The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

With beautiful women by his side along the way, and the occasional opportunity to teach a few people espionage skills, Shen Lian lived a leisurely and carefree life.

It's not the dry season yet, and the canal still has a fair amount of water. However, Shen Lian noticed that the canal had fallen into disrepair over the years, with many areas silted up. Passenger ships like theirs were fine, but cargo ships often needed to be towed by boatmen on the shore to pass through many places.

Looking at the boatmen on the shore, shirtless and toiling under the scorching sun, Shen Lian frowned.

"Young Master, are you pitying them?" Uncle Lin asked from the side.

"They are indeed pitiful, but I am more worried about this canal. It's not even the dry season yet and they already need to pull ropes; what will they do in winter?"

"There's no other way. The canal has been in disrepair for years, and large ships can't navigate it during the dry season. So, there are fewer and fewer ships on the canal these days, and a lot of goods have been diverted to sea transport. If sea transport weren't so expensive, the imperial government's grain transport ships would probably all be using the sea route."

"Uncle Lin, the fact that the sea transport has not increased is just a trick played by some people, huh! This canal involves the interests of countless people, and countless people rely on the canal for their livelihood! It's a pity that these bastards only think about making money, and not a single one of them wants to clean up the canal. They all deserve to die."

"Young master, keep your voice down! Even the imperial court can't control the canal transport, why are you worrying about it!"

Of course I'm worried. No matter the era, water transport is always cheaper than land transport. Now, the sea routes are all under the watchful eyes of the foreigners. If Shen Lian needs to transport troops or goods, he can only use the canal. If he can't use large ships, who knows how many things will be delayed.

"Young Master, it seems we're being followed!" Just as Shen Lian was worrying, Lu Da suddenly walked over and said.

“Following? What do they want? Robbery? Uncle Lin, are there water pirates on this canal?” Shen Lian turned to look at Shen Lin.

“Of course there are river pirates, but they only occasionally target small merchant ships. They wouldn’t dare rob government ships on the canal. This year, we happen to be caught in the summer grain harvest being transported to the capital, and the canal is full of grain transport ships, so they’re even less likely to target us,” Shen Lin said confidently.

"Lu Da, are you sure you're not mistaken? There are boats coming and going on the canal, are you sure they're following us?"

“Young Master, there’s no mistake. That small boat caught up with us as soon as we left Linqing, and it’s been following us at a steady pace for the past two days. Their small boat is much lighter and faster than ours; if they were in a hurry, they would have overtaken us long ago,” Lu Da said in a deep voice.

“That’s true! So what should we do?” Shen Lian had never encountered such a situation before, so he could only ask them.

“Young Master, every sluice gate on this canal is guarded by soldiers. It’s impossible for the thieves to deploy a large number of men. We just need to be vigilant against their sneak attacks day and night. If only ten or eight thieves come, I will certainly hold them off for you,” Lu Da said confidently.

Although Lu Da had an astonishing appetite, he was indeed quite capable in combat. The first meal on the ship was an eye-opener for Shen Lian. There were huge, snow-white steamed buns; Yue'er could only eat one, and Shen Lian managed two. But Lu Da, on the other hand, ate ten large steamed buns plus three bowls of meat soup. If Tan Ya hadn't stopped him, it seemed he could have eaten even more.

Shen Lian asked him with a smile how much he could eat in one meal, and the simpleton replied that he didn't know, he had never really been full in his life.

Well, with your appetite, how could any ordinary family afford to feed you? No wonder you're so poor.

Since Lu Da can eat so much, he must also be a formidable fighter. After all, Shen Lian had witnessed his prowess at the docks, so Shen Lian believed him to a large extent.

However, the necessary preparations still needed to be made. Shen Lian's father was worried about him going to Beijing. He personally assigned him five Hanyang-made rifles and also gave him a revolver for self-defense.

Upon hearing that someone dared to pluck hairs from a tiger, Shen Xiaohu jumped up, ready to teach the person a lesson.

"Quiet down! You're so impulsive and impatient. What great things can you accomplish? I've wasted all these days teaching you!" Shen Lian scolded.

"Right now, Lu Da only has suspicions; we don't know if they're really going to cause us trouble. Besides, they haven't made a move yet. If you go to them, you'll only alert them."

"You can't be a thief forever. We'll just prepare ourselves and give them a good beating when the time comes," Shen Lian sneered. He hadn't experienced real combat either. Hearing about thieves, he was actually quite eager to act. He'd test-fired a few shots with his revolver in the general's mansion and found it quite good. He just didn't know what it would feel like to hit a person.

"You guys all know how to use guns, right? Don't get too scared to shoot when the time comes!"

"Don't worry, young master! We used to go hunting all the time, and we've honed our marksmanship. I could shoot down even a sparrow flying by," Shen Lian said, patting his chest. Lai Fu and the others also assured him that it would be no problem.

Watching the men fondling the new rifles in their hands, Shen Lian curled his lip. These old-fashioned Hanyang rifles were copies of the German 1888 Commission rifle, produced on a production line that Zhang Zhidong had imported from Germany six years ago.

Because it has a barrel sleeve at the front of the receiver, it's commonly known as the "old-fashioned sleeve." Although Shen Lian looked down on it, it was considered a very advanced rifle in that era. It was no worse than rifles from the United States and Britain, and even superior to those from Japan and Russia.

However, Shen Lian knew that the German army was now equipped with the Type 98 rifle, the predecessor of the classic 98k. He would have to find a way to get some Type 98s; those were truly good guns.

"Load all the magazines and such, so you don't end up in a panic. From now on, all five of you must keep your guns with you at all times. Whether you're eating or sleeping, at least one of you must be on duty with a gun."

"Tan Ya, you and Shi Tou stay in the cabin. If there's any commotion, don't go out. Just stay in the cabin with Uncle Lin and protect Yue'er."

Tan Ya looked pale with nervousness, while Shi Tou seemed quite excited.

Everyone remained on high alert, but nothing happened along the way. That night, Shen Lian had Uncle Lin find a bustling dock for the night and arranged for two sentries to be on duty. The night passed peacefully.

"Young Master, nothing's wrong! I guess that kid from Shandong University made a mistake and made us work for nothing all night," Shen Xiaohu said with a yawn in the morning.

"Better safe than sorry. How come you're so tired from just one shift? You want to follow me to the battlefield and make a name for yourself? Forget it! If that's your attitude, you should go back and learn from your dad. You're better suited to collecting rent in the countryside!"

"Young Master, I was wrong! I will definitely correct myself in the future." Shen Xiaohu quickly corrected his attitude. He didn't want to be sent back by the young master. Otherwise, let alone collecting rent, his father would break his legs.

After breakfast, Shen Lian and his group set off at a leisurely pace. Everyone was quite nervous last night, and they all got up a little late this morning. Shen Lian took out his pocket watch and checked; it was already past nine o'clock.