Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

Nangantang Island is the largest island in the Mazu Archipelago, with an area more than 10 times that of Dongluo Island.

Nangantang Island resembles a rhinoceros, with its head in the east and its tail in the west. The island is predominantly mountainous, with Yuntai Mountain as its main ridge. In addition, numerous mountains of varying sizes divide the island into numerous excellent harbors, each surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea on the other.

The location of Li Jiushui Village is the best port on the north side of the island. The terrain is open, the water is deep and calm, and it is nestled among three mountains. In comparison, the current port on Dongluo Island is nothing more than a mud pit.

Unfortunately, these pirates had absolutely no sense of purpose.

Above the dock, let's call it a dock for now. A dozen or so piers extend crookedly from the shore, and a large number of boats of all sizes are quietly moored nearby.

Li Jiu's village, though called a village, is actually no different from an ordinary village.

They managed to put up a wooden fence that was more than a meter tall around the outermost edge, but the gaps were so large that people could walk through them in some places.

Chen Er led Lin Shier through the village. He saw more than once people passing directly through the gaps in the village walls.

Occasionally, people would ask about Lin Shier's identity, but Chen Er would simply brush them off by saying he was "the boss's honored guest."

"Your mother has received the money, and we've also had your father's illness cured. Do you have any messages for me to deliver to them?" Lin Twelve asked while observing the situation in the village.

"Thank you very much, sir. I am deeply grateful." Chen Er was moved and immediately wanted to bow in gratitude.

Lin Shier quickly caught the other person and then put his arm around them, making sure no one else noticed anything amiss.

"Don't move around too much, lest you arouse suspicion. Since you work for my Four Seas Gang, we naturally won't let you have any worries. The same goes for the other two. Go back and tell them that we've taken care of their families." Lin Twelve said softly.

After turning the three men to their side, Lin Hao immediately arranged for Lin Twelve to find out where they came from and then go there to bring them resettlement allowances. This was both a favor and a warning.

"We have no way to repay the kindness of the Four Seas Gang. Please rest assured, sir, we will cooperate fully. Please give us your orders, sir. Even if it means going through fire and water, I will do it without hesitation," Chen Er said, choking with emotion.

Although he became a pirate, his family was actually so poor that he had no other choice. If it could bring benefits to his family, why wouldn't he do it?

"No rush, no rush. There's no need for you to go through fire and water. You just need to answer my questions carefully," Lin Shier said with a smile.

As the two continued onward, Lin Shier gained a basic understanding of the village's general situation.

Just as we had learned before, Li Jiu's gang had quite a few members.

The village is more than twice the size of Dongluo Village, and its population is far greater.

According to Lin Shier's rough estimate, there are at least 3000 people here, and they are all young and strong.

As for the ships at the dock, the situation was more optimistic than expected. There were indeed seven Fujian-style ships with a capacity of over 500 liao (a unit of weight), the rest being small boats such as seagoing vessels and bird boats, numbering over twenty. The majority were fishing boats like the one Lin Twelve had arrived in, which, unless used as fire-starting boats, would be unusable for combat.

With this kind of strength, if the Lin family's three Fujian ships from the South Seas return, along with the three newly built modern warships and the remaining small ships, the Lin family will be able to fight them.

However, the Fujian ships have not yet returned, and the new warships are far from being completed. The remaining small boats of the Lin family would face extremely high risks if they were to engage in battle with them.

"Aren't there any sentries here at night?" Lin Shier walked to a high point. There was a small thing that looked like a watchtower, but he didn't see anyone on duty.

"Sir, there are usually people here, but everyone is drinking and eating meat today, so this person must have gone to drink too," Chen Er replied softly.

"Is there a lookout point on this mountain?" Lin Shier looked up at the surrounding mountains and asked Chen Er again.

"A lookout tower? Never heard of it. We rarely go up the mountain except to chop firewood," Chen Er replied again.

"If we don't build a watchtower on the mountain, what will we do if the enemy comes? How will we provide early warning?" Lin Shier asked incredulously.

"The enemy will also come from the sea. We have a large number of fishing boats on the outskirts as a warning. If government troops come, the fishermen will immediately burn their boats as a warning. This is enough time for us to take precautions," Chen Er said, pointing to the sea.

"Oh, I see." Lin Shier nodded casually. When they arrived at a courtyard, Lin Shier found that there were people standing guard there.

Without showing any emotion, Lin Twelve waited until they had turned the corner before asking Chen Er, "Who lives in that courtyard? Why are there guards standing watch? Could it be Li Jiu's family?"

"This subordinate doesn't know either, but he's not a member of our boss's family. I heard he was a hostage we robbed during a raid, but instead of being imprisoned, he was placed here by the boss on his own," Chen Er replied after a moment's thought.

"Placed separately, it seems this hostage's identity is quite extraordinary," Lin Shier said with a smile.

"That's true. I saw her once from afar; it seemed to be a woman with a child. The woman must have been very beautiful, because our third leader often comes this way, but he always gets scolded by the first leader," Chen Er added after a moment's thought.

"A woman and a child? Whose family members have been arrested?" Lin Shier thought for a moment, then didn't pay much attention.

"Now that we've seen the beach, take me to the area near the back of the mountain."

……

"I hate hiking, especially at night!"

Zhang Dingbian plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, and impatiently threw his backpack to the ground.

"Don't talk nonsense. If we get caught, we might be punished by running alone again." Chen Agui was in slightly better condition than Zhang Dingbian and could barely stand. He was leaning against a tree, panting heavily.

"Brother Chen, it was one thing to double the training during the day, but now you're going to be running at night every day? Today it's even worse, we have to go hiking at night. You're pushing us to our limits! This is killing us!" Wu Jian arrived later than the others and couldn't take it anymore. It took him a while to finally say something.

"Hmph! If you don't want to train, you can quit and become my prisoner," Chen Agui said, pursing his lips.

"Ahem, Brother Chen, don't joke around. I was just venting," Wu Jian said with an awkward laugh.

"Who told you to stop? Everyone stand up, run forward, and you must reach the training ground within a quarter of an hour!" A furious roar came from behind the crowd, startling them all.

"Oh no, the Nine Demon Kings are here! Run!" Chen Agui grabbed Zhang Dingbian and then led the others in a panic as they ran down the mountain.

The so-called Nine Demon Kings is Lin Jiu. He was originally a gentle boy, but in the past few days he suddenly revealed his fierce fangs, torturing them to the point of wishing for death, so everyone gave him the title of "Nine Demon Kings".

Lin Jiu walked to the spot where everyone had just been. Seeing the group descending the mountain in a disheveled state, he ignored them and kept urging those behind him, "Hurry up! Hurry up! Everyone, speed up! Stop dawdling like women."