Why should I lay down such a rule?
We are escaped criminals.
If we only rob food, the governmental officials will not care too much.
But if we kill a person,
they may come to find it out. Then all of us may be in trouble.
That means if you hurt or kill someone, you’ll be punished.
Everyone understand?
-We got it. -We got it.
Good, that’s how we’ll do things from now on.
And good luck to you. Let's get going.
-Don’t worry, Ji. -Be careful.
-Guys, let’s go. -Be careful.
You, you, you, come with me.
Son, be good.
Well, let's go.
This should get us through for a while.
Let’s go, Yong Chi.
You damn robbers!
Wei Sheng!
Damn it!
Hey, wake up! Hey, wake up!
I killed a man! I killed a man!
My man...
-I killed a man. -Wei Sheng, let’s go! Let’s go now!
You have to kill me right now,
-or you’ll be questioned by Liu Ji. -Wei Sheng, listen to me.
I saw everything. You didn’t kill him. Come with us.
This wasn’t your fault at all. I’ll explain it to Liu Ji. Hurry.
Go!
Looks like they’re back.
-We’re back everyone! -We’re back everyone! We have food now.
-Well, take it. -Take it.
Great.
You’ve all done a great thing today.
You saved every single life here!
Good! Good!
Although, there’s not much food, we do have some now.
And tonight we should feast on it.
Good! Great!
-Let’s eat! -Hey.
No one got hurt?
No one.
That’s great.
-Lu Wan... -Yes?
-What happened? -Nothing.
Nothing?
Wei Sheng, come here, come on, come.
What happened? No one got hurt?
No one was hurt, but someone was killed.
What?
Damn it! Someone died today?
Tell me the details. Now! Hurry up!
-Ji-- -Listen, let me explain.
It had nothing to do with Wei Sheng.
There was an old man who attacked me. Wei Sheng killed him by accident.
By accident? You shut your mouth! Tell me details! Talk!
-But Ji. But Ji. -Shut up!
Don’t you know who we are?
We are fugitives! Do you know that?
Do you want to turn us into bandits, too?
Before you set off today, what did I say?
What was the rule we all agreed on?
Don’t rob the poor. Don’t kill people.
If we kill?
-Punishment. -What's the punishment?
I get it.
Wei Sheng is one of our own men.
But what can we do?
With so many of us, we have to do things by the rules.
Without the rules, all of us are dead.
If we piss off the villagers down the mountain,
do you know what happens?
Both the officials and the commoners...
will come after us!
If the commoners oppose us, is there anywhere we can go?
So, this is how it's going to be.
If you want to obey the rule...
you can stay with us and live by the rules.
If you don’t like the rules...
you can just leave.
Now make your decision!
-But Ji... -Liu Ji...
-Liu Ji! But...
Liu Ji!
-Wei Sheng! Wei Sheng! -Don’t stop me!
Wei Sheng! Wei Sheng!
-Come back! -Wei Sheng!
Liu Ji! See you on the other side!
Good!
He sets a good example.
From this day forth...
if you break the rules, that’s what you’ll have to do!
Cough.
Cough with a little more force, would you?
That’s more like it.
Zhao Gao, has my brother received the edict?
I think he must have by now.
Will he obey it?
Fusu is intelligent enough.
But as a filial man,
he sees the emperor as the most important man in the world.
I think he won’t disobey the emperor’s own edict.
Zhao Gao, can we spare my brother’s life?
Too late now! The edict has been sent to him!
Are you having second thoughts?
If he’s alive,
how long will you be emperor?
My prince, don’t say such childish things anymore.
Very soon you will be the emperor.
Try to act more like an adult.
All right.
Zhao Gao!
Here, look at this.
Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao.
My brother killed himself.
General Meng Tian has given up his post and been taken to Xianyang.
Good. Excellent.
Now it’s time to call Li Si in again. He can handle these problems.
Soon we’ll arrive at Xianyang.
Now the emperor can finally be put to rest.
Uncle, the flatbread stand.
Hello there, I'd like two flatbreads.
-Yes, okay! -Uncle, let’s have some bread here.
-Let’s take a break. -Coming right up.
Let’s go.
Uncle Bo left early this morning. How is he not back after so long?
He must be somewhere eating a good meal now.
Xiang Zhuang, if it weren’t for Uncle Bo, we would be sleeping on the street now.
If you ask me,
if we had just stayed at home, we’d at least be full.
Mr. Xiang, it’s you!
-Uncle Bo is back. -What? Uncle Bo is back?
-Uncle. -Uncle.
Come over here.
Look what I brought back with me.
Flatbread?
You should learn some manners.
Sit.
-Uncle... -Eat up.
Eat up. Eat up.
From the way you folks eat, you look quite cultured.
You must be from a wealthy family.
I see the landlord is here.
This is simply the way we eat in our hometown.
You have good table manners.
That means you are nobility.
Not at all.
I suppose, I don’t have to worry about my rent.
Of course you don’t. You’ll receive it on time and in full.
All the previous tenants said the same thing.
In the end, no one kept their word.
I can’t help worrying.
My uncle told you, you’ll get it on time. You can go.
-Yu'er. -It’s true, you see?
You aristocrats are different from us commoners.
Three grown men huddle in a room all day.
You don’t plough land nor harvest crops,
but you still have food, and have good table manners.
You are not common men. So where are you from?
Excuse me. Just what do you mean by that?
Xiang Zhuang, be quiet!
Now, young man, just calm down.
Going to earn some money,
will help you support yourself and pay the rent on time.
Two bird, one stone, am I right?
Of course, of course.
Now if you don’t need anything else here.
I know that Mr. Wang nearby is planning to build a new house.
He wants to hire some men.
If you would like, I can introduce you.
Right, thank you. Thank you.
You two finish your food.
Uncle, where is your cloak?
Don’t think so much.
Uncle, how do you have money for bread?
As long as we have bread to eat, don’t ask where it’s from.
Uncle, when will Xiang Bo come back home?
He should come back soon.
Uncle, maybe...
I should help Mr. Wang build the new house.
We can earn some money.
The Xiang clan is of noble blood.
How can we stoop to that kind of work? That brings shame.
He’s right. I’d rather die than do filthy labor.
Remember, whatever you suffer,
you can never forget your status.
That must be your Uncle Bo! Go on!
-Uncle Bo! -Uncle Bo!
-Zhuang, go get me a bowl of water. -Okay.
-Liang... -What’s the matter?
-Quick. -Uncle Bo, here.
You’ve been away for a whole day. Was it a success?
Liang, I pulled it off!
I saw the right opportunity, and saw the county chief myself.
Before I saw him, I heard that he admires you very much.
When I saw him, I knew it was true.
The moment I mentioned your name to him,
he agreed to accept you into his service…
without any hesitation.
But I have never had any history with him.
I think, given our situation...
whether you know him well or not,
as long as he can offer us a place to find safety,
it’s our job to accept it.
If we work for him, we’ll have to take his orders.
If that’s what it means, I’d rather not.
Yu'er,
you’d rather not? If we don’t take his help,
we’ll keep living like vagrants. Haven’t you had enough yet?
And what’s more, the only reason the prefect agreed,
was because of his respect for your uncle.
But Liang just told me,
no matter what, we can’t be manipulated!
Xiang Yu! Your father is my own brother!
I know more than you, where the Xiangs come from!
Liang,
it’s true we have to take shelter under his roof.
This is the only way to keep us safe, and one day restore Chu.
Liang…
Your Uncle Bo is right.
We should go.
Listen to me.
This... you must not fail the emperor.
The girls are beautiful.
Zhao Gao greets you, Your Grace.
Arise.
Thank you, Your Grace.
Your Grace, the throne is yours, as is power.
Does this not please, Your Grace?
I supposed I’m pleased with it, but I...
What is it?
I want more. I want so much more.
I imagined it would be different.
I believed that a man’s life…
was as short as a chariot racing past a canyon,
over in a blink.
Now I am ruler of a giant empire.
I eat the best, drink the best, see the best,
and enjoy all the best in the world.
Zhao Gao, what do you think?
Your Grace, that’s what a wise emperor should do!
I hope that from today on, you will appear less often at court.
You can appoint one or two ministers you favor to handle affairs,
and they will solve problems for you.
Then you can focus on being a truly wise emperor.
Your Grace, I’d like to ask you another question.
Do you know
why emperors are addressed as “Your Grace”?
All right, tell me.
“Grace” is a word for rarity.
Rarity means something not often seen.
It’s like beautiful pearls. Since they are rare, they are valuable.
If everyone could get them, they would lose their mystery.
So you should limit contact with the world.
Don’t allow ministers to see you at will.
The more they want to see you, the less you see them.
Then their desire to see you will be strengthened.
We will limit their visitations…
to rituals and sacrifices. They will see your might at the temple.
I think before long, your overwhelming majesty…
will impress itself on their faces,
and bury itself deeply in their hearts.
That’s perfect!
It’s perfect!
Zhao Gao truly is a brilliant man!
Yes.
So I’ll do just as he asks!
-Ziying... -Sister.
Sister, I didn’t expect that you will come home.
Our family suffered a great loss, of course I have to come back to see you.
You should all be in mourning,
but it looks so calm and quiet. Where is everyone?
I withdrew our family’s money and gave it to them.
I told them all to go home.
They’re all gone?
Otherwise, what would they do here?
Should they be buried with our father?
Sister, you shouldn’t cry. You can’t cry over this.
Our father did wrong. Qin Shi Huang ordered his death,
so we can’t cry over it.
They might not trust our father, but we should trust him!
We can’t believe their rumors.
Zi Ying, you know something? I heard--
Qin Shi Huang wanted our father to succeed him,
but Zhao Gao and Li Si changed his last edict.
You also heard that?
The emperor was dead for days,
but they hid the fact.
They waited for our father's death to announce the emperor’s death.
So you know all about it?
I know. I know everything.
Father is dead. And General Meng Tian was killed too.
And our young uncle took the throne.
He is the emperor now.
There is no way we can change it.
But, if we want to keep our own lives,
or revenge for our father someday...
we have to do what Laozi said once...
"Wise and skilled men should appear to be stupid and reserved."
We cannot show them any anger.
We cannot strive for greatness.
I would like to see…
how long the new emperor’s reign will last.
Heaven will punish him for this.
But you will have to suffer so much.
I know. And I don’t know if I can bear it.
What else do you want to tell me?
I heard your brothers and sisters,
secretly reproach the emperor.
Which emperor? My father? Do they mean me?
Of course, they mean you.
They said the edict wasn't written by your father,
but by you, Premier Li Si,
and myself.
They also say that Fusu’s death was unjust,
and General Meng Tian was assassinated.
They think we owe them an explanation.
Then what should we do?
Zhao Gao, I told you before...
being emperor is hard.
But that’s what you are now!
You are the emperor.
Your word is divine law now, do you understand that?
To reproach you or disobey you,
by imperial law, the penalty is beheading!
These traitors should be killed!
What? Wait, what? Kill them?
Right. Spare even one, and you’ll have endless trouble.
I have listed the names of these traitors for you.
Here you are.
There are twelve princes and ten princesses.
Each has committed unforgivable crimes.
But so many! Kill them all?
If we don’t kill them all, how can you remain on the throne?
Your Grace, this is not the time to be fainthearted or sentimental!
Of course, we can forgive those who are loyal to you.
For example, Prince Gao.
He didn’t speak against you. So perhaps you can spare him.
And Fusu’s descendants, from our reports, haven’t been disloyal to you.
They did not mourn their father’s death.
I think there’s no need to kill off people like that.
This... does Li Si know about this?
His job is state affairs. Palace affairs are beyond his reach.
Despite his status, he is nothing but a minister that serves you.
He is loyal to you, and deserves his place.
I think he will not object.
All right. Then we’ll do it.
Right, don’t charge them with treason and disloyalty to me.
You can rest assured, Your Grace.
They are either corrupt or criminals.
But still, every one of them should be punished.
Okay, kill them, kill them, kill them!
By the way, E-Pang Palace should be sped up.
In this palace, I see my father everywhere,
it’s so discomfiting to me.
I have no problem with that. The problem is Li Si.
He asked to stop building E-Pang Palace many times,
saying the mausoleum in Lishan, consumed too much money,
the people are overburdened.
If we propose to begin again, I’m afraid...
Why did they do it for the late emperor, but not for me?
Your Grace, you need only give the order.
Those who oppose or refuse you,
can be easily dealt with.
A new emperor must establish his power,
and this is the perfect chance.
A ruler’s rage must be felt on the earth like thunder.
When he makes the earth shake, he wins awe and fear.
Fear not, fear not! I’m at your side.
Premier, you should persuade the emperor.
Doing this will overburden the people.
This is beyond what they can bear.
Yes. E-Pang Palace must be stopped now,
and not resumed for three to five years.
Otherwise, we put our stability at risk.
And death must not be meted out.
Kill too many, and people will be discontent,
which threatens stability.
Well, all right.
Then I’ll come with you to visit the emperor,
and explain your opinions.
But the executions can’t be raised.
The mausoleum can’t be raised. Only the matter of E-Pang Palace.
-But, Premier-- -Premier, this--
Wait. Listen to me.
The emperor is still young, and just took the throne.
He asked for three things, and you turned them all down!
How do you think he feels now?
You have offended him, can you see this?
It’s like attempting to peel the scales from a dragon.
Would he not be enraged?
We must propose this carefully.
If he accepts it, we can discuss more.
Do you understand?
-We will do as you ask, Premier. -We will do as you ask, Premier.
If Prince Fu Su were the one on the throne...
we wouldn’t need to be so careful.
Your Grace, the minister’s proposals are to keep the state stable.
Li Si!
Do you think that we should give up building E-Pang Palace?
No, no. Just delay it.
This was the late emperor's order,
but the construction has since been halted.
The E-Pang Palace is far from completion.
The reason is that it consumes far too much labor and money.
Frontier soldiers,
transporting slaves on water routes,
the forced laborers who are building the roads,
and the carpenters working on buildings.
Too many forced laborers is a sign that a state is weak.
Overburdened workers may threaten our state.
Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!
Premier, is this the way you demonstrate your respect?
Is this your gratitude to my father?
Don’t forget,
Mausoleum in Lishan and E-Pang Palace,
were both my father's orders!
I hold his throne now...
so my duty is to finish them!
Don’t you know that?
Yes, the late emperor ordered them. But--
Then why didn’t you protest when he was alive?
Why do you come to oppose me for that?
Are the people overburdened?
Is the empire in danger?
How dare you lay the blame for that on the heads of my father and I?
What do you mean by that? What do you mean?
Forgive me, Your Grace.
I didn’t mean to blame the late emperor and you.
I only hope that you can show the people mercy and value their lives.
Yes, Emperor, we hope that you can follow the path...
of such emperors like Yao and Shun.
You want mercy?
And Yao and Shun?
Well!
It sounds quiet erudite.
So what does it mean to be a king? What does it mean to be commoners?
Han Fei said it well.
Kings are above common men.
He needs men who is willing to...
die for him and serve him.
The world... belongs to the kings,
not the commoners!
To rule by implementing punishments, not morals!
And Yao and Shun, who were kings,
but lived in straw huts and ate gruel!
Yu wandered the land to build canals,
until his legs could no longer take it!
That’s what an emperor should be?
A joke! A joke!
Since my father unified the states...
he abolished the title “king”.
He called himself an emperor who built this palace, roads, and E-Pang Palace.
Those are things befitting a ruler!
How dare you take Yao and Shun as examples...
to insult the late emperor?
How dare you...
blame the turmoil of the world onto the late emperor and me?
How do you answer that?
Forgive me. I dare not offend the late emperor and you.
Your Grace, you know,
I once discussed the project with your father.
Then what are you thinking?
My father could, but I can’t?
I didn’t mean that.
I only mean to say that you’ve just taken the throne.
If you're overburdening the people...
they may rebel.
Don’t frighten me with rebellion!
I-- I--
Please-- Please--
I...
It's me! I rule the world now!
I of course mean to satiate my desires, and please my own whims!
Otherwise...
what kind of a ruler am I?
Premier, have you understood the will of the emperor?
There’s no need for you to kneel here. Carry it out.
Those damn fools!
Your Grace, don't be angry.
Zhao Gao, what do you think of what I just said?
I think it was a brilliant speech.
I liked your use of Han Fei’s words.
Li Si and Han Fei are from the same Legalist school.
Using Han Fei’s viewpoints to refute him, making him speechless.
I could only do it because of how you taught me.
I deserve no credit. Your Grace, it was thanks to your talents.
Listen, I’d like to make you the imperial announcer.
Thank you, Your Grace.
From now on, all my orders will be issued through you.
And to see me, people will have to ask you first.
Zhao Gao, what do you think?
Thank you, Your Grace.
I would do anything to ease your burden.
Your Grace, how shall we deal with the ministers today?
I’ll leave that to you.
Then we shall imprison Feng Quji...
and execute General Feng Jie.
I agree. I agree.
Your Grace! I want to see the emperor!
-Who is that? -You can’t go in! You can’t go in!
-How dare you! Untie me! -You can’t go in!
-Untie me! Untie me! -Stop him!
Your Majesty, Prince...
Prince Gao insists on seeing you.
He comes to ask for mercy.
Prince Gao?
Subtitle translation by Chia-Chin Wu