The imperial censor is to be beheaded for dereliction of duty and treason.
The chamberlain is to be dismembered for his slanderous clichés and evil doctrines.
The captain is to be bludgeoned in the head for his false accusations.
Premier.
Reporting! Reporting!
Premier, General Zhang Han has beheaded Zhou Wen
and recaptured our lost land.
Excellent!
All of you, listen.
General Zhang Han is a truly great man.
He treats war as a work of art.
Thus he is determined to win.
But all of you here are attempting to alter our royal policies.
You even dare to force our emperor to make changes to the imperial court.
Do you see now what your actions have brought you?
Aren’t you quite dumbfounded?
Premier. Do we execute them now?
Today’s your lucky day, gentlemen.
In honor of General Zhang Han’s victory,
you are granted leniency.
All of you...
-shall only be cut in two! -Cut them at the waist!
When is the banquet in honor of the general?
Princess, take your time. We have four hours until it begins.
I can’t wait.
If the emperor realizes General Zhang's contribution,
I hope he'll allow him to return sooner.
Yes, you've already been held here for more than half a year.
We’re also looking forward to General Zhang’s return.
He's been victorious in several battles.
I think he'll return soon.
Excellent! This is fantastic.
Yes.
I’m sure it'll look even more beautiful when I'm wearing it.
Yes, Premier. I'm sure it'll look good on you.
-How long do we have? -Premier, we have about four hours.
Chongxin, in your opinion,
should we be holding this banquet to honor Zhang Han’s victory?
Premier, it should be your decision.
I did hear from our messengers
that General Zhang Han very much enjoys waging war.
He lives for battle and looks forward to an honorable death on the battlefield.
He has no interest at all in imperial court affairs.
It sounds as though he enjoys rather high esteem in the military.
Yes, Premier.
Come here. Tell the premier,
how do the soldiers feel about General Zhang Han?
Premier, in the military camp,
General Zhang Han is respected and trusted by everyone.
Our soldiers believe that with him as their leader, they'd win any battle.
Is that a fact?
Yes, Premier, that’s a fact.
You mean every single soldier...
admires him from the depths of his heart?
Yes, Premier.
Guards!
Yes.
-Drag him out and give him 30 lashes. -Yes.
Premier! Premier!
-Don't speak a word. -Premier!
Premier! Premier! Spare me, please!
Spare you?
What am I doing?
If Zhang Han loses the war, what good is there for me?
Tell me, how many battles has Zhang Han won so far?
Premier, about 12 victories were reported.
About 12 victories?
Let me think about it, Premier.
Yes, Premier. There were 12. There were 12 victories already.
Fine.
Tell him to keep on fighting
until all our enemies are defeated.
Only then will our state be truly safe.
As for his victory banquet,
I think we’d better hold off for now.
But... Premier,
this banquet has been announced by the emperor.
Don’t worry.
-I'll tell the emperor to call it off. -Yes, Premier.
-How long to go until the victory banquet? -About two hours.
Wonderful. I finally have occasion to take a stroll around the palace.
I...
I haven’t been there in so long that I almost forgot I'm an emperor.
Your Majesty, do you still remember the names of your ministers?
Right. I... can't remember all of them.
But I do remember all of your names.
Oh, my!
What is it?
Your Majesty, I... I found a gray hair.
But... I’ve just turned 21. This...
-Don’t worry, I can just pick it out. -No!
Keep it.
On my head, it's the only one in gray.
It must be as lonely as I am.
Your Majesty, cheer up. Soon we’ll have the banquet.
Your Majesty, the premier is here to see you.
All right, you should leave.
Yes.
Greetings, Your Majesty.
Premier, please rise.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, it looks like you're already dressed in your robe
for Zhang Han's victory banquet?
Yes.
Premier, why are you wearing plain robes?
Your Majesty, the late emperor came to me in a dream last night.
I came to tell you about it.
Tell me now.
The late emperor only told me one thing.
He said... he had put a silk scroll by your pillow.
That’s impossible!
It's true.
Premier, I got up not long ago.
I didn’t find any silk scroll by my pillow.
How strange.
Come here.
This is strange, isn't it?
Go!
Check to see if there's a silk scroll by the emperor’s pillow.
Yes.
Your Majesty, I found a silk scroll!
See? I was right.
ZHEN
Apparently, my father...
did indeed intend to have a word with me.
But what does this word mean, Premier?
Congratulations, Your Majesty.
Premier, why are you congratulating me?
Emperor, have you forgotten? I've explained this numerous times.
the word 'Zhen' means everything that is auspicious.
You are our Zhen, great and divine.
But we mustn't allow this greatness to be visible to commoners.
You must live in the depths of the palace,
just as the Dragon King must live in the depths of the sea,
and never show yourself in public.
So you mean...
From this day on, you should live a secluded life,
just like the late emperor did.
Practice the skills of inspiration and expiration,
and seek the means to immortal life.
In order to achieve immortality,
you must wait quietly for the deities in Heaven to visit you.
If those nasty civil and military ministers are by your side,
they may pollute your path to becoming immortal.
But I just turned 21 years old!
Isn’t it a bit early to be learning how to achieve immortality?
Yet I hear that you have gray hair already.
Your Majesty, you must begin learning from today on.
Otherwise, it will be hard for you to prolong your auspicious life.
Think about it.
Your Majesty, you're only 21 years old, yet your hair is turning white.
Your Majesty, you are gravely ill.
Then I must see the imperial doctor. The imperial doctor.
Servants, call for the imperial doctor!
Your Majesty, the doctors are useless.
You must wait for the deities from Heaven to cure your illness.
Deities? Where are these deities?
Only when you're alone, Your Majesty,
will they descend to the Earth from Heaven.
If the ministers are anywhere near you,
even if the deities wanted to come to you,
they may have trouble finding a place to stand.
Then from today onward, I've got to be stuck in the same place,
like a harvest fly stuck in spider web!
There are 270 temples in Xianyang Palace.
It’s not a small place.
There are over 5,000 eunuchs and court ladies here,
which isn't a small number.
Your Majesty, to cultivate yourself, you have to calm your mind.
You must calmly and patiently wait for the deities to cure your illness.
What about Zhang Han?
For now, what you should do is take care of yourself.
From now on, I shall report any news on the war directly to you.
As for Zhang Han’s banquet,
considering your illness, Your Majesty,
it would be best to call it off.
I shall now take my leave.
Is anyone there?
I'm ill!
The emperor has sent his orders.
Sima Xin and Dong Yi shall head out to the battlefield
to assist General Zhang Han in directing the war.
Princess, the emperor has called off the banquet.
Called off?
I shall now take my leave.
-I am Dong Yi. -I am Sima Xin.
We're here at the emperor’s order to assist you, General Zhang Han.
Send my orders.
Send soldiers to Xingyang, Anyi, Pishi, Xuanyang, and Luoyang.
Protect our granaries and kill any looters.
-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.
Reporting!
General, Ji Bu and Zhongli Mei have returned.
They're patrolling camp and registering casualties.
-All right, I get it. You may leave now. -Yes, sir.
In Hangu, Zhou Wen and his men lost almost everything in defeat.
It’s all because of this Ying Bu.
It’s not easy for us to get supporters.
But we must not deal recklessly with Ying Bu.
Yu’er, do you have a plan in mind?
Do you want me to kill him?
It'd be a waste to kill him.
You mean we should take in him and his men?
Please give me 500 soldiers.
General, Ying Bu’s camp is right ahead.
-Cover the horses’ hooves. -Yes, sir.
Stay right there. What are you doing here?
I'm delivering provisions.
This is a routine inspection.
Ying Bu, I presume? Follow me.
He’s plundered the camp!
General, someone is attacking our camp.
-Prepare my horse! -Yes.
Ying Bu.
Do you know me?
Only ruffians, and maybe scum, would attack by stealth.
You’re praised as a hero.
But to me, you're just a man who stabs other men in the back.
It sounds like you refuse to accept failure.
You used trickery to beat me. I’ll never accept it.
Just kill me.
Since you don’t accept your failure, we can fight again tomorrow.
This time, I won't show you any mercy.
I’ll kill you.
Then I shall hold you to your word.
I won't regret it. Let's go!
You brought so few men with you.
You’re obviously not afraid of death.
You seem braver than I thought.
So, you actually think you can take me?
Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!
Good!
You've held up well against me. You are indeed a valiant man.
Why don't you join us? We could achieve something great.
Consider it.
That’s a lot of Qin soldiers!
Liu Ji said if we can’t take them head-on, we should just run away.
We're outnumbered. We can’t take these guys.
Then why did we come here?
Look! That guy’s an officer.
Liu Ji told us to take an officer prisoner, right?
I’m going to get him.
I’ll get the officer. You go get a soldier.
No way! You get a soldier. I‘ll get the officer.
Charge!
Sir, let’s go.
A’Ying, we got their supplies.
-Let's retreat! -Let’s get out of here!
Protect the supplies. Liu Ji wanted an officer.
-I’m going to get one! -All right! Go!
-How many have returned? -Two groups have made it back.
But not Cao Wushang. It’s been two days already.
Cao Wushang again?
Didn’t I warn them this isn’t about fighting?
What about the others?
They managed to get many provisions. They're awaiting your reward.
Mr. Xiao, these are...
they're from Huling.
-My lord. -Good.
They heard we were here and came to join us.
They even brought their countrymen.
-Take good care of them. -Sure.
My Lord! My Lord!
I captured an officer.
He’s a platoon leader.
Who is your commanding officer?
I’m an officer in the service of Jun Jianping.
Where is Jun Jianping now?
You just wait and see. He’ll be here soon enough.
Really?
Get his wound treated.
All right.
Get up!
General.
Chen Sheng’s insurgent has been completely suppressed.
But uprisings are raging up everywhere like wildfire.
Will our troops here be able to defeat them all?
In the past, Zhang Er and Chen Yu defended the king of Zhao.
They had unbeatable armies.
They fought and defeated our armies several times.
The old Qi kingdom was led by the Tian family.
Even though they suffered internal strife and had limited strength,
there was a man called Gao Lingjun
who lobbied around to gather power to fight against the imperial court.
Then there was Han Guang, who took over the town of Ji
and appointed himself king of Yan.
Zhou Shi supported Wei Jiu to be the king of Wei,
but was greatly opposed by the forces left over from the old Wei.
All of them have rebelled. We have our work cut out.
But among these states, some were still in chaos.
Don’t worry.
We should bide our time and build up our energy.
They’ll bring upon their own demise.
But we must keep a wary eye on the forces
that are growing stronger as they go on.
For example, Xiang Liang’s Chu warriors.
He depended on his nephew, Xiang Yu, and our traitor, Ying Bu,
to become leader of the Chu restoration movement.
Indeed.
But as they said, sooner or later, Chu will conquer Qin.
It’s like a mantra always alerting me to stay vigilant.
How many warriors do they have now?
No less than 100,000, and growing steadily.
We have 300,000 warriors, but scattered all over the country.
Our provisions are often inadequate.
Only the troops stationed in Dingtao are proficient at fighting.
The other troops aren't as effective.
If we fight head-to-head with Xiang Liang’s men,
we have no chance of winning.
General, you mean...
The situation’s unclear, we need information.
We should wait before deciding.
Reporting!
General Zhang, our granaries were attacked by rebels.
What happened?
They said they're with Liu Ji, but I think they're just hungry brigands.
Before the fight got really serious, they fled like terrified dogs.
Liu Ji?
-Have you caught him yet? -No, sir. He fled too fast.
They're merely flies. Just let them go.
-You can leave now. -Yes, sir.
General Sima Xin.
You seem rather quiet today.
I'm dizzy, and my tongue is numb.
I’m afraid I’m not acclimated.
General Zhang, I’ll have to rest in the camp.
I...
Why do you speak so haltingly? Why are you so cautious?
Do you know where you are? In Xianyang? At the imperial court?
Have you forgotten who sent us here?
Zhao Gao.
Strictly speaking, we were sent here to keep an eye on Zhang Han...
and sow some dissent among his ranks so that we might impede him
and trump up some charge against him.
But now we know the world is like a sinking ship.
There are holes everywhere. There’s no way to save it.
If we get in his way, we’ll all be dead.
Zhao Gao will be dead. Huhai will be no exception!
We knew the situation before coming here.
But Zhao Gao is in denial.
He constantly sends messengers and advisers here
to inquire about General Zhang Han.
If Zhang Han moves too fast, Zhao Gao wants us to slow him down.
If Zhang Han moves too slow, he wants us to frame him.
He wants us to hang the blame on Zhang Han’s shoulders,
so that he can dispose of him.
Do you really think leaving Xianyang
meant leaving the imperial palace? Leaving politics far behind?
That’s why we cannot join General Zhang in attacking the insurgents.
Our families are all in Xianyang.
Our heads remain on our shoulders. I want to keep it that way.
In Xianyang, I'm just a lowly military officer.
After the late emperor passed, I’ve always been hiding from danger.
I hid like a turtle in its shell for years in order to survive.
I’ve barely just met General Zhang and have no allegiance to him,
but after spending a few days here,
I can see that he is the only hope for the whole Qin Empire.
Sima Xin, listen to me. I'll report to the palace regarding the messengers.
But from now on, I’m staying with General Zhang.
If you have any objection,
there’s a horse at the gate.
You can go immediately!
Hey, General Dong!
Such an impatient man.
"Everything is well. I am well.
There's nothing much to do here.
I spend most of my time each day missing you.
While you're away fighting on the frontiers,
I’m so worried I can barely think.
If you win, I hope you might return home.
If you lose, I still hope for your return.
Win or lose, all I want is to see you again.
All my best."
General, you can write to her on a silk scroll.
I’ll find a way to send it to the princess.
I’d rather not.
One more word will do nothing but rouse more suspicion from Zhao Gao.
That would only put the princess in a more dangerous position.
You, go to the princess and tell her.
Tell her that everything is well.
Don’t worry.
General, both Sima Xin and Dong Yi were obviously sent here to spy on you.
I've known that from the day they arrived.
They were sent by Zhao Gao to spy on me.
But I think...
you’ve suffered enough injustice.
How have I suffered?
Perhaps both of them suffer more than I do.
Think about it. Both of them were sent to spy on me,
while their families must be in Zhao Gao's hands.
They have no choice but to spy on us.
General, all the soldiers truly respect you.
We only fight because you're leading us.
The imperial court is petty and dangerous,
yet we fight every day for that? What are we fighting for?
What’s more, even if we win this war, and take over the world,
and bring everything and everyone under the emperor’s command,
what about you, General?
Could you return to Xianyang safely?
You’re wrong.
You're not fighting for my career, nor for my life.
We...
we are fighting for the Empire of Qin.
That’s why we're here.
I've told you before, in my military camp,
I don’t allow anyone to discuss politics.
We are warriors. Politics is beyond our concern.
-But, General, I think you're too-- -That's enough. You may leave now.
Yes, sir.
Subtitle translation by Loretta Kok