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 16]

He truly thinks that with his status as a royal relative, I, this Chancellor, cannot execute him?

Yang is now commander, leaving the position Associate Chancellor vacant.

The Great King favors Guo Shicong, the Land Commissioner of Western Zhejiang, Tian Junyi's uncle.

It's common that people fear of nothing when looking down from a high position.

How laughable!

Not to mention that Guo is not yet the Associate Chancellor, even if he were,

if he dared to shield and favor his relatives, I could still expel him from the central government.

Right now, the war is paramount. Who dares to shield and favor?

Over the past month, Ninth Prince, as the Inspector, has impeached the magistrates of

Fuyang, Xincheng, Tonglu, Jiande, Lanxi, Jinhua, Wuyi, Yongkang, and Jinyun—

nine counties in total.

The Great King approved all.

If Commissioner Guo were in the central government, he would be the first to impeach Tian Junyi.

Otherwise,

we would not allow him stay peacefully in the Chancellor's mansion.

Among the late King's sons, the Ninth Prince was the most mischievous one.

But now it seems he actually has a sense of responsibility.

His courage goes without saying.

This decisiveness is even more commendable.

Hurry! Be quick!

Mind on the sun!

Pack it up quick if the weather takes a turn!

Come on, here.

Yes

Check which county this is from. They are all old stock!

Within a month, you have impeached nine county prefects.

Now, with the war at hand, the Great King and the central authorities won't oppose your wishes.

But once the war subsides, they might turn around, and at the opportune moment,

it could be unfavorable for you.

It doesn't matter.

Anyway, I'm just a fisherman.

My elder brother will understand my absurd actions.

I mean, regarding Manager Shen,

you have been a bit too lenient.

He impeached those people,

but the one who signed and sealed it was you.

Renji, Mr. Shen was sincerely invited to handle administrative affairs.

You were there at that time.

I promised him full authority over his duties.

He does the work, I take the responsibility.

That's how it should be.

Look,

the rice below has already become damp.

Have them turn and dry it frequently.

Yes.

[Supervisory Affairs Office] Sun Bin, Jinhua Constable, ordered me to report back,

[Supervisory Affairs Office] that he just become the Prefect the day before yesterday.

[Supervisory Affairs Office] In such haste,

[Supervisory Affairs Office] he has no grounds to work.

The seven-day deadline is truly difficult.

He begs for your mercy, to allow him a few more days.

Go and reply to Sun Bin, say it's from the Ninth Prince:

Nine prefects have been impeached.

If the required supplies are not complete within seven days,

the next one to be impeached,

will be him.

Understood.

Manager.

The conscription roster for the garrison troops of Xianju and Huangyan has arrived.

Eighty-seven men.

This is the strength of one company.

Yes.

Conscripted from Huangyan County.

Zhongshun Company.

Zhongshun Company.

Registered troop: eighty-seven men.

Actual troop: sixty-one men.

Authorized: one Commander.

One Deputy Commander. Eight regular Captains.

Eighteen nominal Captains. Thirty-four nominal Squad Leaders.

For assignments, all are support troops.

Isn't it sixty-two men?

Why say the actual is sixty-one men?

The Commander, upon receiving the conscription order,

had his leg injured and could not join the army.

Who is currently in charge of this army?

Deputy Commander Lu Yanzhu.

Keeping these men on the military roster...

I don't know what the Ministry of War was thinking.

Not only giving them a full company's establishment,

but all of them are officers.

This company also has a nickname.

It's called

the Fish Head Company.

Eating fish heads every day!

[Jiang Duoxun, Guard Officer of Zhongshun Unit] The mess hall!

[Jiang Duoxun, Guard Officer of Zhongshun Unit] You bunch of snobs,

[Jiang Duoxun, Guard Officer of Zhongshun Unit] bastards!

[Jiang Duoxun, Guard Officer of Zhongshun Unit] One day you fall into my hands,

[Jiang Duoxun, Guard Officer of Zhongshun Unit] I'll castrate you alive!

[Ma Youcheng, Guard Officer of Zhongshun Unit] You're making noise again.

[Jiang Duoxun, Guard Officer of Zhongshun Du] What's wrong with fish heads?

The meat near the gills is the most tender one.

We don't have to drill or work all day.

What's wrong with that?

[Lu Yanzhu, Deputy Commander of Zhongshun Unit] Good wine!

Among the thirty-eight companies of Wuyue,

Zhongshun is the smallest.

Not only does it have just one company's establishment,

but also with the registered personnel fewer than a hundred men.

This dispatch of troops to aid Li Renda in Fuzhou was far too hasty.

Within ten days, he sent three urgent requests for aid.

With only five days, it was far too rushed.

The clerks in the Ministry of War worked day and night without rest,

grasping at straws, scouring everywhere to scrape together personnel.

Only then was the Zhongshun company written onto the military roster and conscripted.

Such a company should not have remained on the military roster.

It should have been disbanded.

Not only is it still around now, but within it are all Commanders and Squad Leaders.

Such is the Ministry of War's negligence. It's truly absurd.

It's really not the Ministry of War to blame.

This company of soldiers not only cannot be disbanded,

but must also be passed down through generations,

from father to son.

As long as the families do not die out, they will receive a share of provisions and pay.

Why is that?

Because the Zhongshun Company, had another name.

It was called the Wuyong Company.

How is it?

Is all the grain stored properly?

Lord Shen is overseeing it.

There's a little left.

The origins of this Wuyong Company, are Caizhou soldiers.

They are people from Huaixi.

So how did they come to Wuyue?

Back then,

Huang Chao's uprising plundered and ravaged the Central Plains, with ambitions to conquer the world.

Among his generals, Sun Ru's troops were the most fierce and skilled.

After Sun Ru's death, his troops split into three parts.

One part occupied Jingchu, which is the current Ma family of the Chu state.

One part surrendered to Yang Xingmi,

becoming the famous Black Cloud Long Sword.

The other part pledged allegiance to our Wuyue

and was organized by my grandfather into the guards,

named Wuyong Company.

Since they were part of the inner guard, they should have been elites.

How did they become what they are now?

In the second year of Tianfu,

the Wuyong Commander Xu Wan led a rebellion and besieged Hangzhou.

At that time, the main forces were engaged in battle with Southern Tang,

between Suzhou and Changzhou.

They could not return in time.

My grandfather had only a few thousand\m miscellaneous troops by his side.

Our troops are outnumbered, and the situation was critical.

Thanks to Lord Du,

for eighty-two days, he never removed his armor or sheathed his sword.

He patrolled day and night, defending the city.

The royal capital was protected.

Later, the main army returned and exterminated the rebels.

Since then, the name Wuyong has disappeared from the Wuyue military roster.

Then how did this Zhongshun Company come about?

At that time, not all of the Wuyong Company rebelled.

Some troops did not join the rebels in the chaos.

Rebellion suppressed, these people were difficult to handle.

My grandfather then organized them into a unit, named it Zhongshun Company.

They were demoted to garrison troops.

Their military positions were made hereditary, from father to son.

Afterwards,

they were not used for battles or labor.

These people have been passed down to this day.

It is already the third generation.

The number of soldiers has been reduced again and again.

Now only eighty-two remain.

I see.

It has been forty-five years since the second year of Tianfu.

They have been raised like pigs.

No wonder they have become the pigs they are now.

Raising pigs in peacetime is one thing,

but why bring pigs to the front lines?

Such useless soldiers have been brought over hundreds of miles,

only consume provisions and funds in the camp are completely useless in combat.

Prince.

Tomorrow the Marshal will hold a council.

You can seize the opportunity to speak up and have them sent back.

I, the Military Inspector, Qian Hongchu, have military affairs and request the Marshal's instructions.

Speak.

Reporting, the commander of the Zhongshun Company is absent due to injury.

I humbly request to temporarily assume the position

to command his troops in handling transportation and the assignments.

Ninth Prince.

Do you know the situation and origins of the Zhongshun Company?

In reply,

yes, I know.

You know, and you still want to use them?

I

want to try.

Then,

you shall temporarily assume the position of Commander of the Zhongshun Company.

From today onward, the Zhongshun Company is transferred to the command of the two offices.

Thank you. I obey your command.

Chief!

Chief!

Quick, quick!

Quick!

Who is beating the drum?

First beat.

Second beat.

Who is beating the drum?

Never taught any manners!

Come down!

Drag him out and castrate him! Castrate him!

Third beat.

Who's beating the drum in midnight?

People need sleep!

People need sleep!

Who is Lu Yanzhu?

I am.

According to Wuyue military law, if formation is not in order with the drum sounds three times,

how should it be dealt with?

If someone is not present by the first beat, caned him twenty times!

If weapons and armor are not prepared by the second beat, caned squad leader hundred times!

If the formation is not in order by the third beat, the entire army shall be executed!

Who are you?

Who are you?

I'm timid.

I can't stand the sight of blood.

On my first day in office, I won't kill anyone.

The entire army will receive forty strokes of the cane.

Who is he? How can he...

Carry out the punishment.

Watch out!!

What are you doing?

You don't dare mess with us!

Stay back! Step away!

Let go! Stop it!

Don't move!

Let go!

Let go!

Let go!

Don't speak.

Zhongshun Company!

Submit to military law!

Comrades!

Listen to me carefully!

My name is Qian Hongchu.

Grandson of King Wusu of Wuyue,

son of King Wenmu,

and the current king's own younger brother,

Military Inspector of Southern Command,

under Chief Commander Yang.

From this day forward,

I temporarily assume the Commander of the Zhongshun Company.

What happened before today, I will not concern myself with.

What happens after today, I will concern with everything.

Eating, sleeping, shitting, walking, and resting, I will handle everything.

Living, I will manage. Dying, I will manage even more.

In short,

anything you can think of,

there is nothing I cannot manage.

Just now,

you said I was never taught any manners.

You said you'd castrate whom?

Castrate me?

These two men,

add twenty more strokes.

Yes!

I was born by the late King,

and raised by late King.

The sons and daughters I father are also descendants of the royal family.

If you dare harm me, your three clans will be exterminated.

If I beat or kill you,

if it's justified, there will be rewards.

If it's unjustified, I'll just kneeling in the hall.

From today onward,

I

am your chief.

Get up! Hurry!

I don't understand.

What does this even mean?

I have been saying all along,

what previous king, what later king,

the Qian family has no good people.

Stop your nonsense over there.

I'm telling you, if it weren't for Chief Lu stopping me,

I wouldn't care whatever guards, I'd have slaughtered them all.

Why didn't you say that when beaten?

Shut up!

Shut your stinking mouth!

Hurry up!

First round!

Move faster!

Do you want another beating?

Move quickly!

It's not just your butts that hurt.

Quick!

Second round!

Hurry up!

It's not just your butts that hurt.

Third round!

Stand fast!

Form ranks!

What are you looking at?

What's going on today?

I've been starving!

Wow, this is great!

Look.

Stop looking!

Stand fast!

Drinking too much wine,

have you all forgotten how to be soldiers?

Reporting, the Zhongshun Company is formed up.

Awaiting your orders.

This is Deputy Commander Lu Yanzhu.

Enough.

Can't be bothered to get angry with you bunch of scoundrels.

Take your meal.

Let's eat.

Don't move!

Go back!

My meal...

Stand fast!

Left team, first squad, step forward!

Stand straight!

Step forward!

Line up!

On the left!

Sit!

Right team, first squad, step forward!

Hurry up!

Line up!

On the left!

sit!

Left team, second squad, step forward!

Faster!

On the left!

sit!

Right team, second squad, step forward!

Left team, third squad, step forward!

On the left!

sit!

Right team, third squad, step forward!

On the left!

sit!

Chief!

Aren't you hungry?

Yes.

Have meals!

Move.

Make some room.

Don't like fish heads?

Love them.

Eat.

Eat.

No need.

I don't like them either.

From today onward,

the Zhongshun Company will never eat fish heads again.

Hurray!

I'm sick of fish heads!

Prince, Lu Yanzhu requests an audience.

Tell him to announce his name and kneel to enter.

Yes.

Lu Yanzhu, Deputy Commander of the Zhongshun Company, requests to see the Chief.

Let him in.

I, Lu Yanzhu, pay respects to you.

This month's military provisions are short by two hundred and fourteen liters.

The regular pay is short by one thousand two hundred coins.

Yes.

You exchanged them for wine?

Yes.

You yourself couldn't drink that much wine, could you?

The registered troop strength is eighty-seven men.

The actual troop strength is sixty-one men.

The empty slots are twenty-six men.

Yes.

Who took them?

Liu Jiantong?

Or you?

I'm obsessed with wine,

but I dare not take the empty slots.

I have committed a capital crime and is willing to accept punishment.

I only beg the Chief to treat the Zhongshun Company well in the future.

I have said that

what happened before I will not interfere with;

what happens after I will take charge of everything.

This blade

is named Fish Lip.

It was given by Yang Xingmi to my grandfather

My grandfather bestowed it upon my father, and my father then bestowed it upon me.

Back when Dong Chang was captured and escorted to Qiantang,

Grandfather waited for him at a relay station considering their friendship.

When old friends met they sighed with deep emotion.

He handed this blade to Dong Chang

They swore brotherhood, entrusting our lives to each other.

This blade,

was a gift from a hero.

It is worthy of the true brotherhood.

Dong Chang took his own life with this blade

Filled with sorrow, Grandfather sealed this blade away.

Over these years, this blade has come into my possession

From this day forward you, abstain from alcohol.

I bestow this blade upon you.

But,

if you break this vow, the blade and your life must both be returned to me.

I obey your command

According to reports, a total of fifty-nine counties have been affected by the disaster.

The main dike of the Shouchang Canal in Jiande breached last night

From Lanxi to Jinhua and Yongkang,

the water surface is now more than ten times wider than it was a month ago

The current is fierce, and boat traffic is cut off.

The grain ships supplying the Southeastern Company are stranded in Tonglu.

Therefore we decide to utilize the river systems of the various rivers to travel south along the river

and disembark at Piaoxi Crossing.

We only need to cross twenty li of mountain road to board ships again at Xixi Crossing

and proceed along the Xixi into the Changxi to head straight for Ningde and Yongzhen,

and disembark at Yongzhen.

Weren't the Transport Office and the Supervisory Office at the Yongjia Saltworks in Wenzhou?

Hongchu picked the place himself.

Yongjia Saltworks is nearly five hundred li from Fuzhou.

Isn't that a bit far?

No.

The place chosen by him

is just right.

The main army marches south with supplies transported via waterways.

Qingtian is the necessary route.

At most one more month,

the sea wind season will end.

By then, the grain and supplies that have already arrived in Qingtian can go to sea along the Yongjia River.

And the supplies not yet dispatched can go to sea from the Qiantang River estuary,

heading to Fuzhou via the coastal waters of Wenzhou.

These two routes are both two to three days' water journey.

The intersection of these two routes is the Yongjia Saltworks.

Hongchu is now already at the Yongjia Saltworks?

If my calculations are correct,

at this moment, he and Commander Yang should be on the mountain road,

between the two ferry crossings.

The supplies transported with the army can sustain the troops for twenty days.

Before the army reaches Fuzhou, there is no fear of running out of food.

What we worry about now is precisely this stretch of land route between the two ferry crossings.

What do you mean?

Great King,

it should be raining over there too.

Hongchu...

One! Two! Three!

One! Two! Three!

One! Two! Three!

Make way!

Make way!

Don't push!

Step aside!

There are mats on the cart

One for each person,

Spread them on the ground!

No.

What did you say?

Fill in the trenches and there will be a path to walk.

My soldiers are regular troops.

What?

This is the work of support troops.

Regular troops do not fill trenches.

Fine.

I'll fill them for you!

Come on!

Step aside!

One, two, go, push!

One, two, three, push!

One, two, three, push!

One, two, go!

Good!

Lu Yanzhu!

Here!

Go get the straw mats.

Yes!

Jiang Er, Ma San!

Are you all dead?!

Go!

Zhongshun Company!

Fill the trenches!

You useless fools!

Take the straw mats, move them forward!

What did you say?

Dare to say it again?!

All you useless ones in the back, listen!

Take the straw mats!

Move them forward!

We'll fill the trenches for you!

When will this ever end?

Come on.

Ninth Prince!

Ninth Prince!

Who is over there?

An officer of the regular troops.

Call them over.

Alright.

Tian Biyou!

The Ninth Prince is calling you over.

I, Right Guard First Company, Supply Officer Tian Biyou, pay respects to Ninth Prince.

It's my fault that I didn't recognize you.

I beg your forgiveness.

Anything wrong with my eyes?

In such heavy rain,

that shed over there is on fire?

They are officers from our Company resting in the shed.

They are making hot soup.

What about them?

They're just low trench-filling support soldiers.

You needn't bother with them.

Please, follow me inside. I will serve you the soup.

Low trench-filling support soldiers...

Yes.

You needn't mind them.

It's just a bit of rain.

It won't kill them.

Let them stay outside.

Not having to serve as meat cushions for the cavalry's horses is already their good fortune.

Please be at ease.

Just follow me inside.

Kneel.

Prince orders you to kneel!

Kneel!

Are you deaf?

Yes.

Yes, I was disrespectful.

I don't have much strength.

You two,

don't let him move.

Prince, Prince!

I know my crime!

I offended you!

Your offense against me is of little consequence.

But you must remember this well:

If not for low support soldiers like us,

there would be no military provisions during wartime.

It's not people who are low,

but your heart.

You are fortunate.

I will not kill you.

I spare your life

Go and fight the enemy on the battlefield.

Thank you for sparing my life!

Thank you for sparing my life!

Prince! Ninth Prince!

Prince! Prince!

Prince!

Hurry!

Ninth Prince!

Prince!

Prince! Prince!

Commander...

Don't move.

Lie down.

I heard you have a fever.

Your body has taken on damp.

You need a good rest.

Has the main army boarded the ships?

The vanguard, the forward army and the central army have all departed.

The rear army is also half gone.

The remaining half will also start moving after one more night.

You cannot leave the central army.

Please board the ship.

What happened?

The water levels of the Zhejiang and Dongyang Rivers have surged.

The Shouchang Canal has breached.

The grain ships behind cannot pass through.

The army's supply route,

is cut off.

The three Right Companies have regular troops one thousand two hundred and sixty.

Daily grain requirement is fifty-three hu.

The three Archery Company have one thousand two hundred and thirty-six regular troops,

three thousand six hundred and twenty-eight support troops,

two thousand six hundred and twenty-eight warhorses,

one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six packhorses and mules .

Daily grain requirement one hundred eighty-eight hu, bean fodder seven hundred fifty-three hu.

All noted.

Wait.

The daily grain and fodder requirement, how much is it?

Daily grain requirement is one thousand five hundred thirty-four hu,

bean fodder one thousand five hundred ninety-seven hu.

Prince.

Feeling better?

Total grain transported with the army, twenty-nine thousand three hundred seventy-two hu.

Bean fodder is slightly more, just under forty thousand hu.

Calculated,

it is only enough for the army eighteen or nineteen days of consumption.

Can last until the tenth day of November.

I have calculated this many times.

At most until the eighteenth day of October, the army will run out of food.

How you get the number?

The army still has nine thousand four hundred ninety-two large livestock.

Excluding two thousand seven hundred forty warhorses can't be killed,

there remain six thousand seven hundred fifty-two packhorses and mules.

One large livestock, calculated at three hundred kilograms,

can yield at least one hundred and fifty kilograms of meat.

Based on one regular soldier requiring one and a half kilograms of meat per day,

one support soldier requires half of kilograms of meat per day,

it can last for over twenty days.

If we slaughter all the packhorses and mules,

how will the army's provisions and supplies be transported back?

If we win this battle,

the army can return by sea.

If we lose,

they won't be needed anyway.

Even if we can hold ou until the tenth day of Novemvber,

will the war be over then?

If by the tenth day of November,

the sea remains stormy,

and the rivers are still unnavigable,

then it is the will of Heaven.

The will of Heaven...

When I was imprisoned in Bianliang for several months,

I thought about many things.

What I hated most at that time was this unreasonable will of Heaven.

If it truly is as you say,

it's the will of Heaven,

then you and I can simply say it was not our fault,

and that's that.

But the thirty to forty thousand soldiers deep in Min territory,

how many will be buried in a foreign land?

And how many will return alive?

By that time,

from Changle Prefecture to Yongzhen,

to Ningde,

or from Xixi Crossing

to Piaoxi Crossing,

along this sixty kilometers of road,

how many ghost of grudge, bleached bones will gather?

You have seen too little.

Yes.

Indeed, I have seen little.

I was raised in luxury,

never knowing the hardships of the world.

But,

this is Wuyue,

not the Central Plains.

Shen, do not accompany me to the Yongjia Saltworks.

Instead, return with the ship to the army to deliver this letter for me to the two Marshals.

This is your official credentials.

I have already explained the matter to the two Marshals in the letter.

With these credentials, you can, at the front,

act as the Military Inspector and take the authority Supervisory Office.

You intend to establish the Supervisory Office at the front lines?

The situation has changed.

Now everything regarding the movement of military supplies are handled at the front.

Here in Wenzhou,

nothing can be done.

If the Supervisory Office is still here, it would be inappropriate.

But Your health is visibly improving.

You can go there yourself to manage affairs.

There is no need to rely on me.

I will stay in Wenzhou.

The Transport Office will also remain in Wenzhou.

Prince.

What do you intend to do?

The ways of heaven are unpredictable, but I wish to do whatever I can.

Wenzhou might resolve the army’s food shortage crisis.

If that is the case, I can oversee the Supervisory Office on your behalf.

However, the position of Military Inspector is the King...

I trust you.

I will not fail your trust.

♫ 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. ♫