Original subtitles

This was your brother's

favorite wine, and mine.

He was very particular about wine

and would only go to one tavern.

I know this is too much for you

to take in at once.

You may even find it hard to believe

he would go that far for you.

Well,

why did you come to Nanhuai?

Your brother and I had an agreement.

I know.

Though you never said it,

you've publicly

managed the Imperial West for me,

while secretly

traveling everywhere

and funding the reading society.

You're smarter

than your brother imagined.

In Japan, he and I

joined a reading society.

We sent all kinds of books

back to China

and helped transport supplies.

But he was born into a warlord family,

so his position was awkward

and people questioned him.

Yet through every doubt,

he stayed firm and never gave up.

Eventually,

the reading society was suppressed.

In our most hopeless hour,

he stepped forward

and led

us through.

Then one day,

he received a letter.

What was in the letter?

My mother writes

that my father is gravely ill.

I'll set out

tomorrow morning.

The reading society

has only just been rebuilt.

Are you really

returning at a time like this?

Nanhuai is my hometown,

and my family is there.

The Yu Army's future

is bound up

with the lives of the people.

The country is in chaos,

and the army cannot be

without a commander for a single day.

I must go back.

But once you return,

your father will certainly

make you take over the Yu Army.

What will you choose?

Whatever I choose,

I will never give up

our ideals.

When you come back,

we'll continue side by side.

My promise to you

will never change.

He had too many people

he wanted to protect

and too many painful choices

to weigh.

He tried to take care of everyone,

yet in the end couldn't do

the thing he wanted most.

He carried a fire in his chest.

It was lit when he studied in Japan

and never went out.

It was not

a fire of ambition for power.

It was a fire against this rotten age,

meant to blaze a path of survival

for this land

and its common people.

He wrote to me,

"Zhongfang,

if you saw how fiercely

Changxuan trains his troops,

you'd understand

why I always say

he was born to lead."

From beginning to end,

he only hoped you would become

stronger than him, lead the Yu Army,

and bring about

the bright, just world he dreamed of.

If he were alive,

he would not want you

to stay broken by guilt.

I believe

he bore the disgrace

of that defeat for you

and gave his life to protect you

because he wanted you

to keep walking for him,

and for all of us

whose fire has not gone out.

Since childhood,

I tried to

outdo him in everything,

to take everything from him.

All I did

was to surpass him.

But now I understand,

the things I desperately chased

never mattered to him.

Tell me,

isn't that ridiculous?

I understand.

You did it

all for their approval,

and you never bore him

any real hatred.

Yes.

I wanted their approval so badly.

Yet in the end,

the person who recognized me most

and believed in me most

was my elder brother.

Zhongfang was right.

He had

too many things to weigh.

If he could have been

just a little selfish,

he wouldn't have had

to return to Nanhuai for Father,

give up his future for the Yu family,

or sacrifice himself

for a useless younger brother

like me.

Now I understand everything.

I want to apologize to him,

but it's too late.

He won't blame you.

Show him he didn't put his faith

in the wrong person.

Cheers.

Have a drink.

Cheers.

Miss Tao,

it's truly an honor

to have you with us today.

Yes.

Join us more often.

Exactly.

We should get together more.

Who is that man?

Why is he staring at you?

You don't know him?

That's a major figure,

the newly appointed Director Jiang

of the Propaganda Department.

What a strange world.

Even a cripple

can make it into propaganda.

That takes extraordinary talent.

That's what makes him impressive.

A cripple

climbing that high.

I'm in a good mood tonight.

I'll cover all the drinks.

Everyone, thank Miss Tao.

Thank you.

- Come, cheers. - Cheers.

Young lady,

why walk alone at night?

Aren't you afraid of trouble?

Why don't we two act as your escorts

and take you home?

Get lost.

Feisty, aren't you?

Lucky for us,

we like

feisty women.

I said get lost. Are you deaf?

You...

You dare hit me?

Don't think I won't hit a woman.

You...

Let...

Let go...

Where did you come from,

you damn cripple?

Meddle in my affairs?

Get him.

Get lost.

You damn cripple,

you'll pay.

You'll regret this.

You've drunk too much.

Let me take you home.

Who do you think you are?

It's none of your business.

Let go.

Stop fighting it.

Let me go.

Stop it.

You...

are....

are you hurt?

My car is right over there.

All right.

Since you saved me today,

I'll allow you to escort me home.

You're back?

Yes.

Father.

Good.

There are many

military matters waiting for you.

All troops.

Greetings, General Yu.

The border of Nanhuai

has been quiet lately,

with no beacon fires lit.

But as soldiers,

we must always

remain ready and alert.

One more drop of sweat

on the training ground,

one more layer of hardship endured,

means

one less drop of blood on the battlefield

and one more chance of victory.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Changxuan,

a telegram has arrived.

The Guangzhou National Government

has pacified all of Guangdong,

and Guangxi has pledged allegiance.

The Southern Revolutionary Army is formed

and has sent 100,000 troops into Hunan.

Fighting has begun in Changsha.

Commander Qu

telephoned headquarters.

He says the central government

has approved a proposal

for us to join forces and

resist the revolutionary army together.

Reply now.

Local bandit activity has been rampant.

If we pull troops north,

the region may fall out of control

and burden the central government.

Then you mean...

At this stage,

our core strategy

is to improve weapons

and increase artillery production.

Our task is to protect the region,

not to be dragged into civil war.

Most Chinese

troops use

either

the German Mauser 1898

or

the Belgian FN M1924,

both with five-round magazines.

These semi-automatic rifles, however,

have a twenty-round capacity.

When can

mass production begin?

We need a few more days for adjustments.

If nothing goes wrong,

the arsenal will soon

be able to produce them in quantity.

Good.

One more thing,

when using

these rifles, be careful

What's wrong?

with the trigger.

Safety first.

Young Madam,

you have a telephone call.

Coming.

Walking is good for you.

It gets the blood moving

and will make labor easier.

It's so much trouble for you

to keep me company every day.

Nonsense.

We're all looking forward to the baby.

The house

will be so lively when it comes.

Madam!

Madam!

What is it? Why are you so flustered?

Something terrible has happened.

The Changpingshan Arsenal exploded.

The whole place has collapsed.

Where is Changxuan?

He's buried inside too.

What?

- Madam! - Mother!

Mother!

Miss!

Doctor!

Miss!

Call a doctor!

I'll get a car.

I'll get a car.

Somebody help!

Clear the road!

Come on, keep up.

Yu Changxuan!

Yu Changxuan!

Pingjun,

it's dangerous here.

You can't go in.

Please calm down.

Tell me where Changxuan is.

Don't!

Changxuan!

Changxuan!

Don't frighten me like this.

Changxuan!

Can you hear me?

You're going to be fine.

You have to be, all right?

Changxuan!

Changxuan,

can you hear me?

Changxuan!

Changxuan!

Changxuan...

If you're safe,

I'll agree to anything.

Let's stay together

all our lives, please.

You can never

take those words back.

Changxuan?

Changxuan?

You're alive!

How could I bear to die

without seeing you?

At a time like this,

you're still joking.

I heard

every word you said.

Did you mean it?

Changxuan,

when I thought

I'd never see you again,

I realized

the past

doesn't matter.

Whether I recover

my memories

doesn't matter either.

What matters

is being together,

our present

and future.

Let's never be separated again.

Pingjun,

I thought

I'd never live

to hear you say that.

No matter what comes,

I'll stay with you.

Candied haws.

There, there.

Would you like another cushion?

Look, his little nose

keeps twitching.

It's so sweet.

Yes.

His eyes and brows

look just like Bingwen's,

as if

from one mold.

He's only just opened his eyes.

I think it would be lovely

if he grew as pretty as Jinxuan.

Right.

She has been pretty since childhood.

Bingwen,

have you thought of a name?

I don't know about names.

Let her decide.

Father,

would you name the child?

Yes.

This is the family's first grandchild.

You should choose his name.

All right.

Your father

thought of it days ago

and wouldn't even show me.

Bring it out.

You caught me.

I meant to save it for last.

I chose three names.

Let me see,

Father.

Zetai, Ze'an, Ze'ning.

Jinxuan,

you choose

whichever you like.

[That child belongs to the Yu family]

[and bears the Yu name.]

[What does he have to do with you?]

Ze'ning,

Yu Zening.

Deep blessings,

peace and gentleness.

This is a good one.

All right, then.

Yu Ze'ning it is.

Good.

Yu Ze'ning.

Ze'ning.

Pingjun,

hold him

and share her blessing.

Look how much

she loves children.

Changxuan,

you'd better hurry.

Yes.

When will our family

have another happy event?

Stop teasing us.

We haven't even finished

celebrating this one.

Isn't that right, Ze'ning?

I never thought

Yu Changxuan would be so hard to kill.

Even with the workshop collapsed,

he still made it out.

That German engineer

was reckless and greedy for credit.

He used a propellant

that had not passed final testing

without authorization.

But the explosion

only made him

tighten supervision and inspection.

He hasn't

slowed at all.

What's his view of the revolutionary army?

Judging by the policies he has issued,

he does not want civil war.

He means to turn away

from the central government.

They'll never let him keep a private army.

I have strengthened my ties

with Chu Wenfu,

and now we are waiting

for the right opportunity.

An opportunity

to join forces

against Yu Changxuan.

When this is done,

the Yu Army's elite,

Nanhuai's wealth,

and the heads of the Yu Changxuan

and his father...

we will each take what we want.

The situation is delicate,

yet the central government insists on

inviting you to a military-political

coordination meeting now.

Isn't it plainly a test

of your attitude toward

the revolutionary army?

Wire the central government back.

Say our forces are mopping up

remaining bandits in the Western Hills.

Have Chief of Staff Gu attend

with two staff officers

and bring our bandit-suppression records

from the past three years.

What if they insist

you state your position?

Then have Chief of Staff Gu

go through the quartermaster accounts.

Say the Yu Army is short of funds,

equipment needs repair,

the bandit campaigns drain our strength,

and we urgently need reinforcements.

If they truly want my position,

they can first solve

these urgent problems.

Young Mistress!

Young Mistress!

Well,

The young master specifically ordered me

to come fetch you.

Fetch me?

Where to?

He did not say.

He only asked that you come at once.

The car is waiting outside.

Changxuan?

Changxuan?

All right, stop it.

Come with me.

Where are we going?

You'll know soon.

Pingjun,

do you know what I thought

when I was buried in the ruins

after the explosion?

I wondered if,

if I died,

you would turn around

and marry another man.

Of course.

I would immediately find myself

another good husband.

Then I cannot

give you the chance.

I'll keep you bound to me.

Listen,

you were unconscious last time,

so today

I want to propose once more.

Ye Pingjun,

will you marry me?

When I woke

from the coma,

everything felt

strange and unclear.

You encouraged me,

taught me to walk again,

and stayed with me

day and night, never leaving.

When I was falsely accused,.

you believed me

without hesitation.

When I was in danger,

you came to protect me

without a second thought.

I wondered

whether my feelings for you

were only gratitude.

After everything we have been through,

I finally know.

Yu Changxuan,

I want to spend my life with you

Then be sure.

Once you agree,

I will

never let go.

You be sure too.

Once I agree,

you can

have only me.

You'll have to give up the whole garden.

My heart

has only

ever held you.

Let this ring be my witness.

For the rest of my life,

I will cherish every day and night,

every month and year with you.

Let this ring be my witness.

For the rest of my life,

I will love you truly,

never leave or forsake you,

and grow old by your side.

Good morning,

my wife.

I'll wait for you at home.

I'll be back early.