Post by ajk on Nov 29, 2009 16:15:06 GMT -5
This episode begins with us wondering if Ahn Pae really did go to the right-guard camp, like Yi Hyunoon said he did, and gave them the same story that Hyunoon gave the left-guard camp. Because if he did, the entire Goryean defense line will probably collapse down to a single point, one that the Khitans can and will attack on at least three sides and maybe even surround.
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Same evening, center-guard camp: The Goryeans are still scrambling to set up defensive positions when Khitan units arrive and start attacking. Gang Jo exhorts the Goryeans to fight.
Meanwhile, Kim Hoon and Choe Jil are leading a large group of troops. These must be the right guard troops, so yes, Ahn Pae did indeed deliver the fake request for emergency backup. They round a bend and find Yelu Dilie and LOTS of Khitans waiting for them. It's an ambush, and the Goryeans are sitting ducks. Before we know it, Goryeans are getting slaughtered left and right. (Have to credit some great stunt work here--guys taking direct hits from flaming arrows. Impressive stuff.) Choe and Kim order a retreat back to their camp, but now there are more Khitans cutting off their line of retreat. This looks VERY bad....
Back at the center camp: "It's like they know our strategy," says a frustrated Yu Bang. "There must be a spy among us!" News arrives that the right guards have been obliterated. Gang Jo orders Yu to take his troops and retreat back to Tongju and regroup. Yu orders the Elite Striking Guards to fall back (apparently he's their leader again after being demoted), and Jo's troops bravely hold off the Khitans to let them escape. Even attendant Yu is fighting, and holding his own surprisingly well for a eunuch. Then several of the Khitan generals show up. Yelu Pennu steps up to challenge Gang Jo. We expect a major duel here but Jo quickly wounds Pennu. He's about to kill him but then the other generals interfere and now it's not a fair fight any more. Yelu Wuji and Pennu double-team Jo; Pennu gets an axe into Jo's shoulder, or at least into the armor. Jo holds on to the axe and drives his spear into Pennu's abdomen. Wuji gets in a sword-slash to Jo's leg and he falls to the ground, but takes Pennu with him, hanging onto his spear. Both Jo and Pennu lay there wounded. At that, Yelu Wiju orders the few remaining Goryeans to drop their swords and surrender, which they do upon seeing Jo helpless. Wiju glowers over Jo and tells the Goryeans, "Witness the death of a fool who dares to fight Great Liao!" He steps up to deliver a killing blow...but is stopped by Xiao Baiya, who arrives in the camp at that very moment. And look who's right behind him: Yi Hyunoon and Ahn Pae. "Bind him and take him to the emperor alive," he orders Wiju. "It will make him very pleased and make the warriors look good as well." (Wiju should have realized that himself! Idiot.) Jo goes ballistic at the sight of Yi and Ahn; he lunges for them but is knocked unconscious. And Pennu? Jo managed to deliver a fatal blow; Pennu is dead.
Hogyeong (Now they're calling it Hogyeong again? Oh for a little continuity): Cheonchu and the Choongju soldiers arrive. Cheonchu tells Dae Dosu that she's on her way to Tongju to see Gang Jo, and they've stopped here for food and water. Dae Dosu tells her that Tongju is under attack now and unsafe to approach. Tak Sajeong offers to have a message sent to Jo for her "if you would write a letter." As though she'd possibly go along with that. No, she says, I must see him personally. Kim Jonghyun, the steward, suggests to Cheonchu that they all rest here for the night; the soldiers are exhausted from the journey. She agrees.
Khitan camp: Emperor Shengzong is shown Pennu's body. He's momentarily shocked, but he orders the body sent home and given a proper burial. "He died honorably as a warrior of great Liao." Then Shengzong addresses Jo, who is bound and kneeling before him. Attendant Yu and Jo's assistant Noh Hui were captured with Jo and we see them behind him. Jo wants no part of any conversation with the Khitan emperor; all he wants is for Yi and Ahn brought before him. Shengzong actually agrees and orders Yi and Ahn brought to them. Then he tells Jo, "I've always known about your talent, but you are indeed a magnificent fighter. I do not wish to kill a fearless man like you. Won't you surrender and become my vassal?" (He's encountered Jo twice before in the series and knows him well.) Jo laughs. "I've been betrayed by my own men and defeated, so dispense with the absurdity and kill me right now. But it won't make a difference because Goryeo has countless warriors many times superior than I am. So I suggest you run while you can." Sensing a bluff, as soon as Yi and Ahn are brought in Shengzong asks them if Jo is telling the truth. "No, Your Majesty," Yi says; "when it comes to fighting skills, Gang Jo is unmatched in all of Goryeo." Jo seethes. Yi and Ahn want to know if Shengzong will now accept them. He replies, "Vow your loyalty to me once again right here, and I will accept you as my subjects." Which they do right away, on their knees. At that Jo staggers to his feet and lunges for the pair, delivering a kick to Yi's face that bloodies him and knocks him down. "You bastards! You are Goryeans! I swear to you I will take your heads off!" Jo is hauled away, screaming vengeance at the two turncoats. Then Yelu Dilu reports to the emperor that the remaining Goryeans from the center-guard camp retreated to Tongju.
Evening, Tongju Fort: The Khitans don't waste any time. Yelu Wuji and a huge army arrive at the main gate and announce Gang Jo's capture. He demands their surrender; Dae Dosu rebukes him, and the Khitans immediately attack. Another classic fort battle; archers, ladders, the usual. This time the Khitans appear to have brought the more straightforward catapults instead of the more powerful but more cumbersome trebuchets. In the middle of it all Yelu Wuji screams, "Women and wine are within our reach! Attack!" (For some reason I thought that was worth including. Wuji is one weird dude.) The Khitans seemed to have learned some lessons from their failure at Heunghwajin, because this time they're getting to the walls and scaling them much more quickly. And very soon it's hand-to-hand mayhem atop the walls.
Khitan Camp: "They're still resisting?" Shengzong gets the news at the same time we do; apparently the battle has been going on for a while now and the Goryeans are doing better than it first appeared. Shengzong can't believe it and is screaming mad: "What's their motivation when Gang Jo has been taken prisoner?" He's told that Jo's capture is inspiring them to fight to the death. The last thing he wanted to hear. "How many bloody days have we wasted here and in Heunghwajin? We must get to Gaegyeong and capture the emperor!" Yelu Dilu gingerly points out the obvious: "Forgive me, Your Majesty. We are the best when it comes to prairie wars but siege warfare is not exactly our strong suit." Shengzong decides to forego conquering Tongju and head south by another route. This is very risky because it increases their exposure to a rear attack, but Shengzong doesn't see it that way: "It doesn't matter. Once we have the emperor, there's nothing they can do." Hmmm.... And what to do with Gang Jo? Yelu Dilie suggests killing him and displaying his head when they attack: "It will crush the enemy's fighting spirit and bring them down instantly." But Shengzong wants to keep him alive and make him his servant. (Really? Like mother, like son.)
The next day: The Khitan forces are on the move southward again. Gang Jo and the other prisoners, their arms bound, are under guard and walking with their captors. (Amazing that Jo walks without no limp! What recuperative powers. Gotta love TV.) The Khitans are bristling with confidence; you can see their high morale in their faces.
Hogyeong Fort: Cheonchu and Dae Dosu are atop the main gate when the massive Khitan force shows up. Captain Noh Hui, his arms still bound, is pushed forward within shouting distance of the gate. He tells the Goryeans of Jo's capture. "So lay down you arms and surrender!", he shouts; "This war is over!" (Wow, is this guy gutless when the chips are down.) Cheonchu steps forward. "How dare you utter this baseless lie!" For the moment, a standoff, because the Goryeans don't believe Jo was captured. While they all at each other, Yelu Dilie realizes who that woman is, standing up there atop the gate.
"Are you certain it was Dowager Cheonchu?" Dilie has gone right back to Shengzong and reported it. "I've dreamed of seeing her again, and she came to greet me personally! I shall go and see her." That's ridiculous, of course, and Dilie rightly tells him it would be too dangerous. "No, this is the moment I've been waiting for," he says, apparently still smarting from losing that archery match twenty years ago. "I will see the wench myself, so make the preparations!" (Seriously?)
Yes, seriously. Back at Tongju Fort, Shengzong's carriage is brought forward and parked within easy shooting distance of the Goryean archers. The emperor sits in his carriage and he and Cheonchu have a chat. "Sister, it's been a while...It's good to see you looking so well...Aren't you happy to see your younger brother?" That kind of thing. (Remember, two of them established sibling ties by that blood ceremony in Ep52.) He's enjoying needling her and she keeps answering him, which just eggs him on. She fires an arrow at him; it's deflected by the scythe weapon of one of his guards. (Every other Goryean archer on the wall just stands there. Explain that.) Then Gang Jo is brought forward to prove that he's been captured. "How do you feel now, sis?" Then Jo gives an impassioned speech to the Goryeans to fight to the end and not to fear the enemy. The Khitans courteously allow him to deliver this inspiration, without gagging him, before hauling him back behind enemy lines. "You have exactly two hours," Shengzong tells them. "If you choose to fight, every living creature in that city will be incinerated!" (Even the cats? You scumbag!) His carriage is turned around and led way. (A very silly scene.)
Back inside the fort: A difference of opinion about what to do. Choi and Tak are the biggest whiners and want to surrender; Dae Dosu and Gang Mincheom want to fight. Cheonchu says she's fighting to the death and so will everybody else, and that's final. (Why are they all listening to her? Not that they shouldn't, but she's not in power any more and there's no explanation or storyline to explain why they're all suddenly willing to let her call the shots.) So Choi offers up a plan. "We can't fight them head on," he says, "so let us sneak out of the city while they are waiting and surprise them with a raid." And the raid will rescue Gang Jo. How to sneak out with a 200,000-man army nearby? "That's why we must first divert their attention." Choi tells Cheonchu, "If you and your men can hold their attention, General Dae will take his men out through the east gate, and Minister Choi and I can slip out the west gate for a pincer attack." (Boy, I don't know, can this guy really be trusted? Seems like he might just turn tail and run.)
Yi Hyunoon and Ahn Pae are brought before Shengzong. "There is something you must do for me," he tells them casually. "I want you to persuade Gang Jo and turn him around." That's not likely, to put it mildly, and they both know it. Hyunoon even recommends that Jo be executed right away. But the emperor wants them to try. "If you can persuade Gang Jo to serve me, I will grant you high posts in my court. Can you do it?" Of course they won't be able to, but it's quite an offer and they're not the type of guys to say no to it.
In a Khitan jail: We see Gang Jo and attendant Yu sitting in a cell together. Yi and Ahn show up; they're actually going to try to talk him into it. But Jo does the talking. He wants to know if they killed Mokjong. They deny it and insist that Mokjong committed suicide. But attendant Yu is right there to call their bluff: "You lie! The empress dowager witnessed the murder herself!" Jo doesn't believe them either, and Yu realizes why the two betrayed their country: "They must have done this because they knew I was coming to see you and got scared." (Bingo. Smart guy.) They try to tempt him, telling him he can become a high minister in the Khitan court, and reminding him that he's not even a Goryean, he's a Balhaean. But that does as much good as we knew it would: "Go back and deliver my message. I'd rather have a sword stuck down my throat than become a dog to the barbarians like you have! And I swear to you I will come back from the dead to kill you both." So there.
Well, you just knew. In private, Tak asks Choi if he has a death wish. Hardly. "Let them die fighting if that's what they want," Choi tells him. "We will pretend to fight and sneak off to Gaegyeong."
Ji Chaemun takes Cheonchu into an unoccupied room and privately tells her about her son being alive. The whole story: Dokyun, the Goryean raid, the switching of the two children.
We see the boy Hwangju sleeping in a room while Dokyun and Mobula are talking. "The Prime Minister of Liao said this? That the child might unite the tribes and become our leader?" Dokyun has told him what Prime Minister Han said. Dokyun wonders, "This child has an extraordinary lineage, so isn't it quite possible?" Mobula's subordinate is there and has listened to this; he tells Mobula, "then perhaps the old prophecy is true. Don't you remember the prophecy?" Mobula does. "That fanciful tale about a foreigner uniting the tribes and erecting a great empire?" He doesn't seem all that sold on it, but his assistant does. "It may be fanciful, but many of us believe the prophecy." Dokyun looks almost mesmerized by the idea. "Is there really such a prophecy? If there is, I will give my life to its realization. I will live the rest of my life as a Jurchen for this child." Mobula looks at her sternly and tells her, "If that child is indeed the one foretold by the prophecy, he will pass the test as well." "The test?" (What test? Not gonna tell us just now.)
Ji Chaemun also tells Cheonchu that Jo Sun ordered Yang Kyu to find and kill Hwangju. She realizes this means that Lady Yunheung knows Hwangju is alive. Please keep all of this quiet, Cheonchu tells Ji.
The two hours have passed and it's now evening. Shengzong's carriage is back within chatting distance of the fort walls. "Have you given it some thought, sister?" More of this, ugh. But now Cheonchu tries to engage him in a meaningful conversation. First she tells him that she can't decide to surrender but could send a message to the royal court and recommend it. She says it like the Goryeans have been seriously considering it. Then they bicker about why he's invading Goryeo and whether or not Liao will empty its treasury trying to subjugate the inevitable resistance that will flare up even if they do win the war. "I could withdraw my army," he says, "if your emperor kneels before me and swears loyalty." And one other thing: "You will have to kneel before me as well, of course." She's not taking any of this seriously, of course; she's stalling him.
Meanwhile, at the west gate: Choi's and Tak's forces exit. Choi orders everyone to head south to Gaegyeong. The subordinates know it means leaving Dae Dosu's men to fend for themselves, and they don't like it. But they obey.
On the east flank, Dae Dosu's forces dutifully launch their raid. The Khitans scramble into defensive positions. Intense hand-to-hand fighting in the Khitan camp...but as it goes on, Dae starts to realize that something's wrong. Where are Choi and Tak? Word comes to him that they fled to Gaegyeong with their men. Now what? He orders Ji Chaemun to take as many soldiers as possible and retreat. "I've got you covered." Ji refuses to leave him behind, but Dae orders him to go under threat of insubordination. "I will not let my men die in vain for a failed mission." So Ji follows the order, and Dae turns back into the battle and fights on.
Back at the north gate: Word about the raid reaches Shengzong. "You wench! You tricked me!" Cheonchu answers, "Did you really think that the empress dowager of Great Goryeo would really surrender? You're dumber than you look." (Hey, score one for the lady!) Shengzong is infuriated and orders an immediate attack, and Khitans sweep forward to the fort walls....
Dae Dosu is thrown into Gang Jo's jail cell. So he didn't die on the battlefield at least.
The attack is on. Ladder-climbers are getting shot down, burned with boiling liquid, bonked with boulders, the usual. But some are making it up the walls and the hand-to-hand starts. The Khitans now have some spear-launching gadgets that pack a mean wallop, with impressive accuracy. And they've brought some king of a giant battering-ram contraption on wheels to work on the gate itself. Atop the walls we start to see citizens helping, bringing forward bales of hay, which are lit and dumped on the wall-climbers. (More excellent stunt work here; guys running around on fire.) Cheonchu is in the middle of it all firing arrow after arrow. The hand-to-hand atop the walls is continuing and it's getting bloody....
The next morning: No more fighting; it's eerily still. Death is everywhere, in front of the fort and atop the walls. A horrible scene.
"You're still struggling to big down that tiny fort with 200,000 men?!" Once again Shengzong gets news he doesn't like. This one makes him especially mad because he wants revenge on Cheonchu so badly. But Xiao Baiya talks sense to him: "She's been removed from her seat of power. She's worthless to us. What's more, our army is weak when it comes to siege warfare. The quickest way to win this war is to proceed to Gaegyeong and capture the Goryean emperor." Yelu Dilu agrees, pointing out that further delay only increases the chance they'll be attacked from the rear. Shengzong seethes; he really wants this one.
Inside the city: The wounded are being tended to. Lots of wounded. But from inside, we hear a horn. It's the Khitan retreat horn. The Goryeans all scramble to the walls and go bananas at the sight of the Khitans falling back and pulling away.
"General Gang Jo has been taken prisoner?" Generals Choi and Tak are back in the capital and deliver their report to the emperor at a state council meeting. They have nothing but bad news to deliver. Ministers urge Hyeonjong to leave the capital and head south. Hyeonjong refuses to leave his people in the capital and run, but Gamchan urges him to leave. "Gaegyeong is unprepared to fight off the Khitan if they should attack. And if they get to you, the empire is certain to fall. You must suppress your rage and desire to fight and leave the city." Then Kim Shimun pipes up, suggesting that surrender is also an option. Gamchan responds just like we expect: "That again? Minister Kim, surrender means Goryeo will seize to exist. You would become a servant to the Khitan to save your life?" Even without Gang Jo, the military situation is still unresolved, he points out. "We must leave the city and observe the developments from safety, Your Majesty." More calls for surrender from the weasels; Choe Hang argues for the fight to continue. Finally Hyeonjong says he'll take Gamchan's advice. "The last thing I wish to do is flee, but we will put our faith in General Yang Kyu and Kim Sukheung and wait for our chance to defeat the enemy. Prepare to leave the city."
Jo Sun tells Lady Yunheung that Gang Jo was taken prisoner and that the emperor will flee the capital. She fears for her own safety should the Khitans capture the capital, so she seriously considers fleeing too.
In the capital: Ha Gongjin spots Ji Chaemun and Yu Jong, now back from the battle at Tongju. Ji tells Ha that Dae Dosu was captured because of Choi and Tak's failure to fight. Just then who should walk into the picture but Choi and Tak with their subordinates. Choi and Tak se Ji and freeze. Ji confronts them head-on: "Minister Choi, how could you? How could you run when you're supposed to attack the enemy from the other side?" Choi denies it and claims they fought hard until being repulsed. And Tak warns him, "Do not go around spreading false rumors if you wish to keep your head!" And they brashly walk on.
We see the imperial party heading south. The emperor and empress are together in a carriage, Wonjeong looking none too comfortable so close to her husband. We see Lady Yunheung walking in the party, too. Sunjeong is also there, along with many ministers and a large contingent of soldiers.
We see the Khitan army advancing further south.
Good news arrives at Goryean military headquarters: Yang Kyu did indeed launch that rear-attacking action he planned, and he managed to retake Gwokju Fort. Narration tells us that Gwokju was the first fort captured by the Khitans in their advance after they failed to conquer Heunghwajin and Tongju. This was a major factor in the war's outcome, we're told, because it cut the Khitan supply line route and cut their retreat route. (Surprised we didn't see any of this in the storyline.)
Tongju: Cheonchu tells Choe Jil and Kim Hoon she wants to follow the Khitan army south to Gaegyeong to try to rescue Gang Jo. It's too dangerous, Choe and Kim tell her. She wants to take 100 men to rescue him or at least "retrieve his body. I owe him that." This seems unnecessarily risky, but Choe and Kim both selflessly offer to go with her.
Gaegyeong: We see Shengzong and the Khitans enter the now-vacated imperial palace. Wow--a jarring sight.
We see Cheonchu and her 100 men moving south.
In the jail cell: They captured Goryeans have just heard the palace was captured. Devastating news. "We can't just give up like this," Gang Jo tells Dae Dosu. "Would you walk into death with me? I will not end my life in this humiliating way. Let us die fighting the enemy like honorable men. Let us kill as many Khitans as we can, and heaven willing, use our every last ounce of strength to kill the Khitan emperor. And have our last laugh before we die. For our country Goryeo."
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Same evening, center-guard camp: The Goryeans are still scrambling to set up defensive positions when Khitan units arrive and start attacking. Gang Jo exhorts the Goryeans to fight.
Meanwhile, Kim Hoon and Choe Jil are leading a large group of troops. These must be the right guard troops, so yes, Ahn Pae did indeed deliver the fake request for emergency backup. They round a bend and find Yelu Dilie and LOTS of Khitans waiting for them. It's an ambush, and the Goryeans are sitting ducks. Before we know it, Goryeans are getting slaughtered left and right. (Have to credit some great stunt work here--guys taking direct hits from flaming arrows. Impressive stuff.) Choe and Kim order a retreat back to their camp, but now there are more Khitans cutting off their line of retreat. This looks VERY bad....
Back at the center camp: "It's like they know our strategy," says a frustrated Yu Bang. "There must be a spy among us!" News arrives that the right guards have been obliterated. Gang Jo orders Yu to take his troops and retreat back to Tongju and regroup. Yu orders the Elite Striking Guards to fall back (apparently he's their leader again after being demoted), and Jo's troops bravely hold off the Khitans to let them escape. Even attendant Yu is fighting, and holding his own surprisingly well for a eunuch. Then several of the Khitan generals show up. Yelu Pennu steps up to challenge Gang Jo. We expect a major duel here but Jo quickly wounds Pennu. He's about to kill him but then the other generals interfere and now it's not a fair fight any more. Yelu Wuji and Pennu double-team Jo; Pennu gets an axe into Jo's shoulder, or at least into the armor. Jo holds on to the axe and drives his spear into Pennu's abdomen. Wuji gets in a sword-slash to Jo's leg and he falls to the ground, but takes Pennu with him, hanging onto his spear. Both Jo and Pennu lay there wounded. At that, Yelu Wiju orders the few remaining Goryeans to drop their swords and surrender, which they do upon seeing Jo helpless. Wiju glowers over Jo and tells the Goryeans, "Witness the death of a fool who dares to fight Great Liao!" He steps up to deliver a killing blow...but is stopped by Xiao Baiya, who arrives in the camp at that very moment. And look who's right behind him: Yi Hyunoon and Ahn Pae. "Bind him and take him to the emperor alive," he orders Wiju. "It will make him very pleased and make the warriors look good as well." (Wiju should have realized that himself! Idiot.) Jo goes ballistic at the sight of Yi and Ahn; he lunges for them but is knocked unconscious. And Pennu? Jo managed to deliver a fatal blow; Pennu is dead.
Hogyeong (Now they're calling it Hogyeong again? Oh for a little continuity): Cheonchu and the Choongju soldiers arrive. Cheonchu tells Dae Dosu that she's on her way to Tongju to see Gang Jo, and they've stopped here for food and water. Dae Dosu tells her that Tongju is under attack now and unsafe to approach. Tak Sajeong offers to have a message sent to Jo for her "if you would write a letter." As though she'd possibly go along with that. No, she says, I must see him personally. Kim Jonghyun, the steward, suggests to Cheonchu that they all rest here for the night; the soldiers are exhausted from the journey. She agrees.
Khitan camp: Emperor Shengzong is shown Pennu's body. He's momentarily shocked, but he orders the body sent home and given a proper burial. "He died honorably as a warrior of great Liao." Then Shengzong addresses Jo, who is bound and kneeling before him. Attendant Yu and Jo's assistant Noh Hui were captured with Jo and we see them behind him. Jo wants no part of any conversation with the Khitan emperor; all he wants is for Yi and Ahn brought before him. Shengzong actually agrees and orders Yi and Ahn brought to them. Then he tells Jo, "I've always known about your talent, but you are indeed a magnificent fighter. I do not wish to kill a fearless man like you. Won't you surrender and become my vassal?" (He's encountered Jo twice before in the series and knows him well.) Jo laughs. "I've been betrayed by my own men and defeated, so dispense with the absurdity and kill me right now. But it won't make a difference because Goryeo has countless warriors many times superior than I am. So I suggest you run while you can." Sensing a bluff, as soon as Yi and Ahn are brought in Shengzong asks them if Jo is telling the truth. "No, Your Majesty," Yi says; "when it comes to fighting skills, Gang Jo is unmatched in all of Goryeo." Jo seethes. Yi and Ahn want to know if Shengzong will now accept them. He replies, "Vow your loyalty to me once again right here, and I will accept you as my subjects." Which they do right away, on their knees. At that Jo staggers to his feet and lunges for the pair, delivering a kick to Yi's face that bloodies him and knocks him down. "You bastards! You are Goryeans! I swear to you I will take your heads off!" Jo is hauled away, screaming vengeance at the two turncoats. Then Yelu Dilu reports to the emperor that the remaining Goryeans from the center-guard camp retreated to Tongju.
Evening, Tongju Fort: The Khitans don't waste any time. Yelu Wuji and a huge army arrive at the main gate and announce Gang Jo's capture. He demands their surrender; Dae Dosu rebukes him, and the Khitans immediately attack. Another classic fort battle; archers, ladders, the usual. This time the Khitans appear to have brought the more straightforward catapults instead of the more powerful but more cumbersome trebuchets. In the middle of it all Yelu Wuji screams, "Women and wine are within our reach! Attack!" (For some reason I thought that was worth including. Wuji is one weird dude.) The Khitans seemed to have learned some lessons from their failure at Heunghwajin, because this time they're getting to the walls and scaling them much more quickly. And very soon it's hand-to-hand mayhem atop the walls.
Khitan Camp: "They're still resisting?" Shengzong gets the news at the same time we do; apparently the battle has been going on for a while now and the Goryeans are doing better than it first appeared. Shengzong can't believe it and is screaming mad: "What's their motivation when Gang Jo has been taken prisoner?" He's told that Jo's capture is inspiring them to fight to the death. The last thing he wanted to hear. "How many bloody days have we wasted here and in Heunghwajin? We must get to Gaegyeong and capture the emperor!" Yelu Dilu gingerly points out the obvious: "Forgive me, Your Majesty. We are the best when it comes to prairie wars but siege warfare is not exactly our strong suit." Shengzong decides to forego conquering Tongju and head south by another route. This is very risky because it increases their exposure to a rear attack, but Shengzong doesn't see it that way: "It doesn't matter. Once we have the emperor, there's nothing they can do." Hmmm.... And what to do with Gang Jo? Yelu Dilie suggests killing him and displaying his head when they attack: "It will crush the enemy's fighting spirit and bring them down instantly." But Shengzong wants to keep him alive and make him his servant. (Really? Like mother, like son.)
The next day: The Khitan forces are on the move southward again. Gang Jo and the other prisoners, their arms bound, are under guard and walking with their captors. (Amazing that Jo walks without no limp! What recuperative powers. Gotta love TV.) The Khitans are bristling with confidence; you can see their high morale in their faces.
Hogyeong Fort: Cheonchu and Dae Dosu are atop the main gate when the massive Khitan force shows up. Captain Noh Hui, his arms still bound, is pushed forward within shouting distance of the gate. He tells the Goryeans of Jo's capture. "So lay down you arms and surrender!", he shouts; "This war is over!" (Wow, is this guy gutless when the chips are down.) Cheonchu steps forward. "How dare you utter this baseless lie!" For the moment, a standoff, because the Goryeans don't believe Jo was captured. While they all at each other, Yelu Dilie realizes who that woman is, standing up there atop the gate.
"Are you certain it was Dowager Cheonchu?" Dilie has gone right back to Shengzong and reported it. "I've dreamed of seeing her again, and she came to greet me personally! I shall go and see her." That's ridiculous, of course, and Dilie rightly tells him it would be too dangerous. "No, this is the moment I've been waiting for," he says, apparently still smarting from losing that archery match twenty years ago. "I will see the wench myself, so make the preparations!" (Seriously?)
Yes, seriously. Back at Tongju Fort, Shengzong's carriage is brought forward and parked within easy shooting distance of the Goryean archers. The emperor sits in his carriage and he and Cheonchu have a chat. "Sister, it's been a while...It's good to see you looking so well...Aren't you happy to see your younger brother?" That kind of thing. (Remember, two of them established sibling ties by that blood ceremony in Ep52.) He's enjoying needling her and she keeps answering him, which just eggs him on. She fires an arrow at him; it's deflected by the scythe weapon of one of his guards. (Every other Goryean archer on the wall just stands there. Explain that.) Then Gang Jo is brought forward to prove that he's been captured. "How do you feel now, sis?" Then Jo gives an impassioned speech to the Goryeans to fight to the end and not to fear the enemy. The Khitans courteously allow him to deliver this inspiration, without gagging him, before hauling him back behind enemy lines. "You have exactly two hours," Shengzong tells them. "If you choose to fight, every living creature in that city will be incinerated!" (Even the cats? You scumbag!) His carriage is turned around and led way. (A very silly scene.)
Back inside the fort: A difference of opinion about what to do. Choi and Tak are the biggest whiners and want to surrender; Dae Dosu and Gang Mincheom want to fight. Cheonchu says she's fighting to the death and so will everybody else, and that's final. (Why are they all listening to her? Not that they shouldn't, but she's not in power any more and there's no explanation or storyline to explain why they're all suddenly willing to let her call the shots.) So Choi offers up a plan. "We can't fight them head on," he says, "so let us sneak out of the city while they are waiting and surprise them with a raid." And the raid will rescue Gang Jo. How to sneak out with a 200,000-man army nearby? "That's why we must first divert their attention." Choi tells Cheonchu, "If you and your men can hold their attention, General Dae will take his men out through the east gate, and Minister Choi and I can slip out the west gate for a pincer attack." (Boy, I don't know, can this guy really be trusted? Seems like he might just turn tail and run.)
Yi Hyunoon and Ahn Pae are brought before Shengzong. "There is something you must do for me," he tells them casually. "I want you to persuade Gang Jo and turn him around." That's not likely, to put it mildly, and they both know it. Hyunoon even recommends that Jo be executed right away. But the emperor wants them to try. "If you can persuade Gang Jo to serve me, I will grant you high posts in my court. Can you do it?" Of course they won't be able to, but it's quite an offer and they're not the type of guys to say no to it.
In a Khitan jail: We see Gang Jo and attendant Yu sitting in a cell together. Yi and Ahn show up; they're actually going to try to talk him into it. But Jo does the talking. He wants to know if they killed Mokjong. They deny it and insist that Mokjong committed suicide. But attendant Yu is right there to call their bluff: "You lie! The empress dowager witnessed the murder herself!" Jo doesn't believe them either, and Yu realizes why the two betrayed their country: "They must have done this because they knew I was coming to see you and got scared." (Bingo. Smart guy.) They try to tempt him, telling him he can become a high minister in the Khitan court, and reminding him that he's not even a Goryean, he's a Balhaean. But that does as much good as we knew it would: "Go back and deliver my message. I'd rather have a sword stuck down my throat than become a dog to the barbarians like you have! And I swear to you I will come back from the dead to kill you both." So there.
Well, you just knew. In private, Tak asks Choi if he has a death wish. Hardly. "Let them die fighting if that's what they want," Choi tells him. "We will pretend to fight and sneak off to Gaegyeong."
Ji Chaemun takes Cheonchu into an unoccupied room and privately tells her about her son being alive. The whole story: Dokyun, the Goryean raid, the switching of the two children.
We see the boy Hwangju sleeping in a room while Dokyun and Mobula are talking. "The Prime Minister of Liao said this? That the child might unite the tribes and become our leader?" Dokyun has told him what Prime Minister Han said. Dokyun wonders, "This child has an extraordinary lineage, so isn't it quite possible?" Mobula's subordinate is there and has listened to this; he tells Mobula, "then perhaps the old prophecy is true. Don't you remember the prophecy?" Mobula does. "That fanciful tale about a foreigner uniting the tribes and erecting a great empire?" He doesn't seem all that sold on it, but his assistant does. "It may be fanciful, but many of us believe the prophecy." Dokyun looks almost mesmerized by the idea. "Is there really such a prophecy? If there is, I will give my life to its realization. I will live the rest of my life as a Jurchen for this child." Mobula looks at her sternly and tells her, "If that child is indeed the one foretold by the prophecy, he will pass the test as well." "The test?" (What test? Not gonna tell us just now.)
Ji Chaemun also tells Cheonchu that Jo Sun ordered Yang Kyu to find and kill Hwangju. She realizes this means that Lady Yunheung knows Hwangju is alive. Please keep all of this quiet, Cheonchu tells Ji.
The two hours have passed and it's now evening. Shengzong's carriage is back within chatting distance of the fort walls. "Have you given it some thought, sister?" More of this, ugh. But now Cheonchu tries to engage him in a meaningful conversation. First she tells him that she can't decide to surrender but could send a message to the royal court and recommend it. She says it like the Goryeans have been seriously considering it. Then they bicker about why he's invading Goryeo and whether or not Liao will empty its treasury trying to subjugate the inevitable resistance that will flare up even if they do win the war. "I could withdraw my army," he says, "if your emperor kneels before me and swears loyalty." And one other thing: "You will have to kneel before me as well, of course." She's not taking any of this seriously, of course; she's stalling him.
Meanwhile, at the west gate: Choi's and Tak's forces exit. Choi orders everyone to head south to Gaegyeong. The subordinates know it means leaving Dae Dosu's men to fend for themselves, and they don't like it. But they obey.
On the east flank, Dae Dosu's forces dutifully launch their raid. The Khitans scramble into defensive positions. Intense hand-to-hand fighting in the Khitan camp...but as it goes on, Dae starts to realize that something's wrong. Where are Choi and Tak? Word comes to him that they fled to Gaegyeong with their men. Now what? He orders Ji Chaemun to take as many soldiers as possible and retreat. "I've got you covered." Ji refuses to leave him behind, but Dae orders him to go under threat of insubordination. "I will not let my men die in vain for a failed mission." So Ji follows the order, and Dae turns back into the battle and fights on.
Back at the north gate: Word about the raid reaches Shengzong. "You wench! You tricked me!" Cheonchu answers, "Did you really think that the empress dowager of Great Goryeo would really surrender? You're dumber than you look." (Hey, score one for the lady!) Shengzong is infuriated and orders an immediate attack, and Khitans sweep forward to the fort walls....
Dae Dosu is thrown into Gang Jo's jail cell. So he didn't die on the battlefield at least.
The attack is on. Ladder-climbers are getting shot down, burned with boiling liquid, bonked with boulders, the usual. But some are making it up the walls and the hand-to-hand starts. The Khitans now have some spear-launching gadgets that pack a mean wallop, with impressive accuracy. And they've brought some king of a giant battering-ram contraption on wheels to work on the gate itself. Atop the walls we start to see citizens helping, bringing forward bales of hay, which are lit and dumped on the wall-climbers. (More excellent stunt work here; guys running around on fire.) Cheonchu is in the middle of it all firing arrow after arrow. The hand-to-hand atop the walls is continuing and it's getting bloody....
The next morning: No more fighting; it's eerily still. Death is everywhere, in front of the fort and atop the walls. A horrible scene.
"You're still struggling to big down that tiny fort with 200,000 men?!" Once again Shengzong gets news he doesn't like. This one makes him especially mad because he wants revenge on Cheonchu so badly. But Xiao Baiya talks sense to him: "She's been removed from her seat of power. She's worthless to us. What's more, our army is weak when it comes to siege warfare. The quickest way to win this war is to proceed to Gaegyeong and capture the Goryean emperor." Yelu Dilu agrees, pointing out that further delay only increases the chance they'll be attacked from the rear. Shengzong seethes; he really wants this one.
Inside the city: The wounded are being tended to. Lots of wounded. But from inside, we hear a horn. It's the Khitan retreat horn. The Goryeans all scramble to the walls and go bananas at the sight of the Khitans falling back and pulling away.
"General Gang Jo has been taken prisoner?" Generals Choi and Tak are back in the capital and deliver their report to the emperor at a state council meeting. They have nothing but bad news to deliver. Ministers urge Hyeonjong to leave the capital and head south. Hyeonjong refuses to leave his people in the capital and run, but Gamchan urges him to leave. "Gaegyeong is unprepared to fight off the Khitan if they should attack. And if they get to you, the empire is certain to fall. You must suppress your rage and desire to fight and leave the city." Then Kim Shimun pipes up, suggesting that surrender is also an option. Gamchan responds just like we expect: "That again? Minister Kim, surrender means Goryeo will seize to exist. You would become a servant to the Khitan to save your life?" Even without Gang Jo, the military situation is still unresolved, he points out. "We must leave the city and observe the developments from safety, Your Majesty." More calls for surrender from the weasels; Choe Hang argues for the fight to continue. Finally Hyeonjong says he'll take Gamchan's advice. "The last thing I wish to do is flee, but we will put our faith in General Yang Kyu and Kim Sukheung and wait for our chance to defeat the enemy. Prepare to leave the city."
Jo Sun tells Lady Yunheung that Gang Jo was taken prisoner and that the emperor will flee the capital. She fears for her own safety should the Khitans capture the capital, so she seriously considers fleeing too.
In the capital: Ha Gongjin spots Ji Chaemun and Yu Jong, now back from the battle at Tongju. Ji tells Ha that Dae Dosu was captured because of Choi and Tak's failure to fight. Just then who should walk into the picture but Choi and Tak with their subordinates. Choi and Tak se Ji and freeze. Ji confronts them head-on: "Minister Choi, how could you? How could you run when you're supposed to attack the enemy from the other side?" Choi denies it and claims they fought hard until being repulsed. And Tak warns him, "Do not go around spreading false rumors if you wish to keep your head!" And they brashly walk on.
We see the imperial party heading south. The emperor and empress are together in a carriage, Wonjeong looking none too comfortable so close to her husband. We see Lady Yunheung walking in the party, too. Sunjeong is also there, along with many ministers and a large contingent of soldiers.
We see the Khitan army advancing further south.
Good news arrives at Goryean military headquarters: Yang Kyu did indeed launch that rear-attacking action he planned, and he managed to retake Gwokju Fort. Narration tells us that Gwokju was the first fort captured by the Khitans in their advance after they failed to conquer Heunghwajin and Tongju. This was a major factor in the war's outcome, we're told, because it cut the Khitan supply line route and cut their retreat route. (Surprised we didn't see any of this in the storyline.)
Tongju: Cheonchu tells Choe Jil and Kim Hoon she wants to follow the Khitan army south to Gaegyeong to try to rescue Gang Jo. It's too dangerous, Choe and Kim tell her. She wants to take 100 men to rescue him or at least "retrieve his body. I owe him that." This seems unnecessarily risky, but Choe and Kim both selflessly offer to go with her.
Gaegyeong: We see Shengzong and the Khitans enter the now-vacated imperial palace. Wow--a jarring sight.
We see Cheonchu and her 100 men moving south.
In the jail cell: They captured Goryeans have just heard the palace was captured. Devastating news. "We can't just give up like this," Gang Jo tells Dae Dosu. "Would you walk into death with me? I will not end my life in this humiliating way. Let us die fighting the enemy like honorable men. Let us kill as many Khitans as we can, and heaven willing, use our every last ounce of strength to kill the Khitan emperor. And have our last laugh before we die. For our country Goryeo."
I also thought that the battle scenes were nicely done.