Beggar Sect
The largest gang under heaven, with tens of thousands of members, all of them beggars, with branches everywhere.
The more pockets a beggar has on his clothes, the higher his standing. Only disciples of six pockets or more may receive martial arts teachings from the Skill-Transmission Elder. The rest are masters of every low trick there is: Lime Powder, Knockout Drug, filth, loose snakes, loose dogs, whatever stings hardest, with no regard at all for the image of the righteous factions.
To fill their bellies they steal, rob, swindle, and mutilate, anything at all. You could call them thugs dressed up as beggars. Only when Wang Erzhuang's faction rose and championed chivalry, banning these bad habits, did things begin to improve.
In truth, they are the Beast Path of the Mud Cult.
The Feud Between New and Old Factions
The Beggar Sect is split into a new faction and an old faction. The new faction is led by the current Gang Leader, Wang Erzhuang, and champions chivalry. The old faction is the older generation of beggars, vicious and filthy in all they do, with not the slightest claim to the word "chivalry".
In the old days the old faction committed every evil deed there was, until Wang Erzhuang killed the old faction's Elder Thousand-Gold Elder with a single palm at the Beggar Sect Assembly and took the man's orphaned child Li Fugui as his adopted son. He led the new faction's disciples to rise and swept away the Beggar Sect's old bad habits, loudly proclaiming chivalry, and only then did the Beggar Sect turn from black to white. The old faction remains powerful, cursing the new faction as a mongrel breed who play at being pure while begging for a living, yet all the while enjoying the fine name the new faction earned for them.
Later, gathered the five branches of Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trust to attack Jiangling City, revealing himself as the , and using it to make the Imperial Court and the Jianghu work together and smooth over relations between Court and Wulin. The old faction pleaded old age and illness to sit out the battle, so seven or eight of every ten casualties were the new faction's people. At the end of the great battle, Li Fugui put righteousness above family and took up the post of new Gang Leader, reinstating the old faction's Elders. The Elders seized all power for themselves, and the new faction came under heavy suppression.
By 's original plan, once Li Fugui became Gang Leader he would hold the old faction in check, mediate to soften the infighting between new and old, and drag things out until every Elder had died of old age, then take over the old faction's power and unify the Beggar Sect. But the Fengyu Mountain Assembly turned sharply for the worse: died, and no one in the world was left to protect the Tang Clan. If the Imperial Court destroyed the Tang Clan, the whole situation would collapse, and no one would ever dare defy the Court again. Once the powerful do as they please, the beggars' good days are over.
If Li Fugui's Affinity is high enough, on the eve of the Wulin Alliance's campaign he comes to the Tang Clan with a final plan devised jointly by and Lady Wen: found the Western Wulin. He comes to the Tang Clan as a hostage to hold the Beggar Sect in check, letting new and old factions fight, keeping the Wulin Alliance Leader busy mediating, and buying time to recruit troops and buy horses.
In the end the new and old factions break apart. The old faction's Elders have wider connections and are backed by the Wulin Alliance; the new faction is leaderless until Li Fugui appears to restore discipline and stand up for the Tang Clan.
Branches
The Beggar Sect's branches are spread across the land. The following are known:
- Daren: in Jiangling Prefecture, old faction; once caused trouble at Anji Hall.
- Dazhi: near Jinxiang Palace, likely in Hunan.
- Dayi: in Shu, Sichuan, new faction; details below.
- Daxin: location unknown.
- Dayong: in the south.
- Dali: location unknown.
Dayi Branch
The most loyal of the branches and the one on the best terms with the Tang Clan; they often brawl and eat hotpot together. Every time a heavy rain comes and the market dumps vegetables and fruit at low prices, the two sides brawl to grab the bargains, then make friends once it is over, the winner treating the loser to a meal.
On the Beyond Saving route, promotes Dayi Branch Leader Yang to the main branch as Skill-Transmission Elder, in truth a demotion in disguise that strips his power and keeps him watched, and moves the Dayi beggars to Jiangling Prefecture as backup for the Xiangyang front against the Jin.
On the Western Wulin route, you can send to persuade the Dayi Branch, only to find the new Branch Leader is a spy sent by the Beggar Sect Elders to watch the Dayi Branch and purge the new faction's people the moment he has grounds. Depending on the outcome, the Dayi Branch is either wiped out by the Daren Branch lying in ambush and retired from the Jianghu, or the Branch Leader is exposed and the Dayi Branch is brought back to the Outer Fort, its members becoming outsider disciples of the Tang Clan.
Secret Manuals
Notes
- The Beggar Sect are also experts in poison. Their Poison Technique is cruder than the Tang Clan's, but they still have an eye for telling poisons apart.
- The Beggar Sect's Ultimate, the Startled Snake Staff, is known by Li Fugui on the Clan Extermination route, and is a veritable nightmare for players.
- Unity of Man and Sword? Unity of Man and Dog!