Original subtitles

Episode 37

With the key in hand

Ministry of National Defense will become transparent to us

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That sounds like a good solution

But for confidential purposes

decrypted cables and important intelligence

are escorted to the frontline

by designated planes

It won't be too much trouble though

When the engagement breaks out

there will be too many variables

They can't afford to waste time waiting for orders

I will change how they communicate

so orders can arrive at the frontline right away

I see

You should have some rest

The communists' East China Field Army

Liu Zhi, General, Commander-in-Chief of National Government Xuzhou Bandit Suppression Operations Headquarters

are at this location right now

The Central Plains Field Army is here

They have launched an offensive against Xuzhou

Xuzhou is at peril

General Du Yuming

was working for me perfectly fine

but at this critical moment

he was transferred to Northeast to save their day!

What am I supposed to do without him?

The soldiers can't fight a war

without a tough general leading them

Where are your guys now?

General Du left

No one can give orders to march north

The frontline troops lack a commander

I ordered the frontline troops to stop marching

and stay put waiting for orders

The plan is on hold

Are you saying your troops

have been staying at the same spot for 21 days?

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Yes

You completely lost the initiative!

You made our troops extremely vulnerable to the enemy's attack!

General Du was appointed the commander-in-chief

of Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Border Area

He is not coming back to Xuzhou

I want to recommend Song Xilian to take his position

Chief, I really can't guard Xuzhou all by myself

The responsibility is too heavy

General He Yingqin already proposed to the President

Bai Chongxi will command bandit suppression operations

in Central China and Xuzhou

The party-state's future depends on

this decisive engagement in Xubeng

I don't see why it's necessary

What good can Bai Chongxi do?

Are you sure he can turn things around?

It would be better if you just transferred General He back

Getting Song Xilian here will do, too

Bai Chongxi is so stubborn

He even challenges the President!

We won't get along

His appointment came from the President

Just accept it

How long will it take to Xuzhou?

I'm sorry, but I can't control the traffic

Troops are being deployed everywhere

I really hope the war doesn't break out

You really shouldn't go to the frontline

at this terrible time

I have no choice

My husband is there, so I have to meet him

The war can't stop me

National Government's Ministry of National Defense

Melanie left for Xuzhou to inform Liang Tong

The fake confession of Luo Haobin seemed to have worked

Zeng Guangxi has snared Liang Tong

A tiny mistake of Liang Tong is all it takes

for Zeng Guangxi to make a move

Zeng is looking forward

to meeting He Yingqin

Without his support

he won't be able to touch Liang

Sir

Come in

What's the matter?

Minister

General Liang and Melanie

checked in at Garden Hotel in Xuzhou

Another woman left his house for Xuzhou to find him

Is it Xiugu?

Yes, it's Xiugu

General Zhou Yingkui's daughter

I heard she went there for her wedding with General Liang

Wedding?

Are you sure?

The source is solid

It's going to be messy

Get our guys to help Xiugu find Liang Tong

Yes. I'm on it

Looks like I have some catching up to do with General Zhou

I have good news for him

Did you find anything

from our surveillance of Melanie and the U.S. Embassy

before she left Nanjing?

Her office

is inside U.S. Embassy

You understand

that all kinds of telegraphs

are coming out of the Embassy

to places around the world

Most of them are common documents

Nothing unusual

Decrypt as many as possible

A breakthrough will be great

Sure. I'll report to you once we find anything

Lady, are you sure we are allowed in here?

Wait here. I'll ask someone

Yes

Sir

Hello, sir

How can I help you?

Is General Liang Tong in there?

I think he hasn't come to work

Do you know where he is?

May I ask about your relationship with General Liang?

I'm his fiancée

Fiancée? I see. Please wait here

I'll make a call to confirm

Thank you

You're welcome

Thanks!

General Liang is at Garden Hotel

Hello

Send her in

Who is that?

Xiugu is here

I sent her in

Tong

Tong

Tong

Xiugu

I hope you still have room in your stomach

I-I brought some pickled vegetables

They're home-made

I also brought

two jars of fermented bean curd

It's your favorite

Oh, and sauteed pork slices

Just heat it before you eat

Xiugu, I appreciate your kindness

but you know what's going on with Melanie and I

We already got married in Shanghai

It's official

I was in a hurry, so I didn't have a chance to tell you

Why? Why did you do that?

How could you do this to me?

Why? How could you?

Are you all right, Xiugu?

Get your hands off me!

Xiugu

Why you?

How do you have the nerve?

How could you do this!

How…

You don't get to be his wife!

On November 2nd, 1948, the Northeast was liberated by the Communist Army

Salute!

Please take a seat

The meeting now begins

Chief of Strategic Planning Department Liang Tong

will share his insight into the current situation

OK

We are in an extremely difficult situation

As you know, we lost the Northeast

We have only one hand left

We must deploy our best soldiers

to engage the communists in the area

between the Yangtze River and the Huai River

We will overwhelm

the troops led by Su Yu and Liu Bocheng

After that, we shall engage the Communist Army in the North

where we will eliminate their most powerful forces

and block their attack in the Northeast

Qiu Qingquan, Lieutenant General, Commander of the 2nd Corps of National Government

The defense line along the Yangtze is the prime location

but we can't leave out the northern Yangtze area

Huai River has been critical for defending the Yangtze region

If we lose the land to the north of Yangtze

the Yangtze defense line will be meaningless

If we lose the Huai River

our capital city, Nanjing

will fall into communists' hands

In that case, there will be two opposing governments in China

None of us want to be the person responsible for that

The Battle of Xubeng plan

has been approved by the President

and General He

You are expected to follow orders

Yes, sir!

Dismissed

How was that? I bet it felt nice

You brought honor to us

Since Chief Chen left for Taiwan

we have not been what we used to be

We lost backing coming from high places

Thank god you climbed high enough to fill that role

You're the deputy commander of a corps

What else do you want?

I'd be happy if "deputy" isn't in my title

Look at those losers and tell me I'm not better than them

It's so unfair

You are competent to run the Ministry of National Defense

The mighty 18th Army was reorganized into the 12th Corps

It's like we're cursed

General Huang Wei has been off the battlefield for ages

He makes a better teacher than a commander

I can't afford a Waterloo. That'll put me in a pickle

What's wrong with you?

I count you as a smart guy

The Guangxi Clique is challenging the President

You'll get burnt if you don't keep a distance

You are not in charge, and the commander is too weak

Don't end up a scapegoat

What's with that look?

I never thought that way

Foolish

See you

Thanks, bro

I'm afraid she won't make it

Surge before death!

It's the surge before death!

She's gone

Ziqi

Mrs. Zeng is not doing well

Have some rest

You need that

My mother just passed

Can we go in there and give our condolences?

Sure

I'm here to see the kid

Welcome, General Pang

Miss Shi

I brought a gift for the kid

You're so nice

He'd be so happy to meet you

Dad, I'll answer the phone

I can go

You should stay here and talk with General Pang

Please take a seat

OK

Please make some tea

Shi Yang, Mengxiang misses you so much

He can't live without you and the kid

He really wants the family to unite

I can make some arrangements

to send you and the boy to a place

where Mengxiang will pick you up

Nanjing doesn't suit us

We'll go home

Don't worry about us

We'll take good care of ourselves

Don't worry

Just think of us

as dead

I'll continue my life like I never had a son

I want to go home

Are you chickening out with the final battle approaching?

I miss my dad

When he left

he said he'd continue his life as if he never had a son

I didn't know why he said that

Now I see. He didn't want me to worry about them, so I could fight

I'm afraid if I don't go home now

I will regret it

Just go, then

Your folks are getting old

Don't do something you'll regret

I'll leave tomorrow

Liang Tong doesn't want Hu Ziqi

to command the 12th Army

As the main force of the 12th Army

the 18th Army won a lot of victories under Hu Ziqi's command

They are too powerful

Without Hu Ziqi in command

the 12th Army will be easier to defeat

You should go

The war is the priority now

I feel so sad standing here

My old man is not doing well

I have to go home and see him

Really?

I don't think it's the right time, with the last battle coming

I have to go

Guys

Wu Mengxiang left

To be honest, I let him go

but I know you played your parts

I don't need you to admit it

I'm just trying to say

Wu Mengxiang took advantage of our friendship

It doesn't mean anything to me now

If any of you do things that hurt the party-state

don't expect me to be soft, ever

That friendship is long gone

I only came here

out of my respect for Mrs. Zeng

I'm sorry for your loss

How could you expect there's any friendship left

after what you did to Yang Suya?

Zeng Guangxi has a strong feeling

that Liang Tong is far more threatening than Wu Mengxiang

Suddenly, he realized

that Melanie didn't leave for Xuzhou

because she was alarmed by Luo Haobin's confession

Maybe she went there for something else

Hu Ziqi's sudden absence

took him by surprise

Zeng begins to worry if something will go wrong

on the Xuzhou battlefield

Mr. Stuart

-I didn't mean to intrude. -It's fine

-I'll leave you to it. -Please come in

I'll introduce you to each other

This is my husband, Liang Tong

Nice to meet you, Ambassador Stuart

Congratulations on your sweet marriage

Thank you

Your Chinese is impressive

I teach at Yanching University

so the job requires me to do so

I've heard your name, General Liang

Mr. Hurley mentioned you

Miss Melanie and you are a lovely couple

I'm happy for you guys

Mr. Stuart told me

it was a pity

that he didn't get to witness our wedding

The wedding was in a rush

We would've invited you if we had the chance

It's absolutely fine

As long as you're happy, that's all it matters

Thank you

You're so nice

Let's have breakfast together

I'll wait at the restaurant

Sure. See you soon

See you

It's safe here

We can lose our masks

Here you are

A map of the area around Xubeng that you asked for

Liu Feiyun proposed a theory

He pointed out the importance of guarding the Huai River

and suggested focusing on defense instead of offensive action

I'd suspect he were a communist had it not been for the fact

that he actually belongs to the Guangxi Clique

His plan is surprisingly similar to mine

Xuzhou

He is confident that

the Liberation Army will not launch a reckless attack on Xuzhou

He thinks they'd be committing suicide if they did so

He Yingqin

and Chiang Kai-shek

both agreed with his plan

You will keep in mind

every word I'm about to say

and report to Fang

I'm listening

As to military strength

the National Army has the upper hand

The key to winning this campaign

is to eliminate KMT's 500,000 people in Xuzhou

step by step

For the first step

we will take out

the 7th Corps led by Huang Botao

His 100,000 people will give up Haizhou and march to Xuzhou

We must get rid of this large force

Step by step

That's a smart strategy

The problem is

Huang Botao's army is going to retreat

very fast

We're going to need a field army

to block their way from the north

With the other field army pursuing them from the east

Huang's army will be trapped

Then we can finish them

Li Mi and Qiu Qingquan's army have 200,000 people

They will go as backup

There are more

Huang Wei's 12th Army

will join the backup

Li Yannian's 6th Army in Bengbu

and Liu Ruming's 8th Army, too

Su County is a crucial spot

It's between Xuzhou and Bengbu, very important

If we take Su County

the enemies will be under siege

We'll be able to control

the 95-kilometer Xuzhou-Bengbu section of Jinpu Road

Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's armies

are marching north from Bengbu

We can block them from armies in Xuzhou

and lay the ground for besieging Xuzhou

That's the key move to winning the Battle of Xuzhou

Surround them first

We'll surround Li Mi and Qiu Qingquan's 200,000 people

from both front and back

The problem is Huang Wei's 12th Corps

They are too strong

Whether we can trap them

or stall them

is crucial to the victory

It's going to be a major battle

that will affect the entire picture

The future of China is determined by this battle

If Fu Zuoyi's North China Bandit Suppression Operations Headquarters

and Bai Chongxi's Central China Headquarters

join the engagement

it'll bring more uncertainties

If our Fourth Field Army

can march south as fast as possible

and stall Fu Zuoyi's people

it will be very helpful to get the upper hand

I reckon Bai Chongxi won't join at once

He will assess the situation first

and decides whether he will engage

Our government in Xibaipo hasn't got information on that

but I got very bad news

What?

President Chiang asked for help from General MacArthur

He wanted the U.S. Air Force's help in the Battle of Xubeng

How did the Americans respond?

Nothing for now

The U.S. government is disappointed in President Chiang

They are planning to abandon Chiang Kai-shek

and shift their support to Li Tsung Jen of the Guangxi Clique

But I think if the U.S. realizes

that China will be in the Communist Party's hands

they won't just sit there

All we can do is pray

that the U.S. Air Force won't show up in the air

when the battle breaks out

I'll get in touch with Fang as soon as possible

and report your plan to him

One more thing

Fang received the decrypted cables

How is the decoding going on?

I don't know

Xin'an Township, Xuzhou

There is a telegraph from Commander Liu Zhi

What's with the telegraph? It's not secure

It's an urgent matter

What has he gotten into this time?

The order says we should wait for the 44th Army to retreat together

The 44th Army is a huge liability

Why should they waste our time?

Waiting for them?

It'll take forever!

Fine. We'll wait

It's not like the Communist Army will come and defeat us

Tell the 44th Army that they only have two days

Yes, sir

Ask our guys to have some rest

It's a good opportunity to take a break

Yes, sir

Strategic Planning Department of Ministry of National Defense, Nanjing

Sir

the 44th Army is marching to Xin'an

General Huang Botao said he would only wait for two days

I see

Report to me if anything comes up

Yes, sir!

The 44th Army is useless

If you hadn't ordered them to follow Huang Botao

they probably would've been taken down already

Huang Botao emphasizes speed

He agreed to wait for two days

That's a huge favor for us at Strategic Planning Department

The 44th Army

must join the main forces quickly

so the Communist Army can't get hold of them

OK. Keep up the good work here

I'll leave now

Liang Tong painstakingly

managed to stall Huang Botao's 7th Corps for two days

so the Communist Party's field army can chase them

The order came from the Communist Party's government in Xibaipo

In only two days

Huang Botao's 7th Corps

was surrounded by East China Field Army

and became the first to be eliminated

November 6th, 1948 marked the beginning of the Huaihai Campaign, referred to Battle of Xubeng by KMT

Sir

Viewing the life and death of the country as your own responsibility Putting one's life and death out of consideration

The 7th Corps is encircled

at Nianzhuang, east of Xuzhou

Huang Botao sent a message

He requested retreating to downtown Xuzhou

and reinforcements

The President has a message

Read

The President orders

that Qiu Qingquan

and Li Mi's armies march from Xuzhou to the east

along Gansu-Shanghai Railway

to rescue the 7th Corps

and provide cover while the 7th Corps retreat to Xuzhou

Deliver the message to Liu Zhi ASAP

Yes, sir!

Wait

Delivering it will take too much time

Send a telegraph, now!

Yes, sir!

Huang Botao didn't even build a pontoon bridge

He simply wasted two days doing nothing!

He must have gotten carried away

by all those victories in Shandong!

Liang Tong

I don't like the way things are going right now

General Gu

it's evident that the Battle of Xubeng is a decisive one

I suggest we pull all our forces together

to fight a last battle with the Communist Army

My previous plan

about the decisive engagement was based on a hypothesis

that the Communist Army would be forced

to engage us for fear of our people in the Northeast

But the situation is different now

The Communist Army

is taking proactive actions

to launch an offensive

Right

What is their plan?

With their current strength

it seems overly ambitious

Their attempt could backfire

General, I understand your confusion

They have a pattern

Their armies coordinate from scattered battlefields

It seems their strategy is to take a break

after the war in the Northeast

Maybe they suffered huge casualties there

so they need some time to recover

But none of that really matters now

What does matter

is to use their proactive actions

We must deploy our troops fast

to gain overwhelming strength over the enemy

Attack!

I have 800,000 people

There's no way we can't defeat the Communist Army

I'll report to the President

He could convince Fu Zuoyi and Bai Chongxi to provide backup

You can't get away with it!

Zhou Yingkui!

You can't come in here and make a scene!

Get him!

I'll kick his ass

even if you lock me up!

You didn't even tell your parents

about your wedding!

You ungrateful bastard!

Mr. Zhou, please calm down

General, this is a family issue

I don't need your favor!

You still can't get away with it!

Get him out of here

He is forbidden to enter the Ministry of National Defense

Liang Tong! Liang Tong!

Your old man can't teach you a lesson

I'll do it for him!

General

it's not his fault

He has every reason to be mad at me

Stop

I heard about it

You took the blame for Chiang Ching-kuo

Anything new?

A Resident Working Committee of the Central Committee

We just intercepted this

Great

Now we know every move

of the enemy

Now that we have the key

we know

everything going on at the Ministry of National Defense

of the National Government

Great. I'll deliver this now

Keep an eye on them

Yes

Liang Tong and Fang came up with the idea

of decoding the key with previous cables

It finally worked out at this critical moment

Minister

My hemorrhoids are still there

Can you just let me have my surgery?

I have something to tell you alone

You may leave

Sit

What's the news?

Why do you have to tell me?

Minister

there is a communist around us

Liang Tong

Any evidence?

I caught his former contact

I used some methods, but he's still not talking

It seems like

we are surrounded by communists

The President has approved Liang Tong's appointment

as Chief of the Strategic Planning Department

Liu Feiyun will be the Deputy Chief of Staff

He'll step down from Chief of the Strategic Planning Department

I approved that, too

The President and Gu Zhutong trust him

We can't do anything without evidence

I am certain Liang Tong works for the CPC

We can't just throw accusations like that

It will affect America's attitude

and public opinions

How about our morale?

Is that the President's consideration?

We are all concerned

So you're saying even if we do have evidence

we must do it subtly, right?

Selected Works of Mao Zedong

We can take care of it quietly

Zeng Guangxi was authorized to assassinate Liang Tong

Evidence doesn't matter anymore

As long as the goal is to get rid of communists

the light is always green

Zeng Guangxi suddenly feels like

he has so many options available

-Auntie. -Careful, kids

-Auntie. -Careful!

Auntie

Erwa, get things arranged

Sure

The things in this chest are fragile

Please handle this with care

Yes

Be careful

Little Tong is too busy

If he had time

he would've come to see you off

I don't want a son like him!

Don't ever mention his name again

Zeng Guangxi called you about this

because he wanted to humiliate us!

Xiugu hasn't said a word

since she came back from Xuzhou

The girl is depressed

I'm so worried about her

Little Tong shouldn't have done that!

I came to bring you to Chongqing

Part of the reason is that I figure

Xiugu will get better once she is back home

Don't worry about her

But I don't know how to face your family after everything

We promised but failed to keep it again and…

It's water under the bridge

Mr. Zhou, Mr. Liang

Hi, Shi Yang

I'm sorry

to bother you

We thought maybe you could talk to Xiugu

Do you know what happened?

Where is Xiugu?

She is putting away clothes on the balcony

You can find her there

Little Stone, Little Lan

can you play in your room?

Grandma wants to see you

I need to talk with auntie, OK?

Grandma, I'm hungry

Me, too

Xiugu

I heard you're going back to Chongqing

so I came to say goodbye

I'm not sure

when we will meet again

I am not your friend

I'm sorry

I know I should be

I shouldn't have been the witness to their wedding

I should've stopped that

I hurt you

You were there for me

from my pregnancy to labor

You treat me like family

You were with me

when I was so lonely and helpless

You cheered me up

Xiugu, I'm really sorry

I failed you

You can hit me or scold me

Just hit me. Let out your anger

I'm so sorry. Please forgive me

Xiugu

I have been waiting for you

I want to see you for the last time

I have been waiting

I should've come sooner

but I was too ashamed to come

The two cranes look the same

You can't tell which one is the husband or wife

They are singing! I think it went well

They need a matchmaker to encourage them

Miss Shi, how did it go?