Episode Thirty-nine
Commander,
should we go find Chief Commander
and punish that woman?
Pig head!
That woman just did a meritorious deed.
And that moron Prince from Liang State
is into her.
At this time,
who dares to punish her?
Commander, will we drop it?
Do we have another choice?
I wanted to make a fortune out of it,
and seized the chance
to get rid of He Xiao in passing.
I never expected to
greet an uninvited guest.
If things get out of hand,
and the Ministry of War knows it,
I will die,
you will die with me too.
***
I don't know who wants to
scheme against Xiuli Army.
Do they want to scheme against He Xiao,
or scheme against me?
Commander, in my opinion,
we'd better let them go.
No hurry.
Keep them on their knees for one day.
You can go.
Yes.
Young Master, someone sent a letter here.
Who sent it?
I don't know.
There's just a letter at the gate house.
Coach Chu. You look pale.
Are you alright?
Do you have injuries?
If you feel uncomfortable,
don't tough it out.
I send you back.
Kneel down.
Do you want to die faster?
Take it easy.
When Chief Commander returns at night,
he will release us.
Now, we just wait quietly.
You understand?
Let them go back.
There's no need for them to stay here.
Coach Chu,
you are punished because of us.
How can we go back?
Whatever you want.
Coach Chu.
Where is Xue Zhileng?
For so long. Where has he been?
Commander goes to find Chief Commander
and reports to him.
Vice Commander, take it easy.
You have to be patient
even for death.
You...
- I am telling you... - What are you doing?
Don't get into trouble.
You have made mistakes.
If you dare to do violence again,
you will all be killed.
How dare you.
Stop it!
Coach Chu.
I am really fine.
Let them not act rashly.
You, go find Xue Zhileng.
I am telling you.
If anything happens to Coach Chu,
we Xiuli Army
will take his life.
Where can I find him?
Will you go or not?
Coach Chu.
Coach Chu. Coach Chu.
Coach Chu. Coach Chu. Coach Chu.
Coach Chu. Coach Chu.
(Sound of gasping)
Your Majesty,
you ask me to keep watch on
every big camp in Chang'an City.
There are no important things today,
except that Yuwen Yue,
Vice Chief Commander of Xiaoqi Camp,
went to the encampment
of Xiuli Army
and took away
the coach of archery Chu Qiao
who made a mistake
and was punished to stay on her knees.
I know. You can leave.
I will leave.
Do you find that
Yan Xun is protecting Yuwen Yue?
What do you mean, Your Majesty?
He knows that
I don't like him
to get in touch frequently with military officials.
If he hates Yuwen Yue,
wouldn't he say that
he is in good relationship
with Yuwen Yue
to get me suspicious?
It makes sense, Your Majesty.
In addition, it seems that he is afraid
I will take Yuwen Yue off Xiaoqi Camp.
Why?
He is afraid that
General Yuwen will lose military power.
Then,
it is in his favour
that Yuwen Yue has military power.
It is only our speculation.
General Yuwen is loyal to Your Majesty.
It should be not.
Great event is coming.
We should take precautions against
all speculations.
If the speculation comes true,
it will bring disasters.
(Sound of scream)
Why are you screaming?
How can you be here?
This is my tent.
Where would I be?
Then why am I here?
Young Master.
What?
Who said that?
People from the palace of Imperial Concubine Wei
said it came from Chief Eunuch Wang.
Well played.
It turns out that you know everything
that Yan Xun has done.
What do you mean?
Yan Xun is right.
The fight for power
depends on one's ability.
However, don't be too pleased with yourself.
It is far from over.
Let's see.
Yuwen Yue.
Make things clear!
Prince.
It's so late.
Chu hasn't come back.
Prince. Let's wait for longer.
She will be fine.
How do you know?
Chu went to Xiaoqi Camp alone.
I was worried.
And you were not here.
I'm helpless,
so I inform Yuwen Yue.
Prince. At this crucial moment,
we should make use of
what we can use.
At this moment,
you should
put your feelings aside.
Zhong Yu.
You...
Yan Xun, what happened?
Why are you so angry?
You are back.
How do you feel?
I'm fine.
You should see a doctor.
Yan Xun, there is no need for that.
I have some important things to discuss with you.
What?
Xiuli Army.
I have been in touch with them
since I went to Xiaoqi Camp.
I find that every one of them
are not intended to rebel.
In addition, although they are
subordinate to Wei Army.
But they are
marginalized by other people.
All of it is because
they struggle to
keep the name and flag of Xiuli Army.
Loyal people.
In fact,
they are in favor of Yanbei.
Yan Xun, I can't assure easily
whether they are loyal.
But I think that
we are hard pressed for helpers just now.
Since that they are in favor of Yanbei,
we should
give them a chance.
Maybe,
there will be surprises.
Prince,
we are hard pressed for helpers just now.
People in Xiuli Army want to correct their mistake,
we should
give them a chance.
Tonight, at the Tower of Deyue.
Bring them to see me.
OK.
Your highness.
There is something I want to let you know.
Go ahead.
Deng Jia and Qu Yi
have been controlled by the people of Yuwen Yue,
and they can't take any action.
It's too difficult for us to get out of Chang'an
on our own.
Your highness, we neend more hands.
And the troop of Xiuli is the only one
we can use right now.
They have already suffered a lot of squeezing.
And they have completely respected Chu
for what happened today.
If your highness is willing to accept them,
they
will be our trenchant edge.
This is why you stole the personal order of He Xiao,
and gave it to Xue Zhileng
to let Xue Zhileng
make trouble with He Xiao in the military camp,
and then told Chu save He Xiao out
to win the troop of Xiuli over.
On the other side,
you tempted Yuwen Yue to save Chu
to let the emperor to be suspicious of him.
Kill two birds with one stone.
I...
It's a great plan.
However, didn't you ever think about it
that Chu had been badly injured,
and if Xue Zhileng had played hard with her
while Yuwen Yue had ignored her life,
what would we do?
We really need the troop of Xiuli
to take over the gate for you.
Zhong Yu.
I know that you are loyal to me.
For the recent years,
it's lucky for me to have your assistance.
But I have to warn you
that you can't use Chu
from now on.
If I know that Chu gets injured
because of you,
I will never forgive you.
Yes.
Leave.
Then how about the troop of Xiuli?
Just do it.
Yes. I will do it right now.
Yanxun.
They are officers of the troop of Xiuli
that I mentioned to you.
He is the Prince Yan.
I guess you have already met him.
Your highness, I'm He Xiao,
the deputy commander of the troop of Xiuli.
I'm Ge Qi,
the Left Du Wei of the troop of Xiuli.
I'm Wu Danyu,
the Right Du Wei of the troop of Xiuli.
Your highness, I should be blamed.
I'm ashamed to face you.
Chu has already mentioned you guys to me.
At first, I had refused to see you.
Although, you were just
ordinary soldiers at that time,
and the fact of mountain pass was broken through
should be blamed on the commander,
it had nothing to do with you.
But being the soldiers of Yanbei,
after watching your families have been slaughtered
and two hundred thousand people have been engulfed in flamed,
you just put on
the enemy's armor
and live in the enemy's camp.
And it's been 3 years.
No matter how, you are the rebels.
But Chu has told me
that you didn't get along in the army.
You have been suffering contumelies and exclusions.
It's like
that anyone can
step on your head.
I would resent you.
but at the end of the day,
you are still my people of Yanbei.
You can go back to Yanbei to be the ghost of my sword,
but you can't be the dogs under somebody else
at the exotic land.
I would never let this happen.
So today,
I would like to
give you another chance
to follow me and
depend on me.
I can't give you my words
that you all would survive,
or that you would get wealth and rank
in the future.
But as long as you are loyal to me
and don't be traitors,
when we are back in Yanbei the other day,
you all will get the decent quality
to return your homes.
Your highness.
We had made the extraordinary crime at that time.
In the past three years, we have been suffered for it
and couldn't sleep at night
to afraid that we would never get the chance
to go back to Yanbei in the rest of the life.
What you have done today is the grace of rebirth.
Our troop of Xiuli
is willing to take your order.
Even in the most dangerous places, or in the storm of shots and shells,
we will never change our minds.
Weather is dry and thing is flammable...
I didn't expect
that the prince is so magnanimous.
No wonder he is the son of the old duke.
Why did I feel it's too easy?
The members of the prince's family have been partly dispersed and dead.
If it was me,
I would like to kill us all.
Just shut up.
How could the prince put on a par with you?
Anyway, I just feel
there is something wrong.
Didn't you trust Prince Yan?
No, that's no true.
Coach Chu,
After what happened that year,
we all thought we would never get the chance
to go back to Yanbei in the rest of life.
But tonight,
the prince accepted us in person.
It's really kind of
beyond our expectation.
Yes, that's what I mean.
Although,
we were not in charge at that time,
however,
we were the members of the troop of Xiuli
and we couldn't get away from it.
The members of the prince's family have been partly dispersed and dead,
and he just escaped death at the Jiuyou Platform.
He has swallowed humiliation and bear a heavy load,
and has been subjected to bullying and humiliation.
We will not hesitate at all
if he just let three of us
to die for him right now.
However,
there are so many brothers
of the troop of Xiuli behind us.
They just took the orders at that time
and they were innocent.
I have to concern about
their safety.
I can understand.
Commander He.
I have been followed the Prince Yan for so many years.
I really know him.
He is particular about loyalty
and never makes promise easily.
Trust me.
Since he has given you his words,
he will keep his promise.
As Coach Chu said so,
we could just be at ease.
Please rest assured.
Well,
we will just go back to get prepared early,
and groom the horses and drill the troops
to wait for the summon from the prince at any time.
Okay.
You just be careful
and don't leak the information.
Don't worry.
There will be no traitor
in our troop of Xiuli.
We will bring the prince
back to Yanbei safely.
Coach Chu, please go home.
We will leave.
Okay.
Bye.
Let's go.
Please show some mercy, imperial concubine. I should be blamed.
What's going? What happened?
Please show some mercy, imperial concubine. The prince...
He is missing.
What? Is Hao'er missing?
What are you talking about?
Just then, Master Huai asked someone
to send a box of silk satin.
While I was busy to handle that,
the little prince...
I don't know where he has gone.
You bastard.
Imperial concubine, I should be blamed.
I should be blamed.
Did you search the whole Lan Fu Palace?
We have already searched the outside and inside
of the Lan Fu Palace.
We just couldn't figure out
where the little prince has gone.
Please show some mercy. I should be blamed.
There is nothing to do with me
how you should be blamed.
How could your humble life
compare to my son?
I should be blamed. I should be blamed.
Imperial concubine, it's very important.
How about we report it to His Majesty?
Did you just say that the people of Yuwen Huai
sent a box of silk satin?
Yes.
Where is the box?
The box is big and ugly.
They took the silk satin out of it
and then carried the box away.
Couldn't it...
Shut up.
No one is allowed to
talk what happened today.
If someone is talkative about it,
I will kill him or her.
- Yes. - Yes.
Go to the Red Hills Court
and ask Yuwen Huai to see me.
Yes.
Come on. Come on. Hao'er.
Walk forward. Walk forward.
Yeah, yeah. Here you go.
Master Huai.
Take the baby inside.
Yes.
Mother.
What happened?
Master Huai.
There is someone coming from Lan Fu Palace
to ask you to go there.
This bad woman.
She wouldn't know how powerful I could be
until I show it to her.
Go and get the horse ready.
Yes.
Master Huai, this way please.
Master Huai, here you are.
What do you want?
His Majesty has asked for you
and we have sent someone to your palace.
I didn't expect you are here.
His Majesty has asked for me?
Yes. Just come on and go with me.
Come on. Come on.
Master Huai.
Viscountess concubine is waiting for you.
Yuwen Huai and Zhao Dongting,
each of you just lead 500 imperial guards.
And this secret decree
is what
you will do for me.
At the day of the Princess's wedding,
just do as the decree says.
Don't ask anything.
I'm awarded the majesty's decree.
If what is in the decree
is known by someone else...
I will kill myself to apologize for my crime.
So will I.
Good.
Just back off.
Brother Huai, I will see you later.
Please take care, brother Zhao.
Master Huai.
Viscountess concubine is still waiting for you.
Just let her wait.
I'm kind of busy right now.
I will visit her at leisure.
Yes.
Did he really say so?
Yes.
How dare he?
Viscountess concubine,
maybe Master Huai is really busy.
His Majesty just sent someone right then
to call him in.
It looked like very urgent.
I need to get out the Palace.
Viscountess concubine.
You have to hold on.
Concubine Zhao keeps her eyes on us all day
and she is afraid that you would never make mistake.
If you get out of the Palace secretly
and are caught by someone,
I don't know what kind of accusation
she will charge you.
But Hao'er...
Master Huai is the uncle
of the little prince.
No matter how daredevil he is,
he will not harm the little prince.
Please just wait for a while.
And send another one to the Red Hills Court
to call Master Huai in.
You have to find a good chance
and get prepared for it
even you want to get out of the Palace.
Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Qiao, you are here to visit me.
Stay away from me, just keep the distance.
Qiao Qiao.
We are kind of
Damon and Pythias now.
It will hurt me if you are so heartless.
Who would believe that?
It looks like you have already got well.
I heard that you are leaving.
Yes, I am.
Where did you hear that?
Do you know who the guys are that hijacked you that day?
No, I don't. Do you know?
I don't know either.
But they were overwhelminging with numerical strength
and they were all the experts.
It's hard to deal with them.
In my opinion,
your guards all look like unreliable.
It's over a great distance between Chang'an and Jian Kang,
could it be fine
to let them escort you home?
Qiao Qiao really makes a sense.
So what's your suggestion, Qiao Qiao?
Please take a look.
There are the famous generals
who are brave and skillful of our Wei State.
Each of them is proficient in the art of war
and has outstanding martial art.
And they are loyal and brave
to bear hardship without complaint.
If you let them to escort you home,
you will safe and sound
and get well all the way.
You won't even find a mouse on the way.
Miss Chu.
Couldn't this General Mu
be Mu An,
Mu Zhongqing?
If he is still alive,
he must be over 80 now.
Yes.
Although the old Master
is over 80.
He is in good health.
He is seen to walk around
on the Street of Rosefinch every morning.
And as the condition he is in,
he could beat five of you on his own.
Zhou Batian.
The name is so arrogant.
Does he have good martial art?
Yes.
He is the famous horse bandit at the southwest.
He is well known in the underworld.
But he was caught by the government
and spent much money
to get the chance to make amends for his wrong doing.
He sold all his men out
to save his own life.
Now, he is in my team
and just in the Defense Camp.
Do you want to meet him?
This one looks like reliable.
He is coming out of the Jiang Wu Tang
and has been praised by the emperor
for his martial art.
He is born of good ancestry and has both arts and arms.
This one is good.
He is good, really good.
Although, he has no experience of
leading the troop,
he is very enthusiastic.
As long as you ask,
he will not hesitate
and be here at once.
However, you need to
discuss it with his parents in advance.
After all he is 12-years-old right now
and didn't be far from home.
Okay.
We don't need to look the list.
Qiao Qiao, I have already made my decision.
Wouldn't you get to know it more?
This is the list
we chose elaborately for you.
It's not necessary.
I have already made my decision.
Then who will you pick, Your highness?
The seventh prince, Yuan che.
No wonder you are the Crown Prince,
you really have an experienced eye.
The prince Yuan che is the commander in chief
of the Xiaoqi Camp.
Before this,
he has fought the wars for many years
and been the general of frontier juncture.
He has splendid military exploits and is proficient in the art of war
with great martial art and magnanimous character.
He is well-informed and has a fine sense of humour
while he is proficient in the geography.
And the best of all, he is noble.
He is the best one
to escort you to back to Jian Kang.
Since you say that he is so well,
I just want to turn Tie You into a girl
to marry Yuan che.
Do you?
And this is one of his superiorities,
he is so handsome
and full of masculinity.
It will be pleasing to the eye
on the way.
Qiao Qiao.
I really like you more and more.
Just come back to Liang State with me.
I won't go,
just let the prince Yuan che
to come home with you.
Little fox,
you are too cunning.
You want me
to bring Yuan che for you.
You can just say it.
You don't need to beat around the bush with me.
You also took a circuitous route
to cooperate with us.
I just did as the Romans do
and followed your steps.
Qiao Qiao, you know
I will help you.
But,
how would you thank me
since I will do such a big favor for you?
I had saved you risking my life
and I haven't cast accounting for that.
And you want me to repay you, do you?
Now I am repaying you
to let the prince Yuan che escort you home.
Prepare the horse.
Where are you going, Your highness?
Go into the Palace to bid farewell to the emperor of the Wei State.
Yes.
Qiao Qiao.
Remember to see me off
when I am leaving.
Your highness.
What kind of crime
did the General Yuwen make?
Why was he
assigned into the Palace urgently?
I'm afraid somebody did something.
Yuwen Yue
has been set up by someone.
Who could it be?
Prepare the horse. I need to go to court.
Yes, sir.
Your Royal Highness.
Your Royal Highness Xiang. His Majesty orders you
to lead 5000 soldiers
from Xiaoqi Camp
to escort the Crown Prince of the Liang State
back to Jian Kang
tomorrow morning.
Yes, sir.
Looks like the Crown Prince Xiao
wants to help Yan Xun on purpose.
Therefore,
he chose Your Royal Highness to escort him back.
Everyone from the Liang State is evil.
They all wish
the Wei State
falls apart.
Your Royal Highness can't disobey His Majesty.
Your Royal Highness has to go.
I know.
I shall leave you to
guard Chang'an.
Once something happens,
I hope you can
look at the bigger picture
and don't be bound by the old-times.
Yes, sir.
I shall
do my best.
So long.
I wish Your Royal Highness has a safe journey.
So long.
Mister, are we really going to
follow His Royal Highness Xiang's order
and work against Prince Yan?
I am now the chief of staff for His Royal Highness Xiang.
I should keep his best interest in heart.
Now Prince Yan Xun is going to be the Duke of Yanbei.
His Majesty and His Royal Highness Xiang
are doubting each other at the moment.
Based on the character of His Majesty,
if there were no enemy from outside,
he would never appreciate His Royal Highness Xiang.
You mean…
What I am saying is that
I think Prince Yan
will give me some surprise.
I am looking forward to seeing
what he will become
after he returns to Yanbei.
How is my old friend
going to deal with this?
I am afraid that he is too stubborn.
Even if he has plotted for years,
it will all be in vain.
How could a God
come from hell?
Only Evils come from hell.
Your Royal Highness is leaving?
However,
However, the Princess is about to
get married soon.
I can't disobey my father.
I am leaving tonight.
Once Your Royal Highness leaves,
Her Highness will be so upset.
Shuye,
this is not my main concern.
There is something important
and I believe
you are the only one who can do this.
Please help me.
What does Your Royal Highness need?
Keep an eye on Yan Xun for me.
If he makes any suspicious move,
you need to lead the private troop of the Wei Household
and stop him from leaving Chang'an
no matter what.
If necessary,
just kill him.
Your Royal Highness…
You are not stupid.
You and Yan Xun have known each other for years.
You know him
the best.
How could he marry
Chun'er,
the daughter of his biggest enemy?
I think he is up to something.
Really?
The city of Chang'an is heavily guarded.
He doesn't have the resources or the money.
What can he do?
If he really does that,
he is only looking for troubles.
Remember,
he is not someone ordinary.
You need to be very careful.
Fine.
I shall serve Your Royal Highness at pleasure.
I shall keep a close eye on him.
There is something else.
Yuwen Yue,
he has been friends with Yan Xun for years.
I am worried about him.
Mister Dongfang at my place
served the Duke of Dingbei before.
I am worried that he might help Yan Xun.
We are in an emergency right now.
I can only count on you.
If he escapes,
it will bring endless trouble in the future.
Your Royal Highess,
I understand how serious this is.
I will do my best to keep Yan Xun under control.
Let's hope so.
We only have a handful of people available,
500 people in the troop of Xiuli and
300 men of sacrifice under Miss Yu's command.
We can't set up defenses everywhere.
We need to take a risk
when choosing the place we do this.
This is the route of the day of wedding.
At noon,
Yan Xun will leave the Oriole Courtyard,
going along the Street of Shun Cheng,
passing the Gate of Fu An,
the Palace of Chang'an and the Pond of Folium Mori
to the Temple of Tai.
According to the ritual,
you need to worship your ancestors here.
After it,
you will go back to court with the protocol officer,
going through the Street of Rosefinch
and gets off at the Gate of Cheng Guang.
Then wait for the protocol officer
and marry the Princess.
I don't think the Emperor will kill you at the day of wedding.
Even if he can find a
righteous excuse,
people won't believe him.
Therefore, he can only do this in secret.
They will choose a place
with few people.
The Temple of Tai situates at the south of the city.
It is guarded by the Lifeguard.
No one else can go there.
The servants with you along the way
are from the Ministry of Rites.
They won't risk their lives to save you.
Therefore,
we believe they will
kill you
at the Temple of Tai.
However, the Temple of Tai is
the imperial place for ancestor worship.
Would they really
do it there?
It doesn't matter to the Emperor.
Once something bad happens,
he can just
blame me.
The troop of Xiuli will control
Xue Zhileng.
At the night before the wedding,
there will be about a hundred people waiting
near the Temple of Tai
to come to Yan Xun's aid.
The other four hundred
need to take control over the East Gate at the day of wedding
to coordinate with us.
The city of Chang'an is heavily guardrd.
This plan is very risky.
There are four camps at Chang'an,
including the Camp of Jun Ji at the East and the West,
the Green Camp at the South and the North and the Xiaoqi Camp.
There are one hundred thousand soldiers in the city,
There are also the Palace Guards, the Lifeguard,
the Guard of Wu Lin, the Guard of Bin Su
and the Office of Chang'an.
They have one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers.
The Camp of Jun Ji at the East and the West and
the Green Camp at the South and the North
Without the tiger-shaped tally, they can't make any move.
Remember,
the Emperor of the Wei State is afraid of
mutinies the most.
The Guard of Wu Lin, the Guard of Bin Su,
the Palace Guards, the Lifeguard
and Xiaoqi Camp.
The Generals of these troops
can destabilise the regime with a mutiny.
However, the responsibility of the Palace Guards
and the Lifeguard
is to guard the inner city
and protect the Emperor.
Therefore, the Guard of Wu Lin and the Guard of Bin Su,
Xiaoqi Camp
are the three troops
we may fight against.
Xiao Ce has taken Yuan Che away.
Yuwen Yue is not at Xiaoqi Camp.
It should be much easier for us.
Then we still need to deal with
two large troops,
which means there are at least ten thousand soldiers.
We need to find a way to control
the Guard of Wu Lin
and the Guard of Bin Su.
Get rid of the Commanders.
They will be out of order
and can't dispatch in time.
Even if we kill the Commanders of
these two Guards,
I think this information
will travel fast.
We have placed people
in the main roads
to stop the communication
between the army and the officials.
Besides, once the city is in a mess,
the people we placed at the Street of Rosefinch
will react immediately.
They will set fire.
Ordinary people will be all over the place.
They won't be able to do their job properly.
Set fire?
We have placed people to set fire
between the residential area and shops.
They will set fire
to distract the army.
Be careful.
Don't burn down
any residence
and harm them as well.
We won't.
However, we won't be soft at
any official.
The next step is to get out of the city.
The East Gate is controlled by
the troop of Xiuli.
Once the city is in a mess,
they will kill the guards and take control.
When we all arrive,
we shall get out of city through the East Gate
and go towards the north.
The Ferry of the Water of Wei near the city
has been desolated for years.
We will build a wooden bridge
the night before.
Prepare horses on the other side of the river.
Once we are there,
we can follow the map provided by Xiao Ce
and escape from Chang'an.
We have more than three hundred people,
not to mention the troop of Xiuli.
There are more than eight hundred people in total.
The bridge needs to be built carefully.
Is one night enough?
Yes.
Those people
are the soldiers who
followed the late Duke for years.
They are very
good at this.
Although we have planned thoroughly,
we still only have less than one thousand people
against ten thousand soldiers.
We are at risk.
If any of them
betray us,
we will all die.
We are gambling here.
We are gambling that after what happened at the Jiuyou Platform,
no one will fight for the Emperor of the Wei State.
General Yuwen,
please guard the Palce of Cui Wei for now.