Post by ajk on May 28, 2015 23:54:52 GMT -5
"Pyongyang has been taken." (They subbed it this time.) Konishi's forces took full advantage of that shallow section of the river that they discovered. Narration and a good map give us a good explanation about that part of the river.
Yet another round of Seonjo's whining in front of his high officials. He scolds them all for trying to discourage him from taking refuge (and there he does have a point, doesn't he).
As we watch Konishi stroll into Pyongyang fortress without bloodshed--obviously no fight was put up against them--only sixty days after the war started, narration tells us of yet another blow to the defense effort: 100,000 sacks of rations stored in Pyongyang, now all in the hands of a Japanese army badly in need of supplies. Ouch. We learn that as Seonjo headed farther north towards Uiju and the Ming border, Konishi's army stayed in Pyongyang while Kato headed northeast. Meanwhile, trailing armies still in the south were having their problems with harassment by citizen militias like Gwak Jaeu's. Oh and Yi Sunsin continued to cause them big problems too.
Another round of "Please kill us" to Seonjo from the officials. Seonjo fears there's nowhere left for him to go. Thinks maybe he should actually leave the country and go to Yodong, across the border in Ming, until the war ends. Tells a horrified Lee Hangbok that he wants him to arrange for it with the other officials. Lee is minister of war, hardly seems like his job, and Lee hates the idea...but he obeys.
Then later he tells all of the officials he'll head for Yodong "until the Wae army retreats." Leave the country entirely? The officials are outraged; they urge him to at least wait for the Ming army to arrive and get involved. Ryu tells him "The moment you take even one step out of this country, it will no longer be Joseon." He's fuming and glaring and almost shouting. Yun Dusu also scolds him. "There can't be reinforcements for a country without a king. And how can we be sure they will return the country to us?" And now they all stand up one at a time and protest, all except Lee Hangbok who dutifully tries to support his king. But Seonjo is just as frustrated with them as they are with him. "Don't just oppose me," he shouts; "give me an alternative!" He lets them have it right back about their mistakes and failures. "All of this is your fault!" But Ryu actually says he'd rather be killed than accept this. He's screaming mad now and actually calls his king a "lowly man." Wow this is ugly...and now there goes Seonjo's heart again and he's gasping and in anguish...and this time the officials just sort of stand there staring at him rather than trying to help. Wow the snarl on Ryu's face is shocking. And afterwards he scolds Lee Hangbok but good for trying to support such an awful idea.
That "lowly man" comment stung Seonjo real bad; he's with Consort Kim and they're both furious over it. Gawnghae shows up to see his father; initially Seonjo orders him away but then something occurs to him and he's ushered right in. Hmmm....
Next day: Seonjo announces to his officials that he's temporarily giving the throne to Gwanghae and going to Yodong himself! And he'll split the royal court in two as well. This is unprecedented...and ridiculous, as the officials' reaction shows. And they tell him that...but eventually Gwanghae stands up and says He's the national father and he needs to be safe. And Seonjo will hear no more about it...so it's a done deal. Afterwards, Ryu literally falls to his knees outside in the rain, he's so disillusioned by the king leaving the country to save his own life.
Ryu receives the letter we saw Yu Sunsin writing to him. Yi's earnest words, and the sight of some of the refugee children, touch him deeply and give him back some of the resolve that the king drained him of.
Well doesn't that just figure: the former Westerners among the officials discuss the king's decision and realize that this is sort of what they were hoping for a long time ago, for Gwanghae to take the throne. And that Seonjo will have a hard time getting his power back after the war, won't he. Still, they don't seem all that happy about the circumstances.
The crown prince asks Ryu and Yun and Jeong Cheol for their support. They're still very unhappy but of course they say they'll help him.
Hey, Ming court!! A tense debate about sending help to Joseon. Eventually the idiot emperor has heard enough and complains. But after it's explained to him that sending a large army to Joseon now is the smartest way to handle the situation, he sighs and orders the army suppressing their internal insurrection to head to Joseon as soon as that's taken care of.
Pyongyang: That unnamed spy guy is pestering Konishi again, demanding further attacks because "the Joseon king is right in front of us." But Konishi sounds like he's had enough. Criticizes the all-out pursuit of the king; says it's left them vulnerable from behind, which it has, and they could end up cut off and isolated. "We need to reorganize now," he insists. And he's not going anywhere unless Ishida shows up and orders him to attack personally.
Japan: Hideyoshi just got word of their ships being wrecked by this Yi Sunsin person. He's not happy, is he. Maeda encourages him to pull out the naval experts like Wakizaka who are with the army for now and put more effort into confronting Joseon's navy. Do it, Hideyoshi says, and tell them to bring me Yi's head.
Left Jeolla naval headquarters: Oh dear, Won Kyun has been causing trouble. The neighboring army commander has been trying to take undue credit for the naval victories and it has Yi's officers furious. Yi agrees that Won is being "excessive" and says he'll tell him to stop, but reminds them that the goal here is to eliminate the enemy's fleet and not worry about taking credit. Then we see a small ceremony for thirteen dead sailors.
Seonjo is splitting up the court, preparing for his trip to Yodong. Problem is, none of the officials wants to go with him. They all want to stay in Joseon with the crown prince. An ugly situation...until Gwanghae proposes that everyone stay with the king until they reach the border and work out the split at that time.
We see the refuge procession heading north yet again. Ryu, he has to leave them because he still has that job to do, trying to round up military rations elsewhere. Gwanghae asks him to be successful. "The fate of this country depends on you." Gee, no pressure there...
...we see Ryu, along with Shin Yeongcheol and Cheonri, gallop away on horseback and eventually end up in a town in the Jeongju region. Weird, the town seems oddly deserted. Where is everybody? Well all of a sudden here are a whole lot of people: government officials running for their lives, being chased by angry citizens armed with clubs! And at the government building, citizens looting the storehouses! And when Ryu angrily orders them to stop, they turn on him and start beating him.
Yet another round of Seonjo's whining in front of his high officials. He scolds them all for trying to discourage him from taking refuge (and there he does have a point, doesn't he).
As we watch Konishi stroll into Pyongyang fortress without bloodshed--obviously no fight was put up against them--only sixty days after the war started, narration tells us of yet another blow to the defense effort: 100,000 sacks of rations stored in Pyongyang, now all in the hands of a Japanese army badly in need of supplies. Ouch. We learn that as Seonjo headed farther north towards Uiju and the Ming border, Konishi's army stayed in Pyongyang while Kato headed northeast. Meanwhile, trailing armies still in the south were having their problems with harassment by citizen militias like Gwak Jaeu's. Oh and Yi Sunsin continued to cause them big problems too.
Another round of "Please kill us" to Seonjo from the officials. Seonjo fears there's nowhere left for him to go. Thinks maybe he should actually leave the country and go to Yodong, across the border in Ming, until the war ends. Tells a horrified Lee Hangbok that he wants him to arrange for it with the other officials. Lee is minister of war, hardly seems like his job, and Lee hates the idea...but he obeys.
Then later he tells all of the officials he'll head for Yodong "until the Wae army retreats." Leave the country entirely? The officials are outraged; they urge him to at least wait for the Ming army to arrive and get involved. Ryu tells him "The moment you take even one step out of this country, it will no longer be Joseon." He's fuming and glaring and almost shouting. Yun Dusu also scolds him. "There can't be reinforcements for a country without a king. And how can we be sure they will return the country to us?" And now they all stand up one at a time and protest, all except Lee Hangbok who dutifully tries to support his king. But Seonjo is just as frustrated with them as they are with him. "Don't just oppose me," he shouts; "give me an alternative!" He lets them have it right back about their mistakes and failures. "All of this is your fault!" But Ryu actually says he'd rather be killed than accept this. He's screaming mad now and actually calls his king a "lowly man." Wow this is ugly...and now there goes Seonjo's heart again and he's gasping and in anguish...and this time the officials just sort of stand there staring at him rather than trying to help. Wow the snarl on Ryu's face is shocking. And afterwards he scolds Lee Hangbok but good for trying to support such an awful idea.
That "lowly man" comment stung Seonjo real bad; he's with Consort Kim and they're both furious over it. Gawnghae shows up to see his father; initially Seonjo orders him away but then something occurs to him and he's ushered right in. Hmmm....
Next day: Seonjo announces to his officials that he's temporarily giving the throne to Gwanghae and going to Yodong himself! And he'll split the royal court in two as well. This is unprecedented...and ridiculous, as the officials' reaction shows. And they tell him that...but eventually Gwanghae stands up and says He's the national father and he needs to be safe. And Seonjo will hear no more about it...so it's a done deal. Afterwards, Ryu literally falls to his knees outside in the rain, he's so disillusioned by the king leaving the country to save his own life.
Ryu receives the letter we saw Yu Sunsin writing to him. Yi's earnest words, and the sight of some of the refugee children, touch him deeply and give him back some of the resolve that the king drained him of.
Well doesn't that just figure: the former Westerners among the officials discuss the king's decision and realize that this is sort of what they were hoping for a long time ago, for Gwanghae to take the throne. And that Seonjo will have a hard time getting his power back after the war, won't he. Still, they don't seem all that happy about the circumstances.
The crown prince asks Ryu and Yun and Jeong Cheol for their support. They're still very unhappy but of course they say they'll help him.
Hey, Ming court!! A tense debate about sending help to Joseon. Eventually the idiot emperor has heard enough and complains. But after it's explained to him that sending a large army to Joseon now is the smartest way to handle the situation, he sighs and orders the army suppressing their internal insurrection to head to Joseon as soon as that's taken care of.
Pyongyang: That unnamed spy guy is pestering Konishi again, demanding further attacks because "the Joseon king is right in front of us." But Konishi sounds like he's had enough. Criticizes the all-out pursuit of the king; says it's left them vulnerable from behind, which it has, and they could end up cut off and isolated. "We need to reorganize now," he insists. And he's not going anywhere unless Ishida shows up and orders him to attack personally.
Japan: Hideyoshi just got word of their ships being wrecked by this Yi Sunsin person. He's not happy, is he. Maeda encourages him to pull out the naval experts like Wakizaka who are with the army for now and put more effort into confronting Joseon's navy. Do it, Hideyoshi says, and tell them to bring me Yi's head.
Left Jeolla naval headquarters: Oh dear, Won Kyun has been causing trouble. The neighboring army commander has been trying to take undue credit for the naval victories and it has Yi's officers furious. Yi agrees that Won is being "excessive" and says he'll tell him to stop, but reminds them that the goal here is to eliminate the enemy's fleet and not worry about taking credit. Then we see a small ceremony for thirteen dead sailors.
Seonjo is splitting up the court, preparing for his trip to Yodong. Problem is, none of the officials wants to go with him. They all want to stay in Joseon with the crown prince. An ugly situation...until Gwanghae proposes that everyone stay with the king until they reach the border and work out the split at that time.
We see the refuge procession heading north yet again. Ryu, he has to leave them because he still has that job to do, trying to round up military rations elsewhere. Gwanghae asks him to be successful. "The fate of this country depends on you." Gee, no pressure there...
...we see Ryu, along with Shin Yeongcheol and Cheonri, gallop away on horseback and eventually end up in a town in the Jeongju region. Weird, the town seems oddly deserted. Where is everybody? Well all of a sudden here are a whole lot of people: government officials running for their lives, being chased by angry citizens armed with clubs! And at the government building, citizens looting the storehouses! And when Ryu angrily orders them to stop, they turn on him and start beating him.
