Eight Tigers
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The Eight Tigers were a powerful group of eunuch administrators that controlled the Chinese Templars and the Chinese imperial court during the reign of the Ming dynasty Zhengde Emperor.
Originally led by Liu Jin, who wasn't a Templar himself, the group leadership was taken over by Zhang Yong in 1510, when the latter betrayed Liu by denouncing a plot against the Emperor, leading to his execution.
When the heirless Emperor died, the Tigers rose to power and planned to put their own man after remaining silent and obedient in the past years. During the interregnum, they had acquired a certainty that Wang Yangming was indeed an Assassin and started to spy on him and identified many of his allies. They were ready to strike, to purge the Assassins from Beijing and the confusion that reigned in court, due to the absence of a declared Emperor, was perfect for the Tigers to eliminate their enemies. They planned a massive operation to get rid of the Assassins but they had made a mistake and the word of the plot leaked to the Concubines. Shao Jun, the Imperial Concubine and an ally of the Assassins, warned Wang in time.
After Zhengde was succeeded by the puppet Jiajing Emperor, they ruled in his stead and made important decisions while the Emperor spent his time in brothels and palaces. They would even choose his consorts to better control him. Soon enough, they convinced Jiajing into initiating a purge of the Chinese Assassin Brotherhood. After the Assassin survivor Shao Jun returned to China to rebuild her Brotherhood, she began exacting revenge on the Tigers, tracking them one after the other.
The remaining members of the coterie were Ma Yongcheng, Gao Feng, Wei Bin, Qiu Ju, Yu Dayong and Luo Yang.
Trivia
- While historically a member of the Eight Tigers, Luo Yang is the only Tiger whose Templar membership, whereabouts or fate are not mentioned in Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China.