Episode 91
Three Kingdoms
Do you recognize this formation?
This is the Eight Trigrams Formation.
I've known it since I was nine.
Since you know it, can you defeat it?
What can be recognized can be defeated.
Wonderful.
Go ahead and command your, men to attack, then.
If you manage to defeat this formation, I shall retreat to Hanzhong and never return.
Really?
I call upon Heaven and the armies here to be my witness.
A gentleman's word is as good as gold.
Dai Ling, Zhang Hu, Yue Ping, hear my orders!
Sir!
This formation of Zhuge Liang's is called the Eight Trigrams Formation.
It has eight entrances, including the gates of Wonder, Death, Limit, and Pain.
Don't be fooled by its intimidating appearance.
It is all style and no substance.
and is nothing to be concerned about.
First, charge through the Gate of Life in the east.
then turn toward the Gate of Rest in the southwest
and exit the formation there.
After.that, quickly charge back towards the north
and attack the Gate of Opening.
Thus, you will certainly break the formation.
Yes,,sir!
On with your attack! I will aid you from the side.
Father, the Shu Army changed formations.
The Eight Trigrams Formation has transformed into the Yin-Yang Formation.
That's not right. That cant be the Yin-Yang Formation.
Yin-Yang gives rise to the Eight Trigrams, but not the other way around!
Oh no! Father, look.
Zhuge Liang has shut all the gates.
Dai Ling and the others will not be able to make it out.
Listen, men over there! Our Prime Minister sends his greetings!
He sends Sima Zhongda three fat hogs as a gift to his army!
Let's go...
Grand Commander.
What happened?
As ordered, we entered through the Gate of Life and exited through the Gate of Rest.
But once we were inside the formation, all the gates disappeared.
Zhuge Liang asked me to tell you, sir... to go home...
to... to... re...review military texts and brush up on tactical theories.
before trying your luck again in three years.
Leave us.
Aye.
Attention!
Sir!
All troops will charge at the Shu camps and aim straight for Zhuge Liang!
Father wait.
Zhuge Liang is clearly trying to provoke you to anger and lure us into attacking rashly.
Even so, I fear him not!
Guo Huai, issue my orders.
Yes!
Follow my banner and attack the Shu camps.
We'll capture Zhuge Liang alive!
Yes, sir!
Charge!
Yes, sir!
The Wei army has lost. Sima Yi's banner was seen retreating to the southeast.
Your Excellency, please give me 20;000 cavalry to pursue Sima Yi.
You and the main forces can then follow up the attack. .
Forget it.
Why?
First, Sima Yi has already gone far by now.
Second, our provisions are depleted.
It is not advisable for us to pursue the enemy.
What, our provisions are depleted?
Why, Your Excellency, I've never heard you speak of it.
I refrained from mentioning it, lest it would affect morale.
Provisions from the Riverlands should have arrived 10 days ago.
I wonder what happened? Why are they not here yet?
Zhao, you were right.
I have attacked so recklessly.
Fortunately, the Shu army did not pursue us.
Zhuge Liang is fond of setting ambushes.
Therefore, he feared that I had set an ambush as well.
Relay my orders.
The army will pull back 50 miles and take up position in the strongholds around the city.
Without my orders, no one is to attack.
Yes, sir!
Who are you?
General Jiang Wei.
Tell me. Why did the supplies arrive so late?
Why did you make us miss our opportunity to advance?
Not your business.
Let me see the Prime Minister and speak to him.
See the Prime Minister?
You're not too ashamed to face the Prime Minister? Who gave you the right to see him?
Who are you to see him?
You rascal!
Gou An.
The 200,000 bushels of food you were responsible for should have arrived on the 8th of this month.
Why are they 16 days late?
Your Excellency,
the roads along the way were winding and dangerous. and damaged in multiple places.
I suffered much hardship and only managed to get here through my utmost effort.
I myself have traveled the Qi Mountain paths countless times.
Even by the slowest estimate shouldn't take an extra 15 days!
You obviously failed the task due to drink!
Even from here, I can smell liquor on you
Your Excellency,
I am Li Yan's nephew.
This is my first assignment away from the court.
Please spare me this time, on behalf of Sir Li.
According to the law, a three-day delay is punishable by death.
Given that this is your first assignment, I will spare your life,
and treat you leniently.
Thank you. Your Excellency.
Take him out and give him 80 lashes.
Aye.
Your Excellency, don't!
I am Li Yan's nephew!
Your Excellency, please reconsider. Reconsider! Please!
Your Excellency!
Your Excellency, supplies are of paramount importance to the military.
Not only was Gou An late, he also ruined our perfect opportunity for advancing.
Why let him off so easily?
Gou An is Li Yan's man.
If we executed him, Li Yan would hold a grudge against me
More importantly,
no one would dare to take on this task in the future.
Zhuge Liang.
I hope you get shot with 10,000 arrows!!
I hope you fall off a high cliff!
I hope you get your head chopped off!
I curse you! I hope you die a horrible death!
I curse you! I curse you! l curse you!
Sir, there's a cart up there!
Retreat!
Seize them all! Every last one of them!
I was out reconnoitering and caught this Shu officer on the Meng Hill Path.
Who are you?
Why have you been beaten?
I... I am the supplies officer of the Shu army.
My name is Gou An.
Because I was late in delivering supplies, Zhuge Liang had me beaten harshly.
Late by how many days?
Fi... fifteen days.
No wonder Zhuge Liang did not press on the attack the other day.
They had no food left.
I Good job being late!
I'll reward you with another 80 lashes.
Spare me. Grand Commander! Spare me...
Listen.
Would you rather be dead or alive?
Alive!
I'd... like to stay alive.
Do you know a Shu minister by the name of Li Yan?
Grand Commander, he is my uncle.
I will grant you a great opportunity to earn glory.
When it's done, you'll go to Chang'an
and serve in the Wei Court as...
State Secretary. Hows that?
Please tell me what to do.
I... I am willing to serve you.
Father, Gou An has returned from the main camp at Qi Mountain and asks to see you.
Aye.
Let him in.
Uncle, my respects.
You... what happened to you?
I was transporting food supplies and was just...
just a few days late.
And Zhuge Liang gave me 80 lashes.
Just... just about broke my legs too!
You shouldn't have been late in the first place.
Ah, forget it. Go home and rest.
Uncle, on my way home,
I intercepted a secret letter.
Would you take a look at this?
This is Sima Yi's letter to Cao Rui, Emperor of Wei!
Father,
what is the matter?
See for yourself.
Zhuge Liang accepted a large bribe from Sima Yi.
The two made a secret agreement to pull back their troops,
set the Wei River as a boundary, and to never invade one another again.
Gou An, how did you obtain such an important letter?
On my way back from the front, I passed by a tavern at Longguan.
Two Wei officers were drinking there,
so I ordered my men to kill them,
and on one of their bodies I found this letter.
I will recount your courage to His Majesty.
You must not breathe a word about this letter to anyone.
I understand.
Go home for now.
Feng, saddle the horses. I'm going to Chengdu.
Father.
Might this be Sima Yi's trick to turn us against each other?
Remember?
A few years ago, the Prime Minister used a similar plot
to remove Sima Yi from his position at court.
Better safe than sorry.
I am the man entrusted by His Late Majesty with the care of his son.
How can I stand by when the state is in peril?
Father, Father. How can I stand by when the state is in peril?
I you remove Zhuge Liang from power. the court will fall into chaos.
and then Shu-Han will be finished!
Feng, why are you so worried?
If Zhuge Liang is really dismissed from office,
wouldn't I still be here?
I refuse to believe I am any less capable than Zhuge Liang.
Father, Father, Father!
Your Majesty,
Sima Yi has already reported to Cao Rui, Emperor of Wei,
regarding his private agreement with Zhuge Liang
to keep to their respective lands and never to aggress against each other.
In doing this, Zhuge Liang has kept Your Majesty and the entire Shu court in the dark.
What is it that Zhuge Liang means to do?
Sir, you are worrying too much.
Even before this northern expedition, I had tried to convince the Prime Minister not to go to war.
Since Shu cannot conquer Wei, and Wei likewise cannot conquer Shu,
why not make friends and be at peace with each other?
Now the Prime Minister has made a truce with Sima Yi and persuaded him to retreat on his own accord.
That is in accordance with my original intent too!
Your Majesty, that is not the point...
The point is that, in such an important matter.
why did Zhuge Liang not seek your royal approval first?
Why would he sign the agreement with Sima Yi in secret?
Might there be other dealings behind this agreement?
Forgive me for being blunt.
but who is the true sovereign of Shu-Han?
Is it Your Majesty or Zhuge Liang?
Right...
It's such an important matter...
The Prime Minister shouldn't have kept it from me.
Your Majesty, over the years,
Zhuge Liang has used the excuse of the northern expeditions to control all of Shu-Han's military.
That is a frightening thing.
You mean, the Prime Minister will commit treason?
Whether or not Zhuge Liang will commit treason.
the point is that, if he does.
will Your Majesty be able to stop him?
If you can't, then you would be emperor in name only,
while Zhuge Liang, this mighty minister, would be the true ruler.
Your Majesty, throughout history, whenever a subject dominated over a weak ruler,
the ruler would die and the state would perish.
Right, right, right...
Your Majesty,
do you remember Emperor Xian? What became of him in the end?
That wont happen! That wont happen!
When, at Baidi City, His Late Majesty entrusted me to Zhuge Liang's care,
he told Zhuge Liang to take over as the sovereign of Shu if I was no good.
Zhuge Liang refused at that time.
If he had desired to seize the state from me. he could have done so then. Why wait until now?
That was then, and this is now.
At that time, there were still many men in court loyal to His Late Majesty,
such as Zhao Yun, Sun Qian, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao, and others.
They had closer ties to His Late Majesty than they did to Zhuge Liang.
Being circumspect, Zhuge Liang did not dare to take liberties then.
Things are different now.
Many of those who served the Late Ruler have passed on.
Zhuge Liang now has nothing to fear.
Sir, then what do you think I should do?
Your Majesty, please issue an edict summoning Zhuge Liang back to the capital.
Once he is here, I will confront him in person with this letter in hand.
But what should we do if he doesn't come?
That would only further prove that Zhuge Liang has treason in his heart.
His Majesty sent a letter in his own hand
has led an army of 150,000 to invade Shu territory
saying that Lu Xun of Wu
and has overcome some eight or nine passes in the south.
The generals of the Riverlands are no match for him.
His Majesty summons me back to Chengdu as relief.
If Wu was really invading us, we should have heard of it long ago.
Indeed.
Wu is not really invading our borders.
The truth is that His Majesty wishes me to return to court.
What will you do then, Your Excellency?
I must return to Chengdu and see His Majesty.
Your Excellency, the army has just been replenished.
We have able soldiers and ample supplies, and we have the advantage in this battle.
And Sima Yi? Defeated again, he was forced to pull back 200 miles.
If you leave now, wouldn't all of our efforts have been wasted?
True enough.
I suspect Sima Yi has something to do with this.
A few years ago, he was the victim of my dissension-sowing ruse.
Today he is giving me a taste of my own medicine.
A commander in the field needs not heed his lord's orders.
Your Excellency, I beg you not to return.
No.
My position in Shu is not an ordinary one.
I must return to Chengdu and see His Majesty.
Not doing so would constitute an act of disloyalty and treason.
I would come under others' suspicion.
Forcing me to retreat by causing internal havoc in our court is precisely Sima Yi's plan.
All right, how about this.
I will leave Wei Yan and Wang Ping in charge of the troops.
All units will hold their position. Do not retreat.
You alone will accompany me to see His Majesty in Chengdu.
Then how many men shall I bring?
What men?
You fear for my safety?
Fifty riders should well suffice.
Report! General Li, the Prime Minister has reached the 10-Mile River.
How many men are with him?
Just a carriage and a few scores of men. The only accompanying general is Jiang Wei.
And in the distance? Is there a great host following them?
I have scouted within a 50-mile radius. There is none.
Scout again
You must cover all ground within a 100-mile radius.
Aye.
Sirs, kindly wait here
while I go in person to greet His Excellency at the bridge.
Li Feng pays his respects to Your Excellency
Li Feng, why have you come alone?
Your Excellency, did you not receive my letter.
I did.
Then why have you not brought troops along for protection?
It was not easy for the army to reach Qi Mountain.
I had them hold their positions and wait for my return to continue with the campaign.
Are you aware, Your Excellency,
of the hidden dangers that await you within the city gates?
I am.
That's part of being the Prime Minister.
His Late Majesty gave me the honor of caring for his son. How can I begrudge my own life?
So be it. Please show me into the city.
Yes, sir.
Your Excellency, by His Majesty's orders.
please proceed to Taining Hall for an audience.
I think... this secret letter business...
maybe I shouldn't press it after all.
Zhuge Liang will be back very soon.
Now that the matter has come to this. Your Majesty must be decisive.
But the Prime Minister is like a father to me.
I... I just don't have the heart to do this.
Your Majesty does not have the heart to do this,
then His Late Majesty's estate will fall into the hands of another.
Your Majesty, think carefully about this.
You and Zhuge Liang are not only ruler and vassal.
but also like father and son.
But how has he treated you?
He conspires with Sima Yi and plots to seize His Late Majesty's empire.
In the past, Cao Cao used the emperor to control the lords.
Today's Zhuge Liang is the Cao Cao of the Riverlands!
Sir Li's comparing of me to Cao Cao
is not entirely without cause.
Cao Cao was the Prime Minister, as am I.
However, the similarity between Cao Cao and myself ends there.
Zhuge Liang is loyal. Cao Mengde is treacherous.
Loyalty and treachery are forever incompatible.
Prime Minister, you are back.
Your servant pays his respects to Your Majesty.
Prime Minister, please rise.
Your Majesty,
We have scored victory upon victory in the northern campaign.
Sima Yi has come to the end of his rope.
I was just about to push north, straight toward Chang'an.
Why did Your Majesty order me to return to court so suddenly?
Well... I have not seen you in many days and miss you dearly.
I wanted... to chat with you again.
Is Your Majesty aware of
the hardships, the dangers, and the sheer amount of resources involved
in setting forth from Qi Mountain with 300,000 troops?
Of how much blood is shed and lives are lost
when our men on the front lines fight to take enemy strongholds?
Well...
Your Majesty, things have come to a head.
There is no need for evasion.
You are the Emperor. You have no need to fear a subordinate.
Hear, hear, Li Yan.
Of what am I guilty?
Please be forthright. Your Majesty.
Minister Father,
I have a letter here. Do take a look.
This is Sima Yi's handwriting.
What fine penmanship! What a fine piece of writing! What a fine strategy!
Your Majesty,
do you believe the contents of this letter?
I...
I... don't really. But...
Zhuge Liang.
Of course His Majesty did not believe this to be true.
That is why he called you back to court to clarify matters.
whether the contents of the letter are true.
But you should be the one to tell His Majesty
After all, according to the letter.
it was you who came to an agreement with Sima Yi.
Li Yan, where did this letter come from?
Commandant Gou An found this on a Wei messenger on his way back to Chengdu.
And where is this Wei messenger?
He resisted desperately
and was killed by Gou An's men.
Then where is Gou An?
Right, sir!
You just said Gou An was coming.
Why is he not here yet?
Right.
I sent for him this morning.
But... but why has he not arrived yet?
If my suspicions are correct,
Gou An has fled Chengdu already.
Jiang Wei,
please apprise His Majesty of the situation.
Aye.
Your Majesty, Gou An delivered the supplies 15 days late. an offense punishable by death.
Considering that it was his first offense 4 and that he is the State Secretary's nephew.
His Excellency let him off with only 80 lashes.
After that, Gou An became resentful.
He was captured by the Wei Army on his way back.
All his men were killed, except for two who escaped into the mountains.
Only a few days later did they return to camp.
These two men are outside the palace now.
Sire, if you doubt my words, please summon them to testify.
The story of Gou An killing the messenger and retrieving the letter is utter nonsense.
Your Majesty,
Gou An has joined Sima Yi's side.
Sima Yi wrote this letter
and sent Gou An to Chengdu to sow dissension.
How could this simple plot
go undetected by Your Majesty?
I... I believed Li Yan's calumnious words.
I... I had a moment of foolishness.
Your Majesty,
Jiang Wei accuses Gou An of perjury.
But how do we know that his men are speaking the truth?
Li Yan,
the two men are outside the palace at this moment.
But where is Gou An?
No matter what,
this letter is here in black and white.
Your Majesty, please give the order
to remove Zhuge Liang from office and then investigate this matter thoroughly.
Your Majesty, I have something to say.
Son,
you think you have any right to speak before the emperor?
Your Majesty, history has rarely known a more faithful subject than the Prime Minister!
Hurry, say it!
That day, when Gou An came to my father with that letter, I sensed that the matter was suspicious.
I took pains to advise, my father not to fall into Sima Yi's trap.
Unfortunately, he refused to listen.
So I sent someone to Qi Mountain immediately
to urge the Prime Minister to be careful.
The Prime Minister commands our army of 300,000.
If he meant treason,
he could have marched back, using the excuse of removing a wicked officer,
and taken over Chengdu in half a day's time.
But the Prime Minister did no such thing.
He brought only 50 or so men with him on this trip!
Scoundrel!
Traitor of your own house!
Li Yan, the scoundrel and traitor is you
Minister Father,
your loyalty shines as clearly as the sun and moon.
I have been unfair to you.
I do not feel wronged.
However, all that was accomplished through the sacrifices of our men on the front lines
has been undone, now that I have been recalled from the front.
This is what grieves me.
This is all Li Yan's fault.
Guards!
Sire!
Seize Li Yan
and punish him according to the law!
Aye. and punish him according to the law!
Let go.
I can walk by myself.
Father, I was unable to reconcile my duties as a son and as a subject.
I cannot bear to see you commit a grave error.
Your Excellency,
even though my fathers guilty.
please spare his life.
Sir Li, come.
Ah, one for the road.
It is not one for the road, but-one for our heart-to-heart.
What does that mean?
Back at Baidi City, His Late Majesty entrusted us with the task of caring for his son.
He entrusted his dreams to you and me.
However, over the years. we were busy with our duties and grew apart.
That has led to the unfortunate situation today.
In short,
you have won and I have lost.
Only death remains for me.
Zhengfang, what is it that you hold against me?
Quite honestly, I do not have anything against you.
However, I disagree with you spending the entire state's military power on your northern expeditions.
I have been in the Riverlands for many years, and I know full well that our resources are limited.
And you? You only know to mobilize the whole state in warring against Wei.
You have wearied the soldiers and exhausted the people, and there is unrest within and without.
If this continues, you will have bled Shu-Han to death.
I know that the northern expeditions have cost the people of Shu dearly.
For this, I feel unease day and night.
The two advantages Shu relies upon
are its natural barriers and its legitimacy by the name of the Han.
By them we have survived in this corner of the realm.
Yet, throughout history, those who settled in remote corners have never lasted for long.
His Late Majesty, aware of this,
vowed not to rest until the traitors of the Han were wiped out.
Thus, I lead campaigns against the north with no regard for my own life, in order to carry out his task.
Why do you not understand this?
Zhengfang,
if Shu does not attack Wei, Wei will attack Shu.
If Heaven aids us, I will certainly conquer Yong-Liang and recover the«Central Plains.
On the contrary.
if we settle for this temporary compromise with no thought of progress.
it will only be a matter of time before the Riverlands fall.
No.
I would rather die than agree with you.
All hail. Your Majesty!
Rise.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Dear ministers,
the Prime Minister was in the midst of pursuing the Wei army on the crest of victory
when l received a secret report from Li Yan claiming that Wu was invading.
Hence, I was compelled to give orders for the Prime Minister's return.
Only later did I discover that this alleged Southland invasion was pure fabrication.
This was all due to Li Yan's failure to secure sufficient provisions
and to transport our reserve supplies to the front lines at Qi Mountain.
Out of desperation, Li Yan fabricated intelligence.
I would have punished him severely according to law.
However, on account of Li Yan's many years of good service to the state,
and due to the Prime Minister's intercession,
I have only reduced Li Yan to a commoner, never again to be employed by the state.
Your Majesty has decided wisely.
Minister Father, who shall replace Li Yan at his post?
Your Majesty,
for the post of State Secretary, I can vouch for one man with my life.
Whom is it that you recommend?
Chief Clerk Li Feng.
Your Excellency, I never would have guessed that,
besides sparing my father,
you would actually promote me.
Li Feng,
the man I recommended
is one capable of organizing provisions for the troops in a northern campaign.
I do this not only to requite your kindness.
Your Excellency, you are a paragon of humility and broad mindedness. I am deeply moved.
Your father has left Chengdu?
He has returned to our home in Tongzi.
Your Excellency, do you know what's odd?
My father used to be so preoccupied with worry.
But since he was demoted to a commoner. he has been completely at ease.
He was quite happy when he left.
To be honesty I envy him.
I, too, long to return to Nanyang
and spend my remaining years among the hills and forests.
Yet...
Never mind.
Your Excellency.
But this is not my residence.
Your Excellency,
His Majesty had this house built when you were away on the expedition.
He said that, as it's almost New Year's,
this is a present for you.
This must have cost a lot of money.
Li Feng, why did you not remonstrate with His Majesty?
I did, when the house was being built.
But His Majesty refused to hear of it.
There goes another year.
The great endeavor of conquering the north has yet to be completed.
What virtue or merit have I to deserve such a new house?
Li Feng, seal the doors.
Before Luoyang is conquered, I shall not enter through these doors.
Yes, sir.
Jiang Wei.
Here.
Have your men get ready. We will leave in two days
You will return with me to the main camp at Qi Mountain.
Yes, sir.