Hwajung (화정)

Now, we will begin the pledge ceremony of the friendship between Joseon and Qing.

Your Majesty.

Sire, what is this about?

Father!

'Pledge ceremony'?

No, there will be no such thing!

Pledge ceremony, you say?

Who could I possibly trust?

Father! What do you mean by that?

Why on earth would you...

So now... Go back to your Khan and tell him clearly!

Joseon will not sever its tie to Ming!

The King of Joseon will not submit to the barbarians!

Now, what can we do about it?

What if His Majesty holds anger towards the Crown Prince because of me?

No, that won't happen, ma'am.

So please calm down...

Ma'am! Your Highness!

Ma'am, it seems that there has been a problem at Mohwa Hall.

The mood in the palace is not normal.

What?

Oh my... I guess the two of you decided to meet out in the open now.

Sukwon!

I guess... it's better that way since you already got caught.

His Majesty knows about everything now

so there should be no need to be in hiding, right?

Sukwon...

What trouble did that tongue of yours stir up now?

What did you tell His Majesty about the Crown Prince?

Father!

Father!

Father, please tell me!

What is the reason you act this way?

Did I do something wrong?

Father!

Whatever it may be, it must be my fault.

So I will try to change it.

So please...

Please... retract your decision, Father!

'Your Majesty.'

Call me 'Your Majesty' from now on.

There is no reason for me to be called 'Father' by you!

Father!

Yes, it's your fault, Crown Prince!

You've deceived and mocked your father!

'Deceived,' Father?

What do you mean by that? I just...

Princess Jungmyung!

Did you think I didn't know about your secret contact with the Princess?

Did you think... I'd fall for that trickery again?

Father! It's...

Sure...

That's how you act as my son...

So who would serve me?

I can't even trust my own child's words...

So how can I possibly play the king in this seat?

Your Majesty...

You should leave.

Go to the Princess you trust so much!

I won't be fooled by the Princess who constantly undermines me!

I am the King of this country!

Now, everything will...

come to reality by means of my own will!

Father! Father! Please don't!

Please listen to my words!

Father! Father!

Father...

How could His Majesty do this?

Sir!

Friendship with the barbarians was nonsense to begin with!

Now we will have to go to war against them!

Yes, you're right.

To pledge a relationship of master and retainer, and call their Khan an emperor?

How is that any different than giving away our country?

He's right! We should go ask His Majesty!

- You're right! - We have to go!

Father, what should we do?

Is it, 'Fight to the end,' or 'Take a step back'?

For now... it's 'Take caution.'

'Take caution' means...

that we should wait and see for now?

Yes. We should see how things will turn out.

Oh, the outlook?

Yes...

It's a war! The barbarians will attack us soon!

- It's a war! - What's going on?

The barbarians are coming! Run away fast!

It's a war! It's a war!

The King is causing trouble after all.

It won't be bad for us anyway.

'It won't be bad for us,' Father?

We won't be able to stop the second war after all.

And His Highness... is in a more precarious position than any other time.

Sire, it was a good decision.

I'm sure you will be able to get it done.

Kim Ja Jeom is the commander at the northwestern border now.

He will also offer his life for Your Majesty.

Kim Ja Jeom...

He was pushed out because of the Crown Prince.

He came in between Your Majesty and Lord Kim.

Yes.

I listened to the Crown Prince

and sent Kim Ja Jeom to the northern border.

But now, you will find out who the loyal retainer is.

He established Your Majesty...

so it will be also Kim Ja Jeom who protects you, sire.

Crown Prince.

This... Now this...

What can we do about this?

Father... and me...

And this country!

Ma'am!

What will happen now?

Excuse me, General?

Be quiet. You'll scare all the fish away.

But, sir...

An urgent message came from the palace.

Leave it there.

I'll look at it later.

Then I will leave it here.

It took a bite!

What a strange man!

[Magistrate Office, Hwangju, Hwanghae Province]

- Does this make any sense? - Seriously...

Something wrong with his eyes?

The capital city is in chaos with the rumor of a war!

How can he not look at the message every day?

We're about to get robbed by the barbarians.

I wonder if we can stay like this in the northwestern region!

Stop, stop!

The General is acting that way, so what could we possibly do?

Isn't he the one who has power in the capital?

Then why is he acting that way?

This is a really big one! Isn't it?

Yes it is, sir.

Yes... it was worthwhile to wait until I got a bite.

The essence of fishing is... patience.

Sir, the message from the palace...

It's fine. Leave it.

It doesn't matter if I read it or not.

Pardon? But...

You need to make a short trip to Hanyang.

How is Father doing?

He is still furious.

I don't think he will easily open his heart.

So why did you not let go of ties with the Princess?

Did you not know that this would happen some day?

Grand Prince.

I blame the Princess.

For her own greed and goals that cannot be realized

didn't she use you?

Nonsense, Grand Prince!

How can you say such a thing?

Sire...

Ho... Did you forget?

Since you and I were little, she tried to show us the path.

That's how we learned the real crisis of this country

and the people's lives that we wouldn't know from the palace.

But what changed because of it?

Did anything change at all?

Ho...

I understand your intention.

For a long time, no...

even at this moment, she is making an effort. I am aware of it.

But you won't be able to gain anything from it.

As has been the case to this point

only horrendous loss will come of it, sire.

Lord Grand Prince, should I have your servant get ready?

Will you be going home?

No. I need to stop somewhere before that.

So, Huang Taiji of Qing finished preparation.

That's right.

According to Ja Gyung, who is watching the northern region

an army of 120,000 soldiers are ready to go to war.

This is the situation, so what's the plan from the palace?

How would we fight against the 120,000 soldiers of Qing?

It's Ganghwa Island.

It seems that they'll focus on defense from there like last time.

Ganghwa?

That's right, sire.

All of the military that guards the palace and the city

will flee to this Ganghwa if it's necessary

and focus on the defense here.

You mean... like the last time, in 1627?

Yes. Ganghwa is a solid castle, known to be a natural fortress.

That's why the barbarians couldn't get through this fortress in 1627

and asked to sign a treaty first.

So, this time...

'Let's make Ganghwa our fortress and hang on'?

Ganghwa...

But this is such lazy thinking.

This is the second war!

How can we be sure that the Qing military didn't prepare for it?

That's not all.

While the government and the royal court fled to Ganghwa last time

the land and the people of this country were completely violated.

So how could they make Ganghwa their plan again?

So, Kaesong...

Why don't we ask him to move to Kaesong this time?

Did you say Kaesong?