(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 26)
(Field Commander of the Northeast)
Move it!
We must save His Majesty!
- Come on. - Pick up the pace!
Get a move on!
Pick up the pace. We must hurry!
Giddyap!
(Goryeo)
The Empress sent this letter to the Field Legislator of the Northwest.
Read carefully, Field Legislator.
There was a brief commotion in Gaegyeong, but it has all been subdued.
His Majesty accepted all requests put forth by the military officials,
who have then returned to their duties,
respecting His Majesty's wishes.
However, the incident...
left His Majesty disheartened for failing to understand their concerns in advance,
so he has fallen ill.
Hence, I hereby issue an edict...
that the troops in the border region must remain at post...
without being distracted.
If anyone disobeys this command and moves their troops,
it will be considered treason, and they will face severe punishment.
(Goryeo)
What was it about?
It was about how His Majesty had already approved everything.
But why did the Empress issue the edict?
She wrote that His Majesty had fallen ill.
(No Jeon, Vice Censor-in-Chief)
Field Legislator, I find that very hard to believe.
I know.
I find it suspicious too.
However, we cannot dare to assume that the edict issued by the Empress...
was written based on lies.
(Goryeo)
- We will retreat. - Field Legislator!
At the moment, we do not know what is true and what is not.
If we keep going in this situation,
we may end up like Kang Jo.
What should we do now?
(Do Yong Soo, Deputy General of the Northeast)
Do not waver.
I received the order from His Majesty himself.
(Lee Ja Rim, Defense Commander of Hwaju)
- Yes, Field Commander. - Yes, Field Commander.
March forth!
- March forth! - Giddyap.
March forth!
(Kim Hoon, Head of the Central Army)
(Choi Jil, Head of the Central Army)
When will the soldiers arrive?
It appears that...
the soldiers of the northwest will not come.
Had they departed,
they would have already arrived in Gaegyeong.
Does that mean the northwest soldiers...
support this coup?
I, too, am not sure what is happening.
(Choi Gu, Director of Defense)
What about the northeast soldiers?
They will soon arrive.
General, I suggest we just force our way through.
Before the northeast soldiers arrive,
we must capture His Majesty as soon as we can.
What reason do we have for doing that?
His Majesty handed over...
Jang Yeon Woo and Hwangbo Yu Eui as we requested.
Thoughtlessly attacking His Majesty despite that...
will turn us into traitors with nowhere to return.
Do you suggest we die without a fight?
We became traitors the moment...
we invaded the palace.
That is not true.
We simply stood up to punish Jang Yeon Woo and Hwangbo Yu Eui.
It was not...
an act of treason.
General Kim!
The northeast soldiers have ignored Your Majesty's letter...
and are riding towards Gaegyeong.
Before they arrive,
His Majesty must acknowledge this revolt.
Order General Kim...
to take down the soldiers outside of Jungjeon...
and to invade Jungjeon.
What?
I have already informed you.
When the northeast soldiers arrive,
those two generals will point their swords at His Majesty...
and hold out.
Rather than that,
is it not better to have them draw their swords at his subjects...
and make His Majesty surrender?
Your Majesty. You have already taken the first step.
Your Majesty is already part of the rebellion...
under the condition I kill Deputy Minister Kim's daughter.
I never gave such an order!
Who would believe that?
Give General Kim the order now.
We are running out of time.
Protect His Majesty from death.
That is the reason we have come this far, no?
What do you mean by that?
Why would I order the northeast soldiers to return?
The Goryeo soldiers should not fight each other.
If tens of thousands of soldiers engage in battle,
a few thousand elite soldiers will die at the very least.
To make up for the loss,
another 3 to 4 years will be needed.
The elite soldiers Your Majesty tried hard to rebuild...
will die in vain.
Then...
Are you telling me to submit to the rebel forces like this?
Please do so for now.
And later on, watch for an opportunity...
to punish the leaders of the rebellion.
That is absurd.
If we surrender to them right now,
even His Majesty's life will be at risk.
Those soldiers do not dare to hurt Your Majesty.
If their plan were to harm Your Majesty,
they would have done so much earlier.
Your Majesty. It is only lowering yourself for a short while.
Even the late Commander Kang Jo...
was an atrocious rebellious subject at first.
However, Your Majesty turned even such a man...
into a loyal subject of Goryeo.
One last time.
Please endure such hardship one last time.
It is necessary to preserve Goryeo's national power.
You have it wrong.
Those men are different from Kang Jo.
They do not have any loyalty whatsoever.
They are nothing but ruffians trying to keep their positions.
Hand over power to such men,
and they will surely ruin Goryeo as a whole.
He is right.
Sacrifices must be made if necessary...
to stop those rebels.
Even if the northeast soldiers arrive,
there is no guarantee they will easily subdue the rebel forces.
Those men are as good as dead the minute they are subjugated.
They will not back down obediently.
There is a possibility...
the northeast soldiers might get defeated.
If that happens,
it will be the end of Goryeo.
Even if such a result is brought about,
Your Majesty must not yield.
The national power...
is nurtured by a righteous king and his loyal subjects.
With that,
the damaged national power can be recovered at any time.
Do not fear the sacrifice before Your Majesty.
Please fight back until the end.
Your Majesty...
must not become a puppet emperor again.
If that happens,
Your Majesty will never be able to get back on your feet.
Yes.
Premier Yoo is right.
I will not surrender.
As long as I care for Goryeo...
and you, chancellors, care for Goryeo together as well,
we will certainly...
rise again.
It is a letter from Her Majesty to General Kim.
(Command)
Her Majesty the Empress...
is ordering you to kill the soldiers locking His Majesty inside Jungjeon...
and rescue His Majesty at once.
Kill those men now and invade Jungjeon.
When you point your swords at the subjects,
His Majesty will have no choice but to yield.
Do it this instant!
We are out of time!
I will head inside.
Deputy General.
Step aside now.
Her Majesty...
has ordered us to take care of His Majesty.
(Lee Hyun, Deputy General)
I have been ordered to protect His Majesty.
Deputy General.
Please step aside.
I do not want to kill men like you.
I, too, do not want to fight men like you, General Kim.
When I was being chased down by the Khitans in Samsuchae,
you were the one...
who saved me.
Deputy General.
For the last time,
step aside.
I will protect His Majesty.
Attack.
- Yes, sir! - Yes, sir!
Attack!
Defend His Majesty!
Follow my lead!
- Your Majesty! - Your Majesty.
- Your Majesty.
You! Stop this instant!
Where do you think you are?
- You! - Go away this instant!
All of them.
Drag them out!
- You punks! - No!
- You! - No!
Why, you!
Stop this!
General Kim!
Forgive me.
Since troops from the northeast are on their way,
we had no choice but to enter the Jungjeon.
Your Majesty.
Send a royal message to the troops of the northeast...
- and tell them to turn back. - Shut your mouth.
Do you think I will succumb to you?
Your Majesty!
If you are confident, go ahead and kill me.
If you are confident that you will be spared even after killing the Emperor,
go ahead and do it.
- No. - Your Majesty.
- You punks! - Stop!
Next, I will cut his throat.
I will get rid of...
all of the vassals here, one by one!
Is that what you want?
How dare you?
Hurry up and decide!
Will you kill all of these vassals?
Aim!
(Field Commander of the Northeast)
Lower your bows.
We have not come here to fight against you.
We have come to punish the warriors who have committed treason.
Make haste and open the gates.
You are being tricked right now.
His Majesty...
has never once abandoned...
the military officers of Goryeo.
You should look back...
and think about what kind of emperor His Majesty has been.
His Majesty was an emperor who cherished...
the soldiers of Goryeo more than anyone.
All right. Open the gates quickly.
You are soldiers who must fight against Khitan.
You are soldiers who cannot die...
by being falsely accused of being traitors!
Now is the time! Charge!
- Your Majesty. - Your Majesty.
Your Majesty. Are you all right?
Where are those men?
Your Majesty.
Send back all of the troops.
- Your Majesty. - Defense Commander, hear me.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Take your men and return to the northeast this instant.
Go and protect the borders.
- But... - The revolt in Gaegyeong...
is all over.
The military officers have resolved their misunderstanding of me...
and pledged their allegiance again.
So,
hurry back and protect the borders.
Your Majesty. I do not know...
what those men are threatening you with now,
but you cannot yield just like this.
Your Majesty. Come this way.
We will escort you.
Please do so.
Escort His Majesty right away!
All of you, stop!
This is the emperor's command.
Hurry back to your posts.
Defense Commander.
Go back now.
If you do not listen to my command this instant,
I will consider you a traitor.
Now!
Yes, Your Majesty.
Deputy General.
Turn back the troops.
Yes, Defense Commander.
Your Majesty.
(Field Commander of the Northeast)
You should go with them.
For the time being,
stay in the northeast.
I will stay by Your Majesty's side.
Privy Councilor.
I cannot leave Your Majesty in the hands of those rebels.
Thankfully, all went well.
His Majesty surrendered at last.
You did an excellent job.
From now on, the military officials and I...
will be sure to take great care of you.
One more thing.
The Deputy Minister of Punishments will be expelled from Gaegyeong.
Please get some rest.
We will cancel the plan to confiscate the military officials' land...
altogether.
Also, Privy Councilor Jang Yeon Woo...
and Officer Hwangbo Yu Eui who suggested this idea...
will be sent into exile.
And from now on, I will be sure to consult with you military officials...
before making decisions concerning all state affairs.
- We are much obliged, Your Majesty. - We are much obliged, Your Majesty.
Let me ask you one thing.
Yes, Your Majesty. Please go ahead and ask us.
Was wanting to protect your honor as military officials...
truly the reason you rose up in revolt?
Yes. It was, Your Majesty.
We can assure you that there was no other reason.
Then promise me one thing.
You will not...
harm anyone else.
Of course, Your Majesty.
We will not harm anyone.
We apologize once again for our acts of insolence.
And we deeply appreciate how you sent away...
the soldiers from the Northeast.
All of us here...
will continue to be Your Majesty's loyal vassals.
So please do not be concerned.
We will be off, then.
We must get rid of Kang Gam Chan.
He brought along the soldiers from the Northeast...
and tried to kill us.
I gave His Majesty my word.
Do not hurt anyone.
What kind of crime did they commit?
I bet they did nothing wrong.
They just got on those military officials' nerves.
Then what will happen to the other court officials?
I do not know either.
The Premier has not left the palace for a few days already.
What if every civil official leaves the palace looking like that?
You may all leave for the day.
Thank you all...
for your hard work.
Please allow me to introduce myself.
I am the Fourth Rank General who will serve Your Majesty from now on.
Who appointed you as Fourth Rank General?
General Kim Hoon and General Choi Jil entrusted me with this important position.
I will stay by Your Majesty's side and protect you at all times.
What happened to General Ji Chae Moon?
That I do not know.
- General. - I am telling you the truth.
I truly do not know.
Find out what happened to General Ji Chae Moon.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Also,
find out if the Empress and the Imperial Consort are okay.
Lady Kim too.
Make sure they are okay.
Yes, Your Majesty.
What did you say?
What do you mean?
You do not know where she is?
I am truly sorry.
When I saw the soldiers barging in,
I hid in fear.
But the soldiers took Lady Kim.
Is that true?
Yes, there is more.
Deputy Minister Kim came by earlier to ask how Lady Kim was doing,
but some soldiers dragged him away too.
Father.
- Lord Kim! - Father!
Father!
You are to leave Gaegyeong at once.
- What? - If not, everyone in your family...
will be killed, and no one will even find out.
Who ordered you to do this?
The two generals? Or...
did the order...
come from the Empress?
You do not need to know.
If you wish to be spared, you must leave at once.
Where is Lady Kim now?
Keep a watchful eye on him.
Come along!
Where is my daughter?
You scoundrels!
Where is my daughter?
You scoundrels!
- Oh, my! - Look at this feast.
- Over here! - Good to see you.
- How have you all been? - Pour me one too.
Come and join us.
- Oh, my. - How nice is this?
Here, have a drink. My gosh.
The Empress...
prepared this banquet...
to commend you and General Kim for your hard work.
Thank you for getting rid of Deputy Minister Kim.
I leave that man's daughter...
with you as well.
Do not worry. I have sent a messenger.
She will no longer be in this world by tomorrow morning.
Do not tell General Kim Hoon.
If he hears about it, he will try to stop it again.
All right. I understood.
Now then, let us have a drink as well.
Yes, General Choi.
- Cheers! - Cheers!
Go easy on the drinks.
Men. Let us have a glass.
- Yes. - Yes.
You have worked hard until now.
The military officers' time has come.
We own Goryeo now!
Come now. Drink.
- Yes, General Choi. - Yes, General Choi.
Everyone, hurrah for General Choi!
Hurrah for General Choi!
- Hurrah! - Hurrah!
Your Majesty.
My apologies.
I have asked everywhere,
but Lady Kim's whereabouts are still a mystery.
After getting dragged out of the palace,
Deputy Minister Kim and his family...
have also disappeared.
Were these the acts of the rebels?
Yes.
Court Lady Choi witnessed them being taken away by soldiers.
Bring those two generals to me at once.
Your Majesty. It is dangerous to push them right now.
Do it now.
Your Majesty. Please calm down.
I will go...
and somehow find where Lady Kim is again.
The situation has come to this in the end.
It is all my fault.
I should have taken care of the matter sooner.
What do you mean by that?
Actually, I was watching those two generals...
through the Office of Inspector General.
I could not help but think they would cause trouble.
But before I could grasp the picture,
such an incident happened.
I cannot believe that...
even the Eungyang Guards and the Yongho Guards took part in it.
Are they not the last bastions to protect His Majesty?
They must have communicated in advance.
This could not have happened accidentally.
It is surely a planned-out treason.
Choi Gu of the Ministry of Defense must also be in it.
The soldiers who invaded Jungjeon last night...
did not draw their swords at him.
Rather, they left him to sneak out of the place.
We can now draw an overall outline...
of who the traitors are.
By the way,
why did the northwest soldiers not come?
Had those soldiers come, they would have arrived...
a day sooner than the northeast soldiers.
And if they had, the situation could be different right now.
Her Majesty the Empress sent them back.
What...
What are you saying?
The northeast soldiers...
also received Her Majesty's letter.
It had an order not to move the army...
as the revolt in Gaegyeong had ended.
Good grief.
Does that mean...
Her Majesty helped the traitors?
Yes. That is correct.
Is that true?
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty!
Your Majesty.
Where is Lady Kim?
Where is she?
Answer me at once.
I do not know.
Stop lying.
I know that...
you sent an order to have the northwest soldiers...
returned.
You helped the traitors,
and those traitors took away Lady Kim and Deputy Minister Kim.
How are these all coincidences?
You must have made...
a deal with the traitors.
You betrayed me and joined hands with the traitors.
It was for Your Majesty.
- What? - I know it is hard to believe.
But I sincerely...
did it to protect Your Majesty.
Stop lying!
I am telling the truth.
Those men threatened me.
If I did not cooperate,
they were going to harm Your Majesty.
Please believe me.
No matter what others say,
Your Majesty is everything to me.
It is all my fault.
I should have kept my distance from him from the beginning.
I was a fool.
My heart unconsciously wavered when that man said he could kick...
Lady Kim out of the palace.
I wanted to get Your Majesty back one way or another.
The moment...
you accepted my kiss like a shy boy on our first night.
When Your Majesty only had eyes on me.
I wanted to return to those days.
Empress.
Yes.
I know.
I know how foolish that was.
Even so, that was what I wished for unknowingly.
However, I had no idea that this man would commit such a crime.
I simply thought he had a way to pressure...
Your Majesty politically.
Does that mean...
you do not know where Deputy Minister Kim...
and Lady Kim are either?
No. I do not know.
I was only used.
What has happened to you?
Why have you become so foolish?
Where is the wise empress...
I once knew?
Your Majesty.
Lady Kim left this for you.
(Your Majesty)
These are clothes that I have made.
It is my last goodbye to you, Your Majesty.
As I kept looking at you day by day,
my heart became filled with greed.
I wanted to have you even if that meant...
I had to push out the person inside your heart.
Although I knew that was a sin,
I could not stop.
I love you so much, Your Majesty.
I cannot handle that love,
so I am leaving.
I am leaving because I am afraid that my love might come true.
I beg of you. Do not look for me.
I will find inner peace someday,
so please do not worry.
Wife.
He is not moving an inch.
I think he might be dead.
That is bad, is it not?
We were told never to let General Kim Hoon die.
Call a physician first. Quickly.
All right.
General.
Did you understand what I said?
Make sure you lay low and stay quiet.
Do not get angry with the military officers...
and only shorten your own life. Understand?
Goodness.
Fine.
If you really want to die so badly,
go and die while fighting against the Khitan soldiers...
when they invade us again.
Would that not be better than dying at the hands of the Goryeo people?
So, please just hold yourself back until then.
Do you understand?
Lord Kang. Are you listening to me?
My goodness!
Gosh, those mean jerks. How could they do this to a man?
I am fine.
Help me. I will go to His Majesty.
Do not get any ideas and just stay here.
I am the Fourth Rank General. I must stay by His Majesty's side.
Do not be stubborn.
Even if you go by His Majesty's side, you cannot do anything right now.
Leave Gaegyeong.
There is something you must do outside of Gaegyeong.
What do you mean?
The traitors have taken Lady Kim.
Find and protect her.
Please do so for His Majesty's sake.
Are you not the Privy Councilor's wife?
Where are you headed now?
I am going to make an offering at the temple.
But why are you doing all of this?
It is because there is a runaway criminal.
I will take a look at those sacks of rice.
What do you think you are doing?
This rice will be an offering for Buddha. Why are you stabbing it with a blade?
Stop that and step aside unless you want to end up in the fiery pit.
Sure. Go ahead.
Get to a temple quickly and bow 3,000 times.
Come on out.
Where are we going?
We cannot kill you before Buddha.
Do not resent me.
I am only following orders.
Then, do it with an arrow.
I am His Majesty's wife.
If this is revealed later on, shooting me will come with...
a lesser punishment than slitting my throat.
Go ahead and do so. You may die,
but you should at least save your wife and kids.
What are you doing? Go ahead and shoot.
- You do it. - What?
You said you would do it.
But I do not think I can.
Then, let me go.
You are already afraid of the consequences.
Then, the wise thing to do is to stop.
Hurry up and decide before other people arrive.
Did you call for us?
I have something I want to ask you.
Answer me honestly.
Where are Lady Kim and the family of the Deputy Minister of Punishments?
Lady Kim has left the palace of her own accord,
and the Deputy Minister of Punishments has taken his family to the countryside.
General.
How dare you lie before His Majesty?
There are plenty of court ladies who have seen Lady Kim...
get dragged away by soldiers.
There is also someone who has seen the Deputy Minister of Punishments...
and his whole family leaving Gaegyeong while surrounded by soldiers.
General.
Bring back Lady Kim and the Deputy Minister right away.
Privy Councilor.
How dare you give commands?
Do you still think this world is ruled by civil officials like yourself?
General Choi!
What do you think you are doing before His Majesty?
Hurry up and apologize.
Go ahead and apologize all you want.
I am off.
General Choi! Wait.
I truly apologize.
And you...
truly know nothing about it?
That is correct.
Why would I do such a thing?
I will get going, then.
All right. Please be careful.
Yes, my lady.
Go!
Save us, merciful Buddha.
Hurry up and apologize to His Majesty.
Apologize for what?
Our time has come.
What are you afraid of that you are telling me to apologize?
General Choi!
Please come to your senses.
You need to come to your senses!
You could not even keep Ji Chae Moon locked up.
What are you doing?
Why must you be...
such a pushover with everything?
What did you say?
It is about time you took a step back.
I will handle the rest.
Just sit idly by...
and reap all the rewards while enjoying a comfortable life!
How dare you!
Lads, whom will you follow?
Me or General Kim?
I will follow you, General Choi!
We will do the same!
- We are at your command too! - We are at your command too!
Well done.
Now, what do I do?
To tell you the truth,
I do not know what to do.
Now that you have seized power,
you should enjoy that power now.
Is it not what you wanted, after all?
He made significant contributions to the restoration of Gaegyeong.
Please appoint him as Governor of the Capital District.
And from now on, the military officials who can attend the daily court assembly...
should also be allowed to work as civil officials.
Disband the Office of Inspector General and have Geumodae take over...
so that the military officials can tighten discipline among all court officials.
Also, get rid of the Three Offices and set up Dojeongsa under our control...
so that we, military officials, can manage state coffers.
I will think about it.
Please approve my suggestions immediately.
General Choi, what are you doing?
Restructuring such governmental agencies...
should be done with the next hundred years in mind.
If we make such a reckless decision to restructure...
I approve.
Your Majesty.
Is there anything else you want?
That is it for now.
Thank you for approving my suggestions.
My goodness.
Get rid of everything that belonged to the Office of Inspector General.
My goodness. What are you doing now?
They will not listen to me.
What are you waiting for?
I told you to pack your things and leave at once!
The Office of Inspector General has been disbanded.
Get out!
Now!
We must pay the officials' wages.
Open the storage at Dojeongsa.
Will do.
What?
The thing is, the civil officials are not getting paid.
What did you say?
The military officials will be the only ones getting paid.
You civil officials can beg on the streets or steal food.
Suit yourselves.
How dare they...
I am afraid...
the court will cease to function at this rate.
I have never seen such cruel scoundrels.
More and more court officials are resigning.
We will let them have their way for the time being.
I understand that this is humiliating,
but you ought to hold out.
We absolutely cannot let the imperial court fall apart.
- Yes, Your Majesty. - Yes, Your Majesty.
- Goodness. - I am telling you the truth.
- I said... - Oh, my.
Come here.
You are coming with me.
What is your name?
Goodness. Look at you.
I will not bite you.
Easy, lads. Behave yourselves!
You may go.
We wanted to warm up a little to prepare for the war.
General Choi, this scent is...
About Park Jin,
the man who was appointed as Governor of the Capital District.
You were in Chungju too, so you must know him.
Yes.
Ever since his eldest son died in the war,
he has been immensely dissatisfied with the court's decisions.
When Kim Chi Yang wanted to stage a coup,
he wished to partake in it.
But that man...
came here to help restore Gaegyeong.
Do you not think it is strange?
Yes, that does sound strange.
Then he came to see me.
And...
he told me about his plan to oust...
the Deputy Minister of Punishments.
Then those incidents...
Yes, they were all his ideas.
Then he approached Kim Hoon and Choi Jil...
and befriended them.
Then the coup took place.
Then do you think...
he was behind it?
That is what we think.
The things the military officials did after seizing power...
convinced us that we were right.
From how they took the right...
to inspect all officials by establishing Geumodae...
to how they took over the state offers through Dojeongsa.
There is no way Kim Hoon or Choi Jil...
came up with such ideas on their own.
Then that man, Park Jin,
is the mastermind behind those rebels.
There is something that concerns me even more.
What might that be?
I think he was the man...
who attacked His Majesty during his escape.
As soon as word got out that His Majesty was headed to Chungju,
that man disappeared from Chungju.
Stop right there.
What is the matter?
There is something I wish to check.
What is it?
Would you...
show me your shoulders?
How random.
Why do you wish to see my shoulders out of the blue...
Privy Councilor.
You...
are under arrest for attempting to assassinate His Majesty,
which is considered high treason.
Take him!
Let go.
Let go of me!
Privy Councilor.
Privy Councilor!
(Korea-Khitan War)
I was foolish.
The Empress of Goryeo has been manipulated by a great traitor.
Since you failed to pay homage in the end,
the great army of Khitan will cross the Yalu River.
Have the Defense Commander of Hwaju come to see me.
On your way, please deliver a letter of mine.
Your Majesty, go and pay homage in person.
Fine. I will go.
I will go and pay homage.
(Subtitles are provided by KOCOWA.)