Post by ajk on Aug 9, 2015 12:16:56 GMT -5
Gwanghae tells Yun Dun that he understands Yi Sunsin's situation and believes that Yi is doing the best he can with no ill intentions. Says he'll tell Yi to correct his behavior but a severe punishment would be excessive. Understood, Yun says, unhappily...but adds that he'll be keeping a close eye on him.
Later the prince prepares his daily report to his father; tells him about the exam and presents it in favorable terms, even says he approved of it. Instead focuses on a drought problem in the south that has caused a severe famine.
Seonjo reads the report while Ryu is with him; says he's not interested in Yi Sunsin's situation right now and wants to deal with the famine. Ryu urges implementation of the progressive tax. Seonjo again says he wants to but fears the resistance will be too great and says it should be left for after the war. They start to discuss it...but they stop very quickly when news arrives of a rebellion! Somebody named Song Yujin, who apparently commands some sort of private army, has posted notices around the country urging an attack on the capital, and has mobilized soldiers of his own to do just that.
And now somewhere in Chungcheong Province we see Song Yujin leading an attack on a military storehouse. His men quickly gain control of it and seize the rations and weapons stored there.
Ryu and the other officials gather information about this person and the force he's assembled. It's not a private army; it's more like a large gang of bandits. All together there apparently are around 2,000 of them, although in multiple groups and not a single group. Which is good, because if they can find the right group and kill Song, it likely will scatter everyone in the other groups. But where's the right group? Ryu figures Song will force the action and attack the capital soon, simply because he knows that it's not to his advantage to prolong his situation. So they need to act swiftly. They decide to infiltrate the gang with government soldiers pretending to be rebels; they also assign a palace guard unit to head to the location where they believe Song to be.
Later, Ryu confesses to Lee Deokhyeong that he's worried. This revolt may be occurring now but the seeds of it were laid long before the war ever started. "If we can't settle public sentiments quickly, it won't end with just this revolt."
Wow, that was fast. The right group was found; they were captured and there's Song and the rest of them all bound and kneeling. Next we see them all being tortured. And then Ryu starts to question them. One of them, a former militia soldier, gives a very poignant statement about his disillusionment and frustration with the country and the tax and labor burdens imposed on citizens who are already suffering from the war. Seonjo happens to walk into the torture yard just in time to hear it.
Afterwards we see that prisoner and several others executed. Narration tells us that his was in early 1594; it was "the largest uprising during the war" and it happened "because the people were impoverished and unhappy with everything."
Ryu is glad to report to Seonjo that there weren't as many rebel group locations as feared and that the entire rebellion has been extinguished. But he argues that the root causes of it need to be dealt with, and again urges for the progressive tax. He really presses Seonjo hard--very eloquently and effectively.
That evening, the tortured prisoner's words are still ringing in the king's head. Then later, in an odd moment, Seonjo tells Ryu he isn't going to say anything about the progressive tax. Those were his words: "I'm not going to." And he sort of smiles a little.
Next day: Ryu and Lee Deokhyeong both figure the king is simply stepping back, to let Ryu implement the tax if he wants to--without having to be blamed for it himself. Lee literally fears for Ryu's life, the opposition will be so intense. But Ryu is calm and wants to be the one to take the chance. Lee Deokhyeong and Lee Wonik both pledge to support him.
A very interesting debate with other high officials including Yu Join and Kim Eungnam about the proposed tax. Eventually Ryu gets angry; insists he's trying to make the system fairer for everyone and not create class divisions like Yu accuses him of trying to do.
Wow, word gets around quickly. Landowners are protesting like crazy outside of the council hall and demanding Ryu's removal from office. Seonjo is in a panic over it but Ryu stands firm and urges the king to be strong. And says he'll demonstrate that he's right.
To their surprise, the landowners are invited in. "His majesty will listen to you." They're escorted into a courtyard where Seonjo sits down with them and asks them to speak their peace. The landowners and the officials who agree with them sit opposite Ryu and those who support Ryu. They state their arguments for opposing the tax...but Ryu reduces every argument to rubble. Pretty soon Seonjo stands up. Tells the landowners "I know this will affect you, but the people are suffering right now." We'll find better policies when times are better, but..."For now, I think the councilor is right." Thanks them for coming, and leaves. Calmly and with no sense of indecision. What you'd expect out of a king.
As we see announcements being posted and read by ecstatic citizens, narration says that the progressive tax was implemented in 1594 and that it "relieved the burdens of the people a little bit." And that Seonjo was greatly praised for it among the people, "but Ryu Seongryong gained more enemies."
Jeongju, Jeolla Province: Prince Gwanghae and Yun Dusu are watching an impressive demonstration at the mugunsa training center. Yun is still pouting because they can't fight right now. He's really frustrated; wants to do something, anything.....
Consort Kim tells Seonjo of the praise he's getting from the people. Seonjo takes it in stride, thinks it's silly that this one thing makes him so popular after everything else that's happened. Then a letter from Yun Dusu arrives, asking for permission to attack the enemy and offering to take sole responsibility for ordering it, even at the cost of his life. Seonjo snarls. "Why is he being so stubborn?" Surprisingly, Kim tells him to go along with it. Says that if it works, the war will be over before Ming and Wae can reach a settlement, and if it doesn't, well, you can blame the crown prince and abolish the mugunsa setup. "You won't have anything to lose."
Seonjo sends a letter approving the plan. Gwanghae and Yun are stunned, but thrilled. Gwanghae has to stay out of it entirely, though. Ming is watching everything too closely for him to be seen or heard getting involved.
Gwon Yul gets a surprise visit from Yun and from his son-in-law Lee Hangbok. They tell Yun of the attack plan. Gwon doesn't want to put Yun at risk, which will happen "even if the result is good," but Ryu says he only wants to defeat the enemy and will gladly die for it.
Southern naval headquarters: Yi Sunsin gets a letter from Yun ordering the attack. Yi and his officers discuss how best to carry out the order. He isn't very happy about it, that's clear, but he's not about to disregard the order because he knows how much trouble that would create at this point. There's also the problem of potentially leaving their headquarters unprotected while they travel to fight, with the enemy entrenched in the southern provinces and possibly able to seize the headquarters. Hmmm....
We see preparations being made for an attack of some magnitude, not sure yet if it's the full naval force going...then a large group of men arrives, led by someone named Kim Deokryeong. It's a Jeolla militia; they're here to board ships and be taken to battle. With that, Yi tells his officers to prepare to depart.
Later the prince prepares his daily report to his father; tells him about the exam and presents it in favorable terms, even says he approved of it. Instead focuses on a drought problem in the south that has caused a severe famine.
Seonjo reads the report while Ryu is with him; says he's not interested in Yi Sunsin's situation right now and wants to deal with the famine. Ryu urges implementation of the progressive tax. Seonjo again says he wants to but fears the resistance will be too great and says it should be left for after the war. They start to discuss it...but they stop very quickly when news arrives of a rebellion! Somebody named Song Yujin, who apparently commands some sort of private army, has posted notices around the country urging an attack on the capital, and has mobilized soldiers of his own to do just that.
And now somewhere in Chungcheong Province we see Song Yujin leading an attack on a military storehouse. His men quickly gain control of it and seize the rations and weapons stored there.
Ryu and the other officials gather information about this person and the force he's assembled. It's not a private army; it's more like a large gang of bandits. All together there apparently are around 2,000 of them, although in multiple groups and not a single group. Which is good, because if they can find the right group and kill Song, it likely will scatter everyone in the other groups. But where's the right group? Ryu figures Song will force the action and attack the capital soon, simply because he knows that it's not to his advantage to prolong his situation. So they need to act swiftly. They decide to infiltrate the gang with government soldiers pretending to be rebels; they also assign a palace guard unit to head to the location where they believe Song to be.
Later, Ryu confesses to Lee Deokhyeong that he's worried. This revolt may be occurring now but the seeds of it were laid long before the war ever started. "If we can't settle public sentiments quickly, it won't end with just this revolt."
Wow, that was fast. The right group was found; they were captured and there's Song and the rest of them all bound and kneeling. Next we see them all being tortured. And then Ryu starts to question them. One of them, a former militia soldier, gives a very poignant statement about his disillusionment and frustration with the country and the tax and labor burdens imposed on citizens who are already suffering from the war. Seonjo happens to walk into the torture yard just in time to hear it.
Afterwards we see that prisoner and several others executed. Narration tells us that his was in early 1594; it was "the largest uprising during the war" and it happened "because the people were impoverished and unhappy with everything."
Ryu is glad to report to Seonjo that there weren't as many rebel group locations as feared and that the entire rebellion has been extinguished. But he argues that the root causes of it need to be dealt with, and again urges for the progressive tax. He really presses Seonjo hard--very eloquently and effectively.
That evening, the tortured prisoner's words are still ringing in the king's head. Then later, in an odd moment, Seonjo tells Ryu he isn't going to say anything about the progressive tax. Those were his words: "I'm not going to." And he sort of smiles a little.
Next day: Ryu and Lee Deokhyeong both figure the king is simply stepping back, to let Ryu implement the tax if he wants to--without having to be blamed for it himself. Lee literally fears for Ryu's life, the opposition will be so intense. But Ryu is calm and wants to be the one to take the chance. Lee Deokhyeong and Lee Wonik both pledge to support him.
A very interesting debate with other high officials including Yu Join and Kim Eungnam about the proposed tax. Eventually Ryu gets angry; insists he's trying to make the system fairer for everyone and not create class divisions like Yu accuses him of trying to do.
Wow, word gets around quickly. Landowners are protesting like crazy outside of the council hall and demanding Ryu's removal from office. Seonjo is in a panic over it but Ryu stands firm and urges the king to be strong. And says he'll demonstrate that he's right.
To their surprise, the landowners are invited in. "His majesty will listen to you." They're escorted into a courtyard where Seonjo sits down with them and asks them to speak their peace. The landowners and the officials who agree with them sit opposite Ryu and those who support Ryu. They state their arguments for opposing the tax...but Ryu reduces every argument to rubble. Pretty soon Seonjo stands up. Tells the landowners "I know this will affect you, but the people are suffering right now." We'll find better policies when times are better, but..."For now, I think the councilor is right." Thanks them for coming, and leaves. Calmly and with no sense of indecision. What you'd expect out of a king.
As we see announcements being posted and read by ecstatic citizens, narration says that the progressive tax was implemented in 1594 and that it "relieved the burdens of the people a little bit." And that Seonjo was greatly praised for it among the people, "but Ryu Seongryong gained more enemies."
Jeongju, Jeolla Province: Prince Gwanghae and Yun Dusu are watching an impressive demonstration at the mugunsa training center. Yun is still pouting because they can't fight right now. He's really frustrated; wants to do something, anything.....
Consort Kim tells Seonjo of the praise he's getting from the people. Seonjo takes it in stride, thinks it's silly that this one thing makes him so popular after everything else that's happened. Then a letter from Yun Dusu arrives, asking for permission to attack the enemy and offering to take sole responsibility for ordering it, even at the cost of his life. Seonjo snarls. "Why is he being so stubborn?" Surprisingly, Kim tells him to go along with it. Says that if it works, the war will be over before Ming and Wae can reach a settlement, and if it doesn't, well, you can blame the crown prince and abolish the mugunsa setup. "You won't have anything to lose."
Seonjo sends a letter approving the plan. Gwanghae and Yun are stunned, but thrilled. Gwanghae has to stay out of it entirely, though. Ming is watching everything too closely for him to be seen or heard getting involved.
Gwon Yul gets a surprise visit from Yun and from his son-in-law Lee Hangbok. They tell Yun of the attack plan. Gwon doesn't want to put Yun at risk, which will happen "even if the result is good," but Ryu says he only wants to defeat the enemy and will gladly die for it.
Southern naval headquarters: Yi Sunsin gets a letter from Yun ordering the attack. Yi and his officers discuss how best to carry out the order. He isn't very happy about it, that's clear, but he's not about to disregard the order because he knows how much trouble that would create at this point. There's also the problem of potentially leaving their headquarters unprotected while they travel to fight, with the enemy entrenched in the southern provinces and possibly able to seize the headquarters. Hmmm....
We see preparations being made for an attack of some magnitude, not sure yet if it's the full naval force going...then a large group of men arrives, led by someone named Kim Deokryeong. It's a Jeolla militia; they're here to board ships and be taken to battle. With that, Yi tells his officers to prepare to depart.