Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 188

The Voyages
Sha Tin College, Kwan, Gordon - 11
There was once a noble man named Zheng He, he was also a slave that served the honorable prince. One
day he was suddenly summoned to the Shanghai palace, only to retrieve a mysterious scroll for his eyes only.
But wait, how did he become the slave he is today?
Zheng He grew up cheerfully with his loving father. Both his father, and grandfather were outstanding
Muslim leaders during the Mongol Yuan dynasty, he himself was an ambitious child. On one fateful day,
Zheng He was listening to his father speaking of the Muslim religion inside a mosque, when a group of
soldiers sent by the prince secretly bribed the guard with precious, shining gems and money to gain access to
the building. The guard’s face was beaming like a bag full of of glitter, it was all worth more than a years
pay. It was then time for their next step - to kidnap the young boy. While everyone was distracted with
their prayers, the prince’s men quickly snatched the child, fleeing the mosque. They ran like their life
depended on it, straight to the giant chariots. Together, they maneuvered the horses back to the palace.
Meanwhile at the mosque, Zheng He's father stopped talking and stared at the bench where Zheng He
should have been. He was nowhere to be found. Slowly falling to his knees, he put his face in his hands.
Sorrowfully he questioned, “What have I done to lose my beloved, little child?” However both father and
son did not know that an adventure was waiting for Zheng He.
As the soldiers reach the palace up in the giant mountains, Zheng He instantly woke up, wondering where
he was. He soon figured he had been kidnapped. Struggling in multiple ways, he tried to escape; pushing,
tearing and punching but none of it helped, it just bruised and hurted him. He soon gave up. Finally, he was
brought to the man himself, the prince. As he walked towards him there was a disgusting stench of slavery.
Everyone bowed down at the prince’s presence. He then decided what to do to this young, strong boy.
With the perfect idea, he firmly shouted, “From now on you will be my slave. But you will be educated
once every week, someone get him a list of chores!” The entire room stood shocked. Why would a little
boy be a slave, yet have education, it was very unusual. Zheng He knew his only option was to obey and do
exactly what the prince demanded, for he knew there was no escape. Over the years, Zheng He became
smarter and smarter, promoted annually and given major assignments. A few years later, he found himself in
Shanghai waiting for something important.
Upon stepping into the tabernacle, Zheng He is then greeted by the emperor himself. He presents Zheng
He with a ponderous scroll of instructions. Upon examining the entire scroll, the prince is intrigued. He
then commands Zheng He to do exactly what it dictated, and to take with him ten thousand men. “Yes my
prince!” Zheng He obeyed. Alas the prince says “Good luck.” Zheng He spoke with confidence, ”Thank
you, I will return bestowing China with money and power.”
Once Zheng He allocated everyone their jobs. He announced the orders authoritatively; to build a boat that
has never been seen before, the one and only Chinese treasure hunter. A spacious ship larger than anything
anyone has ever seen before, it was equipped with; a giant net to catch fish for the duration of the long
voyage, six grand cannons on each side and a storage place for the commodities they find. As they were
working on the last sections of the first ship their operation was secretly being spied on by a group of
mysterious creatures. Though they’ve been spotted around the world, no one knew who or what they are,
only that they keep the skulls of their enemies featured on the ship. Once the prince’s men finished one
hundred boats, unfortunately a few men were lost in the process, but Zheng He was confident that the
expedition would be a success. As they were about to set off, the prince ran to Zheng He as he had one last
message and item to give him, “This book is for you, do not open it unless you’re in the face of grave
danger. It will save you and your men. Keep it safe.”
“Thank you.” replied Zheng He, and that was the beginning of the treasure voyages.
Their first challenge was to catch dinner. Quickly, the crew threw the huge net on the water's surface, it was
as heavy as Goliath. Everyone was shocked by the amount of fish before their eyes. While they dragged the
net back aboard, Zheng He stood up and shouted, “My dear crew, let’s drink our traditional tea ceremony
to remember our lovely family members.” After that, the capacious ship set off on the start of their first
voyage!