Original subtitles

♫ Raising the wine cup, I toast to the boundless sky ♫

♫ In talks and laughters are vast mountains and rivers. ♫

♫ Love and hate, debt and feuds, have all dissolved. ♫

♫ Where's my soul's hometown and my kindred spirits? ♫

♫ Seasons rolling by, we dream for harvest. ♫

♫ Warriors and warhorses howl across the sky. ♫

♫ If only I could turn into the wind, ♫

♫ to blow away all the pain in mortal coil. ♫

♫ I toast to the blue sky, to courage in solitude, ♫

♫ to migrating gooses, to boats heading home. ♫

♫ With even three thousand days and nights, ♫

♫ Will it be enough to drain this cup I toast to peace? ♫

[Swords into Plowshares]

[Episode 11]

Come on! Come!

Let go!

Let go! Let go!

You!

Away from me!

Away!

Lady of Chu is deeply righteous.

Rewarding the army with her own body,

she can be called a model in the capital.

Now, within Kaifeng Prefecture,

there are more than one hundred female relatives in Marquis of Betrayal's family.

Today is the first day.

So we need only one Lady of Chu.

Tomorrow,

we will have Lady of Ning,

Lady of Zhao.

For each day His Majesty cannot enter the city,

there,

will be several more people.

So you are to beg me to go out of the city,

to let the Khitan Emperor come into the city?

Yes.

I believe

that no matter what great plans Lord and Minister Sang have,

they should not be at the cost of the lives and honor of innocent women.

Minister, it's rude of you.

The tragedy of Lady of Chu was entirely brought about by the tyranny and perversity of Zhang the traitor.

What does it have to do with Lord and Minister Sang?

If, I did not kill one, but he died because of me.

If so, Academician Fan,

am I,

innocent?

Utterly absurd!

Fanzhi.

Minister Qian.

Do you know what plan

Sang Guoqiao and I have?

I can have somewhat surmised.

Since you have,

why do you still persuade me to give up?

I'm trying to persuade you to give up.

I wish to beg you, Lord, to save the lives of all the innocent women in this city.

The great plan has nothing to do with them.

They should not be used as bargaining chips.

Sang Guoqiao

has already staked his own life on this plan.

The life of the Lady of Chu is a life.

Is Sang's life

not a life?

Minister Sang is a minister of the state, having received his salaries for many years.

He can stake his own life as a bargaining chip,

but he should not involve the innocent.

In this world,

are there truly innocent people?

Yes.

The Lady of Chu.

What about you?

This old man is asking:

you,

are you innocent?

I,

am not.

Fan Zhi.

I'm here

Go to their camp in Red Ridge,

and deliver a message to Yelü Deguang.

Tell him

I will wait for him

at Mingde Gate.

[Khitan's camp]

Mingde Gate?

Your Majesty, the Mingde Gate is the main gate of the Daming Palace.

It shall be closed except on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month.

Lord Feng

intends to submit?

I dare not presume to guess what Lord Feng thinks.

I am merely delivering a message as ordered.

Zhang Yanze did a good job this time.

What are you thinking about?

I'm thinking about what Minister Sang said.

The Khitan are to enter the city. Are you going to welcome them?

Of course I am.

I am a prince of Wuyue,

enjoying fine clothes and food and offerings from the people since childhood.

I am not an innocent person

How could I not go?

The Emperor has arrived at Mingde Gate.

Why don't you officials bow?

Silence!

Lord Feng,

you are the prime minister of Jin.

Yet you failed not only to correct the ruler's behavior,

but to bring peace to the common people,

causing the nation to collapse and the sovereign to be humiliated.

Lord Feng,

don't you feel ashamed?

That makes sense.

I should indeed feel ashamed.

Lord Feng,

why are you not wearing court attire?

Jin has perished.

The sovereign is no longer sovereign, and the minister is no longer minister.

At this moment,

there is only the commoner Feng Dao.

I feel the pain just looking at the attire of the fallen kingdom,

let alone wearing it.

Lord Feng, since you do not acknowledge yourself as a minister,

why have you come to court again?

I am an old man with no city and no troops;

how dare I not come?

Lord Feng,

what kind of old man are you?

A foolish and stubborn old man,

with no talents or virtue.

Lord Feng, that day in the palace at Shangjing,

I once said:

when we meet again,

it may not be you coming to see me.

Now,

we meet here in Bianliang.

You have aged considerably.

Your Majesty, however, remains as radiant as youth times.

That day, I could not keep you,

so I chased after you here.

Lord Feng,

will you leave again today?

This place is my hometown;

there is nowhere else to go.

Lord Feng, you seem to harbor resentment in your heart.

I dare not.

Your Majesty, Chongyuan Hall has been prepared.

Please hold a formal assembly with all officials present.

Eldest Young Master,

so everything's over?

Not yet!

All officials, kowtow.

Lord Feng.

The rituals between ruler and subject matter.

Your Majesty.

Should I kneel?

In the court of Tang,

Lord,

were the rules be like this?

The rites and order have collapsed.

Lord.

When you kneeled to the Li family, the Shi family...

Could it be that

they ask you to kneel themselves, Lord?

I served three emperors, of two dynasties,

and has always been exempt from kneeling.

Even so,

Lord,

could you spare me more respect?

A person from a fallen state,

with the everything gone,

have no repect remains to share.

Lord should not kneel!

Bold!

[Yelü Ruan, Prince of Yongkang] Who are you?

[Yelü Ruan, Prince of Yongkang] How dare you disrupt the court assembly?

I'm Acting Minister of Works, Commander of the Zhendong and Zhenhai Armies,

Secretariat Director of the Grand Marshal of All Circuits,

Qian Hongchu.

I'm bold enough to ask,

under the boundless heavens, on this vast land,

what makes you, the ruler of all people?

So you are that Qian Hongchu from Wuyue?

On my journey from Wuyue to the capital, I see everywhere,

the cities in ruins,

and people suffering.

After entering the capital I see something even worse:

Zhang Yanze, the former Military Governor of Zhangyi, allowed his troops to plunder.

From ministers and nobles

to commoners, all suffered from his dees.

In the Kaifeng government office, he humiliated the former ruler and brutally killed the State Lady.

His beastly actions are condemned by everyone.

Ye the Great Khan is pleased to have such a treacherous subject.

Is this what a sage ruler does?

You brat from Wuyue,

how defiant you are!

How dare you speak nonsense in the court hall,

defying the sage ruler,

and undermining royal laws?

I have not yet permitted you to speak!

Qian Hongchu,

are you truly not afraid of death?

Or, do you thing,

that this Wuyue Kingdom, being far sway

can thus be exempt from my military might?

We Qian clan of Wuyue

serves the Emperor above,

and the soldiers and civilians below.

I dare not to stand in the same court hall with someone who oppresses the people and the former emperor.

Khan's military might is formidable.

It can conquer cities and crush armies.

But it shows no benevolence, and can't show its mercy to win the people's support.

I, Qian Hongchu, unworthy descendant of late King Wusu of Wuyue,

would rather die and see my kingdom perish than serve an unrighteous Emperor.

What a brat you are!

How dare you speak nonsense here!

I'll tear your mouth apart!

My lord,

he's just a child talking recklessly.

Unforgivable!

How dare you trivial Wuyue be so defiant!

Just scold him.

Just scold him and that will be enough.

You esteemed one don't need to get angry over a child.

Lord!

Protect His Majesty!

I do wonder what

you taste like.

Don't hurt him!

He is justc a child!

Step aside!

Don't hurt him!

Marshal, calm!

Do not bother with a southern child.

Are you all rebelling?

Right and wrong certainly exist.

The annals of history above,

the land and people below.

the right and worng,

is everlasting.

Is Marshal Zhang alright?

He is not badly hurted,

but disgraced indeed.

Good.

Your Majesty

We await your decision.

Academician, regarding what happened today,

we beseech you and the Lord

to mediate and resolve it.

On the day of the grand assembly, trying to kill a military governor in the presence of the Emperor and the ministers...

The audacity of our Yong Minister is truly astonishing.

I'm afraid even a deity came,

he would not be safe.

Academician!

His actions today

were to rid the officials and people of anevil person.

The court has shown us, Wuyue, the grace of leniency under suzerainty.

Thus, he felt the duty to draw his blade for the court's sake.

Henceforth, no matter who becomes the ruler of the Central Plains,

you all, will still be ministers of the Central Plains.

But now,

if you all stand by watching, would this not disappoint all loyal and righteous men in the land?

Lord Shuiqiu, please calm down.

Don't say that.

We can't say that.

Taizhen.

It's cold outside.

Be careful not to catch a chill.

Go back inside and rest.

Elder Brother,

didn't you say the grand court assembly was just a formality?

Now it's past noon,

why hasn't they returned yet?

General Liu,

is there any news from the palace?

Ever since the Khitan Emperor entered the city, his personal guards have taken over the city defense and street.

Our people cannot get out.

There is still no news.

In the palace,

something must have happened.

Even for the New Year's Day grand assembly with the banquet, it should have ended by this time.

Gguangyi,

[He Zhen]have some hot porridge.

Thank you, sister.

Lord,

today...

You are not to submit, right?

Your Majesty.

Are you in a hurry?

How dare I?

I was merely in a hurry for that ten days

and that cost Sang Guoqiao's life.

It seems as if

I had been eager to kill him.

Sang Guoqiao was killed by Zhang Yanze.

It has nothing to do with Your Majesty.

If you, Lord, and Guoqiao

felt unsatisfied with Du Zhongwei,

you could have spoken directly to me.

Why do you make it like this?

The hundred thousand soldiers and civilians here

say that for ten days.

Your Majesty...

Did you hear them?

So that's how it is.

I...

had not intended to kill Guoqiao.

And you had not intend to kill the Lady of Chu.

I understand.

Now Zhang Yanze is severely wounded,

There need to be someone in charge of the troops within the city.

What's your recommendation, Lord?

Your Majesty commands a million warriors.

You surely do not lack commanders.

Ruan,

your opinion?

Since Your Majesty is consulting Lord Feng,

Lord can be appointed Grand Tutor to temporarily oversee all military affairs inside and outside the Eastern Capital.

[Yelü Wuzhi, Grand Commisioner of Clan Justice] I think what the Prince

[Yelü Wuzhi, Grand Commisioner of Clan Justice] just said makes sense.

Lord,

your opinion?

I hide my hands in robes in the morning and in three quilts at night, not to be exposed in the cold air.

When winter passes ice dissolves themselves, and grass grows itself.

Things go like that, so, forgive my offense.

I, this old man,

dare not accept

the position of Grand Tutor.

Lord Feng!

Let him finish speaking.

If Your Majesty

grants me one request,

I might try with an effort to manage

the military affairs inside and outside the Eastern Capital.

Lord, speak freely.

Acting Minister of Works Qian Hongchu

misbehaved in court, profaning the rites of court.

He should be stripped of his titles and emoluments, and put into the southern prison.

Let the authorities related thoroughly deliberate his crimes.

His Majesty has issued an edict:

I decide to appoint you to handlt the court affairs.

The regional affairs shall still be handled by the law.

Grand Tutor Feng Dao, whose virtue has known in two dynasties and reputation is widespread,

can make thoughtful plans and measured arrangements,

Hereby granted authority over military affairs within and outside.

All other duties remain as before.

Approved.

Lord.

Give it to me.

You ministers:

Merit must be rewarded,

and crime must be punished.

Acting Minister of Works,

Commander of Zhenhai and Zhendong Armies' Military Governor's Office,

Secretariat Director of the Grand Marshal's Office, Qian Hongchu,

holding a weighty position in a foreing state,

misbehaved in court, profaning the rites of court.

He lacks the integrity of loyalty, and is guilty of transgression.

According to the compiled references, he should have been executed by law.

Yet, to show special leniency, we impose a light punishment.

All his official titles and ranks shall be stripped,

his duties and assignments revoked.

Put him into the Censorate prison to wait for deliberation of his crimes.

Approved.

Your Majesty posses unparalleled skill and insight in deciding state strategy.

We will follow your orders.

We will follow your orders.

Time todecode.

State affairs cannot be delayed.

What state affairs?

Before today,

Taiyuan or Yexia,

you had to choose one.

Once today passed,

there is no choice left.

Ninth Son,

has already chosen.

Envoy, Third Young Master,

Young Master Guo arrived.

Guo Rong, pays respects to Envoy.

No need for formalities.

I invited Young Master here today to discuss importance affairs.

Importance affairs?

The King of Wuyue, Military Governor of Zhendong and Zhenhai Armies,

Grand Marshal of All Circuits, Lord Qian,

sends his regards to the Military Governor of Hedong,

Commander of the Northern Campaign, Lord of Beiping, Lord Liu.

He urges Lord Liu, for the legitimate succession of the Central Plains and the people,

to ascend the throne,

to pacify the people.

Shi Shouxin, Wang Zhengzhong, take over the defense of the Left First Ward.

Yes. Yes.

Li Jixun, Liu Qingyi, take over the defense of the Right First Ward.

Yes. Yes.

Yang Guangyi, Liu Shouzhong, Take over the defense of the left two wings.

Yes.

All troops from Yexia within the jurisdiction are to be reorganized and reassigned.

Those who violate military law will be executed immediately.

Yes.

Father

Marshal Yao only has two commands under him.

I'm afraid...

You need not worry about him.

Kuangyin,

you go on my behalf to Jiebei Alley.

This is important,

concerning the life of our entire clan.

We must not be the slightest bit careless.

Yes.

Lord,

Zhao Kuangyin, Commander of the Imperial Guard 18th Command, requests an audience.

Invite him in.

Yes

Kuangyin.

Rest assured, Envoy.

My father sent me here to report on his behalf, that Lord Feng has already issued the order:

The prefectural office and the prison are both in Minister Xue's charge.

He, from Bianliang city, has a conscience.

As for Hongchu, a true man, a true hero,

Minister Xue will not allow the slightest humiliation or grievance any longer.

Thank you very much.

Stick it on.

Well I must

thank everyone for this.

When did I have

this long beard,

and such broad shoulders?

Might I trouble you to hurry on this journey and return to Jinyang.

Give it to me.

The petition urging ascension to the throne.

What?

Young Master.

Now that burned it,

how will you return to Jinyang to present the petition?

I have already memorized it.

The ministers urging ascension.

Marshal Zhao is listed first among the military officers.

I am the witness.

Very well.

Then please

set off quickly.

However,

now is not yet the time to return to Jinyang.

Young Master, state affaris are paramount. Please return to Jinyang immediately.

The situation in the capital is already like this.

You, Young Master, is promising.

The place for you to make great achievements should be the north.

Young Master,

consider it carefully.

When Hongchu was standing against the treacherous villain with drawn blades in the hall that day,

did he ever think of the word "achievements"?

Kuangyin, please arrange for me

to meet Lord Feng.

This place originally was the main hall of our Censorate, where the senior officials usually conduct trials.

The cells in the Censorate are all damp, cold, and dark.

The young masters from Kaifeng City are in a haste,

so we have had no time to build new cells.

The sunniest room in the courtyard

is this chamber.

So we moved you here to rest.

Thank you.

Hongchu.

Hongchu.

Hongchu.

They really let you in.

Don't cry.

Don't cry.

I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?

Go.

Guo Rong pays respects to the Lord.

Sit.

I dare not.

You came here,

for what?

Lord,

I have three matters.

The first,

concerns the Qian's Ninth Young Master.

Minister Qian is a man of sincere character.

Unaware of the court's treachery, and the wickedness in human hearts,

He boldly drew his blade in the great hall, risking his own interest and safety.

Lord, you have great virtue.

If you can save his life, you will fulfill for me the bond between us.

On behalf of the gentlemen of Jinyang, I'm thankful, Lord.

This matter is not for you to offer thanks,

neither for those from Jinyang.

The second matter？

The second matter.

I beg you, Lord, to hold the Khitan ruler for some time.

You are asking me

to submit to the Khitan Emperor?

Only you can accomplish this, Lord.

I beg you to endure humiliation for the plan, for the sake of the world

On behalf of everyone in the world, I'm thankful, Lord.

What is the third matter?

Prevent Du Zhongwei from coming here.

Right?

Exactly.

For the sake of the Central Plains, for the sake of the common people, I beg you, Lord, to handle this.

The Lord of Beiping,

and Lord of Taiyuan, Liu Zhiyuan...

Is he willing to take on the responsibility for this realm?

Lord Liu's always thinks ahead and plans thorouly.

I dare not make inferences.

What about you?

At this very moment,

right here within this city,

are you willing to take on

the responsibility for this realm?

To save the Qian's Ninth Young Master,

hold the Khitan Emperor,

and prevent Du Zhongwei from reaching the city,

I only need to do one thing, that is

to capture you, this spy from Jinyang,

tie you up with a rope,

send you into the Daning Palace,

and present you to the Khitan Emperor as a pledge of loyalty

For the people all over the world,

are you,

willing to die?

If my life can be of help to your plan,

you may take it as you wish.

You may go.

Does this mean you agreed?

Yes

But not for you.

Nor for Liu Zhiyuan.

I am doing this for Sang Guoqiao,

and for Qian's Ninth Young Master.

I,

bow in gratitude to you.

Now that you have met Lord Feng,

what are you going to do next?

It's time to leave the city and head north, right?

Kuangyin.

There's still one thing.

What is it?

Can you make a trip to Jinyang for me?

He refuses to leave the capital?

He says that Lord Feng is taking great risks and Qian's Ninth Young Master is still in prison.

If he left the capital and fled at this time, he would be ashamed to enter the Xuanyang Gate again.

Father.

Should I go?

Do you want to?

Have you considered,

if both Lord Feng and Guo Rong fail,

and Du Zhongwei takes the capital one step earlier,

what should you do then?

Father, you will still be in the capital.

You will surely teach me how to protect myself.

If you pledge allegiance to Lord Liu,

and I submit to Du Zhongwei,

what will you do then?

Kuangyin.

Remember,

in times of chaos

there are no fathers and sons.

If one day

you and I face each other as foes on the battlefield,

you must not show any mercy.

You left and returned.

Why?

I came to bid farewell to you.

Taiyuan is in the northern region.

The wind is strong, and it's colder than the capital.

Take more clothes with you.

Anything else?

During the ten days fighting outside the city,

one thousand three hundred and thirty-six have earned merit of killing enemies.

Among them, three hundred and twelve should be granted official status.

Thirty-six should be promoted to junior attendants.

Additionally, Li Jixun, Shi Shouxin, and Yang Guangyi, three generals,

have merits, and should be promoted.

Li should be promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Ceremonial Office.

Shi should be promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Eastern Dyeing Office.

Yang should be promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Supply Treasury.

Five hundred and seventy-eight are wounded and disabled.

According to regulations, each should be rewarded with five taels of silver,

five bolts of silk, ten strings of cash, one hundred catties of grain, and two sets of winter clothes.

Eight hundred and eighty-six died in battle for the country.

Their families should be visited and generously compensated.

The roster has already been compiled.

Here is the roster.

Rise.

Thank you, Lord.

One hundred men form a company.

Five companies form a command.

Five commands,

form a division.

In this battle, you commanded nearly tem commands,

which is twodivisions.

Kuangyin.

do you know

what should a general be like?

To be brave in battle, strategic in employing troops,

impartial in enforcing discipline, and good at caring for the soldiers.

But in the army,

every bowl of rice, every piece of clothes

where do they come from?

From the taxes and levies of the court.

They are split into Summer and Autumn Taxes.

For Summer Tax,

there should be six sheng of grain for each mu of upper-grade fields,

and four sheng for each mu of lower-grade fields.

For Autumn Tax

there should be five sheng of grain for each mu of upper-grade fields,

and three sheng for each mu of lower-grade fields.

Local governments also have their own rules. There are also taxes for houses, commision charge, and so on.

All in all,

there will be no less than ten categories.

Every brick and tile

in the capital,

is the people's hard-earned wealth.

The world has been in turmoil for a hundred years.

In the palace,

there are unworthy emperors like the Shi family.

In the army,

there are also marshals like Zhang Yanze

who devour the people.

You are right.

Being a general

requires courage and wisdom, requires fair and impartial judgments, and requires skills in comforting soldiers.

You must also understand

the hardship of the common people,

their sufferings,

and the hardship of surviving the chaos.

One day,

you will also become a marshal.

If the Emperor fail to do what a ruler should do,

and all the ministers fail to do what subjects should do

I hope you can insist to do

what a general should do.

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles strech towering mountains. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles run surging rivers. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles cry warhorses. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles there are emotions unspoken. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, flowers are blooming along the road. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, gooses are returning to the north. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, we stand through storms. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, we hope for a safe return. ♫

♫ Tens of thousands of miles is not enough, ♫

♫ for a lifetime's sorrows and joys. ♫

♫ Tens of thousands of miles is not enough, ♫

♫ for the endless seas and rivers. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, ♫

♫ love will overcome all barriers. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, ♫

♫ we are together in life and death. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, ♫

♫ the moon shines in the boundless world. ♫

♫ My heart has its hometown to return. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, ♫

♫ who is the one crossing the waves with me, ♫

♫ with our hearts unrepentant, through countless lifetimes. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, ♫

♫ oceans and lands witness that♫

♫ the world will be safe and sound. ♫

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles, ♫

♫ my heart is unchanging. ♫