Get me today's record of all who had passed through the customs of the nine city gates from 8:00 in the morning to noon.
And get me the name list of all the ink manufacturers and shops in the east and west district together with their transaction records.
Get me the list of the goods carriages
that frequently transport goods from west to north and vice versa.
What is it with everybody? Are you exhausted?
The paper stains easily. Don't touch it with your dirty hands!
I just washed my hands.
They are dirty.
We all thought that the database was the cleanest thing in the world.
But turns out, it's just a tool for fraud.
You can't wash them clean anymore, Chamberlain Xu.
You were the most honest man I met among honest men.
But even you used the database to practice fraud.
Now, we don't know whether the numbers and words in the database are true or not.
Peacekeeper Corps uses it frequently for investigation.
Great Tang also uses it to govern the country.
If it's fake, then what can we do?
And what will our next generations think about Great Tang when they analyze the database?
You won't be able to clean them anymore.
Chief, I think Chamberlain Xu is leaving the premise.
[Xu Bin]
[The Longest Day in Chang'an]
[Episode 15]
Segments and Subtitles are provided by the wonderful Chang'An Warriors Team@Viki
Please enjoy your meal, Counsellor, Official Ji.
Ji Wen,
who is the founder of the database in the Peacekeeper Corps?
Director He had reported merits to the government many times.
He said that... this database is so extraordinary that
it can help His Majesty to manage all things in the country, major and minor alike.
The database is a unique algorithm created by Xu Bin.
Xu Bin.
Yes.
It's said to be able to use the numbers that are recorded in the database of the files in Great Tang
to deduce the precise truth and to predict the future.
Is he some kind of charlatan?
Xu Bin is also known as Youde.
He was once the clerk of the National Treasury.
He has an incredible memory and he was one of the first officials that was transferred to the Peacekeeper Corps.
He set up the database as soon as he went into the Peacekeeper Corps.
He is absurd and ridiculous.
He never associates himself with others or the outside world.
He focused only on mathematics.
He said that only numbers can reveal the truth in this world
and the law of numbers is the only accurate law to free the world.
Can all the things you said prove that you have a clear view of Xu Bin?
Can the achievements and opinions on a person that are passed from one to another
show the true colors of the man?
Can the comments of others show the true colors of the man?
Can the later generations get his true color right
by guessing through his biography with the historical data
or by conjecturing his face through a painter?
When it boils down to it, everything depends on how the audience wants to see it
and how the writer wants to write it.
Xu Bin is low-key and introverted by nature.
He never expresses himself through poetry.
So, we can't find much information about him.
Poems that were written are just the thoughts and feelings for one fleeting moment.
Will you be able to guess the motives and reasons
behind a person's story through a few isolated words and phrases?
These... are the courtesy cards sent to me when they heard that
I'm going to take over the country.
Poems to seek favor from me.
I know. These people... want to get my attention
so that I can promote them.
And in the future, we can all serve the Great Tang together.
But will I be able to determine
who are the useful ones and who are the useless ones from these poems?
You can judge from the person's previous achievements.
If you cut their capabilities in half from what they claimed in the poems, they are all honest people.
But even if they are flat out lying,
the person who reads it doesn't really care whether it's true or not.
Then, how can we judge a person?
Relations.
Find out who had valued him in the past and
who were his enemies.
I understand now.
All the meat taste the same.
The key point is, who is the chef who cooked it.
I heard that the chef in your manor is the best in Chang'an.
Even His Majesty misses the food here.
All relations and achievements are recorded in the historical data.
It all depends on whether or not the reader knows how to read it.
Xu Bin passed the imperial examination at 24 years old with an eighth rank.
I'm afraid that he has never sought connections with others since then.
Advance, or be left behind.
The court of Great Tang shows no mercy to those without wild ambition.
But he is still able to be in his current position.
There must be a reason behind it.
I understand now.
Look into it. Find out who is backing Xu Bin.
Do I have to do it now?
It's already our teatime.
I'm worried about you.
If the Wolven Squad is really going to attack with Crouching Fire,
it's very worrisome for you to stay in the manor.
It's better if you finish your meal quickly and depart soon.
After you enter the Grand Auditorium, you won't have to worry about your safety.
If I don't stay here to be the bait,
how can I prove that the crown prince has ganged up with the Wolven Squad from the Western Region
to assassinate the country's officials?
My manor is protected by hundreds of guards.
It's safer than me being on the street.
I'll stay here. You can go now.
I'll get it done at once to assuage your worries.
Sifang.
- My Lord. - Wrap this up so that he can eat it on the way.
- Yes. - Thank you, Counselor.
Take those out and burn them.
Yes.
[Huaiyuan Street]
You are here. We are going to succeed soon.
Who are you looking for?
Xu Bin.
Who are you?
Chief of the Peacekeeper Corps, Li Bi.
We have a guest.
Please come in.
We have some newly cut bamboos that have been immersed in the pond for 100 days.
After they are boiled, they'll be sent here.
Then, we will boil them with lime wash for eight days and eight nights.
After that, we will take them out and bleach them.
Only after repeating it for a couple of times,
about twenty days of processing, can we use the rough material.
Look.
We have to pound the bamboos into fine pulp.
And take a look here.
We can only take the fiber.
And it can't be too long or too short, too thick or too thin.
This is the hardest section.
That bamboo curtain with the water is at least 30 catty. (approx. 33 pounds)
And it's all about arm-work.
If there's too little material, it'll be too thin and can't be used.
If there's too much, it'll be too thick and it'll lose its purpose.
It'll become a waste.
Where is Xu Bin?
He's inside.
Please go in without me.
I'll leave you to it.
Chamberlain Xu.
Chief.
This is the business you are involved in.
An honest man is indeed not as honest as he looks.
At first, I wanted to take the finished product to show it to you.
I never thought that you would follow me instead.
Before this, Tang only uses tree bark and green vines to make paper.
Nobody thought that we could use bamboos as well.
Bamboos can grow very fast.
And they grow all year long in the south.
So, this material will never run out.
This way, please.
After five years of experiments, finally, I succeeded.
Please have a look, Chief.
Its tenacity, endurance, thickness, sheen, and color
are comparable to the vine paper of Shan County.
Tang has a huge amount of database.
If we can use this to replace the vine paper of Shan County to write...
Are you very good in business now, Chamberlain Xu?
In your eyes, this is just about business?
The Wolven Squad is running amok in Chang'an with the Crouching Fire.
Imagine the number of people that will get hurt.
The crown prince's new policy is hitting bricks and he is being dragged into it, too.
Zhang Xiaojing is an unknown.
And there's a mole inside the Peacekeeper Corps.
I have always trusted you.
But you keep secrets from me from start to finish
and hide here feeling complacent for the trivial success in making paper.
How is this a trivial matter?
You are suspicious.
Zhang Xiaojing is suspicious as well.
Paper-making is the future of Great Tang!
At the beginning of the old calendar, the people of Tang were able to live in peace and contentment
because the data entry clerks from every state, county, village, and town were doing their best
to renew the database every month.
Whenever a family has a newborn or a funeral,
or when there are marriages and exchanges of servants
or other changes in the family size,
they will visit the family to check.
And then, they will carefully update the list.
Chief, don't look down on these records.
The Rent-and-Tax System of Tang is calculated based on the number of people.
Its foundation...
is built on it.
That is not the only reason for... the crumbling of our tax system.
But it plays a huge role in it.
In the middle of the old calendar, the green vines in Shan County were almost depleted.
And vine paper became limited, causing the price to hike drastically.
All the data of the government was recorded using vine paper.
But nobody in the court has ever thought to change the paper.
They just blindly restricted the uses of paper everywhere.
So, even if the data entry clerks did their best to get the data,
they couldn't record it down because there was no paper for them.
There is no paper.
It looks like a trivial matter.
But a disappointed heart starts from trivial matters like this.
When the data entry clerks... saw that their leaders
were not taking any initiatives to solve the paper shortage problem,
their passions and sense of duty... would be buried in the deep
as time went by.
It has just been three to five years.
But the numbers in the database... have become either incomplete or false.
But they aren't just numbers.
They represent the people.
They are their means of livelihood and careers.
After that, when the tax system of Tang was crumbling further and further,
and the Equal-Field System was not equal anymore,
more and more people abandoned their farmlands.
Now, the national tax for every year...
is just half of what it used to be.
Outside, war rages frequently.
But inside the court,
the officials set up a feast every so often to have fun together.
The court has no more money!
What you said is all right.
But will you be able to solve the problem... only by making paper?
I am just... a clerk.
I don't know anything else.
I just hope to... make a breakthrough with this paper-making technique
and present it to the Ministry of Works.
And then, they can provide manpower to mass-produce it.
Chief, this bamboo paper is cheap.
And it's useful.
It'll be great if we can use it for the files and database in the court.
I thought that maybe in three to five years' time,
the data entry clerks... would be able to regain their passion.
And when the time comes, our glorious Great Tang...
would be great again.
So, you sold your land, your manor,
and asked your wife to work for others as a maid in order to make this paper.
This is what I can do.
I can't help with the making of a government policy.
So, I just want to do the best... in what I can do.
I am such a fool.
Chamberlain Xu,
come back with me to the Peacekeeper Corps.
Yes.
Outsiders riding wide carriages with green straw mats at the back carrying barrel-like objects. I found a match.
- Report to Peacekeeper Corps at once! - Yes!
Report to them that there are three carriages total in a line!
Chief Li, we found the Wolven Squad!
Chief Li!
Right Counselor.
Please leave us.
How is it?
It's Director He.
Xu Bin illicitly sold the land that came with his post.
Looks like he was in desperate need of money.
But half a year ago, someone gave him a huge sum of money.
The one who did that was the slow-witted son of Director He, He Fu.
If it wasn't under Director He's instruction, how can a dumb person like him take out such a huge sum of money?
What did Xu Bin do today?
He used the database to recommend Zhang Xiaojing.
And he kept the fact that he's a friend of Zhang Xiaojing from Li Bi.
So, he truly was not chosen by some database.
He was chosen by a man.
Xu Bin has a selfish motive.
He and Zhang Xiaojing are best of friends.
So, he hopes that capital punishment can be lifted up
if his friend makes merits by solving the case.
Your uncle, Ji Xu... was once the prime minister during Wu Zhou Dynasty.
Didn't he teach you that... in the court, there are pleasures in helping others?
Just that the pleasures are about bringing benefits to themselves.
Xu Bin... has kept a secret from his higher-up to recommend his friend.
If he succeeds, there'll be no merits. If he fails, it'll be a sin.
And Tang Code didn't mention anything about expiating a crime with a good deed.
What can he get from it?
This eighth-ranking clerk is content with his lot and is acting strange.
I can't fathom him out.
But with this foolish incident of Xu Bin,
together with the evidence of He Fu giving him money,
no matter this case can be solved or not,
from Li Bi to Director He to the crown prince,
it's definite that they had wallowed in mire together
to commit the crime of hiring a death row convict. Even if they do succeed...
Next.
My Lord, the carriage and guards are ready.
You should depart now.
Move aside! Move aside!
Or else, you'll risk His Majesty's wrath and delay
the great event tonight if you are late.
As long as the Wolven Squad is still out there,
I definitely won't step out from my manor.
Move aside! If you don't want to die, move!
Move aside!
Give way!
- Chief! - Model layout!
- Yes! - Yes!
From his pursue, Commander Zhang has reached the intersection of Yongan and Xuanyi Street.
We need to stop them at the south of Guangde and Tongyi Street so that we don't alarm the royal city.
We have to hold this line at all cost.
Guangde and Tongyi are just 4 meters away from Yongan, Xuanyi intersection.
Ask the Royal Escort to barricade the path along the way at once.
Ask the watchtower to send a message to Cui Qi.
From now on, Zhang Xiaojing will have full power
over the Royal Escort.
You are asking Captain Cui to hand over his military power.
How can a death row convict lead a troop?
Using the watchtower to send out orders is too slow.
We have to let the people on the spot make the call.
Not that I don't trust Captain Cui, but the Wolven Squad is fighting with all they have.
And our only chance of winning is to send another one who is fighting with all he has.
Yes.
Chief.
Can you give me back my key to the database archive room?
For now, just standby to help.
Chief,
you still don't trust me.
Calculating the database is too exhausting.
Now, we already have a trail on the Wolven Squad.
You can have a rest for now.
The watchtower has asked you... to hand over your military power by order of the Peacekeeper Corps.
You have to hand over your military power
to Zhang Xiaojing.
They had trained hard with me for half a year
in order to achieve merits with me today.
To be promoted to the Right Cavalry or be demoted by Peacekeeper Corps.
Make the decision yourself.
No need to tell me about it. I'm very busy.
I still have to return the dog for you.
Come here!
Gather up and set out now!
Let's stop the Wolven Squad!
Yes!
Let's go!
- Come here! - Commandant Yao.
It's frightened already. Don't be so fierce with it.
You like to pity the weak.
The more degraded it is, the more alike it is with you.
You like dogs?
It is capable and useful.
Just like Zhang Xiaojing.
A lot of women like overbearing men.
A person like Li Bi who keeps everything in his heart, you think he's boring.
Don't forget that your surname is Yao.
Don't humiliate the name of your late grandfather as the sagacious minister.
That is my father's doings.
He's the one who ruined the reputation of the Yao family.
He conducted himself shamelessly many times because of his greed for power.
Commandant Yao, you should just focus on doing your job well.
Where are you going? To complain against me with Li Bi?
I don't have the time.
I'm going to help... to help Commander Zhang.
Such affection and faithfulness.
Your caring about him doesn't mean that he'll return the sentiments.
Even she is looking down on me.
My grandfather...
Are you looking down on me as well?
My grandfather is Yao Chong.
He's a famous minister in Great Tang.
Yuan Zai from the Court of Judicature is very tactful.
He sent me a letter just now saying that Wang Yunxiu is willing to testify that
Zhang Xiaojing has colluded with the Wolven Squad.
She saw it with her own eyes that Zhang Xiaojing drew the defense system of your manor to the Wolven Squad.
What position is he in?
- Sleuth-Hound Captain of Chang'an. - A sleuth-hound captain of Chang'an.
His rank is even lower than that of a soldier.
How will he know about my defense system?
- Maybe... - There is no maybe.
Today, Director He and the crown prince's gang used the reason of solving cases by the Peacekeeper Corps as a facade
to assassinate the Right Counselor.
We have both the witness and evidence.
We have already written a secret report to be sent to His Majesty.
After you check and there's no problem with it,
I'll ask someone to send it to His Majesty's desk at once.
- Send it. - Yes.
Sifang.
- My Lord. - Bring me Gan Shoucheng of the Right Cavalry.
And then, bring me 100 men of the cavalry to guard the front door.
Yes.
Father.
Save me.
It's the Lantern Festival today.
I should be sitting in a Xi Carriage, heading towards the lantern carnival.
Father.
Miss Wang.
Miss Wang, pardon me for being late.
Why didn't you come earlier?
Come.
You are not hurt, right?
Is it painful?
When the sun sets, it's going to be even colder.
Here, wear it.
What happened?
Miss Wang, it's a long story.
But all and all, a scumbag named Zhang Xiaojing kidnapped you in the name of the Peacekeeper Corps commander.
And I happened to hear about it by chance.
So, I had asked around and finally, I managed to find you.
Sir.
How did you know that I like Xi carriages?
I used my post in the Court of Judicature to make a private arrangement.
Please don't blame me for that.
I had used this chance to learn about your favorite things.
But I did it for the case.
- Take me home. - Miss Wang, you can't go home yet. You have to come with me.
I've suffered a lot today. My mother will be worried about me.
Miss Wang, your kidnapping is just a part of something much bigger.
You have to treat it with caution, understand?
Then, where are we going?
I won't go to the stinking interrogation room of the Court of Judicature.
It's a place for a bunch of old men.
Can't they at least burn an incense? It smells like unwashed hair.
Don't worry. We'll go to the safest place in the city beside the palace.
- Where? - My house.
Be careful not to get the stone grease on you!
- Beware of fire! - Yes!
Continue with the search!
Segments and Subtitles are provided by the wonderful Chang'An Warriors Team@Viki