Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

"Who are you? Why are you in our village?"

The appearance of Lin Hao and his group immediately threw Li Kui into a panic. Especially the gleaming armor Lin Hao wore sent chills down his spine. He had thought he was the one stalking the cicada, but it turned out he was merely the mantis.

"Heh, Third Master, you really have a bad memory. You just took thirteen thousand taels from our gang today, how come you've already forgotten about us?"

Lin Hao did not remove his mask. He glanced at the remaining people in the hall and then spoke.

"When the Four Seas Gang is on a mission, if you don't want to die, throw down your weapons and surrender with your hands behind your back."

There were only a dozen or so people left, and all of them were wounded. Lin Hao and his group stood there in their armor, with a dense crowd behind them.

The remaining dozen or so pirates didn't hesitate at all. With a clatter, they threw their swords on the ground and then obediently squatted down with their hands on their heads.

Li Jiu was left alone, holding a blood-dripping single-edged sword, watching the scene in despair.

"Send him on his way." Lin Hao waved his hand casually.

……

After killing Li Kui, Lin Hao divided the team into several smaller squads. Carrying the heads of these leaders, they began to persuade them to surrender. Seeing that their leaders were dead, all the pirates immediately lost their fighting spirit, and the stronghold was quickly pacified.

Some of the clever ones turned and ran towards the dock, trying to steal a boat and escape. But they were all killed on the spot by Lin Kaishan and his men who had been waiting for them.

The bloody battle Lin Hao had envisioned did not occur. The pirate Li Jiu did not die by his own blade. His opponent ended his life in a dramatic way.

However, as far as Lin Hao knew, nine out of ten pirates ultimately died from internal strife rather than from government forces' encirclement and suppression. Li Jiu's death was therefore consistent with the inner workings of the pirate world.

When Lin Chengfeng led three warships to the port of Nangantang Island as planned, he saw rows of pirates tied up by the roadside.

Lin Chengfeng, who had expected to face another major battle, was dumbfounded.

Isn't this situation developing too fast? A village of 3000 people, pacified just like that? I wasn't even late.

"Haha, Third Uncle, you've come at the perfect time. Quickly get the people on the boat down to take over the water fortress, otherwise we'll be living in fear."

Lin Hao greeted Lin Chengfeng with a smile, and then gave him a warm hug.

"You little brat, you always manage to give me a big surprise. So many pirates captured by a mere hundred of you? Are night raids really that effective?"

Originally, Lin Hao and his group planned for their hundred men to storm the bandit stronghold and behead the bandits, then create chaos.

Even by the most optimistic estimate, they could only successfully behead Li Jiu and one or two other pirate leaders. Although they could defeat the pirates, they could not capture them all.

During this process, a large number of pirates will inevitably take the opportunity to escape by ship. If any of the remaining leaders are courageous enough, they might be able to organize a counterattack.

But now that Lin Chenfeng has seen all of this, it's simply unbelievable.

All the ships at the dock were still there, while the pirates lined up neatly on the beach, clearly all of them had been captured.

"Hey, it has nothing to do with us. It's just that the other side had a fight over money, and we just happened to be there," Li Hao replied with a smile, not taking credit for it.

Lin Chenfeng slowly shook his head. "Alas, you are mistaken. If it weren't for Hao'er's insistence on launching a surprise attack tonight, once the infighting among them subsided and a new leader was formed, the pirates' strength wouldn't have been significantly weakened. For us, it would have been just as difficult."

Despite the conversation, nothing was delayed. The soldiers on Lin Chenfeng's four ships quickly disembarked and firmly occupied the entire village. Only then did Li Hao truly feel relieved.

Once the situation is under control, the immediate priority is to take stock of the gains.

The 15000 taels of silver previously delivered were all recovered intact. Even more surprisingly, a secret chamber was discovered beneath Li Jiu's room, containing countless taels of silver. A rough estimate puts it at tens of thousands of taels. The original amount was even greater, making it impossible to calculate in a short time.

Of course, the greatest value wasn't these things, but rather the captured ships. This made Lin Hao suddenly regretful; it seemed he hadn't recruited enough sailors. He was now facing a situation of having many ships but few men again.

The inventory of the pirates' supplies continued until noon the next day. Food, cloth, ironware, swords, guns, firearms, and a whole host of other supplies were inventoried and registered.

After a short rest, Lin Hao arrived at the beach where the prisoners were being held.

"All sailors on the ships, come out!" Lin Hao called out loudly.

But after Lin Hao finished speaking, no one moved.

He shrugged, indifferently. "I am the young leader of the Four Seas Gang. Our Four Seas Gang is short of sailors, that is, people who can sail, so I can decide to give the existing sailors a chance. As for the others, they will only be sentenced to hard labor, and those with serious crimes will be beheaded as a warning. Since no one is stepping forward, then let it be."

Upon hearing this, a commotion naturally arose in the crowd, with many people standing up and shouting, "I am... I am the helmsman!"

"I am Liao Shou!"

"I am Shangdou!"

......

Fifteen minutes later, Lin Hao counted all the sailors and moved them to one side.

"Since you're willing to join our Four Seas Gang, that's great. I hereby declare you to be trainee sailors for now," Lin Hao said with a smile.

More than two hundred people were counted, and upon hearing Lin Hao's words, they breathed a sigh of relief. Now that they had been recruited into the Four Seas Gang, their lives were no longer in danger.

Someone bolder even asked Lin Hao, "Young Master, what is an apprentice sailor?"

Lin Hao glanced at the other person. Daring to ask a question at a time like this, this guy really had guts. However, he didn't reprimand him, but patiently explained, "The so-called trainee sailor does the same work as the regulars, but there's no salary, only room and board. They only get one-third of the profits. And if they fail the assessment, they'll have to go back to being manual laborers."

"Profit sharing? What is profit sharing?" The man was even more confused.

Lin Hao smiled and continued to explain, "Our Four Seas Gang always allocates 30% of the resources as rewards to everyone involved in each operation—that's profit sharing. Since you're trainees, you'll only receive the normal one-third."

"We get a share of the money?" The man's eyes widened in disbelief. The others also looked on incredulously.

"Believe it or not, alright, is anyone still regretting it?" Lin Hao said to the others with a smile.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Alright, someone come here and untie the ropes binding their hands."

Amidst the envious gazes of the pirates nearby, the ropes binding the more than 200 people were completely untied.

"Alright, since you are members of my Four Seas Gang, I will first briefly read out a few rules, and you must remember them well."

First, those who flee in the face of battle shall be executed.

Second, those who disobey orders shall be beheaded.

Third, anyone who commits adultery with a woman shall be beheaded.

Fourth, anyone who privately possesses the seized goods shall be beheaded.

After Lin Hao finished speaking, he looked at the crowd, who were stunned by the four words "execute," and said in a relaxed tone, "Isn't it easy to remember? For now, just remember this much. You can learn more of the gang rules later. By the way, did you remember them? Do you need me to repeat them?"

Hearing Lin Hao's thoughtful question, everyone answered in unison, "We've got it."

"Got it? Good. Now I'm announcing my first order: return to your respective ships and clean them thoroughly. I'll be here this afternoon to inspect them."

Lin Hao had arranged for the sails to be removed from all of Li Jiu's ships, and armed guards were stationed on board. Four other ships were also patrolling the outer bay. These people wouldn't be able to escape.

Watching these people hurry towards the ship's location, Lin Hao's smile vanished. Time was of the essence, and he had no choice but to use these men for now. However, he would still need to give them a good talking-to later.

Just then, Lin San stepped forward and said to Lin Hao, "Young Master, the Third Master wants to see you. It seems he has discovered something that is difficult to handle."