The Great Revival
A story which is read thru all ages in China
A glorious memory of Chinese
Goujian who endured all disgrace to accomplish his goal
He was undaunted despite repeated failures
He was staunch and unyielding
The old nation was supported by
this great and immortal spirit
2,500 years ago,
the last phase of Eastern Zhou Dynasty
Dukes and princes contended for hegemony
Wu, which Chinese regarded as a savage nation
was getting stronger
Wu started to extend the territory
Yue, a small and weak nation, was in a crisis between life and death
Yue attempted to pacify Wu by marriage
After the princess' escape
The curtain of a fierce war between Wu and Yue
was going up silently
Why did you stop the cart?
Troops in ambush
Jiwan, Yue's Princess sister of Goujian
Make a detour. Use the lane
Escort mistress
I will fight them
Everyone comes with me
Yes
You Yue people are outrageous
How dare you run away with the princess
By the Prince's command
Kill them on the spot
You will be spared if you drop the weapon and get out of the way
Live with the sword. Die with the sword
Kill them
Stop
An urgent message from the border
Get out of the way...
Stop
An urgent message from the border
Must inform the Field Marshal now
Princess Jiwan, she married Wu's prince
She ran away
Shimai, Field Marshal of Yue
Where is she?
Still in Wu
What should we do, Field Marshal?
Mo Buxie, General of Yue
If we don't report it to the king,
we will be in trouble if she gets back
If we report it,
the prince will send troops to receive her
It is fine if he sends troops to receive her
It will cause big trouble if friction is created
In your opinion...
You must prepare how to deal with the prince
The king asked him to supervise state affairs 1 year ago
He did everything to strengthen the nation. He is ambitious
He is not easy to deal with
Everyone wants to strengthen our nation
The king asked the prince to supervise state affairs
but he has no real power
He is depressed
He will grab this chance
and contend for power
What will the king think?
When it is about love
I'm afraid the king can't make the decision
Stop
I have a petition
Take me to the prince now
Show me the sign for admittance
It's urgent. I don't have it with me
Leave the petition and go away now
The petition is in my stomach
Cut open your stomach
You will delay the prince's family affairs
Can you take the responsibility?
Drop your sword
Take off your armor
Put a cang on him
Move
Who are you?
Goujian, Yue's prince
I'm Yan Ying, a guard of Shimen Gate
How dare you talk about my family affairs
What do you want to report?
Your sister, Jiwan,
fled Wu
My sister, Jiwan
Where did she go?
She is on her way to Yue
How did you know?
I eavesdropped on the officer of Shimen Gate
Why didn't the officer report it?
He did but not to you
Who did he report to?
Maybe the Field Marshal
What did you say?
Say it again
Maybe the Field Marshal
Kucheng Yes
Go to the Field Marshal's residence and
find out if they had a message from the border tonight
Yes
Did you tell me the truth?
I dare not lie
Your Highness...
Did the Field Marshal get any message from the border?
Yes, the message was sent there first
Did he report it to the court?
He didn't
How dare he withhold such an important message
Does he respect me?
Kucheng Yes
Summon the Field Marshal now
Yes
Wait
Summon us to court at night
Futong, Commissioner of Yue
0h no! Something has gone wrong
Summon us to court at night
Field Marshal
We are summoned at night unless there is a border fight
The court knows about the princess' escape
How did the court know?
Why didn't Field Marshal come?
Fine
We will wait for him
Wu's palace
I will kill you...
Wretches
You wretches
I will kill you...
I asked you to run
Run
I asked you to run
You wretches
Run
Wretches
Jiwan,
come back
Prince Po, the eldest son of Wu's king
Your Highness
Field Marshal
We have been waiting for your report
for 2 hours
What kept you so long?
Last night
I had a few drinks
When the message from the border came
I...
was drunk
I didn't ask you if you were drunk
Now my sister's life is at stake
Should we receive her?
What...
What are your opinion, courtiers?
Your Highness, I think
if we receive her,
it will cause the outbreak of war between Wu and Yue
0ur nation is weak
We won't receive her
Yiyong, Censor of Yue
I beg to differ
0fficial Yiyong's duty
is to facilitate relations between nations
Let's not consider his fear
His opinion
is the same as the ignorant people's
Commissioner,
you insult me in front of all the courtiers
Enough. Yiyong
let him finish
Thank you
0fficial Yiyong
I didn't insult you
People bully the weak but fear the strong
Relation between nations
It is submission if a weak nation let a strong one bully it
Submission is not kingcraft
0ur nation's strength is irrelevant
when we decide to receive the princess or not
Strong nations always bully the weak, don't they?
I didn't talk about submission
I talked about receiving the princess
Will it cause the outbreak of war if we receive her?
I disagree with official Yiyong
Haojin, Prefect of Yue
Will it cause the outbreak of war?
Let's not discuss it now
Let's discuss should we receive her according to etiquette
What is etiquette?
A wife must follow her husband
The princess committed a break of etiquette
We will be unreasonable if we receive her
I think we can't receive her
We should send her back if she comes
We should send generous gifts to Wu
and ask for forgiveness
Do you
have other idea?
How about you, Field Marshal?
What is the king's opinion?
Your Majesty
How did it go?
Did the courtiers reach an agreement?
Yunchang, Yue's king
No, not yet
The courtiers didn't want to do it
or the prince didn't like it?
The prince hasn't decided
But... the courtiers...
What about them?
They are having an argument
I have been kind to them. They don't deserve it
When the situation becomes critical,
they don't care
how much I miss my daughter
Let's go
Let's go to the Hall
Your Majesty
Let's go to the Hall
Wait
Your Majesty
If you go to the Hall,
what will the prince think?
What will the courtiers think?
Tangli, concubine of Yue's king
I don't care what they think
I want my daughter back
What should we do if we have her back?
Then...
What do you say?
In my opinion
we should let the prince decide
Let's wait and see
Wany, my daughter
Where are you?
You must have suffered
It is a serious matter
Why didn't you report it right away?
It is serious
You couldn't keep a wife
How can you have the face to say it?
I could have kept her
Why did she run away?
She demeaned herself
I couldn't keep her
How did she demean herself?
You should know better than me, Father
0utrageous
Helu, Wu's king
You are disrespectable
I will never give in to you
Fine
You are not the crown prince anymore
Let's see if you will give in to me
Your Highness
Your Majesty...
Take this useless creature
back to the prince's palace
Your Highness...
He couldn't keep a wife
Why should I keep a crown prince like him?
Your Majesty,
the prince is in delicate health
Don't be angry
Bopi, Minister of Wu
Bopi Yes
You are the director of the palace
A woman fled the imperial harem
What is your responsibility?
Please forgive me
A few days ago Yue's king, Yunchang
sent 2 carts of honey and colored drawings to his daughter
8 warriors were the escort
The princess grabbed the chance
She said she wanted to visit her countrymen
She went to the post house
She escaped from the city and ran away
Your Majesty, the princess ran away
I'm responsible because I didn't guard her well
You mean
Yue premeditated it
You are judicial
I dare not make wild guesses
Fine
Catch the despicable woman
She will tell us under torture
Report...
0fficer, bad news
Your Majesty, the officers who pursued the princess
were killed by Yue's guards
Gongsun Xiong
Yes
Gongsun Xiong, Field Marshal of Wu
Lead the troops
and bring the despicable woman back
Yes, Your Majesty
Premier Wu has arrived
Your Majesty
Wu Zixu, Premier of Wu
Premier Wu,
do you know the prince's wife ran away?
I do
What should we do?
Your Majesty,
may I hear minister's opinion first?
Bopi
Your Majesty, in my opinion
As soon as we take the princess back,
we should send a letter to Yue
Ask Yue's king to send an envoy here
We can say the princess is disloyal to Wu
She ruined the relation between the 2 countries
And force Yue's king to apologize
Then you temper justice with mercy
We can have Yue gradually
Minister,
conflict between 2 nations will lead to bloodshed
It's no child's play
Yue is not content
We should make Yue submit to us
The quickest way is by force
Wang Sunluo, Censor
War is ominous
War will cost a lot
We have never persuaded Yue to submit to us
How can we use force?
Your suggestion is like children's games
It's a joke
What is your opinion, premier?
Your Majesty
I think minister has his point
If we can make Yue submit to us without force
It is worth a try
But I think
we should let the princess run away
Really?
Field Marshal,
I want to know your opinion
I think
it will cause problem
no matter we receive her or not
Should we receive her or not?
I think
we shouldn't receive her
Do you know
my sister's life is at stake?
You should know
officers worry and die for their master
All of you were conferred knighthoods by the king
We are in a critical situation
You are having a discussion at court
You are talking nonsense
Field Marshal,
you have the military power
I must save my sister
If you don't dispatch your troops
I will receive her myself
Don't be angry, Your Highness
I deserve to die 10,000 times
10,000 times?
0ne is enough
To receive her or not?
General Ling Gufu
Yes
Ling Gufu, General of Wu
Lead troops to receive the princess now
Yes
Where are you going, sister in law?
Fucha, the youngest son of Wu's king
I wonder who it is
It's you, Your Grace
Do you know what
your escape has caused?
Death is in the air
So you hurt others with your sword
You caused more than a few deaths
If you run away,
how can my brother face others?
How can our king
and Wu's people face others?
Fine
If I tell you
your people lost face a long time ago,
what will you do?
No matter what you say
I will never let you go
I see
You don't want to save face
You want your brother to be the crown prince as before
Right
He is incompetent
You think he will abdicate
and give the crown to you
Your Highness, I think
you shouldn't have said that in your status
My status?
I am the princess of Yue
I'm not the wife of the Wu's prince
Your Highness,
come back with me
You must be shocked, Your Grace
Your Grace
Your Highness,
why don't you do it?
You will be doubly guilty if you do this, Your Highness
You can't go back to Yue
Ask them to go away
The king sent them here
How can I ask them to go away?
General,
you won't risk His Grace's life, will you?
I follow the king's order. I don't care about anything else
Mistress...
Don't panic
Ling Gufu is here
Listen to my order, soldiers
Wait
Your Highness,
if you don't come back,
the 2 nations will go to war
If you come back,
I promise you will be fine
You should go back and ask you brother
if he can protect me
If he can't protect you,
I will beg the king to forgive you
He forgives me?
Who will forgive him?
Don't listen to her rubbish. Get her
Kill them
Soldiers, attack
Kill them
Stop it
Mistress
Your Highness...
Mistress
Report...
General, the king's order
let the princess go back to Yue. Retreat
General Ling Gufu
The king's order, let the princess go back to Yue
Take care of the princess
Your Highness,
I will go to Yue and take you back
Retreat
General
Take me back
Has Jiwan come back?
Your Highness
We received her
We met Wu's troops at the border
She wanted to avoid a fight between 2 armies
She tried to kill herself with a sword
How is she?
She didn't hurt any vital parts, nothing serious
Good, great
General, don't publicize it
Don't
let the king know about this
Take Jiwan to Yayu palace
Ask her to convalesce there
Yes
Ministry
Your Grace
Ministry Your Grace
I need a favor
Please go inside
I hear you went to pursue the princess
I did
I almost caused the outbreak of war between Wu and Yue
Luckily, the king summoned Gongsun Xiong
It was Wu Zixu's brilliant idea
But he has ulterior motives
What do you mean?
Think about it
We must let the princess go back
Then we can have a reason to attack Yue
So soon
I see
Your Grace
Contention to be the crown prince
is imminent
The escape of the princess
made the king dethrone my brother
You are a sensible person
Think about it
You are just a duke
You have no troops or power
Your brothers and their leader Prince Lei
are generals and officials
If Wu goes to war,
they will try to be the first to go out to battle
Your Grace,
who stands to benefit most?
So
if you want to avoid a war between Wu and Yue,
you must get the princess back
That is why I came
What do you want?
I... want to borrow your sign
I will visit Yue as an envoy and take her back
Your Grace,
Censor has the sign
I remember when your brother visited the other nations,
he had a sign
I think he still has it
Then I won't bother you
Your Grace,
what are you going to do?
I will steal the sign and visit Yue as an envoy
I will take the princess back
You are decisive
0ur nation is lucky to have you
Thank you. Goodbye
Why do you want to leave town, Your Grace?
Here is the sign
The duke is sent to Yue as an envoy
Yes
I don't think I can count on the crown prince
Your Majesty, the matter about crown prince can wait
The pressing matter is how to get the princess back
Right
How dare that wretch run away
She humiliated our nation
Courtiers may swallow the insult
but I can never swallow it
We can save our face
and vent our anger
I have an idea which can kill 2 birds with 1 stone
Tell me
We say we want to take the princess back
We send an army to Yue's border
To threaten Yue with our main forces
And?
Prince Lei will be the army's general
You can test his competence
Good...
You have foresight
You have taken the matter of crown prince into account
Prince Lei is strong, brave and skillful in battle
He can be the leader of an army
How many troops should we send?
To capture Yue
50,000 troops
Fucha stole the prince's sign
Your Majesty,
do you want to catch him?
Catch him if he shows his face
Put him in prison and punish him
I think
he went to Yue
He thought he could get the princess back
Let him go to Yue
I will give him a letter of challenge
Ask Yue to battle with us on a set date
Didn't you favor Prince Lei?
Your Majesty, at this moment
I favor no one
Prince Lei
Yes
You will be the commander
Bopi
Yes
You will be his aide
Lead 50,000 troops and set off now
No mistake is allowed Yes
What if Yue's king refuses to let us take the princess back?
Prince Lei, the second son of Wu's king
Capture Yue
And bring me the head of Yue's king
Yes
Premier
Please give me the letter of challenge
I sent someone
to give it to Duke Fucha