Episode 78
Three Kingdoms
Your Majesty!
Move aside!
Do you think I can't stand on my own two feet without your support?
Third Brother!
You shouldn't have died!
It was all because your elder brother didn't listen to you!
If I had invaded Wu earlier.
you wouldn't have suffered such an evil fate!.
Your Majesty, my father was killed by Sun Quan.
I vow not to rest until he is destroyed!
Uncle, please command us to invade Wu
and have Sun Quan's head cut off!
Nephew,
it was my fault.
Uncle!
Sire, please restrain your grief.
Before this deep wrong is avenged. Your Majesty mustn't destroy your own health.
How can my heart not be rent?
When I think of Hulao Pass,
when I think of Dangyang Bridge,
and then I think about that peach garden at Zhuojun,
It pains me as though my heart is being torn out!
Your Majesty
Sire! You must avenge my father!
Of course we will have to take revenge.
First, Yunchang Was murdered by those Wu villains.
And now, Fan Jiang and Zhang Da
took Yide's head into the Southland as well.
Sun Quan has cut off both my arms.,
I want nothing less than to devour his flesh and exterminate his clan!
Qin Mi!
Here.
I command you to draft a proclamation of Our invasion of Wu.
Your Majesty! I implore you to reconsider!
You would defy Our command?
Your Majesty!
Even though the villains of Wu plotted to cause,the fall of Jing Province,
the real traitors who sought to overthrow the dynasty are the Cao clan.
Once those villains are eliminated, Wu will have no choice but to surrender,
and the realm of the Great Han will be complete once more.
I pray you to focus on restoring the dynasty.
Destroy Wei first, and then take over Wu,
so that the empire may be restored, and the people may rejoice.
This advice again.
I'm telling you now.
Wei is strong and Wu is weak.
To restore the empire, we must attack Wu.
Also, to take our revenge, we must attack Wu.
My mind is made up. Say no more.
Your Majesty.
The Sun clan has long ruled the Southland. Their roots are deep and their foundations are solid.
When Cao Cao marched south with a host of 830,000,
he was met with a crushing defeat.
Sire! If you make your decisions in anger,
I worry...
that you will follow the same path to ruin as Cao Cao has!
Guards!
Here!
Drag him out and behead him!
Your Majesty! I do not begrudge death! Aye!
I only worry that our state will be met with disaster!
Your Majesty!
Although Qin Mi was brazen in his speech,
he was speaking out of loyalty!
Zilong!
I forbid you to make any further pleas on that man's behalf!
Your Majesty! Please pardon Qin Mi's offense.
I am willing to write the proclamation ordering the attack on Wu.
You need not trouble yourself
I shall compose the invasion proclamation myself.
As for Qin Mi, keep him in prison for now.
I .will deal with him when I return from invading Wu.
From this day forward, whoever holds me back from invading Wu
shall be considered my enemy.
As you wish.
Your Excellency.
What is it?
Your Excellency,
I heard that His Majesty issued a decree
appointing Li Yan as Chief Secretary
and Huang Quan as the Governor of Shu.
I fear your power will be taken away from you.
Wei Yan!
You are sowing dissension between your lord and his subjects.
I wouldn't dare!
Your Excellency,
rumors are spreading in the court
that His Majesty is planning to have Li Yan replace you.
Why do your ears always pickup such baseless rumors?
Oh, Wei Yan,
it was His Majesty who granted you the rank of a general.
Apart from dedicating your life to your lord's service, you should not give thought to anything else.
And, if worse come to worst.
should His Majesty truly wish to promote Li Yan to Prime Minister,
he is acting perfectly within his rights.
Living here in the Riverlands,
we must rely on the wise men of the Riverlands.
Your Excellency.
Even though Wei Yan has misspoken,
he was speaking only out of concern for you.
Ma Su.
Compose a memorial on my behalf. I wish to ask His Majesty for punishment.
Your Excellency, what crime have you committed?
You'll say that,
by invading Wu, His Majesty is acting in accordance with Heavens will.
But in my foolishness I failed to see that. but rather held him back, time and again.
I am deeply remorseful now,
and beg His Majesty to grant me due punishment.
Understood.
I will go write it at once.
I wish to play some music now. You are dismissed.
Ma Liang!
Your Excellency.
Remember.
Once the army enters Wu territory, at each place camp is set,
you must draw a map of the nearby landmarks and gather intelligence about the enemy.
Send these to Chengdu by express for me to read! There must be no delay.
Understood.
Your Excellency,
what do you predict to be the results of this eastern expedition?
Do not worry so much.
Simply do your best in assisting His Majesty.
My lord.
The scouts reported that Liu Bei is personally leading an army eastward.
By the eighth of the month. the Shu army had already left the Riverlands.
They're here at last.
Looks like not even Zhuge Liang could hold Liu Bei back.
However, I have anticipated all of this.
How many troops?
Army and navy together, about 700,000.
Seven hundred thousand?
Liu Bei has emptied his territory of troops.
Seems that he's staking everything he has on this one.
Demou.
Here.
Call a meeting in the Grand Hall.
Liu Bei, apart from his own Riverlands troops,
has the aid of 50,000 barbarian troops under their king, Shamoke,
as well as two units led by the frontier captains Du Lu and Liu Ning.
They come by land and river, by wagon and boat,
and as of yesterday their navy has already cleared Wukou.
Their riders are closing in on Zigui.
Gentlemen,
how should the Southland defend against the invasion?
My lord.
On this eastern expedition, Liu Bei has marched with full speed.
His true intent is in settling victory swiftly.
We should find a way to slow him down,
and wait for a chance to act.
Ziyu, what is your strategy?
Because of Zhang Fei's death.
Liu Bei deeply resents Fan Jiang and Zhang Da.
One of his excuses for this expedition is to avenge his Third Brother.
My lord.
You may hand those two men back to Liu Bei.
Propose a ceasefire and negotiate a truce.
That idea is worth trying.
but I fear it might not solve the greater problem.
I understand Liu Bei far too well.
If he dares come, his will is bent on violence.
We must hold our own by giving battle.
Only by giving battle might we gain a truce.
If we cannot fight, the only peace we obtain would be a humiliating one.
A truce that you have to beg for is not far removed from capitulation.
My lord is wise.
I also feel that we must first give an all-out battle.
and give Liu Bei some trouble.
Only when the two sides are in a deadlock
and Liu Bei's grain runs low,
can we send someone over to sue for peace.
Demou is absolutely right.
Liu Bei's host is now closing in on Zigui.
Zigui, as the gateway to the Southland, must not be lost.
Who among you will volunteer to lead an army to Zigui
and meet Liu Bei in battle?
My lord, I volunteer to go.
Veteran General, you have fought much on the field and have gained immense glory.
However, you are no longer young, and your strength is not as before.
I think it's time for the next generation of talents to shine.
Who among you is willing to go?
Back then,
Cao Cao came here with an army of 830,000.
Zhou Yu and Lu Su had only 50,000 picked men.
and they still dealt him a complete defeat.
A pity that Gongjin has passed away.
and that Zijing left us forever
that the Southland has no one to succeed them, that I am forced to surrender and become another man's slave!
No!
After Zhou Yu and Lu Su, there is still me. Sun Huan!
My lord, although your nephew is young,
he has studied military manuals since his youth.
I have followed Grand Commander Zhou Yu many times on his campaigns.
I volunteer to lead an elite force of 50,000 and meet Liu Bei in battle!
If I do not return victorious,
I will accept punishment willingly.
Excellent!
Sun Huan,
I name you Left Commander of the Western Campaign, and Zhu Ran the Right Commander of the Western Campaign.
I give you 50,000 picked men and order you to go meet Liu Bei in battle at Zigui!
Yes, sir!
Listen.
I do not expect you to be able to rout Liu Bei's army.
I only want you to hold onto Zigui for one month.
Once Liu Bei's troops have dulled their edge,
I will be.able to force him into talking truce.
Remember.
For one month you shall defend Zigui.
It must not fall!
Remember well.
Aye!!
Aye! Aye!
Sire.
A Southland envoy, Cheng Bing,
is here to meet you on Sun Quans orders.
Tell him to come in.
Yes.
This way.
The Marquis of Wu sends his greetings to the Imperial Uncle.
Go on.
Upon the Marquis' command,
l am here to implore the Imperial Uncle to cease hostilities.
hat the Marquis would like to give you
I have come with two presents
What presents?
Your enemies.
The traitors who murdered General Yide
Fan Jiang and Zhang Da.
Heed my orders!
Arrest the messenger,
and behead him along with Fan Jiang and Zhang Da,
in order to appease the soul of my brother Yide.
Aye!
Sire! According to ancient rites.
even when two armies are at war, envoys are not killed.
My hatred of Sun Quan surpasses anything in history.
Today I will insist on executing the envoy to make my point.
Drag him out. Off with his head.
Aye! Drag him out. Off with his head.
Imperial Uncle, have mercy! Imperial Uncle!
Have mercy! Imperial Uncle!
Imperial Uncle, have mercy!
As you have witnessed,
even before battle is joined. Sun Quan is already trembling with fear.
The castle of Zigui is the gate to the Southland.
Once the city is breached. the way to the Southland will be wide open,
and we will be able to proceed on land and water simultaneously.
Zhang Bao, Guan Xing, heed my orders!
Here!
I command you two to make straight for Zigui.
You have three days' time to take the castle.
Yes, sir!
Zigui Castle
Forward!
Stand fast! Defend the castle!
Don't panic! On your feet, men!
Aim well and shoot the enemy! Hurry!
Get up! Don't dare you run away!
Hurry and aim at the enemy!
Listen up!
Whoever dares to flee will be killed!
Attack!
Ram it! You all get in there and ram the gate open!
Ram the gate open
Why is the gate still standing? Ram it down! Ram it down!
Charge!
Sir! The east gate has been breached!
Shu troops are rushing in!
Men! Go! Take back the east gate!
Come with me!
Sir!
Sir! Tens of thousands of Shu troops have already come in!
Its too late!
That's right! General, it's too late!
Our lord ordered me to hold out for a month.
If I lose Zigui mere hours into the battle,
how can I ever face our lord again?
I...I...I...
General! Don't do it! General!
If you kill yourself, morale will plummet! Let's retreat from Zigui instead!
Right!
Men!
Here!
Escort the general1 out!
Escort the general out!
Aye!
Hurry!
General!
In just two days,
our army has penetrated 200 miles into Wu territory.
We have advanced with uncanny speed.
Now that Zigui is breached.
the Wu troops in Xingcheng and Luding cannot hold on for long.
By my estimation, before winter arrives..
Your Majesty will be able to enter Jingzhou.
Zhang Bao,
I heard that you were the first to charge into the city.
My regiment of 5,000 infantry and I were the first to knock down the east gate.
Excellent!
My nephew's valor is not beneath that of his father's.
Listen
Each man from your unit shall be rewarded
with two pounds of meat and two quarts of wine.
Those above the rank of colonel
shall be rewarded according to their merits.
Thank you, Sire.
Xingcheng and Luding will be Guan Xing's job.
Eh? Where's Guan Xing?
Sire, when General Guan heard about General Zhang's achievements,
he became quite impatient.
He has already marched off with his regiment.
I haven't even given my orders, and he's already too impatient to go.
Good! Like father, like son!
Hurry! Hurry!
Take the door down!
Good! Use that for fuel!
His Majesty arrives!
What god is honored in this temple?
Your Majesty, it seems like it's Yu the Great.
Yu the Great?
You dare burn the door of even Yu the Great's temple?
Is nothing sacred?
From now on,
every blade of grass here belongs to us, the Shu Kingdom.
Tell me,
who would take down his own front door and burn it for fuel?
My apologies.
Put the door back.
Put it back.
Ma Liang!
Sire!
This just reminded me.
From now on,
every city that we conquer must be considered Shu territory.
Temples and commoners' homes may not be entered without permission.
All commoners, livestock, farms, and property must be documented properly.
Also,
should be rehashed according to the Shu Code.
all local laws and regulations
Yes, sir.
Sun Huan was routed, and Zigui is lost.
The gates to Jing Province are wide open.
Before they left,
Who defends a castle like that?
I had ordered those two to defend it—to defend it!
I ordered Sun Huan to defend the castle for a month.
And he lost it within half a day of fighting.
and lost a good ten thousand troops to boot!
My lord.
The news of the fall of Zigui has been spreading like wildfire.
Even cities deep in Southland territoriy such as Jiankang and Jiekou have been thrown into confusion.
The commoners are speaking of the Shu troops as if they are supernatural beings.
The wealthy are liquidating their assets. and the people are rushing to marry their daughters off.
In the city, there are even strange tales of people fighting over bridegrooms.
My lord, the latest military report.
I suppose it's another report of defeat.
But no matter.
Read it aloud to everyone. Let them hear it well.
Guan Xing, the Right Vanguard Leader of the Shu, lead a force of 10,000 and overcame Xingcheng.
The general defending the city, Linghu Ming, slit his own throat, and the majority of his troops fell in battle.
The Shu army is disciplined,
and has strictly prohibited burning and pillaging conquered land.
They also appointed civil officers to resume administration,
making records of farms, people, livestock, and property,
and abolishing Wu laws...
Enough!
Do you know
why Liu Bei is doing this?
Why is he doing this?
That is because
he is already considering the lands of Wu to be the lands of Shu,
considering the people of Wu to be the subjects of Shu!
And do you understand now?
Liu Bei is here not for vengeance,
but to annex our homeland.
and to conquer the entire realm!
You have come.
Yes, Mother.
I have come.
His troops have already overcome Zigui Castle,
and are making straight for the heartland of Wu.
Who's "he"?
The Lord of Shu, Liu Bei.
Mother,
I have forgotten this man long ago.
Have you truly forgotten your own husband?
He should be sixty-two already.
Who knows how age has changed him?
Liu Bei led a force of 700,000 in person to invade Wu.
In six hours' time they breached Zigui.
Perhaps it wont take long for him to charge into Jianye.
At the hour the state of Wu is destroyed.
you will be reunited with your husband...
Daughter, are you glad?
Mother!
Daughter, help your big brother this once.
And save the people of the Southland!
Mother,
what must I do to save the people of the Southland?
Go back to Liu Bei's side and be reunited with him.
Little sister, you are a potion of soothing calmness.
Perhaps you can douse the vengeful fire in Liu Bei's heart.
Are you unwilling?
Five years ago, it was I who abandoned him.
How could I face him again now?
You said to me that he cherishes you completely.
And Mother knows that you still miss him.
A person may throw away everything,
but ties of love alone are impossible to break.
Little sister, your big brother is inept.
I don't know how I can ever face the souls of our father and our elder brother.
But I shall look for another way.
Big Brother.
Send me to Liu Bei.
Sister,
your brother and the people of the Southland
offer you their most heartfelt thanks!
"To the Imperial Uncle: Please accept my humblest greetings."
"The passing of Yunchang was due to Lu Meng's animosity towards him."
He undertook unauthorized military operation which led to this unfortunate result."
Now that Lu Meng is dead, this grudge should be laid to rest"
was committed by traitors from your esteemed army."
The murder of Yide, on the other hand
have already offered Fan Jiang and Zhang Da to you as a demonstration of my deepest regret"
The whole world knows that Your Majesty aspires to restore the Han."
However, you now ignore the state of Wei and would rather invade the state of Wu."
This I find inadvisable."
My sister have long desired to be restored to you. Sir, neither have your own affections ebbed."
For the greater good "
as well as the three commanderies of ling."
humbly offer to return to you my sister
earnestly hope that our houses can again pin in friendship and destroy Cao Pi together."
May Your Majesty grant his consideration to this matter."
Back then,
Sun Quan, for the sake of gaining Jing Province,
married Xiaomei to me.
And now, to protect the Southland,
he wants to send her back again.
You will go and tell him.
It's too late.
Whether it's Xiaomei or jing Province, I don't need his offer.
I can take them by myself.
Your Majesty was originally the Emperor's uncle.
Cao Pi murdered his sovereign and usurped the Han throne.
However, not only do you. Sire, not consider to punish him,
but you would rather deign to invade Wu in person.
In doing so, you are in essence abandoning greater justice in pursuit of petty personal gain.
The Southland is a peripheral region of the realm,
whereas the Two Capitals have been the foundations of the Han House.
Sire, by disregarding of the Two Capitals and focusing on the Southland,
you are exchanging the important for a trifle.
Can he restore to me the lives of my Second and Third Brothers?
I will not share the same skies with my brothers' slayer.
I will not call off this campaign, as long as I draw breath.
Does Your Majesty not fear that Cao Pi will take advantage of this situation,
and destroy both Shu and Wu in one blow?
If Cao Pi dares come.
I will destroy him as well.
Zhuge Jin.
If it weren't for the sake of the Prime Minister,
I would take your head right now.
Go back and tell Sun Quan
to come out with all his officers
and offer their surrender to me.
Mother.
Liu Bei rejected the proposal.
So, there is no avoiding of a bloody war between our houses?
Most likely it will be even bloodier than the Battle of Red Cliff.
On one side is my brother,
on the other is my husband.
My heart has been torn in two by those two men.
Dear daughter,
I'm so sorry.
I hate Liu Bei!
I hate him so much!
I really should have just killed him on that day!
Truly?
Mother, I'd rather be dead than alive!