Zhang Wei Union
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- "We do not abandon our family."
- ―The Zhang Wei Union's motto.[src]
The Zhang Wei Union (Chinese: 張爲協組[1]; Cantonese: Zoeng1 Wai4 Hip3zou2) is a merchant shipping company based in the city of Macau, China.
Established by the 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.
Following Edward's departure from Macau, the Union was left under the leadership of his friend 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.
History
Under Edward Kenway
Establishment
- "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.[src]-[m]
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.[2] Inspired by the the Pirate Republic he was once part of in the Caribbean, the 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.[3]
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 Dutch navigator John Young, the Chinese laborer Zhang and his fellow villagers, and the former pirate captain Rupiya and his crew.[1]
First contract
- 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.[src]-[m]
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, 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,[4] the merchant decided to enlist his company's services to escort the same vessel to Manila and back for a business endeavor.[1]
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.[1]
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.[1] 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.[5]
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 powder kegs detonated. One of the rescued prisoners, Yun Pyeong-Gyu, turned out to be a Korean scholar and engineer who had come to the 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.[6]
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.[6]
Journey to the Paracel Islands
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.[7]
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.[7]
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 gunfight. As Edward, John and Zhang ran towards Rupiya's ship, the explosives the former two had planted detonated, destroying the pirates' compound.[8]
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 hwachas built by Yun.[9]
Partnership with the Dutch East India Company
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.[10]
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 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.[10]
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.[11]
Recruitment of Shimazu Saito and Xialun Qing
Following the events that took place at Sun's 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 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 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,[12] which spoke of a treasure pursued by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu.[13]
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 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.[13]
Edward's departure
- 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.[src]-[m]
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.[14]
Modern times
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 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.[3]
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.[3]
Members
- Edward Kenway (founder)
- John Young (navigator)
- Rupiya
- Shimazu Saito
- Xialun Qing (healer)[13]
- Yun Pyeong-Gyu (engineer)
- Zhang (acting leader)[12]
Allies and puppets
Gallery
-
A flag with the Union's logo -
The Union's headquarters in 1725 -
Rupiya and his crew joining the Union -
Edward and John celebrating Yun's recruitment to the Union -
Edward, John and Zhang meeting in Zhang's office
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 24
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 21
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 23
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 15
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 25
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 26
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 27
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 28
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 29
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 30
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 31
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 40
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 41
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 22