Zheng Raiders

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

"...And she was ruthless, and she was cunning, and she was the storm, and she was the sea, and she was a demon, and she was The Shuimu." - Excerpt from archives of the Kerameikos Museum: A local magistrate describing Captain Ching Shih the First, 13 BGW.

The Zheng Raiders are a pirate syndicate that formed during the late Pre-War period in Mistral. Their base of operations was known to be Higanbana City. They had ships both in Lake Matsu and in the wider seas South of the city. Their formation is shrouded is Mystery, with most information revolving around the leader of the enterprise, Ching Shih the First, known as Captain Ching/Zheng, or as The Shuimu by the local populace.

At the height of their existence, the Zheng Raiders are rumored to have accrued a stolen fortune of gold, jewels, paintings, wines, and more that would equate to roughly 49 million Lien today, adjusting for inflation.

Their raids are responsible for the deaths of approximately 38,000 souls, and the collapse of three settlement attempts and one established city.

During the Great War the group seemed to take a step back, but during a surprise raid on what experts determine the raiders believed to be a merchant ship, the force of the Mistralian Imperial Army was enough to beat back the attackers and fatally wound Captain Ching Shih the First.

Not much is known about the group since that point, other than that Ching Shih's son Ching Lin took leadership of the group at the age of 13 upon her death, following which came a seeming end to the large scale raids, with only a few merchant/cargo ships being stolen within the past decades.

Recently, there have been reports of a young woman who claims to be Captain Ching Shih the Second, and appears to hold a significant mercenary backing. As of yet, it is unknown if her claims hold water, but the VPD is currently cooperating with the Mistralian gov't to investigate the matter.