Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

On the night of the 16th of the tenth month in the 46th year of the Wanli reign (1597).

On the west side of Dongluo Island village, there are many long, narrow side rooms. Each room is a large communal sleeping area, housing 20 reserve soldiers.

Night had already fallen. But most of the rooms in the dormitory-style dormitory were still lit up.

"Brother Zhang, can you help me figure out what this thing means?" Wu Jian, who had recently joined the group by the oil lamp, stared at a piece of paper in his hand, his brows furrowed.

The paper had more than ten Chinese characters written on it, and each character was also marked with an alphabet-like script similar to that of foreigners. If a Chinese person from the 21st century were here, they would immediately recognize that it was marked with Pinyin.

The person being questioned was Zhang Dingbian, a former soldier from the Dinghai military household. He glanced indifferently at the words in the other person's hand and said irritably, "Isn't there some kind of pinyin on it? Just read it, why don't you? It's just the character 'Ming' (明). You call yourself a Ming Dynasty soldier, and you don't even know the 'Ming' in 'Ming Dynasty'?"

"So it's Ming. No wonder he looked so familiar. Brother Zhang, you know a lot." Wu Jian scratched his head and chuckled.

"He doesn't know anything. He's only been here a few days. When he first came, he wasn't much more learned than you, but he wasn't as eager to learn as you are now," Chen Agui, sitting on the far right, said with a smile.

Chen Agui was one of the first to join the group in Xi'ao Village. Chen Shuangzhu, who came with him, was already one of the captains. He had also received a considerable bounty for his participation in the previous battle, but unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to collect it until the end of the year.

Now, everyone has to participate in basic training. Although he's been here for more than ten days, he's still subject to the same rules. However, being here for more than ten days still gives him a significant advantage, at least in terms of seniority, overshadowing everyone else in the room. He received longer literacy training from the Four Seas Gang, which allows him to at least show off a little in front of this group.

"Brother Chen, why do we soldiers need to be literate?" another person in the room mumbled from under the covers.

Chen Agui raised his voice slightly, warning everyone with a hint of seriousness.

"Join the army? Dream on! According to the young master, you're only reserve soldiers right now. If you want to join the army, you have to pass the final test. And I'm reminding you, literacy accounts for half of the total test score. If you fail in this area, you won't be able to join the army. You'll only be able to become auxiliary soldiers, or even work as assistants at the shipyard."

"I'd rather die than work in a shipyard. I want to be a soldier," Wu Jian said angrily. Then, Wu Jian stared fiercely at the paper in his hand, as if he were looking at an enemy.

It's important to understand that Dongluo Island is currently well-populated. In particular, there are several hundred government troops captured who can be exploited at will. The wages for working in the shipyard are vastly different from those for combat soldiers. Not to mention, combat soldiers can also participate in the profit sharing after each robbery. Anyone with a modicum of ambition wouldn't want to work there.

"Brother Chen, didn't you already learn 100 characters? You've already met the passing standard, so why are you still studying so hard?" The man who had been captured earlier spoke up again.

"Hmph! You think everyone's like you, Zhang the Fool? Learning 100 characters and then lying around doing nothing? Brother Chen, according to the young master's rules, anyone who wants to be a captain needs to learn 500 characters to be given priority for promotion," Zhang Dingbian said disdainfully. However...

"I have a name. My name is Zhang Jiangxia, not Zhang Shadan. Besides, I know more characters than you," the person in the blanket said with dissatisfaction.

"That's only because you have more than me now. If your brother hadn't taught you before, you wouldn't know anything. And it might change in a while. Maybe I'll be the first to learn 500 characters, then you'll have to call me captain." Zhang Ding said with a smirk, seemingly unconcerned.

The person in bed was taken aback. So you all want to be the team leader? But then he couldn't sit still any longer. He quickly crawled out of bed, frantically pulled out his papers, and began studying again.

For a moment, the room was filled with the atmosphere of studying, making it feel like a dormitory of a private school rather than a military barracks.

"Attention, everyone!"

Accompanied by a sharp swan whistle, a loud voice echoed throughout the room. Everyone was startled for a moment, then quickly got off the bed and stood neatly by the bedside, legs together, heads held high, shoulders back, eyes straight ahead.

As the door opened, a group of people entered the room. Everyone glanced at them out of the corner of their eyes and froze, initially thinking it was just a routine room check. But behind Lin San and Lin Jiu stood a tall figure—none other than Lin Hao, the young leader of the Four Seas Gang.

Lin Hao walked into the dormitory and said in a relaxed tone, "At ease!"

After everyone had finished standing at attention, Lin Hao surveyed them one by one. He then noticed some papers they had left behind, bent down to pick them up, and said, "Still studying so late?"

"Reporting to Young Master, we will keep your teachings in mind: we will never stop learning as long as we live," Chen Agui replied loudly.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Your name is Chen Agui, right? I remember you. You were one of the few who followed me in Xio Village back then. How about it? How many characters can you recognize now?" Lin Hao patted the other man on the shoulder and said with a smile.

"Replying to the young master, I now recognize more than 300 characters, and I'm only 200 short of 500," Chen Agui said excitedly.

"Oh? Almost 500 words? It seems you have big ambitions, A-Gui." Lin Hao replied with a smile.

"I just want to learn more characters; I never had this opportunity before," Chen Agui said, his face slightly flushed and a little embarrassed.

"Haha, whatever you want. There's nothing to be ashamed of if you want to climb the ladder. And you can't neglect your studies either. I hope your goal isn't just 500 words. After all, 500 words is just the captain's requirement."

Lin Hao nodded casually, then turned to ask the other person, "Are you used to the food here?"

The person being questioned was Zhang Dingbian. Upon hearing Lin Hao's question, he immediately nodded frantically, "I'm used to it, I'm so used to it. I never dreamed that I could have meat every day."

"Is the training tough?" Lin Hao asked with a smile.

"Uh..." Zhang Dingbian was stunned for a moment, unsure how to begin. Finally, with a firm look in his eyes, he said, "Please rest assured, Young Master, I can hold on."

You ask if the training is tough? Of course it is! Even the border troops of the Ming Dynasty only drill once every three days and train once every five days. How could they train from morning till night like the Four Seas Gang?

The mornings consist of an hour of intense training, followed by a midday break, and then another hour of training in the afternoon. And that's not all; in the evenings, there are so-called night schools to learn academic subjects. It's a non-stop grind from morning till night. To say it's not tough would be a lie.

And it wasn't just the sheer volume of training that was tough; the training itself was incredibly arduous. The instructors carried bamboo whips, and if anyone made a mistake, they'd be lashed several times. As newcomers, how could they not make mistakes? Almost everyone was covered in whip marks.

These bamboo whips hurt terribly when they hit someone, but they don't actually injure them. Now, everyone shudders at the sound of the whip cracking. They're truly terrified of being whipped.

But everyone has come from hard times. No matter how bitter or tiring it is, as long as you think about the bright future, you can only grit your teeth and endure it silently. After all, no one wants to go back to those days of poverty where you don't know where your next meal is coming from, your stomach rumbles every day, but you can't find anything.

"It's good that you can persevere. Only by thoroughly carrying out this arduous training can you become the strongest warriors in the Great Ming Sea. At that time, we will have whatever we want. The best days are yet to come." Lin Hao comforted them with a few words, and then chatted with the others one by one. Finally, he led everyone away to the next location.