We...
We are fighting for the Empire of Qin. That’s why we're here.
I told you back at the military camp,
no one is allowed to discuss politics.
We are soldiers.
Politics is beyond your concern.
-But, General, you're too-- -That’s enough! You may leave now.
Yes, sir.
General.
Lord Sima Xin, are you feeling better?
I slept for an hour. I’m feeling better now.
Lord Sima Xin,
I need military intelligence, and I believe you may be able to help.
I need to know Xiang Liang's plans for the Chu army.
Am I qualified for such a mission?
You're a senior official in the royal court.
I know you're careful and tactful.
You are indeed the most qualified for this mission.
Sir, I need you to help me collect military information.
With it, I can form an effective plan to attack our enemy.
Good luck.
Look what a coward you are. Are you afraid?
Not at all!
Bring it on.
How are the provisions looking in the storehouse?
Enough for now. We hid them in the storehouse in town.
It should be enough for a month.
-Cao Can, how’s work going? -I’ve arranged supplies for the battle.
Everything is ready.
My Lord, we have three strategies.
What are they?
Zhou Shi’s army is not far from here.
With his help, we can attack Qin soldiers from behind. This is our best choice.
-Hurry! Hurry! -Another option is to give up Pei County
and preserve our military power in Xue County.
And the third option?
Stay and fight.
But with a lack of men and horses, I’m afraid we won’t last long.
There are so many of them!
Yes.
Cao Can, why are there so many Qin soldiers?
Mr. Xiao.
Is it possible to hold them back?
It’s almost impossible.
Fill up the urn then tie it up with ropes.
-Sure, tie it up. -Tie it firmly.
Here, I'll show you. Come, let’s take a look.
Do you see the spot there? It's over there.
Bundle it up. Tightly. Set it well.
The urn over there is ready.
Excellent! Let’s go upstairs.
-Be careful. -Yes.
Watch out! Pour it slowly.
-Be careful. -All right.
Be careful!
-Brother! -Be careful!
Take this!
Brother, I'm all right.
Why? Were you looking for me?
I’m hungry.
You, over there! Come here.
-Where are you from? -Pei County.
You should join my army.
-All right. -What about him?
-He's my younger brother. -He can come with you then.
Will there be meat to eat?
Sure. Come on!
My brothers!
This battle is not for our own survival,
it’s for the commoners of the entire city.
If Qin soldiers occupy our city,
you'll either be forced to join the Qin army or sent to Lishan as slaves.
You may never return!
Our families will be killed. Our wives and children will be enslaved.
Therefore, we must guard this county,
protect our homeland, and fend off the Qin!
Protect our families! Fend off Qin! Protect our families! Fend off Qin!
Up to the city wall!
Brother, why are there so many Qin soldiers?
Are you afraid?
Brother, as long as there is food, I'm not afraid of anything.
Brother, let’s go back home. I don’t want to be here.
Coward! If the Qin soldiers reach us, we'll all die. None will escape!
I'll stay here then.
Keep close to me. Follow me.
Brother! Brother!
Coward!
-Go! Go out! -Brother! Brother!
Stop crying!
Release!
Be careful.
Retreat!
Release!
Hurry! Attack!
My brothers! My countrymen!
This city gate in front of us is our last line of defense!
If we want to live, if we don’t want to die,
we have only one way out!
We have to make those cursed Qin dogs beg for mercy!
If one comes in, we kill one.
If a hundred come in, we kill a hundred.
If a thousand come in, we kill a thousand!
Remember,
we guard this city gate as we guard our home!
Kill them!
Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!
Release!
Charge!
Liu Ji! We won!
We won!
-We won! -We won!
-Liu Ji! -We won!
We won!
-We won! -We won!
My brothers and countrymen!
The County Chief and his men are here!
They might attack us tonight.
We killed the magistrate. We took over the county.
All of us are in this together, no one can escape.
We die if we run away, we die if we surrender.
We have no choice but to follow Liu Ji and repel them at all cost!
Yes, we may live a few more days if we ran away.
But we’d be abandoning our home and living like strays.
-Would there be anything left to live for? -No!
It’s true that they have 5,000 men, while we have less than a thousand.
But their provisions are in our possession.
As long as we hold out for three days, I'm sure they will retreat.
We need to hold out for three days. We can hold out for three days.
We must hold out for three days!
-My brothers, shall we kill them? -Kill! Kill! Kill!
-Shall we fight them to the death? -Fight! Fight! Fight!
Kill them!
-Kill! -Kill!
Kill them!
If the king of Wei is here, of course he could help us.
But will he come?
Even if he does come, what if he refuses to leave?
-That's right. -This city would become his.
-Yes. -So, on second thought,
I think we should just fight them ourselves.
If we lose, we die a heroic death. If we win, this county will be ours.
-We can finally settle down. -I agree. Good idea.
-I'll go to the city wall now. -No, you can't.
-Why's that? -If something bad happens to you--
Mr. Xiao, we're in a critical time!
This is the moment that I should personally encourage our men,
to show them that we live or die together.
My Lord! My Lord!
-Yong Chi ran away! -Huh?
He took some of our men and left from the east gate.
My brothers! We kill all of these Qin dogs today. Kill them!
Kill them!
The Qin soldiers have retreated!
Yong Chi.
You left without a general’s permission. Do you know your crime?
I violated the military order. But I drove back our enemy.
-I’ll take whatever punishment you decide. -Violators should be executed.
Did you hear that?
But I think I’ll reward you instead.
Thank you! Thank you, My Lord!
The Qin soldiers have retreated.
-What's he doing leading his horse? -Yeah.
-He won a major victory. -We can do that too.
What a shame! We’ve won lots of battles.
All of us are more valiant than him.
Xiang Bo.
Tell us what you heard.
The other day, our scouts reported that
Huan Chu and Yu Ying were living in the Mount Tu area.
It is said that they are very talented. They have the bravery of a thousand men.
Gentlemen, have you heard about this?
Speaking of these two, Ji Bu and I met them once.
And your opinion?
Not only are Huan Chu and Yu Ying very talented,
they also have their own supporters.
From what I can see, most of them are valiant men.
They’re used to war and fighting.
Unfortunately, both of them have become bandits.
Although they're bandits, they often rob official supplies.
All these years, they've managed to lay low in the Mount Tu area.
I'm sure they’re waiting for the right opportunity.
If that's the case,
Huan Chu and Yu Ying...
might bring their men from Mount Tu...
to join our army.
If we treat them with sincerity,
make them a reasonable proposal, the possibility is high.
Chaos reign elsewhere as well. They have valiant men and supplies.
I’m sure there are other groups competing for their loyalty.
Then we must not delay.
I’ll invite them myself.
You are our General.
This camp cannot afford your absence. Your priority must be to remain here.
In my opinion, it'd be better to send Yu’er to invite them.
General, what do you think?
Well, then, you may go on my behalf.
You must not act impulsively.
Inviting them here is by no means an easy task.
If something angers you,
you must contain yourself.
I’m well aware of all this.
My only worry is whether my sincerity is enough to persuade them to join us.
They can decide to join, or not to join, as they pleased.
A fine fowl perches only on a fine tree.
A virtuous minister serves only a virtuous master.
I can tolerate insults, but what if they still refuse to join us?
Do what you must, but bring them here honorably.
Yes, sir.
It’s said that the path to Mount Tu is quite dangerous.
That road is shrouded in strange tales.
The locals have a saying that goes, "Never go to Mount Tu for firewood."
The locals would rather take a detour of 25 kilometers for firewood elsewhere
than go near Mount Tu,
let alone going deep into the mountains.
Also, they have prayers and offering ceremonies every year
to improve the relationship with Mount Tu and avoid misfortune.
Huan Chu and Yu Ying are brave enough to settle down on Mount Tu.
They must be quite bold and unusual.
You should have mentioned this earlier.
If that's true, I would’ve gone to get them already.
You should choose someone to go with you.
-I'll go. -Long Ju.
Drink up!
Drink up! Drink up!
My brothers! I’d like to propose a toast to Yong Chi.
He has led a first-class victory.
He alone killed 15 men. He's truly valiant. Come, a toast to him!
Cheers!
Next time, I’ll bring back Jun Jianping’s head for you, My Lord!
Excellent! Well said! Cheers!
-Drink up! -Good.
Mr. Xiao, next time, I’ll bring victory!
Next time, I’ll bring victory!
-Good. -It's different from driving a cart.
Bullshit!
-What do you mean? -What do I mean? You don't know?
Cart drivers are all the same.
Your bragging tongue runs faster than a galloping horse!
Your skin is thicker and stronger than horse’s hide.
Your belly’s bigger than a horse’s, too.
And when you're blabbing nonsense, it stinks more than a horse's fart!
I’m still better than you!
Mr. Xiao, Zhou Shi sent us a letter.
"It is with much surprise that I’m told you withstood 5,000 enemies.
I am glad to know that you are safe."
Why is he using such fancy words? What does it mean?
He goes on to say that you should... give up your little nest,
find a bigger tree, and fly higher.
He's telling you to surrender to the king of Wei.
The king will grant you treasure...
and also appoint you marquis.
He’ll give me ingots and appoint me marquis.
-Yes. -So that I'll serve him?
He's just sending this letter to gauge your reaction.
But the problem is what he states here.
If we refuse his proposal, he’ll send his warriors to conquer us.
-So that’s his intention. -He's threatening you.
I think we should just ignore it.
No, no!
Reply to him.
If we don’t write back, we'll seem rude.
-All right, all right. -Write as I say.
This is what you'll write. Tell him that I've read his letter...
and I understand his intention.
I’m very grateful.
But I was born and raised in Chu.
I cannot surrender to Wei.
And, of course, if he forces me to surrender...
From here onwards, write the words bigger.
If he insists on forcing me to surrender,
he can bring his men here.
I have prepared a large pot,
filled with water to boil meat.
To boil him!
All right.
My Lord.
Although Jun Jianping and his men have retreated,
I received news that he's enlisting more men.
We must not give him time to prepare for another attack.
This bothers me as well.
We must launch an assault on him without delay.
But if we leave the town, who will be left to guard it?
Xiahou Ying? Fan Kuai? Or maybe Lu Wan?
Not Xiahou Ying.
I need a man to send orders and receive messages for me.
Fan Kuai? Definitely not.
I need him to conquer the town and lead the charge.
Lu Wan... couldn't lead warriors.
If I let him lead my men, he may get them killed.
Yong Chi.
Why?
First, it’ll give him time to heal.
Second, he has a wife now.
-I'm just doing him a favor. -I agree. Good idea.
General Xiang! It must’ve been quite a journey for you.
-This way, please. -Thank you.
General Xiang, please.
This is good wine. It's such a pity to drink it now.
Why don't we talk business first?
Go ahead, General Xiang.
My uncle, Xiang Liang, ordered me here today
to invite both of you to leave the mountains
and do some great work with us.
You seem such ambitious men.
Settling here is holding you back.
I'm afraid I'm not so good with my words,
but I am sensitive to the desires of others.
You’re well aware there are uprisings everywhere.
Taking down Qin and restoring Chu requires great talent.
Don’t you feel the urge to change the world?
If we can’t do it, who can?
A man should take responsibility for protecting his country and people.
How long do you want to keep on living in the woods?
General Xiang, it's not an easy decision.
Yes, General. Frankly speaking,
we’re well aware that we cannot stay here for the rest of our lives.
So why aren't we leaving the mountains?
Because we’re not strong enough. They are valiant, but we need more.
Bringing down Qin and restoring Chu? Sounds good enough.
But Qin is far too strong.
We can't topple their empire with just an army of empty words.
All right. I know a few words won’t defeat their armies.
What do you think we should do?
To wipe out Qin, we’d need a valiant general.
Only with such a general could we possibly take on Qin.
Or else, it's better for both of us to remain here.
Yes.
This general you speak of is seemingly far away, but closer than you think.
I, Xiang Yu, am capable of fighting against 10,000 men.
You don’t believe me? All right.
Today, I’d like to measure my strength against your men.
Call your men over.
General Xiang.
Calm down.
General Xiang, you don't have to do this.
This is a meeting between friends. We don’t mean to get you riled up.
Yes, General. We know what we're doing.
Though we call it a meeting between friends,
outsiders might say you came to invite us and we treated you disrespectfully.
This doesn't matter to me.
It's fine.
I just want to show you how a man is capable of fighting 10,000 men.
General Xiang!
Let's not do this. What about...
At the foot of Mount Tu, there is a place named Yuwang Temple.
Out front, there’s a big bronze ding.
After all these years, nobody knows its exact weight.
Our rough estimation is that it weighs at least a few hundred kilograms.
If you are able to carry the ding, push it over, and raise it three times,
then we'll pack immediately and join you this very day. What do you say?
I agree.
General, General. We can go after a hearty meal.
I'll eat later. Let's not waste time.
Let’s go, come on.
You guys, go for it.
It's not a normal ding.
It's unusually huge.
Look! Even these strong men can't move it.
You shouldn't take the risk. Don’t take on the impossible.
It’s said that this ding was made when Da Yu subdued the floods.
He used it to block the flood and build up dams.
He even used it to block the river.
If you can’t move it, let's just leave.
Use some strength!
You guys, go away.
Don't you have any strength?
You guys are not General Xiang.
General Xiang, whatever I said in my camp
was merely jokes, but I offended you. Let’s go back and have a drink.
What are you talking about? What do you mean, jokes?
Forget about the wine!
We are men. We do not break our word.
If I say my spit can bore a hole in the ground, it must be true.
-A small ding like this doesn't scare us. -Do you know who General Xiang is?
He and his 300 men took the entire Wengcheng.
Yu Xu has a big head, right? But in General Xiang's hand,
it was just a tiny little ball.
General Xiang cut that head off with one flick of his finger.
How could a ding scare him?
A few days from now, we'll be back to show you his strength.
Why not today?
Because General Xiang is not feeling well.
He hasn't yet recovered from an arrow wound.
-Really? -He has wounds on his legs and knees...
His thigh--
What kind of strength is this?
This is...
This...
Brother...
He has divine power!
Subtitle translation by Loretta Kok