It’s true, you have a larger territory.
But people find it hard to live on your territory.
The larger the territory, the bigger the trouble.
But our lord is a man with great virtue.
You have besieged my city for a long time.
But why can’t you conquer it?
Because our lord is a virtuous lord.
Our lord raised a term for you.
use Xingyang as border. Chu will rule the east and your lord will rule the west.
I think that’s rather fair.
I think it’s just Xiang Yu’s wishful thinking.
Chen Ping, you mean...
you’ll refuse our proposal?
We absolutely refuse.
Zhou Bo...
why do you answer so rashly?
You know we have a greater advantage over you.
If we conquered your city, how would your commoners remain safe?
My lord worries about their safety.
We’re clear...
of your so-called advantage.
You are clear?
What do you know about?
Of course, you have your advantage.
But we have our strategy.
We’re very clear of it.
The old saying goes, sellers ask for a high price,
while buyers make a down-to-earth offer.
We’ll not agree with your proposal. Never.
-Damned-- -Sir,
Sima Xin sent us a letter.
Who allowed you in? Don’t you see we’re negotiating?
Get out.
Yes, sir.
If I may ask,
I wonder who actually has the final say here?
It's my lord, of course.
Then we’d like to speak with your lord.
Tell him that his old friend from Bashang, Xiang Bo, wants to meet him.
Please, sirs, send a message immediately to your lord.
Xiang Bo, forgive me. I can’t do that.
You come here for official business,
how can you get to see him?
If you come here for personal affairs,
our lord will welcome you and have a good talk about your friendship.
I think we should speed up our discussion.
Then afterward, on behalf of our lord, we’ll treat you to a banquet.
I know you have few provisions left in your camp.
There might be no good food over in your camp. No?
I think you can’t wait to finish.
Giddyup. Shoot him. Don’t kill him. Whoa.
Zhuang’er, wait! Don’t kill him.
Who are you taking this message to?
If you lie me, I’ll kill you. Talk!
Let’s go. Leave.
General, on our way back, we got...
General, we intercepted this secret letter on the way back.
Have you read it?
I know our military rules.
We dare not open it.
We brought it to you first to determine what to do.
If I don’t mention it, don’t tell anyone.
Thank you for your hard work.
Don’t worry, General.
As you have nothing else for us, we’ll leave.
Okay.
I’ve conquered the paved road from Pengcheng to Xiang Yu’s camp.
My Lord, you sent me very good warriors previously.
They were obedient and valiant.
So we conquered 17 towns of Liangdi.
Now Waihuang, Juyang and other important towns are in my hands.
These official seals from the towns, they’re all yours to do what you will!
Oh, yeah, And tell him...
Xiang Yu will soon die in starvation.
All right. Finished!
You mean...
if we don’t return,
we’ll die in starvation?
General, our provision road has been cut off by Peng Yue’s men.
Now we can’t get immediate supplies or provisions.
If we move in now, it will be catastrophic.
Peng Yue?
I don’t fear that fuzzy little man.
-Cao Jiu. -I--
Whatever happens, guard our city.
Even if Liu Ji insults our warriors, you should not fight him.
Within 15 days, our general will conquer Liangdi and join you.
If you can’t take it, you can fight him.
Liu Ji can’t withstand our might.
The general means you should await our order.
What I mean is--
Await the orders.
Like he said.
Yes.
Report!
Reporting: Xiang Yu is leading his men to attack us. He’s 2 kilometers away.
Xiang Yu is too greedy.
I gave him Chenliu
and Waihuang as he desired.
Now I only have Juyang.
He still really wants to take it?
Well, as long as I can stay alive, I can take back what I lost later.
My orders: Give up the town. Evacuate!
Yes, sir.
Cao Jiu, you weenie! Weenie! Come attack us!
Cao Jiu, you are a chicken. Your ancestors want to see you.
Come to attack us.
-Come to attack us. -Come to attack us.
-Your grandpa is coming. -Come to attack us.
What a commander you are!
You aren’t even qualified to be a slave for our general.
-Unqualified. -Come out!
Not even qualified to be a slave.
-Come to attack us. -General,
as you ordered, we’ve laid an ambush along the valley. Everything is ready.
Good. My orders: If Chu warriors come out to meet our attack, just pretend
to be afraid and retreat to the northwest
and lure them into the valley.
Yes.
-Get off! You stupid son of a bitch! -Come out!
-What a commander you are! -You coward!
Reporting.
My Lord, we insulted him.
We used every cursing word. We cursed his forefathers.
But nothing has angered him, and he’s still in the city.
Zhou Bo told you what to say?
Zhou Bo too earnest. He didn’t know how to piss off Cao Jiu.
-Xiahou Ying. -Yes.
Go tell Zhou Bo to say that Cao Jiu
doesn’t know anything about war. He’s totally green.
Then he’ll come out. Go!
Yes.
Zhou Bo? He’s nothing to be afraid of.
An incompetent general. How dare he challenge me with only 5,000 warriors?
General, why did Liu Ji choose to attack us at this moment?
It’s odd.
Are you teaching me art of war?
General, in the art of war, I’m far from your match.
But we’ve fought for so long in Xingyang.
Liu Ji’s has been guarding Xingyang. He should guard it.
But why does he come attack? Why does he change strategy?
As he dares to attack us, I’ll teach him a lesson.
Xiang Yu entrusted us to guard our city.
And Mr. Fan gave us the secret order
that we shouldn’t leave Chenggao.
A field general is not bound by the emperor’s order.
My orders: Keep 500 warriors in the city.
Others should follow me to meet our enemy.
Yes.
General. General. We shouldn’t do this!
Zhou Bo, you damned rascal, I’ll kill you!
Cao Jiu, look where you are.
Xiahou Ying, you cunning codpiece! You dare ambush me?
Cao Jiu, you should use your head to attack.
All right.
I regret that I’m trapped by you dogs!
It’s my fault. I should have obeyed my lord’s order.
Then I wouldn’t have lost this battle.
But...
I’ll not allow you to take me to Liu Ji.
I’ll never obey you!
Cao Jiu, you idiot.
Only in death, do you know how to use your head.
Your death is a waste.
XIANG
General, we lost Chenggao.
What?
Cao Jiu led our warriors to attack Zhou Bo and were ambushed.
Over 10,000 warriors were killed.
We’ve lost Chenggao. Now Liu Ji is in Chenggao.
Where’s Yu Ji?
Is she still in Chenggao?
General, my sister is lucky. I think she will be safe.
My orders: Gather all our warriors we’ll return to attack.
Yes.
Yu Ji.
My orders:
We must conquer Chenggao and capture Liu Ji at all cost.
Yes.
Faster. Faster. Faster.
Go, hurry up!
You, hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
Hurry.
Kneel down.
Who knows where Yu Ji is?
If you tell me the truth, I will spare you.
General, sorry! We failed you, sir.
We couldn’t protect her.
We accept any punishment.
General,
sorry that we failed you and brought dishonor.
No!
I didn’t want to punish you.
Why would you take your own lives?
Ziqi,
give them a decent burial.
Yes.
Behead every one of those captives there.
General, behead them all?
Every last one!
Yes.
Take them away.
Move, move.
Hurry, move.
Hurry, hurry!
-Yu Ji, Yu Ji! -Ms. Yu! Ms. Yu.
Ms. Yu!
-Yu Ji, Yu Ji! -Ms. Yu! Ms. Yu!
-Yu Ji!
-Ms. Yu! -Yu Ji!
Ms. Yu! Ms. Yu!
Yu Ji, Yu Ji.
Yu Ji! Yu Ji!
General…
Madam, I’m glad you’re awake.
Where are we?
In the general’s camp.
Last night, our general saved you in the woods.
Madam, do you remember that?
Where’s he now?
He was at your side the whole night.
This morning, he went to supervise the warriors.
Help me up.
Madam, you shouldn’t do it. The general said that
you should rest in bed and not leave the tent.
I was too tired but now I am fine.
And the tent is too stuffy. I want to have some fresh air.
You shouldn’t go out. Madam. Madam. Don’t.
If you suffer some unexpected misfortune,
the general will kill me.
Madam, I beg you
not to go out of the tent.
What’s wrong with you?
Are you hiding something from me?
Tell me. Otherwise I’ll ask general to punish you.
Spare me, madam.
I have a mother and a younger brother to support.
It’s rumored that
while you went missing,
General slaughtered all the captives
and he also killed the city guards.
What?
You mean general killed the city guards?
-Madam. -What’s wrong?
Tell me in detail.
Madam, I heard it from our soldiers.
They said that Liu Ji conquered Chenggao days ago.
General worried for your safety
so he rushed into the city and drove Liu Ji out of the city.
But he couldn’t find you.
In anger, he killed all the captives.
The city guards were all killed too.
Madam. Madam. Don’t disclose that I told you.
Madam, I don’t want to be killed.
Madam, spare my life. Madam,
don’t tell him that I told you all this.
I have a younger brother to support.
I don’t want to die, madam.
Madam, I beg you.
Don’t worry.
From now on, no one will die because of me.
Prepare some prayer offerings for me.
Hurry.
Yes, madam.
Glad you’re awake.
You’re recovering. You need good rest. Don’t get jittery.
Wars can really change a man.
How much of the old you is there still left?
Every time you went to battle,
I'd be in a state of panic.
I worried about your safety.
I don’t want you to suffer the sins of killing.
This time, how can you kill in my name?
I’m also sorry for that.
I don’t deserve your protection.
Even if I did die,
my life couldn’t measure up
against your city guards. They accompanied you through constant war.
I can recruit new guards.
But if I lost you...
there will never be another.
You’re wrong.
If you lose the hearts of the people, you’ll lose your place.
Don’t listen to rumors. Drink this medicine.
You should rest.
General, there is a plague in our camp.
When did you find out? Is it serious?
This morning.
The doctors checked the corpses of our warriors and found plague in the bodies.
It’s very serious.
It’s already spreading through our camp.
Burn them.
General, they were once closely associated with us. They were our sworn brothers.
They died for our state.
I came here for your advice.
Do you really want me to burn them?
In order to save those alive, we must burn them.
They’d understand.
My brothers, forgive my incompetence.
I can’t carry your bodies to our homeland.
I can’t bury you decently.
Please accept my sincerest apologies.
Men,
I hope you can bless our Chu warriors to conquer Han soon.
Guys, I bid you farewell.
Set the fire.
Sister. Look at them.
Those warriors regretted that they didn’t protect your safety
so they committed suicide.
The general feels remorseful
but holds it in. Now he has to burn them.
You should know how sad he is.
You mean those warriors were not killed by Xiang Yu?
Do you think Xiang Yu would do that?
Try to comfort him, please.
Are those the warriors who committed suicide for me?
Warriors,
how can I repay your sacrifice?
I’m sorry, I misunderstood you. Forgive me.
Last time you intercepted the letter.
I didn’t actually think it was for Sima Xin.
My Lord, why did we only see Sima Xin return?
I think he’s colluding with Han warriors.
This is the evidence.
Also, when Xiang Zhuang and I visited the Han camp,
we found that all of them were arrogant,
as if they didn’t fear about how close we were to their city gate.
It seems that they all know Xingyang was under siege
but Liu Ji had an idea to break through the siege.
Based on their response...
I think there is a traitor in our camp.
Our general knows whether there’s a traitor or not.
You just tell us what you saw.
Don’t make rash judgments.
General, I think we should make a decision now.
We should not hesitate
to punish Sima Xin, in case,
Sima Xin only assisted Cao Jiu to guard the city. He didn’t commit any crime.
Why would he betray us?
Mr. Fan, you’ve read the letter.
Do you still believe that Sima Xin is loyal to us?
I still think he’s loyal to us.
You think too highly of him, Mr. Fan.
Mr. Fan, tell me what sort of man Sima Xin is?
He’s really a loyal man. He’s decisive, brave and prudent.
But he once betrayed Qin.
He only conformed to the will of people.
Of course, I think he was right to join us.
But he’s a traitor after all.
He’s not happy in our camp.
I think he remembers the 200,000 Qin warriors I killed.
You can see that
he holds a grudge against me.
Sima Xin is timid and over prudent.
Before we set off,
I gave him a secret order
so that he could stop Cao Jiu.
But Cao Jiu didn’t listen to him
and Sima Xin wasn’t strong enough to stop Cao Jiu.
You gave him an order behind my back?
I wanted to tell you but couldn’t find time.
Am I too late?
No. It’s okay.
It’s fine. That’s not important.
Though I owe gratitude to Sima Xin,
I still dislike him.
Everything he’s done was for himself.
I’ll deal with him myself.
Nobody should interfere in this.
General, you’ll investigate?
I must. In order to find the source of the rumor
and to reveal the truth.
I see.
I am guilty.
What did you do?
I tried to stop Cao Jiu but failed. So we lost Chenggao.
Cao Jiu is your commander. He needn’t listen to you.
He insisted on attacking. That was his mistake.
You’re not guilty.
Come on. Rise. You need not apologize.
Have you ever eaten one of these?
It’s very nice. Taste it!
Go ahead. Taste it.
In a war, there is always a winner and a loser.
But I hate those people who don't make any mistakes
but eager to take responsibility.
He seems to be telling the world of his loyalty to me.
I-- I didn’t mean it.
But I never expect such a coincidence.
The Han messenger sowed discord at first. And then we lost Chenggao.
So you worried that I may be ensnared
within Liu Ji’s strategy of alienation?
Yes.
I only want to ask this once.
Have you ever colluded with Liu Ji?
-Never. I-- -Enough. I trust you.
Go back, have a good rest.
Thank you, General.
Wait.
I heard Mr. Fan gave you a secret order.
You were to follow that order at that moment of life and death.
Is it true?
No.
You didn’t lie?
I didn’t lie.
The next few days, do not leave the camp.
Just stay in your tent and do me a favor.
I’m at your command.
Even if it was not you,
I think there is a man that colluded with Liu Ji.
Go back...
and write down everything that happened in our camp...
from the day you joined until today.
Write down who you talked to and what you did.
Write down everything you can remember.
I’m loyal to you.
You can kill me,
but you shouldn’t insult me this way.
You know, I didn’t suspect you,
much less insult you.
I only want you to write what happened to you.
In this way, you can help me find out who is the traitor.
Do you want to help me?
I know what you mean.
I’ll do it.
To be frank.
I think we shouldn’t blame Sima Xin.
We know Cao Jiu was a foolhardy warrior.
If he hadn’t been ambushed by Zhou Bo, we wouldn’t have lost Chenggao.
General, I think your words can’t hold water.
Cao Jiu was killed on the battlefield. He’s dead and buried.
Yet now, even though he’s dead,
you're still using your sharp tongue
to whip his dead body with those sharp words?
Xiang Bo, my words really are a violation to a dead man.
But how about respecting the living? We shouldn’t wrong them!
I’d like to say,
if we’d known Cao Jiu was so rash, if I’d been guarding the city,
then we wouldn’t have lost Chenggao.
Long Ju, you’re wrong.
You mean, it’s our general’s fault?
Ziqi, Long Ju didn’t mean that.
I do mean that. What now?
Long Ju.
It’s not strange that Sima Xin betrayed us.
He was originally a Qin official.
If I am right, I seem to recall that...
perhaps you were a Qin official, Zhongli Mei.
I’m not sure where you’re going with this.
Enough, enough! Stop there!
What are your thoughts, Mr. Fan?
As far as I am concerned...
there’s not enough evidence to prove anything.
And our general already said that he’s not guilty.
We need not argue about it. Right?
All of you are warriors of Chu.
We should unite. Am I right?
Mr. Fan, are you nuts?
Haven’t you seen that Sima Xin was asked by Xiang Yu
to list his own crimes in his cell?
Subtitle translation by Min Wei Wong