Korea-Khitan War (고려거란전쟁)

(This drama is based on historical events,)

(but some details may be different from historical facts.)

(Production guidelines were strictly followed when filming with animals.)

Commander Kang!

Let me go!

Untie me!

Let me go!

Supervising Commander.

The enemy's army is coming.

We must retreat at once.

The battle line has fallen already.

Supervising Commander!

Okay, understood.

Commander Kang.

Welcome.

Spearhead Commander.

What have you done?

Why did you launch a surprise attack without my permission?

What is this for?

Did I not catch the enemy's commander alive?

Thanks to it, I destroyed the sword wagons overnight,

which you struggled with.

This is a great victory incomparable to Heunghwajin.

Shut your mouth at once!

We are not fighting to drive out our enemy.

We are fighting to annihilate them.

We, the Khitans, have never failed to wipe out...

our enemies on the field.

But all you did was make the enemy...

gathered at the field run away.

Had we attacked them for one more day,

we would have annihilated our enemy!

But you just made them disperse.

Our enemy will move into the fortress...

and never step outside again.

Just like Heunghwajin,

the fortress you failed to take!

However, I caught Kang Jo.

As the emperor has wished,

the traitor Kang Jo is in our hands now.

Are you implying that the emperor...

should stop the war and order to withdraw?

What the emperor wants is not Kang Jo.

It is to conquer the whole of Goryeo.

Do you not realize it?

Start the chase at once.

Before the enemy reaches the fortress,

kill every one of them!

They are behind us!

Fire!

Close the gates!

- Gosh, my feet. - Good grief.

What took you so long to return?

Tongju Fortress is just around the corner.

And yet, where did you wander off?

My apologies. We were too busy running away...

and did not think of looking around.

What kind of an army...

retreats like so?

Do you not know retreating is more crucial than advancing?

Do you not know how dangerous...

running with your back toward the mounted troops is?

You pathetic lots!

Open the gates!

- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.

Deputy General. The gates must be kept closed.

We do not know when the Khitan's large army will attack.

We must save at least one more of our scattered troops!

Hold the battle position.

- But do not close the gates. - Understood.

Get up, soldiers!

How did the situation end up like this?

Just how?

The enemy's soldiers will soon reach us.

My soldiers and I will stop the Khitans...

from chasing us further.

Please catch up to the soldiers running away southward...

and give them orders.

Send the nearby soldiers to Gwakju.

Take the rest to Seogyeong Fortress...

and prepare them for another battle.

All right. Understood.

And...

please send a message to His Majesty the King in Gaegyeong.

How do I...

report this matter to His Majesty?

We have no other choice, do we?

We must inform His Majesty of the truth.

That the Goryeo army was defeated.

- Make way! - What is it?

- Make way! - It is a message!

He must bring another news of victory.

Let us go.

It could be news that...

the Khitan soldiers withdrew.

- Come on. - We cannot miss it.

- I am sure it is good news. - Goodness.

Yes. What could it be?

Are you sure?

Yes, Your Majesty.

The Goryeo soldiers were defeated.

All sword wagons were destroyed at once,

and over 30,000 soldiers were killed...

by our enemy.

This cannot be true.

I was told we seized the chance to victory.

So how did this happen all of a sudden?

Field Commander Kang Jo was captured by the enemy,

and the battle line fell at once.

What? Field Commander has been...

Yes, Your Majesty.

Overcome with fear, the soldiers ran away.

Thus, they lost without a proper battle.

Then...

what is the situation like right now?

Report to me in detail.

The scattered soldiers...

are being chased by the Khitans in various places.

Some have escaped to Tongju Fortress.

The rest are blindly running southward.

General Kim Hoon is cutting off the enemy's pursuers...

in Wanhwangryeong,

and Supervising Commander's army is handling the defeated soldiers.

All right. I understood.

- You may leave. - Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty. I regret to inform you of this,

but the people are gathered at the gates.

What should we do with them?

What is taking so long?

I need to hear of something. Or else, I am wasting time here.

Will someone come out to the gates?

It has been a good while.

Why is it so quiet?

I wonder, too.

His Majesty is nowhere to be seen today.

- I cannot wait any longer. - Same here.

Commander Kang planned a bad strategy from the start.

To fight a pitched battle...

against the Khitans in a vast field...

was reckless.

While guarding the fortress from the inside,

he should have waited until the enemy retreated.

I think differently, Your Majesty.

Withstanding the battle from the inside of the fortress cannot end the war.

The only way to end the war...

is to advance outside of the fortress...

and kill every one of the enemy's soldiers.

Commander Kang's judgment was right.

Good grief.

He should have waited for the right time before opening the gates...

and advancing forth.

While defending the fortress from the enemy's attacks from the inside,

he should have waited until the enemy wore out.

Had he waited for that to happen,

Goryeo's land outside the fortress would have fallen into ruin.

The soldiers who failed to flee...

would have become the Khitan's prisoners,

and the fields would have turned to ashes.

That is enough.

It is too late for this debate.

What should be done now?

Goryeo's main army has been defeated.

Commander Kang, the head of Goryeo's army,

has been captured by the enemy.

How are we to settle...

this difficult situation?

Do not fall into despair.

The Goryeo soldiers may have been defeated,

but they have not been annihilated.

As Supervising Commander is handling the scattered soldiers,

he will soon form a battle line.

The generals of the battlefields...

will surely set up an opportunity to turn the tables.

Do you truly believe so?

Will that truly happen?

Yes, Your Majesty.

The enemy has yet to destroy...

even one of Goryeo's fortresses.

Despite being stationed deep in the enemy's camp,

they have not secured a single bridgehead.

Over time, our enemy will be...

at a greater disadvantage.

Your words...

have calmed me a little.

Send a letter to the Supervising Commander.

Have him reorganize the front line and fight back against the enemy.

And tell him to ask for anything he might need.

Let him know that the court in Gaegyeong will send what he needs, no matter what.

- Yes, Your Majesty. - Yes, Your Majesty.

Then,

what must I tell the people outside the palace?

I delivered the news of victory,

so I feel as though I must deliver the news of defeat myself too.

I think that is my duty.

Then, the people of Gaegyeong will feel shaken.

You should keep things quiet this time.

What do you mean by that?

Did you not tell me to be with the people before?

So why is it that you are telling me to trick them this time?

Your Majesty.