Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

The bird boat traveled eastward for more than ten miles, and here it circled a long and narrow peninsula that extended northward from the mainland.

There is a small fortified town here called Beijiao Town, originally named Dilu Town. During the Song Dynasty, a water fortress was built here. During the Yuan Dynasty, it was the Dilu Patrol Office.

During this dynasty, it was renamed Beijiao and a city was built here. It was under the jurisdiction of Dinghai Thousand-Household Office. Theoretically, about a hundred naval troops should be stationed here to guard against sea pirates.

But when Lin Hao's bird boat passed by, it encountered no obstacles whatsoever, and people on the shore cheered in this direction.

Lin Hao was not surprised at all. Seventy years ago, the government troops here were still able to resist the Japanese pirates, but now they are completely useless.

A large portion of the military households working on Dongluo Island came from here, so Lin Hao was very clear about their situation: the government troops here were poorly equipped, their discipline was lax, and their food and pay were inconsistent, leaving them with almost no ability to defend against pirates.

The group of people who came from Beijiao Town to work on Dongluo Island were all very down on their luck. After working on Dongluo Island for a month, their lives finally improved. Therefore, when they saw the Lin family's ship, the military households on the shore cheered loudly.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to change course, Lin Hao carefully examined the town from the ship. He saw that apart from the outer city wall, the town consisted of dilapidated thatched huts, which were not even as nice as the ones Lin Hao and his companions had stayed in when they first arrived on Dongluo Island.

However, compared to the previous times Lin Hao passed by, it was obvious that there was more smoke coming from the chimneys, indicating that more and more people were able to eat.

"Eleven, how many of the people we recruited this time came from here?" Lin Hao asked, turning his head.

Lin Shiyi thought for a moment before replying, "In response to your question, young master, this place mainly consists of military households. The number of people recruited is not large, only about twenty. They are all military households, but their quality is quite good, and most of them will probably be selected as soldiers."

"Yes, not bad. With these twenty-odd people, this place will gradually come closer to us and one day become our own place," Lin Hao nodded.

"Young Master, we could easily subdue this place if we wanted to. More than 8% of the people here work on our island and are very friendly to us," Lin Shiyi replied with a smile.

"There's no rush. After all, this is the imperial court's territory, so we still need to be careful to avoid making things worse." Lin Hao withdrew his gaze.

Beijiao Town is actually very important to Dongluo Island, as it is located on the only route for Dongluo Island to enter the eastern shipping lane.

If there were a powerful opposing navy here, Lin Hao and his group would basically be unable to stay on Dongluo Island.

If Lin Hao hadn't already known that the government troops here were ineffective, he wouldn't have dared to choose Dongluo Island as his base.

From Beijiao Town, head south towards Dalian Island.

Lin Hao and his group drove along the coastline for several kilometers, and could see almost everything on the shore.

There were numerous forts along the way, which in theory should be used by government troops. However, as Lin Hao observed, most of them were deserted, with many military households deserting, and many were abandoned and empty forts.

It wasn't until about an hour into the voyage that a decent city came into view.

Lin Hao examined the wall closely with his binoculars. It was a standard city wall, in excellent condition, with soldiers stationed on it. However, as Lin Hao and his companions passed by on the sea from afar, the soldiers acted as if they hadn't seen them at all.

Lin Hao estimated that as long as he didn't do anything reckless by attacking the other side, even if he raised the pirate flag, the other side wouldn't bother with him.

This is Dinghai City, which is also the location of the Dinghai Thousand-Household Office.

According to the intelligence Lin Hao has gathered, this should be the theoretical location of Lieutenant General Shen Yourong.

It seems that the other side recently ordered the repair of Dinghai City and the reconstruction of the Thousand Household Office and the Military Commander's Office, indicating that they are planning to come over.

However, coming here wouldn't make much of a difference. Although Shen Yourong was famous and strict in disciplining his troops, he was ultimately just a military officer without any real power.

Within the Ming Dynasty's system, he could only make minor repairs; the navy was already rotten, and no matter how much he reorganized it, the effect would be mediocre. Unless he could consistently obtain large sums of money and supplies.

Lin Hao turned his gaze to the other side.

This is Gantang Island, also known as Guantang Island, which is divided into two islands, upper and lower.

Li Jiu, the biggest pirate in the Fu Ning sea area, is here. He is more than ten kilometers away from Dinghai Qianhu, and they can even see each other when the weather is good.

But for so many years, the two sides have lived in peace.

Lin Hao kept adjusting the telescope, but he still couldn't see anyone from Li Jiu's pirate crew, not even the patrolling ships outside.

"Hao'er, there's a huge bay inside Gantang Island, more than ten times bigger than our Dongluo Island. Li Jiu's men are all in the innermost part of the bay, so you can't see them from here," Lin Chengfeng said with a smile, knowing what Lin Hao was looking at.

Lin Hao naturally made no secret of his enmity with the Zhang family, which is why Lin Chengfeng paid extra attention to this place, since they would inevitably clash with them in the future.

"What a wonderful place," Lin Hao remarked, putting down his binoculars. "Gantang Island's geographical advantages are more than a hundred times better than our Dongluo Island. The bay is large enough, and it's surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it an excellent harbor. The island itself is also large enough, with ample space for development. It's a pity it's been occupied by a bunch of pirates who don't know anything about development."

Lin Hao actually wanted to see what Li Jiu's ship looked like so he could assess the opponent's combat strength. Unfortunately, whether it was too early or the opponent preferred to stay at home, he didn't see the opponent's ship come out even after looking for a long time.

"If Hao'er thinks it's a good idea, then we'll take it down and move the village here," Lin Chengfeng said nonchalantly.

"It's not that simple. After all, they are the biggest pirates in the Fuzhou waters. I heard they have dozens of ships and thousands of pirates. We're lucky if they don't come after us right now." Lin Hao shook his head with a smile.

Unless the other side comes looking for trouble, I'm not going to attack them first. After all, the most important thing right now isn't conquering territory, but developing my own strength.

Of all the emperors, Lin Hao admired Zhu Yuanzhang's style of warfare the most. He would honestly farm and train his troops, letting others cause trouble outside. Once he had enough strength, he would take down the enemy in one fell swoop. Victory came in such a simple and unpretentious way.

In an easier-to-remember way, it would be "Build high walls, store up plenty of grain, and delay declaring yourself king."

What Lin Hao and the others didn't know was that while Lin Hao was observing Gantang Island, Li Jiu on the island was also discussing the Lin family.

"Third brother, the Zhang family has been urging us several times. This time, go to Dongluo Island and see what's going on. See if the Lin family is powerful or not, and whether they are easy to mess with."

Li Jiu, the leader of Xia Gantang Island, held a large bowl in his hand, eating while arranging food with someone around him.

"Don't worry, brother. I'll go and find out later. If they really have the supplies the Zhang family mentioned, hehe, then we can have a prosperous New Year."

The person who answered was Li Jiu's cousin, ranked third among the pirates, whose real name was Li Kui.

"We still need to be careful. Since they dared to rob the Zhang family's goods, it's obviously not that simple. We should find out their strength before taking action," Li Jiu said, frowning.

"Don't worry, brother. Don't you know me? I'm the most reliable. Besides, the Lin family matter is a small one. Brother, people from the south are here again, demanding people from us. What should we say?" Li Kui asked in a low voice.

"Heh, no. Like I said, the person is already dead, his body is gone, he's sunk to the bottom of the sea. Whether they believe it or not, it's up to them." Li Jiu chuckled, then instructed Li Kui, "Keep this card, it might come in handy later. Don't keep running over there. If you want women, go find them on the shore yourself."

"Oh, I know, brother, stop talking about this. I'm going to take care of something now." Li Kui became impatient upon hearing this, threw down his bowl and chopsticks, and left.

"The Lin family..." Li Jiu muttered to himself, "You only have yourself to blame for offending the Zhang family, don't blame me."