(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 23)
(Naewondang)
Forgive me.
You need not seek forgiveness from me.
I am sure my father...
understands Your Majesty.
And I...
understand too.
My dear.
Buddha will look after him.
Please do not beat yourself up.
It could not be helped.
Your Majesty made the right decision.
Right.
However, I cannot bear the burden on my heart.
Because of my decision,
countless people in Goryeo will face death.
The ruler is the one who decides to go to war,
but his people are the ones who will die on the battlefields.
Losing their parents and children...
is the people's share of suffering.
I have no excuses for them.
Your Majesty. There will...
come a day when we will make them pay...
for all of this.
There will surely come a day...
when we will annihilate our enemies and make them never think...
of invading Goryeo again.
And on that day, Your Majesty will bring...
true peace to the people.
Please settle your debt to the people with that.
Will that day truly come?
Yes, Your Majesty.
It will come no matter what.
Your Majesty is reforming Goryeo...
for that very day, no?
The fruition of that reformation...
will wash away all the hardship Goryeo is currently going through.
And it will raise Goryeo...
into a powerful empire.
So until then,
please do not waver.
- Who are you? - I am from the Ministry of Rites.
His Majesty has ordered me to bring the Goryeo envoy.
His Majesty has invited the Goryeo envoy to the banquet.
You can be straightforward with me.
Just say that I will die today.
Right.
Let us go.
I am Ha Gong Jin.
I came to help you escape.
What do you mean by that?
Who are these people?
They are descendants of Balhae who live in Shangjing.
They are helping Goryeo.
Let us go. We must hurry.
What are you waiting for? Get him at once.
His Majesty has invited the envoys of all countries to the banquet.
But you already took him.
Who took him?
An official from the Ministry of Rites...
Who from the Ministry of Rites?
What was his name? What was his title?
Good grief. Go after them at once!
Understood.
Take this with you.
And take the horses.
Switch horses when one gets tired.
What about you, my lord?
I will stop the pursuers from here.
Lord Ha!
Go ahead.
Inform the Goryeo court of everything.
Go now.
Hurry.
All right. Understood.
I appreciate it.
Please pass on...
my words to His Majesty.
Tell him...
I have never once forgotten that I am...
a subject of Goryeo.
Let us fight...
for Goryeo!
He ran away?
Yes, Your Majesty. My deepest apologies.
I will go after him myself.
Do not bother.
(Yelu Longxu, 6th Emperor of the Khitan)
Do not set out in such a matter.
Either way, he will be caught before crossing the Yalu River.
It was my mistake.
Allow me to get his head for you myself.
And allow me to go to the Yalu River...
and present myself to the Goryeo sentry.
Present yourself?
What do you mean by that?
By making an appearance,
Goryeo will think our main army has arrived.
If the negotiation is still ongoing,
it will surely help with it.
In the end, you committed a foolish act.
Take him to His Majesty.
His Majesty will punish him.
- Yes, Your Highness. - Yes, Your Highness.
Get up.
Return to the Southern Capital.
You may live peacefully in that city until your death.
I like that bravery of yours.
And your boldness in bringing me the diplomatic letter.
As well as your courage in helping the Goryeo envoy escape.
I like all of them.
Your Majesty?
I will not blame you for keeping Goryeo in your heart.
However, from now on,
live as a true subject of mine.
Understood?
Answer me.
Your Majesty.
I am a subject of Goryeo.
Your kindness...
will be engraved in one part of my heart.
However, my whole heart...
belongs to Goryeo alone.
Why do you people never yield?
Why do you never accept mercy even when it is offered?
Tell me.
Tell me the reason.
Tell me now!
Your Majesty.
A conqueror's mercy is nothing but hypocrisy.
It is trickery trying to cover up the evil act of invasion.
What was that?
Beating useless old people to death...
and throwing new born babies into wells are the Khitans.
How can those evil acts be covered up...
simply by being merciful to a single man like me?
Even in death, I can never become...
the subject of such a beast.
Cut his stomach open.
His liver will be offered to His Majesty.
I am...
Goryeo's subject.
I am Goryeo's...
subject!
Now, there is only one way for us to proceed.
It is to defeat the enemy as soon as possible...
in order to protect Goryeo's land and people.
So, you should all pull together...
and prepare for the war.
- Yes, Your Majesty. - Yes, Your Majesty.
Junior Second Rank.
Yes, Your Majesty.
I name you the Field Legislator of the Northwest.
Head to the northwest this instant and prepare for battle.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Deputy Chancellor of the State Chancellery.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Let all of the regional officers and pacification commissioners know...
to carry out a mobilization order.
Yes, Your Majesty.
What are the envoys from Khitan doing?
They are still not showing any signs of leaving.
Your Highness. Please think things through once more.
This is...
the last chance for Goryeo to avoid a war.
That discussion is already over.
Do not bring it up again.
Your Highness.
Then, immediately pay homage in person.
If you do not want to hand over Heunghwajin,
you should at least keep your promise to pay homage in person.
Paying homage...
is something that can only be carried out when there is trust between two nations.
But Khitan has already declared...
that you will start a war...
if Goryeo does not give up land.
The trust between our two nations has been damaged.
How could I possibly pay homage?
I will make myself clear right now.
Now, Goryeo will not...
pay homage.
You should leave now.
I have nothing more to say.
- Your Highness. - Head of the Inspector General.
Yes, Your Majesty.
The people of Gaegyeong might attack the Khitan envoys again.
You should escort them outside Gaegyeong safely.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Right. Let us go.
Your Highness.
You will regret this for certain.
All of Goryeo will regret this day!
Get out this instant!
(Tongdeokmun)
Off to battle!
- Off to battle! - Off to battle!
Giddyup!
(Ji Chae Moon, Fourth Rank General)
Then, another war will break out.
Still, we cannot give up Heunghwajin.
(Park Jin, Seventh Rank Officer of Civil Engineering)
His Majesty has made the right decision.
Then, who was named...
as the Field Legislator?
It was the Junior Second Rank.
It is another civil official.
Yes, that is right.
Why must a civil official take that position?
It is His Majesty's wish. What can we do?
Also, the Junior Second Rank is a man...
who has proven his talent already.
When Khitan first invaded,
it was the Junior Second Rank who drove them away.
How is that the Junior Second Rank's contribution?
It is the contribution of the military officers who fought under him.
Even so, we cannot say otherwise.
So, you should stop now too.
- Giddyup! - Giddyup!
Giddyup!
(Jung Sung, Commander of Heunghwajin)
It is the Goryeo envoy! Raise your bows!
Aim!
Giddyup!
Make haste...
and deliver this message to His Majesty!
Khitan is now...
We must save the Deputy Minister of Punishments.
Hold yourself back.
If we cross now,
we will be attacked by thousands of Khitan's spearhead troops.
Let us go!
If we return empty-handed like this,
we will be unable to avoid reprimand.
Why on earth is Goryeo reacting so strongly?
They do not know what is going on in Khitan yet.
I do not know either.
Giddyup!
Is that not a messenger of the Goryeo army?
Yes.
There must be some urgent news.
Let us hurry. It seems as though things have gone wrong.
- What? - Hurry.
If we do not hurry, we might not be able to get out of Goryeo.
Giddyup!
- Giddyup! - But what are you all on about?
Stop!
(Heunghwajin)
What are you up to?
Your Majesty.
What is all this?
They are records...
of battles between the Goryeo army and Khitan.
Why are you looking through these?
I was just contemplating how we should fight this time on my own.
You are always the same.
Ever since I first met you,
I have never once seen you think about...
anything other than the war.
Right.
How do you think we should fight this time?
No matter how I look at it, we cannot defeat the enemy...
with surface warfare alone.
The only way to annihilate the Khitan army...
is through a pitched battle.
As soon as the enemy crosses the Yalu River,
we must fight them in a pitched battle.
On the Heunghwajin or Kwiju plains.
But all of our sword wagons have been burned down.
We can rebuild the sword wagons.
However, in order to suppress the Khitan cavalry's speed,
Goryeo must also have a cavalry of equal strength.
If we block the front with sword wagons...
and have the cavalry attack from behind,
we can completely wipe out the enemy.
Khitan's mounted troops are incredibly strong.
Do you mean we will try to wipe them out with our mounted troops?
Yes, that is correct.
We are not yet ready to execute this idea.
However, we must use this strategy at some point.
Only then can we wipe out the enemy once and for all.
Your Majesty, we received an urgent message from Heunghwajin.
The Deputy Minister of Punishments...
was captured by Khitan soldiers while crossing the border.
Right before he was captured, he managed to fly this letter...
using an arrow.
What does it say?
Khitan deceived us.
They cannot afford to go to war at the moment.
They have sent their main forces to their northwestern border...
due to some signs that an uprising might be imminent.
I see.
So, the Deputy Minister of Punishments was dragged away...
while trying to deliver this news to us.
We must save him at all costs.
Then please allow me to go to Heunghwajin.
- You will go to Heunghwajin? - Yes.
The Khitan envoy must not have crossed the Yalu River yet.
If they kidnapped our envoy,
we must capture and hold theirs hostage too.
I will leave now.
- Your Majesty. - Yes, thank you for coming.
Why did Your Majesty summon us at this late hour?
So, Khitan lied to us?
Correct.
And while trying to cross the border, the Deputy Minister of Punishments...
was kidnapped by their soldiers.
How could they do such a thing?
Academician Kang is on his way to the Yalu River now.
We will also capture Khitan's envoy...
and detain him.
We will detain Khitan's envoy?
Correct. It is the only way...
to save the Deputy Minister of Punishments.
I wholeheartedly agree.
If it is true that Khitan kidnapped our envoy,
we must do the same.
I agree too.
In our desperate attempts to seek peace with the enemy,
we even considered handing over Heunghwajin...
because we thought we were under imminent threat of invasion.
But if such a threat is gone,
we no longer need to lower ourselves.
Yes, he is absolutely right.
They lied that they would go to war with us...
to instill fear in us and toy with us.
What is more? They dared to kidnap our envoy.
It is unacceptable!
Yes, it is unacceptable.
No matter what happens,
I will make sure they send our envoy back to Goryeo safe and sound.
But do you truly think that Academician Kang...
will manage to catch up with the Khitan envoys?
We need them in our custody...
to negotiate with Khitan.
Who might you be?
My horse is exhausted. Bring me another horse at once.
Yes. Right away, my lord.
Well done.
Why is my horse lagging suddenly?
They ran all night, so they must be tired.
Oh, boy.
How far is the Yalu River from here?
We will reach the river soon.
- So, there will be no war after all? - That is correct.
That was what was written in the letter.
The Khitan rats deceived us.
Are you sure about this?
(Yoo Bang, Field Legislator of the Northwest)
What if the Deputy Minister of Punishments was mistaken?
Khitan soldiers...
hurriedly covered his mouth and dragged him away,
so I am sure of it.
Field Legislator Yoo.
The Khitan envoys have arrived at the Yalu River just now.
Should we let them cross the river?
Field Legislator Yoo, we cannot let them leave Goryeo.
The Khitan rats kidnapped our envoy.
We cannot let them leave in one piece.
However, His Majesty did not issue a command to capture them.
It is possible that he did, sometime during the night.
We must capture them.
Field Legislator Yoo.
Officer!
Where are the Khitan envoys?
Have they crossed the river already?
(Naewon Fortress: Khitan's border checkpoint on Geomdong Island, Yalu River)
Why are you not having your tea?
Hurry up and kill me.
There is no need to rush.
We have time for a cup of tea.
The act of me taking your life.
Do you think it is an evil act?
How else am I supposed to view it?
You brought it upon yourself...
by making the choices that you made.
The moment you volunteered to visit Khitan as Goryeo's envoy,
your fate was decided.
What is the reason you are saying such a thing?
Are you afraid that I will resent you?
I am saying this so that you can have a revelation before you face death.
It was something I always wanted to say to the foolish people of Goryeo,
who volunteered to give up their lives.
Get up now. The time has come.
Your Highness!
- Your Highness. - What is the matter?
Goryeo soldiers took Khitan's envoys.
What?
They dragged the envoys off their horses as they were about to cross the river.
Then they dragged them toward Heunghwajin.
- Let go of us! - Let go!
- Let us go, you scoundrels! - You had better let us go.
- Darn you! - I said to let us go!
- Let go! - Why, you...
- You little... - What are you doing?
I am Khitan's envoy!
What do you think you are doing? My goodness.
Thank you. I truly commend you for what you did.
You need not thank me.
So, do we have His Majesty's permission to detain the envoys?
Yes.
His Majesty will not release them...
until we can ensure our envoy's safe return.
But will this be enough to bring the Khitan rats...
to the negotiating table?
If they simply choose to abandon their envoys...
They will not be able to do that.
No country has ever detained Khitan's envoys.
Even just to save the Khitan Emperor's face,
they cannot ignore this matter.
Field Legislator Yoo, someone is here from Khitan.
Who?
- An official from the Naewon Fortress? - No.
One of the commanders that led the Khitan troops in the war.
It has been a while.
Yes. It has truly been a while.
Come over to this side.
Let us talk.
If you have something to say, you should cross the river.
Your Highness?
Get your arrows ready.
Be ready to shoot.
I am surprised you survived that fire.
You helped me survive. Thank you.
And you helped us retreat.
I cleared off my debt.
Release our envoys.
In return, release Goryeo's envoy.
Our Majesty...
wants that man's head.
Then we, too,
will behead the Khitan envoys.
Be my guest.
Their deaths will not affect us in any way.
Even so, they are the envoys of Khitan.
If word travels that Goryeo has beheaded Khitan envoys,
Khitan's dignity will hit rock bottom.
If that happens, Goryeo will pay a fine price for it.
And how will you do that?
Khitan has to devote itself...
to preventing internal rebellions for the time being.
Right. Go ahead if you are that confident.
It will not end with simply beheading them.
After beheading the envoys,
the Goryeo army will cross the Yalu River and advance.
With that, Khitan will have to fight two wars.
And if even the Song Dynasty attacks,
Khitan will be attacked from three sides.
Goryeo...
is not bold enough to do that.
It can only ward off enemies.
If you truly think so,
then so be it.
If you are not...
one bit scared of Goryeo,
behead the Goryeo envoy.
Fine. Let us see what you have.
It was nice meeting you.
Make an advance?
Did His Majesty allow it?
Then why did you even say that?
I simply returned the favor.
Khitan used Goryeo's fear...
to negotiate.
We are doing the same.
Will that work?
Khitan will not fear us, will they?
They do fear us.
Had they not feared us, they would not have invaded us.
Then, we should intimidate them more.
Station all the soldiers in Heunghwajin before the Yalu River.
And make a bridge as if we will cross the river at once.
(A temporary bridge made with boats and rafts)
Understood.
The Goryeo army has camped out and is making bridges.
Your Highness. Order us to attack right away.
We must wipe them out while they are outside of the fortress.
I agree with him. Once the main army arrives,
we will advance across the Yalu River, will we not?
Our advance army will proceed first.
There is...
no main army.
- How come? - The Zubu on the northwest border...
is preparing for a rebellion.
All of the requisitioned soldiers...
have been sent to the border.
Does that mean the 3,000 here are all that we have?
That is right.
If Goryeo attacks us,
it will be the end of Naewon Fortress.
And if they keep advancing,
we would even have to give up Dongjing.
Goryeo will never do that.
Worried about the aftermath,
Goryeo will never summon the courage to do it.
There is little to no possibility that Goryeo...
will start the war first.
Your Highness. Behead the Goryeo envoy at once.
I have an urgent report, Your Majesty.
The messenger arrived just now.
All of the Khitan's envoys were captured.
Are you sure?
Yes, Your Majesty.
Furthermore, according to Academician Kang,
Deputy Minister Kim must still be alive,
judging by how the Khitan tried to negotiate.
Is that true?
Is he truly alive?
Yes.
Academician Kang is negotiating with the Khitan.
I ordered him to do whatever was necessary.
Deputy Minister Kim...
will be rescued at any cost.
Your Majesty...
(Empress Wonjeong)
(Heunghwajin)
What did you do with the army?
They were ordered to return to the fortress as it was night.
Looking at Heunghwajin always reminds me of Yeom Yoon.
(Seo Hui's childhood name)
Many wanted to surrender back then.
But against it alone, Yeom Yoon set out to the enemy's camp.
And he came back after settling a negotiation.
In return for serving Khitan as the greater country,
Goryeo was to conquer...
the six districts east of the river.
Yes. It was an impressive negotiation.
If these districts were not ours,
protecting Goryeo would have been much harder.
From what I see, you are as great as Yeom Yoon.
You achieved so much in the past war, did you not?
The enemy was simply thrown into confusion for a while.
Nothing was achieved in the end.
War...
cannot be ended with negotiations.
It ends...
only when one side wins the battle.
A messenger from Khitan has come!
He wants you to cross over this time.
Giddyap.
Take a seat.
I will get right to the point and be honest with you.
All the generals of Khitan want...
the Goryeo envoy to be beheaded at once.
They claim there is a chance in a hundred that Goryeo...
will dare to attack Khitan.
However, the slight possibility...
bothers me.
A chance in a hundred.
A chance in a thousand.
A chance in a ten thousand.
That slightest possibility,
at times,
can put the country in danger.
And so, what did you decide to do?
Return the Khitan envoys.
If you do so, we will return the Goryeo envoy too.
However,
we will send him in a few months.
What is the reason you must do so?
Exchanging the envoys of the two nations at once...
is damaging to Khitan's prestige.
Goryeo ought to send our envoys first,
and we will send your envoys in a few months.
Only then can I persuade His Majesty.
Instead, I will leave him at Naewon Fortress.
You may send an envoy to Naewon Fortress...
and check on his wellbeing at any time.
This is the best outcome I can come up with.
Whether or not you accept...
is up to you.
I will accept.
However, I will not leave him at Naewon Fortress.
We will set up a place for him on Jurchen territory.
And the Goryeo army will protect him ourselves.
But on the way back,
we will return through Naewon Fortress.
And before that,
we will keep his identity hidden from everyone.
You want me...
to deceive His Majesty again?
Just like during the last war?
That is right.
Communicate secretly with the enemy once more.
For Khitan.
I am sorry I could not bring him back immediately.
No.
If you did so, I am sure that was the best.
Then, you should go to the northeast.
I will appoint you as the Field Commander of the Northeast.
You should look after the Deputy Minister of Punishments yourself.
You mean me, Your Majesty?
That is right.
And while you are there,
try leading the soldiers.
Your Majesty.
I believe your strategy is right.
So, for the future,
build your experience.
Academician Kang? That makes no sense!
Even among all civil officials, he is the furthest from the military.
He has never once led any troops whatsoever!
So, how could a man like him...
be appointed the Field Commander, which is such an important position?
- It is His Majesty's will. - But sir.
That is enough.
I am frustrated as well.
You cannot just sit here sighing.
How much longer must we endure...
such humiliations as military officers?
How much longer?
General Choi is right about that.
Why do civil officials...
keep acting as the leaders of the war?
You should try to make a request to His Majesty this time.
"A request?"
Even if it is from now on,
he should let military officers be the leaders on the battlefield.
He is being even worse since military officers...
are not speaking up for themselves.
Try letting him know.
His Majesty should also know...
what his warriors are thinking.
Try it once.
His Majesty will hear you out.
Sir.
All right.
I will try and go see him.
If just the two of you go,
it will not work.
Then, who should we go with?
What on earth is all of this?
There is something we must request of Your Majesty.
That is why we have come.
All of the warriors in Gaegyeong have signed...
this letter to the throne.
Please reconsider...
naming Academician Kang...
a Field Commander.
He has never once led any troops.
I very well know that Academician Kang has not led...
any troops before.
However, I have appointed him to that position nonetheless,
as I have other intentions.
I will make those reasons clear someday,
so please go back now.
Your Majesty.
The Field Commander is the leader of the battlefield.
Such a position cannot be taken by a civil official.
Even if it is from now on, please name one of us,
the military officers, as the Field Commander.
Is that why you came to see me?
Before, you protested...
about leaving foreign affairs up to civil officials.
This time, are you arguing...
about why civil officials are being appointed as field commanders?
Your Majesty, the Field Commander of the Northeast...
is the one in charge of all troops in the northeast.
So, how could a position like that be left to a civil official?
The Field Commander is not someone who only leads the troops.
He must also look after all of the people of the northeast.
Your Majesty, we, your warriors,
can also look after the people skillfully.
It is not because I do not trust military officers...
that I am not leaving the people under your care.
I am trying to lessen your burden...
so that you can solely focus on fighting the battles.
What must I do if you cannot even realize that?
If you know now, make haste and go back.
You shout about military order at every chance you get.
What kind of behavior is this?
Even if you submitted a letter quietly,
I would have considered your opinions fully.
But...
for what reason did you come here all at once...
and boast your authority?
Are you all trying to threaten me?
If not,
go back this instant.
Now!
Yes, I understand.
Please forgive this insolence.
How did it go?
We did something we should not have done.
We almost received a heavy punishment.
My gosh.
I called you a general to make fun of you for being such a big eater.
But you have become a real general?
I will be away for a while.
- I am sorry. - Do not be sorry.
I do not have to live with you, at last. Why are you sorry?
My goodness.
I am glad my wish has come true while I am still alive.
Oh, boy.
I will be leaving, then.
Gosh, I am at a loss for words.
Goodness gracious. Who knew it would come to this?
Wait!
Hold on.
Do you know how to fight with a sword?
Do you know how to shoot an arrow?
Do not worry.
I will return in one piece.
Oh, dear.
- Let us go. - Yes, sir.
My gosh.
Oh, how I pity my fate.
I cannot take this any longer.
(Tongdeokmun)
I will no longer let them trample all over us!
General Choi.
(Korea-Khitan War)
I heard an officer from Gaegyeong whose job was to...
scribble with his writing brush would be our field commander. It must be you.
If you lead something like this once more,
I will behead you even without His Majesty's command.
At a time like this,
we must value and appreciate every military official even more.
Do not bring it up again.
If you do not step in, all the military officials...
will continue to suffer under the civil officials!
(Subtitles are provided by KOCOWA.)