Finished? Why are you fighting?
He didn’t obey my order. He undermined my authority!
Your order? Who the hell are you?
-Who are you? -Alright, alright, stop!
Can you fight as bravely as I do in a war?
Can you break through enemy lines like I do?
What can you do? What can you do?
-I despise you! -You despise me?
I don't like your arrogance. You're damn right I despise you!
Yong Chi...
you hate Lu Wan and want him dead, yeah?
-Damn right. -What about you, Lu Wan?
-I'd love to kill him! -I'll kill you!
Okay, well, go for it then.
Pick up the sword and stab each other.
Pick up the sword! Do it!
If you don't have the courage to kill each other,
then there shouldn't be any pent-up frustration among brothers.
I’ll say it again,
as Yong Chi as my assistant general,
all of you must obey his command.
Otherwise, you're disobeying me.
-Are we clear? -Yes.
That's it.
We'll soon be at war.
Go. Get on with your drills.
Yes.
Lu Wan.
Lu Wan...
is it because I didn't appoint you as my assistant general
and therefore you're unhappy?
I...
Can you lead warriors? Can you make them obey you?
Ji, I can't.
-But Yong Chi is way too arrogant! -What is he arrogant about?
Yes, it's true that I never respected him at Mount Mangdang.
But now he is always finding faults with me. I won't listen to him!
You won't listen? What would you do if you don't listen?
What would you do?
Lu Wan, we are brothers.
I know what kind of man Yong Chi is.
We are short of manpower now. This isn’t the time to create trouble.
You get me?
We'll soon be at war. At a time like this, we should unite together.
My Lord.
Mr. Xiao, what's wrong?
My Lord,
I heard that you're planning to attack Huling.
Right. We'll take Huling within three days.
Isn't that too rushed?
Not at all. There're uprisings everywhere to annihilate Qin.
I can't idle here doing nothing.
My Lord,
I know we should indeed do something to secure our position.
But I heard that Jun Jianping and his men are stationed there.
I know Jun Jianping. It's true that he's had no military accolades,
but he has a strong temper and is stubborn.
And his Qin warriors
are very used to war and fighting unlike our men from the Pei County
who are a bunch of criminals.
-Mr. Xiao -If you insist on attacking Huling...
then it'd be best to unite with other rebel forces
to battle together.
Mr. Xiao, you're overly concerned. I do not fear him.
Have you forgotten that we robbed his provisions that time?
He's no match for us.
You are determined to attack?
Definitely.
Fine. Send two scouts
to Huling today to assess the situation.
Also, before we set off,
we should cut off the route linking Huling and Fangyu.
Isolate the two cities so as to conquer Huling.
-Mr. Xiao, well-thought indeed! Lu Wan. -Yes.
Send two men to determine the situation in Huling first.
Yes.
Mr. Xiao, Jun Jianping only has about 100 warriors...
our warriors are five times as many as his.
I'd say he should be the one who's worried.
Premier Li! Premier Li!
In the past, we saw each other daily.
And inevitably, we argued in the court.
Sometimes those arguments became quite heated.
Haven't seen you lately...
and I'd say I rather missed you.
Meeting here of all places… it's like attending our morning audiences.
Maybe that's a good thing.
Soon we'll be attending our morning audiences in the afterlife.
Once in front of the late emperor, I'm afraid we'll resume our quarrels.
When the sun rises, I shall be beheaded.
We'll be executed as well. Premier Li,
in the afterlife upon seeing the late emperor...
have you found a way to explain your glorious achievements?
Or will you still be the same and claim credit for everything?
I never expect at a time like this, you are still bickering with me.
Me and Li Si, expanded our state and prospered the Qin dynasty.
I spread the late emperor's great name
to four corners of the uncivilized lands.
I repaired and built miles and miles of the Great Wall.
And even generation and generation after my time
will still be awed by its sound foundation and magnificence.
I laid down a strong and everlasting foundation for Qin.
We're only into serving the second emperor and yet, the world's in chaos.
Uprisings are everywhere. The foundation is weak.
Who in this world could ever complete all these challenging tasks?
And I achieved all that in just a matter of decades.
It's beyond the capabilities of ordinary men.
Those achievements are like sandcastles by the seaside.
We have spent decades painstakingly building them,
but Zhao Gao, in less than an hour's time,
without even lifting a finger, he's reduced your reputation to nothing,
and all the achievements back into grains of sands.
Over 30 years and yet, I still can't die in my own bed.
For more than 30 years,
I've exhausted my thoughts and ingenuity in serving the emperor.
Taking on Heaven, taking on Earth, taking on people like you.
Taking on everything for more than half of my life.
In truth...
I've merely fighting with myself.
Premier Li, at a time like this and in a place like this,
we must forget our past differences and unite.
It's taken me so long to see the truth.
It's now too late.
Premier Li, your time has come.
Premier Li, we'll meet in the next life!
Gentlemen, see you at the morning audience.
Premier. Premier Li. Premier.
Premier Li. Premier. Premier.
Premier Li...
I'd like to chat a little more with you.
We've been in court for decades from young to old.
After today...
I shall not have another chance to see you.
This new robe...
has been made for you from your old clothes.
It's made according to your measurements.
Look, the new robe is elegant,
poised and bright-colored.
I brought it here today specially for you, Premier.
No, thanks. It's just another skin.
I suppose you're right. Even the most beautiful robe
in the end is nothing but a skin.
You've been in court for so many years,
yet you don't know that a man’s success or failure
is ultimately determined by this silly skin.
A good life without a nice skin
can only be a short life.
Before my death...
I'd like...
to ask you a question, Premier Zhao.
Every day, you wear this beautiful skin.
But you disregard the law, sow confusion, and kill loyal ministers.
Have you ever thought that someday
you will be vulnerable just like me?
Have you no fear?
Since you are about to leave us,
I suppose I can be fairly honest with you.
I attended to the late emperor for over 30 years.
Always by his side, serving him with immortal elixirs.
I helped him search for the medicine to prolong his life.
And I helped him look for elixirs of eternal life
even though I never believed in it.
As for me, I believe in reality. And only in reality.
I'm different from all of you. I am a eunuch.
In the eyes of the emperor, I am his possession.
In your eyes, I'm a shadow.
In short, I'm not a man at all.
And lately I feel
that I'm almost not even human anymore…
but rather, a pile of flesh.
Since we are born, we all want to be human.
Even a eunuch wants to be a man, a real man.
And the only way for a eunuch to become a man...
is through power.
I'm afraid power is the perfect skin.
Without power
you can don your cotton robes, go home and plant crops.
But for me, I can only be a ghost.
I don't believe in the next life.
I have no interest in living forever.
As long as I have power...
I can live the life of an ordinary man.
Such a life is enough for me.
Having been an official for so many years,
you must know the importance of seizing opportunity.
You can wait forever for an opportunity,
but when it appears, how could anyone just let it slip?
Alas! The destiny of our mighty Qin
is held in the hands of a ghost like you!
Premier Li, you're indeed a clever man.
The cleaver is on your neck,
yet there are so many things you still don't understand.
I thought I'd not led a foolish life.
But in fact, I'm just a foolish old man.
Only in this last hour do I see everything for what it is.
Great! Just great.
Thanks to your lesson,
I've learned quite a good deal.
How could I be worthy of being minister?
If any of my family is still alive...
could I trouble Premier Zhao to send them a message?
By all means, what shall I pass on?
At no time...
in any generation...
should anyone in my family be a politician!
I shall inform them.
Premier Li, I hold no hard feelings.
To show my respect for you,
you'll not be dragged through the streets, and humiliated.
Today, from the Imperial Court,
I lose an old friend.
Without you, I shall be lonely.
Oh, by the way,
your son Li You committed suicide for his crime.
So I warn you
in order to protect your whole clan...
best not to mention state affairs before such a big crowd.
I shall take my leave.
My son, do you remember that day in Shangcai
when we took our dog to go hunting?
I miss that dog very much.
Last night I drifted off into a fitful sleep for quite a while.
Fame and wealth are as fleeting as clouds,
I dreamt of nothing...
nothing but that dog.
It was barking at me
from under a tree, asking to bring him along.
It asked me to take him hunting. To take him on a run.
We have proved without a doubt
that Premier Li has colluded in secret with insurgents.
Given his contributions, we only execute three generations of his family members.
He will be cut in two at the waist.
Gentlemen, you were familiar with Premier Li, weren't you?
A traitor! He's a traitor. He's a traitor!
Since he is a traitor, should we execute him?
-He must be executed. -Seems like a good official. What's wrong?
The will of Heaven shan't spare him.
It's the will of Heaven.
Right. Execute him.
Do it.
What's wrong, Your Majesty?
I had a nightmare.
Your Majesty, Li Si, the traitor has been executed publicly.
It is exactly as I dreamed it.
My Lord, be cautious in this fight.
If you can't defeat them, withdraw and we'll find another way.
Mr. Xiao, you worry too much.
Wait here for good news.
Take care.
Son of a bitch, man! You bastard!
Long Ju, what brings you here?
You've staged an uprising. How could I not come?
Dumbass. I didn't come here by myself.
I came with hundreds of valiant and trained warriors.
We all came to visit you. Look! Look!
General, since we parted that year,
I haven't met another man like you.
I can't even find someone to spar with. I'm so frustrated.
You've thinking of sparring all these years?
Why'd you come only now?
We've sparred already, but not enough!
But you stopped the fight as it was getting good.
I guess it's up to just the two of us to spar well.
You're here now and I can have someone to talk to and to spar with.
So tell me, why after all this time, would you come find me now?
It's still not too late.
We are still young.
When you were fighting with that horse just now...
my heart nearly beat out of my chest!
I wanted to jump onto it. That's what I would regard as real might.
But from that fight, I can see
that you are greatly angered. What's happened?
After we started the rebellion, we began our first attack in Dongjun,
but it remains impenetrable. I've asked my uncle several times to join the fight,
but he keeps refusing.
I don't know what's going on in his head.
Did you know that I have been sent here by your uncle?
He told me to bring troops and join you.
Damn it, why doesn't he discuss anything with me?
Your uncle is also fighting a boisterous horse.
He is holding the reins over you to control direction.
You are his horse and he is training you,
and he's challenging you, the horse. You get it?
I feel smothered.
If I don't draw my sword from its sheath, the sheath is going to explode!
Hmm? Did I not just come here to draw the sword for you?
Look at the 300 warriors I brought here.
They are all from Chu. They're strong-willed.
Now it's time to avenge our people.
Good. Excellent!
Let's take our 300 warriors and conquer Dongjun!
Conquer Dongjun!
Hurry! Chu warriors are here!
Hurry! Chu rebels are here!
Hurry! Hurry!
Fire! Hurry!
Kill them!
Be careful of the crossbow chariot!
Shoot!
Ji Bu, I'm afraid we've lost Xiang Yu!
I shouldn't have goaded him. If he dies,
I'll fail General Xiang Liang.
Hold firm, everyone!
Damn it!
Hold still!
Long Ju, climb up to the city wall!
-Launch the crossbow chariot! -Yes!
Push!
Release!
Brother!
We will take care of your parents
till they pass on.
-General Xiang! -General Xiang!
Subtitle translation by Li Ling Yang