Episode 18
Chancellor, I'm writing to you again.
Winning the people's heads...
...is more important than seizing a city.
Sima Yi is trying to win the people's heads.
Chancellor, what did Sima Yi say?
He just talked about our families.
He said that my son is still young...
...and because of the war, we don't get to see each other often.
He said, when he seizes Chengdu...
...he'll never harm my son. He asked me not to harm his, too.
He's boastful.
He knows he can't beat you.
That's why he's trying to move you by talking about families.
It's hard to predict...
...what will happen.
There's no harm in replying and agreeing to his request.
Chancellor.
Sima Yi is arriving soon. Let's go back and...
...gather everyone for a meeting.
Yes.
To repay the late Emperor...
...I'm attacking our enemy in hope of restoring the Han dynasty.
We have 100,000 men and will wage the sixth war in Mount Qi.
With 100,000 men, we're going to Mount Qi again.
We're going to channel all we have to win the war.
General Wei, we should listen to the Chancellor.
Jiang Wei, it's okay.
Wei Yan, what's your opinion?
We should strike first. Speed is everything.
I'll bring 30,000 men...
...to go through Ziwu Valley to seize Chang'an.
After I seize Chang'an, you can bring 70,000 men...
...to attack the head of Wei.
This is too risky.
The paths in Ziwu valley are tricky and challenging.
It's hard to predict what would happen there.
We shall not be afraid to take risks in a war.
Sima Yi knows that the Chancellor is cautious.
The defence around Ziwu Valley will be lax.
An army will make or break a country.
General, you know we're risking everything we have in this war.
We can't afford to take any risk.
We've been through five wars and are exhausted.
If we can't win this war once and for all...
...and prefer to play safe instead...
...we should just give up and return to Chengdu!
General Wei. -General, how can you say that?
How can you say that? That's rude! -Calm down.
He's quick-tempered.
Shut up!
General Wei Yan, how can you say something like this...
...in front of the Chancellor? It'll dampen the army's spirit!
Sir Yang, we have the right to voice our opinion in a meeting.
How much do you know about fighting a war?
I understand what Wei Yan means.
Right now we should find a plateau for our 100,000 men to camp.
Chancellor, you're right.
Where do you think we should camp, Chancellor?
Wuzhang Plains.
According to our informants, from Mount Qi, Zhuge Liang...
...has set up five camps around the area along the way.
From Xie Valley to Jiange, he uses 14 camps to...
...house his man and transport his provisions.
Zhuge is a cautious man.
If he chose to get through Ziwu Valley...
...Chang'an would've fallen before we even started.
After having faced a forage problem...
...he opts to play safe and engage in a long-term war with us.
This would be disadvantageous for us.
His men are scattered around...
...but he can only be at one spot at a time.
The other four should be rather empty.
Why don't I launch a sneak attack on one of those to find out more?
No, no one is capable of launching a sneak attack on Zhuge.
I don't mind engaging in a long-term war...
...if that's what he wants.
Guo Huai. -Yes.
Get 50,000 men to build nine floating bridges on Wei River.
Order Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei to camp across Wei River.
Yes. -Sun Li.
Yes. -Get 10,000 men to...
...build a wall at Dongyuan.
Yes. -Sima Shi and Sima Zhao.
Yes. -Follow me and the rest...
...to stay at Beiyuan. -Yes.
Father knows we only have three months...
...yet he's planning to engage in a long-term war.
If we can't beat Shu's army in three months...
...the Emperor will surely punish us.
Father is left with no choice.
We won't stand a chance if we fight Zhuge Liang in a battle.
Zhuge Liang knows what the Emperor plans to do to father.
What can we do if he decides to prolong the war?
What else can we do? If we want to beat Zhuge Liang...
...we need to take risks.
Sima Yi chose to stay at Beiyuan...
"because he's worried that I might take this path.
He's doing so to stop us from taking the path of Longxi.
We'll pretend to attack Beiyuan...
...but launch a sneak attack on Weibin instead.
Sima Yi will order his man to protect Beiyuan.
We'll get the rear of our army to cross the river first...
...and order the front troops to burn the wooden bridges.
If we can occupy the south side of Han River, then we can proceed.
Chancellor.
I'm fine.
Chancellor, I heard Wei's ruler only gave Sima Yi three months.
Instead of doing a sneak attack, why don't we wait...
...until Cao Rui punishes Sima Yi...
...and replaces him with someone less capable?
We can't count on that. Sima Yi is cunning.
What if Cao Rui extends the time limit?
We would miss the great oppoflunity to strike.
Correct.
Wei Yan and Ma Dai.
Bring 10,000 men to attack Beiyuan.
Yes.
Wu Ban and Wu Yi. -Yes.
Yes. -Get 5,000 navy men...
...to make over 100 rafts...
...and load them with straw to burn the floating bridges.
Yes.
Wang Ping, Jiang Wei and Liao Hua.
Yes. -Go to Wei River in three ways...
...to attack Wei's camps. -Yes.
Chancellor. -I'm fine.
Generals.
Just act according to my orders.
Yes.
Shu's army is heading towards Beiyuan.
Chief Commander, please allow me to fight them.
Floating bridges. Zhuge Liang pretends to attack Beiyuan...
...but he's eyeing the floating bridges.
He plans to confuse our rear troop then attack our front troop.
Pass the order to Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei.
Once they hear screams in Beiyuan...
...set an ambush at Nanshan for Shu's army.
Yes.
Zhang Hu and Yue Chen. -Yes.
Get 2,000 crossbowmen to set an ambush at the...
...nol1h side of the bridges.
When Shu's men are there to...
...burn the bridges, kill them. -Yes.
Guo Huai and Sun Li.
Yes.
Zhuge will cross Han River. Your camps are newly formed.
Ambush him in his path.
Wait until Shu's army attacks.
Do a feigned retreat. They will go after you.
Then, our men can go from the river and trap them.
Yes.
Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. -Yes.
Support the front camp. -Yes.
Generals. -Yes.
Act according to my orders. -Yes.
Find out what's happening! -Yes.
Prepare to light the fire!
General, the camp is empty!
Oh no, we've been tricked. Retreat!
Shoot!
It's a trap! Watch out!
Fight them!
Retreat!
Gather your men and retreat!
We're safe as we're hiding beside the river.
We ended up killing a few thousands...
...of them and getting over 100 rafts.
We defeated Zhuge Liang.
It looks like we've overestimated him.
He's just an ordinary person.
Zhuge is known for being cautious.
It's unlike him to take risks in so many ways.
Father, why did he do so?
The war has been going on and so many have died.
It's a sin.
Unblock the river and bury the bodies to prevent a plague.
Yes.
I've miscalculated. I acted hastily.
It's my fault that we lost the troop.
We lost 10,000 men.
It's entirely my fault.
Generals.
It's been hard for you.
Please calculate the number of the dead and injured.
Everyone.
Please go back to your camps and rest.
Chancellor, Sima Yi was just lucky.
Please don't blame yourself.
Sima Yi, I didn't expect you to know me so well.
Fine.
I'll push you further.
I'm Ham's Chancellor Zhuge Liang.
I'm writing to you, the Emperor of Wu.
Back then, Han faced the misfortune...
...of being overthrown by Cao family.
Emperor Zhaolie entrusted me with restoring the Han dynasty...
"something I've been trying all my life to achieve.
My army is now at Mount Qi.
We have lost our men at Wei River.
We have been allies before. I hereby request you to...
...send us help in this battle.
We shall rule the kingdom together if we win.
That's all. I hope you'll work with us.
Your Majesty, here's news from Xiangyang.
Sun Quan of Eastern Wu is leading 300,000 men to help Zhuge Liang...
...to attack us from three directions.
Sun Quan has joined the war to seize Xincheng.
Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin are staying at Jiangxia to seize Xiangyang.
Sun Shao and Zhang Cheng started a war in...
...Guangling to seize Huaiyang and others.
Your Majesty, please send reinforcements.
Who else do we have?
We should summon Sima Yi. We are counting on him now.
If Sun Quan can go to the war, I can do the same, too.
No, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, please think twice.
Cao Shuang, bring your men to fight in Jiangxia.
Tian Yu, bring your men to fight in Xiangyang.
Manchong, I shall join you to fight in Heifei.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, Sima Yi has yet to defeat the enemy.
Zhuge Liang is here. Now Eastern Wu is attacking us, too.
Please get our army in Yongliang to retreat inwards.
With 300,000 men, we should be able to defeat Zhuge Liang.
If we retreat inwards, why don't we just hand Chang'an to them?
I'm sorry, Your Majesty.
How long has Sima Yi been gone? -One month, Your Majesty.
Tell Sima Yi I'll fight Eastern Wu's army for two months.
If he fails to defeat Shu's army within two months...
...he'd have to face the music. -Yes, Your Majesty.
It's our fault
Emperor has to go for the war.
Father, let's do it. We won last time, didn't we?
Do you think Zhuge Liang will repeat the same mistake?
We have news!
Chief Commander, we found Shu's army farming across the river.
Farming?
Father, they're not leaving anytime soon.
Is Shu's army planning to stay here for long?
Shu's army are busy with farming now. They're unprepared.
Why don't we ambush them tonight? - We shouldn't act recklessly.
Our informants said that Sima Yi's men are building wooden fences...
...and digging deep drains in the camps. They're not coming out.
What shall we do?
He remains unfazed in face of victories or defeats.
Sima Yi is indeed brilliant.
However... -I'll prepare a bait for him.
Chancellor, what's the bait you're talking about?
If we use our men, Sima Yi will never fall for it.
The only way we can trick him...
...is by using this.
Chancellor, what is this? It can move by itself.
It's not magical. It's made up of wood.
There's a mechanism in it. That's why it can move by itself.
It saves more energy compared to...
...using animals to transport the items.
I prepared these in Xichuan...
...for the purpose of transporting provisions.
Chancellor, you're brilliant.
I've never seen nor heard anything like this.
This is amazing.
When I was in Shu, I ordered for 1000 of these.
They're disassembled and transported here.
Once we assemble them, we can use them immediately.
It's convenient even for going up and down the mountains.
We can use these to transport provisions to different camps.
Chancellor, do you plan to use these...
...to trick Sima Yi?
We'll need more than that.
Nonsense.
What magical wooden cows are you talking about?
It's true. It's magical.
Other scouts saw it, too.
The cows and horses are made of wood.
It can hold up to 500jin of food each and can move by itself.
A moving wooden cow? How is this even possible?
What is it?
I asked the people around Shu's army.
They said it's called a wooden ox.
Shu's army is using it to transport provisions.
Chief Commander, Zhuge Liang is good at divination.
He might have cast a spell on these.
This will be helpful for him to transport the provisions.
I think he's going to stay here longer.
Please allow me to find out more and maybe get a few wooden oxen.
Don't act recklessly. Get back.
A wooden ox that moves?
It's either Zhuge Liang is a wizard...
...or it's a trap.
Describe...
...how it looks again.
Chancellor, watch out.
Here, watch out.
Chancellor, look
Where is this and what is it called?
It's named Shangfang Valley.
It looks like a bottle gourd.
That's why it's also known as Bottle Gourd Valley.
Is this the entrance of the valley?
Yes, go through here and it can fit 1000 men inside.
Chancellor, watch out.
A bottle gourd. lfthe entrance is blocked...
...one can't get out, right?
Great!
This is great.
This should be a great opportunity for us.
Chancellor.
Chancellor, take care.
Chancellor, you should get some rest.
It's okay. Just bring me around the valley.
I need to make sure of everything.
Chancellor. -What's the matter?
You travel around Mount Qi and Wei River...
...to survey the area every day.
You continue to work when you're back to the camp.
You're getting older.
Your health will be affected.
It's been 20 years.
People thought I'm good at divination.
The only way of winning a war...
...lies in studying the locations...
...astronomy, as well as figuring out what people want.
There's no shortcut for it.
Just bring me around. -Yes.
Here.
What are you doing?
I'll get a few wooden oxen. - You must be out of your mind!
Father orders us not to do anything.
Someone in Luoyang is waiting to kill us all.
We can't just stay here and do nothing!
If we don't do anything, we'll be dead soon.
Father asked us to be patient or it'll disrupt our grand plan.
Tell me, what's the grand plan?
You're not allowed to go! I'll tell father now.
Brother!
We need to find out what's happening at Zhuge Liang's camp.
I'll bring my own men.
We might just succeed. Even if we fail, there'll be no harm.
What do you mean there'll be no harm?
Doesn't your life mean anything to you?
We're in this together. We have to do something.
It's time for me to contribute to our family.
Get ready.
It's an ambush! Hurry up! Get ready!
Charge!
Retreat!
Don't go after them!
Bring these back.
Let's go back!
Chief Commander!
Sima Zhao has safely returned.
Chief Commander, I led an ambush on Shu's army.
We captured 17 of them, got 30 wooden oxen...
...and over 3000 jin of grain. It's a victory.
Avictory? -Yes, it's a victory.
Have you won? -Yes, I have.
I can't remember. Did I assign you to go?
No. -Then whose order is it?
There's no order. -How dare you!
You did so without my permission! Where do you think this is?
I made it, didn't I? -You made it?
You captured only 17 of Shu's men and you consider that a victory?
If Zhuge Liang had 2,000 men in ambush, you would be dead!
Victory and defeat. That's what matters in a war, isn't it?
I won. Zhuge Liang is not unbeatable.
How dare you talk back?
I'll let you know what's a military order! Get someone here!
Yes. -Bring him out!
Give him 50 strokes! -Yes.
Chief Commander, though Zhao'er acted recklessly, he made it.
You let him out of the camp.
If you continue to defend him, you'll be punished, too!
Chief Commander, Master Zhao went against the order...
...but it's a victory after all.
Besides, he's captured Shu's men and got the wooden oxen.
We get to know more about Zhuge Liang's camp.
It's quite a feat for someone as young as him.
He shouldn't be punished. Please spare him.
That's right. Master Zhao won.
Everyone is motivated. If you punish Master Zhao now...
...it might dampen our men's spirit. Please forgive him.
Please forgive him, Chief Commander.
I know I'm wrong. Please forgive me, Chief Commander.
Chief Commander, he's apologised. Just forgive him.
You should thank them for defending you.
I'll spare you this time.
Where are the wooden oxen?
They're outside.
Let's take a look.
Chief Commander, should we interrogate the captives first?
You're right.
Bring in the captives! -Yes.
Kneel.
Not you.
Kneel!
We've lost the wooden oxen, grain...
...and some of our men. I deserve to be punished.
It's an ambush by the enemy. It's not your fault, General.
Please settle everything...
...and transport the provisions to Shangfang Valley.
What if we're attacked by Wei's army again?
Just watch out, General.
If there's another attack, don't fight them. Protect yourself.
I don't mind giving them...
...the wooden oxen and grain.
Yes.
Chancellor said you traitors... -How dare you!
It's okay.
What did your Chancellor say about us the traitors?
Chancellor knew you'd never come out.
He ordered us to farm and be prepared for a long-term war.
We didn't expect you to attack us.
Is your Chancellor out of his mind?
He views the place as pan of Shu, doesn't he?
Get someone here! -Yes!
Untie them. -Yes.
Chief Commander, why don't you kill them?
Father, I didn't say anything.
You may rise.
All of you from Shu, please rise.
Tell your brothers in the camp...
...Shu is poor while we're rich.
Your Chancellor will never win the war.
Starting today, anyone who surrenders to us...
...will be rewarded with land and food.
Thank you, Chief Commander!
Please get up.
Serve them a meal. I'll keep my promise if anyone of you stays.
If anyone of you decides to go back, we'll not harm you either.
Yes. -Thank you, Chief Commander!
Thank you, Chief Commander! -Go on.
Chief Commander, you really know how to win the people's heads.
I hope this act of kindness...
...will cause Shu's soldiers to be lax in their duties.
This shall be the way we treat any captive from Shu in the future.
Yes.
Chief Commander.
The brave ones will emerge victorious.
Zhuge Liang is not unbeatable.
This is the best time for us to attack them.
Chief Commander, the captives' words can't be trusted.
Why don't we send some men to test the waters?
Chief Commander, please assign me.
General Guo. -Yes.
Can you go?
Yes.
Get ready.
Shoot!
Charge!
Retreat!