Post by ajk on Nov 11, 2008 15:53:08 GMT -5
We see the last few minutes of Ep71--the battle begins....
"Continue firing!" The chuwa rockets keep raining down on the Jurchen supply bases, turning them into little bits of nothing much.
Li Manzhu spots the Joseon battalion attacking the supply base he's at. Choi Yundeok and Yi Chun realize they've been spotted, so they quickly redeploy to a previously planned second location.
The Uliangha troops reach the place where the Joseonese were, but nobody's there now. So Li Manzhu gets enraged and kills a few of his guardsmen. "How could you not know the enemy is coming?" Then he's about to strike Linhala down, but Haishou shows up and stops him. "Are you going to kill all of your men?" An enraged Li complains, "We lost all of our best weapons." But no, his tactician interjects, some of the cannons and gunpowder were stored elsewhere. Haishou advises, "You just have to calm down and find a way to win. Remember, Li Manzhu: Uliangha has great Ming behind you."
Yanguo (the Dongchang agent) tells Haishou, "Now we go back to Ming and report this atrocity." Haishou says, "Violating the Ming border without the emperor's consent is undoubtedly military provocation."
At Ming's Ministry of Rites: Choi Manli is there as envoy, informing Ming of the military action just as it's about to happen. Wang Zhen has received him and is none too pleased with the news. Yehjin, the Hanlin scholar, is there too. "We're asking for your understanding," Choi says; we needed to have the element of surprise on our side--please explain this to the emperor. But Wang is acting all huffy: "You thieve from us...and then ask for understanding after the fact?" (I don't even understand this argument. Wasn't Joseon supposed to have unchallenged rights to the territory once they found the Gonghumjin boundary marker? Or maybe I'm confused about which territory is at issue here.)
At the archery grounds: While Sejong shoots arrows, Yun Hwe expresses his concern that Ming will take military action. It's a worst-case scenario, he says, but it's possible. He also wonders if Choi Manli was the wisest choice to send to Ming as the envoy.
Wang Zhen informs Choi Manli that the emperor will assemble at least 50,000 troops and take punitive action once he finds out about all this. "The Pajeo River will turn red with the blood of Joseonese soldiers." But Choi presses the case that the Joseonese have taken "Unavoidable defensive action...The best defense is a good offense. Joseon's action against the Uliangha is a strategic defensive operation." Wang doesn't want to hear any more and starts to walk away, but Choi actually cuts him off and stands in front of him. "Then tell the emperor to set an example for us first. Tell him to stand by and do nothing while his enemy ravages his land and brutally murders his people. If he can do that, I'll accept anything you want...Better yet, we will go back to Joseon right now...and bring our king and make him beg for mercy until his head bleeds. What father can stand by and watch his children get murdered...Ming Chinese or Joseonese, lives are equally precious. If a king does not attempt to protect the lives of his people, he does not deserve to be king. So please consider the love of the king who is struggling to protect his people and the land which is the very foundation of their safety." It's quite a job of advocacy, but Wang walks off without a word.
Afterwards: "You said Choi Manli had strongly opposed the military campaign." Wang is talking to someone. "Yes." "His argument is too passionate to be coming from some on who opposes the king." "Perhaps that is the true power of my master the king of Joseon." Who is this other guy? He turns around; it's Jeong Changson, one of the new Hall of Worthies scholars we first saw in Ep67. This is a bizarre development. Wang smiles at him and says, "There won't be any diplomatic friction between Joseon and Ming over this military campaign." So Wang was just bluffing the whole time, apparently. Then an odd statement, delivered with a sly smile: "Choi Manli--he is almost as interesting as the king of Joseon!"
Shenzhananu (the tactician) tells Li Manzhu that more than half of their cannons and gunpowder are still intact, in Ura fort, and that casualties from the Joseon attacks were minimal because the attacks were against supplies, not soldiers. Li mulls this over and commands, "Issue the mobilization order!"
Around the Jurchen communities, we see soldiers amassing and converging; it's an impressive gathering. Li nods approval. "Advance!", he orders.
The Joseonese are lying low, awaiting the attack. Yi Chun has been scouting; he returns and tells Choi Yundeok that the intercept will occur at noon. Then we see six carrier pigeons being released...they travel with this news to each of the other six battalions. The commanders immediately start checking their mini day-night clocks.
At their battalion, Choi Haesan tells Youngsil to stay behind this time; his hands are too precious to the king and country to lose.
"Gods of heaven, gods of earth, let us win." Sejong looks out to the north.
The different battalions all watch their clocks carefully.
The leading Jurchens come across Choi's defense line. And it looks pretty measly. That big Jurchen calvary will make short work of it. "Charge!" Here they come on their horses, but all of a sudden the Joseonese start firing more of the chuwa rocket batteries. Big explosions, and the Jurchen cavalry are getting their butts handed to them. (Some great work by the horses in this scene--falling down amidst all the noise and chaos.) Li watches this in a near-panic and then orders, "Divide the troops! Attack the flanks!" So they try that (as though nobody ever thought of it before). The Joseonese proceed to charge right up the middle. And now THEY have the cavalry advantage and they cut down Jurchen soldiers left and right. The Jurchens flee.
We see the Jurchen prisoners being taken into custody. Youngsil is there and recognizes one of them as Gim Sae, the Uliangha weapons expert who had been working for Ming (we saw him two episodes earlier). He tells Gim that he's heard of his talent and offers a place for him in Joseon if he wishes.
As the prisoners are rounded up, the announcer tells us that the battle ended after ten days "with overwhelming victory for Joseon. An estimated 220 Jurchen soldiers were killed and 236 were captured." They also captured 1,200 artillery pieces and 170 head of livestock. This against only four Joseonese casualties. "The most significant achievement of this battle is that it radically increased Joseonese influence in Liaodong by expanding the reach of military activities beyond the Amnok River." Over the next fifteen years, military efforts led by Choi Yundeok and Gim Jongsuh expanded the northern frontier beyond the Amnok and Tumen Rivers. "It was Sejong's unyielding determination not to take any part of the ancestral lands lightly, the labors of his faithful men who fought with their lives to serve the king, and the blood as sweat of nameless soldiers, that came together and achieved this exciting feat."
------------------------------------
1434, 16th year of Sejong's reign: It's evening. Choi Haesan and Jang Youngsil are directing the urgent transport of a big box into the palace. It's all very hush-hush, obviously planned to be done in darkness. At 7:00 all of the palace doors are locked and all access is blocked. Why?
Inside, Sejong is impatient. "Are you afraid?", Jachi asks. No answer.
The princes are gathering, too.
The crown princess' attendant informs her, "The whole palace is astir" with activity. Meaning, her husband won't be back soon. Then we notice, in the princess' bed, a very flirtatious-looking and apparently naked young WOMAN!
Escort Han is informing the queen about what seems to be going on in the princess' chambers. The woman is a maiden named Sosang; "Not only does the princess have the girl with her all the time, but I'm told she whips anyone who does so much as look at the girl." Rumor is, she says, they're lovers. "You must bring this wicked girl in and get to the bottom of this tonight." Soheon's face shows she's angry at the news, but over Han's protests she tells her, "Let it go. Let the night pass without incident. Tonight is a very important night for his majesty and for this country. We cannot create a commotion over a concern in the inner quarters."
In the Hall of Worthies: All of the scholars are busily working away. Jeong Inji asks Yi Sunji (the astronomical-specialist scholar first seen in Ep67) if he's nervous. No, Yi says, but he proceeds to trip over his own feet and fall down. Then Jeong says, "Let's get out there now, fellows. This is a ten-year achievement!" Choi Manli, though, won't go; he says he has work to do.
Hwang Hee and other ministers are outside. The king meets up with them; he tells Hwang, "You look quite nervous, prime minister." (So now Hwang is the prime minister.) They all walk over to the Ganuidae--the new observatory, with the large astronomical instrument finished: the Ganui of Joseon. That's what was in the box. At long last, it's all finished. They're going to test it out by determining the latitude of the capital city. "We're going to measure the latitude of Hansung at last!", Sejong says. From behind, the crown prince asks, "May Jinyang do the honor?" He tells his surprised brother, "It was a promise, remember?"...Flashback to Epxx, of Youngsil making exactly that promise to Jinyang, with Hyang's approval...Flashback ending, Sejong nods his approval and compliments Hyang for being a good brother. And Jinyang steps up to the plate. Youngsil talks him through the mechanics of it, but not very much--the kid knows what he's doing. Yi Sunji, who's disappointed that he didn't get to do it, is not-so-silently hoping for a reading of 38 1/4 degrees, because that's what he's calculated on his own. And that's exactly what the Ganui says. "That is the latitude of Hansung, the capital of Joseon." Yi jumps up and down--"I was right! I was right!"—-making a big dork of himself.
The announcer tells us that Joseon had finally completed the Ganui and was able to measure latitude with a margin of error of less than one degree. Modern astronomy measures Seoul's latitude at 37.5 degrees. (So it was close enough, I guess.) Sejong is congratulated. "At last you became the master of Joseon's sky," Yun Hwe tells him. He replies, "As have you and the people of Joseon." The announcer concludes the scene by noting that Sejong's reign raised the level of astronomical and mathematical sciences in the kingdom.
Back inside, Choi Manli and Jeong Changson have an odd conversation about the Ganui and Ming's possible reaction to it. Which leads Choi to observe with suspicion, "You seem to know a lot about Ming. Perhaps too much so." And how do you know how to speak the language? Turns out, Jeong actually studied in Ming's Hanlin Academy, a piece of news that shocks Choi. Choi had never heard of a Joseonese getting into Hanlin. Jeong tells him that his father is rich (which may or may not be the reason.)
Haishou comments to Wang Zhen, "Accept Choi Manli into Hanlin Academy? That's not going to be an easy task." (Huh? Don't know where this came from.) Wang answers, "It all depends on what kind of gift we get." Wang smiles; something's up.
"The new weapon? Turn over the information about our new weapon to Ming?" Choi and Jeong are still talking. Jeong says, "It's got to be a precious gift for Ming to accept a Joseon scholar in Hanlin." He argues that Ming already knows about the weapon and might fees threatened by it, but if we share the knowledge and show our loyalty, they'll open up the academy to Joseonese students. How the heck does he know this? "A Hanlin scholar told me this." Jeong says, and seems to be sincere and earnest about it, that this could help Joseon "become Ming's equal."
Sejong finds Jo Malseng and Gim Jongsuh visiting from the north, and waiting to see him. Jo says to him, "I came to congratulate you on the success of your long-cherished endeavor." But he also has a couple of primo scoops: Li Manzhu isn't dead--he's fled to Ming; and much more importantly, "there are signs of an imminent power shift in the Ming court." He sure does know how to dig up the information. The question is, what to do about this news?
Huh Jo goes into a conference room with Meng Sasung and Hwang Hee. "Frankly, I was hoping it would fail," he tells them, although he acknowledges that with Youngsil's skill, failure wasn't likely. Then Sasung asks Hwang if he has a plan to divert Ming's attention (so they're less likely to discover Joseon's working observatory).
Yun Hwe asks Sejong about something called Muwi guards. What follows is a group of back-and-forth scenes between the Dongchang agency in Ming and a new group of agents--Muwi guards--being trained in Joseon. This is all new to us. The Muwi Guards are identified as Joseon's new secret intelligence organization.
At the Dongchang agency building: Somebody's infiltrated the place? Seriously? A squad of masked black-clad infiltrators is in a wild indoor battle with the building's guards. It's a tough one, but eventually they're subdued. Then Wang Zhen and his subordinates walk in, and we realize that this was an audition of sorts for trainee agents. And they failed it. And yet they know too much about Dongchang. Slash! The whole group is put to death right then and there. But just as it seems to be all over and quiet, one single trainee suddenly drops from the ceiling right in front of Wang, grabs Wang's own sword and holds it to his throat. Wang smiles. You pass, pal.
We see Muwi guards writing in invisible ink. We see one hold up a paper to a candle to reveal the message. Yun Hwe explains to Sejong that the heating-ink method is old and "every child knows this." The Muwi guards, he explains, will use corn starch and iodine, which apparently is a new, unknown method for accomplishing the same thing. We see them learning this method.
At Dongchang, trainees are assembling written Chinese characters using wooden pieces. It's some kind of an exercise in learning secret codes.
As Sejong watches, Yun Hwe tells Sejong that the Muwi have been taught Dongchang codes. And we watch the Muwi arm themselves, including putting throwing-knives into wrist holders just like the Dongchang agents have.
We see Dongchang trainees perfecting their knife-throwing skills by killing prisoners who have been turned loose in a forest.
Gang Hui presents Sejong with a report on the Muwi candidate with the highest scores. "He has also undergone castration without any hesitation," Gang says. (Which ought to knock points off his score right there, shouldn't it? Ouch!)
"Strong eyes. I like that." In his office, Wang Zhen is facing the trainee who dropped from the ceiling. The trainee takes off his mask. It's POONGAE!
Yun Hwe asks Sejong, "Do you think the Muwi guards can win?" "We were taught by the enemy," Sejong answers. "I think Dongchang is a pretty good teacher, don't you?"
Wang asks Poongae, "What is your goal?" "To surpass you and take your place." Wang laughs. "You've got guts as well."
Sejong thinks they're ready. "Sometimes the pupil does surpass his teacher. It's time for Joseon's Muwi guards to put Dongchang in its proper place."
Wang tells Poongae, "I want you to get rid of a pesky character for me. Then I will accept you as my disciple." Poongae asks, "Who do you want dead?" Wang smiles.
"Continue firing!" The chuwa rockets keep raining down on the Jurchen supply bases, turning them into little bits of nothing much.
Li Manzhu spots the Joseon battalion attacking the supply base he's at. Choi Yundeok and Yi Chun realize they've been spotted, so they quickly redeploy to a previously planned second location.
The Uliangha troops reach the place where the Joseonese were, but nobody's there now. So Li Manzhu gets enraged and kills a few of his guardsmen. "How could you not know the enemy is coming?" Then he's about to strike Linhala down, but Haishou shows up and stops him. "Are you going to kill all of your men?" An enraged Li complains, "We lost all of our best weapons." But no, his tactician interjects, some of the cannons and gunpowder were stored elsewhere. Haishou advises, "You just have to calm down and find a way to win. Remember, Li Manzhu: Uliangha has great Ming behind you."
Yanguo (the Dongchang agent) tells Haishou, "Now we go back to Ming and report this atrocity." Haishou says, "Violating the Ming border without the emperor's consent is undoubtedly military provocation."
At Ming's Ministry of Rites: Choi Manli is there as envoy, informing Ming of the military action just as it's about to happen. Wang Zhen has received him and is none too pleased with the news. Yehjin, the Hanlin scholar, is there too. "We're asking for your understanding," Choi says; we needed to have the element of surprise on our side--please explain this to the emperor. But Wang is acting all huffy: "You thieve from us...and then ask for understanding after the fact?" (I don't even understand this argument. Wasn't Joseon supposed to have unchallenged rights to the territory once they found the Gonghumjin boundary marker? Or maybe I'm confused about which territory is at issue here.)
At the archery grounds: While Sejong shoots arrows, Yun Hwe expresses his concern that Ming will take military action. It's a worst-case scenario, he says, but it's possible. He also wonders if Choi Manli was the wisest choice to send to Ming as the envoy.
Wang Zhen informs Choi Manli that the emperor will assemble at least 50,000 troops and take punitive action once he finds out about all this. "The Pajeo River will turn red with the blood of Joseonese soldiers." But Choi presses the case that the Joseonese have taken "Unavoidable defensive action...The best defense is a good offense. Joseon's action against the Uliangha is a strategic defensive operation." Wang doesn't want to hear any more and starts to walk away, but Choi actually cuts him off and stands in front of him. "Then tell the emperor to set an example for us first. Tell him to stand by and do nothing while his enemy ravages his land and brutally murders his people. If he can do that, I'll accept anything you want...Better yet, we will go back to Joseon right now...and bring our king and make him beg for mercy until his head bleeds. What father can stand by and watch his children get murdered...Ming Chinese or Joseonese, lives are equally precious. If a king does not attempt to protect the lives of his people, he does not deserve to be king. So please consider the love of the king who is struggling to protect his people and the land which is the very foundation of their safety." It's quite a job of advocacy, but Wang walks off without a word.
Afterwards: "You said Choi Manli had strongly opposed the military campaign." Wang is talking to someone. "Yes." "His argument is too passionate to be coming from some on who opposes the king." "Perhaps that is the true power of my master the king of Joseon." Who is this other guy? He turns around; it's Jeong Changson, one of the new Hall of Worthies scholars we first saw in Ep67. This is a bizarre development. Wang smiles at him and says, "There won't be any diplomatic friction between Joseon and Ming over this military campaign." So Wang was just bluffing the whole time, apparently. Then an odd statement, delivered with a sly smile: "Choi Manli--he is almost as interesting as the king of Joseon!"
Shenzhananu (the tactician) tells Li Manzhu that more than half of their cannons and gunpowder are still intact, in Ura fort, and that casualties from the Joseon attacks were minimal because the attacks were against supplies, not soldiers. Li mulls this over and commands, "Issue the mobilization order!"
Around the Jurchen communities, we see soldiers amassing and converging; it's an impressive gathering. Li nods approval. "Advance!", he orders.
The Joseonese are lying low, awaiting the attack. Yi Chun has been scouting; he returns and tells Choi Yundeok that the intercept will occur at noon. Then we see six carrier pigeons being released...they travel with this news to each of the other six battalions. The commanders immediately start checking their mini day-night clocks.
At their battalion, Choi Haesan tells Youngsil to stay behind this time; his hands are too precious to the king and country to lose.
"Gods of heaven, gods of earth, let us win." Sejong looks out to the north.
The different battalions all watch their clocks carefully.
The leading Jurchens come across Choi's defense line. And it looks pretty measly. That big Jurchen calvary will make short work of it. "Charge!" Here they come on their horses, but all of a sudden the Joseonese start firing more of the chuwa rocket batteries. Big explosions, and the Jurchen cavalry are getting their butts handed to them. (Some great work by the horses in this scene--falling down amidst all the noise and chaos.) Li watches this in a near-panic and then orders, "Divide the troops! Attack the flanks!" So they try that (as though nobody ever thought of it before). The Joseonese proceed to charge right up the middle. And now THEY have the cavalry advantage and they cut down Jurchen soldiers left and right. The Jurchens flee.
We see the Jurchen prisoners being taken into custody. Youngsil is there and recognizes one of them as Gim Sae, the Uliangha weapons expert who had been working for Ming (we saw him two episodes earlier). He tells Gim that he's heard of his talent and offers a place for him in Joseon if he wishes.
As the prisoners are rounded up, the announcer tells us that the battle ended after ten days "with overwhelming victory for Joseon. An estimated 220 Jurchen soldiers were killed and 236 were captured." They also captured 1,200 artillery pieces and 170 head of livestock. This against only four Joseonese casualties. "The most significant achievement of this battle is that it radically increased Joseonese influence in Liaodong by expanding the reach of military activities beyond the Amnok River." Over the next fifteen years, military efforts led by Choi Yundeok and Gim Jongsuh expanded the northern frontier beyond the Amnok and Tumen Rivers. "It was Sejong's unyielding determination not to take any part of the ancestral lands lightly, the labors of his faithful men who fought with their lives to serve the king, and the blood as sweat of nameless soldiers, that came together and achieved this exciting feat."
------------------------------------
1434, 16th year of Sejong's reign: It's evening. Choi Haesan and Jang Youngsil are directing the urgent transport of a big box into the palace. It's all very hush-hush, obviously planned to be done in darkness. At 7:00 all of the palace doors are locked and all access is blocked. Why?
Inside, Sejong is impatient. "Are you afraid?", Jachi asks. No answer.
The princes are gathering, too.
The crown princess' attendant informs her, "The whole palace is astir" with activity. Meaning, her husband won't be back soon. Then we notice, in the princess' bed, a very flirtatious-looking and apparently naked young WOMAN!
Escort Han is informing the queen about what seems to be going on in the princess' chambers. The woman is a maiden named Sosang; "Not only does the princess have the girl with her all the time, but I'm told she whips anyone who does so much as look at the girl." Rumor is, she says, they're lovers. "You must bring this wicked girl in and get to the bottom of this tonight." Soheon's face shows she's angry at the news, but over Han's protests she tells her, "Let it go. Let the night pass without incident. Tonight is a very important night for his majesty and for this country. We cannot create a commotion over a concern in the inner quarters."
In the Hall of Worthies: All of the scholars are busily working away. Jeong Inji asks Yi Sunji (the astronomical-specialist scholar first seen in Ep67) if he's nervous. No, Yi says, but he proceeds to trip over his own feet and fall down. Then Jeong says, "Let's get out there now, fellows. This is a ten-year achievement!" Choi Manli, though, won't go; he says he has work to do.
Hwang Hee and other ministers are outside. The king meets up with them; he tells Hwang, "You look quite nervous, prime minister." (So now Hwang is the prime minister.) They all walk over to the Ganuidae--the new observatory, with the large astronomical instrument finished: the Ganui of Joseon. That's what was in the box. At long last, it's all finished. They're going to test it out by determining the latitude of the capital city. "We're going to measure the latitude of Hansung at last!", Sejong says. From behind, the crown prince asks, "May Jinyang do the honor?" He tells his surprised brother, "It was a promise, remember?"...Flashback to Epxx, of Youngsil making exactly that promise to Jinyang, with Hyang's approval...Flashback ending, Sejong nods his approval and compliments Hyang for being a good brother. And Jinyang steps up to the plate. Youngsil talks him through the mechanics of it, but not very much--the kid knows what he's doing. Yi Sunji, who's disappointed that he didn't get to do it, is not-so-silently hoping for a reading of 38 1/4 degrees, because that's what he's calculated on his own. And that's exactly what the Ganui says. "That is the latitude of Hansung, the capital of Joseon." Yi jumps up and down--"I was right! I was right!"—-making a big dork of himself.
The announcer tells us that Joseon had finally completed the Ganui and was able to measure latitude with a margin of error of less than one degree. Modern astronomy measures Seoul's latitude at 37.5 degrees. (So it was close enough, I guess.) Sejong is congratulated. "At last you became the master of Joseon's sky," Yun Hwe tells him. He replies, "As have you and the people of Joseon." The announcer concludes the scene by noting that Sejong's reign raised the level of astronomical and mathematical sciences in the kingdom.
Back inside, Choi Manli and Jeong Changson have an odd conversation about the Ganui and Ming's possible reaction to it. Which leads Choi to observe with suspicion, "You seem to know a lot about Ming. Perhaps too much so." And how do you know how to speak the language? Turns out, Jeong actually studied in Ming's Hanlin Academy, a piece of news that shocks Choi. Choi had never heard of a Joseonese getting into Hanlin. Jeong tells him that his father is rich (which may or may not be the reason.)
Haishou comments to Wang Zhen, "Accept Choi Manli into Hanlin Academy? That's not going to be an easy task." (Huh? Don't know where this came from.) Wang answers, "It all depends on what kind of gift we get." Wang smiles; something's up.
"The new weapon? Turn over the information about our new weapon to Ming?" Choi and Jeong are still talking. Jeong says, "It's got to be a precious gift for Ming to accept a Joseon scholar in Hanlin." He argues that Ming already knows about the weapon and might fees threatened by it, but if we share the knowledge and show our loyalty, they'll open up the academy to Joseonese students. How the heck does he know this? "A Hanlin scholar told me this." Jeong says, and seems to be sincere and earnest about it, that this could help Joseon "become Ming's equal."
Sejong finds Jo Malseng and Gim Jongsuh visiting from the north, and waiting to see him. Jo says to him, "I came to congratulate you on the success of your long-cherished endeavor." But he also has a couple of primo scoops: Li Manzhu isn't dead--he's fled to Ming; and much more importantly, "there are signs of an imminent power shift in the Ming court." He sure does know how to dig up the information. The question is, what to do about this news?
Huh Jo goes into a conference room with Meng Sasung and Hwang Hee. "Frankly, I was hoping it would fail," he tells them, although he acknowledges that with Youngsil's skill, failure wasn't likely. Then Sasung asks Hwang if he has a plan to divert Ming's attention (so they're less likely to discover Joseon's working observatory).
Yun Hwe asks Sejong about something called Muwi guards. What follows is a group of back-and-forth scenes between the Dongchang agency in Ming and a new group of agents--Muwi guards--being trained in Joseon. This is all new to us. The Muwi Guards are identified as Joseon's new secret intelligence organization.
At the Dongchang agency building: Somebody's infiltrated the place? Seriously? A squad of masked black-clad infiltrators is in a wild indoor battle with the building's guards. It's a tough one, but eventually they're subdued. Then Wang Zhen and his subordinates walk in, and we realize that this was an audition of sorts for trainee agents. And they failed it. And yet they know too much about Dongchang. Slash! The whole group is put to death right then and there. But just as it seems to be all over and quiet, one single trainee suddenly drops from the ceiling right in front of Wang, grabs Wang's own sword and holds it to his throat. Wang smiles. You pass, pal.
We see Muwi guards writing in invisible ink. We see one hold up a paper to a candle to reveal the message. Yun Hwe explains to Sejong that the heating-ink method is old and "every child knows this." The Muwi guards, he explains, will use corn starch and iodine, which apparently is a new, unknown method for accomplishing the same thing. We see them learning this method.
At Dongchang, trainees are assembling written Chinese characters using wooden pieces. It's some kind of an exercise in learning secret codes.
As Sejong watches, Yun Hwe tells Sejong that the Muwi have been taught Dongchang codes. And we watch the Muwi arm themselves, including putting throwing-knives into wrist holders just like the Dongchang agents have.
We see Dongchang trainees perfecting their knife-throwing skills by killing prisoners who have been turned loose in a forest.
Gang Hui presents Sejong with a report on the Muwi candidate with the highest scores. "He has also undergone castration without any hesitation," Gang says. (Which ought to knock points off his score right there, shouldn't it? Ouch!)
"Strong eyes. I like that." In his office, Wang Zhen is facing the trainee who dropped from the ceiling. The trainee takes off his mask. It's POONGAE!
Yun Hwe asks Sejong, "Do you think the Muwi guards can win?" "We were taught by the enemy," Sejong answers. "I think Dongchang is a pretty good teacher, don't you?"
Wang asks Poongae, "What is your goal?" "To surpass you and take your place." Wang laughs. "You've got guts as well."
Sejong thinks they're ready. "Sometimes the pupil does surpass his teacher. It's time for Joseon's Muwi guards to put Dongchang in its proper place."
Wang tells Poongae, "I want you to get rid of a pesky character for me. Then I will accept you as my disciple." Poongae asks, "Who do you want dead?" Wang smiles.