Jin mercenaries (LOCH) and Mongol mercenaries (ROCH): martial arts and camaraderie

[Ken Cheng]

In terms of martial arts, the crew of mercenaries hired by Kublai (Golden Wheel Monk, Lui Mor Singh, Wan Hak Sai, Siu Seung Tze, Ma Gwong Jor) was, with the notable exception of Ma, collectively and individually superior to the corresponding crew hired by the Jin prince Yeun Nan Hung Lit (Sa Tung Teen, Pang Lin Fu, Leung Tze Yung, Ling Tze Seung Yan, etc.).

In terms of camaraderie, however, the crew that served the Jin Empire in LOCH seemed far superior to their Mongol-hired counterparts in ROCH. Sa Tung Teen, Pang Lin Fu, Leung Tze Yung, etc., seemed to get along well with each other and worked well together. They appeared to enjoy hanging out together, and continued to do so even at the end of LOCH when there was no longer any Jin Empire to serve. There seemed to be no rivalries or hidden agendas among them.

In contrast, Golden Wheel Monk, Lui Mor Singh, Wan Hak Sai, Siu Seung Tze, etc., were always at each other's necks, and there was clearly a rivalry among them for Kublai's favor. I do not see this crew hanging out socially outside of their work together for the Mongols and indeed, they seemed to barely be able to restrain themselves from thumping each other.

It would seem that while the Mongol mercenaries held a considerable advantage in martial arts ability and general competence, the Jin mercenaries had much better camaraderie and fellowship.

[wkeej]

Good observation. The higher you go in life (in terms of martial arts in this case), the lonelier you get.

[ToastedRossi]

The circumstances for the two groups is also different though. The Jin mercenaries are mostly drawn in by financial incentives so they're not going to have much reason to fight against one another. In comparison, one of the first tasks given to the Mongol mercenaries was to fight over who was the strongest among them. Only Yinkexi was motivated by money; the rest wanted the glory of being the best warrior in the most powerful empire in the world.

Honestly, I think that this works in the favor of ROCH because the mercenaries there are a lot more varied and more interesting as a result. It also helped that they participated in that awesome Chongyang Temple fight whereas the Jin mercenaries have a lot less going for them.

[Trien Chieu]

The people that served the Jin Empire are weak. They needed to help each other to get things done. They knew they can't get things done on their own. Their goal was to survive, get paid and live a relatively luxurious life. They had no hope of being number one. On the other hand, all the people served in the Mongol Empire are much more powerful. Beside money, they wanted to be the number one warrior of the empire. They wanted the glory and power to themselves.