Post by ajk on Apr 2, 2008 14:35:30 GMT -5
The Ming envoy tells Yangnyeong, "Your intrepid spirit is very admirable. But it will cost Joseon a hundred times the humiliation I suffer today." He and his delegation leave the table and walk away from the reception. The king glares at his son and walks off. Inside, the king is alone with prime minister Ha and briefly considers the possibility of going to war with Ming. Ha, incredulously: "Surely you're not thinking of that as an option." The king smashes a large vase in anger and orders, "I want the crown prince on his knees before me--now."
Choongnyeong is trying to talk his brother into apologizing to the envoy; otherwise it could provoke a war. "Are you afraid of a war?", Yangnyeong challenges. Suddenly he grabs his brother and they duck outside a wall; Gang Sangin and his soldiers have arrived. Sensing that they're here for him, Yangnyeong flees and escapes.
PM Ha speculates that the prince might be headed to round up military support; he does have friends in the military.
But the prince goes to the Confucian academy! He addresses a room full of scholars and asks them to rally behind him.
The Ming delegation is meeting with the ministers. The envoy wants to take the crown prince back to Ming with him! After all, he can't ignore someone who's so war-crazy and such a threat to Ming. He's simply too dangerous. Then the envoy launches into a conspiracy theory about how Joseon and Japan have a secret alliance. The ministers urge him not to make such unfounded statements, but the envoy says he has proof and throws a folded piece of paper in front of them. How is it possible, he asks angrily, that dozens of Japanese ships could have attacked Joseon but been driven off with less than one-tenth of their power? The ministers study the paper; it's apparently a copy of an official document detailing the Gangryeongpo incident. How did you get this, they ask him, to which he responds that their reaction confirms its authenticity.
The official records office is entered and searched by guards. Minister Byun asks what's going on but is ignored. The order is given to "confiscate every document dated September 3 and find the original."
The document, says the envoy, confirms Joseon's attempt to ally with Japan and attack Ming. Minister Hwang tells him he's jumping to conclusions and urges restraint, but the envoy restates his demands: ten thousand horses, one hundred thousand soldiers, and the crown prince to be taken back to Ming.
The ministers meet and discuss the situation. Some ministers criticize Yangnyeong, but Gim Hanlo and the two Yis defend him, saying that if he hadn't done anything, they would have. PM Ha scolds them; "The crown prince is young and he doesn't know better. But what's your excuse?" And basically tells them to knock it off.
Yangnyeong is addressing the scholars. "It is up to us to save this country Joseon!" They go outside and march as a group to the palace.
Choongnyeong is talking to Yi Su; he wonders, maybe we should try war. "We have a strong justifiable case" and "Sometimes dignity is more important than life." He storms out; Yi never got a word in.
Choongnyeong goes outside and finds himself face to face with Yangnyeong and the scholars on a busy public street. He begs his brother to turn back and not provoke the envoys any more, but Yangnyeong bluntly refuses. (Note: This seems incongruous with the previous scene; apparently the prince cooled off.) One of the scholars tells Choongnyeong, "We may be weak, but we can change the world if we rise up with righteous rage." Yun Hwe happens to be there and sees the exchange, and finally realizes that Choongnyeong is a prince. Then Yangnyeong climbs a platform and addresses the citizens. Taking off his hat and dropping it to the ground, he says, "I hereby give up my right to the royal throne." He promises the citizens that he will not turn over their taxes and their lives to fight someone else's war. Join me if you agree, he tells them, and "then I will rise up in rage with you. I will not give into any kind of pressure....and when we have emerged victorious, then I will stand again as crown prince of Joseon." The citizens cheer, as he steps down and he and the scholars resume their march.
The crown prince and scholars have begun a sit-down protest outside the envoy's quarters; they demand that Ming acknowledge its misconduct.
The king can't figure out what to do; if he just disbands these Confucian scholars by force, every scholar in the country will rise up.
A Chinese named Haishou(!) steps out in front of the building and orders the protest disbanded. When Yangnyeong refuses, he steps forward and orders his guards to wipe them out. The guards brandish their swords and move forward, but just at that moment Gang Sangin and his soldiers arrive and block off the Ming guards. Gang stoops down to the seated Yangnyeong and asks him to stop the protest, but the prince says, "I would sooner die than give in to them." Gang then says, "Forgive me your highness." On his command, four soldiers grab Yangnyeong and carry him off; other soldiers start beating and kicking the scholars. This was the king's order.
(Note: Now we can understand most of the weird sequence in Episode 9. The document copy was what was being prepared in the government office by the intruder; Haishou was the man who received the document from Foreman Jeon. I had thought Haishou was Japanese, but now we know where he comes from. And the whole thing must be a plan by Ok Hwan to bring down the Joseon regime and further his goal of restoring Goryeo. He apparently is using the Gangryeongpo incident to persuade Ming that a secret Japan/Joseon alliance exists, whether or not it actually does exist (which I guess we don’t really know yet).)
Many of the scholars are being arrested. As several others run through an alleyway, the soldiers pursuing them are suddenly cut down...by Foreman Jeon and Muby. The scholars express their gratitude; Jeon offers them a place to hide for a while.
Choongnyeong returns home and is greeted by princess Shim, who tells him that Yun Hwe is here. The prince goes inside to find Yun going through Choongnyeong's books. "I see you've been reading a lot of books. But which book gave you the ridiculous idea that we should grovel before the envoy?...Groveling will not change the outcome." And as he walks out, he says with exasperation, "How can we trust the royal court to lead the country when you royals are so dense?"
Yangnyeong is before his father. Aren't you ashamed?, the king asks angrily. But the prince fires back, Aren't YOU ashamed, father? For using force on your own people rather than the enemy? Ming is not our enemy, the king reminds him. At that moment the queen barges in. She starts arguing with her husband about the situation. "You are responsible for this pitiable domestic relation we have with Ming. Why couldn't you put your men to better service?" You should have had agents in Ming gathering information; then you'd have been better prepared and none of this would have happened. Undeterred and insistent upon punishing his son, the king calls in his attendant and orders, "Dress the crown prince in commoner's clothes and put him in disciplinary confinement at the royal shrine."
Daytime: The crown prince is walking in commoner's clothes to the shrine. Soldiers accompany him and shocked citizens line the road.
The ministers are meeting. The Mins tell PM Ha, we can't do this to the crown prince. But Hwang argues that he must be punished; if he isn't, the envoy will insist all the more that he be taken back to Ming.
Prince Hyoryeong is visiting ex-king Jeongjong. You're the only one, he tells him, who can convince the king to rescind the punishment. Please go and talk to him, he asks his uncle. Jeongjong gives in and says he'll go see the king, but it won't help. And besides, if we turn him over to Ming, it may well help avoid a war. Hyoryeong asks with distress, What if he goes; what about our future? He probably won't come back if they take him. Jeongjong's answer: "Then we have you." The prince is utterly horrified; clearly the possibility of his becoming king is something he wants no part of. But Jeongjong says, "He who cannot control his temper under danger of death does not deserve the royal throne."
But Choongnyeong and Shim are talking. "We can't challenge them and we can't grovel either...I must find a solution. That's the only way to help the crown prince."
Choongnyeong and two attendants find their way to Yun Hwe's house. As they approach, Yun is being kicked out by his wife because he asked her for money for wine. She yells at him to look around; where do you see money? "Women are such naggers," he grumbles. He gathers up belongings and turns to walk away, and sees the prince. Yun is embarrassed, but Choongnyeong tells him, "I thought we might have a drink." Yun's eyes light up. "You're buying, right?" "You'll have to help me figure a way out of this dilemma first." "I think I can handle that." (Note: This scene suggests that Yun does indeed have a real drinking problem.)
Inside a private room (not clear where), Choongnyeong watches Yun gorge himself on chicken. Yun begins talking: "Which chicken do you thing Ming wants to eat: Japanese chicken or Joseonese chicken? Or maybe they don't like chicken at all." Stop the chatter and get on to the subject, Choongnyeong tells him, but Yun says, this is precisely the subject. "Japanese conquest is the card they've laid open, but what card are they holding?", he asks. "Diplomatic relations is like gambling." Yun talks the prince through the idea that if you want to know what Ming really wants, you have to be on the same side with them. "No master gambles with his slave."
The scholars who escaped arrest are meeting; they agree that they can't tolerate the events and must do something. Foreman Jeon is there too! "We ignorant merchants can't help much," he says, but they have a team of men and they can at least offer them that.
Ok Hwan is meeting with his secret agents. Yes, he tells them, let's help the scholars. Incite the ministry of weapons, too, and let our regional contacts know that "a war is imminent and Joseon will soon be history."
Nighttime: agents invade the residence of Han Younglo (the local official and Daion's father). They capture him and cover his mouth to keep him silent, but then a man approaches and Han recognizes him. The agents release Han. The other man is identified as Wang Ahn. Han is shocked to see Wang, who tells him, "It's been a long time." So they know each other from some time ago. Your clan used to be one of the most prominent, Wang tells Han; now you're barely making it out here in a local office. But there's talk now about taking back the country. Soon, he tells Han, a war will break out. "We have great expectations for you." Your daughter Daion, Wang says, will be the first queen of a revived Goryeo if they take the kingdom back. How would you like to be the king's farther-in-law? Han is amazed at all this. Outside the room, Daion is listening.
Daion goes to Jang Youngsil, tells him what's going on, and says to turn the men in; it's high treason and you'll become a free man for exposing it. But Jang won't do it, even as angry as he is with Han. "No matter how cruel he is to me, he is the man who brought you into this world." So don't harbor such evil thoughts, he tells her.
In the darkness, posters are posted...
Nighttime at the royal ancestral shrine: a large gathering has assembled with torches. (These may be soldiers, I'm not sure; it was just a quick shot and was dominated by bright torches. But the posters may have been to arouse the public, so some or all present might be citizens.)
On the grounds of the royal shrine, Yangnyeong is walking by himself. An attendant brings him a blanket to keep warm. But it's his would-be lover Chogungjang! She's dressed as an attendant. "The crown princess taught me this trick," she laughs. He's stunned to see her, and tells her that if she's caught here, he can't save her. But she says she'd willingly die doing something to serve him. "If you fall, the country will lose hope." And she looks longingly into his eyes.
Princes Hyoryeong, Choongnyeong and Seongnyeong are talking to their mother the queen. Go to the shrine, not the palace, she tells them; show your support for your brother. But what about the envoy?, Hyoryeong asks. She responds with frustration that we can't be afraid of an envoy. But Hyoryeong tells her that everything a prince does is twisted for the sake of politics. This infuriates her. "I'm talking about your moral duty, not politics!" If you won't go, she tells them, I will. "I will protect the crown prince even if it costs me my life!" She storms out and goes outside, where she finds the crown princess. The princess tells her, "I'd like to do my part. Please don't turn me away." The queen takes her hands and they go to the shrine with their retinues.
At the shrine, the queen orders to Gang Sangin and his men, "Stand aside!" but they won't and Gang begs her to leave. She refuses and demands to see her son. Gang kneels before her and presents her with his sword. What's this, she exclaims. "You must strike us all to clear the path," he tells her. She's fuming, but she just stands there.
The king is sitting with Hyobin, frustrated as heck about the pressure he's taking from all directions. He reaches for a drink; Hyobin grabs his arm and stops him. He glares at her, but then gathers her in his arms and they lie back....
Nighttime, inside the shrine: Yangnyeong looks at picture of King Taejo...we see visions of Taejo fighting on horseback...The prince ponders, I always wanted to be like you; no, an even stronger sovereign than you were.
The king, afterwards(!), is alone outside. Choongnyeong approaches him. The prince tells his father that the queen is concerned. "Then I can guess what you're here to talk to me about. Do you think I should release the crown prince?", the king asks blankly, knowing the answer he'll get. But the answer? "No, instead of releasing him and bringing even greater trouble upon ourselves, send the crown prince to Ming." The king turns and looks at Choongnyeong, amazed.
Choongnyeong is trying to talk his brother into apologizing to the envoy; otherwise it could provoke a war. "Are you afraid of a war?", Yangnyeong challenges. Suddenly he grabs his brother and they duck outside a wall; Gang Sangin and his soldiers have arrived. Sensing that they're here for him, Yangnyeong flees and escapes.
PM Ha speculates that the prince might be headed to round up military support; he does have friends in the military.
But the prince goes to the Confucian academy! He addresses a room full of scholars and asks them to rally behind him.
The Ming delegation is meeting with the ministers. The envoy wants to take the crown prince back to Ming with him! After all, he can't ignore someone who's so war-crazy and such a threat to Ming. He's simply too dangerous. Then the envoy launches into a conspiracy theory about how Joseon and Japan have a secret alliance. The ministers urge him not to make such unfounded statements, but the envoy says he has proof and throws a folded piece of paper in front of them. How is it possible, he asks angrily, that dozens of Japanese ships could have attacked Joseon but been driven off with less than one-tenth of their power? The ministers study the paper; it's apparently a copy of an official document detailing the Gangryeongpo incident. How did you get this, they ask him, to which he responds that their reaction confirms its authenticity.
The official records office is entered and searched by guards. Minister Byun asks what's going on but is ignored. The order is given to "confiscate every document dated September 3 and find the original."
The document, says the envoy, confirms Joseon's attempt to ally with Japan and attack Ming. Minister Hwang tells him he's jumping to conclusions and urges restraint, but the envoy restates his demands: ten thousand horses, one hundred thousand soldiers, and the crown prince to be taken back to Ming.
The ministers meet and discuss the situation. Some ministers criticize Yangnyeong, but Gim Hanlo and the two Yis defend him, saying that if he hadn't done anything, they would have. PM Ha scolds them; "The crown prince is young and he doesn't know better. But what's your excuse?" And basically tells them to knock it off.
Yangnyeong is addressing the scholars. "It is up to us to save this country Joseon!" They go outside and march as a group to the palace.
Choongnyeong is talking to Yi Su; he wonders, maybe we should try war. "We have a strong justifiable case" and "Sometimes dignity is more important than life." He storms out; Yi never got a word in.
Choongnyeong goes outside and finds himself face to face with Yangnyeong and the scholars on a busy public street. He begs his brother to turn back and not provoke the envoys any more, but Yangnyeong bluntly refuses. (Note: This seems incongruous with the previous scene; apparently the prince cooled off.) One of the scholars tells Choongnyeong, "We may be weak, but we can change the world if we rise up with righteous rage." Yun Hwe happens to be there and sees the exchange, and finally realizes that Choongnyeong is a prince. Then Yangnyeong climbs a platform and addresses the citizens. Taking off his hat and dropping it to the ground, he says, "I hereby give up my right to the royal throne." He promises the citizens that he will not turn over their taxes and their lives to fight someone else's war. Join me if you agree, he tells them, and "then I will rise up in rage with you. I will not give into any kind of pressure....and when we have emerged victorious, then I will stand again as crown prince of Joseon." The citizens cheer, as he steps down and he and the scholars resume their march.
The crown prince and scholars have begun a sit-down protest outside the envoy's quarters; they demand that Ming acknowledge its misconduct.
The king can't figure out what to do; if he just disbands these Confucian scholars by force, every scholar in the country will rise up.
A Chinese named Haishou(!) steps out in front of the building and orders the protest disbanded. When Yangnyeong refuses, he steps forward and orders his guards to wipe them out. The guards brandish their swords and move forward, but just at that moment Gang Sangin and his soldiers arrive and block off the Ming guards. Gang stoops down to the seated Yangnyeong and asks him to stop the protest, but the prince says, "I would sooner die than give in to them." Gang then says, "Forgive me your highness." On his command, four soldiers grab Yangnyeong and carry him off; other soldiers start beating and kicking the scholars. This was the king's order.
(Note: Now we can understand most of the weird sequence in Episode 9. The document copy was what was being prepared in the government office by the intruder; Haishou was the man who received the document from Foreman Jeon. I had thought Haishou was Japanese, but now we know where he comes from. And the whole thing must be a plan by Ok Hwan to bring down the Joseon regime and further his goal of restoring Goryeo. He apparently is using the Gangryeongpo incident to persuade Ming that a secret Japan/Joseon alliance exists, whether or not it actually does exist (which I guess we don’t really know yet).)
Many of the scholars are being arrested. As several others run through an alleyway, the soldiers pursuing them are suddenly cut down...by Foreman Jeon and Muby. The scholars express their gratitude; Jeon offers them a place to hide for a while.
Choongnyeong returns home and is greeted by princess Shim, who tells him that Yun Hwe is here. The prince goes inside to find Yun going through Choongnyeong's books. "I see you've been reading a lot of books. But which book gave you the ridiculous idea that we should grovel before the envoy?...Groveling will not change the outcome." And as he walks out, he says with exasperation, "How can we trust the royal court to lead the country when you royals are so dense?"
Yangnyeong is before his father. Aren't you ashamed?, the king asks angrily. But the prince fires back, Aren't YOU ashamed, father? For using force on your own people rather than the enemy? Ming is not our enemy, the king reminds him. At that moment the queen barges in. She starts arguing with her husband about the situation. "You are responsible for this pitiable domestic relation we have with Ming. Why couldn't you put your men to better service?" You should have had agents in Ming gathering information; then you'd have been better prepared and none of this would have happened. Undeterred and insistent upon punishing his son, the king calls in his attendant and orders, "Dress the crown prince in commoner's clothes and put him in disciplinary confinement at the royal shrine."
Daytime: The crown prince is walking in commoner's clothes to the shrine. Soldiers accompany him and shocked citizens line the road.
The ministers are meeting. The Mins tell PM Ha, we can't do this to the crown prince. But Hwang argues that he must be punished; if he isn't, the envoy will insist all the more that he be taken back to Ming.
Prince Hyoryeong is visiting ex-king Jeongjong. You're the only one, he tells him, who can convince the king to rescind the punishment. Please go and talk to him, he asks his uncle. Jeongjong gives in and says he'll go see the king, but it won't help. And besides, if we turn him over to Ming, it may well help avoid a war. Hyoryeong asks with distress, What if he goes; what about our future? He probably won't come back if they take him. Jeongjong's answer: "Then we have you." The prince is utterly horrified; clearly the possibility of his becoming king is something he wants no part of. But Jeongjong says, "He who cannot control his temper under danger of death does not deserve the royal throne."
But Choongnyeong and Shim are talking. "We can't challenge them and we can't grovel either...I must find a solution. That's the only way to help the crown prince."
Choongnyeong and two attendants find their way to Yun Hwe's house. As they approach, Yun is being kicked out by his wife because he asked her for money for wine. She yells at him to look around; where do you see money? "Women are such naggers," he grumbles. He gathers up belongings and turns to walk away, and sees the prince. Yun is embarrassed, but Choongnyeong tells him, "I thought we might have a drink." Yun's eyes light up. "You're buying, right?" "You'll have to help me figure a way out of this dilemma first." "I think I can handle that." (Note: This scene suggests that Yun does indeed have a real drinking problem.)
Inside a private room (not clear where), Choongnyeong watches Yun gorge himself on chicken. Yun begins talking: "Which chicken do you thing Ming wants to eat: Japanese chicken or Joseonese chicken? Or maybe they don't like chicken at all." Stop the chatter and get on to the subject, Choongnyeong tells him, but Yun says, this is precisely the subject. "Japanese conquest is the card they've laid open, but what card are they holding?", he asks. "Diplomatic relations is like gambling." Yun talks the prince through the idea that if you want to know what Ming really wants, you have to be on the same side with them. "No master gambles with his slave."
The scholars who escaped arrest are meeting; they agree that they can't tolerate the events and must do something. Foreman Jeon is there too! "We ignorant merchants can't help much," he says, but they have a team of men and they can at least offer them that.
Ok Hwan is meeting with his secret agents. Yes, he tells them, let's help the scholars. Incite the ministry of weapons, too, and let our regional contacts know that "a war is imminent and Joseon will soon be history."
Nighttime: agents invade the residence of Han Younglo (the local official and Daion's father). They capture him and cover his mouth to keep him silent, but then a man approaches and Han recognizes him. The agents release Han. The other man is identified as Wang Ahn. Han is shocked to see Wang, who tells him, "It's been a long time." So they know each other from some time ago. Your clan used to be one of the most prominent, Wang tells Han; now you're barely making it out here in a local office. But there's talk now about taking back the country. Soon, he tells Han, a war will break out. "We have great expectations for you." Your daughter Daion, Wang says, will be the first queen of a revived Goryeo if they take the kingdom back. How would you like to be the king's farther-in-law? Han is amazed at all this. Outside the room, Daion is listening.
Daion goes to Jang Youngsil, tells him what's going on, and says to turn the men in; it's high treason and you'll become a free man for exposing it. But Jang won't do it, even as angry as he is with Han. "No matter how cruel he is to me, he is the man who brought you into this world." So don't harbor such evil thoughts, he tells her.
In the darkness, posters are posted...
Nighttime at the royal ancestral shrine: a large gathering has assembled with torches. (These may be soldiers, I'm not sure; it was just a quick shot and was dominated by bright torches. But the posters may have been to arouse the public, so some or all present might be citizens.)
On the grounds of the royal shrine, Yangnyeong is walking by himself. An attendant brings him a blanket to keep warm. But it's his would-be lover Chogungjang! She's dressed as an attendant. "The crown princess taught me this trick," she laughs. He's stunned to see her, and tells her that if she's caught here, he can't save her. But she says she'd willingly die doing something to serve him. "If you fall, the country will lose hope." And she looks longingly into his eyes.
Princes Hyoryeong, Choongnyeong and Seongnyeong are talking to their mother the queen. Go to the shrine, not the palace, she tells them; show your support for your brother. But what about the envoy?, Hyoryeong asks. She responds with frustration that we can't be afraid of an envoy. But Hyoryeong tells her that everything a prince does is twisted for the sake of politics. This infuriates her. "I'm talking about your moral duty, not politics!" If you won't go, she tells them, I will. "I will protect the crown prince even if it costs me my life!" She storms out and goes outside, where she finds the crown princess. The princess tells her, "I'd like to do my part. Please don't turn me away." The queen takes her hands and they go to the shrine with their retinues.
At the shrine, the queen orders to Gang Sangin and his men, "Stand aside!" but they won't and Gang begs her to leave. She refuses and demands to see her son. Gang kneels before her and presents her with his sword. What's this, she exclaims. "You must strike us all to clear the path," he tells her. She's fuming, but she just stands there.
The king is sitting with Hyobin, frustrated as heck about the pressure he's taking from all directions. He reaches for a drink; Hyobin grabs his arm and stops him. He glares at her, but then gathers her in his arms and they lie back....
Nighttime, inside the shrine: Yangnyeong looks at picture of King Taejo...we see visions of Taejo fighting on horseback...The prince ponders, I always wanted to be like you; no, an even stronger sovereign than you were.
The king, afterwards(!), is alone outside. Choongnyeong approaches him. The prince tells his father that the queen is concerned. "Then I can guess what you're here to talk to me about. Do you think I should release the crown prince?", the king asks blankly, knowing the answer he'll get. But the answer? "No, instead of releasing him and bringing even greater trouble upon ourselves, send the crown prince to Ming." The king turns and looks at Choongnyeong, amazed.