American Perspectives: The Damsel and The Dude Pt. 1 ("기황후" Ep. 3)

 

 

 

"기황후" can be viewed on Viki or Youtube, as well as many other channels.  It is an amazing classic 사극, and this author is aware that it's not historically accurate.  The real life Empress Ki had a very contentious relationship with the Goryeo Dynasty.  And many liberties were most certainly taken with the fictionalized version of historical characters. Dialogue adapted from English Subtitle translations by the "Imperial Team at Viki.com"

 

 

 

 

Wang Yoo and his men gallop across the river.  They have no time to waste, Wang Yoo's power is hanging by a thread.  They suddenly halt in the sand.

 

"It's getting dark," says Eunuch Bang.

 

"Let's speed up," says Wang Yoo.  "We can't let the Prince of Yuan die on our land."  He spurs his horse forward.

 

 

**********

 

"If the Prince dies," says Wang Go, "Goryeo will have to take responsibility."

 

"And how do you intend to take responsibility?"  The Queen Dowager sips her tea.

 

"Prime Minister El Temur wants Goryeo to be incorporated into Yuan, doesn't he?"

 

"So, do you intend to do what Prime Minister El Temur wants?"

 

"How foolish it is to wage a war when we cannot win," says Wang Go.  "We have learned that lesson well for the past 30 years.  It's not a waste to throw away a nation's title for the sake of its people in misery."

 

"You're very wise, indeed," says the Queen Dowager.

 

"Please communicate my thoughts to Prime Minister El Temur."

 

The Queen Dowager smiles.

 

"To solidify my position with Yuan, I will need your help, your highness," says Wang Go.

 

"Of course, I will help you.  But how will General Bayan kill the prince?"

 

 

 

 

 

"What about the band of robbers?"  Bayan inquires.

 

"They will attack tonight between 11:30-12:30 PM," says Toqto'a.

 

"Have all the soldiers near the temporary palace withdraw at that time," says Bayan.  "I don't want any of our men fighting in this raid."

 

"Yes, Uncle."

 

*********

 

Toghon is anxiously walking through the encampment, disguised in his armor and helmet.  He almost walks right into Bayan and Toqto'a, and he immediately puts his down, and quickly turns away.  Chills run down his spine, and his heart beats rapidly.  He darts ahead, and right into the nearest empty ger.

 

Seung Nyang is on her way back, carrying a wash basin from the river.  Toghon is in her ger, frantically looking for a place to hide.  He sees a curtain, and promptly hides behind it.

 

Seung Nyang unassumingly enters the ger, and ties the doorflap shut.  Finally, some peace and quiet.

 

She removes her layers, including her chest band, only leaving on her white jeogori and black pants.  She begins to sponge off her shoulders.

 

Toghon is frantically looking for an escape.  He's standing next to some peacock feathers.  He uses them to cover his face, but one tickles his nose, and he sneezes.

 

Seung Nyang quickly turns around.  She suspects that it came from the curtained area.  She puts her black jeogori back on, and pulls out her sword, placing it behind her back.  She stands in front of the curtain, and quickly pulls it aside.

 

Toghon jumps in surprise.  Seung Nyang points her sword at his throat.  She looks him dead in the eyes.  "Who are you?"  She asks.

 

"I...I am..."  Toghon stutters as he looks at this very attractive, but very intimidating man.

 

Seung Nyang grabs him by the chest piece on his armor.  "Who are you to be hiding in my quarters?"  Her eyes flash.  She drags him out, and throws him on the floor.  She stabs her sword through the straw covered bags next to them.

 

Toghon quickly rises.  "How dare you?  Do you know who I am?"

 

She grabs him by the chest piece again.  "So, that's why I'm asking you.  Say it.  What are you trying to steal?  How much did you see, you sleazy rat?"

 

"You are being insolent!" Toghon sputters.

 

"Insolent?"

 

"Do you know who I am?"

 

Seung Nyang shoves him away.  "Who are you?"

 

"I'm the Great Yuan's..." He looks around.  "Soldier."

 

Seung Nyang rolls her eyes.  "Okay, you are such a great person, huh?  Since you snuck in like a rat, I'll kill you like one."  She rolls up her sleeves, and punches him in the face twice, and kicks him in the crotch.

 

Toghon falls to his knees.  "Let...let's negotiate!  If you would only let me leave, I'll grant you a fortune."

 

"Oh, so you're a deserter?"  Seung Nyang challenges.

 

"No, I'm---Just get me past the eastern perimeter.  Then, I'll repay you with grace."

 

Seung Nyang grabs him by the ear.  "Come with me."  She drags him out of her ger, leading him through the encampment by his ear.

 

Toghon panics.  "Wa--Wait!  Let me go!"

 

Seung Nyang kicks him in the hip.

 

"Huh?"  Toghon says.  "You!"

 

"Shut up and come!"  She continues to drag him.

 

"Wait!  Where are we going?"  Toghon inquires anxiously.  She shoves him into the stables.  "Oh, come on.  Wait!  Where are we?"

 

She throws him down next to a pile of manure.  "Clean up all this manure!"  She points to the mess.

 

The very distinct smell of horse manure overpowers Toghon's sheltered sense of smell and taste, and he begins to gag.  He tries to appeal to her empathy by giving her a pained look.

 

"Have it done by dawn, or I'll report you as a deserter, understand?"

 

"Wa-Wait!  Wait, wait!  I am the brother of the Emperor of the Great Kingdom of Yuan," he whispers earnestly.

 

Seung Nyang pretends to be shocked.  As a former leader of a gang of bandits, she's heard every excuse in the book.  The royalty/nobility card is nothing new to her.

 

"Help me.  If you just get me out of this camp, I'll make you rich beyond your dreams."

 

"Your Highness," Seung Nyang says with exaggerated surprise.

 

"Yes," says Toghon.  "You'll never get another chance like this."

 

"First, I must pay my respect--"

 

"Never mind that," he keeps her from kneeling.  "Paying your respect in this stinking muck?"

 

Seung Nyang grabs him and body slams him into the manure.  He jumps back in horror when he realizes he has horse shit on his face.

 

Seung Nyang kneels down beside him.  "If you are the prince, I'm the Jade Emperor."  She looks to the side.  "There are Goryeo Soldiers guarding outside, so don't even think of running away."  She stands up, and motions as if she's going to hit him.

 

Toghon cowers.  She gives him side eye and walks away.

 

********

 

Lord Jang is waiting just outside the encampment with two horses.  "Why is he still not coming in?  Your highness, you must hurry!"

 

******

 

Kkweo Bo peeps out from behind the curtains covering Toghon's bed.  He hears the doors open, and he immediately rolls to his side, with his back to the door.  He hides his head under the blanket.

 

"Your Highness," says Bayan.  "How are you feeling?  It's already late, so we'll stay until Lord Jang brings your dried persimmons.  So please, get some rest."

 

Kkweo Bo's anxiety kicks in.

 

"Your Highness," says Toqto'a, "are you all right?"

 

Kkweo Bo can't stop shaking.  He stills himself long enough to signal for them to go away.

 

Bayan grunts.

 

Kkweo Bo breathes a huge sigh of relief after they finally walk out the door.  He thought they would never leave.

 

********

 

Two bandits working for El Temur jump the fence surrounding the encampment, and unlock the gate.

 

Seung Nyang, Ki Ja Oh, Park Bul Hwa, and Yeom Byeong Soo are roaming the encampment, making their rounds.

 

"Where are all the Yuan soldiers while ours are here?"  Ki Ja Oh asks.

 

"Their rotation time is already long past, but there is no sign of them," Yeong Byeong Soo observes.

 

"Come to think of it," Seung Nyang notes, "I haven't seen any of the Yuan soldiers in their quarters."

 

"What are they up to anyway?"  Park Bul Hwa asks.

 

Like a fancy fireworks show, several fiery arrows shoot up into the air.  It is darkly spectacular.   Many Goryeo soldiers are taken out within seconds before anyone has a chance to act.

 

"An attack!"  Ki Ja Oh yells.  All of the remaining Goryeo soldiers draw their swords.  The fiery arrows pour down like a rainstorm.  More soldiers are taken out, some quarters are burning down.  One soldier is running around, completely on fire.

 

The two men who had unlocked the gate, pull it wide open.  The bandits come galloping in.  Some come running in on foot, brandishing their curved swords.

 

"Attack!"  Ki Ja Oh yells.

 

The Goryeo soldiers run forward.  Ki Ja Oh slices the legs of an oncoming horse, sending the horse on its side, and it's rider falling.

 

Seung Nyang jumps up and slices a bandit in the neck.  The camp is on fire, and the fighting is intense.

 

Bul Hwa and Byeong Soo slice away at the bandits like they're simply trimming the hedges.

 

Seung Nyang gets behind Ki Ja Oh.  "We'll hold them here," says Ki Ja Oh.  "Seung Nyang, you get the prince!"

 

She looks at him uncertainly.

 

"What are you doing?  Move!"

 

"Yes, Sir!"

 

********

 

Toghon is running for his life with a rectangular shield on his back.  It gets struck by a fiery arrow, and he shrieks.  He drops the shield and runs.  He sees the bandits, some of whom are in their distinct Mongol clothing.

 

"The Prince is in the temporary palace!"  The ring leader yells.

 

Toghon's heart drops.

 

"Find the prince and kill him!"

 

The bandits go running to Toghon's quarters.

 

Toghon desperately runs to the nearest empty ger.  He frantically looks for a place to hide, and finds a huge wooden box.  He throws everything out of it, jumps in, and closes it, praying to all that is holy that no one will find him.

 

*******

 

Seung Nyang runs into the smoky temporary palace.  The walls are beginning to catch fire.  "Hurry and come out!"  She yells.

 

Kkweo Bo fearfully stays under the blanket.  He could get in so much trouble for impersonating the prince.

 

Seung Nyang yanks off the blanket.  "Hurry and come out, I said."

 

He rolls over, and she realizes he isn't the prince.

 

"Why are you here?"  Seung Nyang asks.

 

"I don't know, he told me to stay here like this."

 

She tears him out of the bed.  "Follow me."  He resists as she pulls on his arm.

 

"I can't.  He told me not to take one step out until morning."  Kkweo Bo insists.

 

"If you stay here, you'll die!"  She pulls him forward, and then looks back.  "Hurry and take those clothes off!"  She frantically undoes his hat.  "Hurry up already!"

 

"Here!"  Shouts a bandit from outside.  "This is where he is!"

 

"Follow me!"  Seung Nyang grabs his hands.

 

They get outside the temporary palace, only to be surrounded by armed bandits with their swords drawn.

 

Seung Nyang stands firm while Kkweo Bo fearfully backs away.  He then hides behind Seung Nyang, and pats her like an anxious toddler.

 

The ring leader is clothed in a glorious tiger skin tunic.  He stares directly at Kkweo Bo.  Seung Nyang loads her bow and arrow.  She takes aim at the ring leader.  "Stay right behind me," Seung Nyang says to Kkweo Bo.

 

"So, we finally found you," says the ring leader.  "That guy is the brother of the Yuan Emperor."

 

"You're wrong!"  Seung Nyang snaps.  "This guy is not the brother of the Yuan Emperor."

 

Kkweo Bo nervously waves his hands.  The ring leader grins.

 

"Kill him."

 

Kkweo Bo runs away, and Seung Nyang fires her arrow.  It hits a bandit square in the heart.  Another bandit comes at her with his sword.  She deflects and slices, as many more bandits come for her.  She kicks one bandit in the face, knocking him to the ground.

 

She gets to her knees, and notices Kkweo Bo crawling on the ground in fear.  He's surrounded by bandits who have their swords pointed at him.  The ring leader stands in front of him, and Kkweo Bo kneels, rubbing his hands together.  "Please let me live."

 

A bandit standing behind him slices him through the back.

 

Seung Nyang watches in horror as he crumples.

 

The ring leader walks up to him, and plunges his sword through Kkweo Bo's heart.

 

"The prince is dead!" The ring leader yells.  "Withdraw!"

 

"Withdraw!"  The other bandits yell.

 

Seung Nyang runs up to a writhing Kkweo Bo.  "Kkweo Bo?  Kkweo Bo!"

 

"Mom," Kkweo Bo sobs.  "Mom is waiting..." He gasps, taking his final breath.

 

"Kkweo Bo!"

 

The Mongol soldiers approach them, and Seung Nyang has an awful feeling.

 

"The Prince is dead!" A soldier shouts.  "His Highness has passed away!"

 

"His Highness has passed away!"  The men keep shouting.

 

 

 

 

 

Bayan and Toqto'a are watching the camp go up in flames from a safe distance.  The sight is bittersweet as politics and survival trump the loyalty of the past.

 

"His Highness has drawn his last breath," says Toqto'a.

 

"Your Majesty, the late emperor," Bayan whispers, "do not forgive this Bayan."

 

 

*********

 

Toqto'a and Bayan stroll through the temporary palace, ready to investigate.  "Everyone, leave now," Toqto'a instructs the guards.

 

The guards bow and exit.

 

Toqto'a and Bayan walk over to Toghon's bed.  His body is covered in a white sheet.  Bayan kneels down.  "Your Highness.  I pray for your easy passage into eternity and in your next life, please be born where there is no power struggle."

 

Bayan carefully pulls back the blanket and recoils.  Toqto'a looks over, and his eyes widen at the unexpected sight.

 

"Am I drunk?"  Bayan asks incredulously.  "That's not His Highness, is it?"

 

Toqto'a is floored.  He did not expect Toghon to be this clever, or to even have anyone clever on his team.  "I am bewildered."

 

Bayan rises.  "What's going on?  Why is this boy lying here?"

 

Toqto'a looks like a deer in headlights.  He thought their plan was foolproof.  "The Prince is alive," Toqto'a says anxiously.  "We must find him quickly."

 

"It's too late," Bayan sighs.  "I'm sure that he ran away with Lord Jang by now."

 

Bayan's speculation is interrupted by the loud sound of the door opening.  Lord Jang frantically runs in, and Bayan freezes.

 

"You're here, Lord Jang?"  Bayan inquires.

 

Toqto'a promptly covers Kkweo Bo's body.

 

"You deserve divine punishment!"  Lord Jang yells.  "What have you done to his highness?"

 

Toqto'a and Bayan say nothing.

 

"Your Highness!  Your Highness!"  Lord Jang runs up to the bed, but Toqto'a intercepts him.   "Let go of me!"  He tries to push past Toqto'a.  "Your Highness!  Please forgive my failure to my duties, Your Highness."

 

Bayan punches him in the gut.

 

"Your Highness!"  Lord Jang groans, as he falls to the floor unconscious.

 

"His Highness is still in this camp somewhere," says Toqto'a.

 

"No one must find out about this," says Bayan.  "No one in Goryeo, and not even our Yuan soldiers."

 

Toqto'a nods.

 

"I will go and find him myself," says Bayan.

 

 

*******

 

Many corpses are being carried out of the encampment.  It's early morning, and no one has slept.

 

"So, the brother of the Emperor is still alive?"  Ki Ja Oh asks.

 

"I am certain that the dead body was a eunuch," says Seung Nyang.

 

"Then," says Byeong Soo, "that means we won't be blamed for this crime."  He grins broadly.  "We've been saved, commander!"

 

"Then, where is the Prince now?"  Bul Hwa asks.

 

Ki Ja Oh sees Bayan and Toqto'a approaching.  "Shh..." He tells Bul Hwa.

 

"As the Prince lost his life on Goryeo land," says Bayan, "Goryeo must take responsibility for it."

 

Seung Nyang gives him the side eye.

 

"Please turn over his body to us," says Ki Ja Oh.

 

"What?"  Bayan asks.

 

"He may have passed away," says Ki Ja Oh, "but we will still escort him to Gaegyeong."

 

"Shut your mouth!"  Bayan snaps.  "We will take his body and return to Yuan.  And as soon as you arrive at Gaegyeong, you will all be beheaded."

 

Byeong Soo looks at him in shock.  Ki Ja Oh remains stone faced.

 

"Let's go," says Bayan.

 

"They are hiding the prince," says Ki Ja Oh, as Bayan and Toqto'a walk away.

 

"We can't just let this happen," says Byeong Soo.  "We have to find the prince."

 

"But we don't know his face," says Bul Hwa.  "How can we find him?"

 

"But we can't let ourselves die so unfairly, can we?"  Byeong Soo retorts.

 

"Everyone split up and look around this area," says Ki Ja Oh.  "Since they are in Goryeo, they probably couldn't hide him too far away."

 

 

********

 

The Goryeo law enforcement team splits up to conduct their own search.

 

"Your Highness?"  Byeong Soo yells.  He rips off a doorflap.  Nothing.  "Your Highness?"

 

Seung Nyang pulls back a doorflap to another ger.  Nothing.  She walks into a ger with a burnt away doorflap.  She doesn't see anything out of the ordinary, but as she's about to leave, she hears the distinctive snores of a lazy man.  She cringes, but then stops, and looks to the side.  She notices the snores are coming from a large, wooden box.  She looks through the slats in the wooden lid.  She pulls the lid back, and sees the lazy man she had pushed into the horse shit the night before.  Just seeing him sleep while everyone else is working their asses off, disgusts her.  She snorts derisively.

 

She picks up a huge bucket of water and holds it over him, pausing for a moment.  She smiles, and dumps it in the box, right on his face.

 

Toghon recoils from the shock of the cold water.  He thrashes around.  "Who?  Who are you?"

 

Seung Nyang slams the lid on him.  "This rat-like bastard," she whispers disdainfully.  She steps outside.  "Everyone is fighting for their lives, and you hide to save yourself."  This is the type of man she hates the most.  The man child who takes a nap instead of facing his responsibilities.  The man who avoids the Big Boy Pants like the plague.  She seemingly doesn't notice Bayan and Toqto'a walking past her, and into the same ger.

 

"There is no one here," says Toqto'a.  They are lingering in the doorway of the ger, unbeknownst to Toghon.

 

Toghon can't take being soaking wet in the box anymore.  His clothes clinging to him and his wet hair feels downright nasty. He throws back the lid and sits straight up, completely oblivious to Bayan and Toqto'a watching him from the doorway.  He coughs very loudly.  When he finally looks at the doorway, he recoils when he sees Bayan and Toqto'a standing in front of him.

 

Bayan can't believe his good fortune.  "Your Highness?"

 

Toghon gasps, and his heart races.  "General Bayan?"

 

 

...To be continued....

 

 

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