Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

"Are these Four Seas Gang members crazy? They only have four ships, yet they dare to turn back?" The people on the first ship of Li Jiu's fleet looked at each other, unable to believe their eyes.

But someone quickly realized what was happening and slapped their thigh, exclaiming, "Brothers, this is a windfall! Charge in, grab them, and we'll be the ones who get the credit!"

Immediately, the pirates cheered and sailed even faster toward the four ships.

"Issue the order: all ships must follow my command, no one may slack off, and no one may act without authorization," Lin Chengfeng commanded expressionlessly.

When the two ships were less than a few hundred meters apart, Lin Chengfeng gave another order: "Turn to port and go around them from the side. All cannons, prepare. Instruct the ships behind that their firing targets must be aligned with ours, and no one is allowed to fire without authorization."

The four ships of the Four Seas Gang instantly formed a single file, with Lin Chengfeng's ship at the head, and cut diagonally towards the side of the opposing fleet.

Before long, the first ship of Li Jiu's fleet encountered the Four Seas Gang's fleet. It was a bird-like ship just like the Four Seas Gang's.

Of all the Fujian ships, the bird ship was the fastest; otherwise, the enemy wouldn't have been able to catch up so quickly.

When they saw the Four Seas Gang's ship approaching, the people on that ship felt no fear, only excitement.

They were veteran sailors and knew very well that battles at sea were never decided in a short time, but as long as they could hold off their opponent, the ships behind them could surround them, and in that case, great success would be within their grasp.

To their surprise, the other vessel began to turn its rudder several hundred meters away from them, and then continued forward at a distance of about 200 meters to their side.

"What's going on? If they wanted to fight, why did they expose their side to us? Are they trying to escape? But our fleet is right behind them, where can they escape to?" The people on the bird ship were puzzled, but they soon found out.

"Boom boom boom boom—"

Lin Chengfeng's ship was the largest, with three 500-jin cannons on each side of the hull and a 3-jin cannon at the bow.

At this moment, all the cannons fired at the bird ship. The two sides were only 200 meters apart, which was practically right on the forehead of the bronze cannons.

Even so, only one cannon hit the enemy. This shot struck the enemy's starboard side directly, completely shattering the starboard planks, then piercing the bodies of two men, and the broken planks wounded several more. A scene of utter devastation unfolded on the bird-like ship.

"Fire back immediately!" The people on the bird ship suddenly realized what was happening.

But this had no effect, because the first ship did not stop after firing its cannons and continued forward, followed by the arrival of the second ship from the Four Seas Gang.

The second ship ignored the other vessels and also aimed at the bird ship that had been hit.

"Boom! Boom! Boom—"

Amidst the deafening roar of cannons, three more cannon shots were fired. Unfortunately, the closest one flew over the bow of the bird-shaped ship, punched a large hole in the bamboo sail, and crashed into the opposite sea. Although there were no casualties this time, it still gave everyone quite a fright.

But then, a third ship arrived. The people on the bird ship were terrified and began to scatter in panic.

"Boom! Boom! Boom—"

Three more 500-pound cannons roared. This time, another 4-pound iron ball slammed into the bird-shaped vessel, tearing a large hole in it once more. Although no one was directly hit this time, the scattered wood chips injured several people. They clutched their wounds and groaned in pain on the deck, creating a strong psychological impact on everyone present.

However, the others paid no heed to them, for the fourth ship arrived before their desperate eyes.

In their panic, they fired only one shot from the bow cannon, but it missed its target entirely.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The enemy's cannon fire, like a death knell, echoed once more in the hearts of everyone on the bird ship. At this moment, they felt no desire for glory or achievement; they only prayed not to be hit.

After the fourth ship finished firing, the first ship, where Lin Chengfeng was, had already finished reloading.

Meanwhile, a second victim came into Lin Chengfeng's view.

"Fire!" Lin Chengfeng shouted the order.

So this ship enjoyed all the same treatment as the first bird ship.

During this process, the pirates did retaliate, but Lin Chengfeng deliberately kept his fleet at a certain distance from them, so the pirates had no choice but to retaliate with cannons.

The only effect of their counterattack was that a cannon on one of the ships exploded, killing several of their own men. Its effect was even greater than a single salvo from Lin Chengfeng and his men.

"As expected, they're just a bunch of rabble, only good at bullying merchant ships and unarmed civilians." Lin Chengfeng looked at the group's chaotic attacks and felt disdain.

At the same time, he admired Lin Hao even more for teaching him this fighting style. He had originally looked down on this tactic, but now he found it to be incredibly effective.

And so, the Four Seas Gang fleet, consisting of only four ships, swept through Li Jiu's fleet from north to south.

Li Jiu's fleet had considered encircling and annihilating them, but whenever the enemy got close, Lin Chengfeng preferred to abandon the target and maintain distance. However, he didn't run away; instead, he would find the next target and continue the next round of bombardment.

On the southernmost large ship, Li Jiu watched this scene with bloodshot eyes: "Bastards! How dare four mere ships be so arrogant? Get our cannons ready and show them what real cannons are!"

Seeing the four ships heading towards them, Li Jiu immediately ordered the cannons on his ship to prepare.

Li Jiu's ship was the largest of all the Fujian ships, nearly 30 meters long and over 8 meters wide, a true behemoth. The number of cannons it carried was also considerable.

The cannon covers were lifted, revealing several huge Hongyi cannons to the crowd.

"Fire! Bomb them to death!" Li Jiu roared furiously.

As the pirates hurriedly prepared, a moment later, a deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth. Amidst the enormous flames, an iron ball flew hundreds of meters and crashed directly in front of Lin Chengfeng and his crew's ship, splashing up a huge spray of water.

"Holy crap, what kind of cannon is that?" The huge roar instantly drew Lin Chengfeng's attention to Li Jiu's ship.

"That sound is similar to when the largest cannon at home was tested, but with twice the amount of propellant. Does that mean this ship fired over 20 pounds of iron bullets?"

Lin Chengfeng instantly understood that there were quite a few good things on Li Jiu's ship.

As Li Jiu's ships opened fire, the other Fujian ships also opened fire, but unfortunately, none of them hit their targets.

Lin Chengfeng carefully assessed the disparity in strength between the enemy and himself, and then ordered, "Don't get entangled with them. Change course, go around them, and head to the other side."

Lin Chengfeng wasn't stupid. These cannons were so huge that even if the pirates were poorly skilled and had terrible aim, a single hit would send his ships crashing to the ground. His own 500-jin cannons, on the other hand, were like tickles against the massive Fujian ships; they couldn't inflict serious damage easily. Since that was the case, he might as well continue bullying the smaller ships.

As the Four Seas Gang's fleet turned and left, the large Fujian ships were helpless. They couldn't outrun their opponents. They could only watch helplessly as the fleet bypassed them and charged at the smaller ships in their fleet once more.

This time, however, these ships were clearly more cunning. Upon seeing Lin Chengfeng and his group approaching, they immediately scattered far away. For a moment, the four ships of the Four Seas Gang looked like dozens of ships chasing after Li Jiu, darting around aimlessly.

"Sigh, there's not much of a chance left. These bird ships aren't maneuverable enough. Let's retreat." Lin Chengfeng sighed regretfully. With both sides using bird ships, although his side had a slight advantage due to the sailors' higher skill level and the better-maintained vessels, they ultimately couldn't easily toy with the other side. At this moment, Lin Chengfeng eagerly awaited the completion of the three ships in the dock, because according to Lin Hao, the maneuverability and speed of those three ships would allow them to easily manipulate these current Fujian ships.

As the four fleets of the Four Seas Gang headed north, Li Jiu suddenly flew into a rage: "Trying to leave? Did I agree to that? Chase after them! Chase them all the way to Dongluo Island and wipe them out!"

Li Jiu was clearly furious after being hit so hard. This was a busy waterway off Dalian Island, and many ships had witnessed this scene; he had lost face big time.

"Brother, calm down!" Li Kui said, grabbing Li Jiu's arm.

"Although their ships are slippery, we haven't sunk a single one. They've only damaged seven or eight; we can easily repair them. We still have over ten thousand taels of silver on board. Why don't we go back first?"

"That's right, brother, money is more important. Let's go back first. As for the Four Seas Gang of Dongluo Island, we'll settle accounts with them another day," the others chimed in.

Are you kidding me? With so much silver in hand, everyone's only thinking about getting a share; nobody wants to go up there and get beaten to death for no reason. Besides, they already have ten thousand taels of silver; what's the point of going up there now?

Seeing everyone's opposition, Li Jiu's face darkened, but he could only sigh and say, "Fine, let's keep these people here for another month and settle accounts with them before the end of the year. Now, change course and head back to the island!"

"The leader is brilliant!" Everyone showered him with flattery.