Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 231

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages
St. Joseph's College, Yip, Hei - 13
Back in the days, when the Zhu's family still ruled China, the era was known as the Ming Dynasty. In the
year of 1360 A.D., a prince was born. His name was Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan. He was the fourth son of the
founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang. On the other side of the kingdom, there was a
teenage boy named Ma He. He was from a Muslim family in Yunnan, China. When he was ten, the Ming
army invaded and occupied Yunnan. He was sent to the Ming Palace and was castrated and prepared to serve
the royal prince. After he became a eunuch, he was sent to help Zhu. As Zhu was eleven years older than Ma,
he treated Ma as a playmate. He taught Ma little secrets about living and striving in the palace.
On the other hand, Ma showed his brilliance, courage, and confidence in front of the prince. Zhu gained
trust on Ma, while Ma showed great loyalty to Zhu. There was an inseparable bonding between the two. As
Ma had grown up, he became a soldier for the Ming to fight against the Mongols. Zhu was the Governor of
Beijing and the commander of the army at that time. Eventually, Zhu led his army to a victory. They
dominated the Mongols, taking all of their lands, treasuries and military force. After this huge victory, Zhu
was praised and awarded extensively by the King while Ma was promoted to the position of "Sanbao
Taijien," which was the head among all the eunuchs.
In spite of this, Ma also became a military officer. He consulted the prince in ways of war diplomacy. When
Zhu Yuanzhang died in 1402 A.D., he passed his throne to his oldest grandson, rather than his fourth son,
Zhu Di, according to the traditions of the Chinese Emperor. Zhu Di was jealous and frustrated. He forced
his nephew to give up his throne and proclaimed himself as the new emperor of Ming. He named himself
Yongle Emperor. He made Ma He the Director of Palace Servants and granted the surname "Zheng" to Ma
He.
Zhu Di was a capable emperor. He was good at governing the country. The country was prosperous and
stable and the people at that time were living in harmony. Yongle Emperor was also an aggressive King, and
he was eager to expand his territories. He believed there would be unknown land waiting for him to
explore and he was confident that he could conquer more land. Zhu started to think about sailing around his
kingdom. He appointed his henchman Zheng He as the admiral of the fleet. In the year 1404 A.D., Zheng
He officially began the well-known "Ming Treasury Voyages."
Zheng He and his crew started to sail to different places. They first set off to India. During the voyage, they
had to get past the India Ocean. When they were in the middle of the ocean, they came up with a powerful
typhoon. Since most of the crew were lack of experience, they were frightened by the vigorous waves and
the deafening thunderstorm in the angry sea.
The ocean kept roaring, and the ship was shaking rapidly. Some thought that there would be no chance for
them to return to their motherland. However, Zheng remained calm and was wondering ways to kept he and
his crew safe. One of the co-admirals said," Maybe we should unload the goods, jump into the sea and
swim." However, Zheng denied at once. Instead of giving up, Zheng decided to stay on the ship.
Mountainous waves were in front of the crew. Zheng He showed his excellent seamanship and steering in
the storm. He strived to keep the ship balance against sinking. He told everyone to remain calm and believe
in him. On the one hand, he commanded the sailors to sail more frequently. On the other hand, he and the
rest of the crews who were on the deck worked hard to anchor the ship by changing the direction of the
vessel.
Finally, they came across the typhoon, face to face. The ship shook even more vigorously. Miraculously,
Zheng and his crew were lucky enough to survive, without any loss of treasuries and weapons. However, the
ship was in a bad status. They struggled to sail on and finally reached India, where the locals treated them
warmly. They received the supplies from the Indians, and they had their broken ship mended. They make a
new alliance with India.