Episode 1
In the last years of Eastern Han, there're several warring factions.
Young scholar Sima Yi...
...didn't want to have anything to do with politics.
However, a monthly personality review...
...got Sima Yi and his father...
...into the conflict between Cao Cao and Han.
The Sima family was about to be executed.
Sima Fang colluded with Yuan Shao to plot against the Emperor.
His crimes are apparent and unforgivable. Execute!
Yang Xiu, in order to save your father, you framed mine!
Or else, why would you do this to me?
All of you worked together to plot against me instead!
The golden bowl belongs to your family!
At the eleventh hour, Sima Yi cleverly...
...thwarted Yang Xiu's plot and saved his own father.
However, due to this, Cao Cao got suspicious about Sima Yi...
...and forced Sima Yi to work for him.
Sima Yi. He's very deep...
...and far smarter than me.
If you can't get him to work for you...
...you should kill him.
Cao Cads son Cao Pi appreciated Sima Yi for his talents, too...
...and had visited him for a few times.
I'm not forcing you. This is your last chance.
Sima Yi resorted to breaking his own legs...
...to avoid working for the Cao family.
After Cao Cao united the states, Sima Yi had no choice.
He was moved by Cao Pi's ambition.
That's when he decided to help Cao Pi...
...to achieve their common aim.
I'll give you three days.
If you don't get Ji Bu within three days, what will you do?
I'll be dealth with according to military law.
Good. That's what I want to hear.
Due to the Chancellor's achievemenL...
...Cao Zhi is appointed as Pingyuan Duke.
Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, father.
Cao Cao favoured his younger son Cao Zhi.
To ensure that Cao Pi became the Heir...
...Sima Yi engaged in a battle of wits...
...with Cao Zhi's adviser Yang Xiu and at times, Cao Cao.
With Sima Yi's help, Cao Pi passed every challenge set by Cao Cao.
Still, Cao Cao had yet to decide on who to be the Heir.
Between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, who should be the Heir?
A drunk Cao Zhi intruded the Sima Gate.
Just when everyone thought Cao Zhi had lost favour with his father...
...Cao Cao sided with Cao Zhi...
...and even sacrificed Sima Yi's brother.
Everyone is fighting each other in this world.
My son is meant to rule the world.
We will fight and we will show everyone what we have.
Sima Yi was prepared to risk his life.
Due to political disagreement with...
...Cao Cao, chief of the secretarial staff Xun Yu...
...committed suicide.
This provided with Sima Yi a chance to correct Cao Cao...
...and help Cao Pi.
Being a Minister of Works, a chancellor...
...the Duke of Wei and even the King of Wei is not enough for you!
Sir, what are you eyeing for actually?
I'm just one step away.
Theyre wrong about me today.
They'll be wrong about me tomorrow.
They will be wrong about me anyway!
The ministers' sacrifices...
...helped Cao Pi to become the Crown Prince.
One is kind for protecting one or two innocents.
However, the true kindness is about protecting the world.
This is how the world is like.
Cao Cao waged a war against Guan Yu.
Yang Xiu seized the chance to help Cao Zhi.
This is a fight between us, as well as between Cao Cads sons.
At this moment...
...we shall try our best and settle it once and for all.
How about that?
Sima Yi proposed to collaborate with Wu to fight Guan Yu.
He went to Eastern Wu to work out the deal.
The King of Wei is lucky to have a talented man at his service.
Awar is coming and the people are panicking.
I need something from you to boost the morale of my army.
What is it? -Your head.
Yang Xiu failed.
Before he died, he shared a cup of wine with Sima Yi...
...and settled their personal issues...
...that had lasted for 20 years.
I shall be waiting for you over there.
If you manage to hold on until the very end, you shall tell me...
...what's the difference of dying now and dying much later.
Over the past two decades...
...I managed to stop the Yellow Turban Rebellion and rule Hebei.
I have also defeated Wuhuan and seized Jingzhou.
I got six out of the nine provinces...
...and formed the land we have today.
I offer this wine to worship Dian Wei, Guo Fengxiao...
...Xun Yu, Pang De, Xiahou Yuan...
...my son, Cao Ang and my nephew Cao Anmin...
was well as Guan Yu.
The powerful Cao Cao finally passed away.
Before he died, he had a heart-to-heart talk with Sima Yi.
You're smart
You're so smart that I'm not willing to kill you.
You're so smart that Cao Pi can't live without you.
Please help Cao Pi...
...to achieve his ambition.
Sima Yi viewed Cao Cao as a mentor...
...and helped to realise...
...Cao Cads ambition of uniting the warring states.
Cao Pi became the Emperor.
Sima Yi became Cao Pi's most trusted man.
Amidst poverty and chaos...
...Chen Qun proposed the nine-rank system.
Sima Yi helped Chen Qun to create a new chapter of Cao Wei politics.
The new policy suppressed the royal family and noblemen...
...while supporting the scholars.
Within a shod period of time...
...it helped Cao Pi to win the support of the people.
Facing much resistance from the royal family and the noblemen...
...Sima Yi never wavered on enforcing the new policy.
Sima Yi gained influence and Cao Pi was uneasy.
The royal family and noblemen's schemes...
...put a strain in the friendship between Sima Yi and Cao Pi.
Cao Pi assigned his mole Bai Lingyun to marry Sima Yi.
This caused drama in the Sima family.
No Emperor has the right to...
...meddle in the private life of a minister.
What does the decree say?
Did he order you to bathe and sleep with her?
Dear, good job. If you continue to do this...
...she won't be able to stand it and will leave the mansion.
Scream louder. Scream louder.
Zhang Chunhua would rather go on a hunger strike...
...than to accept her in the family.
As a gentleman, no matter what happens...
...one shall always stay true to himself.
Or else, he's not a good minister, nor a decent human being.
Therefore...
...I have no choice but to defy the Emperor's order.
How dare you! -Father!
The Emperor continued to issue the decrees.
To protect his family, Sima Yi would rather resign.
For the sake of Sima Yi's lifelong ambition...
...Zhang Chunhua reluctantly compromised...
...and allowed Bai Lingyun to marry into Sima family.
After testing Sima Yi for a couple of times, the smart Lingyun...
...fell in love with the ambitious Sima Yi.
To enforce the new policy, Sima Yi supported Cao Pi's eldest son.
However, due to issues with his wife Zhen Fu, Cao Pi...
...attempted to make his younger son the Crown Prince instead.
When Zhen Fu was sentenced to death...
...Sima Yi brought Cao Pi's eldest son...
...to Cao Pi's concubine Guo Zhao...
...and entrusted her with protecting the boy.
Cao Pi was upset with Sima Yi's interference.
The two officially parted ways.
Cao Pi dismissed Sima Yi from his position...
...and sent him back to his hometown Wen district.
After losing his mother, Cao Rui grew up in fear and pain.
He blamed his mother's death on...
...Guozhao, who was favoured by Cao Pi.
Trouble started brewing between the two.
Kneel.
Long live the Emperor!
You may rise.
In the spring of the seventh year of Cao Pi's reign...
...Cao Pi was approaching Xuchang.
When he's outside the city, the south gate suddenly collapsed.
Cao Pi felt uneasy and viewed it as a sign of misfortune.
So he took another way to return to Luoyang.
It's just a city gate. Stop worrying about it, Your Majesty.
It's good that we return to Luoyang.
Once you get better and the weather turns cold...
...I'll accompany you to go Xuchang, all right?
I just wonder...
...whether the gate that collapsed today...
...is a sign of something.
No, it isn't.
Stop the carriage. -Your Majesty, what's wrong?
I think I saw someone.
Physicians, what's wrong?
How is the Emperor?
Why didn't you say anything?
How is the Emperor doing?
You're up.
Are you cfVing?
Let them go.
Don't make it difficult for them. Just let them go.
I know my health well.
I won't die today.
Do you have any wish?
You might as well say it while I'm still conscious.
I don't have any wish.
I'm your wife, the Empress of Wei.
I'm the luckiest woman in the world.
Prepare a carriage. I want to go to the garden.
Your Majesty, why don't you wait until you feel better?
You've always wanted to be with me, right?
Prepare a carriage.
L---
...want to visit the garden at night.
After sunset, the bright moon appears.
We visit the garden together.
What's the line after that?
The wheels are turning and no one says anything.
Once we bid farewell, we'll remain apart
I didn't expect that...
...one day...
...I would fail to remember the letter I'd written.
I wrote this for Wu Zhi, right?
Among all my friends, I've never written to Sima Yi.
I feel like writing to Sima Yi now...
...so that the future generation will know about it.
Prepare the brush and ink.
Your Majesty, what do you want to write about? Let me help you.
I suddenly don't feel like writing.
I'm not as sharp as before.
I can't come up with good poems like these anymore.
I would only embarrass myself if I did.
Speaking of literature and martial arts...
...I'm not as good as my father.
Just like the dew in the morning...
...the past is long gone.
When I was young...
...I longed to join my father in ruling the world.
However, after becoming the Emperor, I realised...
...the palace is a much depressing place...
...than the battlefield.
It's a pity, I had an ambition...
...but I was born in a royal family instead.
Please don't say that, Your Majesty.
You managed to settle civil unrest and make the country strong.
You've achieved what the late Emperor didn't.
Yes.
As long as Cao Wei still exists...
...I have not let the late Emperor down.
It's also a proof of my friendship with Sima Yi.
I don't have to write to him.
Here.
Aweng. -Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
Why don't you summon Sima Yi back?
I'll leave that to the future Emperor...
...so that Sima Yi will show his loyalty and gratitude...
...to the former.
Your Majesty, you know Sima Yi has always been loyal to you.
Why don't you meet him? That way you would be relieved.
Aweng. -Yes, I'm here.
Issue an order. Summon Sima Yi back at once.
Yes.
Aweng! -Your Majesty.
Issue a secret decree.
Tell Ji Bu to bring along the intelligence agents...
...to protect Sima Yi from being harmed along the way.
Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'll pass the order now.
Wen District is just two days away from here. He'll be back soon.
We shall not forget about the joy we have today.
There're so many things to enjoy.
People complain about...
...having not enough time while they're having fun.
Time...
...flies.
Why should we trouble ourselves with problems?
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty. -Wen District is just...
...100 km from here.
Why isn't he here yet?
He's arriving soon, Your Majesty.
Sima Yi will be here in a moment. Please hold on.
You encourage me to have an ambition...
...and convince me to soar.
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, please hold on.
Ambition.
Soar.
He killed my mother.
Would he kill me, too?
Your Highness, please don't say that.
You're the Empress' son, as well as the eldest son of the Emperor.
If the Emperor passes away, you shall be the new Emperor.
The Emperor summons Pingyuan Lord.
Your Highness.
I'm Cao Xiu, General of the South.
I'm Cao Zhen, General of the West.
I am Chen Qun, chief of the secretarial staff.
Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!
Long live the Emperor?
Everyone will eventually die, just like...
...how every country will eventually fall...
...and how there's no grave that remains undug.
Your Majesty, please take care.
It's time for me to say this.
Aweng. -Your Majesty.
Pingyuan Lord Cao Rui is appointed as the Crown Prince.
Crown Prince, please accept the decree.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Greetings, Your Highness.
Surfing (mm new...
...you shall run the country well and protect the people.
Yes, I will.
All of you are my closest friends.
Despite what happened...
...I know that...
...deep down inside...
...all of you are loyal to Wei.
I hereby appoint the four of you...
was the regents...
...to guide the Crown Prince.
The four of us?
Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Chen Qun and Sima Yi are appointed as regents.
Cao Xiu, please accept the decree.
Your Majesty, you can't do this. Sima Yi...
General, are you defying the Emperor?
No, I'm not.
Did you see that? They start fighting among themselves now.
Let them fight each other.
In order to protect themselves...
...they'll remain loyal to you.
You should learn how to...
...put their talents to good use...
...and control them.
It's going to be a challenge.
I'll remember your words, father.
Rui'er.
Father.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for what I did to your mother.
I'll be gone soon.
Surfing (mm new...
...you shall treat Empress Dowager well.
Remember my words.
I will.
I've been missing you and can't forget about you.
My tears roll down and fall on my dress.
Your Majesty!
In 226, Cao Pi died of a sickness in Luoyang.
He was 40 years old and was named Emperor Wen after his death.
Through Cao Pi's hard work, Cao Wei was strong.
However, the failure in seizing Wu and Cao Pi's death...
...was viewed as an oppoflunity by Wu and Shu to attack the country.
Sima Yi.
Chancellor, look, a comet is coming across the Purple Star.
It's a sign of misfortune.
A comet coming across Purple Star signifies the death of an Emperor.
The five stars are gathering at the west.
This is a sign of an impending war.
The death of an Emperor?
I heard that Cao Pi has been sick for a month.
Maybe he's passed away.
If Cao Pi dies, it'll trigger a war.
There'll be chaos in the next decade.
This shall be your opportunity to reclaim the states.
I've thought of doing so.
It's been four years.
No one is appointed as Crown Prince in Cao Wei.
Once Cao Pi dies, things will turn chaotic in the country.
Though Cao Rui is not the Crown Prince yet...
...he's going to succeed to the throne one day.
So what if he does? He's only 23 years old.
He is inexperienced and his mother was a convict.
He's just a weird royalty and a homosexual.
If he becomes the Emperor, it'd help Han greatly.
We have to be cautious.
Cao Pi will make sure there're regents.
Take care, Sir Sima.
The late Emperor hoped that...
...you can guide me in becoming a good Emperor.
The late Emperor said he entrusted his son to you.
I will try my very best...
...to guide you, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, you'll surely become...
...a great Emperor.
All of you, please leave. I have something to tell Sir Sima.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Please rise, Mr. Sima. - Thank you, Your Majesty.
Thank you, Your Majesty.