那三千战马不是吃空饷 而是死于瘟疫
“the 3,000 warhorses weren't phantoms, but died of plague?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
难不成他会说
“Did he say”
那三千战马 不是 吃空饷 而 是 死于瘟疫
“the 3,000 warhorses weren't phantoms, but died of plague?”
不仅如此
“Something worse.”
“Do you really think he'll admit to graft? He will just blame an epidemic.”
A widespread form of administrative and military graft in imperial China, where commanders withheld reporting deaths or fabricated rosters to siphon state allowances.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
warhorse / cavalry mount
A military term frequently encountered in historical dramas and literature.
to pocket pay for ghost soldiers / embezzlement of payroll
An idiomatic term historically used for military corruption where commanders claimed salaries for nonexistent troops or resources.
not... but rather...
A standard correlative structure used to refute one point and assert another.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“This is a 300-horsepower car. You can't drive.”
“I have to try, even if it's a long shot.”
“launching thousands of wars”
“sparking countless wars”
“It's also possible he's just making a last-ditch effort.”
“and demand justice for this horse.”