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Yi Hyunoon, how could you do this to me?
How could you?
We wouldn't have to do this, if you'd just drank the poison.
We're just trying to survive.
So don't blame us when you go the next world.
Stop!
Get away from him!
It's the Empress Dowager! Let's get out of here!
Mother, no! Stay back!
- Stop! Stop at once! - No!
These men are dangerous!
Stop her! Stop her!
Mother!
Take your hands off of her!
Emperor!
Mother...
Emperor!
Episode 72
Emperor! Emperor!
Open your eyes!
Mother...
Yes, Emperor... It's me.
You'll be all right, won't you?
[Mokjong (7th Ruler of Goryeo)]
I'm sorry...
No, don't say that.
Please don't say that.
Look at me, Emperor.
Look into your mother's eyes.
[Empress Dowager Cheonchu]
You can't die like this, Emperor.
Emperor, please hang in there. Emperor...
I thought...
I was free at last...
Mother...
Empress...
I'm sorry...
I didn't want to die like this...
I wanted to be the good son and good husband...
I couldn't be before...
Emperor! Emperor!
No. No...
Open your eyes, Emperor.
This can't be happening.
How am I going to live without you?
You can't die like this, Emperor.
Emperor...
You! Why did you do this?
Why did you do this? Why did you kill the Emperor?
Fine, take my life as well. But first, answer the question.
Why did you kill the Emperor who left everything behind?
I'm sorry, but we had no choice.
[Ahn Pae]
This is General Gang Jo's order.
What? You lie!
Why would General Gang want the Emperor killed?
I don't know!
But if you want to survive, quietly follow us to Choongju.
Strike if you wish.
I have lost both of my sons. What makes you think I want to live?
Kill me. Hurry and kill me you bastard!
No! The situation will get out of control if the Dowager turns up dead, too.
Yes, you answer the question.
Who is behind this?
Who ordered you to kill the Emperor?
It was General Gang Jo.
[Yi Hyunoon]
You know we're his men.
I want the truth! General Gang Jo would never betray me!
Please... Please listen to me.
If you keep doing this, we'll have to kill the Empress, too.
Is that what you want?
Your Highness.
[Empress Sunjeong]
Your Majesty...?
Your Majesty!
What have you done to him?
[Yu Chungjeong]
Keep back!
Emperor took his own life.
What?
That's a lie! You killed him! You murdered the Emperor!
Keep your mouth shut!
He couldn't bear the shame and the ridicule and killed himself.
Accept it as truth or you all die!
Your Majesty, get up.
Why are you lying here?
Emperor, you promised me.
You said to me we'd live happily ever after once we left the palace.
What are you doing here?
Open your eyes. Open your eyes and look at me.
You have a promise to keep. You can't do this to me.
Your Majesty, open your eyes. Open your eyes!
You can't die. You can't die on me.
Don't leave me, Your Majesty...
Song... My son... My son...
Song...
- Don't go. Take me with you, Song...! - Your Highness...
This can't be happening! God would never let this happen.
Song...!
The 7th ruler of Goryeo Mokjong's birth name was Song,
his courtesy name was Hyosin, and he was the son of Gyeongjong.
Goryeosa records show that he was calm and strong-minded
and possessed the qualities of a ruler as a child. But as a king, he took no interest in state affairs.
and was murdered while indulging in archery, horseback riding, wine and dissipation.
It is recorded that he treated flattery as part of his daily life and suffered a grave consequence.
Ahn Pae killed him, buried him in a makeshift coffin made out of a door
and reported that he stabbed himself in the neck and took his own life.
Mokjong was 30 years old and his reign lasted 12 years.
Minister of Personnel Kim Shimon is hereby by promoted to Vice Minister of Supreme Council,
Vice Minister of Personnel Choi Suk to Minister of Personnel,
Vice Minister of Rites Choi Wonshin to Minister of Rites,
Supreme Council Secretary Choi Chungsoon to Minister of Finance,
Vice Minister of Finance Hwangbo Yui to Supreme Council Secretary.
And for vital service rendered in stopping the recent political crisis, Choi Sawui and
Tak Sajeong are each promoted Minister of Punishments, and Minister of Military.
Your grace is immeasurable!
As for those in confinement, I am ordering their release with a demotion in rank.
Minister of Rites Gang Gamchan will be demoted to Vice Minister of Rites,
Supreme Council Secretary Choi Hang will be demoted to a scholar official,
[Hyeonjong (8th Ruler of Goryeo)]
and Minister of Punishment, Dae Dosu, will be demoted to General.
High General Gang Jo has committed a grave crime, but in consideration of his previous merits,
he will stripped of his rank and sentenced to house arrest.
His men that took part in the uprising will demoted in rank per details in
this decree, and further orders of staff reshuffling will follow.
Your Grace is immeasurable, Your Majesty!
Lastly, I have decided to heed the minister's counsel
and reverse the sharecropping policy instated by Empress Dowager Cheonchu.
And the bloated military will be gradually reduced in stages.
We are overjoyed by your wise decisions.
Your good governance will be eternally remembered.
You will be eternally remembered, Your Highness.
Unlock the cells.
You're free to go. His Majesty has ordered your release.
[Gang Jo]
- What is the meaning of this? - I'm sorry, General Gang.
My orders are to remove you from service and place you under house arrest.
What?
Be patient, General Gang
[Gang Gamchan (Vice Minister of Rites)]
I will speak to the Emperor and get his order reversed.
State your business.
We've come to see the Emperor.
You will not be presented before the Emperor without proper attire.
[Choi Wonshin (Minister of Rites)]
Get out of here.
Vice Minister Choi, how dare you speak to your superior in that tone?
Superior?
I guess you people haven't heard much news since you were in prison,
but all of you have been demoted in rank.
Now I am the Minister of Rites, and Lord Gang is my direct subordinate.
General Dae Dosu, you're just a plain general now,
and Lord Choi Hang, you're just a scholar official.
Now you've been notified, so act accordingly.
[Choi Hang (Royal archivist)]
What? At whose order?
The Emperor, of course. Who else?
It's what you get for being Dowager Cheonchu's pets.
- Watch your language! - What did you say?
His Majesty has granted mercy and absolved you for treason.
[Tak Sajeong (Minister of the Military)]
Another treacherous action will guarantee your death.
We're not here to do anything treacherous!
We just want to visit the Emperor, so announce us.
I'm so sorry, but you've been barred from private visits to the Emperor.
Who knows what you might do and say behind closed doors?
What?
Get them out of here.
Why you! Bastards!
Take your hands off of me!
Your Majesty!
What happened?
They were taken away.
Your Majesty...
You may go; I'd like to be alone.
Your life will be filled with challenges from the moment you leave this temple.
[Jin Gwan]
Teacher, but I'm powerless.
I may be the Emperor in name, but there is nothing I can do.
And trials and tribulations will eventually make you strong.
What do I have to do?
Only patience will make you grow... and take Goryeo into a superior state of existence.
I'm sorry, Minister Gang.
I'm sorry, Master.
This is was the only way I could protect you.
But if I become powerful...
when I become powerful...
We should get back on the road now. We will escort you to Choongju.
I will not bury my son here in this shallow grave and leave.
We will make sure His Majesty is reburied at a proper location later.
Please, Your Highness.
Empress, let us go.
No, I will stay by His Majesty's side.
Empress...
I have nothing left to live for. So I will join my husband.
I can't bear it anymore.
Don�t' say that. How do you think I feel?
Do you think I want to live after losing both of my sons?
Your Highness...
But we have to survive.
We have to live and bear witness to what happened here today.
Empress, be strong if only for me.
Please.
Your Highness...
Lady Yunheung's daughter?
That is unthinkable, Your Majesty!
It is not an option, Your Majesty!
- Why is this not an option? - Need I explain?
Lady Yunheung committed treacherous acts against the abdicated emperor.
What's more, her father Kim Won Soong was executed for high treason.
Princess Jeong is a descendant of a villainous retainer.
That's not entirely true.
[Hwangbo Yui (Supreme Council Secretary)]
Mokjong didn't deserve to be on the throne.
He was always drunk, and later, he even slept with...
- He's done unspeakable things. - That's right.
And if he were not driven away, His Majesty would not be on the throne today.
It's foolish to let past mistakes control the present.
Whatever may have happened in the past, the future is what counts.
That's absurd!
Unless the past is rectified history will repeat itself!
And Mokjong was set up and manipulated by Kim Chi Yang.
His destruction was not of his own making.
The fact that he allowed Kim Chi Yang manipulate him is his error
[Chae Choongsun (Minister of Finance)]
And Dowager Cheonchu was the root cause of it all.
She took him in and trusted him despite the protests of her ministers.
Besides, Princess Jeong is King Seongjong's daughter.
In retrospect his reign was the most peaceful and orderly of times,
[Choi Suk (Minister of Personnel)]
in stark contrast to the reign of Mokjong!
Your Majesty, Lady Yunheung's daughter cannot be made an Empress of Goryeo.
And I did not find out until today that Mun In Wui was made Minister of Works.
[Mun In Wui (Minister of Works)]
Your Majesty, this is a man who has made a career out of betraying his masters.
He cannot be made a high minister of the Imperial Court.
You must dismiss him immediately and reinstate General Gang Jo.
Vice Minister Gang, refrain from such remarks!
Do you dare attempt to reverse the Emperor's decisions?
[Kim Shimon (Vice Minister of Supreme Council)]
And watch your tongue! Minister Mun is a superior ranking minister!
And What? Reinstate Gang Gamchan?
You should stay away from that firebrand because you're turning into one.
What did you say?
Vice Minister Gang, stop.
I understand how you feel, but don't fight with your peers.
These are my orders.
And I will marry Lady Yunheung's daughter, so do not discuss this again.
Your Majesty!
Greet your new superior.
This is General Jo Sun, the new Chinjong General of the Imperial Guards.
Colonel Yu,
Captain Kim
and Captain Choi,
[Jo Sun]
I know you three once shared a common goal with Gang Jo the traitor.
But I will not hold any of that against you.
I am your superior now, so you must live and die by my orders. Is that clear?
- Answer the question. Is that clear? - Yes, General.
[Yu Bang]
[Choi Ghi]
Yes, General.
[Kim Hoon]
Very well.
General Yu!
Colonel Ji, What are you doing back?
[Ji Chaemun]
Where is General Gang? I have an urgent report.
Who are you? From which division?
I am Colonel Ji Chaemun serving under General Yang Kyu.
What is the urgent report you have for Gang Jo?
I would prefer to tell him directly.
What?
Gang Jo is no longer a military officer. Any reports are to be delivered to me.
I am the newly appointed Minister of Military.
Pardon?
Are you certain?
[Lady Yunheung]
- Prince Hwangju is alive? - Yes, Your Grace
That's the report he was delivering to Gang Jo.
Did anyone else hear this? You said Gang Jo's men were with you.
No, only General Jo and I heard the report and I ordered him not to tell anyone else.
Good.
What do we have to worry about even if he is alive?
He's a son of a traitor.
Even so, his mother is Dowager Cheonchu.
He must be eliminated.
- General Jo. - Yes, Your Grace.
I want you on this. Yang Kyu and Kim Sukheung can't be trusted.
I want you to go personally and eliminate Dowager Cheonchu's child, understand?
I won't let you down, Your Grace.
How does it look?
It'll be a challenge. The compound is heavily guarded.
[Yu Jong]
I think we could suffer casualties if we attack without caution.
Should we request aid from General Yang Kyu?
[Wong Jongseok]
But they're Jurchen all the same. Let's just blitz them and get it over with.
[Ha Gongjin]
Foolish boy...
He wasted his life.
That's why I warned him several times not to go with Kim Chi Yang.
[Duyan]
Sa Gamun had told me that he was a Shillan.
[Mobula (Chief of an East Jurchen Tribe)]
His mother, my daughter, was a Jurchen. His father was a Shillan.
It was a lost cause to begin with. That's why I said no when they wanted me to join them.
Now my poor grandchildren are dead...
And since Dowager Cheonchu has left the palace, revenge is out of reach.
Pardon? The Empress Dowager left the palace?
Haven't you heard?
The news has reached even the most remote regions.
No, I was busy running. Is this really true?
Yes, it's a confirmed fact.
And the Emperor stepped down as well and now Goryeo has a new ruler.
The rumor has it that a man named Gang Jo led a coup and made this happen.
Unbelievable!
Anyhow, I'm glad Sa Gamun left a child to carry on his name.
Don't worry. He'll be safe here.
It's trouble, Chief. We're under attack by the Goryeoans!
What?
There! It's Duyan! Get her!
Colonel Ha!
It doesn't look good. We'll be wiped out at this rate.
This is Jurchen territory that they have no right to encroach upon!
Do not let the attackers get away alive. Annihilate them!
Where are you going?
Gatekeeper! Gatekeeper!
May I help you?
We are here from Gaeryeong with the Empress Dowager and the Empress.
Call the lady of the palace.
Who are you again?
These are Empress Dowager Cheonchu and the Empress from Gaeryeong.
Allow me to bid humble greetings, Your Highness.
Who might you be?
I am the keeper of Choongju Palace, Kim Jonghyun
[Kim Jonghyun (keeper of Choongju Palace)]
Please come inside.
I'm aware of your disgraceful acts.
The Imperial House placed the country in confusion with your illicit affair and your son's sodomy.
Where is your son by the way?
[Lady Choongju]
The Emperor took his own life on the way here.
He committed suicide?
Yes, my Lady.
How pathetic could he have been to kill himself?
As you know, I am the grand daughter of Empress Dowager Shinmyeong,
the 3rd consort of Great Taejo and the mother to the 2nd and 3rd rulers of Goryeo.
Emperor Jeongjong and Emperor Gwangjong were my maternal uncles.
And as their descendant, I am ashamed beyond words by what you've done.
I must say you have some nerve coming here.
I have no excuse for what I've done.
But the Empress has been traumatized by these events, and in dire need of rest.
- Won't you help us? - Empress? What Empress?
She's just the wife of a fool who ruined the country and then killed himself.
Our grandmothers were once very close, so I will not throw you out.
But you must practice prudence and self-restraint. Is that understood?
Thank you.
- Steward Kim. - Yes.
Give them a room in the servants' quarters.
I'm sorry?
You heard me.
Yes.
This way.
What do you want?
I have a letter I must deliver to you.
From whom?
It's from Lady Yunheung, the Queen Consort to Seongjong.
This is the room.
Forgive me for the poor accommodations, Your Highness.
Nonsense. And please don't call me "Your Highness".
Just call me Lady Sungdeok as your mistress did.
No.
You are still the Empress Dowager as far as I'm concerned.
I have always supported your political decisions.
I think your policies on national defense and sharecropping reform
were both courageous and admirable.
Do you?
Yes. Please rest, Your Highness.
Empress!
Wake up, Empress!
Salutation!
Exchange of vows!
[Queen Wonjeong]
Here we are at last.
Your father would be overjoyed if he could see this.
It's been so long since we were in the palace, but it seems like it was yesterday.
Yes, it does.
Empress, I have a regret. You know what it is, don't you?
Mother...
I was loved and cherished by your father King Seongjong, but I did not bear a son.
If I had produced a male heir,
I would never have been subjected to all the pain I've suffered,
and Empress Dowager Cheonchu's regency would've been mine.
So if you don't want to follow in my footsteps, you must produce a male heir.
Do you understand?
[Court Lady Jo]
Empress, aren't you going to answer her?
Yes, I will try.
His Majesty the Emperor!
Your Majesty, you're here.
You're still here.
I wanted to have a chat with the Empress...
Your Majesty, now that we have had the wedding ceremony,
perhaps Lady Yunheung could move into the palace?
The Empress will be so lonely here.
I don't believe that's customary.
Return home safely.
Your Majesty, shall I call for some wine?
I was raised in a temple, so I do not enjoy drinking.
Of course...
Empress.
Yes, Your Majesty.
I was ignorant of the goings-on in the palace having lived disassociated from politics.
But from what I have seen so far,
your mother, Lady Yunheung, seems very close to the high ministers.
Why else would they push this marriage despite Minister Gang Gamchan's protests?
I will not hold Lady Yunheung's offenses during the previous reign against her.
Whether it was my own will or not, I have already married you,
and rehashing the past will benefit no one.
But I will not be a puppet for those who try to manipulate me or for those who are behind them.
Your Majesty, I don't know much about politics either.
But would like to take this head dress off...
Again, I was raised in a temple, and I am not used to being with a woman.
I had no choice but to come here tonight,
but I will be sleeping alone in my bedchambers starting tomorrow.
Please go to bed first.
I have much to contemplate, so I won't be going to bed.
Why are you here?
Is this how you've been spending your time?
I have nothing better to do.
General Gang, Emperor married Lady Yunheung's daughter today.
Oh? I'm not surprised.
General Gang, this no time to sit around drinking.
They're undoing all the work Empress Dowager Cheonchu accomplished.
Sharecropping policy has been reversed as well!
What's even more serious is the downsizing of the military.
Take me, for example. I've been demoted and excluded from assembly.
Now I'm a general, but they've not assigned any soldiers for me to command.
[Dae Dosu]
They are out to destroy us because we were close to Dowager Cheonchu.
Didn't you know this would happen once the Empress Dowager left?
That's why I was trying so hard to keep her in power.
Our attempt to strong-arm the Imperial Court is partly to blame for this.
And what has been happening is not the Emperor's will.
Men around him are coercing him with pressure and intimidation.
And he doesn't have a single good man on his side.
You have to snap out of this.
I am a rebel under house arrest. What would I do if I snapped out of this?
Escape and incite another coup?
General Gang...
It's over.
It's over for Goryeo. And I've lost all hope and all desire...
So I'll just drink my days away.
Keep them locked up, my Lady?
Yes, not just the dowager and her daughter-in-law,
but her entire staff of servants as well.
My Lady, is this really necessary?
She was once an empress dowager of Goryeo...
She's nothing but a whore who nearly brought the country down.
Just do as you're told.
Force it down. You have to eat to survive.
Have one more spoonful. You will starve to death.
Your Highness, I think I'd rather join His Majesty than endure this scorn.
That again? I need you to be strong for me.
Do you think you're the only one in pain?
Tell me, Your Highness. His Majesty didn't kill himself, did he?
He was truly happy to be out of the palace. He couldn't have killed himself.
Yes, you're right.
The Emperor was murdered.
And do you know why I didn't fight to the death after seeing them kill my son?
Because if I did, they would have killed you as well.
It's bad enough that they killed my poor son.
How could I face the Emperor in the next world if I let them kill you as well?
Your Highness...
Now open your mouth. You have to eat.
We have to survive to avenge the Emperor's death.
So you let the Jurchen chase you away?
Forgive me. They were stronger than we anticipated...
This is an outrage!
You've let a criminal of high treason get away because you couldn't defeat a mob of barbarians?
That's a pathetic excuse!
That's an extreme remark.
What?
These are my men.
[Yang Kyu (Officer of the Ministry of Punishment)]
It is true that they failed the mission, but defeat is at times unavoidable
depending on the strength of the enemy.
Oh, that's right. You still think you're a general, don't you?
Well, you are not a general any longer!
What are you talking about?
This is the new Emperor's order.
You have been demoted.
General, is this true?
Yes, it's the Emperor's command.
Yang Kyu, you are now a duty officer of the Ministry of Punishments
and Kim Sukheung, you've been demoted to the rank of colonel!
This has to be a mistake. What have we done wrong?
This is not a reflection of your job performance.
It is the new Emperor's intent to trim down the bloated military.
Since that's so, there is no need for this many generals in a small country like ours is there?
But we must maintain our military strength to prepare for a Khitan invasion.
Dowager Cheonchu has wasted enough valuable government assets preparing for
an invasion that's never going to happen!
The times have changed.
So get all of your men out there and bring back Kim Chi Yang's son!
[Imperial Palace of Liao]
Stop! State your business!
I've come to see the Prime Minister.
Who are you to dare speak of the Prime Minister?
What's going on over there?
You are...!
It's been a while.
I must see the Prime Minster. It's urgent.
Empress Dowager Cheonchu left her position of power? Is this really true?
Yes, Your Majesty. That is Duyan's report.
[Han Derang (Khitan Prime Minister)]
Prime Minister...
Yes, Your Highness.
I had a dream about
[Empress Dowager Xiao (Emperor Shengzhong's mother)]
Empress Dowager Cheonchu a few days ago.
You did?
She and I must have a karmic connection
for her to have left her position of power when I am about to leave this life...
I had felt a special bond with her for having been through so much of the same ups and downs in life.
If she were a Khitan we would've been like sisters.
Don't say that, Mother.
[Shengzhong of Liao (6th Ruler of Khitan)]
You must get back on your feet and lead the empire again.
No, I am at my end.
Ever-changing are the hands of power, and no flower can stay in bloom for?
Mother!
Your Highness! Your Highness!
Mother...
Your Highness, don't try to talk.
Emperor.
Yes, Mother.
Follow Prime Minister's guidance when I'm gone.
Cast off your ambition to conquer Goryeo. Do you understand?
Answer me, Emperor.
Yes, Mother. I will.
Prime Minister.
Yes, Empress Dowager.
My life was worth living because I had you.
You were the best man I ever met in every way.
You brought prosperity to the empire and joy to my life.
You brought me joy as well.
Please guide the Emperor well.
I'm sorry I could not be with you to the end.
Don't worry, Your Highness.
The wind...I miss the wind of the open prairie...
We've come such a long way...
Empress Dowager!
Mother!
Empress Dowager!
Mother!
Empress Dowager!
Empress Dowager of Liao died on the same year Mokjong was killed
and Empress Dowager Cheonchu fell from power.
Having been a regent for her grown son for 27 years,
she is considered the most successful woman in all of East Asian history.
But her death would unleash Shengzhong's repressed ambition to conquer Goryeo.
Empress Dowager!
Goryeo's Empress Dowager Cheonchu has finally left her position of power.
This is a sign from Heaven. We will attack Goryeo with full force
once the mourning comes to an end, so get ready.
No, Your Majesty. Have you forgotten your mother's last words?
Hush! Do not bother telling me to wait again.
This is the chance I have been waiting for!
Your Majesty, you must wait for a better opportunity. Three years at the most.
The Goryeoan military will indeed be weakened by that time.
Stop, Prime Minister. It's the Emperor's command.
Your Majesty, I say this to you only because I want victory as much as you do.
Please heed my advice.
I am the Emperor!
And from now on, I will not forgive anyone that defies me!
So keep your mouth shut!
Your Majesty!
Guards! Prime Minister is losing his hearing due to old age!
Take him to the medical wing for treatment!
Yes, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, if three years is too long, please give it one year.
There could be a cataclysmic change in that time, Your Majesty!
Your Majesty! Your Majesty!
I am the one who will bring about the cataclysmic change.
Prime Minister will never join us here again.
Does anyone else object?
Your Majesty, what would you like to do with Duyan and her son?
Lock them up with the Prime Minister.
I will deal with them after we conquer Goryeo.
The time has come at last! Prepare for the conquest!
Why is it that way?
What's taking so long?
They're just after a woman and a child, for heaven sakes!
Forgive me, but East Kye is East Jurchen territory,
[East Kye: The region in the present day Ham Kyung state]
and they are up against the strongest tribe of all the Eastern Jurchen tribes.
[East Jurchen: The Jurchen people who inhabited the entire region of Ham Kyung state]
I don't want excuses!
And you call yourselves the best of Goryeo?
You are incompetent!
General Yang, we have a problem!
What is it?
A report just came in from Liaodong. The massive Khitan army is on the move!
What? How massive?
Countless. The report said they covered the field as far as the eyes can see.
[Kim Sukheung]
Is this true? The Khitan have invaded our borders?
Yes, Your Majesty.
They're on the fields of Liaodong and the estimated number of soldiers is 400,000.
What? Four hundred thousand?
- You can't get inside! - I told you. It's urgent!
- I must speak to General Gang! - No!
Leave before I'm forced to hurt you.
What's going on?
General Gang, it's trouble. A massive Khitan army is approaching!
What?
It's a huge army, ten times the size of the invading force we fought 20 years ago.
At last... At last they're here!
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Translation by KBS World Spot Translators: munchinghippo
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We may not come back alive from this mission to fight off the Khitan.
But we are defending our country and protecting our descendants
that will live on this land for generations to come.
So fight and destroy the enemy with all of your might and let your names
be remembered!