Fenghuang

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

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Edward: "Have you decided on a name for her yet?"

Zhang: "Yes, sir. We named it after a bird of legend known far and wide in the Qing Empire. We used the Chinese word for the Phoenix... and named her the Fenghuang."

—Zhang explaining the Fenghuang's name to Edward Kenway, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

The Fenghuang (鳳凰; English: Phoenix) was the flagship of the Zhang Wei Union that operated in the South China Sea during the early 18th century.

History

Acquisiton by the Zhang Wei Union

"It's time to get to work, lads! Let's give the Fenghuang a trial by fire."

―Mustafa to the Fenghuang's crew before engaging Jeong's fleet, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

The Fenghuang was originally a Chinese junk owned by a pirate band operating from the Paracel Islands. In 1725, it was captured by Edward Kenway and his organization, the Zhang Wei Union, while on a mission for the Dutch East India Company to cleanse the islands of pirates. After being brought back to Macau, Edward was allowed to keep the ship due to a promise made by the company's chief navigator, Jan van Aert. Making use of the loot gained from the pirates, the Zhang Wei Union were able to purchase a plot of land by a harbor to operate and store their ship.^[1]

Repairs and upgrades to the ship then began under the direction of the Union's engineer Yun Pyeong-Gyu, who installed a number of new armaments such as European-style cannons used in Joseon modified by Yun himself, swivel guns that had increased caliber, and several hwachas. The Union members also settled on their flagship's name of "Fenghuang", the Chinese word for phoenix, the legendary bird known for its ability to be reborn from its own ashes.^[1]

The Fenghuang sailed under the Zhang Wei Union for the first time when it was used by Yun and Mustafa to rescue Edward, John Young, Shimazu Saito, and Xialun Qing from the fleet of Admiral Jeong following the events at Sun's floating gambling hall. It easily sunk one of Jeong's ships, causing the admiral to decide against battling it and allowing Edward, John, Saito and Qing to board the Fenghuang and escape to safety.^[2]

Voyage to the Philippines

"Those rickety rattletraps are no match for my contraptions! One shot is more than enough to turn them into watery splinters!"

―Yun commenting on the strength of the Fenghuang's weaponry after sinking Jeong's ships, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

The Fenghuang would later be used by the members of the Zhang Wei Union when they sailed to the Philippines to investigate a lead to the location of Angkor, which was rumored to house Pieces of Eden.^[3] As it neared Manila, the ship came under attack by Jeong's fleet, but thanks to Yun's latest invention – fire barrels which exploded on impact – the crew were able to cause considerable damage to the enemy ships.^[4]

Using the advanced weaponry built by Yun, the Union members were ultimately able to sink most of Jeong's fleet, but unbeknownst to them, the admiral's true intentions were to get close enough to the Fenghuang to allow her passengers – the Chinese Assassins Xiao Han, Liu Qing and Xue Yan – to board it. After the trio used gliders to reach the ship, they dropped several bombs onto its deck, setting it on fire.^[5]

In the resulting chaos, the Chinese Assassins managed to kill several of the Fenghuang's crew, until Yun realized that the bombs were filled with Greek fire, which water was useless against, and insturcted the crew to use sand to extinguish the flames. Upon spotting Yun, Xiao Han attempted to kill him, but was stopped by Edward, who engaged him in a duel. Meanwhile, the crew members managed to gain the upper hand and surround Liu Qing, holding him at gunpoint, and Saito faced off against Xue Yan.^[5]

After Saito defeated Xue Yan and Edward overpowered Xiao Han, the latter ordered his Assassins to retreat and they all fled back to Jeong's ship using parachutes. With the admiral's fleet still on their tail, Edward ordered Mustafa to sail into an incoming storm to lose the enemy ships. Although one of Jeong's ships managed to follow the Fenghuang through the storm, it was soon sunk by a Dutch East India Company vessel captained by Jan van Aert.^[6]

After Jan revealed his knowledge of the purpose of the Union's expedition to the Philippines, Edward reluctantly allowed him to accompany them. Meanwhile, Yun recreated the formula for Greek fire used by the Chinese Assassins, and Edward decided to make a stop on Java Island to acquire petroleum that would allow them to produce more of the substance. Before they had the chance to do so, however, both the Fenghuang and Jan's ship were attacked by two Spanish Men O' War, forcing them to surrender.^[7]

The crews of the two ships were subsequently brought to Manila, where they were arrested by the local Spanish authorities due to Jan's alleged involvement in the assassination of the Governor-General of the Philippines six years prior.^[7]

Armaments

"More shells! More power! We'll blast any who oppose us to smithereens!"

―Yun Pyeong-Gyu describing the Fenghuang's improved weaponry to Edward Kenway, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

Even prior to its acquisition by the Zhang Wei Union, the Fenghuang had earned a reputation as the ship that "wreaked havoc in the Paracels", according to Jeong.^[2] Following its upgrades by Yun Pyeong-Gyu, the ship became even more powerful, being equipped with modified European-style cannons from Joseon, swivel guns with an increased caliber, and several hwachas that functioned as volley guns, launching a volley of fire arrows at the enemy.^[1] Prior to its voyage to the Philippines, the Fenghuang was also equipped with a special type of fire barrels created by Yun that exploded on impact.^[4]