Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

While the Lin family on Dongluo Island was making great efforts to carry out their project...

In a large mansion in Fu Ning Prefecture.

Afternoon light streamed through the stained glass windows, quietly bathing Zhang Wanzhou, the head of the Zhang family, in his study.

But at this moment, the Zhang family patriarch's state of mind was anything but calm.

A few days ago, news came from Lutou Village that pirates had robbed the craftsmen. He was quite pleased, feeling that his men had finally acted swiftly for once.

But after waiting and waiting, the scheduled message never arrived. It wasn't until today, when the people below gave feedback, that they realized that the people who took action were not the ones arranged by the Shen family. The pirates arranged by the Shen family had only arrived today, but when they got to Lutou Village, they were told that the people had already been taken away by them.

This has stirred up a hornet's nest. The craftsmen themselves don't care, but this is a blatant slap in the face. Everyone in the entire Funing sea area knows that it is the Zhang family's private territory. Such behavior is simply a provocation.

"Have you found out who did it?" Zhang Wanzhou asked in a cold voice.

"This... please forgive us, sir. We have asked all the families we know, and they all said they knew nothing about it. Moreover, the people from Lutou Village didn't even see the other party in person before they ran away immediately. They don't know what the other party is using."

A steward at the bottom of the table answered respectfully.

"Not a single one? Are all these people good-for-nothings?" Zhang Wanzhou frowned.

"Well, one villager did have contact with him and even took some money from him. But we've been interrogating him for a long time and still don't know who he is. All we know is that he's very young," the steward said, wiping his sweat.

"Hmph, you unruly people! Instead of fighting the pirates to protect my Zhang family's property at a time like this, you dare to take the pirates' silver! Chop them up and feed them to the dogs! Besides, the people from Lutou Village don't look clean either. Interrogate them thoroughly. They must have leaked something!" Zhang Wanzhou slammed his fist on the table and said angrily.

"Yes, I will take care of it right away. I will definitely interrogate these people thoroughly and find out who their accomplices are in collusion with the pirates." The steward breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that someone was taking the blame. He was afraid that he would be implicated by the master's anger. After all, his predecessor had been killed by the master with a casual inkstone over a trivial matter.

"Father, this matter is probably not simple," another person in the room interjected. This person was about thirty years old, dressed in gorgeous clothes, wearing a straight robe of royal blue brocade, with a blue and white jade belt around his waist, appearing calm and elegant.

"Oh? What are your thoughts, my son?" Zhang Wanzhou said with a smile. His son was his only son, who was always intelligent and deeply loved by him.

"Everyone in the waters off Fuzhou knows the Zhang family. Anyone who dares to hijack our ship under these circumstances is either a daring bastard who has a grudge against us, or a complete idiot who just started out at sea and knows nothing about this."

"My Zhang family has always been kind to others, so we have no enemies. So it must have been done by some fisherman who just went out to sea?" Zhang Wanzhou said after a moment of thought.

Of course, the truth was completely opposite to what Zhang Wanzhou said. Many people were envious of the Zhang family, but after careful consideration, Zhang Wanzhou found no one with this kind of behavior. Besides, what were these craftsmen? If he hadn't felt that it would be a loss of face, Zhang Wanzhou wouldn't have bothered with them at all.

"That's not necessarily true. If someone is new to the sea, they wouldn't head straight for the craftsmen's location without harming Lutou Village. That's not how pirates operate," Zhang Wenxiu said slowly.

"So it seems you have someone you suspect?" Zhang Wanzhou said with a smile.

"That's right." Zhang Wenxiu nodded, then said, "The night before the incident in Lutou Village, the warehouse of the Shen family in Ningde in Xishan Village was also robbed. According to the information I received, that group of people also had a characteristic: they were very young! And the most vicious thing was that they also distributed cloth to the villagers."

"The Shen family is really unlucky, but these pirates are really stupid. Giving the best cloth to the poor is such a waste!" Zhang Wanzhou said disdainfully.

"Yes, it is indeed a waste, but it also reminds me of an old friend, who has recently ended up at sea," Zhang Wenxiu said quietly.

"Who?" Zhang Wanzhou asked curiously.

"Hehe, Father, do you still remember that little prodigy who was famous throughout Funing a few years ago?" Zhang Wenxiu chuckled and asked in return.

"I vaguely remember him, I think his name was Li Hao? But he came from a humble family, and I heard he went mad later, having hysterical episodes every day," Zhang Wanzhou sneered.

"It's not hysteria, it's just that the other party's interests have changed." Zhang Wenxiu slowly shook his head. "I once visited them for a while, and we had a very pleasant conversation, especially regarding the prospects of maritime trade. However, the differences later became too great, and both sides wisely stopped."

"Disagreements? What disagreements could there be in maritime trade?" Zhang Wanzhou asked, puzzled.

"Well, the specifics are complicated, but this person believed that merchants engaged in maritime trade should pay taxes to the imperial court, and even said some alarmist things like 'when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.'" Zhang Wenxiu shook his head, not wanting to continue recalling.

"This person also said that he would share part of the profits from the maritime trade with the people of Fujian, so that they could go to sea and settle down."

"That's utter nonsense. Paying taxes is nonsense, and distributing money is even more nonsense. I earned my money through my own abilities, why should I pay taxes to the imperial court? Let them come and collect it if they dare. Not to mention giving it to the poor. No wonder people say he's gone hysterical. It seems he's seriously ill," Zhang Wanzhou sneered.

"But what do you mean by mentioning him, my son? Does it mean his family went into business and then turned against my Zhang family? No, that doesn't make sense. If that's the case, you're still friends, aren't you?" Zhang Wanzhou asked, puzzled.

"Ahem, firstly, I went under a different name, so he didn't know I was from the Zhang family. Secondly, some time ago I had the Shen family report the Lin family for colluding with pirates. Now they've been forced to the sea by us. And this Lin Hao usually does things like this, very polite to those below him, which is quite similar to the style of these pirates," Zhang Wenxiu said awkwardly.

"So, the Lin family isn't completely wiped out?" Zhang Wanzhou didn't care about the accusation the other party mentioned, but he was a little disappointed. Judging from the situation, it seemed that the government hadn't handled things properly.

"We had already arrested all the main members of his family, but Lin Hao escaped. That night, he set fire to the county town, and we rescued the others overnight," Zhang Wenxiu sighed. He seemed quite dissatisfied with the outcome.

"The officials in Ningde County are really useless. They managed to rescue the criminals. They're utterly incompetent," Zhang Wanzhou sighed. However, he also knew that this was just how the government was these days, and there was no point in forcing anything.

"No one expected that the Lin family had an extra guard force that had never appeared before. It was that team that turned the tide this time," Zhang Wenxiu said with a hint of regret.

"Haha, my son, there's no need to worry. I'll pay a visit to the governor tomorrow. In the bright and clear world of the Ming Dynasty, there's no place for such cruel pirates to survive," Zhang Wanzhou laughed heartily. He wasn't afraid of open enemies. No matter who it was, offending the Zhang family wouldn't get them anywhere.

"Father is wise," Zhang Wenxiu complimented with a smile.

"Also, send a message to Li Jiu, telling them to take action; maybe they can still snatch this batch of goods back," Zhang Wanzhou ordered the steward at the same time.

With both overt and covert lines, he didn't believe the Lin family could escape.