@Whimsical
The late Eastern Han Dynasty, feudal princes vied for supremacy
The young scholar Sima Yi first intended to stay aloof from the worldly affairs
However, a Yuedan(held on the first day of each month) evaluation
Got Sima Yi and his father involved in the fight between Cao Cao and Han Dynasty
Under the butcher's knife
The Sima's family is faced with catastrophe
Criminal official Sima Fang colluded with Yuan Shao
Plotting to murder the emperor
Flagrant conspiracy is unpardonable sin. Behead him!
Yang Xiu, to save your dad from death
You framed my dad. Otherwise how could you drive me to a fatal position?
Why don't you say you allied with each other to frame me?
That gold bowl is yours
Sima Yi contrived to find a way out in the time of crisis
He foiled Yang Xiu's plan to frame his dad
Saving his father's life
Which, however, caused Cao Cao to suspect him
And force him to engage in politics
Sima Yi...
He is a very thoughtful man
I'm not his match
If you can't recruit him, your majesty
Then kill him
Cao Cao's son Cao Pi also had his eye on Sima Yi
throwing off his airs and calling on him respectfully many times
I'm not forcing you
It's your last chance
But Sima Yi would rather break his own legs
Instead of going into politics
Cao Cao united the Central Plains
Sima Yi had no other choice
At last he was moved by Cao Pi's Sincerity and ambition
He decided to try his best to support Cao Pi
Achieving their mutual goals
I give you three days
To take down Ji Bu
What shall I do if you fail?!
Punish me in accordance with military law
Fine
That's what I want hear from you
Prime minister made contributions to the country
Thus Cao Zhi is given the title Duke of Plain
Thank you for your kindness, your majesty
Cao Cao favors his little son Cao Zhi
In order to help Cao Pi ascend the throne
Sima Yi and Cao Zhi's adviser Yang Xiu, and even Cao Cao are involved
In a heart-stopping fight for the throne
With Sima Yi's assistance
Cao Pi passed Cao Cao's tests again and again
But Cao Cao never determined who was to be his successor
Between the two princes, who should I choose to entrust with my great plan
Cao Zhi got drunk and broke into Sima's house
While everyone thought Can Zhi was doomed to lose in the fight for throne
Cao Cao supported and protected Cao Zhi with all his strength
He even sacrificed Sima Yi's elder brother
This is a time when all feudal lords are vying for the throne
My son is destined to rule the world
He must fight
And when he fights, he shines like a rising sun
When Sima Yi was about to risk his life
Chief Imperial Secretary Xun Yu disagreed with Cao Cao about their political opinions on Han dynasty
Calmly, he killed himself
Leaving a brilliant plan
For Sima Yi to rectify Cao Cao's error and support Cao Pi
Minister of Public Works, Prime Minister, Lord of Wei, and even King are not enough for you
What on earth do you want?
Just one step away
Wrong today
Wrong tomorrow
When can I not be wrong?
Cao Pi's position as prince was finally established
With ministers disregarding their own safety in helping him
To protect one or two innocent men is small benevolence
While great benevolence lies in saving the world
That is the taste of life
Cao Cao went out to battle with Guan Yu
Yan Xiu took advantage of this opportunity to win favorable situation over for Cao Zhi
The fight between you and me is the fight between our master
Right here, right now
We shall go all out to have a showdown
What do you think?
Sima Yi put forward an excellent scheme to ally with Wu to fight against Guan Yu
He went to Kingdom of Wu personally to help forge the alliance
The King of Wei got a capable assistant
A big war is coming, people got really scared
I need to borrow something from you to pacify my army
What thing?
Your head
Yang Xiu had a complete fiasco
Before he died
He and Sima Yi shared a small cup of wine
As a closure after hating and respecting each other for twenty years
I'll be waiting for you there
If you make it till the end
Come tell me
What's the difference between dying by then and dying right now
Over the twenty years
I have pacified Huangjing, Heibei
Conquered Wuhuan and Jinzhou
Among nine states of the world, six are mine
That's why Central China is united today
The libation is for
Dian Wei, Go Fengxiao
For Xun Ling, Pang De
Xiahou Yuan
For my son Cao Ang, nephew Cao Anmin
And also for Guan Yunchang
Generation Pendragon Cao Cao was coming to the end of his life
Before dying
Cao Cao was honest with Sima Yi
You are a smart guy
So smart that I can't afford to kill you
And that Zihuan cannot live without you
I need you to help Zihuan
To realize his dream
Sima Yi looked up Cao Cao as teacher
And stuck to Cao Cao's policy to unify the whole country and end the state of chaos
Cao Pi ascended the throne
Sima Yi became the right-hand man to Cao Pi
Faced with poor and weak Central China and unrest
Chen Qun drafted the nine grades of rank in the feudal regimes
Sima Yi assisted Chen Qun
In starting the new deal of the Kingdom of Wei
The aim of new deal is to restrain imperial clan and tyrannical landlords
And to support intelligentsia
It helped win over public minds for Cao Pi's enthronement in a short time
Though under the pressure of being forced and framed by imperial clan
Sima Yi defended the fruit of reformation firmly
With Sima Yi's power increasing, Cao Pi began to feel uneasy
And the constant false charges against him from imperial clan
Made things worse and alienated the two best friends
Cao Pi sent an intelligent woman Bai Lingyun to marry Sima Yi as his spy
This unexpected woman
Caused a great stir in Sima Yi's family
I don't think any emperor would issue a decree to meddle with a minister's sex life
What's said in his decree?
Did he ask you to sleep with her?
You are very proficient at using your knife
I'm sure in three to five days she won't be able to bear it and will run away
Yell at me, exert all your strength
Zhang Chunhua would rather starve herself to death than accept her
As a man of moral integrity
No matter how long he travels, he shall not forget his initial intention
Otherwise he is not qualified as a minister, and a human being
So this time
I venture to disobey your order
-How dare you! -Dad!
Emperor issued one and another imperial edicts
While Sima Yi prefer to resign his position for his family
In front of the lifetime ambition of Sima Yi
At last Zhang Chunhua made a concession painfully
Bai Lingyun entered Sima's family
The clever woman tested Sima Yi a few times
Finally she fell in love with this ambitious man
To successfully carry on the new deal
Sima Yi have to support the eldest son of emperor
But Cao Pi, out of his dispute with his first wife
Intended to pass over the eldest and throne the younger
Before Zhen Fu being forced to commit suicide
Despite all risks, Sima Yi put the eldest son of emperor on his back and broke into the imperial harem
He handed him to Consort Dowager Guo Zhao
And ensured his safety
Sima Yi's interference in the politics offended Cao Pi completely
Their friendship of half a lifetime broke down from then now
Cao Pi dismissed Sima Yi from office
Sent him back to his hometown Wen County
Cao Rui grew up with the fear and sorrow of losing his mom
He thought his mother died because Guo Zhao became emperor's favorite
There was a tragedy of mother and son brewing in the imperial harem
[Luoyang]
[Cao Pi, courtesy name Zihuan ]
[Cao Zhen,courtesy name Zi Dan ]
Kneel
Long live the emperor, long live
Long long live
Stand up
In the spring of the seventh year of Huangchu reign
Cao Pi came to Xudu
When he arrived outside the city, the south gate broke for no reason
Cao Pi was disturbed about it
He took it as a bad omen
Therefore
He avoided Xudu and returned to Luoyang
It's just a city gate
You don't have to take it into heart
It may not be a bad idea to return to Luoyang
When it's not summer day and you have a good health
I'll come here with you again. How about that? [Guo Zhao]
It's just
Today
The gate out of repair for long years
Might be a prophecy
It can't be
Believe me
Stop the carriage
What's wrong?
I think I saw someone
Imperial physicians, how is it going?
How is emperor's illness?
Why do you remain silent?
What on earth is going on with his illness?
You wake up
You cried?
Just send them away
What's the point of making it hard for them?
Just leave now.
You'll only upset me
My body
I know best
I'm not going to die today
Do you have any wishes?
Tell me
While I still have a clear mind
How could I have any demand to be met?
I'm your wife
I'm the queen of the Kingdom of Wei
I'm the happiest woman in the world
Prepare a carriage for me
I want a tour of back garden
Emperor
How about doing that after you get better?
Don't you want to be with me all the time?
Get the carriage ready
I...
I'm going to have a night tour of back garden
The sun went down
The moon is up
In a carriage with my wife
I tour the back garden
What's next?
Wheel rolls forward slowly
Guests and servants are silent
After bidding farewell today
We'll be kept apart
Who knows that
I would not be able to
Recall the content of the letter I wrote myself
[Shi Chun]
Is this the letter I wrote to Wu Zhi?
Among all my friends
Sima Yi is the only one I never write to
I want to write him a letter
Lest later generations don't know about us
Serve brush and ink
What do you want to write down? Let me help you
Forget it
My state of mind is declining
I can't write good verses like that any more
If I do that
I would only make a laughingstock of myself before later generations
Well, speaking of cultural and military achievements
I'm slightly inferior to my dad
Just Like morning dew disappearing in a sudden
So many days have gone
When I was young
I only want to unify China with my father
But after I became the emperor
I found that compared with fighting a battle
What's to be done in the palace is more energy-consuming
It's a pity that
All my civil and military ambitions
Are limited for being the emperor's son
Don't
Don't say that, your majesty
You suppressed a civil strife, enriched the country and increased its military force
Those are the things your father wanted to do but couldn't
That's true
As long as the Kingdom of Wei still exists
I...
I have something to tell and comfort my father
That...
Also bears witness to the friendship between Sima Yi and me
What's the point of writing a letter?
Come here
Aweng
Your majesty
Ah
Emperor
Call Sima Yi back
Let the next emperor
Do that as a favor
Making Sima Yi
Leave all his gratitude and loyalty
To the new emperor
You know that Sima Yi is loyal to you
Just meet him for once
Then you can feel relieved
Aweng
I'm here
Issue an urgent imperial edict to order Sima Yi back
Yes
Aweng
Your majesty
Make the edict a secret
Ask Ji Bu to pick him up with a monitor
In case someone will try to harm him
You may rest assured. I'm on it
It only takes two days to come here from Wen County
He will be here soon
Today's happiness
Shall not be forgotten
The happiness of life hasn't come to an end yet
People complain that it's to late to seize the day
Time passes
Like flying away
Why asking trouble for yourself
Making me feel sad and sorrowful
Emperor
-Emperor -Wen County is only 100 km away from Luoyang
How come he hasn't come yet?
Emperor, he is coming
Sima Yi will arrive here soon
Hold on for a while, emperor
You promise me a blue sky
Ask me to reach the clouds
Emperor
You must hang on
Blue sky...
Reach the clouds...
Cao Rui(courtesy name Yuanzhong )
He killed my mom
Do you think he will kill me too?
You highness
You are talking nonsense
You are the son of queen
Also the eldest son of the emperor
When the emperor passes away
You will be the king
Emperor is calling in Lord of Plain
Your highness
[Luoyang]
Here is South Guard General Cao Xiu
Here is West Guard General Cao Zhen
Here is Chief Imperial Secretary Chen Qun
Present myself before your majesty
Long live the emperor, long live, long long live
Long live?
In this whole world
Is there any immortal man
Country that won't perish
Grave that won't be exhumed?
Emperor
You must take care of yourself
It's time to say something out
Aweng
Emperor
Appoint Lord of Plain as crown prince
Crown prince Cao Rui, you may take the edict
Thank you, father
Minister bows before crown prince
From now on
You must rule the country properly
Take care of your people
I'll bear your words in mind
You are my brothers
No matter what happened before
I know that
Deep in your heart
Kingdom of Wei matters
I...
Appoint the four of you as Regent
Assist crown prince well
Four people?
Appoint Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen
Chen Qun and Sima Yi as Regent
You may take the edict, Cao Xiu
-Emperor, this is not a wise decision -General
You are against the imperial edict?
I dare not
You see?
Now
The fight has already started
Let them fight
Let them devote themselves to you
For protecting themselves
These four
You need to know how to use
To suppress
It's hard on you
I get it
Rui
Dad
I'm sorry
Sorry for your mom
I'm dying
From today on
Treat your queen mother well
You remember?
Yes
Though she is alone and helpless, she never stops missing her husband
Without knowing her tears
Streaming down and wetting her clothes
Sima Yi(courtesy name Zhongda)
Emperor
Emperor! Emperor!
Emperor!
Emperor...
Emperor!
A.D. 226
Cao Pi died of sickness
At the age of forty
His posthumous title is Emperor Weiwen
Although the power of Kingdom of Wei gets strong through Cao Pi's hard work
Returning from Wu without accomplishing anything
And the death of emperor
Made Kingdom Wu and Shu eye Wei covetously
Trying to take advantage of this opportunity to get in
Zhongda
Hou Ji
Ji Bu
Look , prime minister. Comet is passing by the North Star
It's not a auspicious sign
Comet meeting the North Star
Means there is an funeral in a big country
Five stars converge in the west
It's a sign to start a war
A funeral in a big country?
It's said that Cao Pi has been ill for a month
Perhaps [Ma Ji (courtesy name Youchang)]
The kingdom of Wei has lost their king
Once Cao Pi dies
Again there will be war in this world
And it wouldn't be ended within ten years
It's your opportunity to take back the Central of China
I've been thinking about it for four years [Zhuge Liang (courtesy name Kongming)]
They haven't established a crown prince yet
If Cao Pi dies, the whole country will fall into disorder
Though Cao Rui hasn't been entitled as crown prince
He is bound to ascend the throne
So what?
A 23-year-old boy
Knowing nothing of country affairs, and then son of a guilty woman
Grumpy and having toy-boys in his house
His enthronement is a blessing to Han
We shouldn't be careless
Cai Pi must arrange some Regents for him
[The coffin of emperor]
Zhongda, you must take care of yourself
The late emperor said
He counted on you to help me be a wise emperor
He also said he entrusted an orphan to you
I...
Will exert all my energies to assist you
You are bound to become
A wise emperor who unifies the country
Dear ministers, you are dismissed now
I have some words for Zhongda
We will withdraw
-Zhongda, you may get up -Thank you, your majesty
Thank you