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

The two sides exchanged some threats and wrangling, and parted on bad terms. Of course, war couldn't break out now; they each went back to await orders from above.

Yakov could not refuse Shen Zimeng's request to go to Beihai Park to pay respects to his ancestors. In order to avoid a rift between the two sides, after consulting with his superiors, he ordered that Shen Zimeng could only bring a team of guards and must be accompanied by Russian personnel throughout the trip.

Having achieved his goal, Shen Zimeng naturally had no problem. He immediately led a company of soldiers, carrying various offerings, and headed towards the North Sea under the guidance of the Russian army.

Although there were only a little over a hundred people, Shen Zimeng was confident that the Russians wouldn't dare to do anything to him.

The two places are more than 400 miles apart. It took Shen Zimeng and his party, one person and two horses, two days to reach the destination.

Looking at the vast, boundless lake, Shen Zimeng and his group were filled with emotion.

This is my ancestral land of China, which has been occupied by Tsarist Russia for over two hundred years!

Various offerings were laid out, and incense, candles, and paper money were lit. Shen Zimeng led the officers and soldiers to kneel down!

"This unworthy descendant, Shen Zimeng, respectfully beseeches Heaven and Earth, and to all my ancestors. I swear that in my lifetime I will personally lead a great army to reclaim our lost lands. I will not allow the lands our ancestors painstakingly cultivated to fall into the hands of barbarians..."

More than a dozen Russian soldiers stood at a distance, silently watching this scene.

A plume of smoke shot straight into the sky. Shen Zimeng and his soldiers stood quietly by the lake, watching the paper money burn out. A gust of wind blew by, swirling up ashes that drifted into the lake.

Just as everyone was preparing to get up and return, the sound of horses' hooves rang out. A figure on horseback galloped towards them from afar. The soldiers immediately went on alert, and the Russian troops quickly moved closer.

"But it's my royal army! It's my royal army!" The shouts came from afar even before the person got close.

"Let him come over!" Shen Zimeng quickly gave the order upon hearing that the newcomer spoke Mandarin.

"But our royal army has recovered the lost territory, General!" The man arrived, dismounted, and stumbled to Shen Zimeng.

Only then did everyone realize that this was a man who was filthy, wearing a tattered fur coat, with a stubble beard, making it impossible to tell his age.

"Why did you take so long to come! Why did you take so long to come? Waaah..." Before Shen Zimeng could reply, the man knelt down in front of him with a thud. He muttered to himself, then burst into tears.

"Stop them!" Shen Zimeng immediately ordered his soldiers to block the Russians as they approached.

"Fellow villager, please get up!" Shen Zimeng reached out to help the kneeling man up.

"General, aren't you here to reclaim lost territory?" The man's expression changed drastically when he saw the approaching Russian troops, and he stared at Shen Zimeng with a fierce look on his face.

“Fellow countrymen, our army is still hundreds of miles away and cannot recover the lost territory for the time being. We have only come to pay our respects today! But believe us, that day is not far away!” Shen Zimeng lowered his head and then paused firmly.

"What a pity! I'm afraid I won't live to see that day!" The man shook his messy head and said disappointedly.

"Fellow countryman, what's your name? What are you doing here? Are there other Chinese people living here?" Shen Zimeng handed over the water bottle and let the other person take a couple of sips.

"My name is Du Yu, and I'm from Taigu, Shanxi. Fifteen years ago, I was doing business on the grasslands when I was kidnapped by the Russians and brought here."

“I don’t know how many Chinese are left here. But there probably aren’t many! The Russians don’t treat us like human beings; they beat, abuse, and slaughter us at will. Over the years, I don’t know how many Chinese have been tortured to death by them.” Du Yu shook his head.