Brotherhood of Blades

Brotherhood of Blades is a 2014 Chinese wuxia film directed by Lu Yang. Its sequel, Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield was released on August 11, 2017. Set in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the story follows Shen Lian, a guard of the imperial secret police seeking and his three comrades as they are ordered to hunt down the former eunuch Wei Zhongxian and his faction within the imperial court. Starring Chang Chen, Cecilia Liu and Wang Qianyuan, the film was released in China on August 7, 2014. Plot The film is set in 1627, towards the end of the Ming dynasty, when the Chongzhen emperor decides to end the influence of all-powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian or simply "Wei" (Chin Shih-Chieh) and purge his faction within the imperial court. Caught in the midst of the intrigue are three lowly cash-strapped officers of the embroidered uniform guard (锦衣卫; pinyin: Jǐnyīwèi), the imperial secret police of the court at the time, who are tasked with killing Wei. In 1620 AD, Wei Zhongxian is the head Eunuch to the ailing emperor and controls the embroidered uniform guard, the secret police of the Ming Dynasty. After the death of the late emperor, his younger son, emperor Chongzhen assumes power and orders the purging of Wei's faction within the court in order to eliminate his malign influence. Shen Lian, a lowly captain of the guard along with his two comrades Lu Jian Xing and Jin Yi Chuan are asked by Zhao Jingzhong to take kill or capture Wei. Wei, who has been banished from the court and in exile still holds sway through agents planted within the court and secret police through his years as head Eunuch and still holds significant influence on the secret police, making killing him extremely difficult. The three eventually find Wei's hideout however Shen is tempted by Wei's large offers of gold in the hopes of securing himself a new life from his meagre wages as a guard in the emperor's service. Shen takes the gold and obscures the fact Wei is alive from his two friends Lu and Chuan. Shen's attempts to use his newly acquired gold to convince the commander of his bureau to transfer him to the imperial capital of Nanjing, however, Shen's superiors eventually find out, resulting in Lu being executed. Zhao Jingzhong, the head of the imperial secret police at the time is in league with Wei and attempts to kill Shen to cover up his treason along with Miao Tong a prostitute Shen has fallen in love with and attempts to free from the courtesan academy.