The Wind Blows From Longxi (Feng Qi Long Xi / 风起陇西 )

In a day or two, General Li Yan

will go to Chengdu again

to report on the details of Zhulong's Case.

Before he comes back,

go find a good house

in a secluded place.

Looks like

he actually likes Miss Liu.

A prostitute of talent like her

often visits General Li's house

and this would create a bad impression.

It's a mere trifle.

I'll satisfy General Li Yan.

You're now in charge of the scribe room.

You can't do a good job

unless you consider everything

before your superior.

I get it, Feng Ying.

Gao Tangbing's case

must have been disadvantageous to you, right?

At last, you realized it.

His case is more than disadvantageous.

Can there be future trouble?

A chief in the Intelligence Analysis Department turned out to be a Wei spy.

Think about it.

It’s a horrible case for Siwencao Intelligence.

Got it?

I thought about it.

But you're not to blame.

Gao Tangbing kept telling me

that the clerk couldn't be perspicacious about everything,

no matter who he was.

Besides, in Siwencao Intelligence,

Yang Yi used to be your immediate superior.

It can't be your turn to take the blame.

Chief Yang Yi

has been demoted to a plebeian.

If I don't take the blame,

who else will?

For the sake of your relationship with General Li Yan,

he will not stump you.

It's so naive of you.

Relations aren't helpful to us.

Everything is decided by interests.

Your superior will not defend you

or keep you safe

unless you share the same interests with him, got it?

Yes, got it.

Thank you.

Prime Minister invited you to a discussion.

Come, please.

Don't stand on ceremony, everybody.

Today, you've been invited

for another discussion on the Northern Expedition.

Prime Minister,

I don't agree on the Northern Expedition.

Last night, I observed the sky.

The North was flourishing

and the stars were brilliant.

We shouldn't attack the North.

Prime Minister, you're conversant with astronomy.

Why must you go against it?

Astronomy always changes.

We mustn't be narrow-minded.

I hold the same old view.

Prime Minister, if you start the Northern Expedition again,

I will lead five thousand picked soldiers to start from Baozhong County

and go north along Ziwu Valley in the east of Qinling Mountains.

In less than ten days, we'll arrive in Chang'an.

Upon seeing our sudden arrival,

the Wei Army will abandon the city and move towards Dige Town in the west.

Then you can lead a large force there

through Xiegu Valley.

In this way, we will conquer

the west of Xianyang.

This plan is way too rash.

Wei Yan,

are you mocking the Wei State

for having no talented generals?

If an ingenious Wei army lies in ambush

somewhere secluded on the mountain

and cuts you off,

you can easily break into Ziwu Valley, but hardly leave there.

You'll then lose all your soldiers.

Prime Minister,

I don’t worry about military affairs.

You failed the Northern Expedition last time.

Even though you conquered southern barbarians,

considerable national strength was depleted.

I'm afraid fighting wars for years

may not be a good long-term policy for our state.

Go on.

Since the late emperor passed away,

you've been holding military power and handling national affairs.

The present emperor has misgivings about you.

In the court, noble clans

from Jingzhou and Yizhou make things difficult for you.

General Li Yan

strongly advocates the southern campaign against the Wu State

to recover the lost territory of Jingzhou.

His strategic direction is totally opposed.

If you propose the Northern Expedition again,

I'm afraid

you can hardly have a perfect plan.

Somebody!

What do you want, sir?

Has Prime Minister ended the discussion?

Not yet. It'll still take a long while.

I hold a different view

from Jiang Wan.

It is time to unite with the Wu State

to fight against the Wei State.

The late emperor occupied Xichuan

and ruled one-third of the whole country,

relying on strong helpers from all over the country.

So, the prosperity of talents

can be the very foundation of a state.

Now, three states rule the whole country.

Nearly all places are in peace.

But with talents and material resources in Xichuan alone,

we aren't strong enough to fight against Wei or Wu for mastery.

Our state is like sailing against the current.

If we don't conquer the Central Plains through the Northern Expedition,

we'll certainly crumble in three or five years.

What Deng Zhi just said is exactly my point.

In this world,

there's no such thing as perfection.

The Wei State is strong and our state is weak.

If things go on like this,

we will decline while they will prosper.

In this way,

our state built by the late emperor

will be annexed by the Wei State sooner or later!

But if we fight them now,

we may stand a chance to win.

The late emperor

visited me three times

and entrusted his son to me.

Even though the future is perilous,

I will not shrink from any sacrifice.

Prime Minister, you have a long-term perspective

and you consider more than us.

A couple of days ago,

I stationed troops in Ji Valley of Mount Qi.

We had more soldiers and weapons

than the Wei Army.

Instead of defeating them, we were defeated.

The problem doesn't lie in the number of soldiers

or the national power,

but the commander's decisions.

Everybody,

you must learn a lesson from it.

Aye.

Zhuge Liang will

propose the Northern Expedition again.

I didn't expect him

to be so stubborn.

Zhulong's Case has been cracked.

Maybe Zhuge Liang believes

that there's no future trouble

and we can fight the Wei State

without concern.

General,

what's the attitude of His Majesty?

I can hardly tell.

His Majesty

has something on his mind, too.

Will they make an issue

of Zhulong's Case?

Perhaps.

Feng Ying has a new backer.

They're going to deal with him.

Gao Tangbing is a Wei spy.

Feng Ying

must be culpable.

Shall we defend Feng Ying?

Let me think about it.

General,

Chen Gong of Siwencao Intelligence asked to see you.

Get him in.

I, Chen Gong, am here.

Greetings, General.

You may rise.

You're now a hero of our state

who is famous all around the country.

You no longer need to be as courteous as before.

You used to be my teacher

and you're always like my father.

I was so busy working in the Agency

that I didn’t visit you in time.

I feel quite guilty.

Please forgive me.

I know

what happened to you.

I’m sorry for your loss.

Thank you, sir.

Come on.

I wondered

why I had never heard from you

since we parted a few years ago.