  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. |
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