Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 54

‘Attack!’ Chen Zuyi yelled at the top of his lungs as the Ming dynasty’s fleet approached his. His sonorous voice
travelled far and fast on the sea, and was soon echoed by his troops who seemed to appear out of nowhere. The
nineteen larger pirate ships encircled the Ming fleet and are gradually closed in, blocking all their escapes to the open
seas. The smaller battleships sailed straight for the outermost ring of ships in the Ming fleet, each loaded with pirates.
‘Sir! At this rate, they will force us into the shallow waters! Permission to…’ Wong Jing-hong started but was broken
off.
‘Not yet.’ Despite being just as anxious and worried as everyone else, Zheng He’ looked as calm as he could ever be.
This is their first real fight, and the responsibility of defending the Ming dynasty’ honor lied heavily on their shoulders.
It was a fight they can’t afford to lose.
Zheng He’s stern look seemed to have a calming effect on everyone else, the sailors exchanged glances and quickly
scattered back to their places.
Most of the pirate battleships had already reached the outermost Ming ships. The pirates had their eyes on the ships that
seemed to have a deeper draft, as they are more likely to carry more resources like food or treasures. No loss for the
pirates either way. On each battleship, several pirates threw their grappling hooks to the side of the Ming ships and
pulled them close, while the others leaped onto the other’s deck.
To their surprise, the deck was empty.
The pirates howled in laughter, reckoning that the cowardly Ming soldiers were hiding from them. As soon as they
found the locked door leading down to the cabin, they started slashing and banging at it, already looking forward to
their first blood.
At the sight of this, Zheng He finally nodded to the soldier at his side, who immediately lifted a horn to his mouth and
blew it with all his might.
The blare of the horn changed the battle instantly.
The deck of the smaller Ming ships suddenly split from the middle and opened up, throwing the unguarded pirates
down to the bottom of the ship, where sharp blades and nails awaited. They hardly made any sound before they died.
‘Bang!’ The first cannons were fired from the Ming ships as iron balls flew across the air towards the pirate ships,
destroying everything in their way, Chen Zuyi’s eyes widened. The pirate, in his long years of raging on the ocean
being unchecked on, seemed to have forgotten that there was always someone better than him out there, and that his
ships were no longer the strongest nor had the farthest attack range.
As the ships from both sides sailed closer to one another, the battle intensified. The sea was filled with the sounds of
cannons firing; the whipping of the grappling hooks flew across the air; the small thuds of arrows rained onto the decks;
the cries of men were heard as they charged onto their enemies’ ships.
Zheng He leaped onto Chen Zuyi’s ship and challenged the pirate himself. Their swords clashed together and for a
while, they were neck-to-neck. Both men seemed equally strong in technique and strength. But as time passed, Chen
Zuyi’s attacks slowed down and could only just defend himself as his strength failed to keep up with his technique.
Obviously the man had grown too proud of himself and left out his trainings, so it didn’t take long before Zheng He
knocked the pirate to his knees and had a sword on his neck.
‘Where is he?’
‘wh-who?’
‘ The missing emperor! Where is he? ’
‘I lied! I lied! It was a trick!’
The sword dug into his neck, a line of blood trickled down from the shallow wound.
‘I don’t know! I really don’t know! Please don’t kill me!’
Zheng He would have done more if Wong Jing-hong had not ran to his side and held him back.
‘Captain! Didn’t you say we need to bring him back to our Emperor? We need him alive !’
Much to the pirate’s relief, Zheng He backed down. He wiped the blade on the pirate’s clothes and put it back to its
sheath.
‘Thankfully he speaks Chinese, otherwise I suspect you will drag a translator off the boat.’ Wong Jing-hong joked as he
tied up the pirate in ropes. The joke may be a bad one, but it appeared to calm Zheng He down by a little.
‘Watch over him.’ Zheng He said as he charged into battle.
With the leader captured, it wouldn’t take long to clear out the remaining pirates.