The Hidden Hand in Rags
The Beggar’s Sect wields no armies, no temples, no palaces. Their power lies in numbers, invisibility, and information. Spread across every city, roadside, and village, their disciples hear whispers in alleys, markets, and taverns — knowledge that emperors, generals, and sect leaders alike covet and fear.
Unlike other sects who claim power openly, the Beggars work through shadows and rumor. A dynasty may mock them as rabble, yet still send envoys to bargain for intelligence. Rival sects may sneer at their rags, yet fear their ability to stir rebellion overnight. Thus, the Beggar’s Sect is both dismissed and dreaded — the empire’s largest hidden network.
Song: Flourished as spies and informants, often aiding generals by exposing corrupt officials or warlord plots.
Yuan: Persecuted as thieves and rebels, many Beggars executed, yet their networks persisted underground, guiding resistance movements.
Ming: Reached their zenith as the emperor’s unofficial eyes and ears. Some dynasties secretly relied on Beggar Chiefs to root out corruption the court dared not confront.
Qing: Brutally suppressed as agitators and subversives. Yet even under persecution, the Beggars thrived, their networks feeding rebels with food, intelligence, and escape routes.
Dynasties remember them as double-edged allies — useful in stability, dangerous in unrest.
Shaolin: Sometimes allies in defending the weak, but often at odds — Shaolin accuses Beggars of disorder, Beggars accuse Shaolin of hypocrisy.
Wudang: Respectful but distant. Wudang values philosophy, while Beggars value survival. Their alliance is rare, yet strong when formed.
Emei: Share compassion for common folk, but clash over discipline. Emei scorns Beggars’ chaos, Beggars mock Emei’s pride.
Tangmen: Bitter rivals. Tangmen poisons often kill the poor first; Beggars retaliate by exposing Tangmen contracts or stealing antidotes.
Wanderer’s Valley: A strange kinship exists. Both thrive in lawlessness, but Beggars value brotherhood while Wanderers revel in selfish strength. They clash when survival crosses morality.
Royal Guards: Eternal enemies. The Guards hunt beggars as spies and rebels; Beggars see them as tyrants in crimson cloaks. Countless duels between bowls and blades have painted palace streets red.
Scholar’s Academy: Allies in ink. Scholars provide wisdom; Beggars provide information. Yet the Academy scorns their crudeness, while Beggars mock their arrogance.
Thus, the Beggars’ politics are woven through rivalry, mockery, and reluctant alliances.
In Murim councils, the Beggars stand as paradox. They are not respected for refinement, yet none dare ignore them. Their spies move through every sect’s territory; their camps see everything outsiders overlook. They often act as the voice of the common folk, advocating for peasants and laborers ignored by lofty sects.
Some councils despise their presence, dismissing them as rabble. Yet when famine strikes, rebellions rise, or Tangmen poisons spread, it is the Beggars who hold the information and networks needed to act.
The Beggar’s Sect, vast as it is, holds many voices:
The Righteous Bowl: Elders who believe the sect must protect the poor first, politics second.
The Hungry Blade: Disciples who use the sect’s chaos as cover for thievery and assassination, arguing that survival justifies all.
The Shadowed Tongues: Spymasters who treat information as weapon and coin, trading secrets to dynasties and sects alike for survival.
These factions clash but never splinter, for all are bound by rags and bowls — the shared identity of beggarhood.
To commoners, the Beggar’s Sect are both brothers and rogues. They are admired for sharing food, feared for stirring riots, loved for punishing corrupt officials, and mocked for drunken antics. A folk saying captures it:
“The Shaolin save the soul, the Wudang calm the heart, but the Beggars fill the stomach.”
This reputation ensures that even under persecution, the people shelter them — for the Beggars are not outsiders, but of the people themselves.
Summary:
The political influence of the Beggar’s Sect lies not in armies or palaces, but in streets, bowls, and rags. They are spies, rebels, allies, and agitators, moving unseen yet ever-present. Dynasties fear and use them, sects mock and need them, and the people shelter them as brothers. In Murim, they are the hidden hand — the ragged kings whose throne is the street itself.