(This drama is based on historical events,)
(but some details may be different from historical facts.)
(Production guidelines were strictly followed when filming with animals.)
(Episode 13)
Please stop.
Your subjects are watching us.
I am sorry.
Please bear with it a bit longer.
- Your Majesty! - Your Majesty!
Identify yourself.
What a lovely sight.
Your Majesty.
You dearly love your empress.
Her Majesty must be truly happy.
I told you to identify yourself.
I am just a man from the southern town of Goryeo.
For Your Majesty, I have been paying taxes every year...
and even built a palace.
As if that was not enough,
I even had to offer the lives of my children.
I am such a man.
However, you seem completely unconcerned and relaxed, Your Majesty.
You have forgotten all about the people who died...
because of your orders.
I see that you are only concerned with comforting Her Majesty.
Such insolence.
How dare you speak to His Majesty in such a disdainful manner?
Drop your sword and kneel right this instant.
How dare you point your sword at His Majesty?
Do you think your life can be spared after this?
Stop! Stop at once.
Do not hurt any more innocent people.
What is it that you want?
What on earth are you after...
that you are doing something like this?
Your Majesty's life.
- What? - You forced...
every young man in the country to go to war...
but failed to defeat the invaders.
I wish to take the life of that incompetent emperor.
The enemy cut my son's head off.
This is the very route he took to return home as a cold corpse,
and yet here you are, fondling your empress' feet.
I wish to take the life of that despicable emperor!
All right, then.
Goodbye.
Hurry up and kill the Emperor!
Your Majesty, are you all right?
Your Majesty, I will be sure to catch him.
Your Majesty, are you all right?
It is that way.
Darn it.
It is a great relief.
You could have gotten badly hurt.
I cannot believe this.
To think that it was a Goryeo subject...
and not the Khitan who tried to kill me.
(Chae Chung Soon, Privy Council Officer)
Do not take it to your heart.
All of your people were not behind it.
Only one...
atrocious man did it.
My apologies, Your Majesty.
We lost him.
Let us leave. Stay in one place for long, and you could fall in danger.
All right. Let us go.
Keep yourselves wide awake!
There may be more rebellious men!
Make sure to guard His Majesty well!
- Understood. - Understood.
The soldiers lost their way in the mountains...
and then scattered.
Which way did the King of Goryeo flee?
I do not know for sure.
He must have gone over that mountain...
Find the government office.
Please do not kill me. Please.
I do not know. I did not get any letters whatsoever.
It is my first time hearing of this.
Your King abandoned Gaegyeong and ran away to the south.
And last night,
he passed by Baeksan nearby.
Where must he be heading to?
If he passed Baeksan,
he must be going to Chungju.
- "Chungju?" - Yes.
It is a big province with a provincial governor.
Lead the way.
Understood.
"The regional lords?"
That is right.
He is not an ordinary man.
Only the regional lords...
can summon tens of armed soldiers...
even during the war.
Stop.
That is the sound of horse hoofs.
Please hide, Your Majesty.
Protect His Majesty!
It is the Goryeo soldiers! Your Majesty. He must be the Supervising Commander.
Supervising Commander!
Your Majesty. We came at once after hearing you had fled...
from the palace.
Is that so?
Thank you.
We are heading to Chungju right now.
Your Majesty.
It is best to avoid Chungju.
"Avoid Chungju?" How come?
It is to my regret to tell you...
the regional lords of that region are suspicious.
To recruit more soldiers, I have met many regional chiefs.
However, all of them disobeyed Your Majesty's order...
and treated me with hostility.
Head to such a place,
and we might face grave danger.
Then...
where must we go?
(Seogyeong Fortress)
How are the Khitans in Murodae moving?
The Khitans in Murodae are not a big threat to us.
They are the reserves supporting the main army.
Both their fighting strengths and spirits are low.
I have recently seen quite a few of them...
cross the Yalu River and flee.
I see.
The Khitan's main force...
(Kim Hoon, Left and Right Army General)
is the main army of 200,000 soldiers stationed in Gaegyeong.
Even if 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers have died in the previous battles,
there is still a large army of 150,000 soldiers.
Then we are too short on numbers, no?
Most soldiers in Seogyeong are peasant soldiers.
There are barely...
thirty thousand elite soldiers of the central army...
in Tongju Fortress, Heunghwajin, and Kwiju.
Can we attack with such a number?
We cannot win a head-to-head battle.
Once the Khitan starts to retreat,
we must bring them to our advantage point and fight them.
Where could this advantage point be?
Kwiju, the very place you are guarding.
(Kim Sook Heung, Seventh Rank Officer of Kwiju)
We must drive the Khitan to the mountainous area...
connecting Heunghwajin from Kwiju.
The Khitan soldiers will march in a long line...
to pass this narrow path.
That is our chance.
However, it is standard for a large army...
to march along a wide path.
Those men would know that as well.
So how are we to lure them to Kwiju?
We must make them believe this path is the safest.
Have our soldiers wait in ambush tightly until the vicinity of Gaegyeong.
From now on, we must blind the Khitan soldiers completely.
We are to conceal what we must thoroughly...
and only show what we want.
Understood?
- Yes. - Yes.
Now then, let us plan a more detailed operation.
Before that,
should we not find a way to make the Khitan retreat?
Even if we do not do that,
they will soon start to retreat.
The Khitan is running out of time.
By running out of time,
do you mean the season to put their horses out to pasture is nearing?
Yes, that is correct.
The Khitan must send their soldiers back to their hometown.
If they cannot continue their occupation due to the war,
the Khitan soldiers will begin to waver.
That is true.
But it might be different this time.
This war...
is different from all the other wars the Khitan has fought.
It is the first conquest being led by the Khitan emperor.
He will never return empty-handed.
Then, the Khitan soldiers will be isolated in Gaegyeong and die out.
There will be an uprising and no more military discipline.
The Khitans will fight each other.
No.
They will not destroy themselves without a fight.
Before that, they will surely advance to the south.
Excuse me?
The Khitan emperor has no other option.
Unable to return empty-handed,
he has to continue to advance...
until he catches our emperor.
Then, more of Goryeo's territories will be ruined,
and more of Goryeo's soldiers will get slaughtered.
Fall back!
If you do not fall back, I will behead you!
How can you aim your sword at us?
We are simply asking for what we plundered!
We must return to our hometown.
- Why will you not give it to us? - You little...
Fall back!
What are you doing?
Fall back!
Stop!
The Commander has come!
Run wild again like this,
and...
I will treat you however I want.
Our emperor...
will soon distribute the spoils of war.
The spoils and prisoners...
will be given to every one of you.
And...
you will be sent to your hometown.
When will that be?
Wait.
Our emperor makes all the decisions.
All right. Everyone, go back to your places now.
Right now!
Yes, sir.
Your Majesty,
we must slowly prepare to withdraw our troops.
The Field Commander is right.
Now is the time to return the soldiers to their homes.
You must let them go and be responsible for the livelihoods of their families.
We must not.
If you withdraw the troops now, Your Majesty's dignity will plummet.
Before we completely bring Goryeo to its knees,
we can never withdraw our troops.
Your Majesty, if we are too late in withdrawing the troops,
it will become increasingly harder to control the soldiers.
Their family members at home might starve to death.
How could they obey military command?
Advance southwards. That will solve all the problems.
Spearhead Commander!
If we can plunder the wealth that is piled up south of Gaegyeong,
and if we can take hundreds of thousands more captives,
the soldiers' complaints will dissipate in a flash.
We also think so.
The army of the great Khitan...
cannot return without taking out this small nation of Goryeo.
Please give your command to advance southwards.
- Please give your command! - Please give your command!
Any news from the pursuit team?
There has not been any news yet.
It is not an easy task to catch up to one who is running away without looking back.
Also, our Khitan army...
does not know a thing about the geography of southern Goryeo.
Your Majesty.
You must be cold-headed.
You must prepare to withdraw the troops now.
Would you be able to do so if you were me?
Would you be able to do so while being ridiculed by every empire?
Feed the troops well.
If the King of Goryeo is not caught within a few days,
we will advance our troops southwards.
Your Majesty.
This is a swamp.
How dare this small nation...
try to swallow me up?
So, what is the plan you have in mind?
Do you mean to send envoys...
and have it out with the emperor of Khitan?
Then, the emperor of Khitan will only ask for Goryeo to surrender.
That is the only thing the emperor can say now.
Then what is it you intend to do?
If you allow,
I will meet with the Field Commander of Khitan...
without their emperor knowing.
With him, I will look for a way to appease the Khitan emperor.
And when we have sufficient reason,
I will have him persuade the emperor and withdraw their troops.
Does that mean you will secretly communicate with the enemy?
That is the only way right now.
Right now,
he is the only one in the Khitan army who can see reality clearly.
And he is also the only one who can change the emperor's mind.
Officer Yang. Please allow me to do so.
We also do not have time.
If I allow it, how do you plan on meeting with that man?
How will you get word to a man in the middle of enemy territory?
If only you allow it,
I will take on the risk.
Abandon any reckless ideas.
If you end up being seen by the Khitan emperor,
your life will be over.
Come on out.
Are the two of you envoys from Khitan?
I will return you to the Khitan camp now.
Move!
You should come on out too.
Officer, please just kill me here.
I beg of you.
I do not want to live as a vassal of Khitan any longer.
Please just kill me.
(Seogyeong Fortress)
Can we trust him?
You should trust him.
That man is still a vassal of Goryeo.
Just kill me instead.
It is the emperor's command...
that you are not to be killed.
We are a good example.
(Dae Do Soo, General of the Northeast)
The captives of Gaegyeong...
will also realize a lot as they watch us.
(Wife of Kang Gam Chan)
The difference between those who follow His Majesty, the Emperor,
and those who go against him.
Do not resent me.
Your stubbornness caused this to happen.
Understood?
Wait, that is...
Do you think I cannot catch you if you do this?
You can run, but you cannot escape Gaegyeong.
Who on earth is it that you are doing this?
You do not need to know.
Deputy Commander.
It is the wife of Kang Gam Chan, the Deputy Minister of Rites.
She is the family member of the traitor...
who ran off after deceiving His Majesty, the Emperor.
- What? - I am sure of it.
I saw her once at a temple service.
Oh, if I catch that woman and present her to His Majesty,
he will be very happy.
If I am lucky, I could become the chancellor of Khitan.
Please just stop it!
Are you not a Goryeo man yourself?
Shut your mouth!
Why am I a Goryeo man?
I am His Majesty's vassal.
I am the vassal of the great Khitan empire!
You!
You can die a Goryeo man if you want to. I will...
live as a vassal of Khitan.
General, put down that sword.
You should die now.
Go and beg for forgiveness from the Field Commander.
Stop him.
What is this commotion about?
Why does this village look so peaceful?
What do you mean?
If your king truly took this route to flee,
the villagers cannot go about their business, looking so peaceful.
They would have fled the village in fear with their king.
If not that, they would be hiding in the mountains to avoid the Khitan army.
I did not lie to you.
If they were headed south after passing Baeksan,
I am certain that Chungju was where they were headed!
We are going back.
(Khitan's troop chasing Hyeonjong)
(Hyeonjong and his retinue, Gaegyeong, Changhwa-hyeon)
I do not see a single government officer or servant.
It seems that they have all fled the village already.
Is this town...
also governed by regional lords?
Yes. A regional chief, Your Majesty.
Except for the provincial governors, most local magistrates...
are regional lords.
Your Majesty, we saw some houses nearby.
I will send Court Lady Jung and Eunuch Yang...
and have them get some food for Your Majesty.
No, do not send them.
I do not want to inconvenience my people.
- However... - Just do as I say.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Let us now discuss what we should do from here on.
Where should we go?
Shall we...
just head to Gongju?
At the moment, our only option is...
to go to the governor of Gongju.
If the regional lords there seem defiant as well,
we will have to leave Gongju and go somewhere else.
Where?
Where must I go...
to be welcomed?
Then we should go to Naju.
- Naju? - Yes.
It is where King Taejo...
laid the foundations for the founding of Goryeo.
He built a close rapport...
with the regional lords' families in that area.
I am certain that the people there...
will welcome you with open arms, Your Majesty.
What are your thoughts on this suggestion?
I think Her Majesty is right.
I believe that Your Majesty will be safe in Naju.
I agree. Also, Naju is a transport hub...
with various routes running through the region.
In Naju, we will find an abundance of manpower and supplies.
Hence, it is the perfect place...
to assemble more soldiers as well.
Understood. We will go to Naju, then.
- Yes, Your Majesty. - Yes, Your Majesty.
It will be...
a truly long journey.
Then you must know the Deputy Minister of Rites very well.
Yes. We worked side by side...
until he left for Gaegyeong.
Every day, he only thought about how we could defeat the Khitan rats.
He did that even after arriving in Gaegyeong.
I see.
By the way, how come he is nowhere to be seen?
I assumed that he would be with His Majesty.
I do not know the details either.
He just said there was something else he had to take care of.
Stop. Identify yourselves!
Please do not hurt us.
We live in this village.
What brings you here?
We heard His Majesty was here, so we brought some food.
We ran out of rice long ago,
so we were concerned that the two of you would have nothing to eat.
We apologize for this crude meal.
We just wanted to bring you some food so that you would not be famished.
I do not know what to say.
Thank you very much.
I will never forget your kindness.
My gosh, please do not say that. It is our pleasure, Your Majesty.
Please have some food.
- Look at this! - Oh, my.
- Look here. - My gosh.
Look at these shiny mugwort rice cakes.
- Oh, my. - My gosh, this is delicious.
- Eunuch Yang. - Yes.
Have some mugwort rice cakes.
I am eating one.
- Good. Eat up. - Eat as much as you would like.
- Here. - Here are some more.
- Nice. - My gosh.
Can I have one more?
It is very tasty.
- Oh, my. - Enjoy!
My, this is so good.
- I love these. - Have some more.
- My gosh. - Look at this.
We thoroughly enjoyed the meal.
We are much obliged, Your Majesty.
Well...
Did Your Majesty like the food?
It was very good.
It tasted even better than the foods we had at banquets at the palace.
So, tell me. How has it been?
Are you not having a hard time because of the war?
Everyone in the country is struggling at the moment.
But it has been tolerable so far.
Where is your chief now?
Upon hearing the rumors that the Khitan army was advancing south,
he left the village with his family and went somewhere.
How did he normally treat the villagers?
Well...
He was good to us.
He was good to you? How?
It is okay. You can relax and tell me.
Yes, tell us the truth.
His Majesty wishes to know the truth. Why would you hesitate?
He truly is a wonderful person.
He evenly divided the land here into smaller plots...
and kindly allowed us to cultivate them.
Stop lying.
My dear.
He does not even deserve to be called a human.
Those in his good graces...
get a discount on taxes...
and are even exempt from forced labor.
But if you get on his bad side,
he will even make you pay for all the horses that died...
on the job.
On top of that, he always hit us.
- One year, we had a bad harvest. - That is enough!
He lent us a sack of rice...
and expected five sacks from us as interest.
We failed to pay the so-called interest,
and he took our young daughter away from us.
How could such a thing happen?
Why would you let him do that to you?
What can we do?
In this village, he is King.
Those were the King's orders.
Who can dare to go against his words?
They must live in the village where they were born...
for the rest of their lives.
That is Goryeo's law.
If the people move around from place to place,
the foundation of the country will be weakened.
So? They cannot even run away...
and have to keep suffering?
What are the provincial governors doing?
There are only about ten provincial governors.
They cannot keep an eye on all the regional lords in the country.
Even if they come to the knowledge of their tyranny,
they are more likely to turn a blind eye to it.
Without the regional lords' cooperation,
they will struggle to even collect taxes.
I truly was a puppet, after all.
I was a puppet emperor who knew nothing at all.
We were locked up in Gongju Fortress...
and then transferred to Seogyeong.
But a Temporary Government Officer of the Goryeo army appeared...
and released us.
Why did he suddenly release you two?
I do not know.
He simply told us to return...
to our military camp as we were the Khitan's envoys.
Is that so? You had it tough.
Go and greet the emperor at once.
Understood, Commander.
Stay behind for a bit.
How did you return?
Were you not originally a general of the Goryeo army?
I am already a subject of the Khitan.
That would have made it harder for you to return.
You betrayed Goryeo.
They would have tried to kill you for that good reason.
The generals in Tongju Fortress tried to kill me.
However, the Temporary Government Officer released me alive.
In return, he had me pass this message on to you in secret.
Be careful.
Do not worry. They cannot kill me.
Giddyap.
(Jeollyeong)
Keep checking if soldiers are trying to leave the military camp.
- Understood. - Understood.
I must inform you of something.
What is it?
The Commander has left the military camp.
- What? - After a private conversation...
with a Goryeo envoy,
he left for Jeollyeong in a hurry.
You will help the troops withdraw?
That is right. What do you need to retreat?
With what justification will you be able to persuade your emperor?
Why are you concerned about that?
What are you planning to do after making us withdraw?
We will kill everyone before you cross the Yalu River.
If the Khitan soldiers remain in Gaegyeong,
you will destroy yourselves.
And if you advance to the south in haste,
you can never return to your hometown.
Shut your mouth at once!
The Khitan soldiers can live only when you withdraw now.
We, too, want you to withdraw.
Now then, tell me.
What do you need?
What justification do you need to change...
your emperor's mind?
It is Goryeo's submission.
Then I shall return.
Or...
a justification equal to it.
A justification enough for our emperor to keep his dignity...
from the many empires.
And what is that?
It is paying homage in person.
That is more humiliating than surrendering.
We cannot accept it.
Paying homage or not...
is a later problem.
Request to pay homage again.
This time, inform our emperor the King of Goryeo will visit Khitan.
If the King of Goryeo vows to cross the border...
and go down on his knees before our emperor,
I can try to persuade our emperor.
All right.
I will send a diplomatic letter...
with His Majesty's royal permission.
There is not much time. Bring it within three days.
It will not go according to your wishes.
The Khitans will not go down at the hands of Goryeo.
I will behead every single Goryeo soldier...
and cross the Yalu River with ease.
Giddyap!
- Giddyap! - Giddyap!
Return to Seogyeong and inform this to Officer Yang.
Understood.
You are to go to His Majesty.
Understood.
What about you, my lord?
I will remain and keep an eye on the Khitan's movements.
Make haste. Go now.
- Understood. - Understood.
Giddyap.
- Giddyap! - Giddyap!
Move faster!
There is no need to be that careful. It is for the Khitan soldiers.
I will get beaten up again if grit is found in the rice.
Good grief.
Where were you captured?
Heunghwajin.
Were you dragged around since then?
Yes.
What about your family?
I do not know what happened to them.
My brother and I were captured together.
But he was suddenly taken somewhere.
People told me he would have been used to take the arrows...
and died.
My goodness.
Good grief.
Save us, merciful Buddha.
All of you, make way!
From the moment you deceived me,
this war started going downhill.
If only you had not gotten in the way,
this war would have been long over.
Your Majesty.
There is something we must find out before we kill him.
I suspect that the Field Commander was secretly communicating with this man.
What?
Please let me take this man.
I will get him to speak the truth.
Do whatever it takes...
to get his confession.
Yes, sir.
It is slander.
I did not go out to meet with that man.
I went outside the camp to do reconnaissance.
Then why did you not capture him when you had seen him?
I had not spotted him.
Bring all of the men who left the camp with you.
I will ask them myself.
- Right now! - Your Majesty.
I never do anything...
that would harm Your Majesty, no matter the circumstance.
Please believe me.
Believe me...
and disregard this incident.
What?
I have only lived my life for you, Your Majesty.
No matter what I do,
that is only for your sake.
- Field Commander. - I beg of you.
This is truly...
for Your Majesty's sake.
Is that true?
Yes, I looked around for a second while riding my horse,
and the Deputy Minister was being dragged away by the Khitan soldiers.
- Is it the Field Commander's doing? - It is not.
It was not the Field Commander, but the men led by another warrior.
I believe something has gone wrong.
You must return to Heunghwajin at this instant.
Go back...
and keep the Khitan army at Murodae tied up.
If they start moving southwards by any chance,
you must attack them if need be in order to go back to Murodae.
Yes, sir.
However...
Is it not useless even if we deliver a diplomatic letter now?
If it is revealed to the world that this diplomatic letter was written...
by secretly communicating with the enemy,
the emperor of Khitan will never accept that letter either.
The Deputy Minister will never reveal anything.
That man, more desperately than anyone else,
hopes for our victory.
You are quite a tenacious man.
Fine. Let us see how long you last.
(Korea-Khitan War)
Our emperor requests once again to pay homage in person.
I am very anxious about how they will receive...
the diplomatic letter.
Stop this and just kill me now.
If that man speaks up even belatedly,
His Majesty will be in trouble as well.
The Khitan army is coming south after the emperor.
Before they invade this village as well,
we must capture and hand over the emperor.
(Subtitles are provided by KOCOWA.)