"I have grown old" "It's so long since I last dreamed of master Zhu" "My ideas of education, music, humanity and harmony" "Can be fullfilled only in times to come..." "Master Kong Qiu, the mayor of Zhong Du" "Indeed!" "Follow me" "Master Kong, you may bow inside" "Announcing Master Kong Qiu, the mayor of ZhongDu" "His Majesty arrives" "Welcome, Kong Qiu..." "Your humble servant Kong Qiu glad too greets Your Majesty" "Ok, Kong Qiu" "As I heard you've been mayor of ZhongDu for only a year, many things.." "have changed..." "Streets were safe, homes were secure" "Your majesty" "As I said of observing the ritual of Zhou" ""A year shows progress, three years would show much more"" "I would like to see" "Your policies applied througout the Kingdom of Lu" "I have no such authority, and therefore shouldn't exert myself" "This could be easily handled" "I'll appoint you to the right position" "Lord Ji Yiru has just died" "Now, his oldest son Ji Sunsi has become Prime Minister and Chief General of the Army" "But the post of Minister of Law is vacant" ""Three noble families" all their own nominees" "But I'm inclined to appoint you" "I can't presume to be worthy then I will support you" "You and your disciples could civilize the Kingdom of Lu" "You could challenge those you've called unworthy in the past" "Do you dare?" "My Lord, A slave has just escaped!" "What?" "Who is it?" "It's master PingZi late lord's favorite young servant" "He is Qi Sigong!" "That little boy" "My father ordered that this boy must be buried with him!" "Get him back!" "Yes" "Overthere!" "Prepare poisoned arrows now!" "Help!" "Master!" "Master ... help me, please!" "Teacher, in your opinion could the kingdom of Lu be stronger but the emulating the Dukedom of Qui?" "Your majesty" "The people of Qi obey the law" "Out of their fear of punishment" "If we respect the law because of we are civil, honest, and have integrity, dignity,..." "isn't this much better when horrible and credible men are chosen to be officers theft and corruption would disappear men who care for their parents and children also care for others" "Men should perform their duties while women would be given a home and family ... then orphan and widows, the old, the sick and the weak could be taken care of" "Then the people will live and work cheerfully" "Universal peace and harmony will reign!" "Mother!" "?" "Don't close it!" "Open the door!" "Let me out, please!" "Prepare the meal" "Your father has returned" "How do you know?" "I heard his voice" "He'll be surprised I've brought you to see him" "Hurry, take and bring this to him" "Father" "You're back" "You've been gone for half of the day!" "Mother and I have been waiting" "You haven't eaten yet?" "You must be hungry" "Don't worry, who are you?" "I am ..." "Qi Sigong" "Little boy.." "Teacher" "Yan Hui, call a doctor, quick!" "Yes" "Hurry, call for a doctor" "What's this all about?" "Teacher as I came here the troops of Ji Family were chasing this little slave" "So i rescued him" "He was a burial-slave" "The Ji's troops want him back" "Teacher, let's avoid trouble" "I can leave him with my brother in law in the Kingdom of Wei" "This might be better for everyone" "No, Zilu, he could stay here" "Seeing injustice and not extending help equals to lack of courage" "Then, Lord Ji Sunsi will be furious" "Zilu" "You did the right thing" "Stop!" "What do you thing you're doing?" "Who are you?" "I am General Gong Sang Niu of Biyi cidatel" "Quickly search this area" "Mr. Gong San" "Teacher" "Kong Qiu" "What do you want?" "It is reported" "That the Minister's escaped slave is hiding here" "If you don't show him over to us now it may damage your relation with the Minister" "Minister Kong, may I have any words in private?" "Minister Kong, I hate the arrogance of the three Noble Families so much" "And today, I could report that I found nothing" "You and I should be friends and partners." "Together." "we could drive out the Noble Families and rule the kingdom ourselves." "Now, tell me" "What do you say?" "Our paths are different, so we cannot work under the same principle" "General, it's getting late, you should be on your way" "Go!" "My lord and Ministers" "Everyone has come to observe the Winter Sacrifice" "But before we can begin" "A strange occurrence demands explanation" "Yesterday, the officer responsible for the sacrifice of birds reported that one of the ten pheasants" "prepared for the ceremony has pecked off its own tail" "So, today I must seek your exalted opinions" "Ought we to cancel the ceremony?" "Or make a delay?" "I wish to speak" "You can speak, Su Sunwu" "In my opinion, since the Winter Sacrifice marks the most important sacrifice at year end it must not be delayed nor canceled!" "We address the gods throught this ceremony the omen reflects a message from Heaven therefore, the pheasant should be set to fly out from sacrifice" "To do otherwise would be seen as a disrespect for the Spirit!" "We must obey the will of heaven" "And allow this bird to live" "Kong Qiu, what is your view?" "Your Majesty your humble servant fully agrees with Minister Shu's opinion" "Then ... you ministers?" "Your humble servants also agrees with the two minister's opinion" "Since everyone is in agreement." "So be it!" "Let the pheasant be released" "Into the mountain forests." "Your Majesty, your humble servant wished to speak" "Speak" "I have a request at the end of the evil burial ritual of living beings with their deceased Master" "Kong Qiu" "Why do you have such respect?" "Because today, your humble servant" "Is pleading for this little slave's life" "Which little slave?" "There he is" "Uncle" "Ins't that the slave who ran away from your home?" "Kong Qiu" "He was my family's slave and you took him into your house!" "How dare you!" "Teacher" "Minister Ji, please pardon him" "This boy should not accompany" "Lord Ji Yiru to the grave" "Don't you always approve of observing our ancient traditions?" "This is just one of them!" "Minister Ji" "Benevolence is love for our fellow human!" "A ritual murder is still a murder even if it complies with our tradition!" "Lord Shu" "You showed benevolence toward a pheasant" "I am here to ask you" "Surely you can also speak up for this wounded boy?" "Today, we come here" "Only for discussing about the Winter Sacrifice" "This matter is unrelated" "No, there is a close relationship!" "The "Zhou Book of Ethic" tells us to value a human life above all the burial of slave was praticed in wicked ways" "It was outlawed since the commencement of the Zhou throne in this Dynasty" "Our Kingdom of Lu is the ancient home of the Duke of Zhu" "And known for its ethic" "We should be innovative with our system and abandon outdated traditions" "Your Majesty, everybody" "I, Kong Qiu, on my own life" "I ask you to spare this young slave" "Kong Qiu" "It was Lord Yiru's dying wish that those he loved should die with him" "It is not cruel to bury this slave" "Rather, it demonstrates the Prime Minister's filial piety, and his love to his father" "General Gong, I know" "You served Lord Yuri for years" "I heard he said many times that he could not live without you" "Yeah!" "That's right." "Given how close you were to him he must still need you now that he has passed to the next life" "If you were willing to accompany your lord in death" "I could not object to you taking this little slave with you" "You" "Can you say anything?" "You!" "Bastard!" "It seems the General is not willing to serve his master beyond the grave" "He imposes on others what he will not impose on himself" "Your Majesty, I have no more to say" "The scholar's words seem to be profound" "I decide" "Approved, release him" "Great!" "You will never have to back to the Ji's house" "Second bow" "Boy..." "Don't cry, stand up" "Qi Sigong." "What's wrong?" "Are you okay?" "I am not crying" "May I really stay here?" "Alright now, today is a special day" "Zilu, let's get some drink" "Good!" "Ziqian, Boniu, help me fetch the wine" "Boy, come here" "This is now your home" "All of them are your brothers" "They will take care of you" "I know, teacher." "So we're family now" "Teacher, I could hardly believe it when Minister Ji accepted your proposal" "Here comes the wine" "Come." "What about you?" "I have this" "Drink all you like." "Very well." "Cheer!" "It tastes horrid" "Your Highness" "Making Kong Qiu a Minister with lots of responsibility with surely strengthen the Kingdom of Lu" "And their strength threatens us in the Dukedom of Qi" "Lu's strength is a threat to Qi ?" "For almost one hundred years" "All rulers of Qi have dreamed of.." "..conquering Lu and clearing our way to the western border" "Kong Qiu has already asserted his authority in the Lu court" "Your Highness, perhaps we should celebrate a meeting to congratulate Lu" "We could invite the King of Lu and Kong Qiu to meet at our border" "Kong Qiu is a man of literature and not familiar with military affairs!" "He knows about Ethics, not bravery!" "During the ceremony, we'll take the King of Lu as hostage then we could discuss how the rule ends the three Noble Families can submit to Qi's will ?" "What an excellent proposal!" "Minister Li, prepare a formal invitation to" "The King of Lu" "About having a meeting in Jiagu on forming an alliance between the two kingdoms." "despatch immediately" "Yes" "This meeting at Jiagu is my first challenge as a minister" "It is a matter of honor or humiliation, win or lose" "And it would have significant consequences!" "Yan Hui" "His Majesty agrees that you should take charge of the ceremony ensure that both parties have equal ground and no disrespect would be allowed" "Yes, teacher." "Zilu" "Teacher" "You and ZiGong will be the only men to carry swords on the meeting platform" "Guard His Majesty carefully, regardless of what happeneds" "Understood!" "Ran Qiu" "Teacher" "Go in advance to Jiagu to inspect the area around the meeting platform seek out any places" "What do you want me to do, teacher?" "Teacher, the military commanders are here" "Our respects, Minister of Law" "Ok." "Qi specified the place for the alliance talks" "It was known as a mountain ravine a dead end" "I would like to bring chariots nearby in case we need them" "Minister, we're based in a barrack" "We have only carriages at our command, and no war chariots" "Minister Ji and" "General GongShan Niu control them all" "Minister" "I heard the Prime Minister and Genernal Gong are holding an archery tournament in Biyi" "Very well" "Then I would have to visit them there!" "Teacher, we're approaching Biyi" "Teacher, it is said that the Biyi cidatel has more mounted soldier and slaves than any other city of Lu" "Be advised those who shrunk labor within three days will be dragged out and put on public display" "Complete at what?" "Archery" "Please" "The meeting between Lu and Qi is a serious matter" "Can your Lordship provide army chariots to protect our king?" "To show our might" "How many?" "500 chariots" "Isn't it supposed to be an alliance meeting?" "Why do you need to show a show of force?" "As Duke of Zhou taught us" "Must backup Words with Force" "Qi is a barbarous country which has long wanted to conquer Lu, so we must be prepared" "We must be prepared!" "Good" "Let us have a match" "My teacher respectfully request a match and drinks to you" "If you win, I'll grant you" "500 chariots" "The archery match will begin" "Please get in the shooting area" "You have my word" "If you win, they're yours" "If you lose, you'll get nothing" "Agreed" "A pure heart makes a pure shot" "Right, full score" "A new minister with high ambitions" "Who would thought BiYi cidatel walls were more than 18 feet high?" "Built to conceal their injustices use violence to control them" "the tyranny within these walls puts tigers into shame!" "Prime Minister, has all this escaped your notice?" "Now, Master Ji" "May I ask how Lu stands today?" "it might be that the Ji Family's real enemy is from within not across the border" "I hear you had no father" "Who taught you the shooting skill?" "My father was a warrior, but he left this world before his time" "A diligent student needs no teacher ..." "I learned myself" "Good" "Right wins" "Thanks Prime Minister" "So you need 500 chariots for the alliance talks" "Ask him yourself, General Gong." "We have a kingdom because we have an army!" "Who raised and trained that army?" "Not your King of Lu, It was my BiYi cidatel!" "Why could I turn over my chariots to you?" "So that you can process my army into the dessert and famish them!" "See again!" "You see, my words don't necessarily count" "I will give you the order" "But you have to figure out the rest by yourselves" "Teacher" "Halt" "Your Majesty!" "Teacher!" "Greetings, Your Majesty and Teacher." "Have General Gong's army moved or not?" "I don't know what happened" "Not one soldier or horse has moved yet" "But... that can't be correct?" "Ji Sunsi ordered them" "But why didn't they follow us?" "Put our second plan into effect, immediately!" "Yes" "Go" "Kong Qiu, Qi has brought so much cavalry" "Is there anything to concern us about this?" "Your Majesty, rest assured we've prepared" "Since Qi is host and Lu is guest, we request that the Nobles of Qi descent to welcome..." "Your Highness, you do not need to descend" "We invite the King of Lu to do ascend" "Your Majesty" "Lu is the guest and Qi is the host" "The Zhou Ritual mandatse that Qi Nobles should descend" "Qi is the Head of the Alliance" "How could we dishonour our guest?" "Your Highest, Qi and Lu share a close retationship" "Our ruler has come to rebuild our brotherly alliance" "Please" "Please" "It is our desire to respect each other and forever abandon war" "Although the two kingdoms don't share the same surname but we are like brothers" "After this alliance the two countries are like one" "What Master Li said is interesting" "All the people in the whole world are one family the ministers and officers are just the servants of our kings" "Therefore, both of you excellencies have the responsibility to protect our Emperor Zhou's dynasty" "Excellencies, your humble servant advised" "When this alliance is formed" "Each state must commit to aiding the other" "Should Qi oneday find itself at war" "Lu would be asked to provide 500 chariots to supplement our army" "Excellent idea!" "Excellencies" "Your humble servant would also like to make a request" "An alliance between us should be found on sincerity" "We have a request!" "The return of the Three Cities of Wen Shang ... won from Lu 30 years ago in war" "Let me think about the request" "Your Majesty" "Your Majesty" "A gentlemen's word is golden, your highest" "Thanks for returning our land to us, let's drink to it" "Kong Qiu, it seems that you and your Master have no plan to leave here today" "Take a look" "Yan Hui" "Your Highness" "Today, we come here in peace" "We only brought 10 chariots with us" "But to safeguard the negotiation from any unforeseen threats another 500 more chariots are waiting nearby" "Need we summon them here?" "Take a look!" "Your Majesty the advance party is here" "500 chariots are following me to Jiagu" "We await your order" "Minister Li" "Do you want to see this ravine run in blood?" "If this is the way you demonstrate friendship as head of the alliance who will ever again trust the Dukedom of Qi?" "Why are you still standing here?" "Dismiss the troops!" "King of Lu" "King of Lu" "Please forgive my minister's shameful act" "May the alliance between us lasts forever" "We make use of 100 ox carts to scare off Qi's 500 chariots" "Another triumph for our teacher" "Teacher has always said" ""Military planning needs to be innovative and come with surprise"" "Come on, there are drinks waiting for us." "Our lady!" "What?" "Has she gone missing again?" "Sir, the prince has stormed into the palace and is arguing with His Majesty again" "Our Lady can't be found anywhere" "She was not here!" "Then what can we do?" "This is awful!" "Ok, Let's go back" "Go" "Father, I'm almost forty!" "I have been prince for almost 20 years" "You are getting old and our kingdom is stagnating" "But you just won't let go, will you?" "Kong Qiu in Lu has a saying" ""Women and servants are hard to educate"" "But how could you allow a woman to be involved in state affairs and control it" "Madam, you are back ..." "Your Majesty" "What's so important that the prince needs to see you in such a hurry!" "There's a message from General Gong Shan Niu" "I wasn't asking you!" "This Gong Shan Niu, he is an army general" "For the Ji family in Lu" "He wants to know" "If we will give him refuge in our kingdom" "So Wei is to become a heaven for outcasts now?" "That's exactly why i didn't approve" "GongShan Niu is ready to serve us" "Why can't we give him refuge?" "Giving him refuge would give no benefit to the Kingdom of Wei" "GongShan Niu has served the Ji family for many years, anh the Late Ji Yiru was good to him" "Not only the BiYi cidatel was granted to him, taxes were exempted for years" "And now he turns his back on his Boss" "What's the use of having a turncoat like that?" "I could control him" "Learn to control yourselves first!" "The kingdom of Lu and Wei depend on each other for their survival" "If we took Gong Shan Niu wouldn't we offend Lu?" "Have you forgotten?" "The mighty Kingdom of Jin is to our west and the rough Kingdom of Chu is to the South" "We have enemies on four sides!" "If we lose our main ally" "What then?" "Get out" "Next time, do not ..." "If there's a next time you'll no longer be the prince of Wei" "The prince can't even weigh up gains and losses" "How can I make him the regent?" "Invite Kong Qiu here to teach your prince" "Then Wei will be safe" "Your Majesty please write a formal invitation to Master Kong." "Do you think Kong Qiu would come?" "Master Kong's talents are not recognized the three Noble Families in Lu keep his talent in check" "Our invitation will be seen as an application of his talent" "If he comes, that's great!" "If he doesn't" "Lu will put him to better use" "Lu will prosper, and will bring Qi to heel" "That will suit us too..." "What is this?" "Two invitations from both Wei and Qi" "We should start using Kong Qiu better or others will take him" "So how should we make use of his talents?" "One moment.." "This Kong Qiu has no proper line of ancestry" "Your Majesty gave him a role in court less than a year ago" "First he was the mayor of Zhong Du" "Then he was appointed Minister of Law" "And now we're supported to promote him even higher?" "Does Your Majesty plan to make him a living god?" "At the Lu-Qi alliance meeting  Kong Qiu regained territory and enhanced our national prestige" "The whole country praises him for that" "Kong Qiu was born a commoner, however your father had admitted" "He is an offspring of a Song noble family." "He won back the Three Cities without using a soldier or chariot" "He may be a mere commoner but his idead of civilty in government works!" "When my father died." "Kong Qiu was made the Minister of Law" "Now I could vacate the post of Interior Minister for him when the emperor approves," "I would only serve as the Prime Minister" "Very well!" "I am glad our Prime Minister respects talents as much" "Good" "This is wonderful" "It is the time for talents when countries are in turmoil" "Besides Kong Qiu most of his disciples are available to serve our country" "Master Kong, this is an outdated tradition." "The servant I dispatched to the palace has reported secretly" "Minister of the Interior Kong Qiu is not focusing on government work" "He has been busy building the Wuzi high platform" "He claimed the platform is built to protect us from flooding, didn't he?" "Yes, that is what he said" "I do not trust him and" "I think he has other things in mind" "Kong Qiu is a mere commoner" "The Majesty already appointed him as the Minister of Law" "Now he has also appointed him to be the Acting Interor Minister" "Uncle, there has to be a conspriracy here" "He dit not ... did not eat again" "I'll cut off your tongue if you stammer again" "Out!" "Yes" "Zhongni, I've made some new black ink for you" "It won't be easily washed off, let's try it." "Very well" "Teacher, the petition is ready." "Please take a look." "Fine!" "Gong Boliao, ready the cart" "It's so late!" "Where are you going?" "It is urgent, I need to go to the palace." "Wake up!" "Gong Boliao" "Do not disturb me" "Rotten wood is hard to be carved, let him sleep." "You have been working all day, even at midnight" "This is hard" "If this is for the betterment of Lu's citizens, I don't mind" "Teacher you're ordering city walls to be demolished" "Won't the Three Noble Families rebel" "Against your authority?" "It is time for razing the power of these Three Families" "If we raze, do it quickly" "Teacher, I think it would be dangerous to do so" "Yes Teacher, it's really dangerous" "You should consider it once more" "Consider what?" "Disciples, my late teacher Master ZiChan had two fine sayings" "Please remember them all your life" ""Put your country ahead of yourselves" ""Yes, as an officer the burden is heavy, the road is long" ""So maintain your strength of spirit"" "What we are doing now is not only for the short term" "Minister of the Interor Kong Qiu is here to see His Majesty" "Tomorrow in court," "I will call for "Razing the Three City Walls"" ""Razing"?" "What exactly does that mean?" "When the Duke of Zhou ruled these lands, it was established ... that no fiefdom should build walls around its city higher than 18 feet in height" "The aim was to prevent the nobles from abrogating power to themselves" "But in recent decades, these three noble families have turned their cities to be their own ...so have their city walls grown taller" "I humbly propose that the walls of these three cities be razed and to break the separations" "That is a serious matter" "It will stir up discontent" "Could you win this?" "If you fail you'll unleash chaos everywhere" "Your humble servant did a fortune reading" "The reading was "Headless Dragon"" "That is very auspicious" "To strengthen the throne, the power of the nobles must be reduced we must cut off the dragon's head" "Serve my man here with the best wine and meal" "Thanks Minister, thank you" "Didn't I say this would happen?" "It is vicious" "Razing the city walls" "To pull down our walls to undermine our strength!" "Kong Qiu wants to bring down the Three Noble Families" "Our fiefdoms?" "Do we have we any fiefdoms?" "Maybe Meng's fieldom still belongs to Meng" "Your fiefdom belongs to you or General Hou Fan?" "Is BiYi still mine?" "Kong Qiu wants to demolish them" "Fine!" "That would benefit us" "Uncle, what should we do now?" "Laozhi taught us" "If we want to gain, we must first give out something!" "We may support Kong Qiu raze the city walls!" "More speed" "We must reach BiYi tonight to see General Gongshan Niu" "Come on!" "Peck it!" "Urgent Report from the city of Houyi" "Acting Interior Minister" "Just speak" "Yes sir" "Hou Fan, Rebel General of Shusun Wu's terrorists has escaped from Houyi" "The armies of Shusun and Zigao have teared down their walls successfully" "Excellent!" "Well done." "Good, we caught them by surprise" "The Minister must be congratulated on his famous victory!" "Come, drink." "today we must celebrate" "No, it's not over yet" "Hou Fan will continue his resistance" "Minister, then ensure that Shusun and Zigao tear down their walls quickly or the rebels will regroup behind them!" "As I arrived in the city," "I saw Zilu and his army encamped nearby" "Your BiYi is about to have its walls torn down, you need a plan" "They can come and tear down the walls, then the Capital would not be protected" "My plan is to take over the capital, execute Kong Qiu and banish the Three Noble Families!" "Stop!" "We want to check the carts" "Don't you recognize the Ji's banner?" "We are delivering the land taxes from Biyi to the Palace" "Open the gate!" "The Minister of Law has ordered that all carts be inspected" "Seize the Duke of Lu, Slay Kong Qiu!" "Seize the King, slay Kong Qiu, banish the three noble families" "Kill'em all" "Report, General Gongshan, the King is not at the Palace now" "Where is he?" "it seems he sought refuge with the Ji Family" "Find the King!" "Open the gate!" "Open it!" "In such a key moment, where is Minister Ji?" "He's out for a hunt." "Your Majesty, follow me please" "Your Majesty, be careful" "Don't go head on with them, still for 2 hours" "Steer the rebels to the Wuzi Platform" "Yes sir" "Ji surely picked a good time for a hunt" "Quick!" "Kill'em all" "King of Lu, Kong Qiu, Three Noble Families, hear this..." "Today, in the name of the Lord Ji Yiru, under heaven's mandate" "I will clean up all those that go against the will of heaven" "Destroy them!" "March on!" "Seize the King, slay Kong Qiu" "Retreat" "Pull" "Release" "Report, Minister!" "Gongshan Niu and his rebels were defeated and is retreating from the capital" "Uncle, urgent report from the capital it's just as you estimated" "Gongshan Niu was defeated at the Wuzi Platform" "Then what are you waiting for?" "Send the troops in capture GongShan Niu alive" "Yes" "Take Gongshan Niu alive" "Pull" "Pull" "Release" "Pull" "Release" "No body is demolishing my Ghengyi" "Why?" "Chengyi stands right on the border between Qi and Lu" "The fort with high walls is used to protect us against the invasion of Qi it must not be demolished" "How could you break your own words?" "Didn't you approve to raze the high walls of our three noble families is the first place?" "Let him finish" "Kong Qiu has reclaimed the three cities of Wen Shang" "The three cities which used to belong to your family" "But were they returned to you?" "No, they now belong to the Duke of Lu" "In this campaign, Kong Qiu has removed General Hou Fan from the city of Houyi" "Then who has become the Governor of Houyi?" "Zigao, Kong Qiu's disciple and BiYi, has it been returned to your family?" "No, and you have nothing." "Zilu, a disciple of Kong Qiu, has now been appointed as the Governor of BiYi" "See?" "Now if they're going to take over my Chengyi they will give it again to the Duke of Lu" "Will there be any land or city left to us?" "You ministers" "Are you really willing to give the kingdom back to the Duke of Lu and Kong Qiu?" "Acting Interior Minister" "By the order of the Prime Minister" "No one is allowed in" "Please wait here, I will make a request" "Teacher, these are Meng and Shu's carriages" "Master, Kong Qiu is requesting to see you" "I don't wanna see him!" "They're all inside" "Teacher" "I am sure those are Meng and Shu's carriages" "Teacher" "Come!" "Let's drink" "All of you should drink more" "Attention!" "After the walls are torn down, we will truly become one big family" "Am I right?" "Father" "How far away is the Qi army from our border?" "Less than 30 miles" "But the Duke of Qi has sent an ambassador, Li Chu and some gifts" "Gifts?" "What's gifts?" "80 dancing girls as well as more than 100 horses" "Has Li Chu made any demands?" "He demanded that Kong Qiu must be dismissed" "Off to the palace, we must see his Majesty tonight" "The Acting Interior Minister is here!" "Your Majesty" "We cannot pull back now!" "We have won back two of the threee cities, how can we abandon the last one?" "Do you know?" "Li Chu has 30,000 Qi troops, amassed on our border, ready to invade" "Once they from an alliance with the city of Chengyi we will be encircled" "But the razing of the three cities is a proclaimed policy, Your Majesty!" "Those with high principles would rather die to protect their beliefs" "It is wrong to beg for one's life but to compromise on the principles" "Who will be left to care about ethics if we're defeated in battle?" "Victory and defeat are what matter, not ethics" "Don't you remember?" "My father prince Zhao was driven out of Lu by the three families and die in exile" "If the three families turn against me now my fate will be much worse than his" "Your Majesty" "Do not say anymore!" "for the past 100 days, I have been always supporting you" "So had the Ji family" "Last night, Ji came to see me" "His words implied more than they said" "It seems demolition campaign once reaches the City of Chengyi" "The Qi Army will seize the opportunity to march in" "With an army of 30,000 they will turn the world into chaos" "Kong Qiu, Kong Qiu" "You should follow my example sometimes" "Play a little stupid" "Didn't your teacher the revered Laozi say..." "Accomplish all tasks by not barging on anything?" "Kong Qiu, today the laws are not in order" "Everything is in chaos" "Yet you still insist on practicing your ethics, music, humanity and harmony?" "I feel ashamed" "Not achieving anything" "Then just let go!" "Fame and Authority are properties that all people try to obtain" "One should not take profession of it for long" "Then what should I, your pupil, do?" "Afterall, one cannot hang uselessly on the door, like a drunk-up wine gourd ...not contributing to this world" "How do you know the lack of contribution is not the true contribution?" "The weak one compatible, and the mild one linger on" "Nothing is as soft as water and yet the aggressive and the forceful ones never triumph over it" "The protected ones always resemble water the master's words is profound, but I am loyal to my choosen path" "The Master's way is magnificent and shapeless" "Which trancends the cosmos" "And is not contained in the material world" "My way, however, is within a dream of mankind" "Then you should not mind the lack of understanding by others" "Unlike those what are rich," "I have no gold to give only this simple advice" "The sacrifice for the "year end ceremony" is over" "Has the sacrifice meat been distributed to the nobles and everybody?" "Yes, it has" "And as you ordered none went to Kong Qiu's household" "Father" "Have some of this" "No point in waiting" "I don't think we will be getting sacrificial meat this year" "My lord" "What is it?" "My teacher wishes to see the King" "His Majesty has no time for him" "Well, give this to Kong Qiu" "Don't say I sent it." "tell him it comes from the Majesty himself" "Kong Qiu is a clever man, when he see this he will understand" "Yes, Master, I'll take it to him now" "And this tool" "Enough to buy yourself a piece of good land go home now, understand?" "Yes, sir!" "Come" "Stable the horse from Qi" "It's going to rain soon" "Yes, sir." "Untie the horses and bring them into the stables" "Father!" "Gong Boliao came back" "The King told him to bring this to you" "a parted jade ..." "Father, why would the king send this?" "Parted jade ..." "A parting gift" "Someone wants me to leave" "Did this come from the King himself?" "That's what he said, Father" "Gong Boliao handed this to me and then left" "He said he wouldn't come back anymore" "Find a chance to return this costume of ritual with its crown to the King" "Father this crown symbolizes ethics" "It has always been something you treasure the most" "But this is something no longer important" "Father, please wait until the rain stops" "Please at least wait for your disciples" "Take care of your mother!" "Teacher" "Yan Hui... how did you get here?" "The Teacher is the body, and I am your shadow" "I will stay with my teacher until the end" "To be honest, I have no idea where I am heading for" "Teacher" "Yan Hui, you are very talented" "You will have no trouble in finding a good position in court" "If you come with me, you will have to leave your home and family behind" "You will regret it" "No!" "Never!" "Yan Hui, look..." "There is only bramble roads ahead" "And no prospect for a life of fortune" "Only a vast wilderness" "Aren't you afraid?" "Tell me, what have I done wrong?" "May I speak?" "Of course!" "Teacher, you were wrong to have put all your faith in the King" "Teacher, you once told me that if a man cannot change the world then at least he should try to change himself from within" "Good, well said." "The humanity I taught is right before me, why should I still complain?" "Teacher, Ran Qiu and I had to finish some works before we could come, hence we are delayed!" "That's right, teacher!" "Look!" "We've brought all your scrolls" "Teacher, who will drive your cart if I am not around?" "Besides, nobody would dare to be rude to my teacher with me alongside you" "That's true" "Teacher" "Who would snore louder than I do" "Let's go" "the Kingdom of Wei is in front of us" "I am instructed by His Majesty and his Lady to greeat Scholar Kong" "The Kingdom of Wei welcomes your delegation" "Master Kong, what is your impression of Wei so far?" "Compared to Lu, Wei has a larger population" "Yes, a larger population makes it more difficult to govern and has more potential for chaos" "Tell me, how shall I govern in order to prevent the risk of being chaotic?" "By making sure the people all have a prosperous life" "The vast majority of them are quite prosperous" "And yet they are signs of social disorder everywhere" "Then it is the lack of a good social moral environment and the people need to be educated" "Well said!" "The master is truly a sage!" "Then I hereby invite the scholar to teach in our country" "Also, land will be provided to build a school for this purpose, together with 60,000 stones of grains every year, that should be enough, shouldn't it?" "Thank you, Your Majesty!" "There is yet a matter that I would like you to advice on" "As you can see," "Our kingdom Wei is vulnerable on all four sides" "Every one of our neighbors would want to conquer us" "So, I'd like to invite you to train Wei's military" "As a wandering exile, dare I even speak of soldiering at all" "But I have heard from somewhere" "Master is knowledgeable in warfare" "If Your Majesty speaks of sacrificial rituals" "I do claim to have some knowledge of them" "But on military matters," "I'm afraid they are not my specialty at all" "So let it be then" "But there's one thing you absolutely must agree to" "Your humble servant is a guest here, your wish is my command" "My royal consort Nanzi is eager to see you" "You won't say no, will you?" "Yes, ly lord." "Better not to see her" "Does the teacher not know that Nanzi has ill repulation?" "This woman is great beauty" "But she is a succubus" "She had bad repulation in the Kingdom of Wei" "Teacher" "You do not know about her past story" "This woman was raised in the house of the Song's ruler" "In Song, she had an affair with the prince, there was a scandal..." "This kind of gossip is trivial" "Do you know who manages the Kingdom of Wei now?" "The King?" "Who else?" "I don't think so" "Wei's internal politics are very chaotic, there are many seats of power" "But I can see that the real power behind the throne is Nanzi" "What kind of a man is this Kong Qiu" "In my view, he is just a poor and dishevelled scholar" "He is just a bookworm full of ethics and music" "Poor he may be, but we could build up friendship" "This Kong Qiu is a worthy man so you must treat him well" "I still hope one day, we could ask him to be the teacher of our prince" "I have already promised him 60,000 stones of corn every year!" "Please be seated, Master" "Our Lady would be here soon" "Your humble servant Kong Qiu greets Our Lady" "Are you the famous scholar Kong Qiu?" "Scholar Kong, please be seated." "Thank you, our Lady" "I have heard one of your axioms is "true benevolence is the love of mankind"" "Does this "benevolence"" "extend to a woman with a repulation like mine?" "I heard that you are teaching "The Book of Odes" here" "Yes, I am" "I also love poetry" "There is one poem" "Beauty is what a gentleman seeks out" "Could you tell me what that means?" "The poem means" ""Even while courting, a gentleman observes all proprieties"" "Of the 300 poems in "The Book of Odes"" "so many pieces speak of love!" "All 300 pieces, we could use one sentence to explain" "In true love, there is no evil" "Since I was a child, I have taken a liking to poetry" "Will you take me as your student?" "I have taken on a new student in Wei, his name is Bu Shang" "Although still quite young, he is some sort of prodigy" "While studying "The Book of Odes" under me, he was shown much insight" "So I humbly recommend that he becomes your study-companion" "Our Ministers consider your theories of civilty in government to be impracticable" "Do you truly believe they can work?" "Ruling with civility will benefit the state, its community, and its people" "Why couldn't it be put into practice?" "Without civility, a state will descend into chaos" "It is human nature to be lascivious and greedy." "and wars will rage to these ends" "Since this is human nature it will be quite a task to overcome them" "Then it will be the true measure of a gentleman's worth" "Master, do you really believe a gentleman?" "should carry himself as someone with high moral standards?" "And all this seems to be really important to you?" "It is my belief that when one is converted to a life of civility in the morning, he wouldn't mind to give up his life" "Teacher, will you stay longer in our country so we can meet again?" "That would not be convenient" "How so?" "Why inconvenient?" "For I have never encountered anyone who loves a little virtue as much as they love worldly beauties" "Worldly people could probably come to understand the master's sufferings," "But few will ever truly grasp the depth and breadth of those sufferings..." "It seems we should leave Wei now" "Why's that?" "This land will soon descend into chaos" "Worldly people could probably come to understand the master's sufferings," "But few will ever truly grasp the depth and breath of those sufferings..." "Scholar Kong is there, let's go and take a look at him" "Second bow, third bow ..." "Teacher, you may commence your class" "Poetry, books, ethics, music, these must be studied by all gentlemen" "So today we start to study together" "Duke should treat their ministers with courtesy and the ministes should serve their Duke with loyalty" "If our belief is based on love to our parents and the emperror" "Then the world will be harmonious" "All trades would prosper" "Take it simply, we could serve our parents well we could placate our neighbouring countries we could also learn a lot including the names of birds, animals and plants" "This is the order of Commander Huan Kui" "Get out of Song" "Stop" "Trees are going to fall." "Watch out!" "Teacher, leave here quickly" "Teacher, let's go" "Excuse me master, which way to the river crossing?" "The river crossing?" "Who's that man sitting on the cart?" "He is scholar Kong" "Scholar Kong?" "The famous scholar Kong Qiu from Lu?" "Indeed!" "Itsn't he suppossed to know everything?" "Then he should know where the river crossing is" "Would it be better for you to stay here and farm rather than drift around with him and you could also stay away from the chaos" "That's right!" "Stay here and be a farmer!" "That's right!" "Stay here and be a farmer like us" "Let's go" "Move on, we'll ask for the directions later" "Fei, is there any news of Kong Qiu?" "They say he spent some time in Wei then went to Zheng and now in the Kingdom of Chen" "When the country is at war, we miss the good generals and when the country is in difficult times, we miss our great ministers" "At that year when we talked about the alliance with Qi" "Kong Qiu won back the three cities peacefully" "But we sent him into exile" "It is now clear we were misguided by the Qi" "Now that the Duke of Lu is dead, and a child has inherited his throne" "Qi wants to take this opportunity to invade us" "Our strength is no longer what we used to be" "If we go into war, we are short of a good commander" "Now I have a mission for you" "Bring Kong Qiu back to Lu!" "Father, we treated him bad!" "and forced him into exile" "If we are going to invite him back" "People will mock at us" "Why don't we invite his disciple Ran Qiu back first?" "He is the head pupil of Kong Qiu, and a proven capable commander" "He would be more than capable to confront the Qi Army" "That would be fine." "Let's invite Ran Qiu back at once" "Wake up!" "Quick!" "Teacher, wake up, something terrible is happening" "The Wu is invading Chen, we must leave at once" "Have you seen an old foreigner?" "A stranger is outside the city's eastern gate" "Qi's army is at the doorsteps of Lu" "Teacher" "Master Ji asks for your consent to allow Ran Qiu to return to fight for Lu" "Master" "For the sake of Lu, you must consent" "Teacher, we must not let Ran Qiu go" "Only when they are in trouble, they start thinking of us" "Remember how terribly they have treated us" "How did you find me?" "An old farmer told us he has seen a foreigner at the east side" "His forehead resembles King Yao's shoulders looks like Zichan's" "Had the air of an important man, but looked as scary as a stray dog" "We guessed it must be you" "I don't dare to be an important person and actually I don't resemble anyone famous" "The old farmer got it just right when he said of a stray dog though!" "Teacher, you have taught us to practice what we learn and our motherland is in peril" "The Prime Minister is asking Ran Qiu to return ..." "That proves it is a matter of life and death for Lu" "As natives of Lu, we cannot just stand by and watch" "Well said, Yan Hui" "Lu is in danger, I should allow you to return and save Lu from disaster" "Ran Qiu" "You should go" "I will wait for the good news" "Teacher, once the battle is won" "I will come and bring you back to Lu" "Kill 'em" "Greetings, Prime Minister" "Father" "General has lived up to our hope" "He has defeated the Qiu Army at the battle of Lang" "The Qi Army has retreated back to their side of the border" "I won't disappoint you" "I would petition the King to appoint you governor of the three cities of Wen Shang" "Prime Minister, this is not what I wish for" "I only have one simple request" "Speak" "My teacher Master Kong" "He has been wandering for many years without a home and just continues teaching" "But there has never been a moment when the Kingdom of Lu wasn't in his mind" "Your humble servant only wishes that you would send someone to bring him back to Lu" "Well," "I need to talk to the Majesty about that," "And you are truly talented" "Just stay here and take charge of our family affairs" "You don't have to wander around with Kong Qiu" "Look, a nine-tailed sparrow!" "Seeing that sparrow fly past means there must be a village not far ahead" "A village, really?" "That's great!" "We could finally have some food if there is a village" "Let's hurry" "Quick!" "I am starving" "How come there is nobody here" "Looks like this is another torched village by the army" "You must be tired, let's clean up this place" "I think we can spend the night here" "Teacher, look." "It seems that the Cai army have trapped us in this valley" "Teacher" "I've found a small path at the back of this mountain" "It's very narrow, but I think it may lead down the mountain" "Why don't I go and have a try" "Maybe I could find some food there" "Or we could be lucky and find someone that could give us help" "You can all take a rest and wait for me!" "Zigong, you always find a way!" "Come back early" "Let's go, Zigao" "Father, those must not be rewarded by heaven with fortune" "What wrong have we done to deserve this?" "Why is it?" "that God would want to see us starved and run out of food" "Exactly" "Our teacher has great knowledge" "This could be difficult for people to appreciate" "It explains their lack of intelligence" "Teacher has said" "Only when the weather becomes so cold" "That the strength of the pines would be appreciated" "Teacher has played with this instrument for days" "Yes, he could be using music to fill up his appettie" "Teacher, you have not eaten for days" "This is the last bowl of horse meat soup" "Drink it please" "Are you alright, brother?" "Brother" "Zilu, drink some soup" "Teacher, I am fine and you must drink" "Now that I've had my share, you should have some too" "Let everyone share some" "I am not hungry, you should drink" "Teacher, you finally become conscious, Teacher" "Are you alright?" "Teacher, I am late" "You have left for seven days." "If you're late for one more day." "You may not see us again." "Teacher, you are fine now" "Zigong, tell me" "How is it out there?" "Teacher, after we left the valley" "We were hunted, and almost died" "Thanks to Yan Zhuoju, Zilu's brother in law" "He has brought more people to receive us" "Only then we knew how chaotic the world has become" "Wu has take over Zheng, and Chu has destroyed the Kingdom of Cai" "The people of Cai were migrating to the south" "Come on, give us a hand" "Teacher" "Duke Ling of Wei has died." "The new Duke of Wei has great respect for Zilu" "He would like to appoint him as the Governor of Puyi" "What are you waiting for?" "I am waiting for the roasted gigot of lamb, come, let's boil some water and start cooking!" "I am proud to see my student so honoured" "But "enter not a dangerous state, dwell not in a chaotic state" "The political situation in Wei is not stable" "To be frank, I do not quite approve of you taking up this post" "Teacher, just wait for me to successfully govern the City of Puyi" "I'll be able to build a powerful army to deal with the chaos inside Wei and appoint you the new Minister!" "Undue haste has no place in politics" "Zilu, you are headstrong and demanding ..." "That's very dangerous in this chaotic world." "Teacher, I am aware of this" "But my "undue haste" reflects my wish to realize your ideals of harmony and civility in government" "An officer should be dressed properly to reflect upon his appearance" "And do not forget" "Don't look at, listen, or do anything which betrays propriety" "Teacher's words will stay with me all my life" "Qi Sigong, take care on the road" "Teacher" "Take care of yourselves, your student bids you farewell!" "Teacher" "What is that sound?" "The ice is cracking!" "Hurry up!" "Move" "Yan Hui, where are you?" "Hui ..." "Yan Hui" "Yan Hui" "Come up, please" "Teacher, please eat something" "It has been eight hours" "He will not recover, teacher" "Let's go, Teacher." "Teacher" "Teacher" "Please eat something" "Kong Qiu is still not coming back" "Father, I have sent people to look for him" "It is said that they are somewhere near Lu's borders" "He is raging at me." "He would never forgive what I did to him" "Ask him to come back on my behalf" "When you see him, give him this." "When he sees this, he will come home" "Teacher" "Teacher" "Qi Sigong" "Why are you back alone?" "Where is Zilu?" "Brother Zilu" "Brother Zilu, he ... he is dead!" "Wei is in chaos, Yang Hu from the Kingdom of Jin has invaded ..." "Zilu was trying to protect the young heir to the Wei throne" "He went out to face the invaders alone" "He... he was killed" "Teacher says. "When a gentlement dies, he should maintain his dignity"" "Well said" "Zilu, well said!" "Mighty Zilu" "You were a true gentleman!" "My father asked me to present Master with this jade ring" "Mater Kong, my father is dying!" "He was very sick" "Teacher!" "I've found you at last!" "Ran Qiu, have you found your way here?" "Teacher, I" "Teacher, Minister Ji has been very sick and retired from court years ago." "I am afraid he could not live for too long" "When he refreshed his memory, he deeply regretted about forcing you into exile those days" "He sent his own son to invite you to come back" "And he hopes to apologize to you in person" "Teacher, please come back to Lu" "A jade carved in "circle", that means "return"" "Stand up" "Teacher, for the sake of Lu's future, come home" "I ... can return" "But you must tell them that I went only to teach" "they must not trouble me anymore with politics" "I will stress this point to him" "We will be comfortable with your wish" "Teacher" "Start packing up, we are going home" "We're going home!" "We can go back to Lu finally!" "Father, Master Kong Qiu is on his way, he'll be here soon" "Go." "Welcome him with my behalf." "We're home, we're finally home!" "the Kingdom of Lu" "We're back" "Lu, my beloved motherland" "I am back in your arms again, finally" "Teacher did you say something?" "Oh, ... nothing" "Pack up "The Spring and Autumn of Lu" and have it delivered" "Good" "If the world should come to know me, it will be through this book." "If they will think ill of me," "It will also be because of this book" "Subtitles put into correct English by SOTIS^_^"