定是田本昌 捏住了吴守备的把柄
“Tian Benchang must have gotten something on Commander Wu,”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
我猜想
“I guess”
定是 田本昌 捏住了吴守备的 把柄
“Tian Benchang must have gotten something on Commander Wu,”
要挟吴守备要救出自己
“blackmailing Commander Wu to help him out.”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
Holding leverage ('把柄') over a rival or superior is a quintessential trope and reality of interpersonal power dynamics in Chinese administrative history.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
to have leverage over someone; to hold dirt on someone
A vivid and very common idiom used when someone holds secrets or weaknesses that can be used to blackmail someone.
must be; surely is
A slightly formal, assertive deductive expression used to state a strong conclusion or deduction.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“Keep a close eye on Tian Benchang.”
“Given Tian Benchang's tricks, he definitely has a backup plan.”
“Tian Benchang will be even more suspicious. Only by falling into his trap”
“Tian Benchang wants to be an official so badly that he is willing to risk his life.”
“I want to investigate what Tian Benchang is really up to.”
“decides to wash his hands of us,”