"August 8, 1596 Two Years Later" "I am counting on you, Emissary Hwang." "Please do all you can to help the Ming envoys reach an amicable agreement for peace." "I will do my best, Prime Minister." "It will be a long and wearing travel." "Escort them safety." "The open sea is considerably rougher than the inland sea, so you will have o take extra caution." "Yes, Admiral." "Let us hurry." "We must leave how to reach the shores of Ikishima." "Prime Minister, until we return..." "All aboard!" "All aboard!" "Will truce be realized?" "Will this war really come an end once the envoy gets there and settlement is reached?" "We will never reach a settlement like this!" "His Eminence has even built a new mansion for the Princess." "But where is the Princess?" "This marriage is the most important part of this truce that symbolizes the two country's will to maintain peace." "But you're refusing to deliver on the most important promises." "Does Ming really want peace?" "I am insulted." "A Princess was selected long ago to be the Taiko's bride." "But this is not a simple matter." "An Imperial Princess is being sent to a foreign country, and" "His Majesty the Emperor requires proper preparation and process." "This better be the truth." "We'll buy the story about the Princess, but where is the Chosunese Envoys?" "They should have been here on their knees before the Taiko long time ago." "I have asked the royal court of Chosun to delay the envoys in anticipation of a special order from the imperial house regarding the royal wedding." "Is that right?" "Be patient." "Chosunese envoy and his entourage will soon arrive in Osaka with pleasant news." "Hideyoshi will not cease hostilities with his investiture alone." "Ming has agreed to accept Japan a country they have regarded as a barbarian tribe, as a sovereign state and invest Hideyoshi as a King." "It is always harder to stop a war than it is to start one." "To stop this war, Hideyoshi will need results that will satisfy his people so to justify the war and preserve public favor." "Soon-shin..." "He will require tangible profit." "At the very least, he will want authority to travel in and out of the three southern provinces like his own back yard." "Then to keep the Japanese in check, Ming will install a military base in" "Pyoung-yang and attempt to capture direct control of our government." "The idea of Ming controlling Chosun because we do not have the power to protect ourselves has been floating out there since 1593." "Even if truce is reached, the southern three provinces will be oppressed by the Japanese, and the northern three provinces will have the Ming soldiers acting like they own the country." "What benefit does this truce bring to Chosun if we must be held in such vassalage?" "Nonetheless, no matter what kind of vassalage we must endure," "I want to end this war." "Sung-ryong..." "I don't want to smell the stench of blood anymore." "I'm sick of the smelling the blood of our brothers dying in the hands of the enemy across the land, and I'm sick of the cries of those suffering from hunger and disease." "How about the grievances of our patriot brothers who had fought to save the country as they fought with hunger pangs?" "Their resentment is so great that now they are rising up against the King and the royal court." "But the King is responding by striking them down with his sword." "His Majesty killed the citizen army leader Kim Duk-ryung who protected the country with sole determination and patriotism." "The whole country is going mad." "What we need is time." "I am going to try everything I can diplomatically whether it is with Japan or with Ming." "The worst kind of peace is better than the best kind of war." "We must first stop the fighting." "Only then we will be in a position to try and give the people of Chosun their lives back." "Father, why are you refusing to eat?" "You must take care of yourself." "How could eat?" "I am forced to make peace with a mortal enemy who has burned my ancestors' shrines." "I will never be able to face our forefathers..." "Father..." "Discharged?" "You want to know when you're going to be discharged when the enemy still before our eyes?" "You pathetic cowards!" "Don't ever think about going home until every last Japanese that invaded this land are dead!" "Is that clear?" "General...!" "What are you waiting for?" "Flog them until they have learned their lesson!" "Don't exaggerate!" "Hit them harder!" "How are things at the Navy Headquarters?" "Why do I bother asking?" "I'm sure Yi Soon-shin and his men are still stuck in Hansando wasting their days away cruising up and down Kyunneryang." "General..." "We should have attacked and destroyed every port that is occupied by the Japanese including Jang-moon, Gaduk and Angol." "Men like Prime Minister Yi Sung-ryoung are jabbering about this truce nonsense because the navy has failed to snuff out the remnants of the enemy." "The battle of Jang-moon Port confirmed that it is impossible for the navy to snuff out the enemy without collaboration of the ground forces, sir." "I don't want to hear any excuses!" "Now you are a leader of the army, sir, and I know how eager you are to destroy the enemy." "Then as a ground forces leader, shouldn't you now be seeking ways to effectively support the navy?" "I will leave you to chat." "I must make my rounds around the camp." "Lt Yi. that fellow, is as pesky and annoying as always." "Doesn't he bother you, sir?" "General..." "Let him be." "He always does his job wherever he is." "When I was demoted to this post after the battle in Jang-moon Port, be was the one who volunteered to pull my wagon." "A Chosun envoy is bringing yet another Imperial decree from Ming?" "Something isn't right..." "Intercept them the moment they enter Osaka." "Then the truth will be revealed soon enough." "If Konishi is indeed playing a game, he will not wait until they enter Osaka." "Enter!" "This is an urgent matter." "Wait in the Chosun envoys' path and deliver the scroll." "Are you troubled, Maru?" "Don't be." "You have betrayed your master, but you have not betrayed the Taiko." "Just get his job done right, and I will make you a feudal lord that yields at least 5.000 sacks of rice." "Understood?" "Aye!" "I wish this were a dream." "I wish none of this was real..." "These are men that want peace?" "What do all of these battleships and cannons means?" "Your Eminence, are you pleased with the ceremonial robe that the Emperor of Ming sends you?" "Then now I shall deliver the royal seal and the Imperial decree." "Let's hear what the Ming Emperor has to say." ""As I hereby declare you the King of Japan, you are to become a faithful subject of Ming and rule Japan with lasting peace."" "What did you say, Jotai?" "Read it again." "Your Eminence..." "Did the Emperor of Ming call me his subject?" "Did he say that he would make me the King of Japan, and make me his servant?" "Did you think that what I wanted from your Emperor is a title of servant?" "It may not satisfy me to have him surrender and beg to be friends." "When did I ever ask your Emperor to make me the King?" "If I wanted to be the King, I would simply make myself the King!" "Your Eminence, this isn't right!" "The Emperor's will is..." "Master, that is not the entire content of the decree, is it?" "You must read the entire scroll so that His Eminence does not misunderstand..." "What do you mean?" "I have read the entire decree." "No, that can't be!" "Would you like to see it yourself?" "Is this what you are looking for?" "The forged Imperial decree." "This one contains a variety of details that will confuse the Taiko." "How long were you intent on patronizing Japan?" "We are not just a bunch of fools who would be manipulated by your guileful tongue." "Right, General Konishi?" "Is it true, Konishi?" "Did you try to deceive me?" "Your Eminence..." "This means Ming has no intention of yielding to Japan." "It means they consider Great Japan as their subordinate state." "It means they still have not seen the fearsome power of Japan!" "Your Eminence!" "Take those bastards away!" "I will rip them limb by limb and deliver the punishment they deserve!" "Your Eminence, this is a mistake!" "Konishi, the Taiko wishes to see you." "If you want, I'd be glad to perform your kaishaku." "Leave us." "Your Eminence..." "Leave us." "Did you not want Japan to become a great power?" "Did you not want Japan to take Chosun and Ming as our subordinate states?" "I did, Your Eminence." "Then why did you make a fool of me with this charade?" "Did it produce..." "a negative outcome?" "What?" "Our troops were being pushed back with no hope in sight." "Do you believe we would have had a chance if we continued to fight?" "How dare you!" "Did we have the time to build all of those large fighter vessels as Wakizaka had proposed?" "How about the time to make the cannons?" "You took all of this into consideration?" "No..." "I wanted to end the war." "I did not want to lose all of my subordinates and retainers." "And I feared that the heart of the public would leave you." "I feared that the unification that you have worked so hard to achieve would go to null." "I will not renounce my ambition to rule the world." "I know." "Do you wish to redeem yourself?" "Would you give me a chance?" "How will you do it?" "I will eliminate the biggest obstacle of this war." "The biggest obstacle?" "I will bring Yi Soon-shin down." "And if you fail?" "You can kill me now or trust me one last time." "His Eminence the Taiko!" "Expel the envoys of Chosun and Ming!" "Your Eminence..." "Dignity of Great Japan must be preserved." "Envoys are not to be slain." "Isn't that correct, Tokugawa?" "But they must pay a price for trampling the pride and honor of Japan" "I will deliver their punishment by conquering their land!" "Your Eminence!" "Resume the war." "Bring Chosun and Ming under my feet without fail!" "Is that understood?" "Aye!" "Dae-man!" "What?" "Over there!" "It's Young-gap, I mean Lieutenant Ma!" "Yes, it's Lt. Ma!" "There're back!" "The envoys are back!" "The envoys are back!" "Are we supposed believe this?" "Not truce, not cession of hostilities, but another invasion?" "Am I supposed to believe this?" "Is this a fact?" "I asked you a question." "Your Majesty..." "Is it a fact that the Japan is preparing for a second invasion?" "I deserve to die, Your Majesty..." "Your Majesty..." "I wanted to be prepared." "I wanted to strengthen the navy out of fear of such event." "I wanted to double the size of the fleet, recruit a larger force and put them through rigorous training and build the strongest navy in the world." "But right now, the Chosun Navy is weaker than we were in the year of Yimjin." "The army is not in any better situation than the navy." "Failure of crops, pestilence..." "We were helpless before the nature calamities." "And there will be no more support from the citizen army." "Too many patriot sons have been made traitors by the court when fought with loyalty and asked nothing in return." "The enemy could be crossing the ocean right now." "They probably reoccupied the forts that they had built." "We have no choice but to give up Kyung-sang Province." "We must quickly raze the fields and evacuate the people into the fort." "The navy will seal off Kyunneryang and stop the enemy from advancing west." "That is all that we can do." "The ground troops will seal off the roads to Cholla and Choong-chung." "But I don't know how long we can hold the enemy back." "Do we have a chance?" "Can we protect this land once more from the enemy ten times our size?" "It's been a while, Yoshira." "You're the last person I expected to have me abducted, General." "The Chosunese clothes become you, Yoshira." "You sold information about Japan and bought yourself a government post in Chosun." "What do they call you?" "Yes, a Defense General." "Are you backed against a wall, General?" "This is unlike you." "I sense anxiety from a man who usually sees two, three moves ahead." "Yoshira..." "You don't think that I've become Chosunese just because I hold a title in Chosun court and wear their clothes." "Do you, General?" "I need your help on something, Yoshira." "I want Yi Soon-shin." "Is that a refusal?" "The man you want is the top military leader of Chosun." "Surely hes worth more than this." "You don't have an ounce of patriotism in you." "Very well." "I'll see what I can do." "This is the last chance to stop the reinvasion, General." "On the 13th of next month," "Kato will leave Japan with a fleet of 300 battleships." "Have the navy intercept them and destroy them at sea." "Then there will be no war." "Are you sure we can stop the reinvasion by destroying Kato?" "Have I ever been wrong?" "If you do not trust my word, you can defer my payment." "General..." "The fact is majority of the Japanese warriors want peace like General Konishi." "They are tired of the drawn out war and are faced with fierce public opposition at home." "But they need a compelling excuse to oppose the war." "Kato is the first advance guard of the second invasion." "Imagine if his fleet was blown away at sea." "It is common knowledge in Japan that this war has been proceeding with great difficulty because of Yi Soon-shin and his navy." "If the advance guards on the second invasion are crushed from the get-go what could be a better reason to oppose the fighting?" "How did it go?" "Will he take the bait?" "Supreme Commissioner Kwon Yul is a cautious man." "He will not easily take the bait." "Then?" "The King of Chosun is the one who will take the bait." "Enemy general Kato Kiyomasa is coming to Pusan?" "As the advance guard for the second invasion?" "Your Majesty, Kato Kiyomasa is notorious for his violent nature." "We cannot allow him to land." "I urge you to command your navy to stop him at sea." "Yes, Your Majesty." "There is not a moment to waste." "Issue an order without delay." "Your Majesty, we mustn't act in haste." "Konishi Yukinaga is the source of this information." "It could be a trap." "If it comes from Konishi, it is credible information." "What makes you come to that conclusion?" "Konishi Yukinaga's desire for peace seemed genuine." "But he failed to realize his desire because of Kato's interference, and in that incident, he almost lost his life." "Kato is Konishi's enemy." "Even if this information is correct, we cannot hastily order the navy to attack." "If Kato's fleet has 300 battleships, that's double the size of our fleet." "And how about the enemy vessels that are anchored in Pusan?" "We must take extreme caution, or we could lose our entire navy." "If we fail to stop Kato, Chosun will be invaded once more." "Do you wish to see the tragedy of 1592 repeated on my land Chosun?" "I cannot let that happen!" "I could not agree more, Your Majesty." "Do not hesitate, if we fail to stop Kato at sea, the fires of war will spread out of control throughout Chosun once again." "I know that stopping Kato at sea will not be an easy task." "But if it is the only way to save the country, I choose to take the chance despite the sacrifice it may require." "You are not to discuss this any further." "It is impossible." "How could you off all men press me to do this?" "Supreme Commander, if this one fight could stop the second invasion, isn't worth the sacrifice it may require?" "You are asking me to move the entire navy on a spy's hunch." "The second invasion is imminent one way or another." "The quickest way to suppress the enemy is to forestall their advance guards and break their spirits." "There are still over 20.000 Japanese occupation troops in Chosun." "The moment we move out, they will proceed to Angol and Gaduk." "And we will lose half of our fleet before we get to Pusan." "Even if we make it to Pusan, we must form a battle line between" "Cholryong-do and Tsushima to stop Kato's fleet from landing." "But it is nearly impossible to form a battle line and fight on an open sea." "Our fleet will be destroyed if we are caught in a violent torrent." "What you're asking me to do is to destroy the Chosun Navy." "But isn't the enemy fleet under the same conditions?" "Fine, let us say that we are proceeding with this prepared to lose half of our fleet." "Didn't you say that they have 300 battleships?" "What if they take half of their fleet around Koje and go after the headquarters while we are fighting the other half at Cholryong-do?" "If they breakthrough Kyunneryang, there is no way to stop them from advancing west." "This may sound irresponsible, but is there any way?" "His Majesty is more anxious than ever facing the reinvasion." "If you refuse to fight this battle, his wrath will pierce the sky." "I feel the same way as does His Majesty." "If I could have my way, I would obliterate the Japanese headquarters in Pusan right now." "Don't you know that?" "Please make His Majesty understand, Commissioner." "We cannot sacrifice the navy just to comfort him." "Without the navy, Chosun may not have a future." "Quickly dispatch the secret squad to Pusan." "We need to know what's going on in the enemy camp." "Admiral, about the royal command to advance to Pusan..." "Must I explain to you as well?" "Must I go over the reasons why we cannot advance to Pusan?" "Yi Soon-shin is refusing to obey my orders again?" "Does he not know my desperate and bitter desire to intercept Kato and stop the second invasion?" "Yi Soon-shin..." "What does want?" "Is he trying to make me abandon the city once again so I would suffer yet more intolerable distain from my people?" "Your Majesty..." "I will not forgive him this time." "It's time I showed him what happens if you defy the King." "Don't you agree?" "I couldn't agree more, Your Majesty." "I guess the time has come to put the man to service." "He is awaiting your summons in the city." "You're a good marksman." "Thank you, Your Majesty." "A man that does not lose his composure not even before his King..." "I intend to make you the High Commander of Left Cholla Navy." "Can you step over Won Kyun and take his post?" "Was it a difficult question?" "If Won Kyun is Minister Yu's friend, he must be your friend as well." "You may go now." "I will try my best." "Send me to the Left Cholla Naval Station." "A polite refusal is a virtue to scholars." "Is it not to warriors?" "I believe it is the duty off a royal subject to carry out his sovereign's order to the best of his ability." "I seek to protect the southern sea from Japanese invasion." "Allow me to protect our country and our people." "You will be losing a friend." "I don't believe Your Majesty has forsaken Won Kyun by dismissing him from his post." "Both Won Kyun and I are your warriors." "We will join hands and protect this country together." "You are turning gray..." "It's because I did not let you leave the treacherous front for a moment forth e last five years." "My lack of virtue is to blame..." "No, Your Majesty." "I am merely doing my duty as a warrior." "I thought we might shoot a few rounds of arrows together." "How about it?" "Would you be my opponent?" "You do not lose your composure before the King as well." "Your Majesty..." "Supreme Commander Yi Soon-shin didn't either." "He is a truly magnanimous and self-confident man." "Are all warriors alike?" "Do they all become empowered by their swords and fall into delusion that they can break the King?" "No, Your Majesty." "Then why does Yi Soon-shin continue to try to defy me?" "How about you?" "Can you fight as I want you to fight and destroy the enemy without defying my commands?" "I do not want the Japanese to invade again." "I do not want Chosun to be thrown into the fires of war again." "How about it?" "Can you proceed to Pusan from here and stop Kato from landing on our beaches?" "Can you destroy the enemy and fulfill my earnest wish?" "You're silent." "Does it mean that you can't?" "Send me to the south, Your Majesty." "I will advance to Pusan with the Chosun Navy and destroy the enemy." "And I will deliver a strong and healthy nation to you, Your Majesty." "Will you?" "I am ready to give my life for Your Majesty's land Chosun anytime." "Very well." "Then I shall put you in command of my navy." "Take over Yi Soon Shin's Headquarters." "The time has come at last to deliver proper revenge." "Right, General Wakizka?" "Japanese General Kato Kiyomasa has landed in Pusan?" "Yes, Your Majesty..." "Your Majesty, we have lost the only chance hat Heaven has granted us because of one arrogant warrior!" "Now that Kato has landed, countless Japanese warriors will race to the shores of Chosun and this land will be engulfed in..." "Arrest Yi Soon-shin!" "Your Majesty!" "Do not try to defend Yi Soon-shin!" "He is a criminal of high treason who has pushed this country the fires of war!" "If any of you do as much as to say a word in his defense," "I will take your head first!"