Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 303

Admiral Wang and his small fleet of Fuchuan warships and patrol boats were already lying in wait at Selat
Bangka, the mouth of Musi River, hoping that the pirates would be naive enough to fall for the trap.
It wasn’t long before the first pirate ship emerged out of Musi River, heading northeast towards Kota
Pangkalpinang. Within minutes all seventeen ships were out of the river and the lead ship signaled a couple
of flashes. At once, the pirates changed their formation into a menacing spearhead, with the lead ship at the
tip, racing towards the “traders”, masts bellowing in the wind.
They were spotted.
“In oars!” shouted Admiral Wang. The soldiers shoved their oars the oar lockers and heaved at once. Their
orders were to get out as quickly as possible and leave the fighting part to Admiral Zheng with his main
fleet.
Now all eighteen ‘traders” were speeding north towards Natuna Sea, where the main fleet was posed.
The seventeen pirates, led by Chen Zuyi himself, made no move to shorten the distance between the
“traders” and themselves.
Strange, thought Admiral Wang. That’s not how pirates were supposed to behave. But it wouldn’t hurt to
continue on the old plan anyway.
So the thirty-five ships, sailing in the same pattern all the way, finally reached the ambush at Natuna Sea.
Admiral Wang then flashed another signal to the other ships. Red, red, white. Scatter. Seventeen of the
eighteen ships changed course instantly, two of them even beating into the wind.
But the pirates made no move to pursue any of the would-be-victims. Instead, they formed a circle with
the lead ship in the center.
Admiral Zheng’s heart sank when he saw the change of the pirate’s formation. The circle was used to
prevent any potential ambushes and he knew that. There was only one solution to this. The pirates were
warned beforehand.
The Admirals were even more shocked when the pirates lowered their dark flags and raised white ones in
surrender.
Impossible, thought Admiral Zheng. It had to be a trick!
But a formal surrender must be honored and not ignored. Reluctantly, Admiral Zheng flashed a series of
complex signals and sent a squadron of troop transports and four squadrons of Fuchuan warships to receive
the pirates.
Uncertainly, the troop transports and Fuchuan warships sailed out of hiding towards the pirates. They
stopped when they were only one kilometer apart and flashed twice. Double white. Follow.
To the whole navy’s dismay, the pirates did nothing of the sort. Instead, fifty archers surfaced out of six of
the pirate ships with bows strung and ready. The captains of the troop transports and Fuchuan warships
knew they were dead before the hail of flaming arrows struck their ships. The timber wood of the hull
caught fire and the twenty-three warships became part of a sea of fire.
The whole fleet stared at the horrifying scene in front of them, temporarily stunned. Admiral Zheng was the
first to recover.
“Sound the drums!” he roared. “ Counterattack!”
The other captains soon recovered and directed their own crew into battle, signaling the start of the Battle
of Palembang.
The pirate ships separated into four groups with four to five ships each, providing them with a great deal
more flexibility.
It turned out that Chen Zuyi was right. The pirate squadrons scythed through the Ming navy with ease,
ramming and setting fire to warships and supply ships alike.
It was time to change our tactics, thought Admiral Zheng. We couldn’t blunder around aimlessly. We
would be chopped to pieces. The Ming navy wasn’t capable of destroying everything without suffering
losses too great. They had to end the savage battle as quickly as possible.
Then a thought struck him all of a sudden. “All armies needed helmsmen and signal crops instead of random
oarsmen of archers! Pinpoint them!” he told his own Royal Guards. “And relay the order!”
Soon signals were flashed all over the battlefield to announce the change of tactics. Arrows and bullets were
no longer wasted for common soldiers. Instead, they were all fixed for important personnels.
It was only after ten or so minutes when Chen Zuyi ordered to have the shieldsmen protect the
commanders. But it was too late. The helmsmen and signal corps were already down from pinpoint attacks
of Admiral Zheng. There was almost no one to relay the Pirate King’s orders.