Shanghai Rite of the Templar Order
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- "The Assassins claim they protect the innocents. Let us show them that their actions have consequences. Arrest everyone! Burn all the ships to ashes and find me the Assassin!"
- ―Qiu Ju after the murder of Yu Dayong, 1526.[src]
The Chinese Templars were the members of one of the autonomous factions comprising the Templar Order in China.
History
Manipulating the emperors
In the 3rd century BCE, Chinese Templars supported the reign of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of Imperial China under the Qin Dynasty, and his Templar backing ensured the realization of his reforms and constructions, such as the Great Wall of China.[1] The Emperor was later killed by the Assassin Wei Yu in 210 BCE.[2]
In 1402, the Templars played a key role in the ascension of the Yongle Emperor, who started his reign with a purge of the Chinese Assassin Brotherhood, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Chinese citizens including the Assassin leader Fang Xiaoru. In 1424, one of the purge's survivors, the Assassin Li Tong, killed the Emperor in the Gobi Desert.[3]
The Eight Tigers' rule
By the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, the Chinese imperial court was ruled by the Eight Tigers, a group of powerful Templar eunuchs. In 1524, after Zhengde was succeeded by the puppet Jiajing Emperor, the Templars manipulated him into initiating an operation which would eventually purge all members of the Chinese Assassin Brotherhood. The Tigers managed to capture the old Assassin stronghold Maijishan Grottoes and used it as a prison.[4] Subsequently, the Templars sent squads of Chinese soldiers to hunt down the rare survivors who had fled and were scattered throughout the world, even to Europe where they successfully killed the Chinese Mentor.[5]
Two years later, the surviving Assassin Shao Jun, returned to China to rebuild her Brotherhood and exact revenge on the Tigers, tracking them one by one. Along with her old Mentor and one of the last Chinese Assassin survivors, Wang Yangming, they constructed a plan to deceive the Templars into imprisoning Jun through the Precursor Box. The Tiger Gao Feng who controlled the prison recovered the artifact from Shao Jun but was later killed by the Assassin. During this time, Yangming assassinated another Tiger, "The Butcher" Ma Yongcheng. The Assassins failed to retrieve the box for it was already in the hands of "The Slaver" Yu Dayong.[4]
However, the Assassins managed to locate the box in Macau and kill Yu Dayong. "The Demon" Qiu Ju witnessed the assassination and set fire to the docks in an attempt to stop Shao Jun. Three years later, Shao Jun traveled to Nan'an to murder "The Snake" Wei Bin. Aware of the identity of Wang Yangming, the remaining Templars led by the Tiger Leader Zhang Yong orchestrated his death. Zhang Yong escaped in time after Shao Jun witnessed her Mentor's murder. By 1530, Zhang Yong and Qiu Ju discovered Shao Jun's childhood friendship with the Empress Zhang and used her to trap the Assassin. Jun victoriously dueled Qiu as Zhang Yong fled, setting fire across the city.[4]
In 1532, Zhang Yong allied with the Mongols of Altan Khan, orchestrating a plan to let his army invade China. His plans were destroyed by Shao Jun and he himself was assassinated among the chaos of bombardment from the infuriated Mongols. He revealed that he had already sent the precursor box to other Templars outside China. His death marked the end of the Eight Tigers' rule.[4]
Members
- Gao Feng
- Jing Lang
- Ma Yongcheng
- Qiu Ju
- Wei Bin
- Yu Dayong
- Zhang Yong
Allies
- Liu Jin
- Qin Shi Huang
- Yongle Emperor