Post by ajk on Jan 31, 2014 22:24:01 GMT -5
"What are you saying? Our troops have been confined in Yanjing?!" Uh-oh. We're in a state council meeting and King Gongmin has just received this very frustrating piece of news. Apparently Commissioner Park prevailed upon Empress Gi, because the troops are being held on the pretense of giving them a reward for their success against the Red Turban rebels. Some tense discussion; Lee In Bok insists that it's a subterfuge and the empress is plotting something. And that Gi Cheol is probably planning something too. And then in the next moment, speak of the devil, look who walks in and pushes his way to the front--Gi Cheol. Wow, he came back into the palace? He starts going on about how Goryeo needs to show more gratitude to the Yuan; a weird sort of ramble. But then he produces some papers. Deeds to properties of his. He's giving them to the government! Seriously! He does it with a snide crack about the government's perilous financial state, but whatever--he does it. "I shall do your benevolence justice," Gongmin tells him, holding the papers and not really sure what else to say. Gi then looks around and in a threatening growl warns the counselors not to encourage the king into any sort of confrontation. And with that, he and his flunkies walk out, laughing about the weak and ineffective councilors inside. "All they are good at is prattling around!"
Yanjing: The Goryean troops are waiting for permission to go home. But Commissioner Park tells them the emperor still isn't feeling well so he's still not ready to see you and offer his thanks. Which is total baloney, and they know it, and he knows that they know it. And he's enjoying serving it up, we can see.
The empress looks just as puzzled as when we last left her, unsure about what to do. But now she start to look more resolute. Maybe she's got an idea.
The leaders of the Goryean troops--Yeom Je Shin, Jung Se Woon and Choi Young--are wondering about whether or not they should make a break for it and head home, permission or not. But where's Kim Yong? He should be here with them and they're wondering where he is.
Hmmm, looks like he's in a brothel or gisaeng house, having a drink with Prince Deokheung and Choi Yu. Wow is this guy dumb! What a thing to be doing, considering all of the trouble he was in (and only got out of by the good grace of his king). Choi is sucking up to him big-time; flattering him and telling him "how contemptible" it is that Gongmin punished him. Prince Deokheung would have treated you much better, Choi says. And then comes right out and offers, "Let's join forces!" Maybe it's the alcohol working, but Kim is buying into this remarkably easily.
What's going on at the capital gates? Gong Cheol observes with concern as an unusually large number of groups of men are seen entering the city, carrying provisions and hay carts--with swords not-particularly-well- hidden within them. LOTS of swords.
"Are Lord Deokseong's private guards really entering the capital in disguise?" Gong is telling Choseon that's who they are, and he says "even the collaborators' slaves are being armed." Pyeonjo is here too, and he gets right up to go tell the king.
Well it's not really all that many men: between 700 and 800, as Kwon Gyeom reports to Gi Cheol. Arming the slaves would double that number, maybe a little more, but that's still not enough to take any rebellious action on their own. But Gi isn't worried; he's absolutely confident that his brother will be sending good news soon from Ssangseong Commandery.
Ssangseong Commandery: A weird scene in a meeting room. Jo So Saeng is trying to rouse his generals to action against the Goryeo government. But Lee Ja Chun is urging restraint, and the rest of them are just sitting there like bumps on a log.
Jo has to deliver bad news to an agitated Gi Ryun. "It's not something I can decide alone," he says. "Just give me a few more days." Ryun is going crazy; he thinks they're letting a golden opportunity get away.
Nighttime: A tense atmosphere around the Goryean palace. Lee Je Hyeon and Lee In Bok are supervising a troop deployment to protect the king from a possible attack from those Gi troops who were sneaking in. It's not an ideal situation; we learn that a lot of soldiers deserted. But it's enough of a force to put up a fight against Gi's forces if they try anything. "The real problem," Lee In Bok complains, "are turncoats still hiding inside the palace." Really?
And even the palace eunuchs are trying to do their part. They're gathered around the queen's palace, brandishing swords. The queen dowager and Princess Deoknyeong are inside with Noguk.
And inside, the QD is blaming Noguk for helping cause this situation by agitating the collaborators. Noguk listens, doesn't answer, but doesn't look like it bothers her. It's not like she hasn't heard the QD complaining before, is it. Ugh.
Gongmin is in his office, nervous about the situation. Pyeonjo is with him and trying to keep him calm, but he doesn't have a lot of faith in the troops guarding the palace--the best troops went to help the Yuan and these guys are the leftovers. But Pyeonjo has some great news for him. For one thing, armed monks. More than a hundred, and Pyeonjo says Master Bou will provide them at a moment's notice. Not so sure about that, from what we've seen of Bou, but Pyeonjo seems confident about it. Gongmin might have to do something in return, like a public ceremony or some such thing, but Pyeonjo says that's more than reasonable. More importantly, though, all of these wealthy merchants who have been helping the government, they have many, many former soldiers in their employ. "They need to stop bandits on their business trips, so they're quite well trained." Just promise the merchants you'll allow them to conduct their business "without distress," Pyeonjo says, and they'll be more than glad to help. Gongmin is more than willing to make both commitments.
Now Lee Je Hyeon is outside the palace, waiting to see the king. He's with Inspector Kim, who's very annoyed to find out that Pyeonjo is with the king again. Just then Pyeonjo walks out. He bows in respect to Lee Je Hyeon, although not respectfully enough to avoid a scolding from Kim. Sheesh.
Same evening: Won Hyeon and Gong Cheol are peeking over the wall into Gi Cheol's yard. It's full of Gi's guards...but they're not exactly preparing to fight. Far from it--Gi is serving them a lavish meal. A total party atmosphere! And they're all shouting about what they're going to get after they take over the palace. Promotions, women, you name it. The alcohol is certainly helping their confidence, but they act like it's a foregone conclusion.
"Don't trust that Pyeonjo too much, Your Majesty." Why is Kim so distrustful of him? So much that he'd confront the king about it? Gongmin isn't inclined to listen to him, and Lee knows it and tells him to "Give it a rest" just as Gongmin starts looking annoyed. Lee has a more practical concern: that the merchants "have never been a dependable breed." As in, should you really stake your throne on their assistance? "I am hanging from a thread here," Gongmin tells him, and he isn't willing to risk not asking for their help. And he admonishes them both, "Don't ever belittle Pyeonjo's name in my presence again."
The two leave Gongmin's office, Kim still grumbling. "What if His Majesty ends up entrusting important matters to that fool?" He doesn't know that Pyeonjo is or isn't a fool; for goodness sakes what's his problem? "We could be facing a future where descendants of noble clans like ours will have to grovel before the son of a slave." Ohhhhh, that's his problem--he's a snob! That explains everything. Loser.
"His Majesty is this country's last hope. We require your assistance, Royal Preceptor." Pyeonjo went straight to the royal temple and is staring down Master Bou like he means business. Bou sighs. "Do you believe His Majesty will let Buddha's teachings resonate around creation?" Not THIS again...but wait, now we get to understand Bou's annoyance with all this. Because he complains about how so many monks have fought for Goryeo time and again against the repeated Yuan invasions, "but how did the royal family treat us during the last few decades?" Not well. He resents the royal family for "asking for our help in crisis, and stabbing us in the back once peace returns." Interesting...but suddenly, from off to the side: "You fool, Bou!" It's Master Wolseon, who comes running into the temple holding a handful of switches, which he tosses onto the floor in front of him. And he really lets Bou have it. "Your gaining this position as Royal Preceptor merely because you were born into a noble clan, was that Buddha's path? Our fellow followers are engulfed by a sea of suffering, but all you do is sit here in vacuous unconcern. You foolish man. What is the use of all these temples?" OUCH. Then Wolseon pulls up his pant cuffs and orders Pyeonjo to take the switches and start hitting his calves (which is a monk form of punishment; we've seen this before). Pyeonjo doesn't want to, but apparently it's a pretty bad thing to speak to a royal preceptor like Wolseon just did so Wolseon insists on punishment, and so Pyeonjo reluctantly does it. All the while Bou is just sitting there, looking dazed like a horse plowed him over.
Morning: the queen is feeling nauseous again. Lady Kim takes her outside for some air, and seems to be thinking the same thing Choseon was thinking. As in, pregnant.
Now Gongmin is outside, looking over things outside the palace. A quiet night; nothing happened. He goes to his wife's palace to check on her; Eunuch An asks him to wait outside for just a minute, because, well..."Her Majesty is heaving at the lavatory." The news concerns Gongmin, understandably. "Is she suffering from any ailment?" No, An tells him. "Her Majesty must be pregnant." Doink! But please don't tell her I told you, An begs; she wanted to tell your mother first and then tell you. Well Gongmin looks so utterly thrilled, he may not be able to hide his elation from her.
"We safely withstood the night." Lee In Bok is relieved, but Lee Je Hyeon wonders how long they can hold out without those troops stuck up there in Yanjing. And then, like on cue..."Open the gates!" Look at this--monks! Ready to fight for the country. The guards go wild with excitement. How about that; Wolseon's scolding hit home.
"Let's fight to the end!" And now outside the city gates, all of those former soldiers have been sent by the merchants and are gathering. They're enthusiastic and ready to defend the government.
"Milord! We're in big trouble!" Yes you are, Gi Cheol. He gets the news about what's happening, and tells everyone to get the word out to gather all of their forces. But it may be too late already.
"Didn't I tell you Pyeonjo was worthy of your trust?" Gongmin is happy as a clam, and a smiling Lee Je Hyeon has to agree that the king was right.
Pyeonjo thanks Choseon for providing men from her business. He assures her that the king will "fulfill his end of the bargain."
Bou has to warn Pyeonjo. "You're the reincarnation of an auspicious spirit, which was buried for a thousand years. So you shall live up to your karma, and return to where you came from." We've heard this said about him before and we don't entirely understand it, but clearly the monks all see him as a powerful and potentially dangerous force of some sort. Pyeonjo assures him that all he seeks is "a world that is just and fair." Then, walking through the temple complex, he overhears Wolseon complaining and wincing as Deokun tends to his severely bruised and slightly bloodied calves. Pyeonjo's visibly upset that he had to do such a thing.
The Gi braintrust has gathered. Gi Cheol is supposed to be running the meeting but right off the bat his mother starts scolding him for letting things get away from him. But he assures her, "The moment my brother comes back from Ssangseong with the troops, we will turn the palace into a wasteland!" But Mother Gi isn't so sure that they can count on the Ssangseong troops--interesting to hear this--and Kwon Gyeom agrees with her. "We can't stay here," she says. "Let's just pack up things and go back to Yanjing. That's the only way." And everyone else there agrees with her! Wow, how about that. Except for Cheol. He thinks "that viperous queen won't allow us to leave this place alive" because of her father's death. And he's probably right. But Mother Gi has an idea: "Have you forgotten the king's mother? If we inundate her with riches, she'll raise a ruckus in the palace." Hmmm...very questionable whether or not that would work...but Cheol nixes it anyway. Let's give Ssangseong another few days, he says. Clearly nobody else agrees with him, but nobody speaks up.
Yanjing: Nighttime at the Goryeo army barracks. "Let's do this." Choi Young is going to take 100 of their troops and try to sneak out of Yanjing and get home to protect the king. That's not many, but on the other hand, 100 out of 2000 probably wouldn't be noticed missing, not if they can get away undetected. It's better than doing nothing.
So they leave. They've even tied cloths around the hooves of the officers' horses, so their shoes won't make any noise.
"You will not leave." Holy cow, what's this? Lee Ja Chun, with his son and the other subordinate officers in Ssangseong Commandery, are confronting Jo So Saeng and Gi Ryun. "We harbor no resentment towards Goryeo. There is no reason we should harm them. Unless you go over our dead bodies, you shan't move a single soldier out of here." Wow! Jo goes ballistic and draws his sword to charge Lee, but his son fires an arrow and knocks the sword out of his hands. Really, this is the whole ballgame--whatever happens here will decide the entire question. And it doesn't look like the Gi side is going to get those troops they need.
"How could you do this without my consent?!" Uh-oh. Yeom Je Shin is in charge of the Goryean troops in Yanjing, and those 100 troops who snuck out, well, nobody told him about it. And to make matters worse, as soon as Kim Yong hears about it, he leads his own men out of camp. "We need to reach Gaegyeong before Choi Young does!" Why? Hmmm, we can't trust this guy any more, can we...And now, with two units having left and with Jung Se Woon pressuring him, Yeom decides that it's time to end all this and take the whole army back home. The announcement is met with wild cheers from the army...but can they make it?
Choi Yu is before Empress Gi, imploring her to stop the troops from leaving. So unfortunately they know about it now (probably thanks to all of that loud cheering!). But the empress isn't in any panic. It will take them two weeks to get home, she says...not explaining what might happen in two weeks, but apparently believing something will happen.
Choi leaves her, grumbling all the way...
...and back inside, she shocks us all by giving Commissioner Park an ultimatum. " Stop interfering with Goryeo's internal matters," she tells him. "What would be the use of gaining Goryeo, if we lose the empire?" She's concerned about her son again, because there have been rumors of major discontent over his ancestry. She must be worried that a big commitment to squash Goryeo would inflame that discontent. But she does ask Park to head to Goryeo behind the troops. Why? "I can't let my brothers perish, can I?"
Gaegyeong: Two weeks must have passed, because the troops are returning home to an ecstatic welcome from the people. Gongmin is thrilled at the news and orders a welcome ceremony put together for them.
Gi Cheol, of course he's not happy about this. Brooding and surly and all puckered-up in the face. He didn't expect this, and it totally messes up his plans. Kwon Gyeom even tells him it's all over, and "Now all we have to wait for is the day we shall meet our demise."
Won Hyeon and Gong Cheol have joined the happy crowd cheering the troops' return. But then Won spots Commissioner Park coming into the capital right behind the troops. He becomes enraged and picks up a stone and throws a bullseye that bonks Park right in the head. And in moments it's a rain of stones and anything else that people can find to throw. That was a pretty dumb move by Park, trying to enter with the troops (and totally unprotected).
Pyeonjo is again thanking Choseon for all she did to help the king. But she doesn't seem happy at all about the outcome. She thinks the king is still too afraid of Empress Gi to kill Gi Cheol. And she doesn't think he'll keep his promise to help the merchants conduct their business more effectively. In fact, she's entirely put it out of her mind that Gongmin made any promise whatsoever. "He will keep his promise," Pyeonjo assures her.
A nice reception in the council hall for the officers who led the troops into battle and back home. Lots of praise and congratulations. Then Kim Yong stands up and starts to boast about how hard he fought. At which Jung Se Woon glares at him. "I didn't see your face on the battlefield even once." Easy, guys...Yeom Je Shin tries to calm things by complimenting Kim's effort to constantly communicate with the Yuan officials. Which only makes Jung angrier: "So is that why you spent all your time with someone like Choi Yu?" Uh-oh, and now Commissioner Kim is staring at him suspiciously. Lee Je Hyeon admonishes them and tells them to behave, but Jung is too worked up. "I can't sit at the same table with a vile coward like Kim Yong. May you forgive my insolence," he says to his king, and then walks out!
Commissioner Park has brought Gi Cheol a letter from his sister the empress. Cheol is reading it; the anger in his face and his shaking hands are pretty good clues he doesn't like it. "I shall stake my life against the king no matter what," he angrily tells Park, "so if she doesn't wish to help me, tell her to just stay put and don't interfere." Well, Park may not agree with Empress Gi backing off on Goryeo, but even he can see the wisdom of Gi Cheol giving up this fight. "Why are you reacting so childishly?", he asks. He explains about the tension over the crown prince's ancestry and how the crown prince and the empress are in a delicate situation right now. "How can you keep putting her under distress like this?" Now they're both getting angry, and for Park that's surprising because he's usually a very cool customer. "Just live quietly," he advises. "All you need to do is bow down to the king once" if you're going to stay here in Goryeo. If you make any more trouble, "Her Majesty said she shall cut all her ties with you." So there.
Back at the reception, the tension eases and Yeom Je Shin gives Gongmin good news about the Yuan's military situation. Says it's "withering like flowers in a drought!" Without our help, he says, "they would have lost all their battles!" That may be a little rose-colored, judging from the skeptical looks on other councilors' faces. But it certainly energizes the room, and now they're all cheering and enthusiastic about what it portends for Goryeo's future.
But now here's the queen, and she's about as far from cheering and enthusiastic as possible. Because she's being paid a visit by Commissioner Park, and undoubtedly she wants to chop him up into little pieces. But she keeps her cool. Park tries to convey his empress's sincere condolences at the death of Noguk's father...which is total baloney, of course, and she knows it. "I have never felt any resentment for the Gi clan," she says (and that's not entirely true either, to say the least), "so how could Her Majesty treat my father so badly?" Not so, Park says...and then an attendant of his brings in some sort of vessel wrapped in a white cloth. Park takes it and places it respectfully before Noguk. What the heck is this? Park drops the bomb. "His Highness the King of Wei's remains." Seriously!? "Her Majesty sent off the King of Wei with a very heartfelt ceremony. May you accept Her Majesty's sincerity, and forget all your past bitterness." With that, he bows and leaves her. She's momentarily stunned, but then quickly overcome with emotion. This certainly was never expected, not at all. (And regardless of how sincere or insincere the motivation, it certainly is a nice gesture; have to give the empress credit for that.)
Eunuch An tells Gongmin what's just happened. Concerned for his wife's state of mind, he gets right up and marches out of his office. "Don't follow me," he tells his retinue. They look around at each other, utterly baffled, and then regroup and follow him anyway (very funny).
With tears in his eyes he enters the queen's palace...and finds her with Pyeonjo? This is weird. She receives him with a smile, showing no sign of sadness whatsoever. "Empress Gi sent us a very important gift," she tells him as they sit. "I couldn't find any way to kill Lord Deokseong no matter how hard I thought. But thanks to Empress Gi, I found a way." Where is she going with this? She tells him about her father's ashes arriving, and says this is how they'll get Gi Cheol into the palace so that he can be killed without a bloody battle with Gi's private army. "I shall perform funeral rites to honor my father," she says. "The Queen endured such loss, could Lord Deokseong fail to show up and express his condolences?" Gongmin is shocked that this what she's thinking about right now. He turns and looks at Pyeonjo, who's quick to tell him "I didn't plan any of this, Your Majesty."