Post by ajk on Apr 22, 2014 1:50:54 GMT -5
Actually It says "WITHDRAW." Seonggye doesn't like it, but Nam presses him. "This is your chance from heaven" to save the army. But without a royal order? It's treason! In moments they're screaming at each other, until Seonggye draws his sword and tells Nam to leave. But Nam kneels! Go ahead, he says; "I decided to give my life for Sambong's cause." And I won't watch you destroy yourself. Seonggye throws down the sword and walks away.
Lady Kang says she isn't going anywhere. But when Bangwon says he agrees with JD that she should evacuate to a safer place for now, she says she'll think about it.
By the Amnok River: Another try at the pontoon bridge. A lot more work still to be done on it. And there are more rivers in their path after this one. Jiran tells Seonggye he agrees with Nam and wants to withdraw. And as if on cue, a nearby soldier falls to his hands and knees from weakness and begins vomiting. Some sort of rampant intestinal infection that's practically an epidemic in the camp. So Seonggye calls a meeting...and now we see all of the officers of both camps gathered together. Seonggye announces that the Right Army is withdrawing! Tells Jo Minsu he hopes the Left Army will do the same. Jo goes ballistic and all of a sudden everybody starts drawing swords against each other...but finally Seonggye stands and asks for calm. This isn't treason, he says; "I'm going to ask for approval. We should ask together." Oh, well that's different.
The king is at Seogyeong, with Choi Yeong. A withdrawal request was drafted and sent, and is being read to him. He doesn't even want to hear the whole thing. Choi absolutely rejects it; tells the king they're just hesitating and will advance when conditions get better.
Some of the scholars have headed to Seogyeong to try to convince the king to withdraw. We see Lee Saek and Mongju presenting their case...and they do have some influence because the king says he'll discuss it with Choi. But then Choi shows up and things quickly heat up to the point where Choi orders the two dragged out of the room! Tells the king he'll reprimand the commanders and demand they advance. So he sends Kim Wan with an order...
...which Kim reads to Seonggye and Jo. But he's also brought a cart full of gifts of some sort to encourage them. Big deal. Has no effect...and later Seonggye tells Jo he wants to submit another request! Too many lives are at stake for us not to try again, he argues. "Help me just one more time." Jo sighs. So when Kim Wan prepares to leave, they arrest him! Seriously? And they draw up another request...
...which is delivered by General Bae. They sent a big hitter this time. Bae tells the king and Choi about the flooded river and the epidemic. The king gets so frustrated he starts throwing things at Bae! "If I order them to advance, they should just advance!" And the news of Kim Wan's detention, well that sure doesn't help. Bae assures the king that it wasn't meant as a threat; it's just to show how desperate their situation is.
Bangwon makes a good point: if his father is actually arresting the king's messenger, he might as well just go ahead and withdraw. JD is too angry to care about that. "He is refusing his destiny," JD grumbles. Then Bangwon leaves him to go escort his stepmother to safety; Banggwa and Bangui are up in Seogyeong and sent him word of the tension brewing. But Bangwon is too late; she's gone. But where? Nobody knows.
She left early! She's taken a few servants and her youngest children and is headed on foot to Pocheon, a town south of the capital. All by themselves; no guards.
Choi wants the king to give the advance order yet again. "Tell them they will be punished for treason if they don't cross the river." But now the king is scared. What if that army turns around and takes the capital? Choi says he can defend the capital with a small fraction of the 50,000 soldiers up north, so nothing to worry about. Then the king asks him about Seonggye. "Why do you trust him so much?" Especially after Seonggye married into Lee In Im's family as a deception. "He can't be trusted." Choi thinks back to a previous conversation with Lee In Im about Seonggye: "It would be dangerous to give him too much power." Hmmm....
A lone figure is fishing by a small stream out in the countryside. Two children spot him and run to him. He turns around. Lee In Im!!!! He seems just to want to relax for now; doesn't even care that he's not catching any fish. His bodyguard is here with him; escorts him to his modest home and tells him about the withdrawal controversy. Lee knows it's absurd to try to attack Yodong...and also thinks Choi's trust in Seonggye will be Choi's downfall. Which doesn't disappoint him; he actually thinks it will create the opportunity he needs to return to power. Interesting. Then--get ready for this one--he proceeds to open up a box filled with live maggots that he was using for fishing bait. Scoops up a handful...and eats them! Chews them up real good and swallows them right down. He doesn't seem to enjoy it--it takes some effort for him to do it--and his bodyguard looks at him like he's lost his mind.
Choi sends Bae back north with another advance order, and a private message to Seonggye. Bae reads the order aloud, and at that point Jo Minsu says the Left Army is advancing with or without the right army. And the private message? "I, Choi Yeong, trust you." It reduces Seonggye to tears. This is slowly tearing him apart.
JD calls Yun Sojong in for a visit. Boy that guy is stiff. And acts like he totally looks down on JD. But JD wants to know something. "Did you mean it when you said you would commit treason to save the country?" Without hesitation Yun says yes. Tells him that if Seonggye withdraws, he should organize and produce a formal opinion statement by the scholars to support the withdrawal. It will help Seonggye politically. And JD adds, "I also don't believe that treason is an absolute evil." For the first time Yun smiles and warms a bit.
More rain. It just will not stop. General Byeon tells Jo Minsu what Jo must certainly realize: one army can't realistically advance without the other. But Jo replies with an odd question: "Which side do you think is stronger. Choi Yeong's or Lee Seonggye's?" Now why is he asking that?
In his meeting-room tent, Seonggye shocks his subordinates by telling them he's decided to advance. Doesn't want to be a traitor. His subordinates kneel and beg him...but no good. It's over. But wait...is it? Suddenly Jo Minsu leads his own subordinates in, and THEY get on their knees too! "As of now," Jo tells Seonggye, "the Left Army will follow your lead. Please give the order to withdraw. Attacking is the way to the fall of this country. Withdrawal is the way to save it." And they're all begging him to give the order. WOW!!! Stunned, Seonggye walks out of the room...and now JD's words are streaming through his mind. "Don't go against the will of heaven. You and Goryeo can't coexist." He looks at the soldiers standing guard nearby, all wet and miserable and weakening by the hour. And now they all kneel before him.
Next day: the rain stopped, the sun is out, and both armies are all lined up and ready to go. "I'm only going to say one thing," Seonggye shouts: "We will return to Gaegyeong." Wild ecstatic cheering...and immense relief from the generals. Narration tells us that this withdrawal, in May 1388, was the beginning of the establishment of the Joseon dynasty. And that "because of this incident Goryeo entered a period of turmoil."
The king and Choi are waiting for word from up north. And now they get it. The king starts shaking with fear. Choi orders all troops in Seogyeong to head to the capital; same with the troops fighting the Japanese pirates. So angry that he's actually twitching, he draws his sword and snarls. "Lee Seonggye, I will not forgive you!!"
Lady Kang says she isn't going anywhere. But when Bangwon says he agrees with JD that she should evacuate to a safer place for now, she says she'll think about it.
By the Amnok River: Another try at the pontoon bridge. A lot more work still to be done on it. And there are more rivers in their path after this one. Jiran tells Seonggye he agrees with Nam and wants to withdraw. And as if on cue, a nearby soldier falls to his hands and knees from weakness and begins vomiting. Some sort of rampant intestinal infection that's practically an epidemic in the camp. So Seonggye calls a meeting...and now we see all of the officers of both camps gathered together. Seonggye announces that the Right Army is withdrawing! Tells Jo Minsu he hopes the Left Army will do the same. Jo goes ballistic and all of a sudden everybody starts drawing swords against each other...but finally Seonggye stands and asks for calm. This isn't treason, he says; "I'm going to ask for approval. We should ask together." Oh, well that's different.
The king is at Seogyeong, with Choi Yeong. A withdrawal request was drafted and sent, and is being read to him. He doesn't even want to hear the whole thing. Choi absolutely rejects it; tells the king they're just hesitating and will advance when conditions get better.
Some of the scholars have headed to Seogyeong to try to convince the king to withdraw. We see Lee Saek and Mongju presenting their case...and they do have some influence because the king says he'll discuss it with Choi. But then Choi shows up and things quickly heat up to the point where Choi orders the two dragged out of the room! Tells the king he'll reprimand the commanders and demand they advance. So he sends Kim Wan with an order...
...which Kim reads to Seonggye and Jo. But he's also brought a cart full of gifts of some sort to encourage them. Big deal. Has no effect...and later Seonggye tells Jo he wants to submit another request! Too many lives are at stake for us not to try again, he argues. "Help me just one more time." Jo sighs. So when Kim Wan prepares to leave, they arrest him! Seriously? And they draw up another request...
...which is delivered by General Bae. They sent a big hitter this time. Bae tells the king and Choi about the flooded river and the epidemic. The king gets so frustrated he starts throwing things at Bae! "If I order them to advance, they should just advance!" And the news of Kim Wan's detention, well that sure doesn't help. Bae assures the king that it wasn't meant as a threat; it's just to show how desperate their situation is.
Bangwon makes a good point: if his father is actually arresting the king's messenger, he might as well just go ahead and withdraw. JD is too angry to care about that. "He is refusing his destiny," JD grumbles. Then Bangwon leaves him to go escort his stepmother to safety; Banggwa and Bangui are up in Seogyeong and sent him word of the tension brewing. But Bangwon is too late; she's gone. But where? Nobody knows.
She left early! She's taken a few servants and her youngest children and is headed on foot to Pocheon, a town south of the capital. All by themselves; no guards.
Choi wants the king to give the advance order yet again. "Tell them they will be punished for treason if they don't cross the river." But now the king is scared. What if that army turns around and takes the capital? Choi says he can defend the capital with a small fraction of the 50,000 soldiers up north, so nothing to worry about. Then the king asks him about Seonggye. "Why do you trust him so much?" Especially after Seonggye married into Lee In Im's family as a deception. "He can't be trusted." Choi thinks back to a previous conversation with Lee In Im about Seonggye: "It would be dangerous to give him too much power." Hmmm....
A lone figure is fishing by a small stream out in the countryside. Two children spot him and run to him. He turns around. Lee In Im!!!! He seems just to want to relax for now; doesn't even care that he's not catching any fish. His bodyguard is here with him; escorts him to his modest home and tells him about the withdrawal controversy. Lee knows it's absurd to try to attack Yodong...and also thinks Choi's trust in Seonggye will be Choi's downfall. Which doesn't disappoint him; he actually thinks it will create the opportunity he needs to return to power. Interesting. Then--get ready for this one--he proceeds to open up a box filled with live maggots that he was using for fishing bait. Scoops up a handful...and eats them! Chews them up real good and swallows them right down. He doesn't seem to enjoy it--it takes some effort for him to do it--and his bodyguard looks at him like he's lost his mind.
Choi sends Bae back north with another advance order, and a private message to Seonggye. Bae reads the order aloud, and at that point Jo Minsu says the Left Army is advancing with or without the right army. And the private message? "I, Choi Yeong, trust you." It reduces Seonggye to tears. This is slowly tearing him apart.
JD calls Yun Sojong in for a visit. Boy that guy is stiff. And acts like he totally looks down on JD. But JD wants to know something. "Did you mean it when you said you would commit treason to save the country?" Without hesitation Yun says yes. Tells him that if Seonggye withdraws, he should organize and produce a formal opinion statement by the scholars to support the withdrawal. It will help Seonggye politically. And JD adds, "I also don't believe that treason is an absolute evil." For the first time Yun smiles and warms a bit.
More rain. It just will not stop. General Byeon tells Jo Minsu what Jo must certainly realize: one army can't realistically advance without the other. But Jo replies with an odd question: "Which side do you think is stronger. Choi Yeong's or Lee Seonggye's?" Now why is he asking that?
In his meeting-room tent, Seonggye shocks his subordinates by telling them he's decided to advance. Doesn't want to be a traitor. His subordinates kneel and beg him...but no good. It's over. But wait...is it? Suddenly Jo Minsu leads his own subordinates in, and THEY get on their knees too! "As of now," Jo tells Seonggye, "the Left Army will follow your lead. Please give the order to withdraw. Attacking is the way to the fall of this country. Withdrawal is the way to save it." And they're all begging him to give the order. WOW!!! Stunned, Seonggye walks out of the room...and now JD's words are streaming through his mind. "Don't go against the will of heaven. You and Goryeo can't coexist." He looks at the soldiers standing guard nearby, all wet and miserable and weakening by the hour. And now they all kneel before him.
Next day: the rain stopped, the sun is out, and both armies are all lined up and ready to go. "I'm only going to say one thing," Seonggye shouts: "We will return to Gaegyeong." Wild ecstatic cheering...and immense relief from the generals. Narration tells us that this withdrawal, in May 1388, was the beginning of the establishment of the Joseon dynasty. And that "because of this incident Goryeo entered a period of turmoil."
The king and Choi are waiting for word from up north. And now they get it. The king starts shaking with fear. Choi orders all troops in Seogyeong to head to the capital; same with the troops fighting the Japanese pirates. So angry that he's actually twitching, he draws his sword and snarls. "Lee Seonggye, I will not forgive you!!"
