Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 5

Initially, one of the missions of this treasure voyage was to negotiate the pacification of Chen Zuyi. But apparently it
failed and Chen’s fleets attacked us and sank some of our ships. So Ming’s forces were forced to engage in retaliation.
But it seems that no party can defeat each other as they are a good match for each other.
In order to win the battle, Zheng He came to the prison to negotiate with us. He asked us to help him as Ming’s
morale was abating. He knew we have brought some high-tech equipment on board and he believed we would be able
to defeat them effortlessly. We would do everything just to leave prison so we cut a deal. So, now, we’re back in our
own cabin.
9 Sept 1407
Tuesday
I finally got back my tote bag and was able to equip ourselves with weapons. We replicated some weapons and
distributed them to the soldiers using the “magic mirrors”. When Chen and his pirate fleet used handguns to knock out
people one by one, we were using cannons, lasers and mortars to sink ships!!! The battle ended within an hour and we
killed most of the pirates and captured Chen Zuyi and his followers. Most pirate ships were burnt and seven were
captured.
Everybody was surprised by the power of modern machinery. They worshipped us like gods as we were able to defeat
such a strong enemy with minimal casualties. Most crew members just threw away their old weapons and were eager to
learn how to use the newest technologies in the 22 nd century.
Admiral Zheng He was extremely satisfied with the effort of his crew members. He guaranteed that everybody would
be rewarded for their contribution. But we got fervent appreciation from the whole fleet as our presence made the
victory as easy as pie. We were exempted from punishment and got promoted to vice admiral, which was just one rank
below Admiral Zheng He.
2 Oct 1407
Friday
The voyage on the sea finally came to an end.
We parked at the Nanjing port in the morning of 2 Oct, just one day after my birthday. The Yongle Emperor came to
welcome Zheng He and his fleet’s glorious return. An enormous celebration was held and it was an event even greater
and merrier than the banquet we had before the voyage.
Do you remember that Chen Zuyi and his lieutenants were captured? They were brought to the execution chamber
and were hanged. That marked the final end of this lengthy trip.
29 Oct 1407
Thursday
We were invited to the award ceremony, in which officers that contributed to the battle against Chen Zuyi’s pirate fleet
were rewarded.
We were praised after the emperor had given his compliments to Zheng He. The emperor thanked us for providing
such advanced weapons for the crew members to fight against the pirates. He awarded us 100 kgs of gold and executive
positions in the imperial court. We kindly thanked his generous gifts but we declined his offer.
We only demanded to take videos around the Nanjing for making the documentary to join the competition. The
Emperor agreed and dispatched some helpers and troops to help us.
We definitely enjoyed the filming process and learned a lot of about the Ming Dynasty.
Keith appeared just right after we accomplished everything and we are going to the time machine and travel back to the
Year 2101.