Undercover - In China - Book 7

Part 62 - How Can I be defeated?

We boarded a large ship with a huge banner fluttering from the mast bearing the characters, "Supreme Commander Cho Cho," and we were rowed through the harbour on a tour of inspection. Prime Minister Cho Cho sat on a raised platform at the bow of the ship, admiring the display of signal flags, gongs, drums, archery and bombards while the crew of each ship cheered as we passed by. 

Licia, Miguel and I were more interested in the trays of food that Chen Ling spotted. We stuffed as much as we could into our mouths and bags before servants carried the trays among the other guests. Cho Cho was laughing and joking with his entourage as we returned to shore and climbed to the top of the wooden command tower. The naval station stretched along the shore of the Long River as far as we could see to the east and west. To the north it merged into the Black Forest. The encampment was surrounded by a packed-earth wall surmounted with palisades of sharpened stakes. Inside, it was a maze of grand archways leading to dead ends and broad avenues ending in serpentine paths and walled strong points.

Cho Cho turned to me, and Dr Zhang translated. 'Now, you have seen everything young master. How can I be defeated?' he asked. 'What is your opinion?'

Everyone smiled patronizingly until I finally got the nerve to reply. I decided flattery was the best policy. 'Your excellency, the camp is a masterpiece. How could Zhou Yu match your skill.'

Cho Cho laughed. 'Do not flatter me,' he admonished. 'All things can be made better. Can you suggest improvements?'

I tried to imitate Kongming's supercilious air of confidence and stroked my beardless chin. 'There is one problem. Why not connect the boats together with beams and iron chains. Then, however steep the waves, the men will not get seasick and your archers will be able to hit their targets.'

'Master Xia Dian,' Cho Cho exclaimed in amazement. 'You have confirmed exactly what Master Pang Tong advised. My men are indeed sickened on the water and my archers cannot shoot accurately from rolling boats. You confirm my thoughts.' Cho Cho got into a discussion with his advisors and, when the meeting broke up, Dr Zhang, Denny, Chen Ling, Licia, Miguel and I were taken to a compound next to Cho Cho's personal quarters. Inside, was a tent comfortably furnished with enough beds for all of us, but we were obviously prisoners. Two huge men dumped baskets of food and tea on the ground. I had never seen such enormous men. 

 'They're even bigger than Zhang Fei and they have funny, squeaky voices,' I said. 'They sound just like Licia.' 

 Licia stuck her tongue out at me. Dr Zhang said they were eunuchs, who were often gigantic if their testicles were removed early in life. 'One of China's most famous eunuchs, Admiral Ma San Bo, also known as Cheng Ho, was over two-and-a-half metres tall - more than eight feet. During the Ming Dynasty, in the fifteenth century, he commanded the largest armada of ships ever seen, and made several expeditions to East Africa and Arabia. San Bao is probably the source of the stories about Sinbad the sailor.' 

 Dr Zhang was incorrigible. We were prisoners in Cho Cho's camp but he still couldn't resist giving us another lecture. 

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 Wang Bang argued with Dr Zhang the next day. He claimed he could arrange our release but to get back to Xiacou required a large sum of cash. But, we could not leave until darkness, as it was Cho Cho's 54 th birthday and everybody was invited to the celebration. Wang Bang left us on a boat in the naval station and went to bribe the men guarding Grandpa's boat. We tried to get some sleep but the carpenters, joining the boats together with chains, made sleep impossible. So we joined the celebration and took the opportunity to restock our shoulder bags with food, which was fortunate as it turned out.

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