Post by ajk on May 1, 2015 0:20:28 GMT -5
Hideyoshi puts his other foot on the map where Ming is. And he jumps up and down on the whole map, laughing manically.
We see Konishi's fleet reach the Joseon south coast. Scouts are sent out; they land and find a lightly guarded Busan fortress, with most of the soldiers out hunting and enjoying a nice day in the surrounding countryside. Not much of a threat, they tell Konishi when they return.
So Konishi's entire force moves in for landing. They're spotted early enough that all of the surrounding villagers are herded into the fortress. We see a massive wave of Japanese soldiers charge up the beach and head for the fortress...and in no time they're in front of it. And now it's on. The Japanese charge forward; take some cannon hits and some archer fire...but then they set up the musket lines and wow are they ever effective. Joseon soldiers atop the wall fall like dominoes, and soon the fortress wall is breached. Then the main gate is rammed open...and long story short, soon everyone in the fortress is laying on the ground dead. Including Jeong Bal, the commanding general; felled by point-blank musket fire and a blade for good measure. Narration tells us this was April 13, 1592, and that 3,000 Joseonese ended up dead.
"300-400 ships?" King Seonjo gets the initial reports of what's happening and realizes that this is a huge deal. Immediately a council meeting is called. The councilors all stand there silently while Seonjo berates them...until finally the requisite "Please kill us." But at this point they're still not sure whether or not this is a full-blown war or just a large pirate invasion. Lee Sanhae and Shin Rip are pretty confident it's the latter, which reassures Seonjo. Ryu is more cautious; says this is just an initial report and we have no idea what else may be out there...but he can't even get the king to mobilize the entire national army over it. Lee Il does offer to lead soldiers from the Border Defense Force to the south and is very confident he'll make short work of the invaders. "You don't need a huge knife to kill a chicken," he adds, believing the invaders to be a pirate force like most of his colleagues believe.
Consort Kim is talking with her brother, who's very confident that Shin Rip and Lee Il will make short work of this invasion. She hopes so but is more reticent. Elsewhere, the queen and Prince Gwanghae second-guess the lack of preparation for war and wonder if Jeong Cheol and Yun Dusu were right.
Lee Il draws up a plan of action and presents it to the council...but now a report arrives that Busan fell. So time is running short.
The generals are trying to round up soldiers from among the young men of the capital elite. But very few show up, and those who do say they're either preparing for the national state exam or are too busy to leave their jobs, and refuse to go. They're told they're going, under threat of execution...but the threat doesn't seem to scare them much. Not at all, frankly.
We see Konishi's army headed northward, and learn that they've already taken two more fortresses after Busan. Now they're headed towards Dongnae Fortress...
...and here we are with Song Sanghyeon, Dongnae's commander. Song has heard that the Japanese army is large and moves fast, but Dongnae has 3,000 soldiers and 17,000 residents who can pitch in, so he's confident that the fortress can be defended. He'd better be right, because he knows that Dongnae is the key to defending the inland regions between Konishi and the capital.
Konishi knows it too. He and his staff are studying their battle plan carefully. He has a surrender request drawn up and sent to Song Sanghyeon, who So Yoshitoshi knows to be "upright" and deserving of respectful treatment.
Later Konishi chuckles appreciatively as he reads Song's abrupt refusal: "A general should send such a reply."
Japan: Hideyoshi expects Konishi to have taken Busan by now. And Kato, he's left and headed to Tsushima. "It will be fun to watch them compete," Hideyoshi says. But Maeda is concerned that it will go beyond just healthy competition. Don't worry, Hideyoshi tells him; "I have people watching them." Spies, that is. He laughs. Then he kneels next to Maeda and asks him again, Can I go to Joseon? And asks repeatedly...and Maeda has to tell him, gently but firmly, that it's still a bad idea. Hideyoshi is disappointed but doesn't argue--that's how much he respects Maeda.
Dongnae Fortress: We missed the battle, but we see the result. Just like Busan, a sacked fortress and dead Joseonese everywhere. Actually we're just in time to see Song Sanghyeon die while trying to charge at Konishi; looks like he's the last one to die. "He's a great general," Konishi says. "Bury him well."
Tsushima: Uh-oh. Kato has gotten word that Konishi has advanced all the way through Dongnae, and he's not happy. He's so worried that Konishi may capture the king first, he ignores the war plan and orders his forces to prepare to leave for Joseon immediately. It shocks his subordinates; they think he's crazy, clearly...but what can they do but obey.
It's been two days since the capital defense force was supposed to assemble and leave, and it still hasn't done so. Ryu is furious; summons all of the scholars and officials we saw earlier and reads them the riot act. Then tells them, Fine, don't go, you'd probably just surrender. And then says, "I'll kill you myself." Doink! He grabs a sword, heads for the nearest scholar, and swings at his head!...Wait, no, just his hat, the top of which shears clean off. This kind of display from Ryu, it so shocks them all, they all drop to their knees on the spot.
Then Ryu goes to the king and asks that the war minister Hong Yeosun be removed from office and punished. "The officials and Confucian scholars know he is corrupt" and can't or won't follow his orders (Sorry, the translation was a little sketchy on this). And he isn't just corrupt; he's been stealing military rations (which we know). Seonjo sighs disgustedly. "I can't believe I have to remove the Minister of War at a time like this." But he agrees and accepts Ryu's choice of a replacement. And agrees with appointing a supreme commander to supervise all of the generals. And agrees to have that Uiju magistrate who was locked up at Ming's request released, because Ryu says "I need him." But this is all getting to be too much for Seonjo; he's grabbing his chest and breathing heavily again, and says he's in pain. So this is a terrible time for the news report that arrives at that moment: not only did Dongnae fall, but the next three forces in line also fell. The Japanese are getting closer. Ryu realizes what's happening. "Your majesty--this isn't an invasion. It's war!"
We see Konishi's fleet reach the Joseon south coast. Scouts are sent out; they land and find a lightly guarded Busan fortress, with most of the soldiers out hunting and enjoying a nice day in the surrounding countryside. Not much of a threat, they tell Konishi when they return.
So Konishi's entire force moves in for landing. They're spotted early enough that all of the surrounding villagers are herded into the fortress. We see a massive wave of Japanese soldiers charge up the beach and head for the fortress...and in no time they're in front of it. And now it's on. The Japanese charge forward; take some cannon hits and some archer fire...but then they set up the musket lines and wow are they ever effective. Joseon soldiers atop the wall fall like dominoes, and soon the fortress wall is breached. Then the main gate is rammed open...and long story short, soon everyone in the fortress is laying on the ground dead. Including Jeong Bal, the commanding general; felled by point-blank musket fire and a blade for good measure. Narration tells us this was April 13, 1592, and that 3,000 Joseonese ended up dead.
"300-400 ships?" King Seonjo gets the initial reports of what's happening and realizes that this is a huge deal. Immediately a council meeting is called. The councilors all stand there silently while Seonjo berates them...until finally the requisite "Please kill us." But at this point they're still not sure whether or not this is a full-blown war or just a large pirate invasion. Lee Sanhae and Shin Rip are pretty confident it's the latter, which reassures Seonjo. Ryu is more cautious; says this is just an initial report and we have no idea what else may be out there...but he can't even get the king to mobilize the entire national army over it. Lee Il does offer to lead soldiers from the Border Defense Force to the south and is very confident he'll make short work of the invaders. "You don't need a huge knife to kill a chicken," he adds, believing the invaders to be a pirate force like most of his colleagues believe.
Consort Kim is talking with her brother, who's very confident that Shin Rip and Lee Il will make short work of this invasion. She hopes so but is more reticent. Elsewhere, the queen and Prince Gwanghae second-guess the lack of preparation for war and wonder if Jeong Cheol and Yun Dusu were right.
Lee Il draws up a plan of action and presents it to the council...but now a report arrives that Busan fell. So time is running short.
The generals are trying to round up soldiers from among the young men of the capital elite. But very few show up, and those who do say they're either preparing for the national state exam or are too busy to leave their jobs, and refuse to go. They're told they're going, under threat of execution...but the threat doesn't seem to scare them much. Not at all, frankly.
We see Konishi's army headed northward, and learn that they've already taken two more fortresses after Busan. Now they're headed towards Dongnae Fortress...
...and here we are with Song Sanghyeon, Dongnae's commander. Song has heard that the Japanese army is large and moves fast, but Dongnae has 3,000 soldiers and 17,000 residents who can pitch in, so he's confident that the fortress can be defended. He'd better be right, because he knows that Dongnae is the key to defending the inland regions between Konishi and the capital.
Konishi knows it too. He and his staff are studying their battle plan carefully. He has a surrender request drawn up and sent to Song Sanghyeon, who So Yoshitoshi knows to be "upright" and deserving of respectful treatment.
Later Konishi chuckles appreciatively as he reads Song's abrupt refusal: "A general should send such a reply."
Japan: Hideyoshi expects Konishi to have taken Busan by now. And Kato, he's left and headed to Tsushima. "It will be fun to watch them compete," Hideyoshi says. But Maeda is concerned that it will go beyond just healthy competition. Don't worry, Hideyoshi tells him; "I have people watching them." Spies, that is. He laughs. Then he kneels next to Maeda and asks him again, Can I go to Joseon? And asks repeatedly...and Maeda has to tell him, gently but firmly, that it's still a bad idea. Hideyoshi is disappointed but doesn't argue--that's how much he respects Maeda.
Dongnae Fortress: We missed the battle, but we see the result. Just like Busan, a sacked fortress and dead Joseonese everywhere. Actually we're just in time to see Song Sanghyeon die while trying to charge at Konishi; looks like he's the last one to die. "He's a great general," Konishi says. "Bury him well."
Tsushima: Uh-oh. Kato has gotten word that Konishi has advanced all the way through Dongnae, and he's not happy. He's so worried that Konishi may capture the king first, he ignores the war plan and orders his forces to prepare to leave for Joseon immediately. It shocks his subordinates; they think he's crazy, clearly...but what can they do but obey.
It's been two days since the capital defense force was supposed to assemble and leave, and it still hasn't done so. Ryu is furious; summons all of the scholars and officials we saw earlier and reads them the riot act. Then tells them, Fine, don't go, you'd probably just surrender. And then says, "I'll kill you myself." Doink! He grabs a sword, heads for the nearest scholar, and swings at his head!...Wait, no, just his hat, the top of which shears clean off. This kind of display from Ryu, it so shocks them all, they all drop to their knees on the spot.
Then Ryu goes to the king and asks that the war minister Hong Yeosun be removed from office and punished. "The officials and Confucian scholars know he is corrupt" and can't or won't follow his orders (Sorry, the translation was a little sketchy on this). And he isn't just corrupt; he's been stealing military rations (which we know). Seonjo sighs disgustedly. "I can't believe I have to remove the Minister of War at a time like this." But he agrees and accepts Ryu's choice of a replacement. And agrees with appointing a supreme commander to supervise all of the generals. And agrees to have that Uiju magistrate who was locked up at Ming's request released, because Ryu says "I need him." But this is all getting to be too much for Seonjo; he's grabbing his chest and breathing heavily again, and says he's in pain. So this is a terrible time for the news report that arrives at that moment: not only did Dongnae fall, but the next three forces in line also fell. The Japanese are getting closer. Ryu realizes what's happening. "Your majesty--this isn't an invasion. It's war!"
