I think the other half is in Peng Yue’s hands.
Our Lord is too cautious.
But I really am just waiting for the best time to dispatch warriors.
Tell our Lord that I’ll arrive there.
Yes.
HAN
In 202 B.C.
Xiang Yu besieged Liu Ji in Yangxiacheng for over 20 days.
But Liu Ji didn’t send any warriors to meet the attack.
General, we’ve prepared rolling logs and striking stones.
How much provisions left?
Ten stones of rice, eight stones of maize, and nine stones of side crops.
That’s all we have.
That’s sufficient.
General, if Liu Ji still refuses to meet our attack, we’ll be consumed away.
Our warriors are in great hunger. They’re even fighting over rat meat.
I see. You can leave.
General...
now Xiangyacheng is only a desolate city.
In our camp, every day, there are scores of warriors
dying of cold and hunger.
Even in the wounded camp…
I know.
How do you view that?
Who can foresee the end?
The one that can hold on to the last moment...
will stab his sword into his enemy’s throat.
Almost every minute...
I hope Liu Ji will kneel down before me...
and I’ll pierce my blade slowly into his neck.
And I’ll behead him and let it fall down before me.
I must keep going.
Mr. Zhang, Xiang Bo is asking for a visit.
Invite him in!
Yes.
Mr. Zhang, you’re not feeling well. Let me do it myself. I’ve got it.
Xiang Bo, it’s a shame.
I can only treat you to a cup of water.
It doesn’t matter. It will do. Please.
I didn’t expect that before my death,
I would meet you
and drink water with you.
I’ll not regret my death.
Xiang Bo, that year in Hongmen,
you helped me out of trouble.
And you saved Liu Ji.
Saved me from my despair and trouble.
-Mr. Zhang, it’s-- -I’ll never forget that.
Now as far as the contention of Chu and Han,
I think in your eyes, Chu will not lose the war.
But if by chance you lose,
I still hope you can be my respected guest.
I see. Thank you, Mr. Zhang.
And I know it’s my own wishful thinking.
But that’s the only way I can show my gratitude to you.
Mr. Zhang,
I've known for a long time that you’re a reliable man.
Between you and me,
in the world there is one word that I value most.
Righteousness.
Right.
Xiang Bo, in such a critical time, how can you meet Mr. Zhang?
Yu’er...
I’ve heard what happened to Lu Wan.
You are an Overlord.
But when you pointed your sword closely into his throat,
he didn’t show any panic.
I-- I disguised as Lu Wan
and went to Mr. Zhang for a proposal.
What did he say?
He told me that, if we want to break the deadlock,
we must change our attitude towards Peng Yue and Han Xin.
General,
since we started fighting Liu Ji in this place,
Han Xin and Peng Yue begun to send reinforcements to Liu Ji.
But they’re taking their time in an unhurried manner.
Actually they are watching from a distance while we are fighting,
especially Han Xin.
Then they can reap the spoils when Liu Ji is finished.
This way, he can send his army to attack us
before our warriors have time to regroup.
Then he will be the one to rule.
So I think
as long as we get Han Xin and Peng Yue on our side,
Liu Ji will be completely isolated.
General, then we can keep our army going strong!
General, Mr. Zhang told me...
that if we want to get the help from Han Xin and Peng Yue,
we should give them more land than they would’ve gotten from Liu Ji.
General, I think in this way,
Peng Yue and Han Xin may voluntarily send men.
-Then we’ll thoroughly-- -Mr. Zhang is a double-crossing rat.
King Cheng of Han is long dead, but he still wants to restore the Han.
To divide more of my territories to Peng Yue
and to share the world with that, with that halberd holder!
It’s ridiculous!
Xiang Bo, don’t you see?
Zhang Liang is conspiring with Han Xin and Peng Yue.
He’s trying to reclaim the state of Han!
-General, it’s not-- -Stop that!
I know what you want to say. Leave now.
-But-- -Leave!
My Lord, thank you for not blaming me
and sparing Xiang Bo’s life.
I know I should not resign under the pretext of my illness.
I know I shouldn’t have met Xiang Bo.
But I’m even more certain...
that he lived to meet me,
unharmed,
only because of your generosity. Thank you for your consideration.
I know you appreciate Xiang Bo’s righteousness.
At the Hongmen banquet, Xiang Yu was very arrogant.
At the time, we were no match for him.
At the time, Xiang Bo helped you, my Lord.
And he knew he couldn’t get any return.
Instead, he could get himself in trouble.
But he helped us.
Now you didn’t stop him and didn’t kill him.
I know you want to express your gratitude to him.
I have another matter to tell you, my Lord.
Due to that same righteousness,
I gave him my own advice.
I told him that if Xiang Yu
granted more land to Peng Yue and Han Xin,
the situation would shift.
We’ve fought for years. Commoners can’t go on suffering.
We shouldn't continue fighting.
I dared tell my thoughts to Xiang Bo.
And I know Xiang Yu will not take the advice.
Instead, my advice may stimulate his determination to have a decisive war.
Therefore I feel no guilty for Xiang Bo.
All in all, please know I am grateful that you spared me, my Lord.
Dear heaven...
is it that I am wrong again?
It’s not that I want to betray my family…
Mr. Zhang.
Mr. Zhang. It’s great you’re awake.
Just now someone sent you a letter. As you were asleep, he didn’t wake you.
He let me tell you that his General took your advice
and granted Peng Yue the land from the north of Juyang to Gucheng.
And Han Xin got more. From Chengyi to the coast line of the East China Sea.
So many years.
So many years of war.
Finally, the world will regain peace.
Commoners will regain a peaceful life.
It’s a great fortune for the world!
To the land of Han, my respects!
My Lord! My Lord!
-Peng Yue’s warriors are coming. -Peng Yue? Where’s he?
He’ll outflank them. Heading to Pengcheng.
Good.
Where’s Fan Kuai?
He’s left Yangxiacheng.
Xiang Yu occupied the city.
My Lord, now we only have this high slope.
Any news from Han Xin?
None of our scouts come back.
Fan Kuai withdrew from Yangxiacheng. Han Xin won’t come to our aid.
At least Peng Yue can cut off Xiang Yu’s provision road.
He can give us an urgent help.
But Peng Yue’s men may not be enough to stop Xiang Yu.
Peng Yue,
did he just fall out of the sky?
Peng Yue bypassed Waihuang.
So our scouts didn’t find him.
Now his men are marching toward Pengcheng.
General! General!
General! It’s too bad. We found Han Xin’s warriors in the east.
Really?
That’s impossible.
I can understand that Peng Yue escaped the eyes of our scouts
because he only has tens of thousands of warriors.
But Han Xin’s men came from Qi.
That’s impossible.
I saw it with my own eyes.
General!
-General. -General.
Didn’t I tell you to scout in Qi?
Are you blind?
You sent us to Liangdi, didn’t you?
We went towards the north.
We passed Yu County and Chang Yi for several times,
but we didn’t see any of Han Xin’s warriors.
What’s going on here?
Who sent you to Liangdi?
Lu Wan sent us.
General, I’ll bring Lu Wan here.
No need. He’s escaped already.
Wherever he escaped,
-I’ll catch him. -How can you do that?
He’s already in Liu Ji’s camp.
General, soon we’ll be attacked from the front and rear.
Ji Bu, how far are Han Xin’s troops from us?
They may arrive before dark.
Pick 1,000 crack warriors, horsemen and marksmen.
We’ll go right now and kill Liu Ji.
General, I suggest we retreat to Pengcheng.
You don’t know Liu Ji! He’s an escape artist!
So long as we drive him off that high slope,
Han warriors will retreat.
Then we can take them by surprise.
And Han Xin and Peng Yue will not save him even with all that manpower.
Yes, sir!
-Han Xin? -Right.
Our scouts reported
that Han Xin will arrive at Xiang Yu’s rear before dark.
Before dark?
But now Xiang Yu is leading 1,000 horsemen to attack us.
We can’t hold them off.
We could retreat west.
To the west? We can’t leave here.
My Lord. We can’t stay here.
Even if we lost 5000, 10,000 or tens of thousands of warriors,
we could still reorganize our troop.
But if you were killed, all our efforts would be in vain.
Why don’t you understand my words?
We’ve failed plenty before.
I don’t mind this failure.
We’ve also run away many times.
But this time we shouldn’t run.
Just wait till Han Xin arrives at dark.
-My Lord, it’s dangerous. -My Lord. My Lord.
Xiang Yu, here I am!
Don’t you want to kill me?
Bring it on!
My Lord.
-My Lord. Sire! -My Lord!
-Come back! -My Lord!
Hurry! Back! Back!
General, we’ve almost used up our arrows.
Let’s retreat.
He’s so close to us. How can I let him escape this time?
Then what should we do?!
General!
Han Xin’s vanguard general, Guan Ying, has already begun to engage our men.
Let’s retreat to the south.
General, our right wing has been destroyed by Han Xin’s horsemen!
We’ve got no time! If we don’t go, all our men will be annihilated.
Hey! You missed. Missed. Again.
Arrow.
General. Retreat. Otherwise we’ll be too late!
-General. -General!
Don’t hesitate! Retreat!
Retreat to the south.
Retreat.
-Retreat! -Retreat!
Hurry.
Don’t run away! You missed! You didn’t shoot me.
General, if we haven’t found ice,
we wouldn’t even have water to drink.
General, we’ve used up provisions.
It’s so cold
and I think our warriors can’t hold on.
Guys, hold on!
When we get to Pengcheng,
I promise you food!
I promise you’ll have what you want.
General, there are still 250 kilometers.
Even if we have enough food,
and walk at full speed, we’ll need 7 or 8 days.
3 days. Just 3 days, we’ll get through.
Reporting.
Reporting. General.
Speak.
Han Xin’s 300,000 warriors are marching towards the south.
And nearby we saw Peng Yue’s warriors.
Worse still, Han Xin and Peng Yue’s vanguard warriors have besieged Pengcheng.
Liu Ji is really generous with them.
How many warriors?
About 400,000.
And Liu Ji’s tens of thousands of warriors are among them. Numbers are increasing.
Yes, sir!
We can’t return to Pengcheng now.
General, what should we do next?
It’s just the right time to tell the Han warriors how powerful we are.
100,000 versus 600,000?
Ziqi,
try to find a suitable campsite.
General, if we move forward,
There's still a long distance
of steep road along the cliff.
And there are few inhabitants.
Just station our warriors along the steep cliffs.
And build our gate at the entrance.
If we can find their weakness,
then we’ll have a chance to survive.
If they dare to attack,
I will break into their ranks
and find Liu Ji and take his head.
Yes, sir.
Where are we now?
Gaixia.
History will record at Gaixia,
Xiang Yu’s 100,000 defeated Liu Ji’s 600,000. An epic victory!
Here.
My Lord, I’m back!
Great! Who told you to tie him?
Untie him! Untie him!
Lu Wan, thank you.
You did me a great help. This way.
My Lord. My Lord.
Prepare some food and steady Lu Wan’s nerves.
-My Lord, he’s a traitor. -Oh please. You don’t know!
What’s wrong with him? I think he’s lost it.
Take a rest here.
Food for the general.
Reporting!
General,
our Lord ordered that he’ll entrust
all our warriors at your command.
It will be my great honor. I’ll not fail our Lord.
Yes.
Where’s Han Xin now?
About five kilometers from Gaixia.
Good. We should slow down.
Han Xin has been waiting for the chance to attack Xiang Yu.
We should let him have the chance.
Yes.
Liu Ji should come to meet us in person.
What a faux-pas!
I’m sorry I’m late, my Lord! Forgive me, my Lord!
Great. Rise. Rise, general.
Please, rise.
My Lord, it’s great to see you.
I’ve been looking forward to your arrival.
My Lord of Qi!
You’ve arrived just in time.
From now on, I’ll share everything with you, spoils and all.
This battle is of crucial importance.
We should have a good plan.
-Here. -Let’s go.
Han Xin led 150,000 Qi warriors in the vanguard,
Liu Ji led his main forces following Han Xin,
and Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai followed behind Liu Ji.
They all marched toward Gaixia
to besiege Xiang Yu.
Xiang Yu’s last stand had finally come.
In 202 B.C.,
Xiang Yu’s 100,000 warriors retreated to Gaixia.
Han Xin set off from the south of Qi,
Peng Yue set off from the south of Liang, and they marched towards the west,
planning to unite with Liu Ji’s men.
Ying Bu and Liu Gu
united with Zhou Yin, the traitor of Chu,
they slaughtered the city of Chengfu and marched toward the north to converge.
Liu Ji led 200,000 warriors towards the east.
The total Han army now added up to over 600,000.
They besieged Xiang Yu from the west, north, southwest, and northeast of Gaixia.
General, to be frank, I’m worried.
Gaixia is actually quite isolated.
Yes. Even if Liu Ji didn’t attack,
we couldn’t survive here.
We’ve no relief warriors nor provisions.
Then why did we build our fortress here?
I want to tell Liu Ji
that even if we have fewer warriors and provisions,
I plan to beat him.
In Mt. Guangwu, Gucheng, and Yangxia,
Liu Ji was like a rat.
He hid in the cave and dared not come out.
Now he has provisions and warriors.
And he thinks that he can defeat us now.
But--
In Gaixia, we’ll end this.
General,
more and more of our warriors deserted along the cliff.
In Mt. Guangwu, Guling, Yangxia and Chengfu,
most of traitors went to join Zhou Yin or Liu Ji.
We are outnumbered already.
If this keeps happening...
I can’t imagine the result.
How can our own men join them?
General!
I’ll take some men to catch them and behead them...
and hang their heads around to warn others.
Wait.
Spare them. Give them a chance to live.
Do you all remember...
how many warriors we had to start with?
300. 300 and we rebuilt our state.
With you at my side, that’s enough.
I don’t fear Liu Ji’s 600,000 warriors at all.
They are no match for half of you all.
Go ahead and get ready to meet Liu Ji’s attack.
Yes.
-Yes. -Yes.
General.
I promise this is the last battle.
You finally don’t want to keep fighting?
This is the first time I didn’t want to fight.
In all these years, I spent my life on horseback.
I’ve done little for the commoners of my hometown.
When we end the war this time...
I’ll do more for the commoners to make their lives better.
I’ll never fight again.
After this battle...
I’ll be with you always.
I hope we can survive this last one.
We are warriors to destroy Chu.
From now onwards, we’ll use Han banners.
From today onwards, never call me king of Qi.
Call me General Han Xin!
General Han Xin.
All these years, we’ve never seen such a beautiful place.
All these years, we’ve never stopped fighting.
It’s a quiet place.
It’s a place for children.
If we have a child...
I hope he can grow up in peace.
I hope we can live here all our lives.
After the war, we can have children.
Just remember you once promised you’ll give birth to eight kids.
Six hundred thousand warriors? So few?
Are there any reinforcements coming?
I’ve sent our messengers to get some from the south.
It’s quite a long way.
And on the way, they may be attacked by Han warriors.
It’s not easy for them...
to get there and then come back.
Just be patient.
Don’t worry.
Soon the battle will be here.
Yangtze River scenery is magnificent.
Back in Chu, we all ate rice growing up.
The scenery we often saw was golden rice fields.
We don’t use a thatch to cover the roof. We use rice straw.
We can make straw ropes and weave them into belts
or straw shoes.
I remember in my childhood...
my uncle made a small pair of straw shoes...
just too small for my feet.
Though they hurt a bit, I wore them.
The most exciting is when we burn the straw when winter comes.
Then there is fire everywhere you can see.
The rice fields would become a sea of fire.
And clouds of smoke would fill the sky.
Clearing wasteland?
Just like now, when spring comes...
we can sow seeds.
And afterward...
the ears of wheat will grow.
Tomorrow, I’ll become the fire.
I see. You’ll be back safe.
Subtitle translation by Li Ling Yang