Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

"The future of my Lin family lies on the sea!" As he said this, Lin Hao subconsciously straightened his back and stared intently at the other person.

"Grandpa, times have changed. If I had been born a few decades earlier, I might have continued to study the Four Books and Five Classics and brought glory to our ancestors through the imperial examinations. Because there was no other way."

But now, Grandpa, you've lived so long, haven't you noticed anything unusual about the weather?

"Abnormal? There's not much abnormality, is there? Hmm, let me think, it seems colder now than when I was younger, but that's not a big deal."

The old man frowned and pondered for a moment before finally noticing the difference.

"Grandpa guessed right. Based on my measurements over the years, even in a southern city like Ningde, the temperature is decreasing every year."

I have compiled statistics on the disasters of the Ming Dynasty over the past hundred years. Starting from the end of the Jiajing reign, especially after the thirteenth year of the Wanli reign, the number of disasters in the Ming Dynasty has increased significantly every year. This situation is exactly the same as that at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the end of the Tang Dynasty. I call this the Little Ice Age. Under such climatic conditions, the temperature across the country will drop in general, and there will be countless extreme natural disasters.

The population of my Great Ming Dynasty has already reached its carrying capacity after more than 2 years of reproduction. If this climate is added on top of that, the entire Great Ming Dynasty will probably descend into chaos.

Lin Hao's voice turned heavy. This Little Ice Age dealt a heavy blow to the already terminally ill Ming Dynasty. Originally, this would not have been a big deal; it was just a normal change of dynasties. Unfortunately, Li Zicheng rushed to Beijing to fulfill his dream of becoming emperor before his foundation was stable, and as a result, the Manchus reaped the benefits.

The grandfather and grandson remained silent for a long time before the old man finally broke the silence, saying, "Isn't the Ming Dynasty doing quite well now? We'll get through this disaster."

"Grandpa, this is not the end, it has only just begun. The power of disaster will grow stronger year by year, but how much strength does the Ming Dynasty have left after the three wars of the Wanli era? Moreover, this April, Nurhaci established the Later Jin Dynasty in Liaodong and captured Lushun, Qinghe and other places. None of the generals in Liaodong can control it. Internal strife is about to break out, and foreign enemies are also coming. The Ming Dynasty, this broken ship, is probably going to be destroyed. I don't want to be buried with it."

Lin Hao stood up, looked out the window at the distant ocean, pointed to the sea and said, "Grandpa, instead of hanging ourselves on the tree of the Ming Dynasty, why not find another way and make a name for ourselves overseas? Then we won't have to look after anyone's opinions, and no one can use any excuse to wipe out our clan."

"Nonsense!" The old man pounded the bed board a few times with his pipe, frowning as he said, "Is the sea a lawless place? Weren't Wang Zhi, Zeng Yiben, Xu Hai, and others quite powerful back then? They were still wiped out by the government troops. Do you expect our Lin family to follow their example?"

The old man was a member of Qi Jiguang's army back in the day, and he participated in the suppression of countless pirates and Japanese pirates. How could he be fooled by this kid? Being a pirate is not so easy.

"Hehe, Grandpa, please calm down. Your grandson will not learn from these losers."

Grandpa, you must know that not all pirates are the same. The people you mentioned earlier are, in my opinion, the lowest-ranking pirates. They became pirates because that's all they could do. They can't do anything but rob. These kinds of people rise quickly, but they also fall quickly.

These people do not engage in production but only know how to plunder. They have never built a base of their own. Their subordinates are all pirates without any loyalty. They will collapse at the first sign of setbacks and failures. Moreover, they are foolish enough to place their stronghold right under the nose of the Ming Dynasty, constantly provoking the Ming emperor and his officials. Isn't that courting death?

Lin Hao didn't think much of these predecessors, including Zheng Zhilong later on. Although they were powerful, they always kept their sights on the mainland, always thinking about being recruited and then buying land and property on the mainland to live the life of a wealthy landowner. They never thought about developing overseas colonies.

The only exceptions were Lin Feng and Lin Daoqian, who once attempted to establish a nation overseas. However, they only considered settling abroad after their failures, by which time they had completely lost their foothold on the mainland. How could such a small group of people sustain such an endeavor?

To colonize overseas, one must rely on the mainland and the manpower and resources of the Ming Dynasty to crush the natives and Westerners.

"Hao'er, from what you're saying, you already have a goal?" The old man's eyes lit up when he heard Lin Hao's words.

He ignored Lin Hao's words about the Ming Dynasty's demise. In his life, he was a miner, brave and fierce, and in the middle, he was part of the Qi Family Army, following Commander Qi to fight Japanese invaders all over the country. The little patriotism he had painstakingly accumulated disappeared completely after witnessing the fate of the Qi Family Army. He only believed in the swords and guns in his hands, which was also the reason why he supported Lin Hao in developing maritime trade and building a guard.

If Lin Hao can give a satisfactory answer, even though he is old, he is still willing to fight for the family.

"Of course I've chosen, and there's more than one place." Lin Hao took out a map from his pocket, carefully unfolded it, and then placed it in front of the old man.

"To survive at sea in the long term, the most important thing is not how many ships you have or how much money you can make, but that you need a base that is neither too close nor too far from the Ming Dynasty, enough land and a large population. There are two places in the Ming Dynasty that best meet our requirements."

In Lin Hao's hand was a map of the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty that he had drawn himself, based on his memories from later generations. It was many times more detailed than the one currently held by the government. Lin Hao pointed to an island in the southeast of the map and showed it to the old man, then said:

"Grandpa, please look. This first place is Taiwan, also known as the Ryukyu Islands or the Eastern Islands."

Taiwan is located on the southeastern coast, separated from Fujian by the strait. The island has fertile land and abundant resources, with large tracts of wasteland available for cultivation. Today, the island is inhabited only by a few indigenous tribes and some scattered Han Chinese immigrants, and the imperial court has no effective jurisdiction over the area.

The land above could be cultivated into millions of acres of fertile fields. Using this as a base, tens or even hundreds of thousands of people could be relocated to cultivate the wasteland, build cities, and develop agriculture, sericulture, and commerce. At that time, would my Lin family still need to fear any government officials?

"Millions of acres! Grandson, don't deceive me!" The old man suddenly stood up, his eyes shining. He had spent half his life fighting desperately to finally acquire this hundred acres of land, and even that had been coveted by others. Now someone was telling him that there were millions of acres of unclaimed land. How could he not be excited?

"Brother Hao, don't exaggerate. I've heard people talk about Dongfan Island. It's a place full of miasma. How could we possibly survive there?"

Suddenly, my second uncle spoke from the bed next to me, and then sat up against the edge of the bed, clearly having been pretending to be asleep.

Lin Hao turned his head and saw that his father and third uncle had also turned around to look at him. They were too badly injured to get up, but their eyes were still full of searching.

"Grandpa, Father, and my two uncles, when have I ever lied to you? I have my reasons for saying this, and I will explain it to you slowly."