Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

Lin Hao's sudden outburst startled the three of them, especially when they heard that he suspected them of being spies with ulterior motives, they trembled with fear.

They couldn't possibly bear such a crime, and the three of them immediately knelt down again.

"Young master, we're innocent! We really don't know the name of the adjutant. We're so hungry, how could we have time to worry about such things? As for the recent campaign against the Japanese pirates, we were not qualified to participate."

The three of them burst into tears and lay on the ground, trembling.

What annoyed Lin Hao the most about coming to this era was that these people would kneel down at the drop of a hat, making him seem like some kind of bad guy.

"Get up. You guys don't look like spies." Lin Hao was just trying to trick them casually; he actually knew that these people were probably not spies.

Spies wouldn't be foolish enough to infiltrate using their military household status; a civilian household status would be far more discreet. Besides, considering how they'd only been causing a ruckus in the county town a few days ago, the fact that spies had already been planted shows how incredibly efficient the Ming government was.

If they had that kind of speed, the Ming Dynasty wouldn't have fallen.

Moreover, based on Lin Hao's understanding of that General Shen, a man who had spent his life in the military, he probably preferred to launch a direct attack.

With his current strength, he is not enough to persuade the other side to send spies; he has overestimated his influence.

"Alright, let's change the subject. What would happen if your commander found out you were working here?" Lin Hao asked curiously.

"Um..." The three hesitated for a moment, then Zhang Dingyuan said in a low voice, "That centurion will probably send all the military households out to work for you, young master, and then confiscate all our income."

Lin Hao was stunned. He had thought the other party would say that if he found out, he would be executed or even beheaded, but he never expected the other party to say this.

"You mean send all the military households to work for me? Are you kidding me? My Lin family is now a pirate family." Lin Hao said irritably.

"I'm not lying to you, young master. Our centurion is greedy and will do anything to make money. We even repaired ships for pirates before. You can ask them if you don't believe me."

"Young master, that's true. We've been assigned to work in various places by the centurion all year round, but we've never received any wages. We work for all sorts of people, and it's not like we've only served pirates once or twice." Liu Qiang said indignantly, and judging from his angry expression, he had clearly been docked a lot of money.

"Young master, please don't tell the centurion, or we'll have all the wages we received taken back." Sun Ning looked terrified.

Lin Hao stared at the three men speechlessly, a look of despair on his face. When they were suspected of being spies before, the three men were terrified, but they had never felt this desperate. It seemed that the centurion on the other side was really something.

"Alright, you all do your jobs well, and naturally nothing will happen. Go down now. After work, go to the foreman and get an extra piece of meat as payment for what you just asked for."

Lin Hao waved them back.

The three men thanked him profusely and turned to leave. Just before they reached the door, Lin Hao suddenly asked, "By the way, are you regular soldiers or unregistered soldiers?"

"Replying to your question, young master, I am the principal officer, and the other two are subordinate officers," Zhang Dingyuan said, turning around.

"Oh? How many officers and men are there in your Hundred Household Office?" Lin Hao continued to ask.

"There are fewer than a hundred regular soldiers, but there are many more, about three or four hundred," Zhang Dingyuan replied.

"Okay, thank you for your explanation. You can go back to your work now."

After the three left, Lin Yi asked curiously, "Young Master, are you trying to recruit them?"

Lin Hao glanced at Lin Yi in surprise and said, "You've improved a lot, kid. That's true. Even if a military household is down on its luck, they've still been exposed to military training since childhood. They have some foundation and are considered decent soldiers."

"But young master, according to the military treatise, those villagers should have been more suitable, right? Why did you only recruit 20 people back then? I think many of them actually meet the requirements." Lin Yi asked, puzzled. Although Lin Hao was always worried about the lack of manpower, he was very restrained in recruiting people each time.

"Because I don't want too many people of the same kind here. If there are too many of the same kind, it's easy for them to form cliques. We're a small place right now, so it's better to be cautious," Lin Hao said calmly.

After dealing with the unexpected incident here, Lin Hao led Lin Yi to the open space behind the mountain.

Actually, he wasn't here to interrogate the military households today. The thirty people announced yesterday were officially merged and training began today, and Lin Hao was going to check on the situation.

When Lin Hao arrived at the back mountain, Lin Er and Lin San were leading them in standing at attention.

Fifty people stood in neat rows on the open ground, not daring to move an inch. Whenever someone shifted their body or couldn't help wiping sweat or scratching an itch, they would be served with bamboo sticks.

These bamboo strips hurt a lot when you hit someone, but they won't really injure them. They are the best punishment tool that Lin Hao chose after summarizing all the materials.

Of the fifty people, 20 were from Xi'ao Village before, and the rest were newly recruited.

Lin Hao stood and watched for a while. Those who were beaten were basically the thirty newcomers. Many of them were covered in red marks from the beating, but they could only endure it.

There were instances of him resisting with a fiery temper, which resulted in him being beaten even more severely. If he didn't want to be beaten, he could just turn around and leave. However, it was agreed beforehand that if he withdrew from the training, he would not only lose the resettlement allowance, but he and his family would also no longer be allowed to work on Dongluo Island.

Everyone gritted their teeth and persevered at the thought of such consequences.

Meanwhile, the twenty people from Xi'ao Village were overjoyed. Before, they were the only ones suffering, but now there were even weaker opponents. Seeing others suffer made their own pain seem less intense.

Lin Er and Lin San each led a few people to train these guys. Lin Hao arrived but didn't disturb them; he just watched from the side.

After this round of training ended, Lin Er ordered everyone to stand at ease. Lin Hao then stepped forward and said with a smile, "So, everyone, any regrets?"

"Young Master, I have no regrets. The food and lodging here are excellent, and there's even money to be made. There's no better thing in the world than this. I, Chen Shuanzhu, am willing to serve you to the death."

"Not bad, very energetic." Lin Hao nodded. According to Lin Er's feedback, Chen Shuanzhu was also the fastest learner among this group, and was considered a promising talent.

As for the other people in Xi'ao Village, they are also good. Although they learn things slowly, they have a really strong ability to endure. No matter how much they are beaten or scolded, they obediently follow orders.

In contrast, the thirty new recruits were far less obedient, and therefore received more beatings.

"What about you guys? Do you regret it?" Lin Hao turned to look at the group of newcomers.

"Young master, why do we have to be beaten like this when we're guards?" one of the new recruits cried.

"So, are you going to quit?" Lin Hao asked again instead of answering.