Original subtitles

How dare you set your filthy feet into this camp!

Admiral, the warriors of Japan have great admiration for you.

They do not wish to hurt you.

All that they want is fer you to surrender.

They will guarantee your safety

and the safety of your men if you surrender.

And if you wish, they are willing to accept you as a warrior of Japan.

Silence!

Tell your leader that I was deeply moved by his kindness.

Indeed you are unlike the rest.

You astuteness in judging a situation is...

You may also tell him that

he need not worry about the safety of the Chosun Navy.

It is the safety of the Japanese Navy that he should worry about.

You'd fight the great Japanese Navy with only 12 ships?

You can't possibly win.

I will reply to your remark on the battlefield.

A graveyard?

Yi Soon-shin said he would make the seas of Chosun

a graveyard for the Japanese Navy?

Such reckless courage!

Destroy the Japanese Navy with 12 ships?

That seems to be his plan.

I guess losing this precious fleet sent him over the edge.

Don't you think, General Kato?

I guess so.

This is more reckless than that idiot Won Kyun.

Maybe he took a blow to the head when he was tortured.

But I feel rather uneasy.

Men do not change overnight.

And YiSoon-shin is the most

cautious and meticulous military leader in Chosun.

He must have a hidden card of some kind to...

What hidden card? He has nothing.

No troops, no warships, he is but a straw man.

It would not hurt us to be cautious.

I think we should take care of Yi Soon-shin first.

I agree.

The navy should return to Pusan about now

and clean up the rest of the Chosun Navy.

What's wrong with you?

You want to move the fleet because

you're startled by a rat that's screaming in his trap?

What would that do to our reputation?

Yi Soon-shin is bluffing to keep up the morale in his camp.

Isn't that why we sent Yoshira into their camp in the first place?

To completely crush their will to fight and avoid wasting our energy?

Yes, but...

Yi Soon-shin has lost his fleet,

so he is probably all fired up to get revenge.

But he cannot fight this war alone.

If the soldiers do not have the will to fight, there is no battle.

If you don't believe me, check for yourself.

I bet the Chosunese Naval Base is in chaos and disarray right now

with men who are scared to death.

Be gentle now! Be gentle!

Goodness!

How could you scratch me with your nails like a wench in the bedroom?

What? I did no such thing!

You boys are so weak!

How are you ever going to get hitched if you're so weak?

I think Lt. Song's talk about the wench in the bedroom

made their legs turn to jelly!

My legs are jelly too!

Is the Supreme Commander in his right mind?

I just can't understand this.

Neither can I.

I am appalled as it is with his preposterous talk about going after

the Japanese, but now he's turned a military camp into a playground!

If the leader loses his poise, his soldiers lose their morale.

The defeat Chilchun-liang has demoralized our troops.

And the Japanese messenger's visit could worsen their fears.

On top of that, over half of the recruits are new.

From the artillery crew to the oarsmen,

everything in the navy requires teamwork.

It is necessary to create an environment for the soldiers

to become comfortable with each other.

So you may return to your posts and be with your men.

High Commander, is the admiral really intent on

fighting the enemy with fleet of 12 galleys?

Soldiers are supposed to fight the enemy.

Sir!

Did you investigate the enemy's movements?

Most of the naval leaders are at the Left Cholla Naval Station in Yosu.

And the enemy fleet?

All of their ships are still anchored in the Pusan area.

That means that their military power is concentrated on land.

That appears to be true, sir.

And the progress of the war?

Nam-won has fallen because Ming general Wang Won

abandoned the fort and fled the city.

That means that the defense line in Cholla has completely fallen!

Junju is the only fort left...

If the Ming allies have fled,

can General Kwon Yul's army hold the fort alone?

All that's left for us to do now is to capture Junju.

That's right, General Wakizaka.

Hurray! Hurray! It's a bulls-eye!

Wine!

Hurray! Hurray! It's a bulls-eye!

It's such a shame...

Even you wenches know better than to fight us.

Why is Yi Soon-shin being so stubborn?

He isn't even as smart as you are.

I don't understand.

Why does Yi Soon-shin bother you so much?

General...

You're not afraid of him

like those cowards Konishi and Dodo, are you?

That's not why you sent Yohira

to Yi Soon-shin's camp to have him check it out, is it?

Of course not.

His Eminence wants Yi Soon-shin alive, so I was just looking for

a way to acquire my war trophy as effortlessly as I can.

There's no need to hurry, General Wakizaka.

We will take Junju Fort first, continue our advance

and blow his naval base away!

We need a new base.

The defense lines are crumbling everywhere on land.

And since Oran is accessible by land, we are vulnerable to enemy attack.

But...

What we need is another natural fortress like Kyunneryang.

I don't believe in miracles.

It's impossible to stop a fleet

of over a thousand ships with a fleet of twelve.

The only way we to compensate for our numerical disadvantage

by maximizing the geographical advantages.

If only Won Kyun hadn't been so stupid, our fleet would still be

strong and the Commandant Kim Wan would still be alive to guide us!

This is unlike you.

If you dwell on the past, you can't see what's ahead.

It doesn't make a difference even if you look straight ahead.

Everything is just dark!

More than half of the officers

don't want to be here or have no experience at sea,

and most of the crew members are untrained raw recruits.

That's not all. We are poorly equipped and low on provisions.

High Commander Kwon...

On top of that, the comrades that used to share

all these important tasks are gone.

I'm not sure now much longer I can fake patience with the

officers and put up a calm front for my men.

Do we really have a chance? Is there really hope, Admiral?

Admiral, I think we have to call it a day.

According to 5 fisherman that came on board with us, we can't

enter the channel after 1:00 when the tide starts to ebb because

of the powerful springtide.

He says if we get caught in the whirlpool,

the ship could be destroyed.

Do you mean that entering the channel becomes impossible

because of the swift current?

Yes, sir.

Are you the one who said we cannot pass through the channel?

Yes, sir.

The current may be swift but this is a warship.

No, Admiral. We'd be in big trouble if we enter the channel.

I've lived in these parts for over 60 years, and I've

seen countless warships get trapped in that swirling torrent.

The current is so strong and it makes such a loud noise that they

call this channel the Uldolmok.

Uldolmok?

It means the Roaring Channel.

The Roaring Channel...

So it's just matter of time before Cholla Province is ours...

Yes, Your Eminence.

My men are doing well in Chosun.

They have sent me lots of gifts. Haven't they, Ieyasu?

Yes, they have, Your Eminence.

Jotai...

Yes, Your Eminence.

Take these gifts and divide them among my retainers.

This is positive proof that Chosun will soon belong to Japan.

Don't you agree?

Of course, Your Eminence.

Show them to the people as well.

Let them see how helplessly Chosun is crumbling before our swords.

And they will feel as proud as I am of the warriors who are

fighting for Japan in Chosun.

Don't you agree, Ieyasu?

Of course, Your Eminence.

I will go to Junju. And I will fight to the death there.

Then what? What will happen next?

Over a 100.000 Japanese troops have marched to Cholla.

You wish to engage in a frontal assault!

with an army less than one tenth of their size?

This is unlike you. Think calmly.

If we can't save Cholla Province, we have to think seriously about

how we're going to protect the capital city.

August 1597, the year of Jung-yu, the scene of war was truly grim.

After crushing the Three Provinces Navy led by Won Kyun

in Chilchundo and Choonwon-po on July 16,

the Japanese forces immediately divded their force into

left and right division and advanced west

launching their campaign to capture Cholla.

Right division led by Kiyomasa and others captured Yangsah,

Mityang and Hapchun and made their way toward Namwon,

and the Left division led by Konishi Yukinaga,

Wakizaka Yasuharu and others also headed west to Namwon

by way of Gosung, Sachun and Kurae.

By August 16, Namwon was in their hands,

and the gates of Junju Fort were before them.

I cannot comply.

Look, Supreme Commander, Junju is on the verge of being captured!

It is regrettable, but I cannot reorganize the navy into an army.

If Cholla falls, Choong-chung is next, then the capital city.

But we have less than one tenth the enemy's strength.

One thousand sailors on land will not turn this war around.

I don't expect them to turn this war around.

If we have to give up Junju,

we can at least seal the path to Choong-chung and fight.

Cutting off the enemy's sea route west is more important.

You know that as well as I do.

Do you really think that's possible?

You're going to fight a fleet of 1.000 ships with 12 ships?

Do you have any idea how reckless that sounds?

You're being even more reckless and irrational than Won Kyun.

A fleet of 100 could not stop the Japanese Navy.

Stop being reckless. Let us pool our resources together.

This is no time to speculate whether or not it is possible.

We cannot let the enemy take control of the sea,

and that means we have to make it possible no matter what.

I do not believe what I am hearing.

Are these words coming from Admiral Yi Soon-shin?

Has honor and reputation become more important to you

than the safety of your men as well?

The royal court took your fleet from you and pulled you out from the front.

And as a result, the navy suffered a terrible defeat

and the royal court called you back.

Are you trying to show them? What do you trying to prove?

I'm back... I can do what no one can... I am not Won Kyun...

General!

Your rage has turned to reckless valor and finally stained your pure heart.

What is to become off your men if you lose your way?

Are you trying to get what's left of the navy completely destroyed?

All I can do is ask for your trust and patience.

No, I can't give you that.

The navy has already been destroyed.

I can't risk losing anymore men

because of a leader who has lost his way.

General...

I will stop you.

I will do whatever I must to stop you from doing this!

The Supreme Commander has gone mad!

Is he really intent on fighting the enemy right now

with only twelve ships?

Not twelve, thirteen.

We have to count the new Right Commander's ship as well.

It doesn't make a difference.

We're up against a fleet of over one thousand.

Twelve, thirteen, it's all the same.

I know. We're going to fight to the death anyway.

Constable Woo, this is a serious matter.

What do you suggest do if we don't fight?

What else can we do but fight to the death?

If I recall, the late Supreme Commander Won Kyun

made similar remarks.

Sir...

Didn't you learn anything from the last battle?

Are we adults or are we children?

What?

We don't have a chance in this battle, so practice restraint!

Sir!

I agree with High Commander Bae. This is an impossible battle.

Be quiet. What do you know?

You're a greenhorn who has been in the navy for less than a year.

I know that 1.000 to 12 is almost 100 to 1.

And even a child knows that one an doesn't stand a chance

against a hundred men.

That may be true, but we cannot show our backs to the enemy.

Some things are just not possible.

You can't win a war with ambition alone.

I told you to be quiet! How dare you talk back!

I am a naval officer as well, Constable Woo!

Not all naval officers are equal!

You're out of line.

What?

Stop! What are you doing?

What do we have to gain by fighting each other with the enemy before us?

It is the admiral who has done this to us.

Tell him to come up with a realistic plan.

We don't need another zealous admiral

sending his own men to death with an impossible mission!

Go to the capital city and deliver this letter to

Minister of Military as quickly as possible.

Yes, sir.

Isn't it amazing, sir?

We couldn't even approach the channel during ebb tide, but now

we are just gliding through it without a stroke of an oar!

Myong-ryang, where two opposing tides collide and form a whirlpool

that has been turning for thousands of years...

A fleet that rides the favorable current will not be on a favorable current,

and when the time comes the tide will turn sending them

backward into a pile of wreckage.

So this place is a lion's den for both me and my enemy.

Do I have the right to push my men into this torrential current

and ask them to give up their lives?

Did you personally go on patrol again, sir?

It looks like you didn't get any sleep last night.

Are the officers still quite disgruntled?

They are just as upset as the Field Marshal Kwon Yul.

How about you?

Do you wish to avoid it?

May I speak frankly?

If we can't win either way,

I'd rather make the choice that puts less burden on you.

Whether we win or lose, if we fight as an army,

General Kwon would be held responsible.

What if I said we can win?

Admiral...

Fight the enemy at Uldolmok?

So tomorrow, we will move our camp to Byokpajin

and begin preparing for battle.

Uldolmok is a channel that the enemy must pass

to go from the South Sea to the Yellow Sea.

It is a narrow channel only wide enough for

three Japanese vessels to pass at a time, so...

But I heard that the current is extremely rough and that

the current changes directions several times a day.

Our ships could be destroyed

if we get caught in the torrential current the wrong way, Admiral.

I know.

Admiral...

The enemy will study the waters before they proceed west.

Yes.

And they will choose the most favorable time to cross it.

Of course.

That means we will have to fight the current as well.

All we have to do is to hold them back for two hours

until the tide shift. Then...

Then we have a chance to beat them. Is that what you're saying, sir?

Beat them? Stop dreaming!

Admiral, you must stop coaxing your men

with these delusional fantasies!

Two hours, Admiral?

Do we really have a chance if could just hold them back for two hours?

Then let's give it a shot.

Are you insane? We have to fight against the current!

The swift current can easily capsize our ships!

Practice, that's why we need to practice.

Right?

That's right. I'll take care of the oarsmen training.

The enemy will rush toward us like waves,

so will have to work on reducing the artillery loading time.

Constable Yi, the enemy has over a thousand ships!

That's right.

They will attempt to board our ships as well.

Constable Yi, we have to start the men on close combat training as well.

Of course.

Judging from what we know, the enemy will come out to sea

before the full moon of next month.

Do you think that's enough time to train these new recruits and

put them out in front of the killing machines?

Just hold them back?

Do we really have a chance if we could just hold them back, sir?

I have faith in you, in our soldiers and in the Chosun Navy.

That's all I need to hear, sir.

We have never lost a battle fighting under your command, sir.

Am I right?

Then let us move the camp to Byokpajin at once.

Disband the navy and incorporate them into the army?

Yes, Your Majesty.

I regret to inform you that the defense lines in Kyung-sang and

Cholla provinces are helplessly crumbling.

The situation is such that we do not know when

the capital city will come under attack...

Isn't that all the more reason why the navy must protect the ocean?

They can cut off the enemy's supply line and

slow down their northward advance.

But Your Highness, the navy has been

reduced to twelve ships and one thousand soldiers.

We cannot expect them to stop

the Japanese fleet of over one thousand ships.

Your Majesty, I urge you to

gather the scattered military powers into one.

Make Yi Soon-shin an army general and have him stop the enemy on land.

Yes, Your Majesty. If Cholla and Kyung-sang has fallen, the

Japanese will enter the capital city within the next ten days.

Unless countermeasures are taken immediately...

It will take them less than ten days if the sea routes are open.

Your Majesty, I urge you to have Yi Soon-shin fight the enemy at sea.

Minister Yi!

I agree.

Yi Soon-shin is a meticulous and cautious tactician.

If he thought that he did not have a chance against the enemy at sea,

he would have stated his opinion well in advance.

Yi Soon-shin may be a gifted man, but this is beyond his control.

But Your Majesty...

Order the navy disbanded.

Twelve cannot stop one thousand.

I'm sure Yi Soon-shin will not disagree with me this time.

We will carry out your order, Your Majesty.

Navy should not be disbanded in haste.

But His Majesty is firm on his decision...

Where is the Prime Minister?

Why won't he attend office in this situation?

He has gone to Kyunggi personalty

to inspect the fortress and assemble an army.

Summon him back immediately.

If we make a mistake, the enemy will enter the city through Mapo.

And if that happens, all defense strategies will be useless.

Disband the navy?

It's the Field Marshal's decision?

Yes, sir.

Then there is nothing we can do.

Nothing we can do?

You mean you'd let the navy be dissolved?

If we fail to seal off the sea route,

the enemy will proceed directly to the capital.

Then the royal carnage will be in danger and the ground forces

defending the land routes will be attacked from both sides.

You are the last person I expected to support this foolish decision, sir.

After all, you are the one who trusted Admiral Yi

and hand delivered the royal decree.

The situation has changed.

Sir...

We needed the ground forces to keep the Japanese on land in check

order for Yi Soon-shin to take a stab at defeating them at sea.

And I prayed that they would come through for that to happen.

But Ming allies fled the battle, and the same time

the defense lines in Kyung-sang and Cholla have crumbled.

Now the Japanese will send at least 50.000 soldiers

to the north through the sea route.

Do you think it is possible to stop them with 12 battleships?

Knees apart! Find your bearings!

Balance!

Balance! Tighten you stomach?

This is insane. The hell with this!

Cannon's ready!

Gun powder!

You must insert the right amount every time!

Wood piece!

No, that's the wrong size! That's it!

Good, good. Now projectile!

Balance!

That's it, that's it!

Excellent! Wood piece!

Prepare for discharge?

Excellent! Again!

Row, darn it! Row!

Admiral...

Is this really the will of the King and the court?

Yes. And the Prime Minister did not oppose.

Break camp and report to the Field Marshal with your men in three days.

I'm sure I don't have to worry,

but I hope you wouldn't create trouble again at the front and

the royal court by making another rash decision.

I trust and respect you as much as

my father-in-law and the Prime Minister.

Your wounds of dismissal and the inquiry have yet to heal.

If you insist on being unreasonable

by expressing opinion that contradicts the King's decision,

not only will you be risking your life,

but the loyalty of your men will be questioned as well.

I'm sure you don't want that.

I swear His Majesty never gets tired...

Why does he have to put a damper on everything that we try to do?

How dare you show such contempt for the King!

Commander...

You've been badly influenced by

a superior officer who has made a career out of defying the King!

What did you say?

Constable Yi!

High commander Kwon, let me make myself clear.

We are His Majesty's faithful servants.

If Admiral Yi can't shake his habit and tries to defy the King again,

I will not acknowledge him as my superior officer.

Is that clear?

How did it go, Lieutenant? What is the admiral going to do?

Is he really going to disband the navy?

I guess so...

We can't put him in a cage cart again.

The King is right about this.

We can't win this battle in a million years. Am I wrong?

You stupid idiots! Shut your traps!

Did Admiral Yi Soon-shin agree to abide by the King's decision?

I'm certain he will after what happened last time.

I hope he understands that I made this decision

purely out of sincere patriotism...

Yi Soon-shin is wrong this time no matter how you look at this.

He is a prudent man, so I'm sure he will come to the same conclusion.

Uldolmok is our last line of defense.

If we let them cross it, Chosun will crumble.

So I stand firm on my belief that the navy must fight.

But...

But I do not think this is a decision I can make alone

or by deliberating with the officers.

I'd like to hear what the soldiers want since they are the ones who

will be risking their lives to fight a battle that the King

and his court and even most of their commanding officers

believe is an impossible battle.

Do you think that the soldiers will support the admiral?

They've been training day and night with no improvement what so ever.

No one will support him unless they're crazy.

But what if he inspires them with his absurd guarantee of victory?

They've been fooled once and they won't be fooled again.

Half of them are survivors of Pusan

who were duped by Won Kyun's false assurances.

It won't happen. The soldiers will never support him.

The Chosun Navy will be defeated.

All of us will die and we will be buried here in Myongryang.

That is what the enemy believes.

And that is also what most us believe.

In the past six years, I have taken my men into countless battles

and not once been defeated.

It is because I have led my men

into a battle in which victory is not guaranteed.

But this time nothing is certain.

We are ill-equipped to fight against an enemy a many times our size,

and taking into account that we might be the ones who have to

fight against the powerful current of Uldolmok, the sea will stand in

our path as another enemy fiercer than the Japanese.

Despite these adverse conditions,

I still hope to fight this battle together with all of you.

Victory is not guaranteed.

I will not tell you that we'll walk away from this battle without casualties.

The only promise I can make is

that I will be the advance guard that protects the foremost front.

The command ship will charge toward the enemy at the front,

and I will not give ground until the enemy is defeated.

He who seeks death shall live, and he who seeks life shall die.

Those willing to trade your life to protect your country, follow me!

I still have twelve warships.

For as long as I am alive, the enemy will not dare covet this sea.