Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

Since the matter of finding the owner of the hostage had not been settled, Lin Hao was too lazy to bother anymore.

Moreover, Lin Hao thought about it again and realized that his needs were actually completely different from those of the pirates.

The Four Seas Gang he founded wasn't a pure pirate group to begin with; apart from the battle with Zhou Daye, they hadn't stolen a ship yet.

The Four Seas Gang not only engaged in commerce but also produced its own goods, so its economic resources were naturally diversified; it didn't necessarily have to steal ships.

The pirates had no use for the supplies, because only silver was of value to them.

But Lin Hao is different. He needs all kinds of supplies, and his number of subordinates will only increase, so the amount of supplies he needs is enormous.

The most common goods at sea were nothing more than grain, cloth, ironware, raw silk, porcelain, and lacquerware, along with some wood, spices, saltpeter, herbs, sugar, and other items.

Even a rock could be used by Lin Hao to build a stronghold. In his plan, there was no limit to the number of people in the Four Seas Gang, and his needs would only become more and more terrifying.

After thinking it over, Lin Hao realized that all the supplies were exactly what he needed, and the demand would not decrease in the foreseeable future. Even the raw silk that he didn't need for the time being could simply be resold by the trading company to Japan and Manila, where it would actually be worth more.

Having figured this out, Lin Hao's gloomy expression vanished, and he burst into laughter in front of everyone.

This scene left everyone completely bewildered. Lin Chengfeng, thinking Lin Hao had been provoked, roared angrily, "Damn it! This Tang family is so disrespectful! Hao'er, don't worry, I'll go to the boat and get some men. As soon as it gets dark, we'll go and take the heads of these Tang family members!"

"Haha, Uncle, wait a minute." Lin Hao grabbed the other man.

"They're just looking down on people, that's human nature. Why bother arguing with them? The warriors of my Four Seas Gang shouldn't be wasted on such meaningless people."

Lin Hao pulled his third uncle back to his seat and then patiently explained, "I was blinded by my own involvement before. I was so focused on becoming a pirate that I acted entirely according to pirate thinking without considering the actual situation. Of course, this is also related to what Brother A Niu said about how he had no master when he was a pirate, so he had a miserable time. It's all Brother A Niu's fault, hahaha."

Lin Hao was in a good mood and couldn't help but crack a joke. Then he said seriously, "That's right, we're pirates now, but we're different."

"What's the difference? Aren't we all forced into this situation?" Lin Chengfeng scratched his head and said.

"Third Uncle, don't forget that we have dreams. The other pirates rob merchant ships to get rich. After they steal the ships, they only want to exchange them for silver. They even dream of saving enough silver to go back to their hometown and buy land."

In practice, they need nothing but their own basic necessities. They only destroy, they don't build.

Therefore, they need a hostage, and they need to convert any looted supplies into silver.

But we are different. We have ideals, and our ultimate goal is to build a homeland of our own overseas.

We seize ships only to better build our homes. So we won't just recruit thugs like those pirates; we'll invite more and more people to join our group, we'll build more and more fortresses, and we'll construct more and more workshops.

In this situation, we need a massive amount of supplies. Anything on the ship is what we need. Even if we exchange it for silver, we would still have to buy the same supplies, which would only cause more trouble.

"But if we only need to buy supplies, we can buy them anywhere as long as we have money."

Lin Hao's words silenced Lin Chengfeng, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true. The Lin family was now transporting various supplies to Dongluo Island every day, and the population of Dongluo Island was increasing.

From just over a hundred people at the beginning, the Four Seas Gang now has nearly a thousand members, along with over a thousand local people working for them. The consumption of resources by these two thousand people is enormous. Resources are simply not enough.

"But... if we do that, where will we get the money? Our money won't last this long, and we still need to give everyone rewards after we seize the ship." Lin Chengfeng discovered the loophole. It sounded good that supplies were only coming in and not coming out, but what about the money? Everything they had now was supported by what they had seized and the Lin family's own savings. But even if the Lin family was rich, they couldn't last long.

"Uncle, you don't need to worry about that. I already have a plan," Lin Hao said confidently.

"Oh? How so?" Lin Chengfeng looked on with a questioning gaze. Could silver really appear out of thin air?

"First of all, we have workshops. For example, this soap. As long as the sales channels are good, making 10,000 taels of silver a month is not a problem. In the future, we will open more workshops. Don't worry, Uncle. They are all unique and good businesses, just like the soap."

Secondly, once we've established our reputation, we don't necessarily have to rob all ships. We can demand protection money from passing ships, which will generate a significant amount of silver.

Thirdly, we don't need all the supplies. Luxury goods like raw silk, porcelain, and jewelry, as well as some things we can't use, can be transported to Southeast Asia for sale. The pirates find it too troublesome and their skills are too low to do this, but we will not give up the trade route.

Fourthly, since the supplies cannot be immediately converted into silver, let's establish a rule: after the battle, the reward amount will be set and distributed uniformly at the end of the year, or quarterly, to prevent anyone from taking the money and wasting it.

And there's a crucial fifth point: we don't have silver, but our counterparts do. According to our statistics over this period, there are countless pirates at sea, dozens of groups in the Fuzhou-Ningxia waters alone. These pirates carefully hoard their loot, reluctant to spend a penny on food or other things. These are excellent piggy banks; it would be a waste not to take them.

After Lin Hao finished speaking, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. It sounded very reasonable, and no one could refute it.

At this moment, Lin Qi spoke up: "Young Master is right. Since you have established the trading hall and recruited so many people, it should naturally play a role. I think we can try trade not only with Southeast Asia, but also with other places in the Ming Dynasty. We can't expect all places to reject us."

"Lin Qi is right. The Four Seas Gang belongs to everyone. How can we rely solely on the Battle Hall to make money? The Battle Hall should be our military support," Lin Hao said matter-of-factly.

"That makes sense, but why do I feel a sense of loss?" Lin Chengfeng murmured.

"Haha, does Third Uncle feel he has no use for his skills? Don't worry, there will be plenty of time to fight people in the future, and we'll be hijacking ships too. If we don't show our strength, who will obediently hand over the money?"

"Haha, then I'm relieved. So what do we do next?" Lin Chengfeng said with a smile.

"Now we just wait! We can't possibly have no reliable ones at all," Lin Hao said nonchalantly.

If the soap deal doesn't go well tomorrow, I'll just personally go out and promote it. A living person can't let themselves die from holding back their pee.