Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 266

Back to the Old Days
The Independent Schools Foundation Academy, Leung, Anya - 11
As the enormous ships were getting prepared, Zheng He miserably sat beside his bed pondering
what to do. He was the chosen one, which made him enthusiastic. He never thought he could make it this
far. But he still had a family counting on him. He didn’t know what to do, but at last, he took his suitcase
and set off to the sea.
Lightning struck, and as his boats were tossed across the sea, Zheng panicked.
‘Come on, faster! Our ships are going to capsize soon!’ hollered Zheng He. ‘Hurry, hurry!’
The fleet endured a frightful evening, but eventually, the storm calmed down. They continued voyaging for
days after days until they finally arrived in Thailand. When he first arrived, he and his men dragged
themselves through some swampy areas. Once coming out to the light, they saw some huts standing on the
side. Some people in ragged clothes with terrible sores all over their faces and bodies ambled out slowly like
spirits. All of the soldiers were scared and wanted to run away. But Zheng refused. Not a bit afraid of being
infected, he instead stepped up to help these people to dress their sores and wounds with some Chinese
medicine he brought. For several days and nights, he devoted himself to relieve their pain and took care of
them. Finally, after 30 days of hard work, he was able to put the disease under control. This news came to
the ears of the king of Thailand, who was eager to meet this amazing man. When Zheng arrived at the
beautiful and magnificent palace, he saw the king looking relieved and worried. The king told him: “In
Thailand, it feels very humid and rains a lot. Our rivers became very dirty as a result of the weather. When
my people drink water from the river, they get sick all the time and as the king of Thailand, I have the
responsibility to keep them healthy. I don’t know what to do. Do you have any solution to my problem?”
“Ohh, I got it!” Zheng exclaimed after thinking for a moment.
Zheng then ordered his people to bring him a bucket of dirty river water into which he dropped a
few clear stones. He shook and stirred the water, and in a matter of seconds, the water cleared. The king was
amazed and happy to witness this letting out a scream, “ Is this MAGIC?!”.
“No, this stone is something I brought from China, which we use to filter the water. It is called
Potassium Alum, in China, we can easily find them in caves. People can drink this water without getting
sick,” Zheng calmly said.
Zheng didn’t just teach the Thais how to filter water, he also gave them several other Chinese
medicines to cure different illnesses. The king and his officials were pleased, feeling grateful and respectful to
China. In return, the Thai king gave Zheng some local treasures like carpets to take back to the Middle
Kingdom.
Not every country welcomed Zheng He’s fleet. The king of a small country, Sri Lanka, an island in
the south of India, confronted him with a hostile reception. This king was planning to conduct an onslaught
on Zheng’s fleet. He was known for organizing raids to the trade or government fleets passing by the sea
passageway, snatching away all the goods and treasures. Zheng visited this country because being a devoted
Buddhist, he wanted to pay tribute to the Buddha Relics in the country’s Buddhist temple. On his way to
worship, he received an invitation from the king to go to the palace. Knowing that this king was violent and
unfriendly, he wondered why he got invited. So he sent his man to check out if there was any conspiracy,
and he was right. The king chopped the trees to block Zheng’s route so that he and his people could not get
back to their boats, while at the same time mobilizing more than 40,000 soldiers to mount an attack on
Zheng’s fleet. In this crisis situation, Zheng did not panic. He immediately thought of a plan. Knowing that
all the king’s soldiers were sent to attack his boats, Zheng gathered that the king’s castle would be vulnerable
to invasion. He sent an elite group of 3000 soldiers to force an entrance into the castle, and at the same time,
he dispatched reinforcements back to the fleet to protect the treasure from being robbed. As expected,
Zheng’s soldiers broke into the palace to kidnap the king and his family. When the king’s soldiers on the
way to the seaside heard the news, they knew what it meant.
“Come on, we have to go back to the castle to save the king before it’s too late!” The commander
of the soldiers roared. They quickly rushed back to the castle surrounding it. However, the next morning,
Zheng, with the king as a hostage, fought his way out and back to the boats. He brought the king and his
family back to Beijing. Some high officials in China wanted to execute the king for his acts, and when the
king of Sri Lanka heard about it, he begged for mercy. The king of China was generous and thought that
the king of Sri Lanka was uncultured and ignorant. He decided to give him another chance and allow his
people to stay in China. Meanwhile, the Chinese government identified someone else from among his
relatives, someone loyal and reliable, to be the new king, and sent him back to Sri Lanka. This incident had
brought respect from the surrounding countries and peace to the passageway of the route from China to the
Middle East and Africa.