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| {{Era|Organizations}}
| | #REDIRECT[[Zhawang Corporation]] |
| {{Spoilerhd|30 April 2024|''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]''}}
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| {{Merge|[[Zhawang Corporation]]|Zhawang Corporation}}{{Quote|We do not abandon our family.|The Zhang Wei Union's motto.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple}}{{Faction infobox
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| |name = Zhang Wei Union
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| |image = ACFT Zhang Wei Union logo.png
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| |website =
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| |founder = [[Edward Kenway]]
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| |leader =
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| |headquarters = [[Macau]]
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| |locations = [[Asia]]
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| |parent =
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| |predecessor =
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| |successor =
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| |subsidiaries =
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| |religion =
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| |active =
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| |formed = 1725
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| |related =
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| |}}
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| The '''Zhang Wei Union''' (Chinese: 張爲協組<ref name="FTe24">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 24|Episode 24]]</ref>; Cantonese: ''Zoeng''<sup>1</sup> ''Wai''<sup>4</sup> ''Hip''<sup>3</sup>''zou''<sup>2</sup>) is a [[merchant]] shipping company based in the city of [[Macau]], [[China]].
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| Established by the [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] [[Edward Kenway]] in the [[A-Ma Cultural Village]] in 1725, the Union was originally a small organization comprising Edward's allies in Macau, which vowed to conduct business through ethical means, to bring people together and to protect its own members. In time, however, it grew into one of the most powerful companies in Macau, comprising numerous employees and receiving contracts from major organizations such as the [[Dutch East India Company]].
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| Following Edward's departure from Macau, the Union was left under the leadership of his friend [[Zhang (Macanese)|Zhang]], whose family continued to run the company for generations. By the 21st century, the company had extended its operations beyond Macau and established influence throughout all of [[Southeast Asia]].
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| ==History==
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| ===Under Edward Kenway===
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| ====Establishment====
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| {{Quote|As of this moment... We declare ourselves a legitimate merchant shipping company! Everyone will be an equal member of the Union... And we will govern ourselves just as I did in the Caribbean! We will be united as a family, under one rule... We do not abandon our family!|Edward establishing the organization, 1725.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 23}}[[File:ACFT - Edward establishing the Zhang Wei Union.png|thumb|240x240px|left|Edward founding the organization]]
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| In 1725, after inadvertently ending his partnership with the affluential businesswoman [[Lee Huiyin]], [[Edward Kenway]] decided to start his own organization in order to conduct his business in [[Macau]] and beyond without raising suspicion.<ref name="FTe21">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 21|Episode 21]]</ref> Inspired by the the [[Republic of Pirates|Pirate Republic]] he was once part of in the [[Caribbean]], the [[Assassins|Assassin]] vowed that his new organization would be an opportunity to unite people like a family, where they would be free to govern themselves and treat each other as equals.<ref name="FTe23">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 23|Episode 23]]</ref>
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| Setting up headquarters in what would become the [[A-Ma Cultural Village]], Edward decided that the organization would operate as a legitimate shipping company, naming it the Zhang Wei Union. He then began building it up by recruiting his various allies, including the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] navigator [[John Young]], the [[China|Chinese]] laborer [[Zhang (Macanese)|Zhang]] and his fellow [[Zhang's village|villagers]], and the former [[Piracy|pirate]] [[captain]] [[Rupiya]] and his crew.<ref name="FTe24" />
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| ====First contract====
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| {{Dialogue|John|I don't know, friend. Something smells funny about this. You know what the sea route to Manila is like...|Edward|Aye, it's crawling with pirates. I'm well aware. I reckon it can't be easy finding a ship that's willing to navigate those waters. Hence why he came to us. Lord knows we need the work.|Edward and John discussing their first contract, 1725.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 24}}
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| [[File:ACFT - Edward, John and Zhang struggling to find clients.png|thumb|262x262px|Edward, John and Zhang struggling to find clients in Macau]]
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| Once the Zhang Wei Union had been fully established, Edward, John and Zhang traveled to Macau to drum up business from the locals, only to be turned down at every step. They were eventually approached by a [[merchant]], who revealed that Lee, [[Sun (Hualien Trading Company)|Sun]], and the [[Far East Company]] had blacklisted them, making it near impossible to find clients. However, grateful to Edward for having previously defended his ship from pirates,<ref name="FTe15">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 15|Episode 15]]</ref> the merchant decided to enlist his company's services to escort the same vessel to [[Manila]] and back for a business endeavor.<ref name="FTe24"/>
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| Accepting the job, Edward, John and Zhang used Rupiya's ship to sail to the [[Philippines]]. Upon reaching Manila, John went to party with the locals, from whom he learned that the [[East India Company]] and the Far East Company had recently begun recruiting people for an expedition in Southeast Asia. Edward believed this to be a sign that the [[Templars]] were preparing to begin their search for the lost city of [[Angkor]], though he decided against doing the same, choosing to focus on building up their reputation first.<ref name="FTe24"/>
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| As they prepared to sail back to Macau to complete their contract, Edward and his crew spotted a pirate ship attacking a [[Dutch East India Company]] vessel. Unwilling to let such an opportunity go, Edward ordered Rupiya and his men to attack the pirates, intending to take their ship as a prize.<ref name="FTe24"/> In the ensuing battle, Edward managed to board the pirate vessel and kill its captain, forcing the crew to surrender. However, as the ship had been damaged during the fight, it quickly caught fire and began to sink.<ref name="FTe25">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 25|Episode 25]]</ref>
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| [[File:ACFT - Edward meeting Yun.png|left|thumb|280x280px|Edward rescuing Yun]]
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| Upon being informed of slaves held in the ship's hull, Edward rescued them and escaped from the sinking vessel before it was destroyed when its [[Gunpowder|powder]] kegs detonated. One of the rescued prisoners, [[Yun Pyeong-Gyu]], turned out to be a [[Korea]]n scholar and engineer who had come to the [[Qing dynasty|Qing Empire]] as an aide to a [[Joseon]] envoy, and his skills came in handy when Edward decided to escort the damaged Dutch East India Company ship to Macau.<ref name="FTe26">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 26|Episode 26]]</ref>
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| After Yun fixed the ship's broken wheel, Edward and his crew sailed to Macau, where the Assassin offered Yun, alongside every other liberated slave looking for work, a place in the Zhang Wei Union. Yun accepted the offer and, to celebrate the recruitment of their latest member, John suggested they all go drinking.<ref name="FTe26"/>
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| ====Journey to the Paracel Islands====
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| {{Dialogue|Zhang|We're going to do what?|Edward|I said, we're to set sail for the Paracel Islands to rid them of pirates. We're going into business with the Dutch East India Company.|Edward explaining the mission to John and Zhang, 1725.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 27}}
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| [[File:ACFT - Edward meeting with Jan.png|thumb|250x250px|Jan van Aert requesting Edward's assistance]]
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| Shortly after the crew's return to Macau, Edward was hired by [[Jan van Aert]], the Dutch East India Company's chief navigator, to rid the [[Paracel Islands]] of pirates. In exchange, Jan promised to let the Assassin keep any goods looted from the pirates and to secure a five-year partnership between his company and the Zhang Wei Union. Seeing this as an opportunity to expand the organization, Edward met with John and Zhang to inform them of the job and they insisted that they accompany him, unwilling to let Edward endanger himself.<ref name="FTe27">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 27|Episode 27]]</ref>
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| Afterwards, Edward went to see Yun at his workshop, where he found the latter working on some weapons he had developed back in Korea. Impressed by Yun's designs and believing the weapons could prove crucial in the upcoming mission's success, Edward provided Yun with the necessary resources and manpower to build them. Once the weapons had been finished and tested, Edward and his crew set sail towards the Paracel Islands to fulfill their contract.<ref name="FTe27"/>
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| [[File:ACFT - Rupiya and the pirate captain.png|left|thumb|230x230px|Rupiya meeting with the pirates' captain while Zhang poses as his hostage]]
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| En route to the islands, Edward devised a plan to destroy the pirates' compound: while he and John would take a rowboat to arrive on the islands undetected and proceed to plant to explosives around the base, Rupiya would distract the pirates by getting them drunk and Zhang would pose as his prisoner. The plan was successful until Edward freed Zhang and the pirates' other prisoners, as the resulting commotion attracted the pirates' attention, initiating a [[Firearm|gunfight]]. As Edward, John and Zhang ran towards Rupiya's ship, the explosives the former two had planted detonated, destroying the pirates' compound.<ref name="FTe28">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 28|Episode 28]]</ref>
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| Thanks to a final [[bomb]] thrown by John, which destroyed the pirates' dock and slowed them down, the crew were able to flee the island aboard Rupiya's ship. However, the pirates eventually caught up to them after Rupiya inadvertently sailed to the "Boneyard of Sails", a rough patch of the sea infamous for the number of ships that had sunk there. Edward devised a plan to eliminate their pursuers and lured them into a trap where all the pirates were ultimately killed by {{Wiki|hwacha}}s built by Yun.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 29|Episode 29]]</ref>
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| ====Partnership with the Dutch East India Company====
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| {{Dialogue|Jan|I look forward to working together, Mr. Zhang.|Zhang|Likewise. I hope that our partnership may be prosperous.|Jan van Aert and Zhang securing a partnership between their companies, 1725.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 30}}
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| [[File:ACFT - Zhang and Jan shaking hands.png|thumb|242x242px|Zhang and Jan shaking hands]]
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| Following the success of their mission to the Paracel Islands, Edward and his crew returned to Macau with the pirate ships they had managed to seize. There, an impressed Jan van Aert offered to help Edward register the ships and kept his promis of a five-year contract between the Zhang Wei Union and the Dutch East India Company. However, Edward referred Jan to Zhang, claiming that he was merely an advisor and that Zhang was the true head of the Union. Amused, Jan shook hands with Zhang, marking the beginning of the partnership between their respective organizations.<ref name="EP 30">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 30|Episode 30]]</ref>
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| The Union's partnership with the company allowed it to grow rapidly, receiving numerous shipping contracts. However, Edward found it difficult to keep up with the increasing demands of the company, and as such decided to shift his focus to retrieving the [[Hendrik's sea log|sea log]] of the late Dutch navigator [[Hendrik]], which had been stolen by the Templars and was the only lead to the location of Angkor.<ref name="EP 30"/>
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| During this time, Yun repaired and upgraded one of the ships Edward had seized from the pirates, which was re-named the ''[[Fenghuang]]'' and became the flagship of the Zhang Wei Union. Ahead of his mission to assassinate [[Shimazu Saito]] for [[Fuma Sukuna]], Edward visited Yun, who informed him about the new armaments he had installed on the ''Fenghuang'' and gifted him a [[Phantom Blade]] he had built. Edward also asked for John and Zhang's help with his mission and, even though it did not benefit the Union, they both readily accepted.<ref>[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|''Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple'']] – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 31|Episode 31]]</ref>
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| ====Recruitment of Shimazu Saito and Xialun Qing====
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| Following the events that took place at Sun's {{Wiki|Gambling ship|floating gambling hall}}, Saito was reluctantly recruited into the organization after the deaths of her [[ninja]] followers. Saito's recruitment drew protest from Yun, owing to the animosity rousing from the {{Wiki|Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|Imjin Wars}} fought between [[Japan]] and [[Joseon]], Saito's and Yun's home countries respectively. Yun initially refused to acknowledge or interact with Saito, but eventually, a friendly [[Bow|archery]] contest between the two resulted in them agreeing to work with each other. Yun acknowledged Saito's skills after she had won the contest while she praised his work and inventions. The two later joined Edward and Zhang in deciphering part of Hendrik's sea log,<ref name="EP 40">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 40</ref> which spoke of a treasure pursued by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorer [[Ferdinand Magellan]] in [[Cebu]].<ref name="EP 41">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 41</ref>
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| When the organization decided [[Philippines]] as their next destination, they were joined by John's new companion [[Xialun Qing]], a waitress he had met and rescued aboard Sun's floating den. Qing revealed her knowledge of medicine which she had gained during her short time as an aide to a doctor, and that she had created the poison darts for Yun's newly-designed [[blowpipe]]<nowiki/>for Edward. Agreeing with the need for a doctor for the journey, Edward allowed the young lady to join as well. The group – Edward, John, Yun, Saito, Qing and Rupiya – subsequently set sail for the Philippines aboard the ''Fenghuang'', leaving Zhang behind to take care of the company's headquarters.<ref name="EP 41" />
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| ====Edward's departure====
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| {{Dialogue|Edward|It won't be long until we leave Macau.|Zhang|Of course, Mister Kenway. This place is in good hands. On my world, we'll never forget our debt to you. No matter where you are in the world... We will do everything we can to help you, Mister Kenway.|Edward and Zhang, prior to the former's departure, 1725.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 22}}The ''Fenghuang'' crew eventually returned to Macau, though Edward was forced to leave the city for good not long after. Before that, he met with Zhang one final time to officially appoint him the head of the Zhang Wei Union. Zhang assured Edward that his organization would remain in good hands and promised that they would find a way to continue helping him wherever he was in the world.<ref name="FTe22">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 22|Episode 22]]</ref>
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| ===Modern times===
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| [[File:ACFT - Noa refusing help.png|left|thumb|328x328px|Noa refusing the agents' help]]
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| By the 21st century, the Zhang Wei Union had grown far beyond its humble roots, holding influence throughout all of Southeast Asia. At some point in the 2020s, the company learned of [[Noa Kim]], a descendant of Edward who had been kidnapped by the Templar company [[Abstergo Industries]] to explore Edward's [[Genetic memory|genetic memories]]. Unwilling to abandon its "family," the company sent two of its agents to rescue Noa during a trip to the A-Ma Cultural Village.<ref name="FTe23" />
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| Making use of a distraction in which the Abstergo security were blocked by several thugs, the two agents sought to convince Noa to leave with them. Wishing to uncover his family roots and history, however, Noa refused to leave with them, and was eventually let go after a brief scuffle. After the agents contacted their superior to let him know what had happened, he chose to respect Noa's decision and leave him be until he required their help.<ref name="FTe23" />
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| ==Members==
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| *[[Edward Kenway]] {{c|founder}}
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| *[[John Young]] {{c|navigator}}
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| *[[Rupiya]]
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| *[[Shimazu Saito]]
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| *[[Xialun Qing]] {{c|healer}}<ref name="EP 41" />
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| *[[Yun Pyeong-Gyu]] {{c|engineer}}
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| *[[Zhang (Macanese)|Zhang]] {{c|acting leader}}<ref name="EP 40" />
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| ===Allies and puppets===
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| *[[Jan van Aert]]
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| == Gallery ==
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| <gallery widths="180" position="center" captionalign="center">
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| File:ACFT - Zhang Wei Union flag.png|A flag with the Union's logo
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| File:ACFT - Zhang Wei Union headquarters.png|The Union's headquarters in 1725
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| File:ACFT - Rupiya joins the Zhang Wei Union.png|Rupiya and his crew joining the Union
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| File:ACFT - Edward and John celebrate Yun's recruitment.png|Edward and John celebrating Yun's recruitment to the Union
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| File:ACFT - Edward, John and Zhang meeting.png|Edward, John and Zhang meeting in Zhang's office
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| File:ACFT - Zhang Wei Union agents.png|Two Union agents in the modern day
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| File:ACFT - Zhang Wei Union higher-up.png|A Union higher-up
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| </gallery>
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| ==Appearances==
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| *''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]''
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist}}
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| {{ACFT}}
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| [[Category:Companies]]
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| [[de:Zhang Wei Gesellschaft]]
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