Original subtitles

I am Lee Bang Won.

Who are you?

(I am Zhu Di.)

Zhu Di...

Who is this guy?

He is... Zhu Di.

Zhu Di?

(Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor)

Who is Zhu Di anyway?

He is...

the king of Yan.

(King of Yan, fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor)

(What's the matter, Your Majesty?)

(He's asking me if I want to die.)

(Cut one of his arms first.)

No, Moo Hyul! Stop it!

He's the King of Yan.

I don't know such thing.

Even if he's the King of Yan,

the sword will still cut him I guess.

Master Ha Ryun,

translate what Moo Hyul said.

Why are you doing this too, Prince Jeongan?

Translate it!

I understood.

You know our language.

I do.

Then...

I will tell you myself.

That boy right there...

doesn't even know how to write his name.

So of course,

he wouldn't know who you are, Your Majesty.

If I tell him to slay you, he will slay you.

Moo Hyul,

count to 10 in your head and slay him.

Or you could stab him.

Yes, Your Highness.

You are...

a complete lunatic.

(You have caused all of us to die.)

(Beat him.)

He held a sword at my throat.

He will die.

Your Majesty.

He risked his life for his master.

You can take his body...

with you.

We weren't the first to be impolite.

We were...

summoned by His Imperial Highness.

We're envoys from Joseon.

We were arrested at the gate of Liaodong Castle...

without hearing any explanation.

And you,

while hiding your identity,

insulted us.

When his country...

and master are insulted and threatened,

as a guard, he couldn't have remained still.

You are right.

Give this to his family.

Tell them it was an honourable death.

He was a decent servant for being a barbarian.

Only those benevolent...

can serve the small while being big themselves.

Only those wise...

can serve the big while being small themselves.

Only...

those benevolent...

can serve a small country while being a big country themselves.

Only those wise...

can serve a big country while being a small country themselves.

In other words,

the big serves the small while the small serves the big.

The big country should serve the small with benevolence...

for the small to serve the big with courtesy.

Benevolence and courtesy...

go hand in hand.

However,

Your Majesty,

you didn't treat us with benevolence.

I must say...

you deserved our rudeness.

It's by Mencius.

From "King Hui of Wei",

Chapter 3, Volume 2.

(Zhu Di)

I like Mencius too.

I think he has interesting ideas.

How did you learn our language?

From Manchu, Mongolian,

Timur and Tatar...

to Korean, I can speak all of these languages.

Do you know how many...

of my father's concubines are from Goryeo?

My nanny was from Goryeo too.

It is not called Goryeo any longer.

It's called Joseon, Your Majesty.

That's right.

You established a new country.

Your Majesty.

Please...

spare my guard's life.

There's no chance.

He held a sword at my throat.

I'm going to kill all my guards too.

They're responsible.

And...

do you expect me to save him?

No matter what you say...

Yes.

You're right.

You have every reason to kill all of them.

Then...

please let him fight until his death.

Are you that confident?

Is that why?

No, that's not it.

He had...

high hopes as a swordsman.

He came to me with an ambition.

If he has to die,

this shouldn't be how he dies.

As a swordsman,

please let him fight until his death, Your Majesty.

It'll be interesting.

Moo Hyul.

It's okay.

You did your best to protect me.

But I'm not capable of protecting you.

All I can do is...

give you a chance to fight.

You mean...

It's your job to survive.

(Moo Hyul)

That's enough.

That's all...

I need.

Let's survive.

I need you to survive...

for me to survive.

25 East Dragon Methods, Moo Hyul.

Bang Ji inspired me when he was mimicking Chuk Sa Gwang...

and I came up with 25 East Dragon Methods.

You've trained so hard so far.

I'm sorry you got a chance to try those skills.

I'm sure it will work.

Don't be scared.

I'm not scared.

Now that I can fight,

I feel at home.

That's it.

Relaxed while alert.

You're in the best state.

You can beat anybody.

You can do it. Trust it, okay?

By the way, Teacher.

Yes. What is it?

If things go wrong, please take care of my grandmother.

No, I won't!

(Hong Dae Hong)

I won't do that.

You have to survive...

and take care of her.

East Dragon Methods! East Dragon Methods!

East Dragon Methods! East Dragon Methods!

East Dragon Methods! East Dragon Methods!

East Dragon Methods! East Dragon Methods!

East Dragon Methods! East Dragon Methods!

East Dragon Methods!

Moo Hyul.

Don't be nervous.

Don't be nervous. Take a deep breath.

Take a deep breath.

Moo Hyul. Think of a calm lake.

You are the water.

Peaceful and calm.

You're the calm lake.

- Teacher. - Yes.

You seem to be more nervous than I am.

Do I?

Moo Hyul.

(Begin now!)

Moo Hyul! Avoid the attack!

Form the first move of the 25th method!

Moo Hyul, just avoid it!

Don't rush! You can defeat him with one attack.

Wait for the right moment!

Do it now!

(Stop!)

Stop now!

Moo Hyul. Stop it!

You're the winner.

Tell me your wish.

Because of what I did today,

I heard that all of...

your bodyguards could be executed.

Please spare them...

their lives.

Why should I?

Those who guard and protect something...

share this in common.

They will want to protect it again. And...

they will...

guard it better this time.

(This man is asking me to forgive you!)

(I will grant his wish!)

(We sincerely appreciate your immeasurable kindness!)

You are only the fifth prince,

but you have such a remarkable warrior under you.

Joseon is a threat to us, indeed.

Hence, I cannot let you enter Ming.

Go back.

Your Majesty.

I have never let any of your envoys pass the border.

However, we are here...

as per the Emperor's command.

That is none of my business.

(Nanjing: The capital of early Ming)

Did you see them?

The maps at the barrack.

Maps?

King of Yan, Zhu Di,

is saying war clouds are gathering between Joseon and the Jurchens.

He brings his troops here frequently...

to urge them to train and prepare. However,

all the maps were of Zhongyuan.

Do you know what that means?

You know, don't you?

You're aware of...

what is going on within the Great Continent.

I must pass the border.

I shall make a move.

Why do you keep...

trying to create tension with Joseon?

What did you just say?

Your Majesty,

you fabricate things that didn't even happen...

and try to provoke us.

Then you report...

what is not true to the Emperor.

How dare you!

You are truly insolent.

Why would I...

fabricate anything?

Because your nephew...

stole the Imperial Crown Prince title from you.

Go on.

The Imperial Crown Prince...

who will become the next Emperor is your young nephew.

The Emperor is...

obviously wary about all the power you have.

Hence,

you must be afraid of the Emperor being suspicious of you.

Wouldn't that be the explanation?

What are you talking about now?

"Because of the unstable situation between Joseon and the Jurchens,"

"I'm not interested in the Imperial Throne."

"Protecting this area is keeping me preoccupied."

That must be what you want the Emperor to think.

So?

You must be the one...

who reported to the Emperor...

that Joseon is becoming a threat to Ming.

Because of that, the Emperor...

has adopted an extreme hardline policy against Joseon.

The end-result of all this...

could be an actual war.

Is that what you want?

A mouse forced into a corner...

will end up biting the cat it's being chased by.

I know that is...

not what you want to see.

Who says that is not what I want?

Is that so?

This command post was built to ensure defence against...

Joseon and the Jurchens.

But why is it that I only see maps of Zhongyuan?

Your colossal ambition must be...

aiming at Zhongyuan, especially Nanjing!

(Nanjing: The capital of early Ming)

What is it that you want to say?

On the day you head towards Zhongyuan,

I am sure that you won't want the adversarial relationship...

with Joseon to be an obstacle.

The enemy without a withdrawal route...

will be desperate.

Even in "The Art of War", it states that you should...

give your enemy a withdrawal route before fighting.

You want me to open a way out so that...

Joseon won't decide to wage a war.

Is that what you are saying?

Yes. That's what I am saying.

I want you to get your hands on a good card...

that will stop the hardliners who want war...

from rising to power.

That is what I am telling you right now.

Good card?

It's...

me.

It's me, Lee Bang Won.

Please open a way out...

through me so that Joseon will not have...

to fight desperately with Ming.

Please let us...

pass through Liaodong.

You are truly...

clever...

and brave.

However,

you are arrogant and stupid as well!

Don't you know that you can die here...

because of what you just said?

You could be found dead...

tomorrow morning.

I will bet...

that I won't be.

Today, you will either...

die...

or live.

You're here.

What happened?

We will either die...

What?

Or pass through Liaodong.

(Ha Ryun)

That's such a right thing to say.

The man I am serving is such a clever man.

Gosh...

Tell King of Yan that I wish to meet him.

(Set him free.)

I am surprised.

There is one more surprise though.

Come in.

I heard you two know each other.

Your Majesty,

I am very happy to see you here.

Why are you here?

I was thinking whether to kill you...

or use you as a means of escape.

She taught me a lot of things about you.

She's the head of a merchant organisation famous in the mainland.

She brought Goryeo's girls to the imperial family, and...

she gained our favour.

Take a seat.

Your Majesty.

You are more amazing than I thought.

I didn't do anything.

I just...

told His Majesty...

what I know about you.

I heard your situation in Joseon...

is just like mine.

I heard you lost it to your youngest brother.

So...

have you made your decision?

Yes.

I will...

use you as the means of escape.

And also,

I will write a letter to the Emperor.

Your Majesty,

I can't thank enough.

But there is one condition.

What is that?

Your guard Moo Hyul.

Give him to me.

King of Yan...

wants you.

And I tried to kill you.

What?

How can you...

On the way back from Nanjing,

we have to go through this place again.

I will bet my life to get you back that time.

But,

you can't waste your time.

You have to fight and fight again. Learn as much as you can.

Your Majesty.

I heard Zhu Di's guards...

are amazing swordsmen.

Yes, especially the small one...

is the very scary one.

Masters recognise each other.

He came up to me a while ago...

and asked me about East Dragon Methods.

That small man.

Then you should stay here too...

and take care of Moo Hyul.

Can I do that?

I don't know how it was like in Goryeo.

But the new country, Joseon's top swordsman...

has to be...

this boy.

Can you do it?

I will defeat...

all the swordsmen here.

Lee Seong Gye ordered...

your execution, Your Highness.

Tomorrow,

a duty officer will come here.

I put a dot in my last name...

and changed it from "Wang"...

to "Ok".

You should come with me.

If I try to live,

she will just keep fighting...

and die in the end.

You must be hungry, Your Majesty.

The flower pancake is deliciously cooked.

(King Gongyang, the last king of Goryeo)

If you go to the paper shop in the market,

you will find what I asked.

Please bring it to me.

Sure.

Then you should eat it while I go fetch it.

I will cook something delicious for dinner.

Yun Rang.

Thank you.

Is there something His Highness requested?

Yes.

It's this.

This is a letter, isn't it?

You're right.

Open it.

From when I met you...

until I became the King,

it was the best time of my life.

It breaks my heart...

to say goodbye to you.

Yun Rang.

You should survive.

"Prince Jungchang..."

"violated the law..."

"and has lost the support of many..."

"which resulted in..."

"failing to preserve his country."

"Now with the new King,"

"for the stability of the country,"

"I order him to be executed."

I'm sure you would say...

we should fight...

or run away together.

But...

in any case,

I'm the last king of a country...

with 500 years of history.

As the last king,

I shouldn't be remembered as someone who ran away.

Go to Daerim Market in Gaegyeong...

and find someone called Ok.

I have asked him...

to take care of you.

Don't ever...

consider...

taking your life.

Now...

you should find your way...

so that I can...

rest in peace.

(Hanyang, the capital)

This is a request for impeachment.

Exclude Master Hong Hak Joong.

Sorry?

He's close to Master Sambong.

There will be a promotion soon.

(Nam Eun)

If you do so,

I'll recommend you to Master Sambong.

I see. I will do it.

Go to the backyard now.

Pardon? The backyard?

What's the role of remonstrators?

In judging illegalities and wrongdoings of the officials,

even if it's the King's order,

if it's against what you believe to be true,

you have to risk your life for the truth.

And...

now you're too afraid of me to remonstrate?

In addition,

you're the first remonstrators of Joseon.

The principles and disciplines you're establishing now...

will last hundreds of years.

If you don't do your job now,

the officials,

just like the ones of Goryeo,

will start exploiting the people.

Is that what you want?

Would you like a country like that?

His Majesty wanted to read the draft of the annal...

and you tried to stop him?

I'm sorry, Sir.

You'll be appointed...

to the third-rank manager.

Pardon?

All of you need to be as determined as him.

Regardless of what trouble it causes you,

it's your responsibility...

to record everything the King says and does.

- Yes, Sir. - Yes, Sir.

The only thing kings fear...

is the history.

The draft you're working on now...

will serve as examples for our descendants.

Keep that in mind.

- Yes, Sir. - Yes, Sir.

Leader.

- We're back. - We're back.

It was our scholars' first day at Sungkyunkwan.

Did everything go well?

Of course.

We helped them get ready...

and we checked the attendance.

After the classes, we even made sure...

everyone goes back to their rooms.

Good job.

See you after lunch.

- Yes, Leader. - Yes, Leader.

- Let's go. - Let's have some food.

(Banchon)

How have you been?

(Banchon)

Hello.

Hello.

Hello.

Is it going well?

Sure.

Is everything all right?

Yes.

The examination is only a few days away.

Make sure you have enough.

I see.

By the way,

strictly speaking, we were not servants.

And they were servants in Gaegyeong.

Gab Boon. We all...

belong here equally now.

Keep that in mind.

Okay, Boon Yi.

I mean, Leader.

Mr Ok.

Oh, hello.

Do you like it here?

Yes.

I was lucky to be accepted here.

- I like it here. - Oh, my.

He has amazing skills.

Look at that, Leader.

Did you use to sell brushes before?

Maeng Soon.

You shouldn't ask those things here.

My mistake.

I forgot.

I don't see your sister again.

Well...

she's sewing inside.

I see.

- Where's my food? - Why is it so late?

- Leader is here. - It's our leader.

Hello.

You seem to have lunch here everyday.

I've tried other places,

but she's the best cook in Hanyang.

By the way,

you look like a real leader now.

Do I?

Gosh.

How is it going?

Nothing would go wrong here.

By the way,

have you heard anything...

about Prince Jeongan in Ming?

Well...

I haven't heard anything yet.

Master Sambong is here.

Will you ask him?

Are you on your way to Sungkyunkwan?

Yes. You must be inspecting.

I heard you work day and night.

I should be thankful.

By the way,

Prince Jeongan in Ming...

You haven't heard from him yet?

No, I haven't heard anything yet.

Gosh...

Don't worry too much. He is a strong man.

Yes, I won't. Goodness...

You're alive, right?

Right, Bang Won?

(Sungkyunkwan)

So it is tonight.

Is everyone prepared?

Yes.

Everyone will gather at Jungryunam tonight.

Knowing that we are taking our first step forward today,

my heart is filled with excitement.

We are finally gathering together for our first meeting.

(Jeong Do Jeon)

Nothing is going as quickly as I want it to proceed.

Master, they say that well begun is half done.

This is our code of conduct.

Make a copy of this, please.

Sure, I will be glad to do so.

What happened today and what you heard.

You told me everything, right?

Yes. I told you everything, Leader.

Okay. Then we are done for today.

Please forget everything you've told me.

You're back. Did you go and relieve yourself?

Give it back.

- Give what back? - What you stole from Sungkyunkwan.

What are you talking about? I work the night shift,

so I went to Sungkyunkwan to check the fireplace.

It looks like I need to teach you a lesson.

Ddang Sae.

I apologise.

I'm sorry to disturb your meeting.

All of you may leave now.

- Yes, Teacher. - Sure.

Baek Jin is captured?

It looks like he sneaked into Sungkyunkwan and stole a document.

The people in Banchon captured him.

It sounds like officers from the police agency are there too.

Which document did he steal?

We sent him to Banchon because we heard that Sambong...

often holds gatherings at Sungkyunkwan.

It must have something to do with him.

Master Ryu.

This village of Banchon...

is where the shrine, which commemorates An Hyang, is located.

You must be aware that no soldiers are allowed to enter here...

unless it's the King's command.

The thief is in this village.

We've already caught...

a suspect.

Is that so?

Then hand him over to us now.

However, the suspect turned out to be one of the villagers.

Unless it's the King's command, I, as the leader of this village,

hold the right to decide what to do with him.

You can only arrest him...

if I decide to banish him from the village.

And?

We will start interrogating him immediately.

I apologise, but please wait for us to finish.

You witch!

Do you think we will just stand here and wait?

If you enter my village,

you will be dishonouring the King and Master Sambong...

who founded a kingdom that is ruled only by the laws and mandates.

Please tell me.

Did you assault Sir Park Chan Hyeon at Sungkyunkwan...

and steal a document?

Leader. Why would I do such a thing?

I didn't do it.

Then why did you run away?

He started running after me,

so I just ran too.

Don't listen to him, Boon Yi. He's lying.

I'm sure that he did it.

May I search your clothes?

Yes, of course. Please search me.

Ddang Sae.

If he is hiding something,

he won't let me do this.

I actually want to check his body...

to see if he has the symbol we know.

What are you thinking?

Now,

I will ask you this question as the leader of this village.

If you say anything that is untrue,

you will be expelled from Banchon and all of us will forget about you.

You will become a dead person to us.

Moo Myung.

Do you belong to Moo Myung?

Please tie him up.

Leader. Leader!

Leader!

- What just happened? - Who did that?

- What was that? - This is crazy.

- Goodness. - I can't believe this.

Everyone, hide!

- Hide now! - We have to hide!

Listen.

(Gil Sun Mi)

You can't beat me with that.

Why did you show up again? No, you people from Moo Myung.

What are you plotting, sneaking into Banchon?

Infiltrating into Banchon is nothing.

We can show up anywhere.

Boon Yi!

- Gosh, Leader! - Leader...

What should we do?

Wait, did he throw a piece of jerky?

- Jerky? - What?

- Seriously? - That's what he threw?

That was Gil Sun Mi for sure.

Moo Myung is back.

They even infiltrated into Banchon.

Excuse me, Leader.

Please spare me a second.

I found this accidentally.

I see. Is that right?

This is it.

I saw a man hiding it at a herb shop and thought it was strange.

Thank you.

There was an incident involving this today.

Do you think the soldiers will come here because of this?

No. They won't be able to enter here unless it's the King's order.

But why do you...

rarely step out of this house?

Do you feel uncomfortable around the people here?

No. I will step out more often from now on.

Okay. I'm glad to hear that.

I will let you rest, then.

Take care.

Lady,

we came here...

because the royal forces cannot enter.

But if you don't want to stay here, we can move to another place.

It's okay.

This place is the best option.

Prince Jungchang...

asked me to take care of these children.

You don't have to feel responsible for them.

They are his children.

I'm doing it for my pleasure.

Jungryunam?

Master Sambong is here.

(Jungryunam)

Welcome.

I am happy...

and thrilled.

Since Zhou,

which existed 2,300 years ago,

there has been no other nation which aimed for...

Equal Land Distribution System.

It's already been several years since Joseon,

the true country of Confucian scholars, has been founded.

It's hard.

Your shoulder is hard.

You are such a big guy...

yet you move lightly like a butterfly.

Master Hong!

What is it? Master Hong is here.

Your... prince.

What about the prince?

Your prince...

is back.

What?

He's back?

Moo Hyul!

Did you hear that?

He's back?

Moo Hyul.

However,

the root of this big tree called Joseon...

is still very weak.

Scholars, officials, noblemen,

and us...

should become a strong and healthy...

root for this country.

Until the tree called Joseon reaches the age of 10,000 years,

we must become the root of the roots.

We must be hidden yet be alive.

We must be invisible,

but we must give lively energy...

to the tree, leaves and flower petals.

On the ground called history,

the root should be hidden and yet be rooted strongly and deeply.

We are...

this ground's hidden root.

Hidden root?

The hidden root...

leads the king to the right direction.

The hidden root corrects the king.

The hidden root cares about the people...

from the bottom of this earth.

The hidden root cherishes the people.

The hidden root respects the people.

The hidden root makes the people comfortable.

The hidden root fosters the people.

The hidden root should never...

differ from the next two thoughts.

First is...

that the people are the root.

The people are the root.

The people are the root.

The people are...

The people are...

the root.

(The first master of the Hidden Root, Jeong Do Jeon)

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