All language subtitles for Crossing.Si.du.2026.WEB-DL-SCREENER

HUBEI YANGTZE RIVER
FILM GROUP CO.,LTD

EMEI FILM GROUP

AUGUST FIRST FILM STUDIO

In 1934, under the erroneous leadership of
Bo Gu, Li De, and their "Left" dogmatism,

the Fifth Counter-Encirclement
Campaign failed.

The Central Red Army was forced to abandon the
Central Soviet Area, planning to rendezvous...

...with the Second and Sixth Army Groups. Chiang
Kai-shek dispatched massive forces in pursuit.

After five days and nights of
bloody fighting along the Xiang River,

the Central Red Army and Central organs were reduced
from over 86,000 at departure to barely 30,000.

These 30,000 sons of workers and
peasants were the spark of revolution...

and now their survival
hung by a thread.

Crossing

The Xiang River
battle was devastating.

Our entire platoon
was wiped out.

All our comrades are dead.

Why won't they let
Chairman Mao lead?

Is there no one at the top
with the sense to speak the truth?

This foreign strategist...

copying positional warfare...
has nearly bled us dry.

There is nothing wrong with
our strategy and tactics.

If the soldiers had
followed our orders,

the casualties would
not have been so severe.

Who exactly are you
trying to convince?

Every one of them is
cursing us in their hearts.

The Battle of the Xiang River

How many Red Army
soldiers have fallen?

Forty thousand.

Fifty thousand.

Fifty thousand.

Bo Gu, what are you doing?

Let go of me!

Dying is easy.

Living...

then what is your
brilliant plan?

What use are my plans?

I told you...

positional warfare
cannot defeat encirclement.

You refused to listen.

I opposed crossing
the Xiang River.

You still refused to listen.

I opposed defeatist retreat.

You refused even more.

Mao Zedong...

I must remind you, since 1932,

you have held no
command over the Red Army.

I...

Comrade Li De, Comrade Enlai,

our Three-Man Military Group

is the leadership here.

Enough.

The enemy blocks us ahead,

and pursues us from behind.

This is not the
time for arguments.

I know only this...

death solves nothing.

Only by living,

by surviving with courage,

Chiang Kai-shek will
surely anticipate

that we intend to march
north to western Hunan

to link up with the Second
and Sixth Army Groups.

We cannot walk into his trap.

I believe

we must turn toward Guizhou.

Our immediate priority
is to establish a base area

and give these 30,000
Red Army soldiers

a chance to breathe.

What is your assessment of
the Communist westward flight?

Generalissimo,

the bandit suppression campaign

could have been airtight.

Secretary-General, Nanchang Office, National Military
Commission... But the warlords each harbor their own schemes.

Their blockades are
like beating a drum...

all noise, no substance.

Their pursuit is more
like a farewell send-off,

which is how the
Communists escaped.

Now these agitators

have wandered
into our heartland.

The warlords are of no concern.

The Communists...

they are the true threat.

Drive the tiger
to devour the wolf.

If the warlords feign
obedience while defying us,

the Central Army can deal
with them along the way.

Telegraph Xue Yue to prepare
for immediate deployment.

We must ascertain the
Communists' movements.

To Nanjing.

In barely a month,

she became like a
sister to Madame Chiang

Chairman, Guizhou Provincial
Government... and brought back

ten thousand silver dollars.

And a thousand rifles.

Madam,

remarkable.

The moment I left Nanjing,

Xue Yue was at our
heels in Guiyang.

On the surface, helping
us defend against bandits,

but in truth...

a cuckoo in another's nest.

A necklace may be beautiful,

but worn carelessly,
it can strangle you.

So what if he is a strong dragon?
He cannot overpower the local serpent.

Besides, I have money, I
have guns, and I have opium.

Most importantly,

the Wan family of
Tongren is Madam's own kin.

They will certainly
stand behind me.

Chiang Kai-shek...

even if he wants to
pull us up by the roots,

it won't be that easy.

You fool.

The Central Army and the Communists
are fighting like gods here.

In the end, it's us
little devils who suffer.

You'd better find out quickly

where the Communists have gone.

Guns...

are not for killing Communists
on Chiang Kai-shek's behalf.

They are for
protecting ourselves.

Which unit are you from?

We were guarding the
Wu River at Huilongchang.

The Communists broke
through the crossing.

The division commander fled.

Our battalion commander...

was killed in action.

Our battalion commander
was from Zunyi.

He wanted to be buried
at the ancestral graves.

Your battalion commander...

what was his name?

Xia Dashan.

Where did he live?

Sir! Sir!

Sir!

Sir!

Our battalion commander

lived on Guanxiang Street,
Renhe Lane, Number 25.

Huilongchang.

Absolutely certain, sir.

Doesn't sound right.

Sir!

Sir, what a tragic end!

Sir!

Without you to lead us,

how are we to fight
the Communists?

You never got a last
smoke before you died.

Take this opium pipe with you.

Smoke it on the road.

Don't touch my pipe!

It's my treasure!

Wretched thing!

Get out of my sight immediately!

Tell them to leave.

Go.

I helped you.

Give me a silver dollar.

Don't look back.

The Communists are here!

Move!

Careful!

Don't run around.

Open the city gate!

Old Zhu!

Open the gate... I'll cover you!

Move!

Charge!

All they do is
give blind orders.

If this goes on,

the Red Army is truly finished.

All they talk about
is the Comintern.

Do they know anything about
China's mountains and rivers?

Wang Jialie forced
the people of Guizhou

to destroy their
grain and grow opium.

There is not enough food here

to sustain 30,000
Red Army soldiers.

Only he can lead us out
of this deadly situation.

You and I are both commanders.

We know what the
soldiers are thinking.

They trust us.

We must be worthy of that trust.

Comrades,

military matters

ultimately come
down to strength.

We are too weak.

The enemy is too strong.

Those who constantly
spread dissent...

I question their
loyalty to the Party.

You...

During the Fourth
Counter-Encirclement Campaign,

my intestines were blown open.

I would rather bleed

than leave the ranks.

That is proof enough of my loyalty.

Bo Gu,

Comrade Li De, you keep
citing objective factors.

Tell me...

can you command a battle

by sitting in a room
studying maps with a ruler?

I agree with Comrade Jiaxiang.

Without capital, how can we fight?

If this leadership continues,

we cannot follow any further.

I agree with Commander Zhu.

I agree with Commander Zhu.

This battle was
fought in confusion.

Our soldiers bled
and died for nothing.

You...

have deeply disappointed
the comrades.

Comrade Peng Dehuai,

what is your attitude?

Men are still
bleeding and dying.

How am I supposed to
answer to the soldiers?

Calm down, comrades. Calm down.

Calm down.

The Communists
have occupied Zunyi.

The Red bandits are
like a diseased tooth.

If not extracted, they
will become a mortal threat.

What is this thing?

You wouldn't know.

It's dried prickly pear.

When in Rome, you know?

Three days without
something sour,

and your legs won't
carry you straight.

A bit of sour gives
you real strength.

Liming.

This character is read...

Do you know how
to write "sleep"?

"Sleep"...

Get down here, you rascal!

Young fellow,

isn't this...

you saved us that night.

Good that you remember.

Without me, you wouldn't
have made it into the city.

Those double-gun soldiers
would have wiped you out.

Those worthless lot...

We Red Army soldiers could
handle them one-handed.

Whatever you say.

Your payment.

I don't want money.

You killed my boss, Ma Yousan.

My hideout is gone.

I've got nowhere to go.

Ma Yousan?

From Liping.

A bandit.

Burning houses, looting grain,

sending half-grown
boys to stop bullets.

He deserved to die.

If that's the case,

then thank me.

Thank you? I'll
thank you to hell!

All right, all right.

You've seen for yourself...

our situation right
now is rather difficult.

People die in
marches and battles.

I don't care.

Whoever feeds me,
that's who I follow.

You little...

you're trying to latch
onto us, aren't you?

From the Ningdu
Conference until now,

we have taken too
many wrong turns.

As for our future
strategy and tactics,

I propose we hear
Comrade Mao Zedong's views.

Comrade Mao Zedong...

is his method of warfare
truly so brilliant?

I say he

relies on nothing
but two books...

one is Romance of
the Three Kingdoms,

the other is The Art of War.

To be perfectly honest,

I have indeed read
the Three Kingdoms.

Sun Tzu, I have not.

Since Comrade Kai Feng
is so familiar with it,

may I ask...

how many chapters does
The Art of War contain?

The Art of War is
barely six thousand words.

I am quite familiar with it.

Which chapter would
you like to hear?

I'll recite it for you.

Since Comrade Enlai
has asked me to speak,

I will not hold back.

In military command,

the errors our army
has committed include...

in offense,

adventurism;

in defense,

conservatism;

in withdrawal, defeatism.

Foreign strategy and
tactics may be sound,

but applied blindly,

they will not take root here.

To fight in China,

we must develop our
own way of fighting.

We must not repeat the
mistakes of "Left" dogmatism.

Comrade Xiaoping,
bring the map over.

This map is more
precious than our lives.

Don't scribble on it.

The Second

and Sixth Army Groups...

the Fourth Front Army

is in Sichuan.

We

are in Guizhou.

Thirty thousand against
four hundred thousand.

How do we fight this?

The Sixth Army Group

has just concluded the
western Hunan offensive.

Only twenty thousand
troops remain.

They face a counterattack by over
one hundred thousand Hunan troops

and have no capacity to
advance west to meet us.

As for the Fourth Front Army,

after fierce fighting against Liu
Xiang's six-route siege in Sichuan,

though victorious,

they are severely depleted.

Our Central Red Army

can only rely on ourselves to
break through the encirclement.

Our only option at present

is to concentrate
superior forces

and strike the
enemy's weak points.

In mobile warfare,

we must destroy the
enemy's vulnerable elements

... part or all... one by one,

until we achieve a
complete breakthrough.

Comrades, our situation
is now extremely critical.

The enemy is advancing
from four directions,

closing in like an avalanche.

Wang Jialie... we have
only three roads before us.

Wang Jialie...

Either north, or east,
or we stay and fight

like a cornered beast.

Whichever road they take,

I will turn it into a dead end.

Hear my orders.

Central Army columns under
Zhou Hunyuan and Wu Qiwei...

two columns, eight divisions...

pursue the Communists
closely from the rear.

In Sichuan,

order Liu Xiang to
dispatch ten brigades

to concentrate in southern
Sichuan by separate routes.

Long Yun of Yunnan...

send Sun Du with three brigades

to advance northwest toward
the Bijie region of Guizhou.

Wang Jialie's two divisions

advance on Daobashui
and Laibannang.

One division advances on Meitan.

This is what we call

an iron-bucket encirclement.

Not even wings will save them.

The Sixth Division of the Third
Army Group is in heavy fighting.

What happened?

Peng Dehuai of the Third
Army Group reports...

Daobashui cannot be held.

Wang Jialie's forces under Bai
Huizhang will reach Zunyi shortly.

Comrades, we must
accelerate the conference.

I propose the by-election
of Comrade Mao Zedong

as a Standing Member
of the Central Politburo.

The motion carries.

It cannot be denied
that the Three-Man Group

bears inescapable responsibility

for the failure of the
Counter-Encirclement Campaign.

I propose the dissolution
of the Three-Man Group.

I agree.

Carried.

I propose

that following the dissolution
of the Three-Man Group,

Comrade Zhou Enlai retain
military command authority.

Comrades Zhou Enlai and Zhu De

shall be responsible
for military command,

with Comrade Enlai
as the final authority

on military decisions.

Comrade Mao Zedong shall
serve as Comrade Enlai's

military advisor.

Carried.

Guizhou is critically
short of grain.

This is no place to linger.

Agreed.

Cross the Yangtze
northward into Sichuan

and link up with the
Fourth Front Army.

Agreed.

Liu Xiang is no Wang Jialie.

He will not easily allow
the Central Army into Sichuan.

That also reduces

considerable pressure on us.

Look...

the sky above this courtyard

is so small,

it can barely hold us all.

But the sky beyond

is boundless.

It depends on whether
we have the courage

to step out and forge ahead.

The Communists marching
north is a grave threat.

But I, if I play one bold move,

can turn danger into safety.

The Communists flee
northward in panic.

I shall pursue
without striking...

a show of force to rattle them.

Simply scare them away.

You have long been known for
your ties to the Communists.

Everyone knows.

In 1927, you personally
released quite a few Communists.

The most famous of them

was Chen Yi.

Do you think the
Generalissimo will believe that?

Then let the
Communists come and try.

We shall see if
their teeth are harder

or my bones, Guo
Xunqi's, are harder.

But once the Communists
enter Sichuan,

the Central Army will cling to us
like a bone disease, right on our heels.

When that happens,

you and I will be
the next Wang Jialie.

We must still pursue.

But at a measured pace...

neither too close nor too far.

Qinggangpo.

The Sichuan Army is
preparing another assault.

Hold the line, comrades!

Hold!

Comrades, forward!

Heavy fire from Baima Mountain.

There must be a
Communist leader there.

Brigade Commander Pan?

Take Jianshanzi immediately,

then push west

straight into Baima Mountain.

Take Baima Mountain and
the first merit is yours.

Brothers!

The Communist headquarters

is on that hill ahead.

Their leader's head

is worth a sack
of silver dollars.

One wretched life

for a lifetime of ease.

Which brave brother

will follow me

to kill the Communists?

Let's go!

Centered on this position,

establish three
defensive fire lines.

Qinggangpo... we will
not yield a single step.

Set up the machine guns!

You bastards!

I'll fight you to the death!

Get the wounded to the rear!

Move the wounded back, quickly!

Was the intelligence wrong,

or was my judgment flawed?

If the enemy sent
only four regiments,

they could not have
this many troops.

Give me a rifle.

Here.

Commander Zhu,
where are you going?

If we cannot hold now,

the enemy's encirclement
will close completely.

Only by taking Yong'an Temple

is there a chance of survival.

I know that terrain best.

I will command there.

Our intelligence must be wrong.

We must reassess the
situation before deciding.

But the enemy will
not give us time.

As long as the Red Army endures,

what is one Zhu De

worth mourning?

The enemy's bullets

cannot find Zhu De.

Chen Geng.

Don't worry.

We will hold the enemy at
the foot of the mountain.

Commander Zhu is here!

Hold on, comrades!

Third Platoon, follow me!

Comrades, drive the enemy back!

Enemy aircraft!

Just when I was craving
milk, mother arrives.

Xingshan!

No!

Xingshan!

This is called
dried prickly pear.

Three days without
something sour,

and your legs won't
carry you straight.

Old roads make
your feet stumble.

A bit of sour gives
you real strength.

Find cover quickly!

Move! Find shelter! Hurry!

Watch for artillery!

Move!

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Fall back!

Xingshan!

Get inside!

We cannot keep fighting.

Notify the front-line units

to withdraw immediately.

Adventurism in offense,
conservatism in defense,

defeatism in retreat...

this is your strategy
and tactics, Mao Zedong?

From Ruijin,

step by step, how did
we arrive at this point?

Do you still not understand?

Chiang Kai-shek is
desperate for victory

and pursues us relentlessly.

The enemy is forming a pincer.

If we keep meeting
force with force,

there is only one road... death.

Only in mobile warfare

can we find a way to survive.

Do you understand?

Remember this...

it is not only Comrade Li
De and I who can lose battles.

Mao Zedong is no different.

I propose

we shelve the plan to
cross the Yangtze northward.

Before dawn,

cross the Chishui River in full.

This is our only way out.

But this crossing point

has no bridge.

There is no time.

No bridge...

then we borrow one
from the people.

Our survival

depends on this single move.

Once across the Chishui River,

we aim to take
Xuyong and Shaquan.

From there, march north

and continue toward
the Yangtze crossing.

Comrades,

no matter how many obstacles

lie ahead,

we must fight our way through
with everything we have.

As long as our feet keep moving,

the flame will not
be extinguished.

Hold your heads high.

So sour.

Why did Xingshan
love this so much?

Old Guo,

there is no more time.

Headquarters has ordered
us to cover the engineer unit

building the pontoon bridge.

But right now, what they
lack most is boats and timber.

We must find some quickly.

Move!

We have no time to waste.

Zhao Defa, how can
your heart be so hard?

Comrades around us have
fallen one after another.

Only a few of us remain.

Does your heart not ache?

How could it not ache?

But we cannot stop.

Shicheng.

I know where to find timber.

If you don't want
to die, follow me.

We are the Red Army.

We'd like to borrow
your door panels.

Of course.

Be careful.

Come help, brothers!

This way.

Hurry.

Take it.

Borrowed two door panels from
household head Zhang Erniu,

for pontoon bridge construction.

Twenty copper coins paid.

Comrades,

everything in our hands

represents the
people's trust in us.

We must treasure it doubly
and keep our promises.

Door panels can be
removed and put back.

But once people's
trust is broken,

it cannot be restored.

No good.

Take it.

Thank you.

Sister, don't be afraid.

We just want to
borrow your door panels

and any wooden boards you have.

If the double-gun soldiers
or militia find out,

people will die.

Then I'll add
another copper coin.

Don't waste time with
her.... How about three?

There's no time.

What are you doing?

Removing door panels.

Fang Er.

Do you still think
you're a bandit?

Old Zhao,

mind the discipline.

Sister, this is payment
for the door panels,

and for the clay
pot we broke earlier.

Here, take it all.

No need.

Please, take it.

You've got strength
and nowhere to use it.

I've got plenty of strength.

Don't crush that
small frame of yours.

Need a hand?

No thanks.

Still stubborn.

This boy reminds me of you.

Like hell he does.

After we cross the Chishui
River, send A-Jin back.

What tomorrow brings,

no one can say.

This way.

Make haste.

The pontoon bridge must
be ready before dawn.

The Red Army's lifeline

is in our hands.

Hurry!

Hold tight!

Faster!

Enemy reconnaissance
aircraft incoming!

Everyone, hurry!

Report, sir.

According to aerial
reconnaissance,

the Communists are
in the Tucheng area,

crossing the Chishui westward.

Make way! Make way!

Make way!

Make way!

What's the situation? Report.

A small enemy force

is heading this way.

Old Zhu,

this is yours.

Yes, sir.

Guo Chuang, bring your
squad and follow me.

Soldiers, follow me!

Hurry!

Make haste!

The enemy has spotted us!

Hurry!

Move, move, move!

Hurry! A-Jin! A-Jin!

Patch the gap behind!

Come, make way!

Make way!

Get up!

Dodge!

Zhao Defa.

Comrades around us have
fallen one after another.

Only a few of us remain.

Does your heart not ache?

Medic!

Yes, Chairman?

Gauze.

Quickly.

Chairman, the
enemy is closing in!

Chairman, the enemy is
about to... Stand aside!

All the wounded...

take them all.

Save them!

Anyone still alive...

not one shall be left behind.

If we go,

we go together.

Our pontoon bridge
is almost ready.

Push harder!

The bridge is ready!

Cross the Chishui River!

Lower it!

Move it forward, quickly!

Hurry!

Lower it!

One, two, three... lift!

Lower it!

Push!

One... two... three!

Push the cannons into the water!

Push the cannons into the water!

Without them,

what do we fight the enemy with?

Sink the cannons?

Sink me first!

Do you have shells?

Look behind me.

So many men are bleeding.

So many are waiting
for treatment.

Without the cannons,

we are still the Red Army.

But without our people,

what do we have to fight with?

Survive.

Only by surviving
do we have a chance.

Only by surviving

can we carve a path
through the blood.

Sink the cannons!

Sink them!

Yes, sir!

Push them in!

Cross the bridge!

Cross the bridge!

Hurry!

Everyone, follow!

Cross the bridge!

Hurry, hurry!

Zhao Defa,

why won't you take me?

I am not a bandit.

Ma Yousan said we were
nothing but his livestock.

He never treated
us as human beings.

I don't want to die.

I want to eat.

What's wrong with that?

Old Zhao,

how can you be so cold-hearted?

Think about it...

we don't even know
where we're going.

Zhao Defa,

alive today, perhaps
dead tomorrow.

You want to bring
a child?...- I...

Isn't he a burden?...
am not a bandit.

I don't think so.

He is not a burden.

He will be a seed
of the Red Army.

All right.

I have only one condition.

Red Army soldiers are not
allowed to call themselves 'Laozi'

That is bandit talk.

Understood.

Old Zhao means well.

He doesn't want you in danger.

Fools!

A pack of incompetents!

I told you to keep the
Communists out of Sichuan.

How did you let them in?

He's back.

Now that the Communists have
left, who knows where they've gone.

Perhaps we should send scouts.

Rest easy, Madam.

If not Sichuan, then Yunnan.

If not Liu Xiang's headache,

then Long Yun's misery.

It is their turn to treat
the Communists to a meal.

What is it?

Communist traces found
near Gulin, Sichuan,

heading toward our Yunnan.

Telegraph the Generalissimo.

Tell him the Communists...

Block the key
passes at Zhenxiong.

Even if the Communists
tear the sky open elsewhere,

we do not move an inch.

Remember.

Here.

Take it.

For you.

You eat.

Eat.

You eat.

The enemy is everywhere.

Xuyong was not taken either.

Where are we supposed to go?

Here.

This kid.

Old Zhu.

Here.

What is it?

Eat.

What is it?

Turnip.

Where did you get it?

It's not for you.

None of your business.

I'm asking where you got it.

I'm talking to you.

Where?

The White Dogs' camp at
the foot of the mountain.

I stole it from them.

What?

The White Dogs...

Disobeying orders,
acting on your own...

you've exposed our position.

You could get everyone killed.

Do you understand?

Zhao, who is really
getting whom killed?

We've been circling
this valley for days.

No one knows where we're going.

No food, no water.

Worse than animals.

You're even worse than
the bandit Ma Yousan!

You... Come on!

Right now, the fact that we
can still stand here breathing

was bought with the
lives of so many comrades.

Guo Chuang.

Luo Xingshan.

Gone.

Have you forgotten?

And so many more comrades

who died at the Xiang
River, who died at Guangchang.

I wish it were me who died,

and they who lived.

Do you understand?

The New Year is coming.

I just wanted them to
have something to eat.

Take it.

What,

missing home?

They're all long dead.

Starved to death.

Generalissimo,

Japan's ambition to
swallow China is no secret.

The entire nation... Hanqing,

I understand your
feelings perfectly.

But the nation is not yet
united under my command.

What do I fight Japan with?

Internal pacification must
come before external resistance.

The Communists are currently

our gravest internal threat.

Throughout history,
when bandits and rebels

reach their final
desperate stage,

they flee to
Sichuan and Guizhou.

The further west,
the closer to death.

Once the Communists are destroyed
and the warlords eliminated,

we can concentrate our strength

against the Japanese.

You men never stop once you
start discussing state affairs.

It's the New Year.

Today, let's not talk about
destroying this or that.

Let us devote ourselves entirely

to conquering the
feast on this table.

Runzhi,

eat something.

I'm not hungry.

Eat.

Xiao Chen.

Chairman.

Take this to Comrade Zizhen.

She needs the nourishment.

Yes, Chairman.

At Tucheng,

the enemy lost three thousand.

But that is three thousand
out of four hundred thousand.

We also lost three
thousand soldiers.

But that is three thousand
out of thirty thousand.

An ambush turned into
a war of attrition.

We lost the battle.

Who has never lost a battle?

In 1927,

when Chiang Kai-shek
purged the Party

and unleashed a bloodbath,

was I not the same?

From Shanghai, I barely
escaped with my life.

Exactly.

Back then, at the Sanheba
blocking action in Guangdong,

was I not also... Commander
Zhu, that was no defeat.

The division at Sanheba
preserved a vital spark

for the revolution.

Yes.

Without Sanheba,

there would have been no
rendezvous at Jinggang Mountain.

You have all studied abroad,

properly trained
in military science.

Do you truly believe

I can do this?

Runzhi,

from Jinggang Mountain to now,

you and I have had
our disagreements.

But facts have proven

that in military matters,

you have been right.

You have always been right.

Who can truly lead this force

out of this crisis?

Runzhi,

you must believe in yourself.

The world may think
we are finished.

Thirty thousand against
four hundred thousand.

But our thirty thousand

wear straw sandals.

Surely we need not fear
those in military boots.

Pas à pas,

nous irons loin.

I just praised you for
your foreign education,

and already you're bullying
this country teacher.

An honest man speaks plainly.

I have come to ask
you to step aside.

Bo Gu, we must acknowledge

that our adversary is
far stronger than we are.

Chiang Kai-shek is unfathomable.

I worked alongside him
at Whampoa for two years.

I know him well.

Whether in the factional
struggles within the Kuomintang

or against the warlords great
and small across the nation,

no one has been his equal.

If we are to defeat him,

we must find someone

even stronger.

Enlai, your prestige
in the Party is so great.

I do not understand...
I truly do not understand

why you are always willing
to sacrifice yourself

for others.... At a
moment of life and death,

what use is prestige?

Extraordinary deeds

require extraordinary men.

The road ahead is
long and arduous;

I shall search high
and low for the truth.

These characters...

you must pay attention.

This character "Man"...

Look at Old Zhu, so cultured.

He studied abroad,
a university man.

Old Zhao,

I've taught you quite a
few characters already.

Why not teach A-Jin?

I won't learn from him.

Listen well.

This character is read...

We are human beings,

not another man's livestock.

We must stand tall and upright.

Understand?

I'll teach you another.

I know what you want to write.

It's this character, isn't it?

Yes.

"Xin."

This character is read "xin"...

"new," as in New Year.

Put the two characters together,

and you get "new person."

It represents
someone with a future,

someone with hope.

Hope?

We are so few.

The White Dogs chasing
us outnumber us ten to one.

If they link arms in a
circle, we couldn't escape.

What hope is there?

Youngster,

you are right,

but also wrong.

Chairman.

You are...

Zhao Defa, the boy
from Jinggang Mountain.

Yes, sir.

Former commander of
the Third Company,

now platoon leader of the Second
Platoon, First Company... Zhao Defa.

Combat casualties
have been severe.

The Zhaxi reorganization...

some companies have ten
commanders for a single squad.

Reorganization

is to make our forces
more mobile and flexible,

and strengthen our
combat effectiveness.

Zhao Defa, future
reconnaissance missions

will depend on your company.

Only then can we, under
this iron-bucket encirclement,

carve a path through the blood.

Our Red Army

is here now.

To the north, the Sichuan Army.

To the west,

the Yunnan Army.

To the southeast,

the Central Army
pursues us relentlessly.

So where do we go now?

Where do we go?

I say...

if the enemy will
not let us advance,

then we simply

retreat.

Strike Wang Jialie once more.

We cross the
Chishui a second time

and return to Zunyi.

Agreed.

First, we send a
small force northward

to make Chiang Kai-shek believe

we still intend to cross
the Yangtze northward.

But at the same
time, the main force

marches east,

seizing Taipingdu and Erlangtan,

and crosses the
Chishui River once more.

The Central Revolutionary
Military Commission issued from Gulin

an open letter to all Red
Army commanders and fighters.

Chairman Mao wrote
it brilliantly.

The Red Army must

constantly shift its
area of operations...

sometimes east,

sometimes west,

sometimes by narrow trails,

sometimes by old roads,

sometimes by new paths.

The only constant

is to seek victory in battle

under favorable conditions.

Chairman Mao is
personally commanding again.

Now we can breathe easy.

Our hearts are steady.

The Chairman we know
is back to lead us.

Chairman Mao is ten times
sharper than Chiang Kai-shek.

If the enemy wants to catch
us, it won't be that easy.

Good. Comrades,

gather round.

Our target for this assault

is here...

the salt depot.

The reactionary
militia hoards salt

and exploits the people.

For the poor, salt
is a New Year's luxury.

We will open the stores and
distribute salt to the villagers.

After that, we will
enlist the villagers' help

to build our pontoon bridge

and complete the second
crossing of the Chishui.

We will divide
into three squads.

First squad... frontal assault.

Secure the main
gate of the depot.

We will exploit the gaps
in their patrol schedule

to close in.

Their guard will
be weakest then.

Two men will suffice.

But remember...

use knives and rope.

Eliminate them without a sound.

Second squad...

flanking from the rear.

Near this depot there
is a water channel.

The channel has a small gate.

It is narrow, but

poorly guarded.

We slip in quietly

straight into the depot interior

and seize it.

Third squad...

the assault team.

Strike

the enemy command post,

sever their command
and communications.

Right now, the enemy
believes they are safe.

While they are complacent

and careless,

we take them down.

Understood?

Understood.

Good.

Move.

The Communists!

What's going on?

The Communists are here!

Who's there?

Go.

Hurry.

Take the salt.

Old Zhu,

why have they barred
the doors so tight?

Are they afraid of us?

Not afraid.

They don't dare believe it.

We're not here to take.

We're giving their
salt back to them.

They've been robbed
all their lives.

They've long
accepted their fate.

Now that we tell
them to take it back,

they can hardly believe it.

Move fast.

Quickly.

Hurry.

Go.

Move, move.

Pick up the pace. Move.

Sharp now.

Move.

You few, head that way.

Yes.

The rest, follow me.

Go.

Rifle.

Catch.

Some say

the Chairman's crossing
in and out was a gamble.

No one else would dare it.

That's because he's
never been chased by dogs.

If I were cornered, not twice...

three times, four times,

I'd wade back into the Chishui.

The real trials

likely still lie ahead.

How could the
Communists turn back?

That's walking into a trap.

Why not?

It must be Mao Zedong.

Only Mao Zedong would
make such a move.

But it defies logic.

It defies the art of war.

Whose art of war?

Baoding Academy?

Whampoa?

The Soviets?

The Germans?

He was always a wild
monkey from the mountains.

He cares nothing
for your art of war.

All Sichuan units
rush to the Chishui

to block the Communists'
northward advance.

The Central Army enters Songkan

to prevent a
northeastward breakout.

Telegraph Wang Jialie...

hold Loushan Pass.

Block the Communists
from entering Zunyi.

Await the
encirclement's closure.

Annihilate the Communists.

Mao Zedong...

let us see how you
escape my grasp this time.

Enlai,

Bocheng, the latest
intelligence from Bureau Two...

the Sichuan Army
and the Central Army

are tightening their fist,

trying to crush us.

This Chiang Kai-shek...

he moves too fast.

We must make a
decision immediately.

In that case...

rather than wound ten
fingers, better to sever one.

If we are to retake Zunyi

and seize the initiative,

we must break through swiftly...

Loushan Pass.

Loushan Pass is
treacherous terrain,

ringed by mountains,

guarding the throat
between Zunyi and Sichuan.

Take Loushan Pass,

and the gates of
Zunyi swing open.

The Guizhou Sixth Regiment
is entrenched on the main peak.

The Guizhou Tenth Regiment holds
the high ground at Dianjinshan.

Chiang Kai-shek's Hankow
Residence Tell Wang Jialie...

if he cannot hold Loushan Pass,
he answers for the consequences.

Comrade Peng Dehuai,

take Loushan Pass
before nightfall.

Any problems?

My Third Army Group...

all four regiments
engage simultaneously.

The Thirteenth Regiment
leads the vanguard.

The Twelfth Regiment
strikes the center.

The Tenth and Eleventh
Regiments flank left and right.

No reserve?

I am the reserve.

Fire!

If I had artillery,

I'd take that hilltop.

Charge!

Follow me.

Right.

Old Zhu,

come with me.

Yes.

Go.

The Thirteenth Regiment's
Third Battalion is stalled.

The battalion
commander is wounded.

The political
instructor is dead.

The Thirteenth Regiment's
First Battalion is advancing

but pinned down by enemy fire.

Heavy losses.

The Guizhou Fifteenth Regiment
at Banqiao supports Loushan Pass,

forming a pincer
with Dianjinshan.

The Communists
are stretched thin.

Our fire covers the
road below Dianjinshan.

Three Communist assaults
have been repelled.

This Guizhou force...

heavier firepower
than any we've faced,

and far more stubborn.

Our Third Army Group

has been attacking
uphill at Dianjinshan.

It's a grinding fight.

This battle is turning into
another war of attrition.

The double-gun soldiers' lives

hang on a pipe of opium.

They've fought all day.

They must be fading by now.

Send a strike force now...

climb the back of Dianjinshan

and close the pincer.

Hold tight. Climb toward me.

Over here...

there's a handhold.

One step at a time.

Don't rush.

Watch the rope.

Mind your footing.

Quickly.

Find a foothold.

Old Zhu, hold on.

What are you waiting for?

Climb to the summit
and complete the mission.

Move.

That's an order.

There are more tasks ahead.

Old Zhao,

get a firm grip first.

Once you're secure, pull me up.

All right. Hold on.

Don't worry.

I tied it as tight as I could.

Old Zhu!

Old Zhu!

Comrades, charge!

Charge!

Follow me.

Turn the guns around.

Shells.

Loaded.

Ready.

Fire!

Old Zhao,

temper that foul
temper of yours.

See the view from
the summit for me.

Dianjinshan is taken.

The objective of
taking Loushan Pass

is more than half achieved.

This is a major
victory for the Red Army.

Returning to Zunyi

is within reach.

Say that again.

The Communists have
taken Dianjinshan.

They are now assaulting
the Loushan Pass main peak.

The enemy still holds the
southern slope in trenches.

The Sixth Regiment has
fallen back to Heishenmiao.

Bureau Two reports

Wu Qiwei is racing north with
two Central Army divisions.

The Guizhou Army will
fight to the last.

They will hold and
wait for relief.

Comrade Peng Dehuai,
from this moment,

the First and Third Army Groups
are under your unified command.

Tomorrow will be
a fierce battle.

Yes, sir.

Yes.

Once you've had your opium,

you are invincible warriors...

impervious to blade and bullet.

The Communists'
machine guns and cannons

will mean nothing to you.

Prepare for battle.

Prepare for battle.

Prepare for battle.

Prepare for battle.

Does it hurt?

No.

Good. It shouldn't.

Get up.

Kill the Communists!

Fire!

The Guizhou Army is coming.

Grab your rifles.

Quickly.

Chairman.

Generalissimo.

Bureau Two
intelligence indicates

the Guizhou Fifteenth Regiment
will flank right around Loushan Pass

to strike our left.

Strike where they must defend.

Order Wang Jialie
to send a force

to hammer the
Communists' weak point.

Orders from the commander...

push through
Niuwangtun at speed,

flank the Communist left wing.

The enemy ammunition
depot is indeed at Banqiao.

The Communists are
critically short of supplies.

Commit everything.

Bleed the Communists'
fighting strength.

The enemy is
strong, we are weak.

Give ground one step,
then strike by flanking.

Send a detachment to
raid the enemy rear.

Charge! Forward!

Destroy the Banqiao
ammunition depot.

Cut their supply line,
break their morale.

Number Two gun in position.

Ready.

Fire!

Taking the pass is paramount.

The enforcement squad strictly ordered
the Guizhou Army to attack the enemy.

Any who retreat will be shot.

Reconnoiter the enemy positions.

Find their weakest
point and break through.

Then strike the vital point...

destroy the Guizhou
command post.

This battle we will win.

Gentlemen, today is
my mother's birthday.

Welcome.

Chiang Kai-shek and his lot

will be driven out
sooner or later.

Guiyang will still
answer to me, Wang Jialie.

Make way.

Make way.

Congratulations, Chairman Wang.

Chairman.

Chairman.

Make way.

The Communists...

The Communists are back!

Back?

They're back.

Why have they returned?

Move, move, move.

We'll take the trail
to Zhongzhuangpu.

Brother Wu, save me!

The Communists have taken Zunyi.

Look...

south of Zunyi

there are two high points.

One is Laoyashan.

One is Honghuagang.

Only by taking both hills

can Zunyi

be retaken.

What is the situation
on those two hills now?

In Communist hands.

Brother Wang,

go have a smoke and rest.

Set up a command post here.

We attack Laoyashan immediately.

Attack Laoyashan at once.

Enemy radio signals
have intensified sharply.

They're at Zhongzhuangpu.

Chen Guang... I need
you to move at full speed,

flank around, find Wu
Qiwei's command post,

and drive a blade
straight into it.

Peng Dehuai at
Laoyashan can barely hold.

Where is Lin Biao?

What position has he reached?

Back in the Soviet
area, they used to say...

the Third Army Group's flanking,

the Fifth Army Group's sabers,

and the First Army
Group... what was it?

The First Army Group's...

charge.

Corps Commander, we...

Steady.

Wait a little longer.

It's Chen Guang.

He's found Wu
Qiwei's headquarters.

But Wu has fled.

Pursue?

Pursue.

How far?

A hundred li.

Five days.

Only five days.

A rabble in rags

routed two divisions
and eight regiments.

Wang Jialie was
always soft, fine.

But even Wu Qiwei was
sent fleeing in disgrace,

staging a suicide
scene at the Wu River.

Disgraceful.

An utter disgrace.

Attention.

Telegraph all units...

I, the Generalissimo, have
established command in Chongqing.

All forces in
Sichuan and Guizhou

shall be under my
unified command.

No unit shall advance
or retreat without orders.

All forces

shall attack the bandits
at Zunyi with full strength.

Yes, sir.

It seems Wang Jialie
has been stung hard.

He's holed up in Daguxinchang
and refuses to come out.

The other armies are
all dragging their feet,

watching from the sidelines.

Only Zhou Hunyuan remains on
the north bank of the Wu River,

not moving an inch.

Send a detachment
to feint and lure...

harass his Xiao
and Xie divisions,

draw the snake from its hole.

If both snakes come out,

which do we strike?

Since they are snakes,
we need not fear them.

One comes, we strike one.

Two come, we strike both.

Destroying the enemy
in mobile warfare...

that is our greatest strength.

The more restless
Chiang Kai-shek becomes,

the more advantageous

it is for us.

We nearly fell for
Mao Zedong's trick.

Notify Zhou Hunyuan...

halt the advance immediately.

Fortify his positions.

Remind him

to be like Guo Huai...

steady and methodical.

Not like Xiahou Yuan.

This Mao Zedong...

he is no simple man.

What is it?

This is the latest
from Bureau Two.

Zhou Hunyuan has
fallen back to Lubanchang

and is building blockhouses.

The surrounding enemy forces

are still employing
the old tactics

from the encirclement campaigns
against the Soviet Area...

scorched earth, closing
in on us layer by layer.

They mean to starve
us to death here.

Comrades Lin Biao and
Nie Rongzhen suggest

we might consider striking
Wang Jialie again...

taking Daguxinchang.

That would give us

much-needed supplies.

Wang Jialie is already a
bird startled by the bow.

In our experience,
we could likely take it

without firing a shot.

However,

always picking on
Wang Jialie alone

hardly seems a worthy victory.

Generalissimo,

should we not guard
against the Communists

raiding Daguxinchang?

In our previous campaigns,

even with an iron net cast,

there was always one gap.

The Communists always find

the weakest point in our defense

and slip away.

Now our forces
advance step by step.

The Communists will soon be

out of ammunition and grain.

A hungry man

cannot think clearly.

At that point,

I dangle Wang Jialie
before them like a fat prize.

Let them come.

If they dare come,

staying cooped up here
is no solution either.

A fight is feasible.

Only movement brings victory.

As for how to fight...

the front-line political
commissar decides.

I execute.

Very well. Let us
put it to a vote.

I disagree.

Then tell us... why
can we not attack?

If we strike Daguxinchang,

Zhou Hunyuan's forces

will certainly close
in from the flank.

You worry over nothing.

Runzhi,

very well.

Who agrees with me?

It seems

only Enlai supports
Runzhi's view.

Since you all disagree with me,

then what purpose does
this front-line commissar

still serve?

I resign.

The decisions a man makes
often hinge on small details.

You served alongside
Chiang Kai-shek.

What manner of man is he?

Chiang Kai-shek...

even at Whampoa, he had
already risen to prominence,

commanding considerable respect.

He keeps a diary.

No matter how
busy, he makes time

to reflect and record each day.

For over twenty years,
without a single break.

I often think...

a man who persists in one thing,

even a small thing,
is a formidable man.

At this very moment,

while you study him,

he may well be studying you.

Runzhi,

your eloquence is unmatched.

Why did you not press
your case at the meeting?

I believe you could
have prevailed.

Enlai, secrecy brings success;

loose tongues bring ruin.

You are the final authority
on military decisions.

Some things I can
only say to you.

Daguxinchang

must not be attacked.

Commander Zhu was right.

In military matters,
you are right.

And you have always been right.

Look...

these two intelligence
reports in my hand

were just decrypted
by Bureau Two.

Chiang Kai-shek's
latest dispositions.

If we attack Daguxinchang,

the forces facing us head-on

would be the Guizhou remnants

and Yunnan reinforcements.

Flanking us from
the side and rear...

the Central Army
and the Sichuan Army.

Comrades,

attacked from front and rear...

nine deaths, one survival.

We now put it to a vote...

shall we rescind

the proposal to
attack Daguxinchang?

Good. Carried.

Now then...

shall we restore

Mao Zedong

to his post as
political commissar

of the Front Command?

Carried.

I have a plan.

We concentrate our forces

and strike Zhou
Hunyuan at Lubanchang.

Once Chiang Kai-shek's
armies converge,

we cross at Maotai

... the third crossing
of the Chishui.

The entire army goes to ground.

Then we send one regiment

with a high-power radio set,

disguised as the main force,

to assault Gulin county seat.

The Communists have
withdrawn from Lubanchang.

They've vanished.

What do you mean, vanished?

Because we still cannot
break their cipher,

we can only rely on their
transmission frequency

and location to estimate the
Communist central command's position.

But since yesterday, the
Communist central radio

has maintained complete silence.

Therefore, we cannot trace them.

Is their cipher
truly that advanced?

Why can we not break it?

The Communist cipher

employs a
double-encryption system.

Within a single message,

the same code yields
different characters,

the same character
yields different codes.

The difficulty of decryption
is therefore immense.

If the problem cannot be solved,

can we not eliminate
the man who created it?

Who designed their cipher?

This cipher is
called the Hao Cipher.

The man who designed it is

Zhou Enlai.

Report.

Aerial reconnaissance reports

Communist main forces
spotted near Maotai.

Bear with it.

Almost done.

Easy, easy.

The stairs are slippery.

Take it slow.

Careful.

Boss,

did they pay?

Sir,

they did.

I've long heard

that the Red Army never
runs a tab wherever they go.

Selling this liquor to you

was well worth it.

Good.

Maotai is renowned
for its fine liquor.

The reputation is well earned.

Boss,

your liquor...

it will be even
more famous someday.

Thank you, sir.

Young comrade, let me take that.

Thank you.

Chairman, it's all right.

Let me.

We've never had enough gauze.

Before, we could
only boil it in water,

but some soldiers still
suffered reinfection.

Now, at last,

we can disinfect with liquor.

Wonderful.

The Third Crossing
of the Chishui

I don't know why,

but every time I
see you, I get angry.

Old Zhu said

you remind him of
his younger self.

Like hell I do.

I'm the same as you.

Since I was small, I was
treated less than human.

Plenty of whippings.

Until I met Old Zhu.

He told me...

only by joining the Red Army

can we protect people like us,

and help the poor stand up.

The Third Company that
set out from Ruijin...

I'm the only one left.

These past two nights,
when I close my eyes,

all I see is Old Zhu,
smiling, saying...

every one of us
soldiers is a seed.

As long as the seed endures,

the Third Company endures.

Why are you crying?

Hold it in.

In war, men die.
That's how it is.

Have we taken a wrong turn?

Just keep walking.

We'll know soon enough.

Move.

Remember what Old Zhu said
about Chairman Mao's tactics?

Sometimes west,

Generalissimo,

Mao Zedong is cunning by nature.

This crossing was done in broad
daylight, with great fanfare.

It seems deliberate.

You do not know Mao Zedong.

His greatest skill is...
when false, make it seem true;

when true, make it seem false.

Crossing in daylight

is a performance.

Orders...

concentrate all
intelligence resources

to monitor Gulin in
Sichuan and the Xuyong area.

Second, telegraph the air force.

Order them to intensify
reconnaissance.

If all goes as expected,

within three days,

we will have results.

Guangshi Li Qing Shengdi
Kesheng Shi Chongqing Zhuguo

Daodian

Report.

In the Gulin, Zhenlongshan area,

the Communist central command
radio has been detected transmitting.

Just as you predicted.

The Generalissimo's
foresight is unmatched.

Orders...

Zhou Hunyuan and Wu
Qiwei pursue toward Gulin.

Sun Du at Bijie,

Wang Jialie intercepts
north of Jinsha.

In Sichuan,

Pan Wenhua dispatches five
brigades to block at Gulin and Xuyong.

The Fifty-Third Division
advances from Shiqian toward Zunyi.

All columns
construct blockhouses

to form a blockade line.

Yes, sir.

Prepare the car.

Generalissimo,

where are you going?

To Guiyang, of course,
to direct operations.

The success of the
bandit suppression

hinges on this moment.

Madam,

Madam Wan Shufen, wife of Wang
Jialie, requests an audience.

Refuse her.

Chiang Kai-shek was conferred the rank of Special-Class General, becoming
the only officer in National Government history to formally hold this rank.

Move aside.

Generalissimo,

forty li outside Guiyang,

Communist forces
have been sighted.

I have a plan.

Step one... strike Zhou
Hunyuan at Lubanchang.

If we cross the river right
under Zhou Hunyuan's nose,

he will certainly
send troops in pursuit.

But if we hit him hard at
Lubanchang, hurt him enough,

he will bolt his gates
and dare not sally forth.

Then step two...

cross in broad daylight.

The third crossing
of the Chishui.

But Chiang Kai-shek

is suspicious by nature.

Doing this

may not

deceive him.

Crossing in daylight
is a performance.

Monitor Gulin and
Xuyong in Sichuan.

Telegraph the air force.

Order them to intensify
reconnaissance.

The purpose of all this is
to make him believe our plan

is to continue marching
north and cross the Yangtze.

Let him redeploy his own forces,

tearing open a gap for us

in his iron wall
of encirclement.

And if he continues to dig
in deep and refuse to move?

Then good.

We proceed to the next step.

We send him a surprise force.

Have we taken a wrong turn?

Just keep walking.

We'll know soon enough.

Raise the torches high.

Let them see us clearly.

Yes, sir.

The fish has taken the bait.

Grab your weapons. Move.

In strategy, we must
despise the enemy.

But in tactics, we must
take the enemy seriously.

This strike force

may not be enough to move
Chiang Kai-shek's grand army.

Step four...

this strike force
carries the central radio.

All other unit radios
maintain complete silence.

Report.

In the Gulin, Zhenlongshan area,

the Communist central command
radio has been detected transmitting.

The Generalissimo's
foresight is unmatched.

Once Chiang Kai-shek
has redeployed his forces,

we begin the next
phase of our plan.

Are the pontoon bridges from
the second crossing still intact?

You mean Taipingdu
and Erlangtan?

We use them to march east...

the fourth crossing
of the Chishui.

We can shake off the
enemy's pursuit entirely.

What comes next

depends on whether this army

can stand united, high and low,

each devising
their own stratagem.

Comrade Peng
Dehuai telegraphs...

he recommends we turn southwest.

Great minds think alike.

We must play our part well.

The Ninth Army Group continues to
disguise itself as the main force,

drawing the enemy north.

Meanwhile, we

lead the main force

southward.

That won't work.

The Central Army is
very close to us now.

A head-on collision
would be disastrous.

Comrade Zeng Xisheng
has a brilliant idea.

Bureau Two can mimic
Chiang Kai-shek's tone

and the Nationalist
Army's transmission style

to send telegrams
to the Central Army,

altering their marching route.

Change direction.

Panshui, Xinchang.

We put a hundred li between
us and Wu Qiwei's forces,

and we can march south safely.

We are here.

And Chiang Kai-shek?

Useless at everything
else, but first in meddling.

Couldn't stay in his nest,

had to come poking out.

To Guiyang, of course,
to direct operations.

The success of the
bandit suppression

hinges on this moment.

For the next move,

perhaps we can
play it this way...

swing wide into Yunnan.

That's good, but

Sun Du's Yunnan Army
guards that key route.

Getting past them won't be easy.

This iron turtle keeps
its head in its shell.

We must find a way
to draw him out.

I've been watching
them for some time.

Director Zeng,

the combat units captured
a batch of radio sets.

The Chairman sent
me to deliver them.

Many thanks.

The Chairman also said

to keep a close watch on
the Yunnan Army's movements.

The Yunnan Army's whereabouts
we have always tracked.

In this world,

only one man

can draw them out.

And that man

happens to listen
to us most readily.

Move.

We give him a move...

army at the gates of Guiyang,

check the general.

Take the chariot.

Telegraph Wu Qiwei, Zhou
Hunyuan, and Sun Du...

come to Guiyang at once.

Immediately.

Generalissimo, the aircraft
and airfield are ready.

Please depart at once.

Guiyang is not Zunyi.

If Zhu and Mao take it,

it will damage our
standing abroad.

You wretches,

run faster! Run!

Commander! Commander!

Chairman Long ordered us to
hold the Yunnan-Guizhou border.

Should we move?

You fool.

Since ancient times,
what merit is greatest?

Saving the sovereign.

If I don't seize this credit,

am I to hand it to Zhou
Hunyuan and Wu Qiwei for nothing?

Generalissimo,

Brother Zhizhou,

you've come at last.

I heard the Communists
threatened the Generalissimo.

I was consumed with worry.

Four hundred li in four days.

Seeing the
Generalissimo unharmed,

I can finally rest easy.

You've gone to great
trouble. Great trouble indeed.

Quickly...

reward Commander Sun with
thirty thousand silver dollars.

Also telegraph rewards
for each regiment...

two hundred jin of pork,

sixty silver dollars in cash,

one hundred dollars in notes.

Saving the sovereign pays well.

Sun Du has struck it rich.

Comrade Bocheng,
you miss the point.

This iron turtle
guarding the western pass

has finally crawled
out of its shell.

Naturally, the
Generalissimo must pay us

a little errand fee.

A little errand fee.

A pity our forces are too few.

We could only give the
Generalissimo a fright.

But he will never guess

what we truly intend.

Bypass Guiyang,

feint eastward.

Leave a detachment
north of the Wu River

as a decoy to pin the enemy.

Once Chiang's main force
swings east to chase us,

we turn immediately

and race toward Yunnan,
straight for Kunming.

As long as we break out of the
four-hundred-thousand-strong encirclement,

that is victory.

Move out.

Comrades,

these are orders from above.

We are to draw the enemy

and cover our main force

as it withdraws safely.

These two days of forced marches

have worn the enemy down.

You've done well.

But we cannot stop.

After a brief rest,

we march on.

And

every minute we hold
the enemy, the main force

is safe for one more minute.

And I have good
news for you all...

the main force

has left the enemy far behind.

And for that, we
deserve full credit.

Good.

Chairman Mao said before

the White Dogs couldn't trap us.

I didn't believe it then.

Who would have thought,
after all that circling,

we actually shook them off.

You still have much to learn.

All talk, no practice.

These past days it's
been nothing but walking.

Old Zhao,

how many characters
do you owe me?

Prepare to move out.

Yes, sir.

Old Zhao,

temper that foul
temper of yours.

See the view from
the summit for me.

Chairman Long,

the Communists are
now near Kunming.

You must block their path.

Generalissimo, my
elite main forces

are all with Sun Du.

They've all gone to protect you.

I don't care what
method you use...

hold them back.

Hold them at all costs.

The fog is too thick.

Yunnan's terrain is
the most treacherous.

We don't even have a map.

Rushing into the
mountains like this...

it's like a blind
man on a blind horse.

We can't keep going in circles.

We barely won a chance
to catch our breath,

and we're squandering it.

Report, sir.

We've captured a truck.

Inside are gifts from
Long Yun to Xue Yue.

Xuanwei ham, Pu'er tea,
and the finest Yunnan Baiyao.

We were just dozing off, and
someone delivered a pillow.

A military map, scale one
to one hundred thousand.

This is a treasure.

When Liu Bei entered Sichuan,

Zhang Song presented him a map.

Diao Zhishang...

Now we pass through
Yunnan into Sichuan,

and Long Yun presents us a map.

A good omen.

Chairman,

this Art of War...

I don't know if you're
well versed in it,

but this Romance of
the Three Kingdoms...

you must know it by heart.

Order Long Yun and Liu
Wenhui to burn every boat.

Cut off the Communists'
river crossing.

Burn them all.

Report, Commander.

They've all been burned.

Not one left.

Come here.

Brother, I've got
some scarce opium here.

If you can help me
get it across the river,

you'll be well rewarded.

Commander, no problem
at all. Come, come.

This way, this way.

You see?

Don't move.

You...

Bocheng.

The people of Sichuan
call you a dragon.

Without you, the Dragon King,

borrowing these seven
boats, this Jinsha River...

would truly be
impossible to cross.

What dragon am I?

These boatmen are
the real dragons.

Wherever the Red Army goes,

we rely on the
support of the people.

Commander Zhu,

we've shaken off
the pursuers for now.

Why do you still
look so troubled?

Do I?

I've been frowning so long

I've forgotten how to relax.

Thirty thousand against
four hundred thousand.

And yet this battle...

Our soldiers lack
food and clothing.

Our soldiers have no supplies.

Right in the middle of battle,

their stomachs still
growl with hunger.

Come, come.

To our health.

Not only are our bellies empty,

our hands have
no weapons either.

What are weapons for?

They're for
protecting ourselves.

To buy weapons...

that takes money.

Do we have any?

These are gifts from the
Generalissimo to you both.

He requests your
presence in Hankou.

Guizhou...

think no more of it.

The one thing we
never lack is enemies.

An enemy at the
height of its power,

a formidable enemy.

Wire Xue Yue:

march through the night.
Continue the pursuit.

Order Liu Xiang and Liu Wenhui
to hold their lines at all costs.

I want Mao Zedong to meet
the same fate as Shi Dakai...

at the Dadu River,

total annihilation.

They've been relentless
in their pursuit,

determined to wipe
us out entirely.

Now the road is wide open.

Each goes his own way.

Generalissimo Chiang,

there's no need to see us off.

Enlai.

What are you thinking?

I was thinking...

we've crossed so
many rivers together.

We've shaken off Chiang Kai-shek's
four hundred thousand troops.

And then?

We crossed the Xiang River.

We crossed the Chishui River.

Now we cross the Jinsha River.

One day,

we will cross the Yellow River,

cross the Yangtze,

even scale the highest
mountains and cross the seas.

When that day comes,

all of China...

will be a new world.

Let's go.

The Four Crossings of Chishui
lasted over three months.

The Central Red Army broke free of
the enemy's encirclement and pursuit.

It shattered the enemy's plan
of encirclement and annihilation.

At the most critical
juncture of the Long March,

the Red Army turned from
passivity to initiative,

from defeat to victory.

It laid a solid foundation
for the northward march

to resist Japan
and save the nation.

Mao Zedong once said the
Four Crossings of Chishui

was the finest stroke of
his entire military career.

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