Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

"Is this place always this chaotic?" After wandering around the stream for only half an hour, Lin Liu and Wang Long lost all interest.

All because of this farce unfolding on the street.

Three hairy Spanish soldiers, the leader of whom appeared to be an officer, were beating up a skinny boy in broad daylight in front of a group of Chinese people, simply because the boy was a little slow to dodge.

"This isn't a common occurrence. But esteemed guest, just observe, and absolutely do not reach out, or you might get implicated," the stall owner beside them whispered a warning. He could tell at a glance that these two weren't locals; locals wouldn't find this strange.

The boy got up and was knocked down again, got up and was knocked down again, his body covered in blood and footprints. After struggling a few more times, he finally couldn't get up anymore.

Seeing this, the men kicked him twice more, spat on him a few times, and then walked away.

Throughout the entire process, none of the Chinese people around dared to move; some lowered their heads, some turned away, and some pretended not to see anything.

"Lin Liu, calm down. We're here to do business, this isn't the time." Seeing Lin Liu's increasingly dangerous gaze, Wang Long immediately reached out and grabbed Lin Liu's hand, whispering a warning.

"Don't worry, I'm not a reckless brute like Lin Jiu. I won't cause trouble on the street. I was just thinking that this young man's situation is somewhat similar to mine back then," Lin Liu said leisurely.

The two then stepped forward and tentatively checked the boy. Finding that he was still breathing, they worked together to carry him to a nearby clinic.

"Don't worry, both of you. These are just superficial injuries. No bones are broken, and no internal organs are damaged. Although there's been a lot of blood loss, it won't cause any fundamental damage. This kid has protected his head very well, and he'll probably wake up soon."

The doctor refused the medical fee offered by Lin Liu, saying, "You two are truly kind-hearted, helping a stranger in distress. There's not much I, Old Zhou, can do, so please consider this medical fee mine."

"Our young master said that we Han people should unite and help each other when we are abroad, otherwise we will inevitably be bullied. This is a small thing I should do. But your small business is not easy either, so please accept this money." Lin Liu shook his head and then forcibly stuffed the silver into the other party's hand.

The doctor declined several times, but in the end he couldn't resist Lin Liu's insistence and accepted the silver.

"To say something like that, your young master is quite something," the doctor remarked.

Speaking of Lin Hao, Lin Liu immediately raised his head proudly: "Of course, our young master is the reincarnation of the God of Literature and the God of War. He is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and knows everything from astronomy to geography."

"I see. He must be a god-like figure. I wish I could meet him," the physician exclaimed.

"There will be an opportunity," Lin Liu said meaningfully.

At this moment, Wang Long suddenly asked, "Dr. Zhou, are all the Spaniards so arrogant here? Aren't you going to resist?"

"Resistance? How could there not be? There was resistance fifteen years ago, and what was the result? All thirty thousand people were slaughtered." Doctor Zhou sighed.

"Thirty thousand Chinese were all killed?" Lin Liu asked, frowning.

Dr. Zhou nodded: "Basically, that's about right. Of the 30,000 Han people, less than one in a hundred survived."

Lin Liu expressed disbelief. Although he had heard Lin Hao mention the massacre of Chinese in Manila, after arriving here, he felt something was amiss. There were far too many Chinese and far too few Spaniards: "This is outrageous! I don't think there are many Spaniards here. Even if only half of them resisted, surely these Spaniards couldn't withstand it?"

Dr. Zhou sighed heavily: "What's the point of resistance? It wasn't just the Ganlasians who participated in the massacre; there were also Japanese ronin employed by the Ganlasians and local inhabitants. Furthermore, before the massacre began, the Chinese Kapitan Huang Kang, deeply believing the lies of the foreigners, helped the Portuguese buy up all the Chinese weapons—even the small knives used for butchering meat were sold. The only weapons the Chinese had were wooden sticks. How could they possibly resist the foreigners' cannons and muskets?"

"That man is truly despicable, actually trusting foreigners and causing the massacre of his compatriots. He deserves to die. But how many Spaniards are there here? Did Doctor Zhou ever go into that castle?" Lin Liu asked with a smile.

"How many people are there? Even if you include women, children, and the elderly, the number is no more than three thousand, of which about a thousand are soldiers." Zhou Langzhong had been here for many years and was obviously very familiar with the area.

"I've heard that a pirate named Lin Feng once attacked Manila. Is that true?" Lin Liu had heard a lot about Manila from Lin Hao before he came. Now he wanted to hear what these people thought of Lin Feng, because one day, the Four Seas Gang would also follow Lin Feng's example and come to Manila.

"Lin Feng..." Doctor Zhou seemed lost in memories, then sighed again, "It's true, they almost succeeded, but unfortunately, the Franks were ultimately more skilled. After their failed attack on Manila, they apparently fled north, and I heard they were completely wiped out in less than two years. Alas, what a pity! If we had known about the subsequent catastrophe, we would have preferred to let the pirates succeed."

Lin Liu nodded in agreement, saying, "That's true. No matter how brutal pirates are, they wouldn't slaughter their own people so recklessly."

"But then again, if the pirates had defeated the Spanish, given their destructive nature, this place might not be so prosperous anymore and would have fallen into ruin again." Zhou Langzhong's tone revealed his disdain for the pirates.

Lin Liu shook his head after hearing this: "That's not necessarily true. Not all pirates are just good at fighting and killing."

……

"All we know is fighting and killing. We can't do anything else besides killing people. We really have nothing to trade with you."

Heading north from the ravine across the Pasig River, you reach the Chinese-populated farm village of Binongdo, and further north lies the Tongdo Swamp.

Inside a damp shack in the swamp, a young man looked helplessly at Lin Yidao. Behind him were also some ragged people, all staring blankly at the supplies in the shack.

Just a quarter of an hour ago, Lin Yi came to him with a large amount of grain, cloth, and even a musket, saying that he wanted to provide him with free assistance.

At first, he panicked, thinking he couldn't escape in the end, but after the initial misunderstanding, he realized that the other party really came to help him.

"We are merchants from the Ming Dynasty. We heard about your father's resistance and admired him greatly. We also heard that you are still leading people in the great movement against the Spanish, so we came here specifically to meet you. These supplies are for you."

Lin Yi held the other person's hand and spoke gently. Although the other person was actually several years older than him, Lin Yi appeared mature and composed at the moment. Together with the dozen or so burly guards and several large boxes of supplies he brought, he gave the young man a great sense of security.

"You mean you've heard about my father's deeds? Do you think what we did was right?" Upon hearing this, the young man burst into tears.

"Of course that's right. Resisting invaders and protecting our compatriots is the most correct thing in the world. Your father, Huang Da, died protecting the Chinese people, and that is something all Chinese people should remember." Lin Yi smiled and patted the other person's hand.

This man was named Huang Shi. His father, Huang Da, led the Chinese in resisting the Spanish massacre. With rudimentary weapons, they once approached Manila and launched a night-long attack under heavy fire. Unfortunately, they were ultimately defeated by the Spanish muskets and cannons.

The most regrettable thing is that Huang Da did not die at the hands of the Spanish, but was ultimately killed because of infighting among the Chinese, between Christians and non-Christians, and between people from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. This is undeniably ironic.

As for Huang Shi's grandfather, Huang Kang, he was once a Chinese Kapitan who converted to Christianity and became completely subservient to the Spanish. If he hadn't confiscated the Chinese's weapons and reassured everyone that nothing would happen, the Spanish operation wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

Unfortunately, he trusted the Spanish. When the Spanish took action, the first people they killed were Chinese Christians. He only realized the truth when he was about to be hanged: all the talk about God's love for the world was a lie, and these foreigners were nothing but bandits. He refused to repent before the bishop and was hanged.

Now, his grandson Huang Shi has inherited his father's will and is steadfastly leading the remaining people in the cause of resistance.

"Our young master has a message for you: as long as you continue to resist the Spanish and help the Chinese establish themselves in Manila, we will do everything we can to help you," Lin Yi said solemnly.