THE RIVAL SEA CHIEFS.--RE-APPEARANCE OF AN OLD FRIEND.--A COMICAL BATTLE
WITH THE TARTARS.
Once masters of Pekin, which being so near their native wilds, enabled
them to introduce hordes of their fellow-countrymen, the Tartars
conquered province by province, till they obtained possession of the
whole empire. The most difficult, however, to subdue, were the southern
districts, which edged the sea, and chiefly for this reason: that not
long after they succeeded in entrapping Chin-Chi-Loong, to their
surprise, there appeared another and a greater sea chief, whose fleet
was so large, and his successes so great in destroying the Tartar
settlements upon the coasts, and even the great towns up the
Yang-tse-Kiang, that the greater part of the Chinese, who had any spirit
or patriotism remaining, flocked to his standard, and swelled his fleet
and army to such a size, that the Tartar government, trembling with fear
for the capital itself, offered immense rewards for his head; and
finding that of no use, offered to give him the command of the seas, and
even a kingdom, if he would acknowledge their rule; but all this was of
no use: the terrible patriot TCHING-TCHING-KONG, (or Koshinga, as the
Portuguese did, and I shall for the future, name him,) would listen to
no other terms but their departure from the country, to which, but for
the sudden appearance on the coast of another formidable sea-chief,
named Yuen, they would in all probability have been compelled to yield.
Now the difference between these two chiefs was, that while Koshinga
protected the Chinese against the invaders, the chief Yuen was a mere
pirate, and, if booty were to be gained, destroyed both peoples alike.
Moreover, the latter seemed to have a great hatred for Koshinga; for,
although he dared not meet him in fair fight, if by chance he ever fell
in with a solitary ship of his fleet, he would wantonly sink it with all
its crew; and so terrible had the name of this Yuen become, that the
people upon the coast named him the Black Sea-dragon. Neither was it
possible to make out the object of this pirate. It could not have been
the desire of mere wealth, for the Tartar government, thinking him a
very desirable antagonist to Koshinga, offered him wealth, and the same
rank they had offered to his rival, provided he succeeded in destroying
the latter; but still, although Yuen hated the patriot sea chief, his
dislike to the Tartars was no less, for, like Koshinga, he destroyed
their houses and massacred their people at every opportunity. So at
length, giving up all hope of conquering either of his amphibious
enemies, Chun-ti issued an order that all the houses, cities, towns, and
villages, within ten miles of the sea, should be destroyed, chiefly, I
believe, to prevent the people from supplying them with provisions.
Well, one day, shortly after this order had been received, and the
inhabitants of a small town on the coast of Fokien were in high bustle
packing up their goods and chattels ready for departure, some by means
of carts, others, and the greater part, by junks and barges, a large
merchant junk stood in from the sea, entered the narrow creek into which
the river emptied itself, anchored, and would have remained unnoticed by
the soldiers, who were inspecting the carrying out of the Emperor's
orders, but for the appearance of a young man, who, stepping on shore,
was immediately seized by the order of the officer. "Who is the vile
slave, that he dares disobey the commands of the great Emperor?" said
the latter.
"Surely thy servant, who has but just entered the town, can be guilty of
no crime?"
"Are the words of the Emperor dirt, that they should have escaped the
ears of so small a dog?" said the officer.
"Truly these holy words have not fallen into the ears of thy mean
servant, O magnificent commander," returned the other.
"Then let the dog's ears be opened, and he shall hear," said the
officer, directing a soldier to proclaim the royal command, which was to
the effect that the long hair of every Chinese should be shaven from his
head, and the growth of a Tartar tail encouraged, in order that there
should be no difference between the two races.
When the stranger, however, heard the order, his eyes flashed, and his
lips quivered with rage, at the great badge of slavery the Tartars were
thrusting upon his countrymen; and he placed his hand beneath his robe,
as if clutching the hilt of a sword; but then, looking at the Tartar
troops, who had by this time surrounded him, and perceiving the folly of
resistance, he said, "Truly the ears of thy servant have not heard this
order."
"Let the dog obey, or he shall be strangled," was the only reply.
Then, with a look half tragic, half comic, and, taking his long flowing
locks in his hand, he said, "Surely the magnificent commander will give
his servant a few hours to prepare his head for so serious a farewell?"
The next minute, however, one of the barbers who accompanied the troops
for the purpose of performing the first operation upon the conquered
people, made his appearance, and, setting down his apparatus, began to
prepare his scissors and large knife, when, like a half-secured animal
whose dim instinct had just been aroused to the fact of the coming
slaughter, the stranger struck out with both fists, sending barber and
officer rolling one over the other, and darted off, followed by at least
a dozen arrows from the bows of the soldiers, who, however had been too
much surprised to aim properly.
Now, weak and effeminate as the Chinese had shown themselves in allowing
the empire to become so easily conquered by the Tartars, this insult was
always deeply felt even by those who had been compelled to submit, so in
a few minutes they gathered about the Tartars in great numbers, and
being inspired by the stranger's pluck, from hard words came to such
hard blows, that the bully Tartars were very glad to beat a retreat,
only promising to themselves a great revenge hereafter.
As for the stranger, he ran with such speed and blind terror, at the
notion of losing his beautiful hair, that he tumbled headlong over an
old sow into a litter of pigs, which were among the goods about to be
taken away; and, comical as was this scene, it might have been serious,
for the animal, seeing her family attacked by so formidable an enemy,
would have made it a personal matter, but for a mob of people who came
to the rescue of the stranger, at whose spirit in resisting the hateful
order they were so delighted, that they lifted him upon their shoulders;
when the youth, in his excitement, mistaking them for Tartars, put both
his hands to his locks, exclaiming, "You dogs, I will rather lose my
head than prove such a coward."
"A patriot! a hero! down with the Tartar thieves!" said the mob.
When the stranger, recovering from his fright, said, "Pardon, O my
brothers, for believing you to be such dogs."
Then the crowd gave more cheers, and asked where he would be taken to.
"Know any of you the residence of the colao Ki?" was the reply.
"To the house of the good Ki," exclaimed the mob, and in a few minutes
more they had deposited him at the gates of a great house not far
distant from the sea.
"What rogue is this who dares disturb the quiet of the noble Ki?" said
the servant who opened the gate.
"Let me pass, thou mean fellow," said the apparently mad-headed stranger,
rushing through halls and courts till he reached the door of the women's
apartments, which, to the horror of the servant, who now called for
assistance, he burst open, and, seeing two ladies, fell at the feet of
one of them, sobbing aloud, "Then my information is true, and I have
found thee again, my venerable and beloved parent." Need I tell you that
the stranger was no other than Chow?
"The gods punish me with a false vision, my eyeballs must be old, or it
is indeed my beloved son Chow," said the lady, throwing her arms around
her son's neck.
"The faithful friend of the noble Nicholas! Surely this is not
possible," said the princess, hysterically, so forgetting her rank in
her delighted surprise, that she embraced him as a brother, not a
little, I assure you, to the wonder and horror of the servants, and the
colao himself, who had hastened to the apartment to secure the daring
robber, as the frightened servant had reported, and which Ki believed
Chow to be, feeling certain that none but a thief would be guilty of so
profane an act as entering the sacred apartments of the ladies.