Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 128

Later, they finally dropped anchor in Kozhikode, India. They walked towards the Calicut Kingdom Palace.
Lots of security guards were guarding the palace. Zheng He gave his identity and asked for a royal visit to
meet the Zamorin(King). Zheng vouchsafed various types of antiquities, necklaces, frankincense et cetera to
the Zamorin. They allowed trade to take place, so the Indians sent the Chinese many different kinds of
native herbs, currency and silver. A formal relationship established between the two nations and so Zheng
He was successful in his first voyage. The Calicut Zamorin invited Zheng and some of his officials to his
royal banquet. Zheng agreed to this, and everyone had a wonderful time. The food was scrumptious, the
people were amicable, and the atmosphere was pleasant.
After the banquet, Zheng and his officials went back to board the ship. However, some gaberlunzies and
usurpers came up to Zheng and tried to pillage his valuables. A lawyer who accompanied Zheng ran to
sound for help. The police came instantaneously and arrested the thieves. One of the usurpers was Chinese.
He led a ship of pirates to follow Zheng and attack his fleet. Fortunately, they thwarted the devious scheme.
The pirates were brought back to Nanjing for heavy punishment.
On the way back, a messenger sprinted from one of Zheng’s flotillas and announced that the careless culprit
that dropped the bronze coins was espied. He did it allegedly as he resented Zheng. He had always
complained that Zheng was too fortunate, everything goes the way he wants, so he was jealous. He wanted
to get rid of the valuables as clandestinely as possible. A sailor caught him red-handed when he tried to steal
some gold. After questioning, the culprit also confessed that he had devised a plan to assassinate Zheng. He
was livid after hearing this and ordered the quisling to be served capital punishment, accusing him of treason.
When Zheng and his fleet returned unharmed to Nanjing, the royal palace was in joy. The Emperor praised
Zheng He for his courage, brains and diplomatic skills. The pirates were duly punished and imprisoned for
life. The Emperor ordered a royal feast to be held as everyone was jubilant and in high spirits. During the
two-year-long voyage, Zheng and his fleet acquired many priceless valuables, so it was a worthwhile
journey to undertake despite its risks. A few months afterwards, the Yongle Emperor was asked to send
Zheng and co on another voyage to attend the court inauguration of a new king in Calicut. Zheng
concurred and organised the trip, but he did not go personally.
He had many, many adventures later on, but they are stories for another day.