Eleison

They have sibling energy in my opinion (the ML and princess). 😅

I'm just as annoyed as the rest of you about XZ not telling Changyu his identity (it's been one of several of my gripes with this drama so far), but I'm also trying to see how he'd rationalize this from his perspective:

His wife makes a military mistake that's partly his fault (because she has no understanding of military discipline, has been allowed to run around the camp without a predetermined job, and also because she didn't know that her hubby was the big guns; if she had, she wouldn't have dreamt of acting like this without consulting him first as she would know more about his plans).

So, he doesn't want her to get punished for a multitude of reasons, and there's no way he can get punished as the Marquis (it seems most of the soldiers at this camp don't know his identity because they're technically General He's soldiers?), so he plays Yan Zheng so he can 1) show Changyu that acting without orders is a big deal, 2) make sure she doesn't get punished, and 3) still maintain discipline by having "Yan Zheng" take the punishment for his wife's recklessness so discipline is maintained.

It's his own men doing the punishing so he can kind of get the job of discipline done while not jeopardizing Changyu's safety and compromise discipline by letting this act go unpunished.

If he was the Marquis offering himself (firzt of all, who would dare beat him?), it would probably cause an unhelpful stir amongst the men watching him get beaten for his wife's recklessness?

I don't know... trying to think through what his rationale is here. 😅

Yes, agreed. 👍

It is a reality of war, yes; I realize that, but my point is that it's hard for me to root for people who think and act this way (even if what they do is "needed.").

He assumed, though. He was willing to risk them all and there was a chance all of them could have died. He didn't even give them a fighting chance, see if any of them could swim, etc. They were bait, and he hoped for the best. I think that's reckless and did not value human life the way I wish he would. Somehow it made it "better" in everyone's eyes because he was with them and taking the same risk (which it does, but it doesn't suddenly make this strategy "wise and clever").

Just going based off of what I've seen of him, at least. Everyone does indeed seem a little gray.

Yes, agreed! It shocked me and frustrated me. I want him to be not just barely ahead of our villains in decency, but light-years ahead, un a way that makes him someone that stands out as a general, but as a human being. Might bt too much to ask in this drama?

And Episode 25 was funny and sweet but also a little rocky. The guy just needs to tell her who he is as his hidden identity is causing all kinds of trouble! 😅

If she had known who he was she wouldn't have done that, though? So it kind of is his fault.

But him getting punished will incapacitate him and make him unable to do his job as well/lead effectively if we add these injuries to the ones he already has. I like that he took her punishment for her, but he should have told her who he was sooner and all these problems would have been solved and he never would have had to do this. 🤦‍♀️

It's just this kind of reasoning that I appreciate media challenging, though, and not just using war as an excuse to do morally questionable things. It's easy to say that this and that is acceptable "during war," because it's the lesser of two evils, but even if you were to fall back on, "This is being done for a greater good,"--is it, though? What is this war even for? Isn't it hust a bunch of poweful nobles scheming for power and the throne? I just struggle with plans that justify sacrificing innocents in order to save "more" innocents (somehow, somewhere).

I get all this (thanks for explaining ☺️) but it makes it hard for me to root for him. Just cause he's pretty, is very sweet to Changyu and has good chemistry with her does not excuse what I think is a pretty egregious flippance towards human life. I just have issues with it as characteristics of an ML. If they show him growing from it, then that I can do. But if it's just how he is... not sure I can get behind him.

Okay, I have some major gripes now with Xie Zheng.

He practically sacrificed the thousand men General He loaned him and many of them died when the dam broke (and it seems originally those at the quarry would die, too, but somehow they didn't in the final scenario)?! Why did General He call this strategy wise and clever? 😱 (Why didn't XZ use his own men?)

Am I missing something or is everyone okay with our ML generaling this way? Yikes. (And please don't say, "But it's war. Sacrifices are necessary to preserve more lives." I just don't know if that's true, and it's the excuse of every powerful leader during war to justify truly egregious actions--we've all seen where that reasoning gets us in history).

Thankfully Tutor Tao came in clutch to keep his wayward student from doing even more heinous things. Still, though! And Xie Zheng, I know it's war time and you're a General, but wow, dude. Really? I'm also so shocked everyone is just accepting that this is a legit strategy necessary for taking down the enemy, even though a lot of innocent people will die... even Changyu and Tutor Tao were supporting Zheng's costly plan...

If XZ keeps this kind of generaling up I'm shipping Changyu with Li Huai An. I hope they show him tempering his strategy to see the humans beings involved and the cost at stake--otherwise I will not be a very happy camper.

P.S. And why did they do that scene paralleling Qian Qian saving Qi Min and what Qi Min did to save Qian Qian? It's like they tried to make it romantic. 🤢

Thank you for answering!

But conscripting old men and women? They aren't bandits and outlaws. I thought this is what happened, but I was hoping I was wrong... 😬

And were the people working at the quarry enslaved ir forced to be there? They couldn't leave, right? Were Changyu and her gang all just cool with that cause it was wartime and an "armies do what they have to do" kind of thing? Is it a kind of conscription for the war effort?

Wait, the dam idea was Xie Zheng--to allow all those people (those working the quarry) to die just to get Changning back?!? If so, NOT COOL.

And what did Geberal He mean when he said that Peiyi had to do something heinous (was it referring to these people forced to work or being forced to work and then dying?). I' not sure I can get behind our Marquis doing these kinds of things, if so...

And why did they have to stay at the quarry and why did that mean death? I'm so confused.

I haven't watched today's or yesterday's episodes, but today YZ and CY reunite, not XZ and CY, correct? 😉 aka She still doesn't know who he is, correct?

Asian dramas never have actors who can speak English well, even the nonAsian actors who look white (they're usually not English speakers either). It's just a staple of dramaland. 😅 I'm sure western films and TV have actors butcher Mandarin and Korean in their movies, too. 😉

I loved all of the natural settings for this. None of the spots filmed outdoors/in nature were a set, and I SO appreciated that. Cdramas try, but they can't make nature sets look real. So it looks WAY better when they film at outdoor locations.

Huh? How does that make sense?

SAME. It's really turning me off.