Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

The next morning, the beach on Dongluo Island was already bustling with activity.

A dozen large buckets were lined up at once, filled with boiling hot water.

A dozen burly men stood in front of the large barrel. These were guards and servants specially arranged by Lin Hao for the upcoming events.

Soon, the pirates who had been captured earlier arrived at the beach under the escort of the boys.

Of the previous prisoners, only 61 are still alive. Those pirates who committed atrocities against civilians have basically been eliminated.

"Listen up, everyone! You may be spared the death penalty, but you will not escape punishment. In light of your past mistakes, you will be sentenced to three years of hard labor before you are freed. Of course, if you behave well, you may be freed earlier. Do you have any objections?"

Lin Hao stood at the front of the crowd and announced the punishment for this group of people.

In fact, Lin Hao is currently in dire need of experienced pirates, and this group of people, after weeding out those with bad habits, perfectly meets his needs.

However, Lin Hao could not let them join directly; otherwise, the addition of more than 60 people with pirate habits to his team would instantly have a serious impact on the team.

Under constant influence, the hard-won goodwill can vanish in an instant, and everyone can turn into a group of undisciplined individuals like these pirates.

Therefore, before this, Lin Hao had to discipline this group of people and cultivate their sense of obedience and collective consciousness.

If we accept them now, they will only take it for granted. But if we punish them with hard labor first, and then gradually incorporate them into the sailors' ranks after they have been tortured enough, they will be extremely grateful.

"We are willing, and we thank you for sparing our lives, young master."

The pirates immediately knelt down and kowtowed. They were truly terrified. They had seen many killings before, but this man's methods of killing were somewhat unsettling.

First, they killed people in a village riot, leaving no trace of their bodies. Then they made them report on each other to kill each other. They not only killed them, but also destroyed their spirits. They were just ordinary people from the bottom of society, how could they withstand this kind of torment?

"Very well, in that case, come up here, get a haircut, and wash up."

After Lin Hao finished speaking, he waved for the people behind him to come forward.

These men worked in pairs, grabbing a prisoner and pinning him down next to a large barrel. They first stripped the prisoner naked, then threw him onto a nearby fire.

He then pressed down on the head, poured a ladle of hot water on it, and then took out a razor to start shaving the head.

The prisoners immediately screamed and struggled desperately.

The struggle resulted in cuts on his head, and the intense pain made the struggle even more fierce.

"Fuck you, behave yourself."

A guard grabbed a prisoner and slapped him hard across the face, making the prisoner see stars.

"Behave yourself, or I'll cut your head off."

Faced with the gleaming blades, the prisoner was too frightened to move and allowed himself to be done as he pleased.

The whole scene was extremely violent; if you didn't know better, you'd think they were shaving a pig.

That was pretty much the case. After their heads were shaved, the pirates were thrown aside, and then someone came over with soap and a big brush.

After rubbing soapberries on the other person a few times, he picked up a brush and started scrubbing them vigorously, which immediately triggered another round of howling and screaming.

This scene made the pirates waiting behind tremble with fear, cursing the culprits in their hearts, but they dared not utter a single complaint.

While the pirates were cleaning, a bird ship docked at the pier; it was the same ship that had gone to Ningde to pick up people earlier.

The boats are now being used to pick up people from the fishing villages on the south bank, and large numbers of people who have come to work are disembarking from them.

Seeing the pirates stripped naked and being cleaned, they immediately looked over curiously.

"Mommy, look! There are so many people not wearing clothes!" a child exclaimed curiously.

"Don't look, you'll get a sty." The women quickly covered the child's eyes, but their own eyes kept glancing in this direction.

This was a scene they had never witnessed before in their lives.

Lin Hao had to admire the old man.

During the few days I was away, I solved the most difficult manpower problem with a small amount of money, and I didn't even spare the elderly and children.

In his mind, he was already a pirate, and the common people should stay as far away from him as possible. But the old man was indeed experienced and wise; he understood the thoughts of the lower classes very well and easily got these people to come and work for him.

Moreover, these people weren't just there to work. According to what I heard from Uncle Fu, they offered these people a high price of one tael of silver per shi of rice to buy their grain.

Therefore, the group of people who came all carried a large bag, and some even carried it on a shoulder pole.

Currently, the price of grain in the Ming Dynasty varies from place to place and season to season, generally ranging from 5 to 8 qian of silver per shi. Offering a purchase price of one tael of silver is enough for many villagers to risk going to Dongluo Island to sell their grain.

Although not many were purchased, it was enough for the original inhabitants of Dongluo Island.

However, no one expected that Lin Hao's trip would double the island's population, putting everyone under food pressure once again.

The only good news is that the pirates are all prisoners, and after a few meals of hunger, they will be weak and easier to manage, so there won't be any trouble for the time being.

After all the pirates had finished shaving their heads and getting cleaned, Lin Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When they captured these pirates before, the smell on them almost drove Lin Hao crazy, especially during the interrogation in the room, where he almost suffocated from the stench.

These people basically never wash themselves, their bodies are covered in fleas and parasites, and they live in either dilapidated thatched huts or dark and damp ship cabins. The smell on their bodies is truly indescribable.

After all the cleaning was done, the unpleasant smell finally subsided considerably.

After being cleansed, each pirate was given a pair of large underpants to cover their private parts.

As for clothing, I'm sorry, we don't have any for now. Anyway, the weather isn't cold in September, so they can just bear with it for now.

It's not that the Lin family didn't have this kind of cloth, but mainly they couldn't treat these prisoners too well all at once, otherwise the prisoners wouldn't have any motivation.

Once they perform well, their food and clothing will naturally improve, which will further motivate them to work harder.

"Young Master, the villagers of Xi'ao Village have finished washing up. Shall we go and give them a lecture?"

Lin Er came to Lin Hao's side. The 20 people recruited from Xi'ao Village also underwent a full-body cleaning. The only difference was that, as directly recruited personnel, they did not need to have their heads shaved, but only needed to be washed clean.

"Okay, let's go together, Lin San, you come too."

The young men from West Australia Village washed up near a house west of the pirates' quarters. When Lin Hao arrived, they were already standing in the open space.

Although the boys tried very hard to get these people into a formation, they had little success.

The clothes of the people in West Australia Village were also ordered to be burned by Lin Hao. After all, those clothes were not even as good as those of the pirates. They were covered in patina and various holes, and had no value as clothing. They could only become a breeding ground for bacteria.

"It seems like everyone is feeling sorry for the clothes that were burned?" Lin Hao asked with a smile when he saw people staring at the still-burning clothes.

"Young master, that's the only piece of clothing I own, and it was passed down to me by my father."

Chen Shuanzhu looked at the clothes he had kept for more than ten years and felt extremely reluctant to part with them.

"Look at you, so pathetic! What's the point of wearing those tattered clothes? Now that you're with me, you should be dressed nicely!"

Lin Hao waved his hand, and the boys immediately took out a large stack of clothes and placed them next to him.

"Everyone, come forward one by one and each person can receive a set of clothes."