Kong

"Sometimes it is best to leave the thorn in, lest you bleed dry."

―Kong to Basim Ibn Ishaq, 860s.

Kong was a Chinese merchant and smuggler from Dali who ran a tea shop in Baghdad during the 9th century. He was also a childhood friend of the Hidden One Basim Ibn Ishaq.

Biography

Early life

Born in Dali, Kong moved to Baghdad at a young age, eventually settling in the Karkh district. There, he met and befriended a young street thief named Basim Ibn Ishaq, whom he affectionately called "little finch" and who enjoyed the tea Kong made using leaves imported from his hometown.

After Basim moved to Anbar in his teenage years, Kong decided to open his own tea shop. He eventually became a wealthy merchant of influence, enough to gain him entry into the Da'irat Al-mal, Baghdad's annual grand auction held at the Bazaar.

Reunion with Basim

Basim: "What about yourself, Kong? What have you been doing these years?"

Kong: "Doing what I do best. Making coin! Although with some difficulty of late. The guards are on high alert, and that Greek merchant has taken it in his stride to report me at every chance."

—Basim and Kong catching up, 860s.

Kong and Basim's reunion

In the 860s, one of Kong's shipments of tea leaves was confiscated by the Abbasid authorities. Believing a rival Greek merchant by the name of Luca had reported his crates to the authorities in an attempt to drive him out of business, Kong angrily confronted Luca at his stall. Their fight was broken up by Basim, who had recently returned to Baghdad and joined the Hidden Ones.

Kong pretended not to recognize Basim at first, but after getting away from Luca, the two old friends quickly caught up with each other. When Basim revealed that he required Kong's help with an urgent matter, the latter told him about his own plight and asked the Hidden One to recover his confiscated crates from a nearby storehouse. Basim did so and returned with the crates to Kong's shop, whereupon the two friends talked.

Kong offering to help Basim in exchange for recovering his wares

After Basim explained that he needed to gain entry to the Da'irat Al-mal without disclosing the reason, Kong offered to assist him in exchange for another favor. Basim then left to recover more of Kong's confiscated wares from a warehouse belonging to the harbormaster Javed. In the process, he discovered Javed to be a member of the Order of the Ancients tasked to seize all foreign merchandise in search of an ancient Chinese hairpin, and assassinated him.

After finding Kong's wares, Basim acquired a note that would allow the merchant to recover them from the warehouse and gave it to him. Kong then upheld his end of their deal and gave Basim an invitation to the Da'irat Al-mal. When his friend asked how he had acquired it, Kong claimed that it was better if he did not know and that he had originally planned to smuggle Basim into the auction by hiding him in one of his crates.

The Da'irat Al-mal

Basim: "Did someone take something of yours again?"

Kong: "A precious ceramic saucer. Luca has it. He has always been jealous of me."

—Kong asking Basim to recover "his" saucer from Luca, 860s.

Kong asking Basim to retrieve a saucer in exchange for information

Some time later, during the Da'irat Al-mal, Kong again ran into Basim, who was there to assassinate another Order member known as "The Treasurer". Kong offered to provide the Hidden One with information on his target in exchange for retrieving a saucer from Luca's stall, which he claimed the Greek merchant had stolen from him. After Basim delivered the saucer, Kong accidentally revealed that it had never belonged to him in the first place.

Despite this, Basim allowed him to keep it and Kong proceeded to add it to his personal collection. He then told the Hidden One that he had overheard a conversation between two women who had designed a robe with intricate eastern embroidery for the Treasurer. Concluding that his target was a foreigner from the East, Basim thanked Kong for the information and left.

Behind the scenes

Kong is a supporting character in Assassin's Creed: Mirage. In the memory "Coin, Corruption and Tea", he mentions that his tea is from his hometown of Dali (大理) and that it is in China. In addition, he speaks modern Mandarin, indicating a Chinese background.

Although Dali is an important city in Yunnan, China today, it is anachronistic to refer to it as a place in China in the 9th century, the period in which Mirage is set. At the time, it was the capital of Dali State (大禮國), a country of the indigenous Bai and Yi peoples independent of Tang China, who referred to it as Nanzhao (南詔). In addition, the name of the city itself was not Dali but Yon‧zon‧mix, transcribed by the Chinese as 羊苴咩 (Mandarin: Yángjūmiē). In fact, Nanzhao had a city named 大厘 (Dali) that located in modern Dali district.

Gallery

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  Kong's database image
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  Kong arguing with Luca
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  Kong asking Basim to recover his confiscated tea crates
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  Kong joking about his plan to smuggle Basim in a box
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  Kong giving Basim information about the Treasurer

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Mirage