Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 99

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voayages
Harrow International School Shanghai, Moan, Finn - 10
Chapter 1
Emperor Yong Le
Bitter was the night. As the voyagers I had selected myself gathered, there was nothing but silence and
darkness.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Emperor Yong Le of China, the greatest, most powerful emperor of all
time. I am about to send my people on a great voyage to sell treasure to other countries. These are the best
voyagers in all of China. I know that these are the right people to represent China as the greatest and most
powerful nation on the planet. They are courageous, bold, experienced and adventurous. They have hearts
of gold and their souls are pure. They are prepared for anything.
They notified me of the route they were going to take and we discussed over time any possible dangers. We
perfected the route so that it was fast and safe. The only dangers were rocky waters and shallow seas. The
mythical legend of the sea monster near Thailand had been clarified as false by our explorers who had left
only months before us on a scouting mission, and returned, but they were to steer clear of Thailand just in
case.
I had selected the vessel myself. When I made the choice, I chose a ship that was strong, light, fast and
medium in size. The captain, Zheng He, was a skilled swordsman, a master of bribery, negotiating and a
great mariner. He was intelligent and coped well under pressure. He was renowned for once talking the
king of Taiwan out of starting a war with China. However, his charm and tempting smile should never be
mistaken – he is also a killer and one of the most dangerous people to have sailed any sea.
With the crew gathered and the sun rising higher above the horizon, the scene was set for their journey to
begin. In front of me stood the future of the nation and the hopes of many.
One final check and the crew said their goodbyes to their families and friends. With any luck they would
come back alive having made new friends from new countries and will have displayed China’s greatness to
all of our continent.
My voyagers boarded the boat. There were tears, yells, and crying children. All of my voyagers were waving
except one. A face I did not recognise had shrank into the crowd of the ship. I was pondering the question
‘Who is he?’ when someone asked me the same thing. I told them my ideas. A stowaway? A crew member’s
family? A Korean spy? Whoever they are, they will either hijack the mission or lay low and do nothing and
help the crew. I am guessing it is not the latter. I watched as my ship’s captain inspected the crew one last
time, then retired below deck to examine the workings of the ship itself.
They then set sail. Hopefully China will be greater when they return.
Chapter 2
Stowaway
Young
I am Wang Luo, a simple farmer’s son. I have stolen aboard this boat to get away from my father who beats
me for not doing what he thinks I should be doing. I want to do what I want to do. His name is Chang
Luo. I am a bit nervous because this is my first time away from home. After stealing aboard amongst the
masses of crew, I found myself hiding deep within the belly of the boat. I thought I had been spotted but
had not yet been caught. I was wishing that today would continue as a fairly normal one, but that thought
was shattered by a dark, stormy cloud hovering above this endless sea.
The menacing cloud began to spread as far as the eye could see. From my hiding place in the food store, I
could see from a nearby porthole that this cloud would be a threat. The thunder rumbled and lightning
flashed fast and often whilst the crew could be heard preparing for the inevitable choppy seas and winds that
would soon come. A brilliant fork of lightning struck the sea nearby the boat and the cloud became so vast
that I could no longer see the horizon. The boat itself began to rock from side to side as food and supplies
spilled from their containers around me, creating a disturbance which I thought would grab the attention of
someone nearby. I had to get out of here. I had to find somewhere better to hide.