Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

Driven by the wind, three single-masted schooners slowly sailed out of the harbor. Lin Chengfeng stood on the lead schooner, Flying Dragon No. 1, holding a telescope and constantly scanning the sea.

"Turn the ship north, let's go a little further north and catch a lucky one," Lin Chengfeng ordered, putting away his telescope.

As the flag on the Flying Dragon 1 waved, the other two ships followed suit, turning their rudders and changing their sails, heading north towards Dongluo Island.

It was winter, and a northeasterly wind was blowing across the sea. This was the perfect time for ships from the Jiangnan region to travel south for maritime trade.

Lin Chengfeng used to take his boats out to sea for training. Back then, he would drool with envy as he watched the merchant ships coming and going. Now, he could finally freely seize ships.

The ship was heading north, and although it was against the wind, for the sailors who had been familiar with operating a single-masted schooner for several days, going against the wind was not difficult at all.

This type of sloop has a blind spot of only about 30 degrees with the wind. In other words, as long as you don't sail directly into the wind, you can get wind support from any other direction.

All three ships hoisted only half their sails. They then began to patrol the ocean.

There are indeed many ships this season, and the journey only took less than an hour. From the ship's vantage point, news of the approaching horn arrived.

"Three ships were spotted to the east: two Fujian-style ships and one bird-shaped ship. They were not flying any flags. The ships were in a very deep draft, so they were likely merchant ships."

The fact that it was not flying any flags and was drafting very deep almost certainly meant it was a merchant ship.

Upon hearing this, Lin Chengfeng was overjoyed and immediately ordered, "Turn the rudder east and meet them head-on! Don't let them escape!"

Not long after Lin Chengfeng led his fleet toward the other side, he spotted them through his binoculars. Just as Shang Dou had seen, there were indeed three merchant ships. Two of them were likely Fujianese ships of about 500 liao each, while the other was a small ship of about 300 liao. They were currently traveling together from north to south.

Just as Lin Chengfeng spotted the other party, the other party's scouts also discovered the three ill-intentioned ships.

The enemy's naval unit didn't have telescopes, so they only noticed the three ships at this point.

The captain of the lead ship shouted down, "Master, three ships have been spotted on our right, flying black flags. They must be pirates!"

"Damn it, what bad luck!" The shipowner on the Fujian ship spat fiercely.

He deliberately chose to set off so early, thinking the pirates wouldn't be so active. He planned to sneak away during the morning hours, and once he reached the vicinity of Dalian Island, where there were many pirates, few would dare to openly hijack ships in that area. That would make things much safer.

But to my surprise, we were still intercepted.

But the shipowner wasn't one to back down easily. He immediately ordered, "Everyone, get moving! Bring up all the weapons and gunpowder. Also, have Old Zhou and Old Li move closer to me. Anyone who tries to rob my ship, I'll make sure they're mortified!"

As the two sides drew closer, the ship owner was able to clearly see the approaching Four Seas Gang vessels.

"Damn, that scared me half to death. I thought it was some big pirate, but it's just three small boats. They dare to rob me like this? Hoist the sails, helmsman, turn around, charge at them and smash their boats to pieces!"

Upon seeing the size of the three ships belonging to the Four Seas Gang, the ship owner breathed a huge sigh of relief. The other party's ships were not even half the size of his own.

At sea, larger ships equate to greater strength—a universally acknowledged truth. The opposing force consisted of only three ships, each around 200 tons, totaling less than half their own tonnage. At this point, the shipowner was no longer afraid. Fujianese ships were best known for their ramming tactics, especially against such small vessels—they were practically invincible.

"Master, these pirates are really desperate. They dare to block our way with such a small boat? They're really courting death. But their flag is quite rare, it looks pretty good. It's much more interesting than the plain-colored flags of other pirates." One of the ship owner's men laughed.

Just as the shipowner was urging the other two ships to rush forward together, another Fujian-style ship suddenly turned its rudder and headed to the other side, seemingly trying to shake off the other two ships and escape alone.

"What's wrong with Old Zhou? Why did he run off all by himself?" The boat owner stared blankly at the scene.

You have to understand that it's a three-on-three situation, and it's a big ship against a small ship, so no matter what, the advantage is on my side.

And the other side just runs away like that, aren't they afraid that the other side's three boats will rush towards him? They should know that they still have two boats on their side. If the other side isn't greedy, they will definitely chase after him first.

But despite his thoughts, he didn't have the time to worry about others. Their three ships were only temporarily grouped together to avoid being targeted by pirates due to their weakness. If the pirates wanted to escape, there was nothing he could do. Besides, with just three small boats and Old Lin by his side, their strength wasn't much less.

His ship was tall and imposing. It would be extremely difficult for the pirates to climb up, while he could look down from above and attack at will. Even if he lost a ship, he wouldn't panic.

As the two sides closed in, their speed increased. The three enemy ships formed a strange line, heading longitudinally towards the Fujian ship. This puzzled the crew of both the Fujian and the bird-shaped ship. "Pirates," they reasoned, "shouldn't they surround the ship from all sides before boarding? What's the point of forming a line? At most, only one ship can get close on each side."

Unable to understand the situation, and under the orders of the Fujian shipowner, the Fujian ship charged directly at the lead vessel, the Yulong 1. The two ships were now within 500 paces of each other. This is an extremely dangerous distance at sea; a collision could easily occur.

"Fire!" the shipowner shouted. A massive 500-pound cannon was mounted on the bow, and at his command, the gunners immediately fired it, unleashing a deafening roar. A huge spray of water erupted from the sea. The morale of the Fujian-style ship was instantly boosted.

"Well done! Keep it up!"

Although the cannon missed, the distance between the two ships was rapidly closing. At this point, given the maneuverability of ships in that era, a collision was almost unavoidable. Just when the shipowner thought he could easily sink the other ship, the other finally made a move.

"Turn to starboard and pass on the enemy's left, maintaining a distance of 200 paces. All ships, keep your target aligned with ours. All ships, prepare your guns!"

At Lin Chenfeng's command, three single-masted sailing ships, amidst the astonished gazes of the two ships opposite, narrowly and incredibly daringly spun past the Fujian ship. In the blink of an eye, they were less than 200 paces from the side of the Fujian ship.

At such a clear distance, the people on the Fu ship could immediately see what was on the other ship.

"Big, big, big cannons! So many barbarian cannons!" someone shouted hysterically.

The crew of the Fujian ship were thrown into a panic. They only had two large cannons at the bow and stern; the rest were small cannons like the "hundred-shot musket." Compared to their adversary, they were like toys.

"Fire!" With Lin Chenfeng's command, the four six-pound cannons on the port side opened fire first.

Subsequently, the two 12-pounder cannons at the bow and stern also opened fire.

A series of explosions suddenly rang out on the sea. A large amount of fire and white smoke billowed from the port side of the Flying Dragon 1. The smoke completely enveloped the ship. The entire hull shook violently, and the recoil from the cannons caused the ship to list sharply. Fortunately, the list returned to normal immediately after the shelling was completed.

However, the sailors on board had no time to worry about that. Amidst the roar of their cannons, the gunners rushed forward to clear the barrels of the retreating cannons, and then reload them with gunpowder and iron bullets.

After loading was completed, the two gunners immediately began pulling the ropes that towed the cannon. As the pulley system linked to the ropes operated, the gun carriage was gradually pulled back to the gun port on the ship's side. At the same time, the gunners began to fine-tune the wooden blocks at the breech, adjusting the cannon's angle based on the previous shot's hit.

Meanwhile, the ships emerging from the smoke also saw the enemy's situation. Lin Chenfeng had specifically assigned someone to observe and record the results of the shelling.

"Reporting to the commander, our ships fired six shots, two of which hit their targets. One of them was a twelve-pounder cannon shot."