The Liao Emperor is leading the army.
They sure look imposing.
Yanmen Pass doesn't have a lot of guards.
How can they defend themselves?
The Liao deployed all of their elite soldiers.
It seems blood will be shed again.
No need to fear him.
All of us a one-way ticket to here.
We will give our all to fight
and show them what the Song people are made of.
Yes!
We learn martial arts to protect our family and our nation.
When else should we fight if not now?
Let's fight with all our might.
Kill one and it will be an even trade.
Kill two and it will be a victory.
Even if our blood will smear the desert and our body will lay here,
we fear nothing.
To hell with them!
Heroes.
Settle down.
Don't worry, Brother Qiao.
The 72 Islands and 36 Caves
under the Lingjiu Palace are sending backup here.
They will arrive shortly.
My dear brothers.
Please help me contain our forces.
Don't let them fight recklessly.
Brother Qiao, what do you mean?
- Brother Qiao. - Do not forget.
Great Prince of the South Palace?
Shouldn't he be locked up in the South Palace?
Why did Chief Qiao charge into the Liao camp alone?
- Let's help him! - Elder Wu.
Be patient.
Without his order,
we are to stay put.
Did he decide to surrender to them
upon seeing their immense military forces?
If Chief Qiao was a coward,
then he would never cross the Liao Emperor and be imprisoned.
If anyone says that again,
I'll fight you.
Silence!
Your Majesty. Did you come for revenge?
No.
I know you have your reason to do what you did, Your Majesty.
The Khitan blood flows within me
but the Song raised me.
You don't want me to witness the war between the Song and the Liao and that's why you imprisoned me.
In this case, why did you come here?
I was lucky to have rescued you several times, Your Majesty.
You do not mind my lowly origin
and decided to call me your brother.
You granted me half of the land
and gave me a good job with a high salary.
Your intention was kind
but through my cozy life,
I saw incessant conflicts.
The elderly lost their children.
The wives lost their husbands.
The children lost their parents.
It happened to the Liao
and it also happened to the Song.
Once I conquer all nations, everyone in Liao
will live a peaceful and affluent life.
If you had been less of a warmonger,
we would have all been living in peace now.
The Liao and the Song would be able to enjoy peace.
Victory can only be forged by bloodshed.
The end justifies the means.
In that case, pardon my means.
Great! Nice one, Xiao!
Kill him! Kill the Liao Emperor.
Kill him!
Without Brother Qiao's order, we will stay put!
Brother,
you once saw how I captured the Prince of Chu alive.
Can we speak properly this time?
You have been captured by me.
According to the Liao rules,
you can only free yourself with money.
I haven't said what I want from you yet.
What do you want?
On behalf of
the Song and Liao citizens,
I want you to promise that
as long as you're alive,
you will never send any soldier across the Song-Liao boundary.
My brother.
Even if you kill me now,
millions of my men will trample the Yanmen Pass.
I am always full of myself.
I call myself a hero.
A hero
serves the nation and the people.
As long as I'm alive,
I cannot watch you attack the Song empire.
Can you stop putting me in a tough spot?
Expanding our territory is the Liao's duty.
You have the Liao's blood within you
but you called our enemy your father.
That's infidelity.
You threaten your brother, that's disrespect.
You called yourself a hero.
Is that the hero's code for you?
My brother, you and I are brothers by name.
We live and die together.
You own half of what I own.
It's yours.
During that brotherhood ritual,
we swore an oath.
Together, we share everything.
Your life is mine.
My life is yours too.
Brother.
Take care.
Brother Qiao.
I saved the Liao Emperor twice.
He and I call each other brothers.
He gave me half of the land.
He appointed me as the Great Prince of the South Palace.
Heroes and warriors, listen carefully.
My brother, Yelv Hongji, gave me his words that
as long as he's alive,
he'd never send any soldier across the Song-Liao boundary.
I am a Khitan.
I am the Great Prince of the South Palace.
However, I defy orders repeatedly.
That's disloyalty. I forgot my Han upbringing
and chased after wealth and status in Liao,
that's infidelity.
I killed my peers due to personal vendetta
and murdered my wife.
That's cruelty.
I threatened my brother,
that's disrespect.
I am infidel, disloyal,
cruel, and disrespectful.
I have no right to be your brother anymore.
From now on, you don't owe me anything.
May this reunion be our last.
I hope that you will think of the innocents
and stop waging wars.
No more bloodshed!
Brother!
Brother Qiao!
Brother Qiao.
Retreat!
Brother Qiao.
Your Majesty. Frequent wars over these ten years
have taken a heavy toll on our army.
If we hadn't waged wars every year,
the Prince of Chu would have never been able to take advantage of our opening.
The sacrifice of King Xiao
was not for the Song Dynasty
but also for the Khitans.
Really?
Bring me wine.
[My brother.] [I will use this wine to commemorate you today.]
[A gentleman] [never takes his words back.]
[I will never step foot on the Song territory]
[to help you fulfill your dying wish.]