What’s the matter, Minghua?
The princess is sleeping now.
The princess has a fever. Premier Zhao has ordered us to bring her pills,
and see to her needs.
Why? The princess is sleeping now. Do you want to wake her up?
-The princess is asleep so early? -If you two disturb her,
and she wakes up with a cold,
I’ll seek an audience with the emperor tomorrow and get him to punish you!
Zhuhua,
you've always been loyal to the princess.
Princess is our master.
Our lives are all in her hands!
If I don't pledge my loyalty to her, who should I be loyal to?
In this palace, no one can enjoy the same love they would get at home.
What is the use of a master? To be safe, we need to help one another.
You are absolutely right.
All right then, let's help one another.
You may enter now.
I just hope…
The princess won’t be angry.
As the princess is asleep, we shall come back tomorrow.
I never thought there would be a place like that within the Qin palace.
Indeed.
What is that?
A chaff-cutter. It’s used to behead criminals.
It’s very convenient!
So where are we exactly?
It’s the torture room, the one used for eunuchs.
-Torture room? -Right.
If a eunuch committed a crime, he would be punished here.
Where’s Chongxin? Why isn’t he here yet?
I’ll go get him now. I’ll get him.
Chimian, why did you lock the door?
Chimian, open this door!
Sorry, I couldn’t open this door
even if you offered me 1,000 taels of gold,
or even 10,000. I dare not do so.
What you want will harm Premier Zhao.
I must now report you to Premier Zhao.
I’m the only daughter of the late emperor. How dare you do this to me?
Princess, you may forget just who I should obey and who I should not.
But I know this very well, as only a man lowly as myself would.
If anyone comes to save me, you’ll be severely punished.
How can anyone find a place like this?
Hurry!
Hey! What do you think you’re doing?
We have come to serve the princess.
Hasn’t she gotten up yet?
Anyone there?
Can’t anyone help me?
I’m Chimian from Chongxin’s residence. I’ve something to report to the premier.
Wait here.
The princess has a severe fever. She’d like to sleep for another two hours.
Sleep in for another two hours?
Yes. Two hours.
Why? Can't you wait for another two hours?
A chaff-cutter. It’s used to behead criminals.
If a eunuch committed a crime, he would be punished here.
How can anyone find a place like this?
Leave now and come back in two hours.
Let's wait outside the room.
Maybe the princess will get up earlier.
Okay then, you can wait outside the room.
The brocade is like firewood...
and the silk like cotton.
Nothing really matters to me now.
Whether putting down a rebellion or ousting Zhao Gao,
I don’t care what happens.
I only hope you can return safe and sound.
What I want is to lead a quiet life with you.
But now it seems that this will be impossible.
Come in.
Thank you. Thank you.
Young man, what a spacious manor!
Where will I meet with the premier?
Shut up! Don’t you ever stop talking?
Premier Zhao, Chimian from Chongxin’s residence is here.
Search him.
Yes.
Be gentle, young man.
Search completed.
He may enter alone.
This way.
Premier,
premier,
I’m Chimian, premier…
Don’t move. Tell me, where is Princess Chenxi?
If I stay here...
I’ll be caught by Zhao Gao for sure.
I-- I’d rather…
You want to find the princess and send her to the premier.
You want to take the credit!
Let’s talk. Whether the reward is jewelry or official titles,
I’ll share! Sounds good?
Where is Princess Chenxi?
You don’t want to share? Are you trying to rebel?
If I were to rebel, you’ll be the first to die!
Chong-- Sir Chongxin, I-- I--
Princess is in the deserted torture room for eunuchs, Southeast of the harem.
Sir Chongxin, I’m-- I’m looking for Zhao Gao…
I… I…
Sir Chongxin…
Deal with the body, I’m going to rescue the princess.
Yes, sir.
General Zhang...
as long as you come back safe...
everything will be worthwhile.
-General. -General.
No worries.
It’s only an old injury. Nothing serious.
Reporting!
General, warriors of Mr. Xiang are approaching Xue County.
The guards over there have fled.
Yes.
General, let’s march.
Right, general.
General, I’d like to lead our troops to suppress them.
Qin Meng of Xuecheng is a very brave man.
But Xiang Liang took over Xuecheng. This shows the strength of Chu warriors.
General Xiang’s army is getting stronger. I think they'll attract many fighters.
If we suppress them now...
it'd seem like we're a bunch of bandits robbing them,
plundering their shops and taking over their territories. It’s too difficult.
If we start from Yougu Pass to the South, we’ll reach Dingtao.
If we don’t advance, we should retreat to Xingyang, where we've sufficient food.
If we advance, we can settle in Dingtao and attack Xiang Liang.
Why aren't we advancing nor retreating, leaving our main forces out in the open?
I guess you're just making an empty show of strength.
You pretend that the main forces are in the camp,
but secretly send our men to encircle our enemy in Dingtao
Oh, that’s a great idea.
Lord Sima Xin, same sentiments here.
We must understand Mr. Xiang’s army,
so that we can find their weaknesses and exploit them.
Let's set up a trap and let Xiang Liang walk right into it.
We need to lure Xiang Liang all the way to Dingtao.
This time, he can be the bandit who robs our shop.
-Lure him? -Lure him to Dingtao?
Of course, if not, who should I fight against?
What do you think, Lord Sima Xin?
Right, general.
General! General! General…
No worries. It's only an old injury.
-What are you doing here? -Get out of the way.
The princess is asleep. How dare you!
Stop them! Hurry!
You can’t go in.
How dare you! What on earth are you doing?
Princess!
What? You're not intending to let me get any rest?
How dare you bother me and tell me the time?
Sorry, princess. I was too anxious Please forgive me, princess.
Zhuhua.
Guards!
Yes.
Princess.
Since you're a first time offender,
you can accept ten lashes of whipping as your punishment.
Guards!
-Princess, I didn’t do it on purpose. -Drag her out
Please forgive me, princess. And I’ll never do it again.
I was wrong, please forgive me.
Please spare me, princess.
Princess, please spare me.
What are you waiting for? Show your thanks to the princess.
-Princess, thank you for sparing us. -Thank you for sparing our lives.
Princess, you show much hardened attitude now.
Is this a good thing?
Quite good. Very good!
Beat them till their teeth fall out and they can’t speak a word!
Princess, your neck…
Now they’ve gone, hurry, help me dress the wound.
You must have suffered a lot last night.
But it was worth it. Now the borneol is taking effect.
Borneol?
Reporting!
General, there's fierce resistance at the city wall.
Our men haven't broken through!
I see. You may leave now.
-Let me know if you have updates. -Yes sir.
It’s small city. Why is it so hard to conquer?
Let’s stop for now. We can’t afford any further delay.
General Xiang Yu should replace Ying Bu.
No. Xiang Yu is now repenting for his wrongdoings. He is too hot-headed.
Setbacks are good for him.
If we don’t win this battle, our morale will be hurt, general.
We must win this battle.
I understand, sir.
Wait just a little longer.
Reporting. The wall flies the flag of surrender.
The chief guard sent his man to surrender.
Where’s the messenger?
Five kilometers from here.
Are you sure?
Do you know why they surrendered to us all of a sudden?
They said they saw General Xiang Yu’s banner at the city wall.
What?
General Xiang Yu is in confinement. How can his banner be there?
I dare not spout nonsense.
-Retreat now. -Yes.
That’s strange.
Mean man. What are you doing here?
Why aren’t you repenting in the camp?
Uncle, I just came to show you
that as long as Qin warriors hear my name and see my banners,
they will surrender to us.
Was I wrong to kill those captives afterall?
Mr. Fan, I’d like to know...
between our warriors or Qin warriors, which is more important?
Military orders must be obeyed. How can you take it so lightly?
Yes, Uncle.
I’ll return to our camp to repent. I'm willing to receive double punishment.
This…
General, we are here to surrender.
We hope General Xiang Yu will keep his promise and spare our warriors lives.
We are righteous warriors and will keep our promise.
You may leave now.
Thank you, general.
Our attack went on for more than a day.
Why do they only surrender now?
General, the guards are brave and strong and meant to fight to the death.
But when General Xiang Yu came with our banner,
those guards were so scared they surrendered.
I heard that when those surrendered learned what happened in Xiangcheng,
they felt quite terrified. You may not know,
Xiang Yu is so well-known around the area, dogs dare not bark upon hearing his name.
We have General Xiang Yu to thank for this.
Otherwise we may have lost thousands of our warriors or more.
General Xiang Yu should be rewarded!
General, did you tacitly consent to killing captives?
If it can reduce our losses,
Why not?
I think it’s not proper.
Go on.
Though the Qin soldiers we are facing are not as powerful as before...
they are not weak at all.
This time they surrendered out of their fear for Xiang Yu.
But we’ll have to attack tens or hundreds of cities in the future.
I think some may fear Xiang Yu and surrender.
But there are surely…
valorous men who will fight to the death.
From now on, are we going to kill everyone who refuses to surrender?
This is no big deal.
But we, the Chu army fight for justice...
and we aim to end the tyranny of Qin rule.
If we win the support of commoners, we’ll win.
It's not only about achieving victory, but also about fulfilling heaven's will.
If the commoners and soldiers don't see us any differently from Qin soldiers...
we may be able to instil fear, but we won't be able to win their hearts.
When that time comes, we’ll be no different from the Qin.
I agree with you, Sir.
In history, all who’ve won the world, acted in the name of justice.
General...
if you are determined to wipe out the Qin and bring peace to the world...
you should take heed of my words.
Thanks for your advice. We almost made a tactical blunder.
Come on. Drink. Fill it. Drink. Come on!
Generals, I propose a toast to Mr. Liu.
What a man he is.
He is our lucky star!
His men don’t know how to fight enemies, but they managed to conquer cities!
What do you mean?
How can you…
You are tired of killing captives, aren’t you?
Guys, let’s propose a toast to them.
Right. Come on.
-Drink. -We’re proud you killed so many captives.
What are you talking about?
Wait! You shouldn’t say that.
What do we celebrate today?
Why did Qin warriors surrender to us without a fight?
It’s because General Xiang Yu acts as his words. They were seriously scared!
Right. They were seriously scared.
What?
We dirtied our hands killing captives. You benefitted, you're scolding us.
-Zhou Bo, come here! -Come here.
You should drink three cups as forfeit.
-Such bullshit! -Don’t move, don’t move!
General Long, why the hell should Zhou Bo drink?
He’s absolutely right! You should drink as penalty instead!
Right. You should drink it. You should.
How dare you talk like that!
General Xiang Yu is here!
How dare you fight in the military camp? You shall be punished! Get out!
-Hurry. -Go, go.
You deal with your own men.
Fights happen. Let’s not let this affect our brotherhood.
What are you waiting for?
Keep drinking! Go on.
Drink. Go on. Drink.
It’s good to have this conflict. Otherwise they’ll just keep bullying us.
-Oh right, Mr. Xiao. -Yes?
He said, “brotherhood.” Does that mean he wants to take me as his sworn brother?
Sworn brother?
-I think not. -But I felt he was serious.
-It’s probably only casual talk. -No way.
I think it’s impossible. Think carefully.
The two of you came from very different backgrounds.
He’s a noble and was born into a general’s family.
And you, just a commoner.
You were only a chief of Sishuiting before this.
And then you rebelled and became a lord of bandits.
He’s way up here, and you’re down here.
Mr. Xiao...
I think I should be his sworn brother.
Think about it. If he and I were to become sworn brothers,
first of all, Chu soldiers won’t treat us like crap.
What’s more, if we actually do get somewhere someday...
he couldn’t possibly do anything to us.
And if we get in trouble someday...
he wouldn't leave us in the lurch. He has to come to our aid.
So I must become his sworn brother.
My Lord, it’s not a bad idea.
But you should be clear about what you’re doing.
In addition, let this not be your wishful thinking.
Whether he would agree to become your sworn brother is unknown, right?
What are you looking at?
Look at the Qin warriors. The moment General Xiang Yu is mentioned,
they’re panic-stricken.
Look, we haven’t even had military training for days.
No need. So long as General Xiang Yu is here, so long as we have his sword,
Qin soldiers will lose the war.
You’re right. In my opinion, Qin soldiers are very cowardly.
Look at that weirdo!
Han Xin.
Han Xin! What are you playing with?
Why aren't you eating? You fool!
Oh shit!
Get out of my way. Get off.
Emergency! Important military intelligence!
-General! -Stop right there.
-Let him go.
From your attire, I see you’re a soldier.
How can a soldier have access to any important military intelligence?
Just get out of my way.
General, I’m Han Xin. I have some doubts about Zhang Han’s plan.
If I am wrong, you can punish me!
Go ahead.
General, this is Dingtao and this is Hangu Pass.
Zhang Han defeated Zhou Wen’s army and moved on Southward.
If he didn’t go that way,
he should retreat to Xingyang where he could find provisions.
If he advanced, he would directly station his men in Dingtao.
But now, he neither advances nor retreats,
and stations his men on the plain. What’s his purpose?
What's his plan? Have you considered this, general?
It seems you’re rather familiar with the terrain, aren’t you? Continue.
I think he’s making an empty show of his strength.
His real purpose is to divide his men into two groups to surround Dingtao!
If I were him, I would do the same.
Just mind your own business. Don’t make blind conjectures.
Give him ten taels.
Yes, sir.
General, you should think it over!
Here.
-General! -Stop shouting.
If you don't think it through carefully, you may pay a heavy price.
Move it along. Go.
General Xiang Liang, how have you been?
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Forgive me. I’m terribly sorry. It’s my fault.
Don’t mention it. Don’t mention it.
General, you attacked Dingtao and performed a valuable service.
Our king ordered me to pay you a visit.
It’s my honor. Please be seated.
Thank you. I’d rather sit here.
-Fine. Please. -Good.
Since you crossed the river, you’ve made quite some progress.
You were already well-known, now you’ve conquered Dingtao. Congratulations!
Thank you.
But in my opinion...
today is a happy day for you.
But it’s also the day that's most worrying.
What do you mean?
You should worry about soldiers being prone to arrogance in victory.
Complacency leads to defeat. You might as well lose in the first place.
I think they have become arrogant and indolent already.
General, you should warn them.
Though Qin soldiers were defeated,
their general, Zhang Han, has won many wars.
Do not underestimate him.
A general?
I am well aware...
that before all this, he was nothing but a tax minister.
As for me, his tactics are nothing to be afraid of.
Now they dare not fight us.
The more cities I conquer, the more scared Zhang Han’s soldiers become.
I’m planning to give him a crushing blow that will show he is a nobody.
And soon enough his entire army will fall to pieces.
You intend to hold up in Dingtao.
I think soon enough, this new city of yours
will become a military target.
But I think it’s a wedge that will fit right into the hearts of Qin soldiers.
Xiang Yu and Liu Ji have taken Chengyang, which is my second wedge.
It’s not the best policy to divide our army into two groups.
In my opinion, General Zhang Han barely even put up a fight in Chengyang
and gave it up deliberately.
Why would he do that deliberately?
He was concentrating his forces to prepare for a decisive battle.
I’ve received news that Zhang Han has been deploying his troops.
Once Dingtao is taken, what can we do?
I worry for you...
General, and also for our state and its people.
You’re over sensitive.
Even if he is concentrating his forces, we should not be afraid.
As for the decisive battle, that’s exactly what I need.
Recently, it has been raining heavily and the road is muddy.
How can he get here to attack me?
I think he only intends to make a last-ditch attempt to defend Puyang.
When the rain stops,
I’ll led our men to attack Puyang and settle this once and for all!
-General! -That’s all for now.
I am grateful for your kindness.
We both share the same goal of ending Qin’s rule.
As to what strategies to use,
I think it should be left to generals like us, all right?
If I’m lucky enough to defeat Qin soldiers this time,
I’ll invite you, Sir, to celebrate our victory in Puyang.
Then I shall hold a banquet...
and have a fine old chat with you.
You’re too kind.
I heard that you need an emissary to negotiate with Qi
about joining the resistance against Qin.
I may not be perfect...
but I could make the trip.
Good. Then I’ll entrust it to you.
I don’t understand why Borneol saved you.
It’s clear that Chongxin is a righteous man.
He’s willing to help General Zhang and I.
And Doctor Zhang also seems like a reliable man, doesn’t he?
I hope so. Princess, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth,
and don’t know the dangers of the world. You tend to have faith in people.
But in the palace, dangers are everywhere. You know less than I about these things.
All things are the same.
The imperial court is lawless. Even our emperor is under house arrest.
Things turn the opposite direction if pushed too far.
Tell me, doesn’t that sound like what’s happening here?
I don’t know much about the ways of heaven.
I only hope things will go the way you want them to.
Otherwise, there would be no justice in the world.
All right.
The ground is shifting under our feet,
we’d better be careful about where we stand.
Princess...
please return to have a rest.
My respects, princess.
Please rise, Sir.
Yes.
Minghua...
you can leave with them.
Yes.
Princess, don’t worry. They’ll not be a threat.
To be frank, Minghua is my younger sister.
Yes.
Princess,
I can only stay here for a short while. I’ll get to the point.
You risked your life
to save General Zhang Han, right?
Exactly. I hope that you will help us.
Your respect humbles me.
To help the general, what do you have in mind?
Zhao Gao, Premier Zhao.
It seems I guessed right then.
Frankly, princess, you might as well tell me we should assassinate Zhao Gao.
Don’t speak so loudly, sir.
Don’t worry, princess. To tell you the truth,
Zhao Gao's spies are actually my spies.
Even his own servants, are working for me.
Then do you mean--
I mean to kill Zhao Gao...
it’s not difficult.
But it’s quite difficult to acquire his influence.
Princess, believe me. I’m also waiting for the right opportunity.
It's great that you've provided me with a golden opportunity now.
This is very dangerous.
I'm doing it to save my husband, Zhang Han.
What are you doing this for, sir?
Do you want to save the emperor?
Or save the state established by late emperor?
Oh, that is most whimsical,
national ideals are great to have.
Too bad those aspirations are merely empty words
that don't mean much.
Today, I shall speak to you from the depths of my heart.
I do this all for myself.
Are you trying to replace-- Replace the prime minister?
Replace him?
Not exactly.
Then?
Princess, sir,
Premier Zhao is coming here from the emperor’s place.
I see.
I’ll take my leave. You needn’t see me off. I’ll be back. Farewell.
Princess, Chongxin told me that you could write a letter to General Zhang
and he would help you send it.
How far are we from Dingtao?
From here, it should be another 50 kilometers.
If we travel during the day, we’ll get there by tomorrow noon.
My Lord, it's going to be a fierce battle.
I heard that all vassals are heading towards Dingtao.
My Lord, why didn’t General Xiang Liang order Xiang Yu there? Why did he send us?
What do you think?
I wouldn't dare to speculate.
We can’t afford to think too much. We should hurry up.
Keep up!
Keep up! Hurry!
Fire!
Up! Up!
My Lord!
What’s wrong?
Zhang Han divided his men into two groups to surround Dingtao.
Dingtao has been surrounded!
Subtitle translation by Min Wei Wong