Original subtitles

Say that again. What now?

What did you say?

Speak up.

Persecuting the Emperor, continuing this war...

all will be blamed on your military dictatorship.

Military dictatorship?

You think you have free rein to say what you like?

Where do you think you are?

With you, sir.

You're calling me a military dictator?

You said to speak frankly.

You seem to think you have a few lives to spare.

The fate of Koryo hangs in the balance.

Would I dare speak if I were concerned only for myself?

You're a tricky devil.

You can read my mind now, is that it?

Not at all. Everyone in Koryo knows how things are.

We've already made peace with the Mongols.

Not peace, surrender.

- Peace. - Surrender.

Semantics can't change reality.

We must fight, or...

Or...what?

Or be enslaved.

Those are our only options.

You're right. It's already begun.

The Mongols demand the children of the nobles and the royal house.

What will we do then?

We'll be at their mercy, just as you say.

The want gold, silver, herbs, grains.

Thousands of horses.

This isn't peace. It's total surrender, just as you said.

But I won't say it's either.

Not peace, not surrender.

This war goes on. This is merely a respite.

Wouldn't you agree?

Just so, sir.

You said we have one option other than enslavement to the Mongols.

We must fight. And I must take the blame.

How do you mean?

Tell me. If we must fight, we need a strategy.

Talk is one thing, action another.

How would you get out of this impasse?

I've already granted permission to speak candidly, for today at least.

Tell me.

What's your assessment of the Mongols?

The late Overlord used to play quite a bit of chess with Lord Yi Kyubo.

That's true.

In chess, there's a move called face-off.

The generals face each other unobstructed.

One general moves, the other matches it, until it's a draw.

Go on.

In other words, go somewhere the enemy can't reach.

They are a desert people. The sea scares them.

So?

But Koryo is surrounded by water on three sides.

With hundreds, thousands of islands.

If we locate a stronghold on one of them, what can the Mongols do?

A stronghold...

You suggest moving the capital to an island?

It will require sacrifice and hardship.

It will be a protracted war, one that means abandonment...

and death for our people.

Their land pillaged, their lives trampled underfoot.

And with each cry, each death...

they will curse your name.

Because this war could last 10 years, 20 or 30 years, 40, even 100 years.

30? 40? 100?

Couldn't it? The capital must survive.

To keep the spirit of Koryo alive.

Kim Jun.

Yes, Overlord.

Have you mentioned this to anyone?

No one.

For men, the looser the talk, the greater the danger.

Keep such thoughts to yourself.

Yi Kyubo and Jong Ahn are on their way.

Alert the kitchen that I'll have company.

You're dismissed.

Overlord.

A stronghold.

Stronghold...

Like a bloom on a barren tree.

Hello, Venerable.

Where are you off to?

The Director General's home.

May I ask why?

Her Grace had two bodhisattvas made.

I'll be dedicating them to open their eyes.

So I heard. No doubt many people will attend.

I don't think so. Just the immediate family.

A family shrine is, by definition, a family affair.

Of course. Excuse us, Venerable. We're off to see the Overlord.

- After you. - Thank you.

What are you doing? The Venerable is nearly here.

Beans, come on, chop-chop. You took your time about it.

What does it mean to open their eyes?

Dotting of the eyes to open their eyes.

To fill the wood with the spirit of Buddha.

A vehicle of the cosmos.

Ah. I see.

Everything must be spotless.

Not a speck of dust anywhere.

Not to worry.

Well? Polish the faces, wipe the walls, the floors.

A lot of monks are coming.

The head abbot and the musicians.

Set tables outside the shrine, loaded with delicacies.

Your Grace.

Gyo Jing Do Gam Governmental Branch

Regional reports, sir.

How do you assess the new reports?

Violence by the Mongol resident commissioners is on the rise.

The south, the Eastern and Western Capitals, the north...

Everywhere people ask who is running Koryo.

We have to put up with them. They're official Mongol representatives.

What can we do?

Dotan here in the capital is a real piece of work.

Slapping people around, breaking things, a nasty drunk.

I've heard the same.

The commissioners are courting trouble.

There's talk every day of evening the score.

It's bad.

Next?

The Mongols are insisting on their full measure of tribute.

We can't possibly provide all their demands.

Send our envoys again. Tell them it's just too much.

And this is from the Cholla provinces.

About the two young lords.

Manjung and Manjon?

It's absurd.

Cholla has enough problems, with drought and famine.

Now these two lend at usurious rates and when people can't pay...

they beat them and enslave their children.

Scum.

Don't include this in the Overlord's reports.

Doesn't he need to know?

They're still his sons. We have to shield him if we can.

But he'll find out sometime.

All the same, they're my in-laws.

How can I turn them in?

Next.

Sir. The dedication of the shrine is this evening.

The head abbot and his entourage are coming.

Yes, I know.

The ceremony to open the eyes of the bodhisattvas.

It's quite elaborate.

Is that so?

Now, about the Overlord's quarters.

Has Kim Jun quit for the day?

I believe so.

Then you're dismissed for the day.

I promised to have a drink with Kim Jun ten years ago and still haven't done it.

Today is as good an excuse as any.

Yes, sir.

A mountain monk thought to capture the moon in a jar of water.

He realized that to tilt the jar he must spill the moon.

Good old Three Vices. Come have a drink.

Sir.

It's been too long since we've heard your verse.

It's as though we're sipping tea on the mountain...

and we can see the look on that monk's face.

Can you? High praise indeed. Thank you.

It speaks to the peace and contentment of the monk's life.

Exactly.

I wonder if I'll ever find it?

You have to find it within.

Take a break from affairs of state and let yourself relax.

Who has time to relax?

At least we old men can get together now and then.

Just the thought of politics is so stifling.

It's said that the older one gets, the more one leaves behind.

Unburden your cares.

And place them on whom exactly?

The Guard Corps looks to me, His Majesty looks to me for what he needs.

The court, the chancellors, they all look to me.

What kind of life is that?

My meals are a blur, I can't close my eyes at night.

And I still have so far to go.

My father was drinking and issuing commands...

to the day he died.

I'm weak, lonely, the joy has gone out of life.

It's natural. Life itself can be exhausting.

As we said before, you need a wife.

Listen to you. This from my own brother-in-law?

He's right. It won't do for the Overlord not to have a spouse.

Nevermind being lonely, it's a question of dignity.

You can't be alone.

Is that right?

I'm over sixty...

but I still feel like a kid.

Actually, Lord Jusuk has been looking for a wife for you.

- Ju Suk? - Yes.

Talk about a waste of time.

Lord Jusuk.

Haven't we been faithful servants to the Overlord?

Of course.

And people make mistakes in war.

So I made some mistakes. The Overlord is over-reacting.

Like a cat that pretends it's sorry for the rat.

- Now, now. - No, it's true.

You were at the banquet for the Mongols.

The way the Overlord looked at me, it gave the she shivers.

Not to mention dressing me down at the Privy Council.

I know, I know.

It has me worried.

We're very close, after all.

I know, exactly right.

So if you could say something...

You know the Overlord as well as I do.

He'll keep looking for faults.

Not now, perhaps, but sometime.

Then things will just get worse.

My point exactly. That's what has me so upset.

There is something you can do.

What?

It's good for you, good for the Guard Corps...

and good for the Overlord.

What is it? Well?

- Listen, Dae Jipsong. - Go on.

Listen.

It's been over a year since Her Grace passed.

The Royal House can't go a day without an empress.

Neither should the Guard Corps.

Your daughter lost her husband in the war?

That's true.

Then she's alone?

I'm not sure I follow.

I swear. She's alone, he's alone.

Huh? Wait.

- My daughter? - Exactly.

Marrying again is an accepted custom.

The Overlord is the most powerful man in Koryo.

Well? How would you like to be his father-in-law?

Me? The Overlord's father-in-law?

Yes.

But her husband hasn't been dead long.

And she has a child.

We have to act.

Your daughter is one of Koryo's great beauties.

Jong Ahn has already mentioned it. So has Yi Kyubo.

Is that so?

Oh, yes.

The Overlord's father-in-law? Me?

Oh, my...

This talk of age reminds of the late Kim Dokmyong.

Now I know how he managed to stay in my father's good graces.

How's that?

As you grow older you need someone to talk with.

To while away the time.

A man like Dokmyong was perfect for that.

That's true.

And I recall how he loved playing chess with you.

Yes, so he did.

Speaking of which...

I understand that there's no way out of a face-off?

The generals face each other unobstructed.

From a stronghold, back and forth, a draw.

No matter how they move...

It's not of much use, Overlord.

Ah-ha, so you've heard of it?

Of course, but the stalemate tactic makes for a dull game.

Not to the strong side, no, but to the weak side, it's heaven sent.

It's not a win, but it's not a loss, either.

A draw is a win in a way, to the weaker side.

- We should play chess now and then. - Sir.

- Show me this face-off play. - Sir.

Another drink.

- Here, another. - Sir.

- Kim Jun. - Yes, Overlord.

Overlord, at your service.

Have the kitchen bring some more refreshments.

- It's late. Be on your way. - Overlord.

More refreshments for the Overlord.

Well, now, Field Marshal.

Pak Sungson, remember?

Of course. May I help you?

- When do you get off? - Just now, actually.

Kim Yakson's shrine? But why me?

The Director General wanted to make up for the drink from 10 years ago.

I see, but the shrine is for family members only.

Where is it written that it's only family?

It's a place for friends, as well.

- Come along. - Sir.

It's not just you. Pak Sonbi will be there.

Come in. The hymn will be over soon. Have a seat.

Sir.

The dotting of the eyes is a ceremony of enlightenment.

The eyes are opened and so, too, the heart.

What was made of wood comes to symbolize the soul...

and wisdom of Buddha.

Similar carvings were made in the days of Old Silla.

Two bodhisattvas.

Built by Queen Jinsong in the hope that she might be with Commander Wihong.

Yet she did not have them carved simply out of earthly desire.

She came to understand the greater truths of next life.

Yet scandal-mongers have spread the tale far and wide,

showing their own ignorance.

Buddha does not grant any wish for the asking.

To pray for one's selfish desires is not to earn blessings, but to incur his wrath.

To call down disaster, so it is written.

In the end selfish desires burn you and others, so it is written.

If such desires exist, they must be repented, right now, this second.

Do you see?

Do you?

Venerable, you spoke of selfish desires in your sermon.

Of whom were you speaking?

It is the nature of all things to wish for what should not be.

Thus the three vices.

Ignorance, greed, both of which lead to hate...and destruction.

Those who can understand, will understand.

Yes, Venerable.

Well, he's a spry old bird. The Venerable, I mean.

Yes, sir.

He was right. Selfish desires bring disaster.

- Isn't that so, Songi? - Quite so.

It was a real eye-opener.

In the end selfish desires burn yourself and others.

Kim Jun, what are your thoughts?

The Venerable is very wise.

Oh, you lived the monk's life. At Chuknyong Temple or some such?

Yes, sir.

How things change.

From the hero of the arena to a field marshal, a field marshal.

Ah, the mallet you used in the arena. The silver one.

Lent to you by my father-in-law. My wife's idea, I understand.

Today is a good day. A day for sharing a drink with friends we've missed.

Sir.

Well, darling? Pour our guest Kim Jun a drink.

Me?

These men are close to you. Especially the Field Marshal here.

Like the bodhisattvas.

How do you mean?

The bodhisattvas?

Of course, since she was such a help to you back then.

Right, right. So, pour him a drink.

It's not fitting for the lady of the director's house to serve a slave.

With respect, sir.

Even if I insist?

We must observe the proprieties, even with one small drink.

I respectfully decline.

Take it.

What proprieties do you mean?

My lord insists.

It would be improper to decline.

Take it.

I cannot.

Is that an insult?

Go on. Please, for me.

Sir, it isn't fitting. Please.

You, too, General Pak?

Who in the Guard Corps sees the Field Marshal as a slave anymore?

Allow me to make a prediction.

Soon enough, Kim Jun will be given commoner status.

Then he will ride to even greater heights.

After which, he will he will have more influence over the Guard Corps...

the Directorate General itself.

The lady has offered you a drink and you respectfully decline.

All right, I'll pour. Here.

Oh, I'm curious about something.

Yes, sir.

Koryo has made peace with the Mongols.

We surrendered.

Yes, well, have it your way.

But the Overlord seems uneasy.

He wants to go on fighting.

Is that an old man's folly?

Or a Koryo warrior's pride?

Sir.

Neither.

Then what?

To prevent Koryo becoming enslaved like me.

If we don't fight, we must fly the white flag.

If so, there will be no emperor, no guard corps, no directorate general.

Just slaves.

Just like me.

You know as well as I do...

Koryo, the Guard Corps, we don't stand a chance against the Mongols.

East to West, the desert, the continent, the Mongol flag flies everywhere.

Fight?

Perhaps the Overlord asked your opinion?

About what Koryo should do.

Perhaps we should stop here.

It's getting late, sir.

You've heard enough, is that it?

All right, no politics over drinks.

Anything else on your mind, Kim Jun?

Pardon my saying so, but we must fight.

If we don't, Koryo will cease to exist. Nothing will be left.

The Mongol resident commissioners are already taking over.

The commissioner here in the capital is demanding to live in the Imperial Palace.

Did you hear? Did you?

The men of Koryo...

do not run from a fight.

Is that so?

To insult me is to insult my emperor.

Take that!

How long has it been, huh? I represent the Mongol emperor.

My residence must be in your royal palace.

Right? Right? Right?

Lord. Please.

You can't treat the liaison like this.

Can't? I can't, huh?

Can't this! And that!

My emperor has commanded it.

I, Resident Commissioner Dotan, will reside in Koryo's royal palace.

Got that?

Yes, sir.

Sir, wake up. Sir!

Call for a doctor.

Do Bang Kye Kyung

We got to talking about chess and had too much to drink.

You know what's in these reports.

I instructed you to deal with them.

Yes, Overlord. But there are some things that require your attention.

Let me guess, the Mongol tribute?

Yes, Overlord.

Wait, what's this?

What are they up to now? Filthy Mongols.

They want our navy to help in their war against the Jin? And 3,000 troops?

Yes, Overlord.

This isn't tribute, it's extortion. 3,000 men?

And thirty ships?

Scum. Tell them no.

Forgive me, but I doubt they'll budge on this.

The Mongols fear the deep.

Which is why they need us so desperately.

Filthy scum.

What else have we got?

The circuit governors' reports and intelligence on the local gentry.

From Cholla, I see.

Maybe my boys have finally learned their lesson.

Not a word about them.

Fine, fine, do as you see fit.

Go on, dismissed.

Yes, Overlord.

- Kim Jun? - Yes, Overlord.

Kim Jun.

Yes, Overlord.

That face-off ploy you were telling me about.

I've been thinking it over.

I know just the place.

Sir?

You were right. Now the Mongols want our navy.

They're afraid of the sea.

It's beyond their power.

There was a place to which we used to banish traitors and the like.

Deposed emperors, at times, as well as nobles in exile.

It's quite close.

Why did we send them there?

To Kanghwa, you mean?

The island is quite large, separated from the mainland by two channels.

The current is fierce and the west is protected by sea.

Our Koryo sailors can navigate the channel and the sea by boat.

Go to Kanghwa.

You'll see for yourself. It will save my having to explain.

That's our stronghold.

Yes, Overlord.

I'll have some work for you when you get back.

Take what men you need.

Dismissed.

Yes, Overlord.

So begins the Hundred Years War. One hundred years.

What's that? The Mongols want 3,000 sailors and thirty ships?

Yes. Immediately, they said.

Like we have that kind of navy? Immediately?

What will we do for a navy if we send all our men?

This is serious.

We should confer with the Ministry of War.

What will happen if we don't comply?

Serious, yes, and frightening.

The more we give, the more they ask. Who knows what they'll demand next?

Immediately this, immediately that, this demand, that demand.

Lord Yi, write them another petition.

I'm not much good for anything but drinking anymore.

But there's nothing for it. I'll try.

There's something else. The Cholla circuit governor has petitioned the court.

I saw it. The Overlord's sons are getting out of hand.

A petition to the Guard Corps didn't work, so he sent it to the court.

I've heard the same.

What, now it's usury?

The Overlord's own sons exploiting their people?

Well said.

Koryo is best by war and famine.

The young lords use that to exploit and beat the people?

If it's true, it can't be allowed.

We have enough trouble with the Mongols.

If they're exploiting the commoners, it must be dealt with.

And right away.

We can't have them hurting the morale of this great nation.

It's not just commoners.

These kids, they kick the local officials around like dogs.

You can't tell who's the magistrate and who's the citizen.

The local magistrates, too? I swear.

- The liaison is dead. - He's what?

- Our liaison is dead? - What?

Mongol Resident Commissioner Dotan beat him mercilessly until he spit blood.

He beat him to death.

Mongols! Mongols!

Beating a man to death?

- Scum! - Poor man.

What? The resident commissioner killed our liaison?

When was this?

Yesterday, Overlord.

He thinks he can do as he pleases?

He drinks every day and beats anyone he pleases.

It can't be allowed.

Are we a joke, he beats our people to death?

I won't have it. I won't.

Our family reunion was long overdue.

That's true, brother. You have a lot to deal with these days.

If what I hear is right, the Overlord is pretty upset.

Over the Mongol resident commissioners' abuses.

Don't get me started. We just got another report.

The capital commissioner beat our liaison to death.

It's infuriating.

They're scum. How could that happen here?

But we have to appease them. They're Mongol representatives.

We can't give them an excuse.

As disgusting and frustrating as it is.

That's not the Overlord's way.

I served him for years.

Don't say that in front of him.

Chances are he'll explode.

Oh?

Rant and rave with him. A much wiser approach.

Ranting never solved anything.

Only patience and restraint will get us through this.

How are things with Lady Songi?

What things?

I know you two aren't well-suited. Having any problems?

I never wanted this marriage. It was the Overlord's orders.

I'm trying to be a good husband and father. Everything's fine.

It doesn't look fine.

You've had a chance to talk with Kim Jun?

Yes , a bright man.

- There are rumors-- - Forget the rumors.

Rumor, fact, fiction, there's nothing I can do about it.

But you're married.

Put a stop to it, correct what needs correction.

There was a time she was called the heroine of Koryo.

I'm the gentleman scholar.

These days I'm scared just talking to the Overlord.

I'm not disagreeing with you.

I want to scream to the Overlord that we should fight till our fists bleed.

But that won't help the people that look to the emperor and the Guard Corps.

We need vision and clear heads for them.

You can't be weak.

But it's their children that die on the battlefield.

The food we eat is from their blood, their sweat.

What would Koryo be without its people?

They mean to move the palace here?

Perhaps so.

Why? Out of fear of the Mongols?

The opposite.

To build a fortress on Kanghwa for a prolonged war.

The Overlord said that?

Kanghwa is a formidable stronghold.

There are no easy approaches, not for Mongols.

They fear water like little children.

Really?

The fields are big enough to support the fort.

Ships can reach the western shore without difficulty.

Or interference from the Mongols.

They don't have any boats.

Very interesting.

We need to look closer.

We need room for the palace and the Guard Corps.

Not to mention housing for nobles, room for a market, peasants.

And the people from the temples and surrounding areas.

The palace, the Corps, the capital.

Will Kanghwa fit all those people?

It will.

Now Kanghwa Island will be named Kangdo, the seat of Koryo's government.

You and I...will probably die here.

Oh?

You seem to know a lot.

Why did you drag me along?

We're old comrades. The arena changed our lives.

This will be good.

Good?

Yes. We will live lives of meaning.

A new day is calling to us.

A new world that will sweep away the Mongols.

What are you talking about?

A world that needs...champions.

Overlord, Dae Jipsong made some mistakes.

He deeply regrets his errors.

As well he should. His incompetence lost us the war.

For which he has paid dearly. Now he begs you to meet with him.

Meet?

He serves a fine wine and begged me to invite you to his home.

It's been years since we called on him.

Shall we, sir?

Listen to you.

I'll think about it.

You recall our discussion about chess?

Yes.

How a stronghold and a face-off leads to a draw?

Just so.

You must know what I'm thinking.

Yes, Overlord.

I sent Kim Jun to look over Kanghwa Island.

I haven't been myself. So I had him check its suitability.

I intend to move the palace there.

Overlord, you mean to move the capital?

Exactly. Koryo's last stronghold.

The emperor and his subjects will hold out to the death.

Perfect. A perfect sunset.

Yes. Perfect.

I like Kanghwa. A good place to end our days.

End our days?

Yes. Warriors need their swords and a place to fight to the death.

We're warriors.

We never yet found a place to die.

True.

The center of Koryo will come to Kanghwa.

And with it, the start of a new era.

And for us, the dawn of a new day.

Yangbaek, do you know why I brought you here?

I wanted you to be the first to see the future of Koryo.

Because it holds our futures, too.

Not as slaves, but as soldiers, as warriors.

We will be reborn.

Just as history will be written here, we will write our histories.

Our histories.

Our histories!

Yangbaek! We write our histories here!