Great River Gang

Biodata

Background

The Great River Gang originated as the private guard force of a brokerage house. After separating from that original function, it became an underworld organization tied to Veteran's Trade House and the Zhou family’s remaining commercial interests 4 6.

Its principal territory covered Eight-Zhang Street and roughly a dozen nearby alleys. The gang collected “peace taxes” and water fees, protected local businesses, and accepted paid work against commercial rivals or river bandits 4.

Unlike smaller gangs such as Liu Laizi’s group, which preyed directly on poor residents, the Great River Gang was regarded as relatively organized and respectable. Its operations nevertheless depended on coercion, street violence, and internal exploitation of lower-ranking members 4 5.

Organization

Recruitment and discipline

• The gang investigated prospective full members extensively; Zhou Tianxiong possessed a detailed record of Su Xinghe’s background before offering him a contract 7.
• Recruits who received the Golden Ape Fist were bound by strict secrecy. Public demonstration, private teaching, or alteration of the art carried severe punishment 7 8.
• A recruit who failed to reach Inner Tempering within three months could be bound to twenty years of service. Reaching Inner Tempering or becoming a Martial Warrior entitled a member to promotion and wages 7.
• Internal reward distribution favored captains and veterans over newcomers, even when the latter earned more battle merit 5.

Operations

• Protection and tax collection — Collected peace taxes and water fees from businesses in and around Eight-Zhang Street 4.
• Commercial enforcement — Supported trading houses and used force when business disputes required it 4.
• Hired expeditions — Accepted merchant-funded operations, including the Clearwater River campaign against river bandits and the recovery of stolen goods 4 5.
• Warehouse security — Guarded the gang headquarters and Veteran's Trade House facilities, particularly while injured members recovered from combat 6.
• Martial recruitment — Served as a source of candidates for the Brokerage Guild’s martial inheritance, providing selected disciples with access to Golden Ape Fist 7 8.

Restrictions

• The Lu family’s city rules prohibited non-government organizations from possessing firearms or gunpowder; violations were treated as treason 4.
• Unregistered martial artists could not carry bladed weapons within the city, including members of gangs, academies, and escort agencies 4.

Major Events

Destruction and Dissolution

During the attack on Veteran's Trade House, the gang’s poor night discipline proved disastrous. More than twenty disciples at the warehouse were incapacitated by Bewildering Incense, while infiltrators killed guards and a minor leader before the alarm could be raised 17 18.

The raid devastated both the front and rear compounds. Of 155 people present at the Trade House, only a small number survived; the Zhou family concealed Zhou Hao’s survival by faking his death to prevent a second assassination attempt 20.

Although the authorities publicly blamed the Peaceful Heaven Sect, surviving members suspected the Lu family had orchestrated the attack. They lacked evidence to challenge the official narrative 20.

Zhou Yingjun formally dissolved the Great River Gang after the destruction of its territory and parent Trade House. The survivors were not entirely abandoned: former disciples received severance silver and an assurance that they would remain brothers if they met again 21.

Legacy

The gang’s surviving martial core became White Ape Martial Academy, led by Zhou Yingjun as academy master with Xie Guang overseeing internal affairs. The new institution emphasized martial talent and formal instruction rather than the gang’s former fee-collection and hired-violence model 22.

The faction lost Eight-Zhang Street and was downgraded by the Martial Dao Bureau from a Subordinate Eighth-Rank force to a Ninth-Rank force, but retained the Golden Ape martial inheritance and a group of experienced survivors 22.

Relationships

• Veteran's Trade House / Brokerage Guild — Parent commercial organization from which the gang originated and whose warehouses, guards, and martial resources it protected 4 6.
• Zhou Tianxiong — Old gang leader and owner of the Veteran's Trade House; selected recruits and transmitted the Golden Ape Fist under binding contracts 7 8.
• Zhou Yingjun — Young gang leader; commanded operations, awarded battle merit, dissolved the gang, and founded White Ape Martial Academy 5 21 22.
• Xie Guang — Veteran Trade House elder who helped preserve the survivors and restructure the faction after the gang’s collapse 20 22.
• Peaceful Heaven Sect — Identified as the official culprit behind the Trade House massacre; Qingmei, a Red Lotus branch transmission disciple, participated in the raid 19 20.
• Lu family — Powerful local force suspected by the survivors of involvement in the attack, though no proof was available 20.
• White Ape Martial Academy — Successor organization formed from the gang’s surviving leaders, disciples, and Trade House personnel 22.