Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 164

The New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages
Korean International School, Wong, Aimee - 15
The grey walls of the Meridian Gate loomed before Yong Zhi, him feeling as distant from the definition of his name as
possible. Named by his father, Yong meant bravery, and Zhi meant smart or wit, which was definitely not what Yong
Zhi felt at that moment.
In a crowd of many other people hoping to be chosen to join Emperor Yongle’s Treasure Fleet led by Admiral Zheng
He, he had never felt smaller in his life. There were men young and old, coming from far and wide, of various shapes
and sizes, but they all had one thing in common- they were enrobed in exquisitely made robes only to be afforded by
the most elite. Except for Yong Zhi, who was wearing the most presentable robe he had, which was a light gray with
no colour or pattern, and unlike the others, he also didn’t have the hat, only a simple ribbon holding his hair in place in
a bun, easily showing his young and inexperienced age at 18.
It was the day where the admiral himself would individually interview and pick people to join his fleet for the voyages,
and Yong Zhi had decided to try his luck. He wasn’t confident at all, as a commoner, with his best asset being his sharp
tongue that did not hesitate to throw a sharp comment or retaliate to any thrown his way. Other than that, he really
didn’t have anything. Yong Zhi was only of average height, had mediocre fighting skills, and had very low
cardiovascular endurance that would probably last his five minutes on the battlefield until he was either killed or was
able to rest.The people interested had been told to meet at the 7th hour of the day, right before noon in front of the
entrance to the palace, the Meridian Gate. Suddenly, a loud bell rang, the initial sound crisp and clear to all the people
gathered. It was now the 7th hour, and soon they would be led in.
The metal gates swung open, revealing 2 soldiers dressed in full attire on each side, and in the middle of the gates stood
a tall figure, face obscured, clothed in indigo robes, a bear embroidered on his chest, a silver belt loosely hanging around
his waist, and a black hat sitting on his head.
“I am Zhou Yi Xiang, second commander of the Treasure Fleet. I am here in place of Admiral Zheng to lead you into
the palace grounds, where the interview will take place. Please follow behind me so you won’t get left behind.”
The crowd followed behind him, marvelling at the colourful structures adorning the outer gardens, the animals carved
into the tall beams of pavilions and halls, the vibrant colours of the flowers in the gardens. It was exactly what you
would think as being royalty’s residence. Yong Zhi started feeling the butterflies building up in his stomach, feeling
more and more uneasy every step closer to their destination. They came to a stop in front of one of the many
luxuriously decorated halls, Commander Zhou leading the interviewees into the hall. ‘Ooh’s and ‘Aah’s could be heard
from all around, people gaping at the sheer size of the hall.
“Can all of you please form rows of 10, 1 row behind another, and any odd ones out at the back please.” Yong Zhi felt
the bodies around him move in a flurry, trying to form neat rows of ten as fast as they could. Just by a simple estimate
after scanning over the crowd, there had to be at least 16 rows of people, barely filling even a quarter of the room. Two
simply dressed guards quickly scanned over the group, and began leading the first two rows into something that seemed
like a smaller room, off the side of the main hall. Yong Zhi began to mentally prepare himself, as his row was now at
the front. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, yet his mind went blank from fearful anticipation. The guards
were now heading his way, and they motioned for his row and the row behind to follow behind them, but to the
opposite direction of where the other people had gone.
After briefly looking around, Yong Zhi noticed that something was missing, but he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it
was. They entered a smaller that was almost identical to the previous one, just smaller and adorned with less bright hues
of red and blue, specks of green and gold scattered in between. It was then that Yong Zhi noticed that
Commander Zhou was standing in all his glory (so that’s what was missing), face now fully visible. Yong Zhi gasped
quietly as he took in the situation he had at hand. He was actually trying out to possibly join the army, well not exactly
the army but close enough.