no change can
be detected from the surface.
Transportation of troops must be carried out at night with efficiency,
and temporary camps must be set up at nearby temples or private homes
in and around Chosan and Muui Fort to house the troops once they arrive.
The commanders' absence must not be detected by the enemy either.
Here, it's up to you to protect this camp now, Lt. Woo.
A defeated warrior is in charge of strategy. I just can't trust him.
There is no law against it.
Sir, I am not arguing just because he is a defeated warrior.
If we're after the heart of the enemy, we should deploy the entire force.
Why leave more than half of the troops behind at their posts?
Do we stand a chance with this strategy?
Do you want us to lose? Are you hoping we don't have a chance?
Sir...
Neither Yi Soon-shin nor Yi Il are stupid.
And I know exactly what you are trying to say.
But then, I do think that they are being overcautious.
This may in fact have an adverse affect on the morale of our troops.
But you and I are both soldiers.
And we have to follow our orders whether we understand them or not.
Lt. Woo, there is no such a thing as a perfect strategy.
Nothing can guarantee victory or defeat.
Variable factors always lurk on the battlefield.
But this time if ever, I hope that. I'm wrong and Yi Soon-shin is right
for the sake of safety of the six camps and for Yi Soon-shin.
Lastly, we need to throw a bait to buy time for the central army to arrive
an or the advance guards to infiltrate the enemy camp.
Where are all those soldiers going?
They're going to the south to fight the Japanese.
A bunch of soldiers were at the tavern last night, and they were
quaking in their boots.
Why?
I guess the Japanese are even more cruel and vicious than the barbarians!
The North Base Commander Yi Il has gone south?
I confirmed it with my own eyes, sir.
The gods are with us.
I've acquired this map of Chosun through Chien-chou.
If Yi Il has indeed gone south, chance are good that he will not be back or
months considering the distance.
As long as we attack before his return, advantage will be ours.
I guess we just bought ourselves ample time to consolidate the tribes.
That's fine. You may leave now.
Were you painting?
You're early today, Master.
I want to celebrate tonight. It's been a good day.
What is the good news, Master? You seem so happy to night.
Well, everything seems to be falling interlace ever since
you came into my life.
I see you're hard at work.
Mistress Hong, what brings you here?
I can't believe the chieftain has forgotten about you when the entire
village is celebrating.
I didn't want you to feel left out, so I brought you some wine.
Here, take it.
Oh Hong, what would we do without you? You saved us!
We'd all be dead without you!
Oh Mujik...
Let's not waste out time.
We have to get as far away from here as we can be before dawn!
What are you waiting for? Let's get a move on!
We're going this way.
But that's the river! That way is Chosun, fool!
Let's go to Chosun.
Are you crazy? We're dead meat if we go to Chosun!
Let's go to Ming. We don't have any choice.
No, I think Chun-su is right. Let's go to Chosun.
Do you know how many barbarian camps we have to get through to get to
Ming from here?
And let's just say that we got there.
Are we going to live there forever? We have to get back to Chosun anyway.
How are we going to come back if we are fugitives?
Do we have any choice? That's the price we have to pay for our crimes.
That's exactly why we have to get back and redeem ourselves.
How? How are we going to redeem ourselves?
We'll make a deal. Right, Hong?
Sir, I'm afraid they got away!
They betrayed their country, so they will not return to Chosun.
They can run, but they are still within our territory.
Search the neighboring villages and find them!
Yes, sir!
The advance guards that will go after the enemy leader Ulginae?
Who will lead them?
Don't tell me that you are going to...
Can we guarantee their safety?
That depends on how quickly they can locate their target.
But isn't it a fact that we have no clue about Chief Ulginae's location?
Captain, I am going with you.
Lt. Yi...
Captain! Captain!
What is it?
I asked you a question.
Who are these people? Why have they been arrested?
These are the bastards that coaxed our soldiers and sold
our weapons to the enemy!
That's right! We have to kill them!
We have to kill them and bury them at Beksu's feet!
We didn't come here because we don't know how to kill ourselves!
How could we expect you to spare us after what we've done?
That's right! We wouldn't be here if we were scared of dying!
We were duped too! They tricked us, captured us and put us through hell!
Shut up! Do you think that makes up for what you've done?
I'll kill you! I kill you all!
We brought information!
We brought information to redeem ourselves!
Information?
Yes!
Vital information about the enemy chieftain Ulginae.
Ulginae?
Yes, sir. We lived over a year as his slaves.
And this girl here was his concubine.
Let us hear what you have.
I will spare your life if what you say is true,
but you will lose your heads if you try to deceive us!
Are they to be trusted?
They wouldn't have come forward and volunteered the information knowing
that false information would get them killed.
And our reconnaissance reports support their statement about Ulginae having
multiple lodgings in the village.
Then this is it.
At eleven o'clock tonight, we will infiltrate the enemy camp as
advance guards of this operation.
Our objective is live-capture of enemy leader Ulginae.
The main army will launch full attack upon confirmation of our success.
The success and defeat of this battle is in our hands.
If our mission fails or is delayed, our safety will not be guaranteed.
Succeed and come back alive.
But go out there knowing that even if we fail and die in battle,
our death will be remembered by the people this country.
It's a suit of armor.
This is the least I can do for the Emerging Warrior.
Thank you, but I must refuse, sir.
Captain Yi...
I am a common soldier. I will be one with my men.
Good luck, Captain Yi.
We will be right behind you.
My confidence is with you both.
Lt. Sun, salute the advance guards.
Yes, sir.
Atten-hut!
Bow!
Rise!
In all, Ulginae has six bungalows in Shijun village.
First find the most heavily guarded bungalow.
You'll find four huts around it in four directions.
Chieftain Ulginae will be in the one located east of the main bungalow.
That's the signal that the guards have been eliminated.
Come.
You must run, Chief! It's a raid!
Where are the cavalry? What are the foot soldiers doing?
No one saw this coming. We were all caught off...
In January of 1588, four months after the tragedy of Nok-dune Island,
Chosun launched a massive retaliatory attack against Jurchen which came to
be known as the Battle of Shijun Tribe.
Chosun troops burned down some 200 Jurchen homes and killed over 380
barbarians without sustaining a single casualty making this the crowning
moment in history of punitive expedition against Jurchen.
North Base Commander Yi Il and Constable of Chongsung Won Kyun both received
acknowledgment for their achievements in this battle, and Yi Soon-shin was
restored to honor for the capture of enemy chieftain Ulginae.
I should've killed you when I had the chance!
I admire you as a warrior, but I will punish you by death so that the people
of Jurchen will never attempt to violate the borders of Chosun again.
It was an honor serving you, Captain.
I hope to have a chance to serve you again.
I will remember you, Lt. Yi.
These are records about this humble man Yi Soon-shin and my proud men
that died bravely on the battlefield.
After losing them in the battle of Nok-dune, I spent my days in insufferable
pain grieving their death.
I wasn't able to let them go nor could they leave in peace.
But now I am letting them go...
Never again will I record the names of my perished men.
This is the end of defeat.
From now on, I will fight only to win.
I will prepare only for victory and I will write only about the hard work
and courage about my victorious subordinates.
I will never be defeated.