Dragon Blade 2015

In the northwestern reaches of China during the Han era, a security, customs and peacekeeping unit known as the Silk Road Protection Squad works to prevent conflicts, clear borders, and maintain order along the Silk Road. The squad’s captain, Huo An, Jackie Chan, deftly averted a clash between Indian forces and Xiongnu raiders, though he inadvertently brings shame upon a formidable Xiongnu woman warrior.

Back home, Huo An’s gentle wife, Xiuqing, Mika Wang, serves as a schoolteacher for orphans from multiple ethnic groups, giving these children a chance at education and stability. Yet peace is fragile: the squad’s commanders uncover signs of corruption within their ranks when soldiers find bribes among the corpses of enemies they had neutralized. Suspecting Huo An’s unit, they sentence the captain and his brothers-in-arms to grueling construction work at the Wild Geese Gate, a ruined fortress perched on the fringe of the Western regions and overseen by a Turkic auxiliary commander. The camp gathers workers, peasants, and prisoners from many nomadic groups, all pressed into rebuilding the fortress.

Not long after, Wild Geese Gate faces a new threat: a weary Roman legion arrives, bearing a blind boy named Publius Jozef Waite, the youngest son of Marcus Licinius Crassus. The Wild Geese Gate commander orders a defense, but the Romans push forward. Huo An steps out to meet them, engaging in a duel with legion commander Lucius John Cusack. The duel ends in a stalemate as a looming sandstorm approaches, and both sides witness hunger and exhaustion taking their toll on Publius and the Roman soldiers. Huo An chooses to open the gates to let the Romans inside the fortress to recover, even as the Wild Geese Gate commander protests. The next day, the Romans use their engineering prowess to help rebuild the fortress, lifting the spirits of the workers and forging a bond of mutual aid. In return, Huo An sends some of his men to assist Lucius’ envoys in reaching the Parthian Empire, strengthening ties between unlikely allies. A celebration follows, and Publius names Huo An an honorary centurion.

The peace is short-lived. Lucius reveals that he and Publius are fleeing from Tiberius Adrien Brody, a sadistic Roman who betrayed Crassus, blinded Publius to become consul, and defied the peace with the Parthians. Learning of a looming march by Tiberius with a force of 100,000, Huo An pledges to help Lucius stop this threat to the Silk Road. Soon after, Huo An discovers that his second-in-command has revealed himself as corrupt and has plotted to murder Xiuqing and assault Wild Geese Gate to aid Tiberius’ conquest and seize command of the Protection Squad. In the confrontation that follows, Huo An saves his wife and the orphans with help from the Xiongnu, but Xiuqing is mortally wounded while attempting to rescue one of the orphans. With her dying breath, she urges Huo An to protect the children she taught.

Meanwhile, Lucius and his legionaries are betrayed and imprisoned in Kroran, where Tiberius and his men brutalize them. Lucius and Publius’ tutor are forced to commit suicide as their captors tighten the net. Hearing of the capture, Huo An and a handful of loyal soldiers travel to Kroran to rescue them and liberate the Silk Road town. They spark an uprising and free Lucius’ soldiers, while Huo An infiltrates Lucius’ cell in a desperate bid to free him—only to fail in freeing the general himself. As Tiberius’ troops close in, nomadic hordes arrive to aid the resistance, and a brutal battle erupts. Despite their combined strength, the nomads suffer heavy losses, including members of Huo An’s squad, the Wild Geese Gate commander and his translator, and several Xiongnu warriors. The turning point comes when Parthian forces, led by some of Lucius’ soldiers, arrive to avenge Crassus and restore balance between Rome and Parthia. Tiberius refuses to surrender until finally he is slain by Huo An in a climactic duel.

In the aftermath, the Chinese emperor allows Rome to establish its own city, Regum (Liqian in Chinese). He also permits the surviving nomadic inhabitants of the Wild Geese Gate to join the Protection Squad with Huo An at the helm. The fallen are honored by relocating Wild Geese Gate’s shrine to Regum, ensuring their memory endures. Centuries pass, and Regum fades from collective memory until archaeologists uncover its ruins. Through a 3D reconstruction, they learn of the fortress’s tragic history but choose to leave Regum intact, respecting the quiet peace that once held the Silk Road together.