Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

After completing all the tests, the boys were given a nighttime sailing experience with the help of the old sailors. After half the night of this, all the boys were so tired that their legs were trembling.

Lin Hao finally spoke, and they set sail westward toward the nearest island to land.

The decision immediately drew cheers from everyone. The intense flight all day had left them feeling somewhat numb, having gone from initial excitement to a state of exhaustion. Hearing that they could rest naturally boosted their spirits.

Subsequently, the entire Fujian ship noticeably sped up under everyone's skillful maneuvering, and various turns and wind changes became incredibly smooth, as if their teamwork had suddenly improved dramatically.

"Damn it, these little brats are surprisingly cooperative when they hear they can rest." Wu Fan was speechless.

"Young master, why be so harsh? In my opinion, these young men have already performed very well. Which of the veteran sailors on this ship can be like them, able to start the ship on the very first day? Everyone of them has been on the ship for at least a year. Compared to them, we should be ashamed."

The speaker was a man dressed in a gray short-sleeved shirt, with very large feet. He stood barefoot on the boat, his body completely still.

"Brother Aniu, don't praise them too much. Although it's their first time on a ship, I've explained the principles to them many times, but they still didn't perform very well. They're far worse than the people you brought out."

Lin Hao smiled and nodded at the other person. This person was named Liu Aniu and was born a fisherman by the sea. He was the best swimmer in the Lin family team and also the most skilled at handling boats. He could be considered one of the best sailors in the Lin family.

"Why are you in such a hurry, young master? Although we suffered a great loss this time, as long as we wait for the masters to recover, we can recruit some more people and still live well at sea without having to depend on other government officials."

Liu Aniu and Lin Hao stood side by side on the stern, watching the many teenagers busily working. Liu Aniu was the ship's first mate, and in the absence of Lin Hao's second uncle, he was effectively in charge of the entire ship.

"Brother Niu, there should theoretically be nine sailors on this ship. There are only seven now. Brother Niu, why don't you think the other two are here?"

According to the records in the book "Jixiao Xinshu" (New Book of Military Efficiency), a standard Fujian-style ship was configured with the following personnel: one captain (who was also the captain), two helmsmen responsible for the stern rudder, two sailmen responsible for operating the sails and ropes, one bowman responsible for the bow rudder, one lookout responsible for the lookout, and two anchormen responsible for the anchor. The total crew consisted of nine people.

In reality, most ships are not fully staffed. People take on part-time jobs, which not only saves on the wages of one person, but more importantly, it saves a lot of space by reducing the proportion of food and water for that one person. However, Lin Hao requires the Lin family's ships to be fully staffed, and sometimes even overstaffed, just to train more sailors.

The ship was originally manned by nine sailors, and each of their names was recorded in a book in Lin Hao's hand. However, only seven of them were present at the moment. Lin Hao was actually relieved that seven of them could remain under these circumstances, which showed that his family had treated them quite well.

"Young Master, those two got scared, so..." Liu Aniu was a little angry with the two, but after working together, he didn't know how to evaluate them for a moment.

"It's normal to be afraid, and since they're afraid, it's only a matter of time before they find out about the islands we frequent, and they might even have already been exposed. How could I dare not make any preparations?"

"But Brother Niu, aren't you afraid? We burned down the county government office; we're practically half rebels now." Lin Hao stared into the other man's eyes, carefully discerning his micro-expressions in the dim moonlight.

Although Liu Aniu was from Ningde like everyone else, he was different in that he had other experience running ships before joining the Lin family.

"I only have an elderly mother who is often ill at home, so there's nothing to be afraid of. If I don't do this, where will I get the money to buy medicine? Besides, I think the young master is different." Lin Aniu showed no discomfort under Lin Hao's gaze, his expression open and honest.

"I'm different? Heh, what's different about me? I only have one head on my shoulders, I don't have three heads and six arms." Lin Hao didn't care. Could you possibly tell that I've lived two lives? As long as it's not that, nothing else matters.

Liu Aniu pondered for a moment, seemingly preparing his words. After a long pause, he slowly said, "Young Master's way of thinking is completely different from others. Young Master always considers things in the long term and never seems to doubt the correctness of the direction, which is different from other people."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Lin Hao narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully examined the other party. From the beginning of the day until now, Lin Hao had truly begun to take an interest in the other party. As a transmigrator, his greatest advantage was knowing the direction of the future. Moreover, because he knew the darkness ahead, he never had the intention of living a life of mediocrity or just getting by. Naturally, he was always thinking about the future.

But judging from just a few of his decisions, it's clear that this isn't something an ordinary person could figure out. Could the other party be some kind of reclusive master? No, wait, what kind of master would become a pirate's subordinate? Isn't that ridiculous?

"Brother Aniu, can you tell me about your past experiences? I'm suddenly very interested." Lin Hao smiled and looked at the other person. He wanted to know what the background of this person who had always been valued by his father was.

Liu Aniu paused for a moment, then looked at Lin Hao and said, "Since Young Master wants to ask, then I have nothing to hide. I just hope that Young Master won't find me unpleasant in the end."

"Go ahead and talk about it, anyway, the night is long." Lin Hao shrugged indifferently.

"Back then, to earn money for my mother's medicine, I first worked on the Jiang family's boat, but the Jiang family was too stingy and always withheld our money, so I left in a fit of anger, and later..."

Later, by chance, I joined a pirate gang, but it was even worse. Not only did I lose my original salary, but the spoils we received after hunting on merchant ships were pitifully small, not even enough for food.

Seeing that Lin Hao still didn't react much when he heard about the pirates, Liu Aniu continued, "Not long after, the pirates I belonged to were besieged by the government army. I took advantage of the chaos and led a few people to steal a ship and escape. After that, I simply found an island and learned to do business without any capital."

But reality quickly showed me that I wasn't cut out for this at all, and I couldn't last more than six months, after which we all had to part ways.

"Hmm? That can't be right. How could such a lucrative business as piracy fail? And Brother Niu, you're quite capable too." Lin Hao thought it was a bit far-fetched. He had only ever heard of companies failing, never of pirates failing. To be able to lose money with no capital is truly remarkable.

"Young master, you are a natural scholar. There are many things that we can never learn in our entire lives, but you understand them from the beginning. So it is normal that you do not understand. Every year, a large number of fishermen are forced to go to sea to become thieves because they cannot make a living due to the government, but very few of them can actually succeed."

We were good at seizing ships back then, but after we got them, no one could take stock of the supplies because no one could read or write, and we couldn't recognize all the items, let alone find someone to sell them. We were always ripped off.

After that, I had to take care of everyone's food, drink, and basic needs, as well as consider ship repairs, weapon supplies, relationships with fellow travelers, and sometimes even bribe government troops. The little silver I robbed was simply not enough, and I couldn't bear to mistreat my brothers, so the silver quickly dwindled. When winter came, we hadn't prepared enough supplies, so in the end, we had to bite the bullet and go out to rob ships, but instead of getting any, many of us froze to death.

"I see, being a pirate isn't easy either."

In this era, to succeed alone, you either needed to be exceptionally talented or to align yourself with the right mentor. Zheng Yiguan rose to prominence later in life because he was first capable and then chose the right person to follow. Ordinary people have a long and arduous road ahead if they rely solely on their own efforts to rise in society.

"I've heard that many pirates choose existing villages as their bases? Is that why?" Lin Hao suddenly asked.

"Yes, that's right. For pirates, the best way is to find a village where they won't have to worry about food and lodging. Then, use your knives to make them take care of all the logistics. That way, the pirates only need to focus on robbing. They can also plunder some from the villagers, which should be enough. They can even make a lot more."

Liu Aniu clearly knew this path, but ultimately did not choose it.

"We've arrived! We've found the island! We can rest now."

Just then, cheers erupted from the boys. An island appeared in front of the Fujian ship, a perfect place to settle down.

"You guys are lucky, this is the place. Move over, we'll rest here tonight."

After a busy day, Lin Hao was exhausted. He said to Liu Aniu, "Brother Aniu, go up and keep an eye on things. These kids are clumsy and careless. Make sure they don't run aground near the shore."