My Lord, there'll be only one outcome
and I should be accountable.
All right, I’ll not bother you. Have a good rest.
-Let me see you off. -Yes.
Just drink when you feel the need.
No, no, no. Never again.
Here, lie down.
General-in-chief, have a good rest.
I need you to win us a lot of wars.
General, we found nothing unusual.
How is your work? Are you tired?
It’s your turn to be on duty.
Yes, sir.
Stay vigilant.
Let’s go.
Who’s there?
It's me.
Why are you here?
I-- I...
Ruo Jiang, I didn’t expect you here.
How did you think of hiding in the general's camp?
No wonder I couldn’t find you.
You didn’t say that we couldn’t hide in a general’s camp, did you?
Ridiculous! Why are you hiding near the general's camp?
This is the military camp.
How could you play games here?
We're playing.
The general is fast asleep.
Let's go over there and not wake him up.
What are you looking at? Don’t tell anyone about this.
-Yes. -Do you hear me?
Yes, sir.
Girls.
Let's go.
Ruo Jiang,
you know we're not allowed to walk freely in the camp.
If I hadn’t been there,
you would have been arrested already.
Thank you for your warning.
I’ll never do it again.
Though the E Pang Gong was burned,
we saved many treasures of the Qin emperors.
I heard this jade
was passed onto the first emperor by his mother.
It wasn’t buried with him.
We haven’t known each other for that long,
but since we’re sisters now,
I’d like to give it to you.
This obviously belongs to a noble.
I can't take this.
Are you sure?
From your speech and manners,
I guess you’re a descendant of a noble.
If I’m right,
you’re not from Zhao.
Who are you after all?
Are you really from Qin?
Who I am doesn't matter.
What matters is that Xiang Yu must die. If I don't kill him,
there'll be another Xinan Incident.
The fire burned in Xianyang will burn elsewhere.
He’s a devil. I must avenge those he killed.
Yet you won't even have the chance to get close to him.
If revenge can dispel your hatred towards him,
you can kill me first.
I’m his woman.
As long as I live, I’ll not allow you to kill him.
What can I do now?
I once was tortured by my hatred.
I know it is a bitter feeling.
Is revenge really that important?
Will you be at peace after you have your revenge?
Living in this time of war,
we don’t know when we’ll be killed.
I believe that to live
is the best way to honor those who’ve passed.
Yes. I agree with you.
As you’ve seen through me,
why do you save me again and again?
I'm not saving you,
I just don’t want to see more people die.
Will you not regret setting me free just like this?
Let’s say goodbye here.
I hope that you'll live.
Go as far as you can.
I don’t want to see you again.
Goodbye.
-General. -General.
-Get out.
-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.
General.
Kill me.
Or else, I’ll kill you.
Yu Ji rescued you from the debris.
I accepted you as Chu and married you to Ying Bu.
He didn’t treat you well. As the leader of Western Chu,
I kept you at my side.
Tell me, have I ever treated you cruelly?
Never.
Why do you want to kill me?
You deserve it. Don’t give me your bullshit reasoning.
I just want to know why did you destroy Qin?
Qin is the enemy of Chu. That can never be changed.
Then, you’re the enemy of Qin.
Qin no longer exists.
The empire of Qin
has gone back to its people. Your struggle is pointless.
Qin is destroyed.
But self-respect cannot be destroyed.
Tell me.
Has anyone from Qin
ever felt guilty for what was done to Chu?
Has anyone of you felt guilty at all?
You should ask yourself.
Here. You can avenge your father.
Hold it.
I killed your father.
Take this sword and avenge him!
I don’t need your fake sympathy. I don’t need it.
It’s not sympathy.
I respect all of my enemies.
You deserve my respect.
Do you really mean it?
No joking in my camp.
Just do it!
I’ve done enough.
I only wanted to poke a hole...
in your armor.
Ruo Jiang.
I once asked your emperor a question.
But he didn’t give me a good answer. Can you answer for him?
What is it?
Was the first emperor a hero?
Yes.
What about me?
I don’t know.
Your answer’s the same as your emperor’s.
Later generations will be the judge.
I’ll accept any punishment.
General.
What about Ruo Jiang?
I set her free.
Someone who attaches more importance to self-respect than her own life
cannot be kept.
If she stays here, she has no choice but die.
We’ll depart early morning tomorrow.
It's time to rest.
Can’t we go back to Pengcheng?
Can we...
Can we not fight this battle?
We can’t.
General, don’t you know--
I know. In your heart,
I am some kind of merciless butcher.
And that’s exactly how those from Qin see me.
And that’s also how the world judges me for now.
Remember,
my followers are heroes.
My enemies are lowly creatures.
I’ll lead my heroes
to kill all those lowly creatures.
In a hundred years,
people will worship me as they worship a god.
General, you misunderstood me.
I also know you and Ruo Jiang have been sneaking around the camp.
Why didn’t you tell me?
-I thought-- -I thought we kept no secrets.
I was wrong.
My Lord, we have to be prepared to stay in Liyang for a long time.
There’s something you should consider.
What is it?
My Lord, I think you should name a crown prince.
A Crown Prince?
It's still too early for this.
My Lord, you’re king of Han.
You should cultivate your authority,
your legacy.
To appoint a crown prince
is a symbol of solidarity.
I believe
we will soon have a decisive war with Xiang Yu.
War is unpredictable.
If anything happens to you…
You mean, I may be killed?
Mr. Xiao,
among Xiang Yu’s 18 kings,
I’m the most humble.
Mr. Xiao,
I never took this title very seriously.
You know that Xiang Yu appointed me king to insult me.
Didn't he send me to stay in Han,
to make me the king of Han?
He meant to contain me, didn't he?
Mr. Xiao, not only Xiang Yu,
no one ever considered me king.
My Lord, the more they disregard you,
the more you should act like a king.
Mr. Xiao, I’ve already decided.
If I’m killed in a war,
then you, Cao Can, Fan Kuai, and Lu Wan
just pick a leader from those who came with us from Pei County.
No, My Lord.
That’s enough. I have made up my mind.
We suffered for so long.
We still have a head on our shoulders tonight,
but when day breaks, we might have lost it.
What I care the most are my children.
I hope they won't be uneducated like me, who can't even read a letter.
Can you find a tutor for them?
Be rest assured, My Lord. I’ll make arrangements.
Thank you. I asked you here to get your opinion.
I’d like Sima Xin to persuade Zhang Han to surrender us.
What do you think?
My Lord, you can’t send Sima Xin to persuade Zhang Han.
Why is that?
We must have a real war with Zhang Han.
Think about it. What kind of a man is Zhang Han?
Zhang Han once defeated Chen She’s army.
Since then, the world knows his name.
Xiang Yu won recognition also because he defeated Zhang Han.
Our warriors fear the idea of fighting Xiang Yu's warriors.
Therefore, before we take on Xiang Yu,
we must defeat Zhang Han.
We must make our warriors understand,
whatever Xiang Yu's army is capable of, we are also able to do it.
This will increase their morale drastically.
Mr. Xiao, I feel differently about this.
We should prevent battles, prevent bloodshed.
Each time Xiang Yu conquers a city, he slaughters the residents.
Warriors died, commoners were killed.
Commoners are our wealth,
and warriors are the legs we stand on.
If we can avoid a war, why should we fight?
It’d be better to send Sima Xin to persuade Zhang Han to surrender.
General.
Zhang Liang sent us a message.
He said it's an urgent matter.
Read it.
As acting minister of Han, I hereby show my gratitude
to General Xiang Yu for sparing me and allowing me
to return to our homeland with My Lord's body.
Though I’m far away, I’ll not forget your kindness.
Now that Tian Rong intends to betray.
He sent his messenger to persuade me to collude with him.
I owe you a debt of gratitude. I dare not conceal it from you.
Tian Rong wants to conquer Xianyang
and signed a secret treaty with King Huai.
Now he refuses to station in the east as you ordered.
He even sent messages to other states to unite against you.
I believe he’s our greatest threat now.
Please send warriors to punish him.
And if Liu Ji attacks from the west, we can destroy them on the way.
I'm risking my life to tell you the truth
I’m greatly alarmed and I hope you will carefully consider my words.
General, here’re the pieces to be submitted as evidence against them.
They can prove Tian Rong colluded against you,
and prove he issued an official call to betray us.
General, Mr. Zhang risked his life
to get this evidence.
General.
Tian Rong, that rascal, spread rumors wherever possible.
He said Emperor Yi’s the only one
who deserves his respect above anyone else.
He also said that he joined you
because of Emperor Yi supported you to conquer Qin.
Now that the world has changed, he said--
Xiang Bo, go on.
He said Xiang Yu has no virtue or abilities.
Who gave him the right to order others
and to order heroes of the world around?
Damned traitor!
General, as we’ve already arrived at Yangxia,
we shouldn’t change our plan because of Zhang Liang's words.
We should kill Liu Ji first and then attack Tian Rong.
Mr. Fan, Liu Ji is detestable,
but in my eyes,
he’s just some common insect,
not worth a second thought.
But Tian Rong is different.
When my uncle attacked Dingtao,
we requested for his help
but he showed utter unconcern and waited for his gain.
He's no different than our enemies.
In fact,
he's practically responsible for my uncle’s death!
Fine.
Now that I've conquered Qin,
I didn’t blame him.
I even granted him fiefdom,
but he isn't satisfied and challenged me constantly.
In such a case, should I allow him to live another day?
All the people of Qi should die with him!
If I don’t kill him, I'll be seen as an incompetent man!
Please think twice.
Reporting. General...
Long Ju set off to attack Tian Rong but was ambushed in Pengcheng.
Tian Rong is attacking full on. We have no further information.
What about Long Ju?
His whereabouts are unknown.
Mr. Fan, go back and guard our capital city.
As for Liu Ji, let him live a little longer.
Once I kill Tian Rong, I’ll level Xianyang to ground.
Ji Bu!
Yes, sir.
Gather our warriors. We must rescue Long Ju.
Yes, sir.
General! General!
General!
General! General!
Mr. Fan, our general has decided it. You need not stop him.
To wage a war is of vital importance for a state.
How can I keep silent?
But he’s now greatly angered. What use are your words?
He’s obsessed with gratitude and revenge.
That’s poison for a general. Hurry!
Mr. Fan!
Please think twice.
Let’s go back to Pengcheng.
Don’t stop me.
You don’t need to fight this battle.
Leave.
Yes.
Do you know what you are saying?
Before a battle,
why are you saying these kinds of things?
If you go on like this,
the world will regard you as its enemy.
I don’t want you to live in hostility.
Stay out of this.
-General! -That's enough.
Do as you're told and stay here.
Xiang Yu worried that Liu Ji might strengthen his forces.
he appointed the county magistrate, Zhen Chang the King of Han
and ordered him to station in Yangdi to conveniently build a defensive line.
-To the state of Qi. March on! -While he led his warriors to Linzi
with the aim of wiping out Tian Rong’s warriors.
Following the advice of Mr. Fan,
Xiang Yu arranged Mr. Fan and Ji Bu to guard Pengcheng.
Yu Ji also followed them to Pengcheng.
Your strategy is truly clever.
Once the redirected river floods Feiqiu,
Zhang Han will be in a great panic.
In this way, we are going to
conquer Feiqiu effortlessly.
We truly admire your strategy, General-in-chief.
Once we conquer Feiqiu, we can safely stay in Xianyang.
That’s right. Our lord will then lead us
back to Pei County.
Yes. Yes.
And then, I’ll marry a girl from our hometown.
All of you are thinking that we’ll surely win.
But you heard what Sima Xin told our lord when he returned from Feiqiu.
Feiqiu is an isolated city
with no provisions.
Yet Zhang Han has held it this whole time.
Zhang Han is indeed not an ordinary man.
Xiang Yu holds a great hatred toward Zhang Han
but he appointed Zhang Han king and gave him fiefs.
Our lord can also do that.
He could live if he surrenders
but he refused to do so.
Zhang Han must have wanted a glorious battle
that will earn him a glorious death.
With an enemy that welcomes death, we can’t be too cautious.
Yes, sir.
General, Zhang Han evacuated commoners from the city.
Many of them are women and children.
You may leave.
Yes, sir.
General, let them in.
No.
-General! -General!
I have decided. Violators will be beheaded.
Who's willing to fight in the vanguard?
I’d like to be the vanguard.
General, if I fail to defeat our enemy,
I’d rather be beheaded.
Good. I look forward to celebrating our victory.
Yes, sir.
General! General! We’re in trouble!
-What's wrong? -Flood! There's a flood!
Run! Run! The water is coming! Run!
Run! Hurry! Run!
What is that sound?
General, it's from the south gate.
those who want to survive the water are running away.
The water is beyond expectation.
Many have died already.
Oh, I see.
May those who want to live managed to survive the flood.
My warriors,
I’m guilty of what I have done.
I do not deserve your loyalty and trust.
The happiest thing in my life
is to fight in this war with all of you at this moment.
I shall die in the battlefield and take it as my greatest glory.
Today,
this shall be our final battle with our enemy.
Can you keep up your spirits?
We can! We can! We can! We can! We can!
All right, let’s go kill our enemies!
Charge!
In the second year of Han,
Zhang Han lost the battle in Feiqiu.
The famous general of his time eventually lost his life.
Before the battle, he evacuated all commoners
out of the city and saved their lives.
Among the 2,000 guards he led,
no one surrendered to Han warriors.
His form was lost under countless arrows,
yet even then, Zhang Han held onto his spear.
We’ve taken Feiqiu and killed Zhang Han.
General-in-chief, full credit must go to you.
Mr. Xiao, we should reward our warriors.
I’ll grant you Yong County, general-in-chief.
What do you think? Should I give it to him?
Yes.
No. What I did deserves no reward.
And truthfully I feel no relief.
Though we’ve ensured control of Xianyang,
the road ahead is long. My Lord, if you must,
please reward Fan Kuai. He risked his life as a vanguard
and climbed over the wall to kill those soldiers.
Please grant him a title.
You mean I should grant Fan Kuai a title?
-Yes. -Anyone disagree?
Zhou Bo.
I agree.
Lu Wan?
As for a marquis, the world is big,
a marquis is quite reasonable in the scheme of things.
Cao Can?
My Lord, I agree.
Looks like all of you fought along with me
because you wanted a title.
If I don’t grant this title, are you going to quit?
-No. That's not what it. -No, that's not it.
As this is Han Xin’s advice,
I shall take it.
I’ll grant you the title of marquis and appoint you a cavalry general.
Thank you, My Lord.
Han Xin, will that do?
Very much so.
-Thank you, My Lord. -Thank you, general-in-chief.
Drink! Treat us to a drink!
Yes! Of course!
Han Xin, come on! Drink up!
I'd like to ask you, general-in-chief,
how you judge Xiang Yu and his warriors?
Are his warriors powerful? How do you like Xiang Yu?
My Lord.
Xiang Yu is a great hero.
You are the only one who can be his match.
Though Xiang Yu is in power now
and all the vassals are at his command, he made mistakes which could ruin him.
Tell me.
First, he gave up a strategic pass and the fertile land in Xianyang
but chose the easy to attack but hard to hold Pengcheng as capital instead.
He's totally asking for it!
Second,
he’s cruel and heartless to commoners.
He's digging his own grave!
Commoners won’t support him.
Third, he exiled Emperor Yi like a criminal
to a desolate place in the south of the Yangtze River.
What Chu adherents could tolerate that?
Those adherents once supported him
to destroy Qin’s armies but he failed them!
Therefore, though Xiang Yu has dominated the world,
he has damaged his foundation. He has no supporters.
My Lord.
Drink up. Drink up.
General, I'd like to know
how you judge my warriors.
Why are you laughing?
Tell me.
Let me tell you.
Although they are nothing
but commoners,
they are very valiant in a war.
All right. Let me ask you. You know Cao Can.
He’s the only one of us who reads well
and knows a lot about the world.
Tell me, how many warriors can he manage?
My Lord, Cao Can--
I think he’s proper to supervise military rules.
If he was to lead warriors, 15,000 of them.
He’s not even qualified to lead more.
What?
Not qualified to lead 15,000 warriors.
What about Fan Kuai?
He’s a very valiant warrior.
But I can’t talk about war strategies with him.
It’s like talking to a stump.
He could probably deal with 20,000.
What about Lu Wan?
What about Zhou Bo? He’s pretty good!
Then tell me...
how many can I manage?
My Lord, you're a king. I’m talking about generals.
I said if I were a general, how many warriors could I manage?
A hundred thousand.
You could handle 100,000.
A hundred thousand. That's a big number.
-Then, how many can you manage? -The more, the better.
-The more, the better? -The more, the better.
Then, how can I manage you?
Tell me. Tell me.
Tell me.
My Lord. I-- I'm talking about soldiers.
I lead soldiers! The more, the better.
You manage generals! The more generals, the better.
My Lord, you lead generals!
-Generals! -You sly man. Come. Drink up.
Who’s there?
Madam Qi.
Let her in.
Yes, ma'am.
Madam says you may go in.
Please.
My greetings, madam.
Are you Qi Ji?
You're a plain-looking woman.
Yes. I’m an ordinary girl from the countryside.
I can’t be your match.
You have a glib tongue.
This is the first time I've seen you.
I’ve nothing special to give you.
This is made from a tiger’s skin. I hope you like it.
Please accept it as a gift.
Not necessary. That's yours. You can keep it.
Nothing belongs to me.
All I have belongs to Liu Ji.
Now that you’re here, you can look after Liu Ji.
Don’t stand there. Come here and sit.
Thank you, madam.
It’s cold here.
Please take it.
It'll keep you warm at night.
Well then, thank you.
As you’re pregnant,
you should take care of yourself.
I hope you don’t get cold. Let the servants do housework.
I shall remember that. Thank you, madam.
In all those years, I was never at Liu Ji's side.
I stayed in Fengyi and took care of our family members.
Now Liu Ji is a king, his role is different.
I know there are many rules here. I hope you can teach me those rules.
You flatter me, madam. We are family.
The first time I saw you, I felt that you were very kind.
You are like a sister to me.
Man Gu, I think madam is very kind.
She took my gift.
My poor child, if you’re not careful you’ll end up in a grave.
Why?
You’re just an innocent girl. Listen to me.
The first one I looked after
was also very innocent.
Well, let me tell you the truth.
I hope you don’t feel sad.
Go ahead and tell me.
Though the king seems to love you
and obeys you in almost every way, but no matter what,
you’re only a mistress. That madam is our king’s real wife.
You should pray for your safety.
I’m afraid she’ll hurt you.
I don't think so. The king is kind to me.
Madam is also kind to me.
Man Gu, I think you’re over cautious.
The kinder she treats you, the more she hates you.
Don't you understand?
Is that how it is?
I'm older than you.
I’m more experienced than you. I shall warn you about this.
It’s not easy for you to have such an opportunity.
Now that you're pregnant.
Don't you want your baby to have a better future ahead?
Don’t you want to be his wife?
Don’t you?
I do.
But for a girl like you, you shouldn’t.
You can’t get what you want.
Then, what should I do?
Anyway, in this palace,
you have no relatives.
You’re my niece,
and I’m your aunt, I’ll try my best to help you.
Whether I can bring you good luck or not, it will be decided by your fate.
I don’t know how much I can help.
But I’ll not hurt you. This I hope you’ll believe.
I believe you.
Then, will you do as I tell you?
Yes.
Then, just do what I tell you.
You won't ask why, will you?
Yes.
Subtitle translation by Loretta Kok