Red Cliff (Chi bi / 赤壁) (赤壁)

Han dynasty, 208 AD. Summer, Xuchang

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Yesterday, I proposed a decree

for war against Liu Bei and Sun Quan.

Has Your Majesty approved the decree?

The Prime Minister has just beaten back the Northern Wu Wan.

Our troops and people need respite.

The insurgents Sun and Liu

are ruling their own regimes down South.

They plot against Your Majesty's Court.

If they are not eliminated in time,

Your Majesty's Han Court might well be theirs.

Prime Minister, please let me consider this further.

How much further must Your Majesty consider?

I have waged wars across the land.

Tens of thousands of soldiers have perished on the battlefields,

all for the sake of The Great Han Empire.

Does Your Majesty still remember His exile?

Which, if any, among the Royal relatives rescued Him?

I wonder, to this day,

if I had not eliminated the traitors,

how many more would claim the throne for themselves?

I hereby decree that Prime Minister Cao Cao

be commissioned as the Commander of the Imperial Army

to go forth to pacify the South.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Senator Kong Rong wishes to speak!

Liu Bei is Your Majesty's uncle,

and Sun Quan is the third-generation heir to the Dukedom of Wu.

They have no intent to rebel.

Whereas you, Prime Minister,

are not only seizing all the powers of state.

But also intend to mobilize the entire army.

There is no justifiable reason for your war!

Although you have solemnly vowed yourself

loyal to His Majesty's Court,

you will not be able to convince everyone!

The next one to put down a rebellion may not be you, Prime Minister,

but Liu Bei and Sun Quan!

He is the first sacrifice.

I thank the Prime Minister for this wine!

The final year of the Han dynasty

eunuchs and court relatives struggle for power.

The country falls into chaos.

Ambitious Cao Cao seizes the moment

to coerce the emperor and control the feudal lords.

In the year 208 AD, Cao Cao leads his army South to destroy Liu Bei,

a distant relative of the Royal Family and Sun Quan, ruler of the Southlands.

Begin.

Form Up!

Watch it.

- My Lord. - Zilong!

My Lord. You have returned.

Our men made all possible efforts to hold our ground

before abandoning the town.

Luckily, most of the peasants have already fled through the valley.

My Lord!

The two ladies and the Young Master

are still trapped in the village.

My ladies, please be careful.

Don't cry.

General Zhang.

Chief Strategist, how does the situation look?

Cao Cao's pursuing forces are greater than anticipated.

The cavalry vanguard will arrive at any moment.

The Cao cavalry will use a wedge formation to attack.

We will reflect the light into their eyes to hold them off.

Remember, the refugees need at least an hour to retreat.

We need a thousand more soldiers for the second line of defense!

Leave it to me.

All right...

forward.

My Lord.

Zhu-ge Liang, the peasants are moving slowly.

It looks like they will need at least another four hours.

We urgently need 1,000 soldiers from here

to go aid General Zhang.

That way Cao Cao cannot chase them.

The peasants can be left to themselves.

Cao Cao intends to make us surrender. He will not kill them.

No! As you can see,

the elderly, women, and children all need our help.

My Lord, these peasants are dragging us down.

To succeed, you have to set aside these trivial matters.

These are Han people.

They followed us only to escape from Cao Cao's regime.

If we cannot offer protection to the civilians,

then what is the meaning of this war?

I will find Guan Yu. Go and help my Lord.

Sister!

Quickly! Bring the horse for My Lady.

That looks like Liu Bei's family.

Go get the baby!

My Lady!

General Zhao,

he is My Lord's only flesh and blood.

He must not fall into enemy hands!

Rest assured, My Lady.

I will take you and the Young Master to my Lord.

Let's go! Get on the horse!

My Lady, quickly!

My Lady!

General!

My Lady!

Step apart!

Flip the shields!

Attack!

Let's go!

Bailong!

Chief Strategist, where are our reinforcements?

Who is that man?

Zhao Zilong of Changshan.

Why is there no such brave warrior under my command?

General Zhao.

Zilong.

Retreat!

We can still fight!

WW are We giving up so easily?!

We are greatly outnumbered by the enemy.

If we can't protect the refugees, our losses will be worse. Attention!

Protect the refugees! That's an order!

Brother, go quickly!

Leave! Protect the refugees!

Zilong, take the Young Master!

Retreat!

Attention, Third Battalion! Hold the line!

Protect the retreating refugees!

Quick!

Charge!

Second battalion, go!

Third battalion, get ready!

My Lord...

I brought the Young Master back.

But the two ladies...

Zilong. Get up...

- Prime Minister! - Yeah.

Liu Bei is vulnerable.

Look, the cowards have all fled.

Dead bodies lie everywhere.

The rest ran for their lives!

There is only one man still fighting.

Surrender, and your life will be spared! Kneel down!

Do not be so rude!

General Guan Yu,

a wise man chooses his Lord carefully.

Why do you continue to serve Liu Bei?

You still won't kneel!

- Protect the Prime Minster! Kill him! - Nobody move!

Prime Minister, why?

If he wanted to kill me, he already would have.

Guan Yu cannot stab a man from behind.

Liu Bei has lost many battles,

yet so many talented men remain loyal to him.

One day, they will all serve under my command.

I have suffered a lifetime of failures...

This isn't the worst one.

Cao Cao thinks he holds the Dynasty's fate in his hands.

So long as I live and breathe,

I will fight to end his crimes against the Han Court.

My Lord, I will go to the state of Wu tonight,

to ask for Sun Quan's support.

Sun Quan?

Against Cao Cao? I wonder if he is strong enough

to fight an enemy as fierce as Cao Cao.

Though Sun Quan is young,

he has great ambitions.

For generations, the Sun Clan has ruled the Southlands.

They have the wealth and strength to fight Cao Cao.

Wu needs us just as much as we need Wu.

If our alliance succeeds, and we defeat Cao Cao,

then Cao Cao will definitely retreat back North.

We can then go West and rebuild our forces.

Once we are in control of the West,

Cao Cao will control the North, and Sun Quan, the South.

We will form a power triangle.

This division of power is the only way to stop Cao Cao.

My Lord, please rest assured.

Are you confident you can convince him?

Eat some more.

The road to Wu is long, and you will need energy.

Prime Minister, the surrendered generals,

Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are here.

These two men are untrustworthy.

Please, be cautious.

I trust those who are of use to me.

Greetings, Your Highness!

Rise.

How many ships and men have you brought with you?

We have with us 300,000 naval troops,

and more than 2,000 battleships and boats of various sizes.

Great!

Now we can be

tigers that swim!

Your Highness, here is our letter of surrender.

General Cai, I see many grammatical errors here.

I hope your military strategies

are not as poor as your command of language.

I hear you have frequent exchanges

with the State of Wu.

Your Highness, I have declared war on Wu many times.