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 31]

Did he say that?

When he drew his sword in the hall, I saw his fierce decisiveness,

and thought he would be a harder master to serve than the Sixth Prince, King Zhongxian,

a shrewd and suspicious ruler.

Who would have known he turns out to be

more benevolent and gentle than the late King Wenmu. [King Wenmu: Qian Yuanguan]

With such a soft nature,

how can he hold the throne firm?

He is not like the late king.

You think the late king was benevolent?

That's only because your father could not threaten his throne.

The late king was indeed kind

to his meritorious ministers,

to his court officials,

and to unrelated people.

But to his own brothers?

His two younger brothers, he killed them without a second thought, without even a frown.

That branch

of the Qian clan,

was also stripped to commoner status.

If you were a member of the Qian clan,

would you still call him benevolent?

Capable of killing, but also capable of loving.

That was not the late King Wenmu.

That was the old King.

King Wusu?

[King Wusu: Qian Miu, Wuyue's first King]

Our current Great King,

like the old king,

is a sentimental soul.

I,

Shen Yin, Deputy Prefect of Taizhou, pay my respects to the Regent.

Sir, no need for such formality.

I

am still the same as yesterday.

Regent, be careful with your words. You are no longer who you were.

Yes.

Your good advice, I will remember it.

From today onward,

I shall call you by your name.

My courtesy name conflicts with that of yours, Regent.

I request to change it to uphold propriety.

No need.

I will change mine first.

[Hong means broad, determined, benevolent, accord with "Wen"]

Wende. [Chu means kind, honest, beautiful, accord with "De".]

Exactly, Wende. [You are kind, brave, and care for people, so you shall be named "Wende".]

Lord Feng from the capital choose if for me.

Great King, Minister Yuan requests an audience.

Great King.

The Military Affairs Office has received urgent reports from Bianliang.

What happened?

The Emperor's health is in decline.

[Main meaning: Han Emperor is unwell, his son Chengyou still young. Various influences are fighting.]

[The loyal ones such as Guo Wei is carrying out other missions. This concerns Wuyue, please make your decision, King.]

[Kaifeng Prefecture, Bianliang City] The Emperor's health is in decline.

For the security of the state, we implore Your Majesty to issue a final decree

[Liu Chengyou] and establish the Crown Prince.

[Liu Zhiyuan] Your brother and sister-in-law...

they did not treat me well.

It was me,

who insisted on marrying you.

What does it have to do with my brother and sister-in-law?

What I love most

is listening to you speak.

[Li Sanniang]

Wait for me to join the army.

Once I secure the funds and provisions for our home,

I will return

to marry you and bring you into my family.

I

will wait for you to come.

He

is gone.

Father Emperor!

Empress.

Lord Feng, Minister Su.

This is no time for sorrow.

His Majesty has passed.

The state cannot be a day without a ruler.

[Yang Bin]The Prince of Zhou is benevolent and filial, the eldest heir of the state.

Please, Empress and the Chancellors, draft the final decree and support the Prince of Zhou in succession.

Ministers,

you may decide this yourselves.

Allow us

to stay a little longer.

In the first month of 948,

Later Han's Emperor Gaozu, Liu Zhiyuan, died.

The land, its smoke of war just settled, suddenly lost its pillar.

Gaozu's second son, Liu Chengyou,

only eighteen years old, hurriedly succeeded before the coffin.

To show continuity and reassure the people,

he continued using his father's reign title, Qianyou.

However, a young ruler breeds suspicion.

Thus, Later Han entered a turbulent era.

The Prince of Zhou, Chengyou, may ascend the throne before the coffin.

All assist in governance for peace and achievement.

Let the responsible officials carry this out.

Long live the Emperor!

Guo Wei pays respects to Lord Feng.

Greetings, Ministers.

Wei, no need for such formalities.

[Guo Wei] What exactly has happened?

Li Shouzhen has rebelled. In Hezhong Prefecture.

It's good it finally happened. We've endured him for over a year.

Now that he openly rebels,

this festering sore

should be cut out.

To campaign against Hezhong, sending troops from Hedong would be most expedient.

It's nine hundred li; cavalry can arrive in just over ten days.

Enfeoff Liu Chong as Prince of Beiping, and add the title of Secretariat Director.

He should be willing to send troops.

But the Emperor is unwilling.

[Su Yugui] Liu Chong is the Imperial Uncle,

[Su Yugui] and the late Emperor once intended to make him heir.

[Su Yugui] His Majesty has just ascended,

he is young, and this knot is hard to untie.

That is only human nature.

The troops from Hedong

are still needed for border defense.

The Khitans

are a formidable state.

Although currently embroiled in internal strife,

a centipede dies but does not stiffen.

As long as Liu Chong remains in Hedong,

the northern troops cannot be lightly moved.

If Liu Chong leaves Taiyuan,

then those garrisoning Yunzhong,

Yelü Talie and Yelü Dilu,

will march south through Yanmen to probe our weakness.

Wei,

this time I'm afraid you must go yourself.

When Mother was alive, she said,

'Home is always comfortable, but a single day outside can be hard.'

Remember to mind the whether, add or remove clothes.

Eat your meals on schedule.

Your stomach is weak;

when busy for a day or two, you sometimes don't touch food or water.

You must take care of yourself and not be too careless.

[Guo Rong (originally named Chai Rong)] This isn't my first time leading troops.

[Guo Rong (originally named Chai Rong)] Why so much nagging?

Go on, come on now.

Get down, get down.

Zongyi, go play by yourself.

Uncle became Emperor, with so many fine things offered to him,

yet he died at just fifty-three.

Why?

Wasn't it from the early campaigns, when cold and damp entered his body, injuring himself?

So many old wounds and pains took root,

that's why he couldn't hold on.

Your words are wise,

I will remember them.

Come,

rest assured,

I will never let you at such a young age end up alone in an empty room.

If you die,

I certainly won't remain a widow for you.

In times like these, life and death are ordinary matters.

You just need to know your own limits.

Father.

Zongyi.

You seem not to know your limits.

You...

Mother, save me!

In the year 948,

the first year of Qianyou of Later Han,

Guo Wei personally led a great army to suppress the rebel Military Governor of Hezhong, Li Shouzhen.

Li Shouzhen's rebellion had long been brewing.

He was originally from the Shi family, of equal rank with the late Emperor.

When the Khitan moved south, Bianliang fell into chaos,

and the late Emperor entered Daning Palace,

he was actually resentful.

But, cowed by the late Emperor's prestige, he had to lie low and wait.

Now the late Emperor has passed, the new ruler's foundation is unstable,

he thinks the court cannot attend to him,

so he simply rebelled.

What do you think, Lord?

Li Shouzhen is arrogant and rash, and will certainly fail.

But,

we must guard against the Li family of Southern Tang taking advantage.

Yes.

The court must suppress Li Shouzhen's revolt;

for a year or two, it will have no time to care for them.

The Li clan of Southern Tang may think this a rare chance to raise arms again.

We can order Lord Yang, as Chancellor, to tour the northern prefectures and counties

and command all garrisons, to prepare against Southern Tang.

Do you think it proper, Lord?

Yang Renquan's rank is sufficient, but he has no experience with northern affairs.

In recent years leading troops, his focus has been on the Fuzhou front.

Southern Tang is a big state, with at least two hundred thousand armored troops.

We need someone who has fought them, and knows their situation.

Shen Chengli.

He would be more suitable.

Lord Hu, you are right.

What Lord Yang is familiar with is the Fuzhou and Minyue area.

The mountains and rivers, the troops and local conditions,

all differ greatly from Southern Tang.

Then let's trouble Lord Yang to toil once more, as Military Governor of the Weiwu Army,

overseeing military and civil affairs of Fuzhou , and call Wu Cheng back.

I, respectfully obey your command.

During previous king's time, Wu Cheng thrice received orders to inspect the northern borders.

He knows Southern Tang's military geography well.

He is also a former Chancellor, and can keep those soldiers in line.

What do you think, Lord Hu?

You are right.

I had indeed forgotten him.

Then it is settled.

Summon Wu Cheng back to capital, appoint him Chancellor, grant him the ceremonial axe,

supervise the Zhongwu and Xuande garrisons, and the troops of Suzhou, Xuanzhou,

Muzhou, Quzhou, and the Yijin Army, to prepare against Southern Tang.

We obey the command.

What's your opinion?

You handled it very well.

Chancellor Yang was indeed not the right person.

Lord Hu was correct in that.

But his recommendation that Shen Chengli command the army,

is to promote an old subordinate, also had personal motives.

You recalled Minister Wu.

He is a relative by marriage, and a long-serving Chancellor.

His prestige in the army is high, even surpassing Chancellor Yang.

With him on the northern border, even if Southern Tang has plans,

they will certainly not succeed.

Yang Renquan goes south as Military Governor of Weiwu Army.

Thus, in the Chancellor's office, a Counselor position has just become vacant.

You have just become Regent.

In governing and appointing at the center, we should not open the door to favoritism.

You understand me.

You are really a national talent. You will enter the Chancellor's Office in time, but no need to rush today.

I intend to appoint you as the Academician of the Tongru Academy,

to serve by my side, drafting edicts and advising.

Sir, please do not decline.

How could I refuse?

Though the Southern Tang matter is urgent, it's not the real major issue.

Tax farming.

Exactly.

The tax farming system in Taizhou has been in place for over a year.

The treasury is full, and the people are prosperous.

The Taizhou treasury, in just the past year alone,

accumulated eighty thousand strings of coins and one hundred thousand bolts of silk.

This doesn't even include the revenue from the Ninghai Trading Office.

More importantly, in the five counties, the population increased by thirteen thousand five hundred,

of which nearly seven thousand are adult males.

That is equivalent to an entire extra county within Wuyue.

This is all your achievement.

This is not my achievement.

It is the achievement of tax farming.

My mind is made up.

Within the state, in one army, thirteen prefectures, eighty-six counties,

we will completely abolish the harsh policies like collection before assessment

and implement

the tax farming system.

For we see taxation's abuses have long persisted.

The complexity of its names and its demands are extreme.

Now the Great King, caring for people's livelihood, promotes the tax farming system,

establishing new policies, lenient toward the people.

All taxes within the territory are concentrated and undertaken by a single head, later distributed equally.

[Han's Army Camp] This has no connection with government clerks,

[Han's Army Camp] so corruption can be avoided.

The amount is fixed, so people's burden will be relived.

Shuiqiu Zhaoquan is dead?

Head severed from body, entire family executed.

What a pity.

What about Hu Jinsi?

Appointed Chancellor, in charge of state affairs.

Hongchu swallowed this pain.

Truly enduring humiliation for the sake of the state.

Surviving in chaotic times is hard.

Wanting to accomplish something is even harder.

That young Hongchu who once roamed freely in Bianliang, settling scores with gusto,

has finally grown up.

Hezhong Prefecture, the strategic key to Qin and Jin, a corner of the realm.

Li Shouzhen has usurped this city, plotting rebellion and revolt.

The realm is shocked and terrified.

He should be exterminated at once,

[Li Ye] the enemy defeated quickly,

[Li Ye] to achieve complete success.

Before departure,

His Majesty ordered me to convey to the Chief

that if the Chief can defeat the enemy within thirty days,

His Majesty has prepared for the Chief the ceremonial trappings of two military governors,

and also the title and emolument of a Duke.

Chief?

Attendants!

Here!

Beat the drums,

gather the generals!

[Wang Yin, Commander of Imperial Guards Infantry]

Chief! Chief!

The Palatine Officer

has brought the Emperor's edict,

commanding us to fight swiftly and defeat the enemy by a deadline.

What do you all have to say?

Speak freely.

The imperial army has been stalled at the city for over ten months.

All day we just build encampments.

We built thirty-seven encampments,

and the enemy in the city destroyed thirty-seven encampments.

If this continues, army morale will break, which is bad for the campaign.

I volunteer to lead an assault on the city.

If I'm not the first on the walls, I'll accept military punishment.

I have a message.

Please convey it to the Emperor for me.

Please instruct, Chief.

Since ancient times,

a state cannot be governed from outside,

and an army cannot be commanded from the court.

Since His Majesty entrusted me with sole command,

then military decisions

are not for me to request approval for.

Before the army achieves victory,

if another edict arrives, it must be a false edict.

Anyone falsely claiming to be an imperial envoy,

I will behead him.

I am ashamed.

Only today have I truly understood what is called the bearing of a great commander.

The Chief shoulders great responsibility.

If it were not so,

how could you bear the heavy trust of the Emperor?

I will now return to the capital day and night to report back to His Majesty.

I wonder, Sir,

how you will report to the Emperor.

When the city will fall lies entirely within the Chief's strategy.

The Chief is like our Great Han's Li Jing. [Li Jing: a great commander of Early Tang]

Other than this,

I have nothing more to say.

All of you in the army

must carefully obey the Chief's orders.

If anyone disobeys and fights recklessly,

even if the Chief does not punish them,

the Emperor will also behead you to pacify the armies.

My lord.

Give me a hand.

We'll return to the capital.

Guo Wei!

Do you think I cannot kill you?

Is that it?

Are you to cut off the communication?

Ministers.

What is the meaning of this, you two Ministers?

Issuing orders directly to the front, bypassing the Privy Council and Secretariat,

claiming warriors' credit in victory, and shifting blame to commanders in defeat—

Is such confused actions suitable for a ruler, Your Majesty?

Minister Yang exaggerates.

I was merely anxious about the military front.

I had no intention to doubt Mr. Guo.

Chengyou,

[Shi Hongzhao] do not think that becoming Emperor allows you to do anything.

Even your father's imperial authority was earned through spear and sword.

It did not fall from the sky!

I thank both ministers for your instruction.

I admit my mistake.

[Zhao Hongyin] Father.

Why do the Chief let the enemy dismantle our fortifications without moving our troops?

Learn this lesson.

When the village chief comes for conscripts,

gather them all in the hall.

Prepare plenty of food and drink.

Make sure they drink their fill.

If they need carts, give them carts.

If they need horses, give them horses.

If they need money, give them money.

Do not refuse official requisitions either.

Comrades,

drink up!

Don't just hold them.

Come on, come on!

Have more!

Good!

Come on!

Come on, cheers!

What are you daydreaming about?

If you can't drink more,

go put on your armor and stand guard.

I just don't understand.

What kind of battle is this?

We won a small victory,

but our fortifications were torn down by them.

This large stretch of fortifications took at least half a month to build.

I really don't know what the Chief is planning.

Without those fortifications,

where would we get today's hundreds of severed heads?

In such a big battle,

what do a few hundred heads matter?

There are still tens of thousands of troops in that city.

Killing them a few hundred at a time, when will it end?

How generous you are!

Merit for hundreds of heads,

in your mouth,

becomes nothing at all.

Do you know those hundreds of heads

mean food, clothing, and pay for the officers and men below?

They are their future promotions and rewards.

Without these merits as bait,

what will sustain the morale of tens of thousands of troops?

I see.

[Li Chongjin, Military Inspector of the Central Army] Minister,

the Central Army Commander reports that officers from the city have come to surrender.

I got it.

It's burning.

This fire...

was set by Li Shouzhen himself?

Yes.

With the city about to fall,

he knew the court would not spare him, so he set the fire and burned himself.

Before his self-immolation, standing on the roof ridge, he shouted:

"I was not defeated in battle, but by the hearts of the people."

Now I finally understand.

If the rebels stay in the city,

they can only watch as our camps creep closer to the walls.

If they come out to attack our camps, they lose hundreds of soldiers each time.

Do this repeatedly,

our morale soars,

theirs plummets.

The troops who can come out to raid our camps

must be the elite warriors from each of their units.

Warriors like that,

three thousand at most, right?

When they're all dead,

can Li Shouzhen still control the tens of thousands in the city?

So the soldiers mutinied, and surrendered.

Li Shouzhen couldn't stop it, so he burned himself to death.

Inferior strategy

teaches how to kill.

But the most superior strategy teaches how to let men live.

Father.

The Chief accomplished a great feat.

He should enter the cabinet as Chancellor, right?

Then Rong should also be granted a command.

[Main meaning: Guo Wei report that the city falls and Li burned himself to death.]

Mr. Guo is truly capable.

He even kept me in the dark.

Uncle, summon the Hanlin Academician.

Chief of the Privy Council Yang Bin is appointed as Minister of Works

and Commissioner of the Southern Bureau of Military Affairs.

Guo Wei is additionally appointed Military Governor of two circuits, and made Chief of the Privy Council.

I believe this is inappropriate.

Mr. Yang always treats me like a child.

Of the edicts I send to the Privy Council, nine out of ten are rejected by him.

Mr. Guo is not as overbearing as he is.

He has also achieved illustrious military merit.

That is enough to dominate the court.

If he becomes Chief of the Privy Council, Mr. Yang presumably will have nothing to say.

It is precisely because Guo Wei has achieved such great merit this time

and gained prestige and authority in the army,

that he absolutely must not become Chief of the Privy Council.

Otherwise,

I fear he may become even more overbearing than Yang Bin and harder to control.

Such great merit

cannot go unrewarded, can it?

Your Majesty,

Hebei borders the Khitans.

Border affairs are increasingly tense.

We urgently need someone reliable to hold the line there.

I suggest we appoint Guo Wei as an Honorary Chief Minister, still serving as Deputy Chief of the Privy Council,

and station him at Yexia to oversee all defenses.

With such a man leading troops outside,

at court,

Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao would not dare to remain as overbearing and domineering as before.

Father,

His Majesty sent guards to stop us outside Luoyang's walls.

They wouldn't even let us enter the city.

And he orders you to detour to Ye, reorganize the army, and prepare provisions for the border.

What does this mean?

Go back to the capital in plain clothes.

Deliver a letter for me

to Minister Yang.

Gentlemen.

We...

Your Majesty.

This old minister ventures to ask:

who proposed barring the pacification hero outside the capital gates?

Minister Yang,

it is not that We do not wish Lord Guo to return to court.

The border is truly under alert.

Hebei indeed requires a reliable overseer.

We had no choice but to trouble Mr. Guo for this task.

This is truly strange.

The Secretariat heard nothing.

The Privy Council said nothing.

Your Majesty, deep in the palace, was the first to receive this news.

Who reported it to you?

It was...

The agents of the Palace Military Directory?

Your Majesty.

Speak.

I report to Minister Yang,

it was indeed the agents of the Palace Military Directory who discovered this matter

and thus reported it to His Majesty,

so precautions could be taken.

The Palace Military Directory is most capable.

Spying on ministers throughout the capital is not enough; you even stretched your hands to the border cities of Hebei.

But I wonder, where did this information come from?

Which prefecture, which army, which county?

The northern state intends to invade, border commanders are completely unaware,

and send not a word to the court.

Instead, the Emperor's palatine officers must worry.

How can such incompetent men govern the people or guard the territory?

Palatine Officer, do not shield these people.

Tell us.

If the information is true,

I will immediately petition the Emperor to behead these useless men.

But conversely,

if the information is false,

it is not the negligence of the commanders, but the Palatine Officer deceiving the Emperor.

In that case,

I request Your Majesty to execute Li Ye to rectify the court.

Yang Bin does not want to kill me.

He wants to

strip the Palace Military Directory of its investigative power.

He is the Chief of the Privy Council, connected to generals outside, holding pivotal authority inside.

If he also controls the Palace Military Directory, he can cut off the palace from the outside,

and completely turn you, the Emperor in the palace into a deaf and blind man.

Your Majesty,

the powerful minister is forcing his way into the palace.

If Your Majesty cannot act decisively now,

I fear

that by tomorrow, an incident like the Xingjiao Gate Coup might occur.

The previous Emperor and our ancestors

will receive no sacrifices.

Your Majesty.

How is your father?

Thank you for your care, Uncle.

Father is in good health.

He can still eat two large bowls of mutton soup and two flatbreads per meal.

To eat heartily is a blessing.

What has your father sent you with?

This is a letter from my father to you, Uncle.

Wei is an old fox.

Moreover, having handled confidential matters for years,

he is extremely careful with words on paper.

What he truly wants to say would never be written down.

Sit.

Speak.

What worries him?

Father says:

With a new ruler comes a new court.

With the previous Emperor's passing the new sovereign on the throne,

ministers from the previous reign will eventually retire.

Now, during this transition,

the situation is murky.

It would be better to take advantage of the remaining merit and goodwill,

and voluntarily request an outer commandery.

A step back opens a broader vista.

As for court affairs,

let the younger generation handle them.

If the state faces trouble in the future, we would still have the power to set things right.

We are all old men now.

How could we cling to power?

The world has been chaotic for so long.

We've finally had a few peaceful days.

Who would want some rats and foxes to ruin this?

We can step back.

Although the current Emperor is young,

his heart is not bad.

With us old ones watching him, gaining experience over years,

he may well shoulder responsibilities.

The real troublemakers are petty men like Li Ye.

But unfortunately, he is the Empress Dowager's brother.

We cannot just drag him out and behead him.

What did Zhuge Liang say?

"Be close to virtuous ministers, and keep away from petty men."

When the current Emperor understands this principle,

it will be time for us old men to step back.

"Be close to virtuous ministers, and keep away from petty men."

Yes.

Minister Yang said that.

These are words from Zhuge Liang's memorial.

He did not finish the quote.

"Being close to virtuous ministers and keeping away from petty men is why the Former Han prospered.

Being close to petty men and keeping away from virtuous ministers is why the Latter Han declined."

Our dynasty, the Great Han—

Is it the Former Han or the Latter Han?

The capital will soon be in great turmoil. You can't rest.

Return to the capital at once. Bring your family to settle in Yecheng.

Yes.

♫ Across tens of thousands of miles stretch 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. ♫