I have grown old
It's so long since I last dreamed of master Zhu
My ideas of educations, musics, humanity and harmony
Can be fullfilled only in times to comes...
Master Kong Qiu, the mayor of Zhong Du
Indeed!
Follow me
Master Kong, you may bow inside
Announcing Master Kong Qiu, the mayor of ZhongDu
His Majesty arrives
Welcome, Kong Qiu...
Your humble servant Kong Qiu glad too greets Your Majesty
Ok, Kong Qiu
As I heard
you've been mayor of ZhongDu
for only in a year, many things..
has been changed... Streets were safes, homes were secures
Your majesty
As I said of observing the ritual of Zhou
"A year show progress, there years would show much more"
I would like to see
Your policies applied througout the Kingdom of Lu
I have no such authority, and therefore shouldn't exert myself
This could be easily handle
I'll appoint you to the right position
Lord Ji Yiru has just died
Now, his oldest son Ji Sunsi
has become Prime Minister and Chief General of the Army
But the post of Minister of Law is vacant
"There nobles family" all their own nominees
But I'm inclined to appoint you
I can't presume to be worthy
then I will support you
You and your disciples
could civilize the Kingdom of Lu
You could challenge those
you've called unworthy in the past
Do you dare?
My Lord, A slave has just escaped!
What? Who is it?
It's master PingZi
late lord's favorite young servant
He is Qi Sigong!
That little boy
My father ordered that
this boy must be buried with him! Get him back!
Yes
Overthere! Prepare poisoned arrows now!
Help! Master! Master ... help me, please!
Teacher, in your opinion
could the kingdom of Lu stronger
but the emulating the Dukedom of Qui?
Your majesty
The people of Qi obey the law
Out of their fear of punishment
If we respect the law because of we are civil, honest,
and have integrity, dignity,... aren't this much better
when horrorable and credible men are choosen to be officers
theft and corruption would disappear
men who cares their parents and children
also care for others
Men should perform their duties while women would be given a home and family ...
then orphan and widows, the old, the sick
and the weak could be taken care of
Then the people will live and work cheerfully
Universal peace and harmony will reign!
Mother! ?
Don't close it! Open the door! Let me out, please!
Prepare the meal
Your father has returned
How do you know?
I heard his voice
He'll be surprised I've brought you to see him
Hurry, take and bring this to him
Father
You're back
You've been gone for half of the day! Mother and I have been waiting
You haven't eaten yet? You must be hungry
Don't be worry, who are you?
I am ...
Qi Sigong
Little boy..
Teacher
Yan Hui, call a doctor, quick!
Yes
Hurry, call for a doctor
What's this all about?
Teacher
as I came here
the troops of Ji Family were chasing this little slave
So i rescured him
He was a burial-slave
The Ji's troops want him back
Teacher, let's avoid trouble
I can leave him with my brother in law in the Kingdom of Wei
This might be better for everyone
No, Zilu, he could stay here
Seeing injustice and do not extend help equal to a lack of courage
Then, Lord Ji Sunsi will be furious
Zilu
You did the right thing
Stop! What do you thing you're doing?
Who are you?
I am General Gong Sang Niu of Biyi cidatel
Quickly search this area
Mr. Gong San
Teacher
Kong Qiu
What do you want?
It is reported
That the Minister's escaped slave is hiding here
If you don't show him over to us now
it may damage your relation with the Minister
Minister Kong, may I have any words in private?
Minister Kong, I hate the arrogance of the three Noble Families so much
And today, I could report that I found nothing
You and I should be friends and partners. Together.
we could drive out the Noble Families and rule the kingdom ourselves.
Now, tell me
What say you
Our paths are different, so we cannot work under the same principle
General, it's getting late, you should be on your way
Go!
My lord and Ministers
Everyone has come to observe the Winter Sacrifice
But before we can begin
A strange occurrence demands explanation
Yesterday, the officer responsible for the sacrifice of birds
reported that one of the ten pheasants
prepaired for the ceremony
has pecked off its own tail
So, today I must seek your exalted opinions
Ought we to cancel the ceremony?
Or make a delay?
I wish to speak
You can speak, Su Sunwu
In my opinion, since the Winter Sacrifice
marks the most important sacrifice at year end
it must not be delayed nor canceled!
We address the gods throught this ceremony
the omen reflects a message from Heaven
therefore, the pheasant should be set to fly out from sacrifice
To do otherwise would be seen as a disrespect for the Spirit!
We must obey the will of heaven
And allow this bird to live
Kong Qiu, what is your view?
Your Majesty
your humble servant fully agrees with Minister Shu's opinion
Then ... you ministers?
Your humble servants also agrees with the two minister's opinion
Since all are in agreement.
So be it! Let the pheasant be released
Into the mountain forests.
Your Majesty, your humble servant wished to speak
Speak
I have a request
at the end to the evil ritual of burial of living being
with their deceased Master
Kong Qiu
Why do you have such respect?
Because today, your humble servant
Is pleading for this little slave's life
Which little slave?
There he is
Uncle
Ins't that the slave who ran away from your home?
Kong Qiu
He was my family's slave
and you took him into your house!
How dare of you!
Teacher
Minister Ji, please pardon him
This boy should not accompany
Lord Ji Yiru to the grave
Don't you always approve of observing
our ancient traditions? This is just one of them!
Minister Ji
Benevolence is love for our fellow human!
A ritual murder is still a murder even if they comply with our tradition!
Lord Shu
You showed benevolence toward a pheasant
I am here to ask you
Surely you also to speakup for
this wounded boy?
Today, we come here
Only for discussing about the Winter Sacrifice
This matter is unrelated
No, there is a close relationship!
The "Zhou Book of Ethic" tells us to value a human life above all
the burial of slave was praticed in wicked ways
It was outlawed since the commencement of the Zhou throne in this Dynasty
Our Kingdom of Lu is the ancient home of the Duke of Zhu
And know for its ethic
We should be innovative with our system and abandon outdated traditions
Your Majesty, everybody
I, Kong Qiu, on my own life
I ask you spare this young slave
Kong Qiu
It was Lord Yiru's dying wish that
those he loved should be die with him
It is not cruel to bury this slave
Rather, it demonstrates the Prime Minister's
filiat piety, and his love to his father
General Gong, I know
You served Lord Yuri for years
I heard he said many times that
he could not live without you
Yeah! That's right.
Given how close you were to him
he must still need you that
he has passed to the next life
If you were willing to accompany your lord in death
I could not object you to taking
this little slave with you
You
Can you say anything?
You! Bastard!
It seems the General is not willing to serve his master beyond the grave
He imposes on others what he will not impose on himself
Your Majesty, I have no more to say
The scholar's words seem to be profound
I decide
Approved, release him
Great! You will never have to back to the Ji's house
Second bow
Boy... Don't cry, stand up
Qi Sigong. What's wrong?
Are you okay?
I am not crying
May I really stay here?
Alright now, today is a special day
Zilu, let's get some drink
Good! Ziqian, Boniu, help me fetch the wine
Boy, come here
This is now your home
All of them are your brothers
They will take care of you
I know, teacher.
So we're family now
Teacher, I could hardly believe it
when Minister Ji accepted your proposal
Here comes the wine
Come. What about you?
I have this
Drink all you like. Very well. Cheer!
It tastes horrid
Your Highest
Making Kong Qiu a Minister with lots of responsibility
with surely strengthen the Kingdom of Lu
And their strength threaten us in the Dukedom of Qi
Lu's strength is a threat to Qi ??????
For almost one hundred years
All rulers of Qi have dreamed of..
..conquering Lu
and clearing our way to the western border
Kong Qiu has already asserted his authority in the Lu court
Your Highest, perhaps we should celebrate a meeting
to congratulate Lu
We could invite the King of Lu and Kong Qiu
to meet at our border
Kong Qiu is a man of literature and not familiar with military affairs!
He knows about Ethics, not bravery!
During the ceremony, we'll take the King of Lu as hostage
then we could discuss how the ruler end
the three Noble Families can submit to Qi's will ???????
What an excellent proposal!
Minister Li, prepare a formal invitation to
The King of Lu
About having a meeting in Jiagu on forming an alliance between the two kingdoms.
despatch immediately
Yes
This meeting at Jiagu
is my first challenge as a minister
It is a matter of honor or humiliation, win or lose
And it would have significant consequence!
Yan Hui
His Majesty agrees that you should
take charge of the ceremony
ensure that both parties have equal ground and no disrespect would be allowed
Yes, teacher.
Zilu
Teacher
You and ZiGong will be the only men to carry swords on the meeting platform
Guard His Majesty carefully, regardless of what happeneds
Understood!
Ran Qiu
Teacher
Go in advance to Jiagu
to inspect the area around the meeting platform
seek out any places
What do you want me to do, teacher?
Teacher, the military commanders are here
Our respects, Minister of Law
Ok.
Qi specified the place for the alliance talks
It was known as a mountain ravine
a dead end
I would like to bring chariots nearby
in case we need them
Minister, we're based in a barrack
We have only carriages at our command, and no war chariots
Minister Ji and
General GongShan Niu control them all
Minister
I heard the Prime Minister and Genernal Gong
are holding an archery tournament in Biyi
Very well
Then I would have to visit them there!
Teacher, we're approaching Biyi
Teacher, it is said that Biyi cidatel
has more mounted soldier and slaves
than any other city of Lu
Be advised
those who shriked labor within three days
will be dragged out and put on public display
Complete at what?
Archery
Please
The meeting between Lu and Qi is a serious matter
Can your Lordship provide army chariots to protect our king?
To show our might
How many?
500 chariots
Isn't it supposed to be an alliance meeting?
Why do you neet suck a show of force?
As Duke of Zhou taught us
Must backup Words with Force
Qi is a barbarous country
which has long wanted to conquer Lu, so we must be prepaired
We must be prepaired!
Good
Let us have a match
My teacher respectfully request a match and drink to you
If you win, I'll grant you
500 chariots
The archery match will begin
Please get in the shooting area
You have my word
If you win, they're yours
If you lose, you'll get nothing
Agreed
A pure heart
makes a pure shot
Right, full score
A new minister with high ambitions
Who would thought BiYi cidatel walls were more than 18 feet high?
Built to conceal their injustices
use violence to control them
the tyranny within these walls
put tigers into shame!
Prime Minister, has all this escaped your notice?
Now, Master Ji
May I ask how Lu stands today?
it might that the Ji Family's real enemy is from within
not across the border
I hear you had no father
Who taught you the shooting skill?
My father was a warrior, but he left this world before his time
A diligent student needs no teacher ... I learned myself
Good
Right wins
Thanks Prime Minister
So you need 500 chariots
for the alliance talks
Ask him yourself, General Gong.
We have a kingdom because we have an army!
Who raised and trained that army?
Not your King of Ly, It was my BiYi cidatel!
Why could I turn over my chariots to you?
So that you can process my army into the dessert and famish them!
See again!
You see, my words don't necessarily count
I will give you the order
But
you have to figure out the rest by yourselves
Teacher
Halt
Your Majesty! Teacher!
Greetings, Your Majesty and Teacher.
Have General Gong's army moved or not?
I don't know what happened
Not one soldier or horse has moved yet
But... that can't be correct?
Ji Sunsi ordered them
But why didn't they follow us?
Put our second plan into effect, immediately!
Yes
Go
Kong Qiu, Qi has brought so much cavalry
Is there anything to concern us about this?
Your Majesty, rest assured we've prepaired
Since Qi is host and Lu is guest,
we request that the Nobles of Qi descent to welcome...
Your Highest, you do not need to descent
We invite the King of Lu do ascent
Your Majesty
Lu is the guest and Qi is the host
The Zhou Ritual madate that Qi Nobles should descent
Qi is the Head of the Alliance
How could we dishonour our guest?
Your Highest, Qi and Lu share a close retationship
Our ruler has come to rebuild
our brotherly alliance
Please
Please..
Please
It is our desire to respect each other and forever abandon war
Although the two kingdoms don't share the same surname
but we are like the brother
After this alliance
the two countries are like one
What Master Li said is interesting
All the people in the whole world is one family
the ministers and officers are just the servants of our kings
Therefore, both of you excellencies
have the responsibility to protect our Emperor Zhou's dynasty
Excellencies, your humble servant advised
When this alliance is formed
Each state must commit to aiding the other
Should Qi oneday find itself at war
Lu would be asked to provide 500 chariots
to supplement our army
Excellent ideas!
Excellencies
Your humble servant would also like to make a request
An alliance between us
should be found on sincerity
We have a request!
The return of the Three Cities of Whenshang ...
won from Lu 30 years ago in war
Let me think about request
Your Majesty
A gentlemen's word is golden, your highest
Thanks for returning our land to us, let's drink to it
Kong Qiu, it seems that you and your Master
have no a plan to leave here today
Take a look
Yan Hui
Your Highest
Today, we come here in peace
We only brought 10 chariots with us
But to safeguard the negotiation from any unforeseen threats
another 500 more chariots are waiting nearby
Need we summon them here?
Take a look!
Your Majesty
the advance party is here
500 chariots are following me to Jiagu
We await your order
Minister Li
Do you want to see this ravine run in blood?
If this is the way you demonstrate friendship as a head of an alliance
who will ever again trust the Dukedom of Qi?
Why are you still standing here?
Dismiss the troops!
King of Lu
Please forgive my minister's shameful act
May the alliance between us lasts forever
We make use of 100 ox carts
to scare off Qi's 500 chariots
Another triump for our teacher
Teacher has always said
"Military planning need to be innovative and comes with surprise"
Come on, there are drinks waiting for us.
Our lady!
What? Has she gone missing again?
Sir, the prince has stormed into the palace
and is arguing with His Majesty again
Our Lady can't be found anywhere
She was not here!
Then what can we do?
This is awful!
Ok, Let's go back
Go
Father, I'm almost forty!
I have been prince for almost 20 years
You are getting old
and our kingdom is stagnating
But you just won't let go, will you?
Kong Qiu in Lu has a saying
"Women and servants are hard to educate"
But how could you allow a woman
to be involved in state affair and control it
Madam, you are back ...
Your Majesty
What so important that the prince need to see you such in a hurry!
There's a message from General GongShan Niu
I wasn't asking you!
This GongShan Niu, he is an army general
For the Ji family in Lu
He wants to know
If we give him refuge in our kingdom
So Wei is to become a heaven for cast-off now?
That's exactly why i din't approve
GongShan Niu is ready to serve us
Why can't we give him refuge?
Giving him refuge would give no benefit to the Kingdom of Wei
GongShan Niu has served the Ji family for many years,
anh the Late Ji Yiru was good to him
Not only the BiYi cidatel was granted to him,
taxes were exempted for years
And now he turn his back on his Boss
What use to have for a turncoat like that?
I could control him
Learn to control yourselves first!
The kingdom of Lu and Wei depend on each other for their survival
If we took GongShan Niu
wouldn't we offend Lu?
Have you forgotten?
The mighty Kingdom of Jin is to our west
and the rough Kingdom of Chu is to the South
We have enemy on four sides!
If we lose our main ally
What then?
Get out
Next time, do not ...
If there's a next time
you'll no longer be the prince of Wei
The prince can't even weigh up gains and losses
How can I make him the regent?
Invite Kong Qiu here
to teach your prince
Then Wei will be safe
Your Majesty
please write a formal invitation to Master Kong.
Do you think Kong Qiu would come?
Master Kong's talents are not recognized
the three Noble Families in Lu keep his talent in check
Our invitation will be seen as an application of his talent
If he comes, that's great!
If he doesn't
Lu will put him to better use
Lu will prosper, and will bring Qi to heel
That will suit us too...
What is this?
Two invitations from both Wei and Qi
We should start using Kong Qiu better
or others will take him
So how should we make use of his talents?
One moment..
This Kong Qiu has no proper line of ancestry
Your Majesty gave him a role in court less than a year ago
First he was the mayor of ZhongDu
Then he was appointed Minister of Law
And now we're supported to promote him even higher?
Does Your Majesty plan to make him a living god?
At the Lu-Qi alliance meeting ...
...Kong Qiu regained territory
and enhanced our national prestige
The whole country praise him for that
Kong Qiu was born a commoner,
however your father had admitted
He is an offspring of a Song noble family.
He won back the Three Cities
without using a soldier or chariot
He may be a mere commoner
but his idead of civilty in government works!
When my father died.
Kong Qiu was made the Minister of Law
Now I could vacate
the post of Interior Minister for him
when the emperor approves,
I would only serve as the Prime Minister
Very well!
I am glad our Prime Minister respects talents as much
Good
This is wonderful
It is the time for talents
when countries are in turmoil
Besides Kong Qiu
most of his disciples are available to serve our country
Master Kong, this is an outdated tradition.
The servant I dispatched to the palace has reported secretly
Minister of the Interior Kong Qiu
is not focusing on government work
He has been busy to building the Wuzi high platform
He claimed the platform is built to protect us from flooding, didn't he?
Yes, that is what he said
I do not trust him and
I think he has other things in mind
Kong Qiu is a mere commoner
The Majesty already appointed him as the Minister of Law
Now he has also appointed him to be the Acting Interor Minister
Uncle, there has to be a conspriracy here
He dit not ... did not eat again
Cut off your tongue if you stammer again
Out!
Yes
Zhongni, I've made some new black ink for you
It won't be easily washed off,
let try it.
Very well
Teacher, the petition is ready.
Please take a look.
Fine!
Gong Boliao, ready the cart
It's so late! Where are you going?
It is urgent, I need to go to the palace.
Wake up! Gong Boliao
Do not disturb me
Rotten wood is hard to be carved, let him sleep.
You have been working all day, even at midnight
This is hard
If this is for the betterment of Lu's citizen, I don't mind
Teacher
you're ordering city walls to be demolished
Won't the Three Noble Families rebel
Against your authority?
It is time for razing the power of these There Families
If we raze, do it quickly
Teacher, I think it would be dangerous to do so
YEs Teacher, it really dangerous
You should consider it once more
Consider what?
Disciples, my late teacher Master ZiChan had two fine sayings
Please remember them all your life
"Put your country ahead yourselves
"Yes, as an officer the burden is heavy, the road is long
"So maintain your strength of spirit"
What we are doing now
is not only for the short term
Minister of the Interor Kong Qiu is here to see His Majesty
Tomorrow in court,
I will call for "Razing the Three City Walls"
"Razing"? What exactly does that mean?
When the Duke of Zhou ruled these lands, it was established ...
that no fiefdom should build walls
around its city higher than 18 feet in height
The aim was to prevent the nobles
from abrogating power to themselves
But in recent decades,
these three noble families have turned their cities to be their own
...so have their city walls grown taller
I humbly propose that the walls of these three cities be razed
and to break the separatis
That is a serious matter
It will stir up discontent
Could you win this?
If you fail
you'll unleashed chaos everywhere
Your humble servant did a fortune reading
The reading was "Headless Dragon"
That is very auspicious
To strengthen the throne, the power of the nobles must be reduced
we must cut off the dragon's head
Serve my man here with the best wine and meal
Thanks Minister, thank you
Didn't I say this would happen?
It is vicious
Razing the city walls
To pull down our walls to undermine our strength!
Kong Qiu want to bring down the Three Noble Families
Our fieldoms?
Have we any fieldoms?
May be Meng's fieldom still become to Meng
Your fieldom belongs to you or General Hou Fan?
Is BiYi still mine?
Kong Qiu want to demolish them
Fine! That would be benefit us
Uncle, what should we do now?
Laozhi taugh us
If we want to gain, we must first give out something!
We may support Kong Qiu
raze there city walls!
More speed
We must reach BiYi tonight
to see General Gongshan Niu
Come on! Peck it!
Urgent Report from the city of Houyi
Acting Interior Minister
Just speak
Yes sir
Hou Fan, Rebel General of Shusun Wu's terrorist
has escaped from Houyi
The armies of Shusun and Zigao
have teared down their walls successfully
Excellent! Well done.
Good, we caught them by surprise
The Minister must be congratulated on his famous victory!
Come, drink.
today we must celebrate
No, it's not over yet
Hou Fan will continue his resistance
Minister, then ensure that Shusun and Zigao tear down their walls quickly
or the rebels will regroup behind them!
As I arrived in the city,
I saw Zilu and his army encamped nearby
Your BiYi is about to have its walls torn down,
you need a plan
They can come and tear down the walls,
then the Capital would not be protected
My plan is to take over the capital,
execute Kong Qiu and banish the Three Noble Families!
Stop!
We want to check the carts
Don't you recognize the Ji's banner?
We are delivering the land taxes from Biyi to the Palace
Open the gate!
The Minister of Law has ordered that all carts be inspected
Seize the Duke of Lu, Slay Kong Qiu!
Seize the King, slay Kong Qiu, banish the three noble families
Kill'em all
Report, General Gongshan, the King is not at the Palace now
Where is he?
it seems he sought refuge with the Ji Family
Find the King!
Open the gate! Open it!
In such a key moment, where is Minister Ji?
He's out for a hunt. Your Majesty, follow me please
Your Majesty, be careful
Don't go head on with them, still for 2 hours
Steer the rebels to the Wuzi Platform
Yes sir
Ji surely pick a good time for a hunt
Quick! Kill'em all
King of Lu, Kong Qiu, Three Noble Families, hear this...
Today, in the name of the Lord Ji Yiru, under heaven mandate
I will clean up all those that go againts the will of heaven
Destroy them!
March on!
Seize the King, slay Kong Qiu
Retreat
Pull
Release
Report, Minister!
Gongshan Niu and his rebels were defeated and
is retreating from the capital
Uncle, urgent report from the capital
it's just as you estimated
Gongshan Niu was defeated at the Wuzi Platform
Then what are you waiting for?
Send the troops in capture GongShan Niu alive
Yes
Take Gongshan Niu alive
Pull
Release
Pull
Release
No body is demolishing my Ghengyi
Why?
Chengyi stands right on the border between Qi and Lu
The fort with high walls is used to protect us against the invasion of Qi
it must not be demolished
How could you break your own words?
Didn't you approve to raze the high walls of our three noble families is the first place?
Let him finish
Kong Qiu has reclaimed the three cities of Wen Shang
The three cities which used to belong to your family
But were they returned to you?
No, they now belong to the Duke of Lu
In this campaign, Kong Qiu has removed General Hou Fan from the city of Houyi
Then who has become the Governor of Houyi?
Zigao, Kong Qiu's disciple
and BiYi, has it been returned to your family?
No, and you have nothing.
Zilu, a disciple of Kong Qiu, was now appointed as the Governor of BiYi
See?
Now if they're going to take over my Chengyi
they would again to give it to the Duke of Lu
Will there be any land or city left to us?
You ministers
Are you really willing to give the kingdom
back to the Duke of Lu and Kong Qiu?
Acting Interior Minister
By the order of the Prime Minister
No one is allowed in
Please wait here, I will make a request
Teacher, these are Meng and Shu's carriages
Master, Kong Qiu is requesting to see you
I don't wanna see him!
They're all inside
Teacher
I am sure those are Meng and Shu's carriages
Teacher
Come! Let's drink
All of you should drink more
Attention! After the walls are torn down,
we will truly become one big family
Am I right?
Father
How far away is the Qi army from our border?
Less than 30 miles
But the Duke of Qi has sent an ambassador, Li Chu
and some gifts
Gifts? What's gifts?
80 dancing girls as well as more than 100 horses
Has Li Chu made any demands?
He demanded that Kong Qiu must be dismissed
Off to the palace, we must see his Majesty tonight
The Acting Interior Minister is here!
Your Majesty
We cannot pull back now!
We have won back two of the threee cities, how can we abandon the last one?
Do you know?
Li Chu has 30,000 Qi troops, amassed on our border,
ready to invade
Once they from an alliance with the city of Chengyi
we will be encircled
But the razing of the three cities is a proclaimed policy, Your Majesty!
Those with high principle would rather die to protect their belief
It is wrong to beg for one's life but to compromise on the principles
Who will be left to care about ethics if we've defeated in battle?
Victory and defeat are what matter,
not ethics
Don't you remember?
My father prince Zhao was driven out of Lu by the three families
and die in exile
If the three families turn against me now
my fate will be much worse than his
Your Majesty
Do not say anymore!
for the past 100 days, I have been always supporting you
So had the Ji family
Last night, Ji came to see me
His words impiled more than they said
It seems demolition campaign once reaches the City of Chengyi
The Qi Army will seize the opportunity to march in
With an army of 30,000
they will turn the world into chaos
Kong Qiu, Kong Qiu
You should follow my example sometimes
Play a little stupid
Didn't your teacher the revered Laozi say...
Accomplish all task
by not barged on anything?
Kong Qiu, today the laws are not in order
Everything is in chaos
Yet you still insist on praticing your ethics,
musics, humanity and harmony?
I feel ashamed
Not achieving anything
Then just let go!
Fame and Authority are properties that all people try to obtain
One should not take profession of it for long
Then what should I, your pupil, do?
Afterall, one cannot hang uselessly on the door, like a drink-up wine gourd
...not contributing to this world
How do you know the lack of contribution is not the true contribution?
The weak one compatible, and the mild one linger on
Nothing is as soft as water
and yet the agressive and the forceful one never triump over it
The protect one always resemble water
the master's words is profound, but I am loyal to my choosen path
The Master's way is magnificent and shapeless
Which trancends the cosmos
And is not contrained to the material world
My way, however, is within a dream of mankind
Then you should not mind the lack of understanding by others
Unlike those what are rich,
I have no gold to give
only this simple advice
The sacrifice for the "year end ceremony" is over
Has the sacrifice meat been distributed to the nobles and everybody?
Yes, it has
And as you ordered
none went to Kong Qiu's household
Father
Have some of this
No point in waiting
I don't think we will be getting sacrificial meat this year
My lord
What is it?
My teacher wishes to the the King
His Majesty has no time for him
Well, give this to Kong Qiu
Don't say I sent it.
tell him it comes from the Majesty himself
Kong Qiu is a clever man,
when he see this
he would understand
Yes, Master, I'll take it to him now
And this tool
Enough to buy yourself a piece of good land
go home now, understand?
Yes, sir!
Come
Stable the horse from Qi
It's going to rain soon
Yes, sir. Untie horse and bring them into the stables
Father! Gong Boliao came back
The King told him to bring this to you
a parted jade ...
Father, why would the king send this?
Parted jade ... A parting gift
Someone wants me to leave
Did this come from the King himself?
That's what he said, Father
Gong Boliao handed this to me and then left
He said he wouldn't come back anymore
Find a chance to return this costume of ritual with its crown to the King
Father
this crown symbolized ethics
It has always been something you treasure the most
But this is something no longer important
Father, please wait until the rain stops
Please at least wait for your disciples
Take care of your mother!
Teacher
Yan Hui... how did you get here?
The Teacher is the body, and I am your shadow
I will stay with my teacher until the end
To be honest, I have no idea where I am heading for
Teacher
Yan Hui, you are very talented
You will have no trouble in finding a good position in court
If you come with me,
you will have to leave your home and family behind
You will regret it
No! Never!
Yan Hui, look...
There is only brambly roads ahead
And no prospect for a life of fortune
Only a vast wilderness
Aren't you afraid?
Tell me, what have I done wrong?
May I speak?
Of course!
Teacher, you were wrong
to have put all your faith in the King
Teacher, you once told me that
if a man cannot change the world
then at least he should try to change himself from within
Good, well said.
The humanity I taught is right before me, why should I still complaint.
Teacher, Ran Qiu and I had to finish some works
before we could come, hence we are delayed!
That's right, teacher! Look!
We've brought all your scrolls
Teacher, who will drive your cart if I am not around?
Besides, nobody would dare to to be rude to my teacher
with me alongside you
That's true
Teacher
Who would have thought the snore louder than I do
Let's go
the Kingdom of Wei is in front of us
I am instructed by His Majesty and his Lady to greeat Scholar Kong
The Kingdom of Wei welcomes your delegation
Master Kong, what is your impression of Wei so far?
Compared to Lu, Wei has a larger population
Yes, a larger population makes it more difficult to govern
and has more potential for chaos
Tell me, how shall I govern in order to prevent the risk of being chaotic?
By making sure the people all have a prosperous life
The vast majority of them are quite prosperous
And yet they are signs of social disorder everywhere
Then it be the lack of a good social moral surrounding
and the people need to be educated
Well said!
The master is truly a sage!
Then I hereby invite the scholar to teach in our country
Also, land will be provided to build a school for this purpose,
together with 60,000 stones of grains every year,
that should be enough, shouldn't it?
Thank you, Your Majesty!
There is yet a matter that I would like you to advice on
As you can see,
Our kingdom Wei is vulnerable on all four sides
Every one of our neighbors
would want to conquer us
So, I'd like to invite you to train Wei's military
As a wandering exile, dare I even speak of soldiering at all
But I have heard from somewhere
Master is knowledgeable in warfare
If Your Majesty speaks of sacrifical rituals
I do claim to have some knowledge of them
But on military matters,
I'm afraid they are not my speciality at all
So let it be then
But there's one thing you absolately must agree to
Your humble servant is a guest here, your wish is my command
My royal consort Nanzi is eager to see you
You won't say no, will you?
Yes, ly lord.
Better not to see her
Does the teacher not know that Nanzi has ill repulation?
This woman is great beauty
But she is a succubus
She had bad repulation in the Kingdom of Wei
Teacher
You do not know about her past story
This woman was raised in the house of the Song's ruler
In Song, she had an affair with the prince, there was a scandal...
This kind of gossip is trivial
Do you know who manages the Kingdom of Wei now?
The King? Who else?
I don't think so
Wei's internal politics are very chaotic, there are many seats of power
But I can see that the real power behind the throne
is Nanzi
What kind of a man is this Kong Qiu
In my view,
he is just a poor and disheveled scholar
He is just a bookworm full of ethics and musics
Poor he may be, but we could build up friendship
This Kong Qiu is a worthy man
so you must treat him well
I still hope
one day, we could ask him to be the teacher of our prince
I have already promised him 60,000 stones of corn every year!
Please be seated, Master
Our Lady would be here soon
Your humble servant Kong Qiu greets Our Lady
Are you the famous scholar Kong Qiu?
Scholar Kong, please be seated.
Thank you, our Lady
I have heard one of your axioms is "true benevolence is the love of mankind"
Does this "benevolence"
extend to a woman with a repulation like mine?
I heard that you are teaching "The Book of Odes" here
Yes, I am
I also love poetry
There is one poem
Beauty is what a gentleman seek out for
Could you tell me what that means?
The poem means
"Even while courting, a gentleman observes all proprieties"
Of the 300 poeams in "The Book of Odes"
so many pieces speak of love!
All 300 pieces, we could use one sentence to explain
In true love, there is no evil
Since I was a child, I have taken a liking to poetry
Will you take me as your student?
I have taken on a new student in Wei, his name is Bu Shang
Although still quite young, he is some sort of prodigy
While studying "The Book of Odes" under me, he was shown much insight
So I humbly recommend that he becomes your study-companion
Our Ministers consider your theories
of civilty in government to be impracticable
Do you truly beleive they can work?
Ruling with civilty will benefit the state, its community, and its people
Why couldn;t be out into practice?
Without civilty, a state will descent into chaos
It is human nature to be lascivious and greedy.
and will rage wars to these ends
Since this is human nature
it will be quite a task to overcome them
Then it will be the true measure of a gentleman's worth
Master, do you really beleive a gentleman?
should carry himself as someone with high morality standard?
And all this seems to be really important to you?
It is my belief that when one is converted to
a life of civilty in the morning, he wouldn't mind to give up his life
Teacher, will you stay longer in our country so we can meet again?
That would not be convenient
How so? Why inconvenient?
For I have never encountered anyone
who loves a little virtue as much as love worldly beauties
Worldly people could probably come to understand the master's sufferings,
But few will ever truly grasp
the depth and breath of those sufferings...
It seems we should leave Wei now
Why's that?
This land will soon descend into chaos
Worldly people could probably come to understand the master's sufferings,
But few will ever truly grasp
the depth and breath of those sufferings...
Scholar Kong is there, let's go and take a look at him
Second bow, third bow ...
Teacher, you may commence your class
Poetry, books, ethics, musics, these must be studied by all gentlemen
So today we start to study together
Duke should treat their minister with courtes
and minister serve their Duke with loyalty
If our belief is based on love to our parents and the emperror
The the world would be harmonious
All trades would prosper
Take it simply, we could serve our parents well
we could placate our neighbor countries
we could also learn a lot
including name of birds, animals and plants
This is the order of Commander Huan Kui
Get out of Song
Stop
Trees are going to fall. Watch out!
Teacher, let leave here quickly
Teacher, let's go
Excuse me master, which way to the river crossing?
The river crossing?
Who's that man sitting on the cart?
He is scholar Kong
Scholar Kong?
The famous scholar Kong Qiu from Lu?
Indeed!
Itsn't he suppossed to know everythings?
Then he should know where the river crossing is
Would it better for you to stay here and farm
rather than drifting around with him
and you could also stay away from the chaos
That's right! Stay here and be a farmer!
That's right! Stay here and be a farmer like us
Let's go
Move on, we'll ask for the direction later
Fei, is there any news of Kong Qiu?
They say spent some time in Wei
then went to Zheng and now in the Kingdom of Chen
When the country at war, we miss the good generals
and when the country is in the difficult time, we miss our great minister
At that year when we talked about the alliance with Qi
Kong Qiu won back the three city peacefully
But we sent him into exile
It is now clear we were misguided by the Qi
Now that the Duke of Lu is dead, and a child has inherited his throne
Qi wants to take this opportunity to invade us
Our strength is no longer what we used to be
If we go into war, we are lack of good commander
Now I have a mission for you
Bring Kong Qiu back to Lu!
Father, we treated him bad!
and force him into exile
If we are going to invite him back
People will mock at us
Why don't we invite his disciple Ran Qiu back first?
He is the head pupil of Kong Qiu, and a proven capable commander
He would be more than capable to confront the Qi Army
That would be fine. Let's invite Ran Qiu back at once
Wake up! Quick!
Teacher, wake up, something terrible happens
The Wu is invading Chen, we must leave at once
Have you seen an old foreigner?
A stranger is outside the city's eastern gate
Qi's army is at the doorsteps of Lu
Teacher
Master Ji ask for your consent to allow Ran Qiu return to fight for Lu
Master
For the sake of Lu, you must consent
Teacher, we must not let Ran Qiu go
Only when they are in trouble, they start thinking of us
Remember how terrible they have treated us
How did you find me?
An old farmer told us
he has seen a foreigner at the east side
A forehead resembles King Yao's
shoulders looks like Zichan's
Had the air of an important man,
but looked as scaggy as a stray dog
We guessed it must be you
I don't dare to be an important person
and actually I don't resemble anyone famous
The old farmer got it just right when he said of a stray dog though!
Teacher, you have taugh us to practice what we learn
and our motherland is in peril
The Prime Minister is asking Ran Qiu to return ...
That proves it is a matter of life and death for Lu
As natives of Lu, we cannot just standby and watch
Well said, Yan Hui
Lu is in danger, I should allow you to return
and save Lu from disaster
Ran Qiu
You should go
I will wait for the good news
Teacher, once the battle is won
I will come and bring you back to Lu
Kill 'em
Greetings, Prime Minister
Father
General has lived up to our hope
He has defeated the Qiu Army at the battle of Lang
The Qi Army has retreated back to their side of the border
I won't disappoint you
I would petition the King to appoint you governor the three cities of Wen Shang
Prime Minister, this is not what I wish for
I only have one simple request
Speak
My teacher Master Kong
He has been wandering for many years
without a home and just continue teaching
But there has never been a moment
when the Kingdom of Lu wasn't in his mind
Your humble servant only wishes
that you would send someone to bring him back to Lu
Well,
I need to talk to the Majesty about that,
And you are truly talented
Just stay here and take charge of our family affairs
You don't have to wandering around with Kong Qiu
Look, a nine-tailed sparrow!
Seeing that sparrow fly past
means there must be a village not far ahead
A village, really? That's great!
We could finally have some food if there is a village
Let's hurry
Quick! I am starving
How come there is nobody here
Looks like this is another torched village by the army
You must be tired, let's clean up this place
I think we can spend the night here
Teacher, look.
It seems that the Cai army have us trapped in this valley
Teacher
I've found a small path at the back of this mountain
It's very narrow, but I think it may lead down the mountain
Why don't I go and have a try
May I could find some food there
Or we could be lucky and find someone that could give us help
You can all take a rest and wait for me!
Zigong, you always find a way!
Come back early
Let's go, Zigao
Father, those do not must be rewarded by heaven with fortune
What wrong have we done to deserve this?
Why is it?
that God would want to see us starved and run out of food
Exactly
Our teacher has great knowledge
This could be difficult for people to appreciate
It explains their lack of intelligence
Teacher has said
Only when weather becomes so cold
That would be appreciate the strength of the pines
Teacher has played with this instrument for days
Yes, he could be using music to fill up his appettie
Teacher, you have not eaten for days
This is the last bowl of horse meat soup
Drink it please
Are you alright, brother?
Brother
Zilu, drink some soup
Teacher, I am fine and you must drink
Now that I had my share, you should have some too
Let everyone share some
I am not hungry, you should drink
Teacher, you finally becomes conscious, Teacher
Are you alright?
Teacher, I am late
You have left for seven days. If you late for one more day.
You may not see us again.
Teacher, you are fine now
Zigong, tell me
How is it out there?
Teacher, after we left the valley
We are hunted, and almost die
Thanks to YanZhuoju, Zilu's brother in law
He has brought more people to received us
Only then we know how chaotic the world has become
Wu has take over Zheng,
and Chu has destroyed the Kingdom of Cai
The people of Cai was being migrated to the south
Come on, give us a hand
Teacher
Duke Ling of Wei has died. The new Duke of Wei has great respect of Zilu
He would like to appoint him to be the Governor of Puyi
What are you waiting for
I am waiting for the roasted gigot of lamb,
come, let's boil some water and start cooking!
I am proud to see my student so honoured
But "enter not a dangerous state, dwell not in a chaotic state
The political situation in Wei is not stable
To be frank, I do not quite approve of your taking up this post
Teacher, just wait for me to successfully govern the City of Puyi
I'll be able to build a powerful army
to deal with the chaos inside Wei
and appoint you the new Minister!
Undue haste has no place in politics
Zilu, you are headstrong and demanding ...
That's very dangerous in this chaotic world.
Teacher, I am aware of this
But my "undue haste" reflect my wish
to realize your ideals of
harmony and civilty in government
An officer should wear properly
to reflect upon his appearance
And do not forget
Don't look at
listen, or do anything
which betrays propriety
Teacher's words would stay withh me all my life
Qi Sigong, take care on the road
Teacher
Take care of your selves, your student bid you farewell!
Teacher
What is that sound?
The ice is cracking! Hurry up! Move
Yan Hui, where are you? Hui ...
Yan Hui
Come up, please
Teacher, please eat something
It has been eight hours
He would not recover, teacher
Let go, Teacher.
Teacher
Please eat something
Kong Qiu is still not comes back
Father, I have sent people to look for him
It is said that they are somewhere near the Lu's border
He is raging with me. He would never forgive what I did to him
Ask him to come back on my behalf
When you see him,
give him this.
When he sees this, he would come home
Teacher
Qi Sigong
Why are you back alone? Where is Zilu?
Brother Zilu
Brother Zilu, he ...
he is dead!
Wei in chaos, Yang Hu from the Kingdom of Jin has invaded ...
Zilu was trying to protect the young heir to the Wei throne
He went out to face the invaders alone
He...
he was killed
Teacher says. "When a gentlement dies,
he should maintain his dignity"
Well said
Zilu, well said!
Mighty Zilu
You were a true gentleman!
My father asked me to prevent Master with this jade ring
Mater Kong, my father is dying!
He was very sick
Teacher!
I've found you at last!
Ran Qiu, you have found your way here?
Teacher, I
Teacher, Minister Ji has been very sick and retired from court for years now.
I am afraid he could not live for too long
When he refreshed his memory,
he deeply regretted about forcing you into exile those days
He sent his own son to invite you to come back
And he hopes to apologize to you in person
Teacher, please come back to Lu
A jade carved in "circle", that means "return"
Stand up
Teacher, for the sake of Lu's future, come home
I ... can return
But you must tell them
that I went only to teach
they must not trouble me anymore
with politics
I will stress this point to him
We will comfort with your wish
Teacher
Start packing up, we are going home
We're going home!
We can go back to Lu finally!
Father, Master Kong Qiu is on his way,
he'll be here soon
Go. Welcome him with my behalf.
We're home, we're finally home!
the Kingdom of Lu
We're back
Lu, my beloved motherland
I am back in your arm again, finally
Teacher
did you say something?
Oh, ... nothing
Pack up "The Spring and Autumn of Lu" and have it delivered
Good
If the world will come to know me, it will be through this book.
If they will think ill of me,
It will also because of this book