General, is it time to dispatch our troops?
To where?
To Huling, no?
Our lord ordered us there in his letter.
General, why do you hesitate?
Is it that our warriors are exhausted and we still need to reorganize?
We've never stopped reorganizing.
Then it be must that you think we don’t have sufficient provisions?
Do we lack provisions?
Then why?
So, does that mean...
you intend to violate our lord's order on purpose?
Cao Can.
Now you're the king of Qi,
and you rule a state.
But in our eyes, you’re still our lord's general-in-chief.
I’ll not ask you about loyalty...
nor about military weaknesses and strengths.
I only want to ask you a question.
Has our lord ever failed you?
Never.
Then why don’t you help our lord in Guangwu?
Your act is as good as those who disregard their sworn brothers in the battlefield.
What's going on in your head?
General, you should think it over.
No.
You must give us an explanation today.
Otherwise, we’ll lead some warriors to help our lord tomorrow.
I know what you’re thinking.
Pass the drink around. It’s cold out here!
If you could see yourselves as elite generals...
instead of court officials...
and answer three questions of mine,
I'd gladly follow in your footsteps.
Go ahead.
Our lord asked us to join him in the cold, so we could battle with Xiang Yu,
right?
Yes.
And if we win the war,
the contention between Chu and Han will stop...
and after many years of chaos,
commoners can finally lead a peaceful life, right?
So we support waging a decisive battle.
-What if we lose? -Lose?
If we lose the war, no one in the world can ever be a match for Xiang Yu.
Though our lord has a huge Xianyang at his disposal,
he can’t resist Xiang Yu’s army.
You asked three questions, but I have just one.
How would we lose?
General, why are you laughing?
Past victories have blinded both of you.
After we conquered Wei, we've experienced tens of battles.
We won those battles without much effort.
It’s true we defeated Long Ju at the Wei River.
But those weren’t Chu’s elite warriors.
And they definitely weren’t Xiang Yu’s main forces.
What if we join forces? I'm sure we can defeat Xiang Yu.
You--
General, we now have a strong army.
Why do you fear him all of a sudden?
I’ve only fought Xiang Yu once...
and that was Pengcheng! You guys remember how that went?
Yes, we were there.
We had a far greater number of warriors than he did,
and we had the geographical advantage.
But it ended up as a tie.
Xiang Yu only had 20,000 men at that time.
Now in Guangwu, Xiang Yu has 150,000 warriors.
If you two can beat your chests and say we’ll definitely crush him,
I’ll set out right now.
We should think this over. Liu Ji is our lord.
He needs to worry about the whole world.
I am his general…
a general for a lifetime.
I won’t rashly wage an uncertain war.
I don’t understand.
Tell me why you refused the emissary from Han.
You’ve been bothered by this petty matter for the past few days.
Petty matter?
Liu Ji, invited you to station your troops in the north of Waihuang
and attack Yu County in spring.
Why did you refuse him?
He only wrote me a letter?
Yes.
Just a letter!
Peng Yue, you’re too greedy.
We are the weakest amongst all his forces.
Exactly. That's the most important reason.
Liu Ji survived his severe injury.
But that makes me neither happy nor sad.
But looking at their stalemate in Guangwu,
if we send our warriors before getting any benefits,
it would be really silly on our part!
But worming your way out at this point in time,
don’t you fear you’ll become a thorn in Liu Ji’s flesh?
Since we retreated from Yu County,
Liu Ji had every reason to hate us.
Think about it, if someone hates you, and gets you in his sights,
and that man is none other than Liu Ji...
there’s no way to get him off your tail.
Though Xiang Yu is arrogant and tyrannical,
if I suck it up and surrender to him,
he may spare me.
But as for Liu Ji,
we have to become increasingly important to him,
so that we can have a good chance of survival.
Understand?
You’re right. But I’m afraid if Han Xin
agrees to dispatch troops to help Liu Ji,
our importance will be weakened.
Han Xin?
Do you think he’ll not think of himself?
He is different from you and me. He’s Liu Ji’s official.
Official? Must an official be loyal?
Any news from Peng Yue or Han Xin?
Why are you silent?
My Lord, I don’t know how to tell you.
Tell me the truth.
The truth is Han Xin refused us.
He said it’s not the right time.
What about Peng Yue?
He’ll not come either.
He didn’t even give us any excuse. Really irritating.
I expected this.
Peng Yue is a cunning man.
If he can’t get any benefit, he’ll not send his warriors here.
Han Xin wants to win the battle.
Without an absolute assurance of success, he’ll not fight.
My Lord, you have not made a full recovery yet.
You can’t give battle commands.
If we attack them with no reinforcements, we maybe in danger.
We should stock up on our provisions and attack Xiang Yu in spring.
Your considerations are justified.
We should take evasive action.
But I worry that in spring...
the situation will be even more disadvantageous for us.
You’re worried Xiang Yu may learn about your injury.
If he knows you've not made a full recovery,
he’ll seize the opportunity and attack us.
We’ll be at a disadvantage,
so we must attack them first.
But if we do so,
Han Xin and Peng Yue will have to decide if they’ll help us or not.
Our victory or defeat...
will affect their fate and honor.
I see. It matters a lot.
My Lord, tell us what we should do.
We need to persistently challenge Xiang Yu to fight us.
But don’t take the initiative to attack.
If Han Xin or Peng Yue
can come to our aid...
we can attack.
If they don’t...
we’ll have to think of an alternative plan.
Go back and rest. Have a good rest.
-What’s happening? -General,
Liu Ji led a large group of Han warriors
and came out through the mountain stream.
He-- I don’t understand his strategy.
The whoreson cur is asking for death.
This is the very chance we’ve been waiting for.
General, issue an order. I’ll lead the vanguard.
I still have to make up for my defeat. Let me go instead.
My orders, close our gate. No one is allowed to leave.
If Han warriors dare to attack us, just greet them with arrows.
General, it’s a great opportunity to attack them.
We shouldn’t miss it.
Have you forgotten? Isn’t this the trick I once played?
Back then, we were in need of provisions,
and had to launch a decisive war against Liu Bang. Why?
If we didn’t fight, we would have to die.
Now think about this. Why would Liu Ji attack us? Would he ask for death?
He’s not valiant at all.
If you think he can’t live with the humiliation and come to attack,
you’ll be totally wrong.
He's attacking us now, because it’s advantageous to him.
All right, he can live with the humiliation...
I can tolerate his offense even more so.
If he means to attack, I’ll not meet the attack. I'll make him anxious!
How are things going?
-My Lord. -My Lord.
It's the same everywhere within the Chu camp.
no warriors are coming out to meet our attack.
Xiang Yu is seldom so cool-headed.
It’s unusual.
I don’t think they can see through our strategy.
You don’t know Xiang Yu well.
He’s always opposing me.
Don’t worry. I know how to deal with him.
Xiahou Ying, what’s wrong?
Look. What do you think?
I think it’s good.
My Lord, you asked for me?
-Kneel down. -What?
Kneel!
My Lord.
My Lord. Why-- Why do you-- I--
Don’t you know why?
Don’t you know why you’re here? Don't play the fool!
No, My Lord, I--
Don’t you know what you’ve done?
I have no idea. Did I make a mistake?
You didn’t make a mistake. You committed a crime.
Crime?
Please tell me.
Let me ask you. Have you ever said you’d kill Qi Ji?
Have you?
Oh! I was wondering what happened.
This is all because of that woman? That wicked bitch?
Didn’t she bring you enough trouble?
You’d kill a loyal warrior just because of her?
-Are you that loyal? -Yes, I am!
You disobeyed me. How can you say you’re loyal to me?
My Lord, I’ve done everything for our state.
If you really appoint Ruyi the crown prince, I would never accept it.
Did she tell you that I would appoint Ruyi crown prince?
Did you hear it?
Lu Wan...
you’re making trouble. You should be killed!
My Lord. I--
My Lord, though Lu Wan's words were harsh,
he didn’t do anything,
offensive! He shouldn’t be killed.
-My Lord, we shouldn’t kill Lu Wan. -We shouldn’t, My Lord.
Lu Wan followed us for years.
If we kill him because of this, our morale would be affected.
My Lord. We shouldn’t kill Lu Wan.
-We shouldn’t, My Lord. -My Lord, we shouldn’t kill Lu Wan.
We shouldn’t kill Lu Wan.
My Lord, we shouldn’t kill Lu Wan.
All right. Since they are begging for mercy on your behalf...
I can spare you, but you must be punished.
20 lashes.
My Lord!
I never would have expected you to treat me this way.
You feel wronged? 40 lashes.
My Lord!
60!
You can whip me. But I’ll not cry for mercy.
If I cried for mercy, I wouldn’t be Lu Wan!
80.
-My Lord. -My Lord.
My Lord, I don’t fear your lashings.
You--
Mr. Xiao, what happened?
I must see our lord now.
-He’s asleep. -I must see him even he’s asleep.
Mr. Xiao.
My Lord.
My Lord!
Who’s there?
Xiao He.
What happened?
My Lord, Lu Wan left.
Where did he go?
He headed for the Chu camp on a horse.
My punishment drove him to join Xiang Yu.
All right. All right.
I knew he’d betray me sooner or later.
Mr. Xiao, tell our warriors...
that from Guangwu to Xianyang, whoever meets Lu Wan
can kill him immediately.
I’ll reward him with 100 taels of gold.
Yes.
And when he's back, he'll be enfeoffed as marquis of ten thousand households.
Yes.
I’m Lu Wan. My greetings, General.
You’re Liu Ji's loyal subject. What brings you here?
I suffered a severe injustice and couldn’t live with it.
-So I've come to join you. -What?
Join me, huh?
Why should I accept you?
Is there anyone more shameless than you?
I heard you and Liu Ji grew up together.
How can you betray him?
Should I believe anything you say?
Lu Wan, you knave, kneel down and answer our general!
Kneel down.
I escaped from the Han camp.
I have nothing left but this humble life.
Do you mean to humiliate me?
All right. Do anything you want to me.
But only I know how to defeat Liu Ji.
Do you want to know how?
It’s all up to you!
Wow, Lu Wan, you’re a really bold man.
Your sympathy-seeking ploy won’t work in our camp.
Kneel!
-Kneel down. -Kneel down. Kneel down.
Don't ask for trouble.
Give him a meal. Then return to your camp.
Tell Liu Ji to not play such mean tricks. Just come and meet our attack.
That's not necessary, General.
I know you have meager provisions here.
But you're still offering me a meal,
I'm flattered…
I admire you for your open-mindedness.
It just proves that I’m right to join you!
But you shouldn’t give up this opportunity to defeat Liu Ji.
Of course, the decision is yours.
Since I can’t avenge myself, I shall meet Liu Ji in my next life.
Come on. Kill me now.
I want a quick death.
All lobbyists are skillful in pretending to accept death.
Are you done?
If you want to die, go somewhere else.
We’re done with your performance.
You've wronged me. You've wronged me.
I want revenge, but you don’t trust me.
Why don’t you kill me?
Just kill me now!
-Kill me. -General.
You really hate Liu Ji?
I hate him.
To kill him, you’d risk your life.
I’d risk my life.
If you admit you’re pretending to surrender, I can spare you.
You don’t trust me.
All right...
all right, I can prove my determination by death.
Give him our uniform. We’ll go attack Liu Ji.
Lu Wan, please.
Thank you, General.
My Lord, you asked for me?
Come in.
My Lord, how are you feeling today?
-Lu Wan. -Yes.
I heard when I was in coma, you threatened Qi Ji...
is that true?
Yes.
Do you know the penalty for that?
I know. The death penalty.
But My Lord, I don’t think I was at fault.
I know you did it for my own good, didn’t you?
-Yes. -Sit down. Sit down.
Yes.
-Lu Wan. -Yes.
We've been sworn brothers for years, right?
Yes.
You are my brother.
In fact, what you think
and what you do...
I get it.
It’s all for my own good, right?
Yes.
But you forgot...
that right now our biggest enemy is not Qi Ji.
It’s Xiang Yu.
Yes.
Let’s not mention this again. I don’t mind.
But...
you must do me a favor.
My Lord, I--
Don’t answer just yet.
It’s not an easy job. It'll bring you suffering.
You may even lose your life.
I'm willing to die for you, no matter what.
Three days has passed. What has he done in the camp?
I’ve been watching him. He has confined himself to the tent.
A hunger strike?
General, quite the opposite,
he actually has a good appetite.
Hey.
General.
How's everything?
Good.
Now I understand why Liu Ji hated you.
You are so arrogant and standoffish.
Is that the impression I give?
General, I need to speak with you.
You finally have words for me?
Well, to my tent.
No, no, no. It's nothing major.
I just want to meet Mr. Liu.
You are a Han traitor.
How can you face Mr. Liu?
It’s my personal affairs.
Please allow me to meet him.
Ziqi, show him the way.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, General.
This way.
Mr. Liu.
Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu.
Who are you?
I’m Lu Wan. Lu Wan.
I’m late, I’m late.
Lu Wan, why are you here?
How are your guys?
They are good. Good.
How is my son?
He’s good. Don’t worry.
That’s good. Good.
Is your leg still giving you trouble during winter?
Under such circumstances, I can only live with the pain.
Let me give you a massage.
Wow. You’re really good at this. You know where the pain is coming from.
Lu Wan. Lu Wan. Tell me.
Why are you here?
-I-- -My son sent you here?
No.
Then you were caught?
Mr. Liu...
your son never took care of you.
I’d like to show filial piety to you.
This might be my last chance to take care of you.
What are you talking about?
I don't get you. Lu Wan, what happened?
Mr. Liu, during my childhood days, you took good care of me.
You even took me as your own son.
If I were to become Liu Ji’s enemy now, can you accept it?
What enemy? I don’t understand what you’re saying.
I’ve left Liu Ji
and I’m joining Xiang Yu’s camp.
You--
Please forget about me from now on, Mr. Liu.
I've failed Liu Ji.
It's my own choice.
I’ll take my leave now.
You--
Lu Wan…
Both of you are going on separate ways just like that ?
Have a seat.
Thank you.
I’m not a man of much use.
I don’t deserve such a reception.
You're sincere about joining me, so you deserve my respect.
Thank you, General.
But, General, what made you trust me?
I like your temperament.
It’s rumored that Liu Ji whipped you for leading warriors to rescue Mr. Liu.
You almost lost your life, right?
You're very well informed, General.
You still haven’t answered me.
I’d like to trust you
but I hope you can be frank with me.
Okay.
To save Mr. Liu was my own decision.
I intended to save him because he helped me a lot as a child.
I didn’t want him to suffer.
It’s pointless to say such things right now though.
I stayed in Liu Ji’s camp for years...
but I’ve never been valued.
This time I came to join you
with the intention of defeating him and ruling the world.
I’ll let him know
what a man I can be.
Hey, General, why did you leave during the talk?
He’s nothing but an incompetent man.
He created trouble in Liu Ji’s camp.
Now he intends to create trouble in mine.
General, you might as well let him finish his words before you make a decision.
You’re the king, you always have the last say.
Ziqi, can’t you see that he’s just a braggart?
I don’t want to waste time listening to him.
General...
do you think Lu Wan is crazy?
If he’s crazy, he would not have appeared so calm the other day.
If he’s crazy, he would not have formally bade farewell to Mr. Liu.
You mean he is of use to us?
General...
in the Zhou Dynasty, advisor Jiang Ziya
had the habit of fishing absent-mindedly
but he helped the king rule the world.
I dare say Lu Wan has a strategy to defeat Liu Ji.
General.
All right. I’ll listen to you this time.
Let’s go.
With regards to the war of Guangwu...
I think Liu Ji is evenly matched with you.
You planned to delay the attack till the spring
because you thought…
Han Xin and Peng Yue may just act as onlookers,
and wait to profit from the battle. Am I right?
Every experienced general would recognize that.
Won’t Han Xin and Peng Yue recognize it?
I don’t know strategies.
But I know Han Xin and Peng Yue better than you do.
Please elaborate.
Take Peng Yue as an example, he’s entirely opportunistic.
He can fight but he isn’t trustworthy.
He only supports the man from whom he can get more benefits.
I can give him everything Liu Ji can give to him.
Peng Yue retreated from Yu County because he got what he wanted.
No, no. General...
you don’t quite get Liu Ji.
Liu Ji can give half of his territories to Peng Yue.
Can you do the same?
Can you offer that much to the man you despise?
I’d rather kill him.
So you’re different.
As for Han Xin...
regardless of political circumstances,
do you know what he values most?
It’s pride.
He wasn’t valued in your camp for years
and was only a halberd holder.
But how did Liu Ji treat him?
First, Liu Ji pardoned him from death.
Second, Liu Ji appointed him General-in-chief of the whole army
and granted him kingship.
General, from Lu Wan’s words,
once the war begins, Han warriors will meet our attack.
Peng Yue may cut off our provision road, and Han Xin may attack us from behind.
Then we’d be finished.
Lu Wan, is that what you meant?
That’s right.
Liu Ji has yet to emerge victorious,
but his mistresses and his children are already competing for the throne.
There are three groups in his camp.
One supports Liu Ying.
Another supports Qi Ji,
and the other supports Bo Ji.
Days ago, Liu Ji was wounded by an arrow and his camp was almost in chaos.
General, I have an idea.
We can use the chasm as a territorial divide.
The east is for you and the west for Han. Both sides can have a peace treaty.
You can pretend to retreat to Chu's territories.
I believe soon Liu Ji’s camp will break into chaos.
I know that’s a lot to consider at this point.
But we can use of Mr. Liu and Lyu Zhi to seek peace with Liu Ji.
Mr. Liu and Lyu Zhi are of no use to you and keeping them just makes you look bad.
I think for his father’s and his wife’s safety,
Liu Ji will agree to this treaty.
Once the treaty is set, Lyu Zhi will return to Han camp.
Then she’ll try to kill Qi Ji...
and Liu Ji will be busy with personal affairs.
In no time, perhaps one or two years,
Liu Ji’s forces will fall apart.
When the time comes, you can easily defeat him.
Mr. Zhang. Officer. Xiao.
Yes.
Ziqi, it’s been a long time since we saw each other at Hongmen.
Mr. Zhang, it’s been a long time.
Ziqi, Xiang Yu sent you to convey a message?
Yes.
If it’s about the decisive war, you need not bother and just return.
Liu Ji will not see you.
Mr. Zhang, you misunderstand us.
My General Xiang Yu doesn’t want people to suffer from war anymore.
He wishes to end hostilities immediately.
But your lord neither attacks nor surrenders to us.
Now my general wants to negotiate peace and discuss terms.
He proposes a ceasefire, where both sides refrain from invasion.
So you are here for a peace negotiation, aren’t you?
Yes.
My lord’s has been waiting for a long time. This way, please.
Thank you, Mr. Xiao.
-Please. -Please.
Mr. Xiao, how have you been?
How are you, Xiang Bo?
Subtitle translation by Min Wei Wong