Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 86

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voayages
Diocesan Preparatory School, Wong, Cheuk Ying Charmaine - 10
There was once a man called Zheng He. He loved travelling around the world and longed to go on sea
voyages around the world.
It wasn’t then when he became a trusted advisor to the prince, but unfortunately, the young prince died.
A war broke out, and he was one of the commanders during this campaign. After the war, as the young
man had helped a lot to win the war, he was rewarded to be the grand director. Soon, he became the Chief
Envoy, and this was when his dream, the sea journeys he longed for began.
He gathered some crews, and a fleet of ships, with his flagship, called The Treasure Hind. He and his
crew wanted to find spices to bring back to China, so people could try out something new, but at the same
time, they also wanted to give away some items to the people who were in need. They also hoped to learn
more about the world.
After loading the ships with cargo, such as silk, a large military force and weapons, the crew boarded the
ships and set off. Soon, the sun set on the horizon, and China was nowhere to be seen. Zheng He decided
to stop, and after a meal of vegetable soup, the exhausted crew soon fell asleep.
It was an eerie midnight, and some pirates had their eye on the fleet of ships. They decided to attack
them and take all the cargo for themselves. While the pirates were sneaking off to grab their weapons,
fortunately, one of the members of the crew heard the pirate’s plan as he couldn’t sleep. He also noticed
there was a tiny hole at the bottom of the pirates’ ship. The young man quickly alerted the crew, and told
his plan to everybody, and they also approved his feasible plan.
Zheng He sent some sailors to make the holes in the pirates’ ship bigger so that the boat would sink, and
some of them put some flour inside the opponents’ cannons so they wouldn’t work. On the other side, the
rest of the crew added some rotten eggs to the mixture of the cannon roundshot so that not only the body
of the ship would be damaged, it would have an unbearable stench.
When the pirates finally came back to the dock armed with weapons, they found themselves surrounded
in a disgusting stench. But the worst was yet to come ---- their ship was sinking fast! Before they could
send anybody to mend the ship, the ship sank and disappeared into the ocean. The crew toasted the person
who had come up with the evil plan, and everybody on board enjoyed themselves thoroughly till dawn.
After another day at sea, they arrived at a little village. The chief gave a welcoming feast to the crew, and
in return, Zheng He gave him some silk and gold and a little more treasure from the cargo. At night, the
crew slept in a big hut which was very comfortable. Two days passed by quickly, and the chief gave him
some spices as a parting gift. Soon, it was time to leave.
The crew continued travelling until they reached India.
When Zheng He and his crew arrived at India, the king welcomed them warmly with a huge banquet.
The next day, Zheng He discussed if they could trade some spices for valuable items, such as silver and rolls
of silk. The king was happy to do so. In exchange, Zheng He received a huge amount of spice and loaded
onto his ships. They soon set off again.
The crew wanted to reach Africa and Arabia, so they continued sailing southwest. They wanted to find
more about the cocoa beans that are grown in Africa. But although Zheng He and his crew were skilled
sailors who knew a lot about pirates, they didn’t know that the most dangerous, and also the best-known
pirate Ethan, also nicknamed Evil Ethan, was lurking somewhere in Arabia, and the worst was yet to come.
A few days later, when the crew docked their ship near Arabia, Evil Ethan noticed their fleet of ships and
immediately formed a plan with his well-trained pirates.
But there was something the pirates didn’t know. When the pirates were discussing about their plan,
Zheng He saw their ship and quickly opened one of the windows to eavesdrop. He thought, “ Part of my
crew are excellent rope swingers. What if the rope swingers pour flour into the cannons, and send one of
them to kill their cook, and poison their food and liquids? This might work out.’’ Zheng He quickly
announced his plan to his crew, and every one agreed to carry out the plan.
The crew quickly prepared the weapons, but this time, they added some poisonous gas bullets to the
mixture of the cannons. The rope swingers wore masks to prevent the poisonous gas, and before twilight,
they started carrying out their plan.
Their plan worked smoothly, but the pirate captain and few of the pirates refused to eat. With a sudden,
Zheng He’s ship aimed some cannons at their opponents’ ship. Within a minute, nearly all the pirates were
dead, except for those who wore masks in time.