Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

At dusk, an arrow with a white cloth tied to it was shot into the front of Dongning Camp.

Soon, the letter of surrender was delivered to Lin Erren.

Lin Er sat in the tent, and smiled after reading it.

"These Jurchen Tartars are so arrogant. They're like barbarians who drink blood and eat raw meat. They're trying to use our pre-battle persuasion tactics. Do they think they can still win?"

They said they were willing to offer high-ranking positions and generous salaries if we were willing to surrender.

"That's ridiculous! Weren't all the Later Jin people slaves? Where did these officials come from?"

Hearing this, Lin Jiu grinned and said, "Second Brother, what's the point of discussing with these barbarians? In my opinion, these Tartars are about to die and don't even realize it. Why don't we give them a surprise tonight?"

Lin Er slowly shook his head: "There's no need for that. The enemy isn't the kind of army that keeps loose records. According to the intelligence we've gathered, their camps are quite well-organized, and a simple night raid won't be enough to deal with them."

"In my opinion, we may still need to guard against a night attack. According to the habits of the Later Jin army, they usually launch an attack immediately upon arrival. Their current behavior may be to paralyze us," Lin Shiyi suggested from the side.

For this northward campaign, Lin Hao not only sent his only battalion of all-flint rifles, but also sent out his entire staff of young men to observe.

Lin Shiyi was the chief of staff in the staff group, and he had studied a lot of Later Jin battle cases before this.

As for Lin Jiu, he was the battalion commander of this flintlock rifle battalion, and he assisted Lin Er in completing this operation.

"In any case, strengthen defenses tonight and wait to set out tomorrow to defeat the Later Jin army."

Lin Er nodded in agreement with Lin Shiyi's suggestion, then continued, "Where are Zhong Kui and the others?"

Lin Shiyi continued his report: "According to the message they sent back an hour ago, they have arrived at their designated location and will be at Shili Pu early tomorrow morning."

"Has there been any news from the Grand Commander yet?" Lin Er continued to ask.

The Grand Commander was Lin Chengfeng, the Grand Commander of the Eastern Ning Kingdom's Governor's Office, in charge of all naval operations.

However, the Later Jin dynasty didn't even have a single ship, so Lin Chengfeng, finding it boring, led his fleet to Japan to plunder.

Lin Shiyi scratched his head upon hearing this. "Well, according to the information relayed from the Japanese base, after the Duke demonstrated his military might in Hirado, he headed north, and there has been no further news since."

Lin Er rubbed his head in exasperation. He couldn't control Lin Chengfeng, whether in terms of status or seniority.

The enemy entrusted him with the war against the Later Jin and then took their fleet out to roam around. There was nothing he could do about it; after all, he was just a poor army soldier.

"The Grand Admiral has brought two large sailing ships. There is nothing to threaten the fleet from the north, nor are there any natural disasters such as typhoons. We don't need to worry. We just hope the Grand Admiral doesn't go too far north." Lin Er sighed, bringing his thoughts back to the current situation.

"In that case, all of you go and prepare. There will be a great battle tomorrow."

After everyone had left the main tent, Lin Er turned his attention back to the map, deducing possible changes for tomorrow.

The others in the camp believed that this operation was merely a gesture of reciprocation from Dongning Kingdom to the Ming Dynasty, but Lin Er was different from them. He knew clearly that Lin Hao's purpose was not limited to this.

As a member of the Dongning Kingdom's council, Lin Hao explained some future plans to the council ministers before setting off.

This was the first time everyone had realized that Lin Hao's strategic planning was so far-sighted and so audacious. But then everyone was moved, because the stronger Dongning Kingdom became, the more worthy their position would be.

As things stand, Dongning's foundation lies in the south, but its future focus will be on the north.

There are too few powerful forces in the south; the only ones who can put any pressure on Dongning Kingdom right now are the Dutch.

But the Dutch, though strong, were just a paper tiger, living thousands of miles away from their country.

The remaining Sudanese territories are no match for the Kingdom of Dongning.

In Southeast Asia, the biggest adversary of the Dongning Kingdom was actually the harsh environment.

But the situation is different in the north. Although the Later Jin were barbaric, they were also a powerful force with tens of thousands of elite soldiers and fully equipped cavalry.

Even now, the Tokugawa Shogunate, which is hiding its head like a turtle, still has an extremely terrifying number of capable armies under its daimyo system.

These two places possessed both the warhorses and manpower resources that Dongning Kingdom longed for, and one of the world's largest silver treasuries.

These three resources are ones that Dongning Kingdom cannot afford to give up, and tomorrow's battle will be the key to deciding the first two.

If we can defeat the Jurchens head-on and leave them helpless, the people of Liaodong will be greatly encouraged. When they are oppressed in the future, the first place they will think of turning to will be Dongning.

-----------------

Just as Lin Shiyi had predicted, the Jurchens launched a night attack at midnight.

More than three hundred surrendered soldiers selected from Gaizhou and Fuzhou bent over and crept toward the Sihai Gang camp in the dark.

However, they underestimated the arrangements of Dongning Kingdom. Although it looked like just a few simple circles of barricades and wooden railings, it was filled with all kinds of caltrops.

As the soldiers stepped onto the barbed wire, their screams instantly echoed through the night sky. Then, the Dongning soldiers, who were already prepared, launched a brutal attack on the exposed attackers.

The attack caused massive casualties, but behind the surrendered soldiers were the Jurchen supervisory troops. Under the brutal pressure from the supervisory troops, they unleashed astonishing fighting power. They even charged to the last ring of the camp's fence and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Dongning soldiers.

The Jurchen supervisory force behind them also seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, which was exactly what the Dongning soldiers had been waiting for.

The artillery, which had been concealed for the entire battle, suddenly unleashed its power, and the shrapnel completely covered the charging Jurchens, instantly crippling this assault force.

The leading white-armored soldiers were instantly riddled with holes; their prized heavy armor proved utterly useless.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" The devastating casualties in an instant made the Jurchens abandon their plan to launch a full-scale attack and immediately turn around and flee.

Without the Jurchens' support, the surrendered Ming soldiers reverted to their familiar state, fleeing in disarray with their heads in their hands, no longer posing any threat.

"If these Ming soldiers all had that kind of ruthlessness, how could the Jurchens have escaped the Northeast?"

Lin Shiyi stood aside, silently recording the entire process with pen and ink, and he was quite impressed with these Ming soldiers.

Despite being hit by volleys of gunfire and caltrops under their feet, the enemy soldiers charged close and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Dongning soldiers.

Although the darkness of night played a part in this, it's still something to be proud of.

"Eleventh Brother, this is what Young Master meant by the importance of an organization. No matter how barbaric an organization is, as long as it is functioning properly, it can unleash a strong fighting force. The problem with the Ming Dynasty is that the entire organization is rotten to the core and is only surviving because of its size."

These soldiers could not be organized into battle in the Ming Dynasty, but under the pressure of the Jurchen swords and spears, they were forced to unleash their full potential.

Lin Shiyi smiled and glanced at the other person, "Nineteen, you remember these things quite clearly."

"Of course, I got a perfect score in sociology." Lin Shijiu immediately puffed out his chest proudly.

"Alright, you understand how important this is. Let's go help treat the wounded. The battle should be over tonight."

At dawn the next day, the gates of the Dongning Kingdom's camp opened, and squads of soldiers in blue uniforms, carrying flintlock muskets, marched in neat rows toward Jinzhou.

At the same time, countless Jurchen cavalrymen rushed out of their camp and charged toward the Dongning Kingdom's army.