Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 8

The courtier suddenly leant over to the king and whispered, consoling the king, “Your majesty, don’t forget that they are going
west, and China is in the east. They must pass through here and replenish their supplies. We can still get our hands on their incredible
treasures. Our ‘Sinhalese dream’ still has hope!”
“I will only trust you this last time, and if you fail to get the treasures for me, you are going to be executed!” the king roared.
Time flew by, after one year, Zheng He had finished all his missions in Eastern Africa, the Middle East and Western India, and
the fleet arrived in Gampola again.
“My dearest envoy, you have arrived here once again?” Alakesvar welcomed Zheng He with a stiff smiling, “I am sorry that I had
given you such rotten tea last time. I swear that it will never happen again.”
“Never mind,” replied Zheng He.
This time, the fleet was served well. The hostel was neither dilapidated nor dirty at all. All the men of the fleet were satisfied,
filled with joy.
Suddenly, one of them remembered what Wang Jinhong had said. “Will our lives still be threatened this time? I don’t want to
die…” he murmured.
Zheng He and Wang Jinhong also remembered what they had chatted about there a year ago. As Zheng He could not be sure if
the Gampola royal house will still want to rob them or not, he commanded the men to stay alert of all abnormities.
Abruptly, they heard some noise from outside. When Zheng He opened the window, an arrow shot into the room, and pierced
the wall.
“Gampola has sent troops to attack us!” Zheng He shouted, “Pack all the treasures immediately! And run!” All of them tried to
escape, hiding behind the wooden panels to evade the flying arrows.
At the same time, Alakesvar was smiling at his courtier, appreciating his successful plan, expecting nobody would escape from the
troops. However, he was still worried that they would escape through the woods. The courtier read his mind and suddenly laughed,
“Your majesty, I’ve already ordered some men to cut the woods down, so it is impossible for them to escape. They won’t abscond this
time!”
The king smirked, “Our ‘Sinhalese dream’ is coming true! Gampola is going to be strong again!”
While the fleet was running for their lives, they heard some strange voice. “All men, assemble now!” ordered Zheng He, then he
went to check with Wang Jinhong to see what was happening.
“Oh dear, Jinhong, they are cutting the trees! Then how can we escape?” Zheng He moaned.
“Don’t be so pessimistic, Sanbao (a nickname for Zheng He). The Gampola troops will not stay in the woods all-day-long. If
we escape at night, they won’t find us,” Wang Jinhong suggested. Zheng He agreed, and he ordered the men to escape at night
towards west immediately after he returned.
Luckily, their escape was successful, and they finally reached Colombo. Colombo, the largest city of Sri Lanka, had become an
important city since the Kingdom of Gampola was established. So actually, there were already troops of Gampola there.
“I have something to report to the king!” a soldier requested outside the palace.
“Let him in, maybe he brings some news that I have longed for,” ordered Alakesvar.
“Your majesty, we have found Zheng He and his men in Colombo. What should we do?” asked the soldier. The king repeated
the question to his courtier. The courtier suggested to gather the people, so that Zheng He and his men could be cut off. The king
agreed, and asked the soldier to announce to go ahead with the plan.
As what Alakesvar and his courtier expected, one day later, Zheng He was in trouble.
“Jinhong! Don’t leave! I’m here!” cried Zheng He, “Why are you going that way?”
“Don’t you see there are Gampola troops, Sanbao?” shouted Wang Jinhong, “If the troops and I marched towards where you are,
they will find us, and then we will all be killed!”
“Oh no! We are cut off by them!” wailed Zheng He.
He returned to the tree where he rested, and thought how he could contact Wang Jinhong and the men. “Maybe I should try to
meet them at night,” thought Zheng He.
And he was successful indeed. “Jinhong!” shouted Zheng He, “I’m Sanbao! I’m here!”
Wang Jinhong ran out immediately. “Sanbao, how did you get here? There are Gampola troops everywhere!” Wang Jinhong was
shocked.
“Don’t forget that people of Gampola think that ‘sleeping is more important than anything else’, so I escaped from them at
night,” explained Zheng He.
Wang Jinhong was so moved that he hugged Zheng He. “My dear Sanbao, don’t leave me, I need you. I’ve missed you very
much!” Wang Jinhong cried, and his tears were pouring.
Zheng He consoled him, “Don’t cry, Jinhong, I’m still here, don’t make it like I’ve died and you are attending my funeral.
Jinhong, do you know how many troops the ignorant Alakesvar sent?” he asked.
“Emm…I think around twenty-thousand,” replied Wang Jinhong, releasing Zheng He from his hug.
“From what I know, Alakesvar has only twenty-thousand men,” calculated Zheng He, “and that means Alakesvar has sent all his
troops to attack us, and there are no troops in their capital at all!”
He further suggested attacking Kotte, the capital of Gampola, directly, to have Alakesvar caught.
“But what if his troops arrive before us?” asked the worrying Wang Jinhong.