Three Kingdoms
Episode 76
Your servant Sima Yi pays his respects to Your Majesty.
Please rise.
Thank you, Sire.
It is quite late. What brings you here?
Sir Hua Xin has, according to Your Majesty's wishes,
erected an altar outside the city for the abdication ceremony.
I gave no such orders.
Then Your Majesty must have forgotten.
Sir Hua Xin wouldn't make such a mistake.
Am I right. Your Majesty?
Continue.
After the altar is built...
please select an auspicious date and summon all the officials to be present at the altar.
Your Majesty shall personally hand over the imperial seal
and abdicate the throne to the Prince of Wei.
Just another Bronze Bird Pavilion gathering.
Your Majesty is wise.
No edict is needed this time, right?
An abdication ceremony, where prayers are offered to Heaven, cannot be without an edict, can it?
You!
Don't be alarmed. Your Majesty.
With your kind permission...
I shall perform one final service for the Han Dynasty.
I may not have this honor again in the future.
What do you wish to do for me?
I am willing to draft the edict for Your Majesty.
Right!
You're Cao Pis most trusted officer.
No one but you can perform this task.
As you desire.
Sima Yi, allow me to grind the ink for you.
I hope your brush flows like a sword, drawing blood with every stroke.
Your Majesty.
Please sit.
Let me do this on your behalf.
Thank you. Your Majesty.
Let it be known, Prince of Wei.
In the times of yore, Yao abdicated his throne to Shun,
Yao Shun, and Yu the Great were three of the Sage Kings in
and Shun abdicated in favor of Yu.
The Mandate of Heaven is not immutable, but must go to the virtuous.
The rule of the Han disintegrated, and chaos covered the land.
Evil men indulged in treachery, and the world fell into disorder.
Thankfully, the late Prince of Wei displayed his might,
restoring order in the court, rescuing the realm, and securing the ancestral temples.
The current Prince continues his father's work and shines with the same virtue.
He carries out the work of Kings Wen and Wu, and illustrates his ancestor's greatness.
The royal ancestors sent favorable auguries. and both men and spirits confirm
that he alone is resplendent,.and must accept his mandate.
All have said that you are comparable to Yu and Shun.
We thus invoke the rites of Tang, and humbly pass Our position to you.
Heed!
The fortunes of Heaven fall upon you.
May you accept them and take the Great Office, and appease the people by obeying the Will of Heaven.
We pay our respects to Your Majesty!
I here and now recognize and heed the Will of Heaven,
and succeed the rule of this empire.
From this day on,
the empire shall be known as the Great Wei,
and the reign title shall be renamed to Huangchu.
The capital city of the empire shall be Luoyang.
My late father shall be posthumously known as the Martial Emperor, Great Progenitor of the Dynasty.
The abdicated Han emperor, Liu Xie,
shall be made Duke of Shanyang.
Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!
Long live Your Majesty!
Your Majesty, hide in the boat.
The world now belongs to your brother.
If he wants to kill me, where could I hide?
My respects to you, Duke of Shanyang.
Sima Yi, why have you come here?
The Emperor of the Great Wei, considering his kinship with his sister.
ordered me to come here and see you and your wife off.
The Emperor of the Great Wei is a virtuous ruler indeed.
He ordered me to give this message.
As long as the Duke of Shanyang never returns to the capital.
he will ensure you wealth and honor for the rest of your life.
Do you, Sima Yi, believe such a promise as he has made?
Sir Sima, his lordship cannot hold his liquor well.
Please don't take what he says seriously.
I don't blame him.
But I trust in the benevolence of the Emperor of the Great Wei.
Cheers, Your Highness.
One generation sows, the next shall reap.
But laugh not too soon or praises heap.
Beware the reapers who behind you creep.
Father, it's late. The winds are strong along the coast Let's return home.
Lets watch a bit more.
Watching a while longer wouldn't hurt.
He was the emperor for a few decades, after all.
To see the emperor of a fallen empire leave before your very eyes
is a rare sight that not many people get to see.
My empress.
What an emperor I had been!
When I became emperor. it was because someone forced me to become one.
When lam no longer the emperor, it is because someone forced me to abdicate.
When I was just nine years old, Dong Zhuo forced me to ascend the throne.
and I became his obedient puppet.
Ever since that time, I washed my face each day with my tears.
I was so ashamed to face my ancestors and the people.
There was not a single joyous day in my life.
Come to think of it, I really should thank your brother.
He set me free from this endless suffering.
Today is the happiest day I have ever experienced in my life!
Cao Pi is not my brother.
He is a wicked minister, a villain.
I detest the very fact that he even exists in this world.
You must not blame your brother now.
In my life, I went through the tribulations of four powerful ministers.
Every one of them was my master, masters of this puppet emperor.
Dong Zhuo, Guo Si, Cao Cao, and Cao Pi.
Looking back, I think your brother treated me the best out of all of them.
At last, I can return to the lush mountains and serene rivers.
Those places...
I have read about in countless poems. but I've never had the opportunity to visit them before.
The boat is beginning to sink!
Your Majesty, what's wrong with the boat?
Quick, change boats!
Sail back to shore!
Faster, faster! The boat is sinking!
Quickly! Row! Row hard!
My lord, please get on another boat! This one is sinking!
Get out!
Faster!
Row faster! Quickly, quickly!
Yes, sir. Row faster Quickly, quickly!
Quick, row hard!
Sima Yi wanted to murder you!
No, not Sima Yi. This is Cao Pis doing.
Cao Pi wanted to get rid of you.
Come, sit down.
Ignore them.
Come, pour me some wine. Come on.
Come
Did you know?
The hole in the boat is not Sima Yi's doing.
It was I who had someone drill it.
I have already with both hands given up the lands of my ancestors.
I am not fit to be buried on the lands of Han!
I am only fit to drown in the river,
and drift into the seas and be eaten by fish.
My empress, please get off the boat.
I shall stay and face this alone.
One whole lifetime.
Finally, Your Majesty has shown your heroic mettle.
I shall not be going anywhere.
A will accompany you.
I will be by your side forever.
My empress, if there is such a thing as reincarnation.
you must promise to never marry into the royal family.
And if Your Majesty is reborn.
you must not be born into the royal family, either.
Kongming.
For all these days that I have been lying here in bed,
I have been reflecting on this painful experience, and my mind is troubled by many thoughts.
I remember what you mentioned ,before.
You said that Yunchang was overly arrogant,
and he thought little of other heroic individuals in the lands.
If he wasn't careful, he would bring disaster onto himself eventually.
Your words accurately predicted the disastrous events at Jingzhou.
Had Yunchang not underestimated the prowess of Eastern Wu...
and was on guard against them...
would things have turned out like they have now?
Would he have lost his own life like he did?
Would he have even lost Jingzhou?
My lord.
In Yunchang's eyes...
All the valiant generals of Eastern Wu were mere cowards.
My brother Zhuge Jin was instructed by his lord. Sun Quan,
to go to Yunchang with a marriage proposal.
He offered to marry Yunchang's daughter to Sun Quan's heir-apparent,
so the houses of Liu and Sun might be reunited by marriage again.
But, my lord, do you know how Yunchang replied to this?
He said.
How can a tiger's daughter marry the whelp of a cur?
Really...
Any noble man who hears these words
would feel his heart pierced as if by a sharp knife.
Yes, of course.
However, how could Liu Feng and Meng Da be so despicable?
Had they deployed Shangyong's forces to rescue him.
Yunchang would not have met his end!
To think that Liu Feng is my adopted son.
How dare he leave Yunchang to die?
And Meng Da even defected to the enemy after the incident!
Even if those two run to the edge of the world,
I'll still take their heads and let the world see!
Calm down, my lord.
Please calm down.
My lord, there is no point in hating them at this time.
After Jingzhou was lost.
great changes occurred to the balance of power between Cao, Sun, and Liu.
Prior to this, you occupied the nine commarideries of jing
and the 41 counties of the Riverlands.
You even conquered the commanderies at Hanzhong.
In other words,
my lord had become the most powerful ruler over the land.
Within a few years. we could have deployed forces from both north and south
and annexed Xuchang in a single move.
After that, we could have annexed Qing and Ji provinces.
Cao Cao would have been destroyed, and your ambition would have been fulfilled.
Kongming.
Was that not the third step you mentioned to me in our discussion in Longzhong?
Such a pity! What a pity, indeed!
Due to the events at Jingzhou...
we lost our foundation for taking the Central Plains.
Just when Cao Cao was about to bow in defeat. he had the chance to live once more.
If we hoped to destroy him again, it would be even more difficult.
On the other hand,
Sun Quan was able to expand his power beyond the Southland and enter the Central Plains.
Oh, Jing Province.
The heart of the empire!
Its fertile lands enjoy bountiful harvests.
It could easily support an army of 500,000!
More importantly, Jing connects to every other region.
If we were to mobilize an army from there.
whether it's to the north or south.
by wagons or ships, as infantry or cavalry, we could move fast.
But...
When attacking north from the Riverlands,
the terrain is treacherous and the army has to march over 2,000 miles.
Where is Lord Liu?
Hens now resting in the inner quarters. No one may disturb him.
Step aside!
The advantageous position we had obtained
has vanished with the loss of Jingzhou.
The three factions of Cao, Sun, and Liu
ave now returned to a stifling stalemate once more
What is it, Gongyou?
My lord, Director General...
Cao Pi forced the Emperor to abdicate.
He established a new dynasty and proclaimed himself Emperor of Wei.
After the Emperor was deposed, he was banished from Xuchang.
During the course of his journey, his boat sank in the Zhang River.
My lord, the great Han Dynasty that spanned four hundred years
has been eradicated!
My lord! My lord!
This was inevitable. You must take care of yourself.
Oh, Heavens...
My second brother only recently passed away,
and the son of Heaven was also met with calamity.
I have fought battles over the course of my life. all in the name of serving the House of Han.
But now, the House of Han is no more. and the Emperor has met a most treacherous end.
What's the use of me being a descendant of the imperial Liu family?
What's the use of having great aspirations and living for the pursuit of honor?
To be alive is worse than death for me.
My lord, my lord.
Your servant, Liu Bei, bows respectfully before Your Late Majesty.
Your Majesty...
Harsh was your lot in life!
Since your youth. you were humiliated and treated cruelly by traitors.
And then you were taken hostage by Cao Cao.
In the end, you died at the hands of the traitor Cao Pi.
Vengeance has not been exacted. The grave injustice has not been righted.
The empire has been shattered. The lands have fallen into the hands of evil men.
This is all because of my lack of ability.
In my role as the Imperial Uncle,
I received your blood-written edict to annihilate the traitors and rebuild Han.
But even after all these years, I was still unable to fulfill Your Majesty's wishes.
could not live up to Your Majesty's expectations. My sin is unforgivable!
How can I can possibly face our royal ancestors?
I, Liu Bei, swear thus to the Heavens.
Though the Emperor Has passed away, the Han empire shall live on.
I vow to carry on the legacy of the empire,
to rid the world of all these traitors,
and to rebuild the great Han!
My lord, please restrain your grief.
If I may ask,
how do you plan to carry on the legacy of the empire?
My lord, the Emperor has passed away.
The country cannot be without a ruler for even a day.
Since Cao Cab's son, Cao Pi, has proclaimed himself emperor...
you have even more reason to continue the Han legacy.
Ascend the throne and rally the world to your cause!
General Zilong is right.
Allow no rest for the traitors. The Han must not retreat.
Only by proclaiming yourself emperor can you continue the Han.
We respectfully request that your lordship ascend the throne.
Insolence!
I am still in mourning garb.
And already you would make me a disloyal man?
My lord, Cao Pi already usurped the Han throne.
As a descendant of the Han house.
you should succeed as emperor and keep the Han alive.
Zilong.
As a Han subject,
how could Impossibly emulate that traitors actions?
My lord, the Emperor has been murdered by Cao Pi.
If you do not succeed him.
how can you declare a righteous war on the traitors?
Moreover, all the people in the country
yearn for you to accept Heaven's Mandate, as.people in a drought yearn for rain.
If you stick rigidly to propriety and refuse to take the next step,
you will dash the hopes of the people.
By usurping the throne and declaring himself emperor?
Cao Pi is already reviled by the realm.
Though I am a descendant of the Han,
I have neither done any righteous acts for the world,
nor have:!'gotten rid of the traitors and rebuilt Han.
If l proclaim myself emperor,
wouldn't that make me as wicked as Cao Pi?
What would I be in the eyes of learned men, and of officers and commoners throughout the realm?
My lord,
your officers have followed you in battle hither and thither for many years.
They all want your to claim legitimacy and rule as emperor.
How dare you, Wei Yan!
Easy enough for you to say such words!
can tell what you mean to say.
You want me to become emperor so that all of you can obtain noble ranks too!
If that's the case, I refuse to do it all the more!
I would rather meet my end than proclaim myself emperor.
Anyone who brings this up again shall be punished.
Yes, sir.
My lord! My lord
Director General.
The officers advocated ascension only out of loyalty.
Why did our lord become so irate?
Our lord became angry.
It seems there is hope now.
Oh?
Director General.
His Highness said, "I am ill and cannot manage state affairs,"
From today, all state affairs shall be decided by Zhuge Liang.
You may conduct affairs without reporting to me."
Inform our lord that I accept his order.
Director General, what does this mean?
It seems our lord is truly angry.
Zhengfang.
Director General.
At the funeral ceremony for the late emperor.
the officers pleaded for our lord to ascend the throne.
Why did you remain silent?
To answer your question, sir,
many key officers had already voiced their opinions on that day.
There was no need for me to speak my mind.
Please take a seat.
Thank you.
Zhengfang.
You are too respectful to me.
You are so respectful that it makes me wonder why you're doing this.
The respect I show you, sir,
is simply out of my heartfelt admiration for you.
There's no need.
We both serve our lord. We should be at ease around each other.
Then you can relax and I can have peace of mind.
Yes, sir.
Sir! What's the matter?
My chest feels constricted and I cant breathe.
Men! Bring the physician here now!
The Supreme Ancestor had...
a high...a high..."
A high-bridged nose and royal features."
Right. "A high-bridged nose and royal features..."
A handsome...a handsome..."
A handsome beard."
Handsome...
A handsome beard."
He had a handsome beard and 72 moles on his left thigh."
He was virtuous and loved his people..."
Wait... no. "He was generous..."
Ah-Dou.
You have spent three days memorizing the "Annals of the Supreme Ancestor".
From the Man Shu. the official hi
How can you only remember just a few sentences?
I'm just too dim.
Dim?
What about games like ball-kicking and arrow-tossing?
Why do you excel at those?
Come here.
Hold out your hand. Twenty strokes for you.
Please be gentle, father.
My hands are still swollen from yesterday's beating.
My lord.
Young Master's hands are still swollen. Please save it for next time.
Go.
Continue memorizing. I shall test you again tomorrow.
Yes, Father.
Gongyou,
my child is hopelessly mediocre.
What is going to happen to him after I leave this world?
My lord, he is still young.
Once he's older, he'll be fine.
I hope that's the case.
Gongyou.
You have served me for over 20 years, right?
I entered your service during the third year of Zhongping, sir.
It has been 23 years now.
All those years went by in the blink of an eye.
Not many of our old comrades...
are alive now.
My lord^please ascend the throne.
Time does not wait for any man.
Did Kongming make you say these things to me?
I speak of my own accord.
If my lord does not become the emperor, I will die in regret.
Thank you.
I will give it consideration.
My lord.
The Director General suddenly fell ill and could not get up.
Administrative affairs are piling up,
but nobody dares to attend to them.
The Director General is sick?
Prepare my carriage. I shall visit him.
Yes, sir.
Gongyou, would you like to come along?
It's all right. I would just inconvenience you two.
My lord.
Lie down, Kongming.
What happened to you?
How did you get so ill?
It's like there's a rock on my chest.
It's unbearably constricting.
How did it happen?
Do you know a man named Hua Xin?
I do
He's Cao Pis trusted right-hand man.
He was the prime instigator of His Majesty's abdication.
Cao Pi made him his chancellor.
Years ago, Hua Xin and Guan Ning shared a sitting-mat when they were in school together
One day, a high-ranking official passed by the school.
Guan Ning continued to study..
Hua Xin, however, threw down the scroll in his hands and went out to watch.
When he returned,
he saw Guan Ning cutting their sitting-mat in half,
saying, you are no friend of mine
I too have heard the story of Guan Ning severing his mat and friendship.
Right now, the carriage that Hua Xin rides in
is far more glamorous than the one he saw in the past.
As for Guan Ning, he still continues to.study.
My lord, between these two men, Hua Xin and Guan Ning,
who is better? Who is worse?
That is obvious.
Guan Ning is a respectable gentleman.
whereas Hua Xin is an opportunist.
How do I compare to Hua Xin?
You are far superior. There is no comparison.
But when Hua Xin proposed for Cao Bi to ascend the throne,
Cao Pi agreed.
Whereas when I asked my. lord to assume the position,
you refused to do so.
My lord, even though Hua Xin may be a opportunist,
Cao Pi isn't.
His act of assuming therthrone*was a brilliant move.
For him to compete with you,
he had to seize the throne for himself.
This was not due to Cao Pi's lust for power.
He was forced to do so by the circumstances.
If you desire to carry on the greatness of;the Han empire,
you too must proclaim yourself emperor.
Kongming, I have a question for you.
Please ask it, my lord.
Initially, when I decided to become the Prince of Hanzhong,
you were quite disapproving of it at heart.
Why are you now trying to persuade me to become emperor?
So that's the question
that you've kept in your heart for two years.
Why didn't you ask it earlier?
When I asked you not to become prince back then,
I was being overly cautious.
I was worried that it would make our army and the officers arrogant.
But now, I'm persuading you to become emperor
because you have to do it.
If you do not do it,
then Cao Pi will be the only emperor under Heaven.
Han no longer exists now.
If you wish to avoid criticism and refuse to become emperor.
eventually, those talented individuals who desire to make a name for themselves
may end up serving Cao Pi instead.
Cao Cao commanded a large forced.
and used the emperor to dominate the other warlords.
He campaigned across the realm.
but even on his death bed, he refused to declare himself emperor.
It's not that Cao Cao did not wish to be emperor.
Heaven did not grant him the opportunity to do so.
Many warlords had risen to power and the land was in chaos.
He feared that if he became emperor,
many others would also appoint themselves emperors or princes.
The opponent that he most feared was you, my lord.
Hence, it was better if nobody declared themselves emperor,
since he was the one with the puppet emperor in his hands.
his to manipulate.
But now, Han has fallen.
and Cao Pi seized the throne.
If you wish to restore Han's glory,
you must proclaim yourself emperor.
The reason why I've turned down the request so much...
is that I'm concerned about what others may say.
Unjustified actions are criticized.
If your actions are justifiable, what's to criticize?
All know it.
Heaven punishes those who do not seize a golden opportunity.
Kongming, you're not sick at all.
Neither were you, my lord.
Oh well.
I have another concern.
Those who advised ascending the throne
were mostly veterans who followed me into the Riverlands.
But what about the Riverlands officers who surrendered?
Is my lord referring to people like Li Yan and Huang Quan?
We must not ignore those who have long served the Riverlands.
We must not, because this was originally their home.
And then we conquered their land and made it our home instead.
I apologize greeting you so late. Please forgive me.
I was passing by and felt thirsty.
I thought Id stop in for tea.
Please come in.
I heard that one year during the Zhongping reign,
the Riverlands experienced a severe drought.
More than a quarter of those who lived along this road died of thirst.
It was you, who summoned your clansmen to spend several months
digging a hundred-span-deep well in your residence,
thereby saving everyone in the neighborhood.
This water tastes sweet and quite extraordinary.
It must be from that well, correct?
My lord is aware of that incident, too?
That's why I decided to come here and have some tea.
Forgive me for being blunt.
My lord, you have not come solely to have tea.
I have come to seek your opinion on the future direction of the Riverlands.