Three Kingdoms
Episode 57
The Emperor issued a decree.
appointing Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu as Governors of Nanjun and Jiangxia respectively.
They plan to assume their posts at once.
We ask you to please hand over those two commanderies.
Zhou Yu really wants to be the Governor of Nanjun?
Not just Zhou Yu,
Cheng Pu wants to govern Jiangxia, too.
Zijing,
the court appointed my lord as Protector of Jing.
If Zhou Yu becomes Governor of Nanjun,
wouldn't he become a subordinate of my lord's, then?
And would the veteran general Cheng Pu be willing to serve under my lord as well?
They are willing. They are both very willing.
As long as you give up these two commanderies,
they would be willing to be subordinates of Lord Liu Bei, Protector of Jing.
And they will dedicate their lives to your cause, too.
Zijing, please allow me to say something.
You see,
we eat using two chopsticks.
If we take away one of them
how can we eat with just the other?
Kongming, what do you mean?
We are now talking about Nanjun and Jiangxia.
It's the same principle.
Nanjun is a stronghold for the defense of Jingzhou.
Without it, we cannot hold onto Jingzhou.
If you take away Nanjun, it'd be as if you took away a chopstick out of a pair
you might as well take our food away from us too.
As for Jiangxia, it's right in our backyard.
Consider, if someone has a house,
and you insist on keeping an army in his backyard,
is that not very ridiculous?
A wonderful analogy indeed!
Brilliant as always, Zhuge Kongming.
It sounds like you do not plan to let go of those two commanderies, right?
Our apologies. We are unable to comply.
No need for formalities.
To tell you the truth,
I did not expect to be able to take back the two commanderies in this mission.
Then... thank you very much.
Don't mention it, Imperial Uncle.
Since we are family now, we will grant you another concession.
It's only the right thing to do.
But... Imperial Uncle,
we'll have to start discussing some actual business now.
earlier was not actual business?
Are you saying that what we discussed
the topic I am about to bring up.
That was just as a way of introducing
The introduction is complete, I presume?
Zijing, please proceed with business.
Two years ago, my lord made an agreement with the Imperial Uncle
to temporarily loan out Jing.
Once the Imperial Uncle finds another foothold. he should return Jing to us immediately.
Now, the court has made the Imperial Uncle Protector of Jing.
My lord would like the Imperial Uncle to claim some other territory as soon as possible.
Otherwise, as time passes,
Jing belongs to the Imperial Uncle.
everyone might really start to think that
Do not forget.
The Imperial Uncle and Kongming have both signed the loan agreement.
Zijing,
return Jing to the Marquis of Wu.
I want to find a new base as well, and
But now, Cao Cao is still quite powerful.
Wouldn't attacking the north with just my current power
be anything short of suicide?
We aren't forcing you to commit suicide.
Look, the world is a big place.
Zijing, you mean to say...
Kongming said that once you have taken the Riverlands, you will return Jing immediately.
So why do you not go conquer it now?
Liu Zhang of the Riverlands is incompetent and weak: It's not hard to take the region.
Zijing, Liu Zhang is indeed incompetent,
and not as militaristic as Cao Cao is.
But I can't do it.
May I ask why?
No reason in particular. I just can't!
Imperial Uncle, what is it?
Did I say something wrong just now?
Zijing, you have said something that touched my lord's sore spot.
Please enlighten me.
Although the ruler of the Riverlands, Liu Zhang, is incompetent,
he is a Liu just like my lord is. They're both descendents of the royal house and the emperor's own kin.
Mustering an army to invade his land means fighting against one's family.
How can my lord bear to do that?
But if we don't, we won't have a place to call home,
and thus we won't be able to return Jing which means betraying the Marquis of Wu.
It's a brother on one side and the in-laws on the other.
My lord is caught in a dilemma.
That is why he is so distraught.
Zijing,
when you return and report to Marquis, please do take the trouble
to explain to him bur situation in detail.
Please beg the Marquis to give my lord more time.
Look at that. Look at that.
It's one thing if you don't return Nanjun and Jiangxia.
But you don't even want to return the rest of the province,
and insist on us conceding to you time and again.
Please examine your hearts and tell me.
Are you being fair to my lord?
And how do you expect my lord to ever agree to this?
The Marquis even married his sister to the Imperial Uncle. How can he not agree?
Even if he does, the Grand Commander definitely won't.
So what does Zhou Gongjin want?
The Grand Commander wants you to invade the Riverlands immediately.
Fine, then. We'll do as you say.
Please tell the Marquis of Wu—and Zhou Yu as well
that in five years' time, we will conquer the Riverlands.
No. Not five years. Immediately.
Zijing, you are not ignorant of military principles.
The Riverlands is a faraway land. It will be a long and arduous campaign.
Right now, we don't have enough men or supplies.
How can we invade it now?
We need at least a few years to prepare, right?
Fine.
You don't have enough soldiers and supplies.
We have enough soldiers and more than sufficient supplies.
If you don't attack the Riverlands,
we can take it for you.
And once we've taken it,
we will exchange the Riverlands for our nine commanderies of Jing.
Are you satisfied now?
Very well.
We will wish Gongjin a swift victory.
Kongming, if Zhou Yu does attack the Riverlands,
Liu Zhang will not be able to withstand the elite forces of the Southland.
Worry not, mylord. I predict that Zhou Yu will not attack the Riverlands.
He is just using it as an excuse to force us to give up Jing.
Kongming,
back in Longzhong, you mentioned that
the Riverlands is a place we must take sooner or later.
If Zhou Yu annexes it first, we would be at a disadvantage.
Invading the Riverlands is a large military operation. The cost in manpower and supplies is tremendous.
With our current strength, we cannot invade it.
If Zhou Yu does attack it, the Southland will suffer heavily.
We can just watch on the sidelines, and act accordingly.
Also, I believe that taking the Riverlands is just an empty threat from Lu Su.
Sun Qua is a careful man.
He will not let Zhou Yu waste all the strength of the Southland on conquering the Riverlands.
Lets hope so.
Indeed, Zhuge Liang said they didn't have enough men or supplies.
He also made some excuse about taking the Riverlands five years later.
I replied to them according to what we've planned earlier.
and indeed they could not argue further.
Gongjin.
Liu Bei is even more of a damned hypocrite that I thought.
That he can actually say something like
he cannot bear to attack Liu Zhang since they are from the same clan!
How despicable! How ridiculous!
Gongjin,
attacking the Riverlands is a huge operation.
Will Lord Sun agree?
Do you think he will?
he will definitely act only after careful consideration.
Then let me tell you.
Lord Sun has already agreed.
Really?
While you were meeting with Liu Bei,
four veteran generals, including Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang,
led eight junior commanders, including Xu Sheng, Ding Feng, and Lu Meng,
to Lord Sun and requested to invade Jing.
Lord Sun agreed to my plan right then.
Heavens!
The generals of the Southland went in full force.
It's practically a mutiny!
Grand Commander,
if that is the case, I will do as you say.
From today on, I will support you wholeheartedly.
I will obey all your commands.
Excellent!
Has the message from the Southland come?
Yes, it's already been given to His Lordship. Has the message from the Southland come?
My lord.
Look at this.
Sun Quan appointed Cheng Pu as the chief commander
and sent him with 30,000 soldiers to invade the Riverlands.
They even told us the deployment date and the routes they will take.
Zhou Yu is indeed no ordinary man.
He managed to pull even this off!
Vanguard general Lu Meng will lead an army of 10,000 westward.
Cheng Pu will follow with the main army and attack the Riverlands within half a year.
Then they'll trade the Riverlands for the nine commanderies of Jing.
Kongming,
Liu Zhang of the Riverlands is no match for the Southland army.
The Riverlands will definitely fall to them!
It might be worse than that.
If Wu takes the Riverlands, it will have the two biggest provinces of the realm.
They have 81 counties in the Southland in the east, and 51 commanderies of the Riverlands in the west.
And Jing, which we hold, will be a thorn in their side. They will seek to destroy us!
M lord...
Zhou Yu has foresight.
He can already foresee the next five years,
or maybe even the next ten.
He is no longer in a hurry to take Jing,
but instead strives to gain a position with military advantage.
He no longer cares about a city or two,
but has his mind set on conquering the realm.
Why would he be bothered over Jing?
We should not have agreed to let them take the Riverlands.
What should we do now?
Please let me think.
My lord!
Look.
Zhou Yu is still his old self.
He will not take the Riverlands. This is his "borrow a road to subjugate Guo" ruse.
Look, it's written so clearly in the letter.
During our western campaign, we will need to be granted passage through Jing.
Could it be...
Could it be that they plan to attack Jingzhou instead?
Indeed!
What treachery! To travel through Jing under the excuse of attacking the Riverlands.
We can't refuse them either.
But once we allow them passage, we'd basically be inviting them to invade us!
We only have one option.
Send out more scouts.
If Wu is sending Cheng Demou to attack the Riverlands,
we will provide them with supplies and help them westward.
But if the army is not led by Cheng Demou, but Zhou Gongjin instead,
it'd prove that their goal is not the Riverlands, but Jing.
We will have to fight then.
And it will be a decisive battle.
For this western campaign,
Wu sent 30,000 elite soldiers.
And they are all well-trained veteran soldiers.
Although we claim to have a force of 100,000,
we actually only have 50,000, and they're all recruits.
I'm afraid we're not their match.
With just 30,000 soldiers, they cannot conquer the Riverlands,
nor Jing either.
If my guess is correct.
Zhou Yu should be bringing more than that.
He needs at least 50,000.
Fifty thousand?
Then we have even less of a chance.
Don't fret, my lord.
Do you know how many men we have?
Isn't it 50,000?
That's just counting the armies in each commandery of Jing.
Actually, we have 80,000 soldiers.
Why is there so many?
It includes the troops we gained from annexing the southern commanderies,
Liu Biao's former subordinates, as well as new recruits.
I didn't want Cao Cao or Sun Quan to know our true strength,
and so I kept it from everyone, including you.
My lord, please forgive me.
You've done no wrong.
true strength. And thus he can launch surprises.
One skilled in warfare is skilled in concealing his
However,
Zhou Yu is a renowned general.
How confident are you if you were to engage with him in battle?
Zhou Yu will have traveled a long way while we're rested and ready.
We have the advantage of both timing and geography. The odds are excellent for our success.
Right now,
our main enemy is still Cao Cao.
If we really go to war with Zhou Yu,
the coalition between Sun and Liu will be completely over.
There's a good side and a bad side to everything.
Once the war begins, the strength of both the Southland and us will be diminished.
But on the other hand, if we win this war,
Zhou Yu will no longer have the power to go against us.
Sun Quan will thus lose his ability to constrain us.
Our coalition will be even stronger then.
Jing will gain a long period of stability and peace as well.
Very good.
If he really attacks us,
we will have no choice but fight to the death.
We'll fight!
My lord, please write back to Sun Quan personally and tell him
that we agree to their request to pass through Jing on their way to conquer the Riverlands,
Be careful.
Grand Commander.
Your carriage is ready.
Carriage?
I am a general.
Have you ever seen a general who leads his troops to war lying in a carriage?
Bring my horse.
Grand Commander.
Go.
Fetch the Grand Commander's mount!
Yes.
Grand Commander.
Victory! Victory! Victory!
Let's go
Grand Commander, look. Jingzhou is right ahead.
Are they on their guard?
They sent a messenger,
saying that they have prepared food for us to take with us on our way.
Send out my orders.
Attack Jingzhou!
Attack the city!
Charge!
Oh no! We've been ambushed!
General Lu!
Look!
Those are the banners of Guan, Zhang, and Zhao!
Quickly! Retreat! Protect the Grand Commander!
Retreat! Retreat!
Follow me and fight our way out!
Fight our way out! Follow me and fight our way out!
What is the situation outside now?
Before the gates of Jingzhou,
our army was taken by surprise.
We've lost three-tenths of our men.
Liu Bei's soldiers have now completely surrounded us.
Zhuge Liang!
Grand Commander!
Liu Bei's men did not press on their attack.
What are they waiting for?
Right.
Right. They are waiting for us to run out of grain and starve to death!
How long can our food last?
Our supply lines have been broken. Any remaining food we have is only enough for three more days.
Heaven wishes to destroy me!
Grand Commander, a message from Liu Bei's army.
Is it asking for surrender?
The messenger said it's a letter from Zhuge Liang to you.
Read it.
Dear Gongjin,
When I received your letter regarding taking the Riverlands and trading it for Jing,
I was deeply grateful, and prepared supplies for your use.
Unexpectedly, you brought a great force to attack us instead.
Your betrayal confuses me.
Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Han has been in decline.
Cao Cao seized power from the emperor and coerced regional lords to do his bidding.
Your state, too, suffers from his abuse of power.
It was only due to our alliance that the victory at Red Cliff was possible,
saving the lives of millions from utter destruction.
With Cao Cao tyrannizing over the Central Plains,
our two houses must work together if we are to repel this northern threat.
Together, we will both prosper. Separated, we will both fall.
My lord gave battle today only in self-defense. He had not desired it.
As a gesture of goodwill, we commanded our men to leave an opening in the southeast.
so that you may lead your men back to the east.
Our men will not harass you.
We will also return to you all captured men and horses, supplies and equipment.
I hope that you, good brother, will forget our enmity, and instead reforge our friendship.
May we never fight among ourselves again, lest Cao Cao succeeds in usurping the throne,
and the common folks forsake hope of resurrecting the Han.
Most respectfully, Zhuge Liang.
Grand Commander.
This is Zhuge Liang shedding crocodile tears.
We cannot accept his favor!
We still have more than 30,000 soldiers.
Give us your orders.
I will go and fight them to the death right now!
Forget it.
Save some soldiers for the Southland.
Grand Commander!
Announce my orders.
Take the trail in the southeast...
and retreat to the Southland.
General Lu, the Grand Commander orders us to halt.
Halt!
Grand Commander, what are your orders?
Help me down.
I want to take a look at Jingzhou.
Grand Commander.
Commander!
Grand Commander!
This is the first time in my life...
and also the last time, that I failed.
It is not because I miscalculated,
but because of the genius of Zhuge Liang.
I fear...
I fear that I will never see the banners of Wu...
flying over the walls of Jingzhou.
Grand Commander!
My lord.
Gongjin.
You're here.
My lord.
I am leaving.
Before General Bofu passed away,
he wanted me to assist you
in protecting the Southland.
I never imagined that, after only ten years,
I would not be able to serve you any more.
Gongjin...
Don't say that.
You will recover.
No one knows about my injury better than I do.
This time...
I will not recover.
My lord, ever since you took over as the lord of Wu,
I have disobeyed and offended you many times.
My lord.
Will you hold it against me?
Gongjin, don't say that.
You are the pillar of Wu's
Actually...
I had no choice but to do what I did.
Most of the veteran generals of the Southland...
had served under the banner of Lord Sun Jian.
And then, General Bofu died,
leaving behind his widowed mother and young brother.
If the Southland did not have a person of authority...
there would have been chaos.
To stabilize the situation...
I had to act overbearingly...
in order to keep those veteran generals under control.
But, because of that...
I ended up taking over some of your lordship's authority.
I knew.
I knew this was a grave transgression.
But still I dared to do it...
and was able to do it...
all because I knew that...
you are a gracious and magnanimous man.
Gongjin...
I completely appreciate your intentions.
My lord.
The Southland...
may have a secure foundation already...
But it is still an isolated place with limited resources.
Liu Bei...
and Cao Cao...
are formidable characters of a sort that only appears every few hundred years.
Striving to survive with tigers beside you,
you must not...
let down your guard at all.
Gongjin, your words...
will be engraved in my heart forever.
Oh, Gongjin.
My lord, please speak.
If anything befalls you,
who can take over the position of the Grand Commander?
There is someone...
with more vision than I do...
whose talents are greater than mine.
and whose virtues are also superior to mine.
He can be the pillar of the Southland.
Who?
Lu..
Zi..
Jing.
Lu Su?
My lord, please...
appoint him as...
the Grand Commander.
Don't worry, Gongjin
I will ask Zijing to take over the army.
Then, I have no more worries.
What a shame.
What's a shame?
Gongjin,
is there anything else you need to tell me?
If Heaven must make Zhou Yu...
why must it also make Zhuge Liang?
Gongjin!
Grand Commander!
Gongjin!
Grand Commander!
If Heaven must make Zhou Yu...
why must it also make Zhuge Liang?
If Heaven must make Zhou Yu...
why must it also make Zhuge Liang?
Kongming's Art of War
Zhou Yu, one of the greatest generals of his time,
died with his noble ambitions unfulfilled.
He was only 36 years of age.
Master!
Why are you in such a flurry?
Lord Sun has... Lord Sun...
My lord.
Zijing.
Gongjin...
left us.
Gongjin...
How could he have left us?
I too, wish that his death is not real.
I never would have imagined...
that such a great general...
would leave us just like that.
Oh Heavens!
The Heavens are unreasonable,
to take away such a talent before his time!
M lord...
Gongjin must have...
died with regrets!
You are right.
However, Gongjin was the one hastened his own death.
to fill the position of Grand Commander.
Before he passed away, Gongjin recommended someone
I came to hear your opinion on it.
May I ask who it was that Gongjin recommended?
You.
Me?