Original subtitles

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The Plough Department Of Song Dynasty

Episode 36

Ambassador!

Ambassador,

finally, you came back.

Are you alright?

How were things

while I was away?

Due to your excellency's disappearance

they had us closely guarded.

There are soldiers posted outside

questioning any Beishu national who comes in or out.

They wanna play guard dog,

let them.

Ambassador,

you've been away for so long.

Did you find anything?

I've ascertained the general location of the Tuibei Divination.

The emperor of Song went to Luoyang.

You should go see prince Xian who currently serve as regent,

tell him you need to bid farewell to the emperor

in person, in Luoyang.

In due time

I'll pull strings from the shadows,

you'll be the front,

we act accordingly.

Yes.

Your highness,

attache Yi Xin from Beishu is here to see you.

Let him in.

Yes.

Attache Yi Xin, come in.

I bow in respect before your highness.

Arise.

What brings you here,

attache?

Your highness,

I'm here to bid your highness farewell.

You're going home?

Yes.

Our ambassador has been missing for quite some time.

Your country has failed to provide any explanation.

I have to report back to our king.

Explanation?

Lu Fan is your ambassador.

As a foreign diplomat,

he is obligated to file a formal application and be escorted by our officers

for any activities outside the courier hostel.

But he chose to

leave without permission or protection,

that's on him.

No matter what the circumstances were,

he went missing in your country.

Can you really deny all responsibility?

All right.

We already had people looking for him

Once there's a new development

you'll be informed.

Attache,

since you're going home,

in a couple of days,

I'll host a farewell dinner party for you.

We Beishu people do know something about proper etiquette.

I wish to go to Luoyang,

to say farewell to your emperor in person.

Very well then,

we appreciated your kindness.

I'll take my leave.

Please show yourself out.

Mr. Xuan Xuan,

his majesty will return to the capital tomorrow,

do you have plans after?

I will go visit my shifu on the mountain.

That's nice.

You can come back here often

Biyou temple is not that far from capital Liang.

Lest Taisui miss you too much.

I can't bear not seeing him as well.

Besides,

a great opponent as you is hard to find.

We have a chess game to continue on.

We shall play another exquisite game someday,

leave it to pass on to later generations.

That'll be a tale worth telling.

It's not that hard, is it?

There's an empty spot in the middle.

Just fill it.

Mr. Xuan Xuan,

what are you...

This chess board

might not have been

a prank from our grandmasters.

I've been thinking,

our two grandmasters were free spirits,

not cynical.

They wouldn't tease their descendants like that.

Mr. Xuan Xuan,

does this chess board hide some mystery?

Not the board,

the game.

Take a look,

the move Mr.Dongming just made

is quite similar to a game

grandmasters Yuan and Li played before.

We disciples of Biyou mountain

would reenact the game following their manuscript.

That's why I remembered it well.

Picture city Luoyang, what does it look like?

A chess board.

According to legend, this game is derived from Yellow River Diagram.

The Tuibei Divination is related to the Yellow River Diagram\Nand Lo Shu Square.

I think the mystery we seek

is hidden in this line.

But

this board is kinda different

from the ones we usually see.

Yes.

Nowadays, chess boards generally have

nineteen lines both horizontally and vertically.

But earlier chess boards

have only thirteen.

It indicated the distances between the land and the sky,

the sky and the heavenly stem, according to the Yellow River Diagram.

Luoyang

Luoyang has eleven transverse lanes.

Count both banks of the Luohe river as two lines

adds to thirteen total.

Wait,

what about lengthways?

There are only twelve.

With two riverbanks added,

we'd be one lane short lengthways.

Not exactly.

You forgot

that Daode block is actually combined

by two small blocks, Daoshu and Huixun.

Those two blocks are too small

so they're combined in one.

If we add the lane between said two blocks,

we have thirteen.

But,

even if the layout of city Luoyang matches the board,

what was the clue

our grandmasters left?

The reason this particular game is passed down to us

is that it's the last game

two grandmasters played before they died.

After finishing the game

they recorded it into the manuscript themselves.

So that later generations of disciples

can learn by reenacting the exact game.

I think there's something to it.

But there're so many pieces on the board,

where do we even begin?

If my guess is right,

the piece that grandmaster Yuan placed to best grandmaster Li

landed in a spot on the board,

it should be the Tuibei Divination's real location.

Think of Luoyang

as a chess board,

its buildings and streets

as pieces.

What is the place this piece landed?

The hall of light.\NThe spiritual altar.

The hall by the east end of the lane,

the altar by the west.

The hall of light was burnt down by a fire started in the hall of heaven

during empress Wu Zetian's regime,

Therefore,

the spiritual altar.

The prince has arrived!

Your majesty.

Brother.

I came to

tell you something important.

We bow to your majesty.

Arise, please.

Well,

take a seat.

Sit.

Here.

Brother,

what's this about?

Your majesty,

It's about the Tuibei Divination.

The Tuibei Divination?

I thought

it was proven to be

sheer fiction.

Your majesty,

as far as I know

it does exist.

And it's hidden inside the spiritual altar,\Npart of the old site of the Tang dynasty's royal palace.

Are you sure?

Your majesty,

it is a vital clue that Mr. Xuan Xuanzi

deduced from the chess game.

If it points to any ordinary location

we'd have no reason to trust it.

It points to the spiritual altar of all places.

Your majesty,

we have to look into it.

The spiritual altar was first built in Han dynasty

for the purpose of observing changes of weather and fortune

predicting disasters and seeking divine prophecies.

Great masters as Yuan and Li

chose this place to hide the Tuibei Divination

for a good reason.

Alright,

in this case,

there's no room for error this time.

I'll be leading the imperial guards myself,

let's find it.

Yes, your majesty.

Who are you?

Attache Yi Xin from Beishu,

I'm here to bid the emperor farewell in person.

Do you have clearance papers?

Let them through.

Your majesty.

Your highness.

Observing sun shadows in the day,

viewing the stars in the night

through cloud and mist, capturing every shade of light.

No wonder it's called the spiritual altar.

I'll go take a look.

You will not.

Your majesty,

why don't I do it for you?

Your majesty,

allow us to go in and retrieve the Divination.

Your majesty,

I wish to go as well.

Permission to accompany them?

Granted.

Thank you, your majesty.

Prince Xiaoyao,

You're going in for me.

There're four metal plates,

and four mythical creatures,

azure dragon, white tiger, rosefinch, black tortoise.

We each take a plate,

find the corresponding colour

look for any kind of mechanism.

Let's go.

Shifu!

I found a slot

shaped like a perfect fit for the plate.

Same here.

The four of us should simultaneously

put each plate into each slot.

Three,

two,

One.

Shifu,

do you think it'll be like the last time?

We found a chess board last time,

maybe we'll find some chess pieces this time.

You little brat,

just open it and find out.

It's the real deal.

The real Tuibei Divination.

The Tuibei Divination has been found!

Congratulations! Your majesty holds the mandate of heaven!

Arise.

I am the one who holds the mandate of heaven!

Guard his majesty!

Uncle?

The Tuibei Divination is mine.

I am the one who holds the mandate of heaven!

Lu Fan, give it back!

Go after Lu Fan!

Give it back!

Hand it over,

I'll spare your life.

You recovered well, even had an upgrade I see.

Cut the crap.

Give me the Tuibei Divination.

What happened?

Two sorcerers are fighting all the way outside the city.

Let's move.

Guard the ambassador.

I have become a god.

Who dares to defy me?

Anyone?

Not me.

I yield.

To conquer the world

I could use some capable followers.

If you pledge your allegiance to me,

I'll let you live.

Well,

it's time to bend the knee.

Grand-uncle,

can't you recognize our own illusion tricks?

Ambassador!

Ambassador!

This low level bait-and-switch

won't work on me.

Uncle,

don't let the mistake go any further.

No one can stand in my way.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Are you alright, shifu?

Shifu, get up.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Son.

Son.

Son.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Shifu.

You're not going to die, shifu.

Shifu, wake up.

Shifu.

Shifu.

You're not going to die.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Wake up, shifu.

Brother.

Shifu,

Shifu, wake up.

Did you kill Xuan Xuanzi?

Yes, I did.

Shifu.

Shifu, don't leave me.

Shifu.

You will pay for that!

Your excellency.

Your excellency.

Are you alright?

Brother,

you've possessed by evil.

Let me relieve you from your sins.

You and what army?

Brother,

My force of hibernating dragon has reached the sixth level,

the purification.

Nothing leaves a trace on me.

What if

what if I enforce it backwards?

You've lost your mind.

Enforcing it backwards will kill you.

You and I have known each other since childhood

we've spent all those years together

peacefully, away from the worldly path.

Now it seems like

you started to get insatiable.

You've already lost your mind.

Don't mind if I keep you company

for the last time.

Tian guizi,

are you nuts?

Ashes to ashes,

dust to dust.

Let the flame

cleanse us of our past.

Let go of me.

Brother,

we'll be brothers in the afterlife.

Shizu.

Shizu.

Shizu.

Taizui.

Taisui.

Sis,

these weirdos in the plough department are not to be trifled with.

I think

they're weirdly funny,

aren't they?

Ambassador.

Ambassador.

Ambassador.

Ambassador.

Attache Yi Xin,

our countries have always been at peace with each other.

Your king Long Xu is a wise leader.

A wise leader

cares about his people's wellbeing.

He'd want them to live well and prosper.

He won't start a fight

let the people suffer.

If our two countries are at war

our people would be miserable

so would yours.

Lu Fan acted all on his own

to stir up trouble.

I hope that you will tell your king

the whole story truthfully.

Don't jeopardize the good relationship between us,

work together to maintain peace.

Carry the ambassador away.

Taisui,

are you alright?

I'm fine.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Shifu.

Don't leave me.

Di Zang and Lu Fan both died because of the plough department.

Do you still want them as enemies?

That old geezer Miao Qing

was hellbent on returning the crown to the rightful ruler.

He had no right dragging us down

with his personal agenda.

Just because he groomed me to be the heir of Doumu

doesn't mean that I can't be my own man.

It's a pity that brother Meng

gave his life

for our godfather's cause.

I'm not dying for his cause.

I came here

out of pure curiosity.

I wanted to see who had the old geezer's ass

handed to him.

You have seen them now.

I have.

Some people who are not to be trifled with.

We'll leave then,

going back south.

Not so fast.

I am utterly curious about the Tuibei Divination.

With my swimming ability

I might be able to salvage it.

Slow down, your highness.

Slowly.

Mind the step.

Careful.

Your highness,

be careful.

Slowly.

Up.

Your majesty,

The refugees are returning to Sichuan successively.

The government is providing aid along the way.

Your majesty, may I suggest that

the crown waives the corvee and taxes of the region hit by this adversity

so that people can recuperate.

Good.

Waive their corvee for two years

taxes for three years.

Thank you, your majesty.

Prince Xiaoyao.

Prince Xiaoyao.

Taisui.

Your majesty,

how may I be of assistance?

What are you laughing at?

What's so funny?

Stop it.

Sorry,

sorry.

You little brat,

how could my Yaoguang be attracted to you?

Keep it up to the notch.

Good.

Very good.

Carry on.

Liu.

Wu Yaoguang,

what's the matter with you?

You are making these girls do squats,

they'll get thick calves, which is unflattering.

What do you want?

You...

Stop.

You're hitting your supervisor.

Stop.

You..

stop.

I'm gonna hit you.

Stop.

I'm back.

Guys, I'm back.

Yaoguang.

Taisui.

I'm back.

I missed you so much.

Love you.

Did you miss me?

Taisui.

Sis Kaiyang.

Did you miss me?

By the way,

his majesty and her highness gave you permission to come back?

Yes they did.

His majesty has been informed that

during the lantern festival

there's a white serpent fairy situation in the west lake, Hangzhou city.

His majesty ordered us to check it out.

Is the serpent fairy attractive?

What if it is?

What if it isn't?

I'll go if it is attractive.

He'll go if it isn't.

Attention, officers of the plough department,

his majesty's orders,

we are to investigate the serpent fairy in Hangzhou city.

Are you ready?

Yes, we are.