Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 - 2 | Page 11

Twist in the Tale of the Ming Treasure Voyages
Regents Primary School of Shenzhen, Liu, Guang Hao Steven - 11
In Chinese history, there lived a very famous eunuch named Zheng He. He was famed for his skills in
navigation. He was a Chinese mariner, an explorer, a diplomat and a fleet admiral. Aside from these
accolades and achievements, Zheng He was also smart and possessed a kind heart. He was always faithful to
his friends, but he tended to have friends that end up betraying him.
The Emperor Zhu Li liked him very much, because he had an attention for details and was meticulous
about everything. The Emperor was at ease in delegating him the responsibilities. This time, the Emperor
asked him to travel the seas so as to strengthen relations with the foreign countries. Zheng accepted the
arduous task. He carried 27,000 people, 200 ships and started travelling from Nanjing.
Zheng He was excited and nervous for his trip. He had no idea what was going to happen but he was ready
to accept this arduous task. Early the next morning, the sound of beautiful waves woke him up. He rubbed
his eyes and looked up to the sky. The sun shone on his face. The clear sea wind blew and he inhaled fresh
air into his lungs. Zheng’s ship was in charge of leading the fleet and he had an eagle’s eye on the horizon.
‘Hand me the telescope and the map,’ he instructed the crew. ‘We’re about to reach our first destination!
Aha! Full speed ahead!’ Some time later, they arrived to their first destination, Champa Kingdom.
When Zheng directed them to exchange goods, a man walked to him. ‘Hello! Mr Zheng He, can I work on
your fleet?’ he asked with his squeaking voice. Zheng thought him as strange, and paid no attention to him.
The next day, they prepared to go to Java. The man woke up before the sun rose. He put a bird on the
ground and took out a roll of paper to let the bird catch it. He patted the bird gently and it flew away. The
strange man later appeared once again, this time he was walking on a corridor. The man saw Zheng in his
periphery and immediately scuttled away. ‘That was close, he almost caught me!’ The man whispered to
himself. Due to the long distance from JangCheng (Champa Kingdom) to Java, it took them at least six days
to arrive by the ship.
On the fourth day, the weather turned worse. The fierce waves beat against the boat. It was raining and the
sounds of thundered rumbled. The waves made the ship rock vehemently and Zheng fell violently ill!
Suddenly, one of the young sailors pointed forward and shouted,
‘Look at the huge ship! That is the biggest ship I’ve ever seen! Wait, a skeleton? Hey! A pirate ship is
coming towards us! Everybody, run!’ Everyone froze in their place. They didn’t know what to do. Only an
old man ran to the helm. He turned the helm 180 degrees and the ship immediately took a sharp turn.
Because of the heavy rain, the fleet was dispersed in different locations. One of the pirate’s cannons hit on
Zhen’s ship. ‘Boom!’ With the sheer force of the cannon, the hull started to break. Unfortunately, this was
compounded with the waves that hit the ship again with deadly and continuous blows. The ship started to
sink. Even worse still, two more pirate ships appeared over the horizon. The situation continues to get
worse! ‘Boom! Boom!’ Two shells flew over Zheng’s head. Two more shells hit the ship. Suddenly, a pirate
captain shouted, ‘I want them alive...’
At this point, the pirate ships accelerated. The pirate ships drew closer to them. ‘Launch the rope! Pull back!’
The pirate ship was attached and boarded the ship successfully. They pointed their swords at them and told
them not to move. At that moment, the man whom Zheng thought was very strange stood out.
‘Good evening, my honorable Mr. Pirate Eric. It’s my honor to help you with your work. ’
The pirate captain touched his head and said, ‘Nice work! I am going to take down this fleet and I am going
to be the greatest pirate in the history.’
‘You will never make it! Look at your dirty beard, it’s covered with fleas and all kinds of worms. Sick
pirates!’ Zheng retorted bravely. But with a clink the pirate knocked him unconscious with a bat and
everything in his vision faded away.