Three Kingdoms
Episode 63
Traitor!
Your men surround me?
Very well, all of you can fight me. I'm not afraid!
Very well, all of you can fight me. I'm not afraid
Come!
There's nothing you can say to convince Ma Chao you're on his side.
In my humble view, we should just really surrender to Cao Cao.
Ma Teng was my sworn brother.
How can I betray him?
Given the situation, we have no choice.
There's no need to fear, General Han.
Let me assist you. Fire!
Hear that, you traitor?
Cao Cao is helping you!
Anything else to say?
Lay down your life!
Mengqi... Mengqi! Are you all right?
Mengqi, are you all right?
Kill them!
Mount your horse, Mengqi! The enemy is coming!
Cut the act!
General! General! General!
Help the general on! General!
Hunt him down! Don't let the Ma boy escape!
Cut off his head and receive 1,000 taels of gold and 10,000 households!
Capture him alive and be promoted to commander-in-chief. Go after him!
My lord.
One must not make any mistakes when drawing the eyes.
Just one erroneous line and the portrait will lose its soul.
The maidens that my lord has drawn look even more lively than the dancing girls.
Of course.
Say what you will.
Yes, sir.
My lord.
Cao Cao has defeated Ma Chao's army of 200,000 at the Wei River.
He pressed on and took Xiliang.
Ma Chao has no base,
so he led the remaining 50,000 men to Hanzhong.
He ran to Zhang Lu, Governor of Hanning.
How impressive of Cao Cao.
He even conquered Xiliang.
I suppose Zhang Lu is busy with Cao Cao now, yes?
No.
Zhang Lu is now marching his army to the Riverlands.
What? Why would he be attacking us instead of Cao Cao?
Think, my lord.
If not even Ma Chao can stand up to Cao Cao's might,
then how can Zhang Lu put up a-.resistance against him?
Hanzhong is easy to conquer, but difficult to defend.
If Zhang Lu hopes to survive,
hi 1best move is to appoint Ma Chao as his commander to conquer the Riverlands.
Only by having both the Riverlands and Hanzhong
can he repel Cao Cao's army.
In the case that he were to lose Hanzhong,
he can still withdraw into the Riverlands
and defend using the terrain.
If you know the terrain is so treacherous.
what are you worried about?
Let Zhang Lu come and attack us.
We have 200,000 soldiers. Why should I be afraid?
My lord, Zhang Lu has always wanted to strike westward.
Now, with the mighty Ma Chao in his service,
it's like the tiger has grown wings.
Is Ma Chao really that mighty?
None of our generals can stand up to him?
My lord, do you remember Lu Bu?
Of course.
Wielding the Trident Halberd upon his Red Hare,
he was unrivaled.
Cao Cao commented that Ma Chao is just as mighty as Lu Bu.
In the battle at the Wei River,
Ma Chao was so fierce that Cao Cao had to cut off his beard and cover his face to escape.
He very nearly lost his life.
It was only through Cao Cao's ploy to sow discord
that Ma Chao was defeated in the end.
Yongnian.
What do you think that we should do?
We should send tribute to the court in Xuchang
and pledge allegiance to Cao Cao.
Then, we ask him to launch an attack on Hanzhong.
In this way, Zhang Lu will lose focus on the western lands.
The Riverlands will then be safe.
Excellent! That would be fantastic! Yongnian.
You shall be emissary.
You will personally pay our respects to Prime Minister Cao in Xuchang.
Yes, sir.
With such a useless lord in charge, how can the Riverlands protect itself?
We may escape calamity for the moment, but next time?
Such a pity.
Both of us have high aspirations and so many grand ideas.
Sadly, we can only guard the house and garden of a mediocre lord.
Heaven gave the Riverlands to Liu Zhang, but he does not truly cherish it.
For the sake of the people of this land,
perhaps we should seek out a better lord for the Riverlands.
Fa Zheng, do you seek to betray your lord?
Zhang Song.
I have always considered you to be a talented man of Shu.
I never imagined you could be so superficial.
Fine! Take me to Liu Zhang and get your reward, then!
Xiaozhi, you really do possess the courage to carry out such a plan.
Brother Yongnian, do you also have the same idea, then?
Come, come. This way, please.
Look. Do you know what this is?
A detailed map of the 41 states of the Riverlands.
The ruggedness of the Riverlands terrain is unsurpassed.
Without a map,
no army could ever enter our lands, no matter how strong.
I have spent three years drawing all of the details out on this map.
The land's geography, the roads,
the deep gorges and snaking valleys, the army encampments, the granaries...
every detail is drawn on this map.
Whoever owns this map has half of the Riverlands in his hands.
So...
who do you intend to give this map to?
Cao Cao of Xuchang.
This person is well-versed in strategies and he commands a powerful army.
He has the emperor and rules over the rest of the world.
He is truly the best warlord of our time.
With these lands in his hands,
the people of the Riverlands will enjoy many years of peace.
Both of us will also be able to make full use of our talents.
Cao Cao is the prime minister of Han in name, but most definitely a traitor of Han by nature.
Brother, why not give this map to Liu Bei instead?
He is an imperial descendant and rules over Jing.
He has Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun.
He will achieve hegemony in the future.
Jing is a territory caught between the forces of Cao Cao and Sun Quan.
It will be conquered before long.
It is already not easy for Liu Bei to preserve himself.
It will be hard for him to achieve hegemony.
Your talk of whether Cao Cao is a prime minister or a traitor
is the talk of a pedant.
Can you find a man not denounced by others.
or a man who does not denounce others?
No matter how ill people speak of Cao Cao,
he still succeeded in attaining great power.
If you feel that Liu Bei is a virtuous ruler.
then Cao Cao is a bold and visionary lord.
In a time of chaos, a bold and visionary lord is better than a virtuous one.
When will you be leaving, brother?
I will leave the Riverlands tomorrow and reach Xuchang in 10 days.
Excellent. Have a safe journey there then, brother.
Thank you.
Your Excellency.
over the course of our western expedition.
These are the records of our losses of men and supplies
Please review them, sir.
There is so much?
Cao Hong, Xu Huang, and Xiahou Yuan's units lost over half in casualties.
We spent all of the tax revenue from Qing, Ji, and Xu.
Your Excellency, this war
used up 70% of the food that we accumulated over the last eight years.
The losses are indeed great, but in hindsight,
we gained much more from this.
Firstly, we have settled the northern borders.
Furthermore, we have acquired the eight commanderies of Xiliang.
Xiliang is a frigid and inhospitable place.
Hence, it produces good horses and brave warriors.
We have occupied the Central Plains for... ten years, haven't we?
Our army grows lethargic each passing day.
We require the Xiliang soldiers
to help bolster our ranks.
Most observant, Your Excellency.
But after Dong Zhuo left, Xiliang was occupied by Ma Teng and his sons.
Well, we just took it over.
The lands are barren, the people disloyal.
The Qiang tribes evade taxes, and their young, able men refuse to enlist.
From now on, you should focus your efforts on these three tasks.
Which three tasks?
First, nurture the people.
Second, cultivate the wastelands.
Third, put an end to the fighting.
Please elaborate, Your Excellency.
Xiliang originally was an impoverished, bereft area.
On top of that, it is plagued by wars and droughts every year,
which made it even harder for the people to live their lives.
Send out an order.
Tell the soldiers stationed in Xiliang that
they are forbidden to impose levies on the people.
Anyone who dares to take a single grain or leaf from the people shall be executed.
Transport all the food stored in Chang'an's granaries to Xiliang as relief for the victims.
Also,
exempt the people of Xiliang's eight commanderies from taxes for two years.
Thus, nurture the people.
Noted. What about the second task?
Send General Yu Jin
with old and weak soldiers to Xiliang to develop the wastelands.
Those who agree to follow
shall duly receive a reward of food, money, cattle, and grain.
For three years.
they may keep all the grain that they harvest.
After that.
they shall share their harvest with the army at a ratio of 70 to 30.
Excellent! And the third task?
Right now...
we occupy the provinces of the Central Plains,
as well as the lands of Xiliang.
Our territory must span several thousand miles.
But the generals have fought for years.
They are already exhausted.
Hence, I propose that we cease warring for several years.
During this time, we shall train our soldiers.
and build up our food and weaponry.
When our power grows stronger, we shall go on a southern expedition again.
It is like the saying,
If you want to defeat others, you must first be in an undefeatable position.
Your Excellency,
I shall summon the officers
and assign them to carry out these three tasks.
News, Your Excellency.
Liu Zhang has sent Assistant Inspector Zhang Song as emissary to pay tribute.
You may go.
Yes, sir.
Liu Zhang of the Riverlands?
He and Liu Bei are birds of a feather.
He prides himself on being of imperial ancestry, so he has never contacted me.
Why does he suddenly decide to send tribute to me?
The emissary is Assistant Inspector Zhang Song?
Your Excellency, this person is Liu Zhang's right-hand man.
He is very influential among the noble Riverlands clans.
Liu Zhang...
What does he want?
Is he here to beg for my help, or does he hope to deceive me?
Your Excellency, either way, let's meet his emissary before we decide.
No.
I shall not meet him yet.
Tell Zhang Song to wait for a few days first.
Put him in the guest house for now.
Yes, sir.
What? His Excellency is not free again today?
His Excellency is celebrating his youngest son's birthday, and is unable to see you.
He hopes that you understand this.
What?
He would rather celebrate a baby's birthday
and treat a Riverlands emissary with such contempt?
Our sincere apologies, sir. Please...
People always say that Cao Cao is magnanimous and treats worthy men with respect.
I think that reputation is undeserved.
Your Excellency.
It has already been five days now.
Our men in the guest house say
he drinks every day to pass the time.
It seems he had become disgruntled.
He was complaining about Your Excellency treating men with no courtesy.
We have not shown respect to a guest. It's normal for him to admonish us.
The province of Yi is a faraway place.
It's not easy to come here.
If we show him so little courtesy,
would it not disappoint those who would seek to serve you?
Moreover, Liu Zhang is also a proper lord!
Since Sir Cheng has spoken,
then tell him to see me tomorrow.
But..
Your Excellency...
Didn't you just speak on his behalf?
I accepted your request.
Aren't you going to notify him?
But I'm still unsure of your intentions. Your Excellency.
I heard rumors court officials in Xuchang have behaved poorly lately.
It's becoming like Luoyang ten years ago.
When officials from another state enter the capital.
court officials demand bribes from them.
Perhaps you have also appropriated something from Zhang Song?
How could I seek to do such a thing?
I'm just joking with you
Zhongde, you're such an honest man.
Your Excellency, you should not make fun of honest men.
Fine, fine...
Let's not utter lies to honest men.
The reason I wont meet Zhang Song is
that I cannot grasp his real intention for coming here.
But now, I think I know the answer.
Therefore, I shall meet with him tomorrow.
Hurry and announce that Zhang Song, the emissary from the Riverlands, is here to meet Prime Minister Cao.
What's the big deal?
Who's Zhang Song? You?
Please wait a moment.
I am Zhang Song.
So it is you. I give you my respects.
His Excellency is busy today.
Please go back and wait, sir.
I have waited for six days.
I'm here to meet His Excellency according to Cheng Yu's arrangement.
Oh, I understand.
Please wait a moment, sir.
I shall announce your arrival.
What are you waiting for? Hurry up!
I'm waiting for your kindness, sir.
What?
I'm Yi's Assistant Inspector.
I've come a long way to meet His Excellency.
Yet a lowly slave like you dares to ask me for gifts?
No matter where you are from, sir,
I cannot defy the rules of the Prime Minister's office.
Sir, let's just follow the local rules here.
Thank you!
Please wait here. I shall announce your presence.
I was told to receive you. I'm the secretary for the Prime Minister's office.
Where is His Excellency?
This way, please
Your Excellency... Your Excellency...
The emissary is here.
I am Zhang Song, Assistant Inspector of Yizhou.
My respects to Your Excellency.
You must be that fellow, Assistant Inspector Zhuang.
You're Zhuang Song?
My surname is Zhang. I am Zhang Song.
I see. So your surname is Zhang, not Zhuang.
Assistant Inspector Zhang.
Your master, Liu Zhang,
has not paid tribute to the court for years.
What's the reason for this?
The journey here is arduous.
There are many bandits along the way blocking us.
Excuses!
I swept the Central Plains clean.
The world is at peace and the people live in safety.
Where could bandits be?
There's Sun Quan in the south, Zhang Lu in the north, and Liu Bei in the west.
They lead armies and proclaim themselves rulers of their lands.
You call that peace?
Zhuang Song, you were sent here as an emissary.
Where are your manners, emissary?
The name is Zhang. Zhang Song.
Your Excellency, I know my manners.
I journeyed far to be here,
and have waited in the guest house for six full days!
What audacity!
Master Zhang,
you are lucky His Excellency is benevolent.
He did not punish you since you traveled so far.
Just now.
you should have spoken more diplomatically.
The people of the Riverlands do not mince words.
I am not able to hold back my thoughts to please others.
They don't mince words?
So you mean the people of Xuchang are capable of doing that?
I'm sure you are capable of answering that question.
You...
Zhongde, give my order.
Yes, sir.
In two days' time.
I want 30,000 of our best men in Xuchang to assemble in the western parade square.
I wish to personally inspect the drills.
Your Excellency, Xuchang originally had 40,000 men stationed.
After the western expedition, we have only 20,000 soldiers left.
We don't have 30,000.
Then mobilize some from Ye or Luoyang.
March them through the night.
Right now, all the contingents are very tired.
They still must drill, no matter how tired they are!
If the enemy attacked tonight,
will we say "We're tired."
Please come back tomorrow?"
Inform the generals.
I want the drill to be awe-inspiring.
Anyone who is late or acts without conviction will be
considered to have lost a battle and punished.
Yes, sir.
Master Zhang, His Excellency is busy with military affairs.
He must receive you here.
Master Yang is too polite. The guest should always abide by the host's convenience.
Over here.
Master Zhang, this way.
After you.
Please.
Zhang Song, Assistant Inspector of Yi, pays his respects to Your Excellency.
Assistant Inspector Zhang,
have you seen an army in the Riverlands as impressive as mine?
Liu Zhang is a virtuous lord, and rules his land with kindness.
Hence, I've never seen soldiers like yours there.
What do you mean by that?
Are you implying I lack virtue?
Zhang Song dares not offend your prowess, sir.
Zhang Song.
I view the other warlords as mere weeds.
Wherever my army marches, conquered land and victories follow.
Those who submit to me live, while those who defy me die.
Do you understand?
I do.
Your Excellency leads armies with such talent.
all who oppose wherever you pass.
Your army is ever victorious, vanquishing
How could I not be aware of this?
For example...
your battle against Lu Bu at Puyang,
or the day you attacked Zhang Xiu in Wancheng,
or your encounter with Zhou Yu at Red Cliff, and meeting with Guan Yu at Huarong.
Or when you cut off your beard at Tong Pass,
or when you had to flee from arrows in a boat at the Wei River?
Brazen pedant! How dare you!
Men! Behead him!
Yes, sir!
Your Excellency.
Zhang Song is rude, but he traveled far to pay tribute to us.
If we behead him, we may lose the support of our vassal states!
Your Excellency,
emissaries are never killed, even in times of war.
Moreover, Liu Zhang dispatched Zhang Song here to mend ties.
This lowly pedant's presumptuous attitude and arrogance is hateful indeed.
If not for these two men here,
you'd be dead.
Men.
Yes, sir!
Have him driven out with sticks.
Yes, sir!
Has the Assistant Inspector from Yi left?
After the rebuke from Your Excellency,
he returned to the guest house, packed, and left via the southern gate.
Good riddance. When irritating pests depart, good things are bound to come.
Your Excellency, why do you insult Zhang Song so?
I really don't understand.
If you also cannot understand, then this plan is truly a success.
Think about it. After Ma Chao was defeated, he sought refuge with Zhang Lu of Hanzhong.
If Zhang Lu wants to keep Hanzhong safe, he has two options.
The first is to surrender. The second is to conquer the Riverlands.
Right now, Zhang Lu has Ma Chao under his wing.
He'll never surrender to me.
His only choice is to conquer the Riverlands.
Liu Zhang has not paid tribute to the court for years.
Suddenly, he dispatches an emissary to pay tribute.
Are his intentions not obvious?
Liu Zhang must fear Zhang Lu.
He fears Ma Chao attacking him as well.
Hence, he sent Zhang Song to request Your Excellency to attack Zhang Lu
to save himself.
I can neither accept nor reject his request.
My only option is to make him leave in anger.
I face a dilemma.
Your Excellency, why can't you agree to help?
Why do you refuse to ally and attack Hanzhong together?
Not only can we obtain Hanzhong,
but we can eliminate Ma Chao.
Well?
We have already established our overall policies.
We shall abstain from warfare for now before heading out again.
It's once said,
One will lose 8,000 men to kill 10,000 of his enemy.
Looking at our current strength,
we can take down Hanzhong if we use all our effort.
However, if Sun Quan and Liu Bei besiege us in a joint attack,
Xuchang will be in danger.
Therefore, we should wait for the right opportunity.
Moreover,
since our overall policies are already established,
we should not suddenly alter them.
I see... Your Excellency does not wish to go to war.
Yet you do not want him to see that we cannot.
You used the army drill to showcase our prowess to intimidate him.
Zhang Song has a face that no one could appreciate.
His intentions are most devious, and he is a boisterous fool.
He is opportunistic.
I don't like him.
Sir,
Yizhou is in the west..
Why do you keep looking east?
I boasted*to his lordship that
I would persuade Cao Cao to lead his army to attack Hanzhong.
But I've returned empty-handed. The officials in Shu will scoff at me.
I'm too embarrassed to see his lordship.
I intended to present Cao Cao the Riverlands,
but I did not expect him to be such a petty person.
Cao Cao is arrogant.
Even his attendants demanded bribes from me.
How can he be fit to be the prime minister?
He cannot remain in power forever.
Sir, lets return to Yizhou.
What's this place in front of us?
We should be in Yunzhou now.
Then we're not far from Liu Bei's territory.
We must be careful not to expose our identities.
If we encounter the armies of Jing,
we'll tell them we're merchants from the Riverlands.
Why so cautious, sir?
Our lordship and Liu Bei are of the same imperial line.
We have ignored Liu Bei,
and sought the Han traitor Cao Cao for help instead.
If Liu Bei discovers this, he will bear a grudge against us.
Assistant Inspector of Yizhou, with such a demeanor.
you do not resemble a Riverlands merchant at all!
May I request your name?
I am Pang Tong, styled Shiyuan. My nickname is Fledgling Phoenix.
Let me introduce these men to you.
That gentleman over there is General Guan Yunchang from Jingzhou.
The other gentleman is General Zhang Yide from Nanjun.
Oh the gracious heavens, they are here for...
We're here under Imperial Uncle Liu's orders to wait for your arrival Master Zhang.
I'm not Zhang Song.
My humble surname is Zhuang. I'm a merchant from the Riverlands.
Brother Yongnian, please stop pretending.
My lordship already knew about your journey to Xuchang to pay tribute.
He had ordered his second and third brothers,
and me as well,
to meet up with you so far from our base.
Brother Yongnian, please follow us.
Why does the Imperial Uncle wish to intercept me?
Though Cao Cao could not pay tribute.
my lord, on the other hand, is hospitable and loves guests.
Brother Yongnian, please come with us.
Sir, please board the carriage.
Sir, please board.
Please.
No rest for the traitors!
No retreat for the Han!
No rest for the traitors!
No retreat for the Han!
No rest for the traitors!
No retreat for the Han!
After you. Master Zhang.
Liu Bei's aspiration lives up to his reputation.
I, Liu Bei, Protector of Jing, humbly welcome Master Zhang.
I'm just a nobody. How could I accept such a welcome from you, Imperial Uncle?
I have never witnessed such a grand display in all my time upon this earth.
Your name rings like brilliant thunder bursting in my ears.
I regret that mountains and rivers kept us apart.
I heard you were returning,
and ordered Yunchang and Yide to meet you.
If we offended you in any way, please forgive us.
Please take a rest in our humble abode. and allow me to convey my respects to you.
It would be my greatest honor.
I'm extremely touched by your magnificent welcome, sir.
But this fantastic ceremony fits not even the state.
I do not deserve such an honor.
As a talent of this land.
it's only fitting for you.
Your lord, Liu Jiyu, is my cousin of the imperial house.
Meeting you today
is as good as meeting my cousin.
This way.
After you, sir.
Cao
This flag is...
This flag was obtained when we fought Cao Cao's army at Red Cliff.
Under my feet is Cao Caos,main standard.
There lies Cao Ren's banner,
Zhang Liao's flag of command,
and Xu Chu's camp flag.
Brother Yongnian,
if not for my second brother's mercy,
Cao Cao would have been my prisoner now.
Today, I use these flags belonging to Cao Cao's army to pave a way for you.
I humbly request that you to step on the flags as you enter the city.
I initially perceived.Cao Cao tc^be a visionary lord.
Today, I finally realize that you are the true hero of this world
The traitor Cao Cao is helpless when he encounters your army.
The lands of Han will eventually be in yours, Imperial Uncle!
You exaggerate. I do not deserve your praise.
This way, sir.
Yongnian,
your bravery, loyalty, and virtue will go down in history.
I toast to you. Cheers.
Cheers!
Master Zhang, let me toast to you also.
All right! Let's cheers!
I'm most impressed with people like you, Master Zhang.
Come, let me toast to you too, sir.
For every cup you drink, I shall drink three.
Cheers!
No, no, no! General Zhang.
I can't drink any more at all. I'm too drunk to continue.
Sir, you're not looking down on a man like me, are you?
Oh, no, of course not.
I'm really drunk.
Sir, you were fearless of Cao Cao.
Why fear a mere cup of wine?
Come, cheers!
Ah, very well, then! Cheers!
Cheers!