Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

The moment the arquebusier stood up, he was met with a volley of fire from the government troops below.

In an instant, all three were struck by arrows. They shuddered, and blood quickly seeped into their clothes. But none of them fell. They gritted their teeth, steadied themselves, and persevered in firing their muskets.

boom--!

The distance of fifty paces is precisely the range within which the power and accuracy of the musket are at their best.

Almost simultaneously, four more soldiers in the government troops were hit by bullets. One had a gaping hole in his chest and staggered a couple of steps before collapsing to the ground; another was thrown to the ground, his scream abruptly cut short.

This is considered "lucky".

The truly unfortunate one had half his head sliced ​​off by a lead bullet, his skull shattered, and white brain matter and blood splattered out together. Those nearby screamed in terror, and their formation immediately fell into chaos.

Among the dead were those who carried swords and those who held shields.

But it didn't work.

The shield was pierced relentlessly by the lead bullets, sending wood chips and iron filings flying. Those behind it had no time to react before being dragged into death.

Contrary to most people's impression that hitting a target with a smoothbore gun is a matter of luck.

According to Qi Jiguang's military treatise, a hit from a musket is ten times more effective than a rapid-fire gun or five times more effective than a bow and arrow. The hit rate of the musket is far higher than that of the rapid-fire gun and the bow and arrow.

Moreover, these are the results of Qi Jiguang's target practice after he arrived in the north, which speaks volumes. But all of this is based on two premises: first, the manufacture of high-quality muskets without cutting corners; and second, the implementation of extensive live-fire training.

Based on Lin Hao's detailed tests over the past few years, one team practiced archery and the other practiced muskets. In the beginning, the muskets had the advantage in every test. It wasn't until a year later that the accuracy of both sides was equal. After that, only some talented archers were able to defeat the musket players in terms of accuracy.

Specifically, the accuracy of arquebuses has a high lower limit and a low upper limit, while the accuracy of bows and arrows has an extremely low lower limit and a very high upper limit.

However, half a month of training is enough for a musketeer to become proficient in shooting and achieve good accuracy, while it takes more than a year for an archer.

Moreover, in terms of power, even bows and arrows cannot compare to muskets.

After the first volley of musketeers finished firing, another whistle blew, and the second volley of musketeers raised their muskets, opened the flintlock, aimed, and fired!

This time, the counterattack from below was noticeably weaker.

A few arrows flew by, but only one person was hit.

The second volley had just finished firing when the third volley took over.

In this round, no one in the government troops dared to raise their heads to fight back.

After three rounds of salvo, more than ten corpses lay scattered outside the wooden wall, pools of blood forming a continuous line, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood.

As the first rank of musketeers reloaded and aimed again, the whistle blew, and the crowd below collapsed as if receiving a signal.

The routed soldiers abandoned their armor and weapons and fled. Some were pushed to the ground and trampled by their comrades; others ran frantically, crying out that they had been defeated.

Even the servants didn't hesitate to blend into the crowd and flee for their lives—two of them had been hit by bullets and died on the spot during the previous round of shooting, and they were already terrified.

The distraught crowd ran all the way to the beach, crying and screaming, before finally stopping. During this time, no matter how much Shen Wangshu scolded or suppressed them, it was to no avail.

"So you could only hold out for one round? I overestimated you." Lin Hao withdrew his gaze, his tone calm.

He turned and walked towards the boys on the wooden wall, patting each of them on the shoulder and praising them.

"Well done."

"In this battle, we utterly routed the government troops."

"Well done, you didn't embarrass me."

"Lin Qi, you're injured? How are you? Are you alright?"

"Reporting to the young master, the enemy's arrows are weak and feeble, just enough to tickle me." Lin Qi grinned, his face full of excitement.

"Very good, very energetic." Lin Hao smiled and patted the other person on the shoulder to show his approval.

A wave of jubilation swept across the wooden wall. Even the new recruits who had been standing by without participating in the battle couldn't help but straighten their backs, their chests burning with pride. Their fear of the government troops vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of honor in standing on the side of the victors.

"Young Master, the enemy has been defeated. Should we send troops directly to wipe them out in one fell swoop? In such a short time, they won't have time to board the ship," Lin Yi suggested from the side.

"No rush, let's see how capable the government troops are first. We can't waste such a suitable test subject." If before the government troops arrived, Lin Hao was only thinking about repelling them so that he would have time to develop, now that he has witnessed the government troops' poor performance, Lin Hao has changed his mind.

On the government army's side, the routed soldiers fled aimlessly. It took Shen Wangshu a long time to regroup everyone. After a careful count, he found that less than 20 people had been killed by the village, but six had died and more than 20 had been injured due to their own men during the collapse. Of the more than 200 soldiers, one-fifth of them had lost their fighting capacity.

Even including the sailors on board, this represents nearly one-seventh of the losses.

The loss of servants is particularly heartbreaking; there are only so many of them, and two more have just died.

"Brother Shen, I suggest we retreat. This stronghold is beyond our capabilities. Let's go back and report to the governor, and let him worry about it," Zhong Gui said softly, even changing his form of address to avoid upsetting Shen Wangshu.

He knew his stuff; the moment the Lin family village made their move, he knew they weren't on the same level.

Many people know that muskets are good weapons, but very few can use them well, especially when it comes to firing such a precise and dense volley. Only the most elite soldiers can produce such a result.

Even without muskets, these people could easily beat them to a pulp with just spears.

But it's clear that Shen Wangshu lacks the insight, or rather, he's unwilling to think in that direction.

"No retreat! The governor's order is to annihilate the entire Lin family! Zhong Gui, are you going to disobey orders?" Shen Wangshu asked with a gloomy face.

"But we can't beat them, Shen Wangshu. Do you really want to kill all your men? Don't risk your own life in the end. Damn it, I'm trying to help you, and you're not only ungrateful, but you're also putting on airs," Zhong Gui was furious. What kind of person is this? He's really desperate to make a name for himself.

However, he was a well-fed man who didn't know the hunger of a starving man. Zhong Gui was a hereditary centurion, a position that had been passed down for over two hundred years. No matter what he did, he would always have the centurion's guarantee.

But Shen Wangshu is different. His position as deputy captain is nominally higher, but in reality, he's a soldier recruited by the Fenghuo Gate's water fortress. If there's any change in status, he'll immediately revert to a commoner. How can he survive without climbing the ranks?

His current status, the respectful address of the family as Fourth Young Master, is all thanks to his position as a brigadier general. Over the years, he has done countless dirty jobs for the family to earn this position. Once he loses this status, he will become just like the others, an insignificant illegitimate son in the family, to be casually given a few acres of land to settle down after the old man passes away.

So he wanted to get promoted, he wanted to climb the ranks, he wanted to make as much money as possible. As for the lives of his subordinates, did they matter?

Shen Wangshu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her emotions. She turned to Zhong Gui and said, "I know what you mean, but you need to understand that if we go back with such heavy losses, the governor will be furious, and we could all lose our heads."

"Then what do you want?" Zhong Gui asked helplessly.

"Let's try again. The enemy is only relying on their muskets, isn't he? We have them too. Let's gather all the muskets in the fleet and fire back at the bandits with them."

Additionally, construct shield carts to provide cover for the advance. The enemy's fortified walls are not high, so once you get close, you can easily break through them.

Finally, they unloaded the cannons from the ship. No matter how powerful the bandits' muskets were, could they be more powerful than cannons? Shen Wangshu's arrangement made Zhong Gui look at him with new respect. Theoretically, this could actually succeed.

"Then let's try one more time!" Zhong Guiye ultimately didn't want to go back and be punished, so he decided to try one last time.