Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 15

The Great Escape
Carmel School Association Elsa High School, Razon, Tamir - 11
Zhang Yo had a turbulent life. Transitioning from being a respected and wealthy voyager in the Ming
Dynasty to a slave tasked with constructing the Great Wall for the Qing Dynasty. He understood that there
was no longer a place for him in such a dynasty.
Our voyage has completed its duty, and we now return home to the final destination of Beijing. The
journey will be rough, but eventually we will make it. In order to get to Beijing, we had to make a few
stops along the way. One stop in particular would change my life forever - our stop in Taicang. In Taicang,
I witnessed poverty that I had never seen before. One man in particular struck me as needy, and I gave him
and his family the last of our supplies for the voyage. The emotions of pure joy on his face are ones which I
will never forget. We then arrived in Beijing on July 22. The city was very empty, all we saw were a couple
of people on the street. We were wondering where the whole town went.
When we got to the Emperor’s Palace to report back about the results of the seventh voyage, a new
emperor greeted us showing the construction of The Great Wall. My gut told me something wasn’t right
about this new emperor, and before I could do anything about it, he commanded us to stop the series of
voyages once and for all. Along with all men in the workforce, he forced us all to become slaves and help
construct the great wall - possibly at the price of our lives.
The first day of work was the hardest day of all. We were forced to bring gigantic bricks up from a frozen
lake and and pull them up a mountain, draining us to the very end. When we would get to the top we
would add the brick to the wall. All of this effort, would be for a single brick. It was like this every day. The
wall’s construction had been taking its toll on me. I knew life was different now, and I couldn’t take it
anymore. I had to escape. The only way I could escape was if I would go to “collect” bricks for the wall and
run when the opportunity presents itself. That is the only way.
The next day, I woke up and went to work. I approached the lake slowly and when I realised the guards
were off duty I sprinted as fast as I could. Using every last bit of energy, I jumped over walls and dodged
trees, but I was no match for the guards.
They took me to another guard and said, “帶他 (take him).” I was taken to the main jail in Beijing. I was
there for almost 5 years, after which they released me back into slavery. I knew I was lucky to be alive. I
knew I could not escape now, it was no longer as easy as before. I was constantly being followed. It was
impossible.
10 years had passed, and I could not continue working. I was 52 years old. I was tired. I saw so many people
die since I got out of jail. Work was getting tougher, and I was getting weaker. It was frightening. I finally
decided to escape again, I couldn’t take it anymore. This time, though, I was not going to get caught. The
soldiers were no longer paying attention to me. I was labelled as “old” and was no longer a threat. Although
I seemed old, I was still capable of doing many things. I spotted a new guard. One who lacked confidence.
He was very young. I didn’t want to harm him, but I needed to. It was crucial for my plan:
I was going to steal his armour, and pose as a soldier - making it easy for me to escape. I waited until it was
dark, I saw the guard was alone. I slowly crept up behind him, and before he could do anything I choked
him and he went unconscious. I took his armour and left as fast as I could. Another guard spotted me
leaving and began chasing me, but I managed to lose him by hiding in a cave for that night. I understood
that he would still be looking for me the next day, so I stayed in the cave for a few weeks until I finally
decided to try go back home.
I was a month into my escape home. I was so thirsty, I had nothing to eat or drink. I could barely see
anything. I was about to faint on the sand. My whole body hurt. I got to a dead end - the edge of a cliff. I
rested there for a while. I saw a man like figure approaching me. It was a guard that worked at The Great