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

"Hey! Why are you bringing this up on such a joyous day! What kind of behavior is this, crying and wailing!" Nie Gongting scolded him with displeasure.

"That's right, that's right! Sister, you should be happy! Your new son-in-law is handsome and talented, and a returned student from studying abroad. He's bound to have a bright future. We all envy you so much," several concubines chimed in, offering their advice.

"Wow! So much betrothal money! Sisters, come and see!" one of the concubines exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.

The old lady, with her chin held high, walked over to Nie Xiaoqian with a reserved yet shy demeanor.

Shen Lian had made ample preparations for this visit. Besides the usual silks, satins, various fruits, meats, and daily necessities, he brought dozens of jade items and more than ten pieces of pearl jewelry.

Of course, the most valuable item was the pearls; he gave them twenty catties at once. These pearls were larger than a fingertip, and Shen Lian had heard from Uncle Fu that a single one was worth over a thousand taels of silver. Twenty catties would be worth at least two or three hundred thousand taels. Sure enough, this quickly stunned everyone.

Upon seeing the large box full of pearls, the women covered their mouths in astonishment.

"That's too much, too much! Brother Huchen, this gift is too generous!" Nie Gongting said with a smile, stroking his beard.

"Uncle, Aunt! When we came, Father said that you, Uncle, cherish our past friendship and are willing to marry your daughter to our Shen family, even though our family is not wealthy. Our Shen family could never repay your kindness, even if we gave up everything we own!" Shen Lian said solemnly, bowing with his hands clasped.

"Good, good, good!" Nie Gongting nodded and laughed with satisfaction.

The happiest person here wasn't him, but the old lady. At this moment, she held her head high, like a proud peacock. Go ask around the whole capital; which family could afford such a dowry for their daughter? Even the princesses from princely families didn't have such generosity.

There was also Nie Xiaoqian, who was overjoyed, even though she didn't care about the amount of money. The fact that the Shen family could offer such a dowry showed how much they valued her. Besides, this young master was handsome and talented, and she liked him from the bottom of her heart.

And of course, there's Nie Shuping. It seems this brother-in-law not only has a lot of new gadgets, but he's also quite wealthy! He's short on cash right now, so I guess I'll have to ask him for some money.

As the third young master of the governor's mansion, he appears to live a glamorous life. In reality, his father only gives him a few hundred taels of pocket money each month, which isn't even enough for him to go out drinking and carousing a few times.

"Alright! Everyone disperse! Madam, please pack your things. Arrange for the servants to cook, and later you can all have a drink with Shen Lian. Second son, you and Shen Lian come with me to the study." The old man flicked his sleeves and walked to the back.

"Brother Zhiyuan, I've been playing with this lighter for a few days now, could you perhaps give me your cigarettes...?" Seeing his father leave, Nie Shuping grabbed Shen Lian.

"Hehe! Don't even mention playing with it, if Third Brother likes it, I'll give it to you! As for cigarettes, I had Uncle Lin bring some over, you can just ask him for two packs."

"Alright! Thank you, brother! If you ever need anything, just let me know. I still have some influence in the capital," Nie Shuping said, patting his chest.

He turned and ran off as soon as he finished speaking. He was eager to show off his new gadget to his friends.

"Remember to come back for lunch!" Nie Xianfan shook his head helplessly and said, "Zhiyuan, stay away from this kid in the future. He's a troublemaker and always acting unreliably!"

"It's alright, Third Brother is just a little playful. I don't think he's a bad person!"

Not bad? You'll see soon enough! Nie Xianfan gave a wry smile. His father was busy with military affairs, and his eldest son didn't care about them. This third son, he didn't know how many troubles he had to settle for him!

In the study, Nie Gongting took a drag of his cigarette and smiled, saying, "Zhiyuan, I've discussed your marriage with Xiaoqian with your father in our correspondence. Do you have any objections?"

"I leave everything to Uncle Shi's discretion!" Shen Lianyi cupped his hands in greeting.

“Alright! You will be taking over your father’s position next. Various reforms and troop training will take time. I think we should set it for the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month! What do you think?” Shen Lian said with ease.

"I had almost finished arranging your father's appointment as a scholar and your succession to the position, and I was just waiting for your father's memorial. Who knew that someone would jump out these past few days and try to compete with you? But these are minor matters, just a little trouble. Don't worry, I will resolve it in a few days."

"Uncle, do you know who the other party is?" Shen Lian asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Who else could it be? It's that garrison commander under your father, what was his name again?"

“Zhang Dabiao!” Nie Xianfan said from the side.

"Yes, it's Zhang Dabiao. A mere garrison commander dares to run around like this. He must have bribed the Ministry of War! Hmph, it's only because he's far away. If he were in the capital, I could kill him with a flick of my finger!" the old man said domineeringly.

"Don't worry, he's not good at fancy dances! I'll transfer him to your place when the time comes."

"Thank you, Uncle, but no need! I'll deal with him myself." Shen Lian smirked. He'd tried to kill him several times; transferring him would be too easy.

Nie Gongting didn't care; such a minor official was beneath his notice. He could leave it to Shen Lian to deal with.

"Zhiyuan, what are your plans after you take over the position?" Nie Gongting asked, stroking his beard.

The real test was about to begin, and Shen Lian braced himself. "Uncle, my father and I discussed this before we came. My plan is to phase out most of the veterans and recruit a new batch. We'll train them all using Western methods and equip them with modern rifles and cannons. We'll strive to build an elite force in the shortest possible time."

"So how many soldiers are you planning to train?" Nie Gongting asked Shen Lian meaningfully.

"According to the imperial court's regulations, the Linqing Camp has a quota of three thousand soldiers. These are turbulent times, and I feel that's still too few if we want to achieve anything significant. Uncle, it would be best if you could help me secure a quota of five thousand men."

Nie Gongting frowned upon hearing this!

"Hehe! Zhiyuan, do you know how much silver it would cost to train a battalion of soldiers with the new equipment?" Nie Xianfan interjected.

Shen Lian had also made a rough estimate: a battalion of 500 men. Including weapons, equipment, resettlement allowance, monthly food rations, and daily ammunition consumption, he estimated it would cost around 100,000 taels of silver.

"Fifty thousand taels! That doesn't even include daily ammunition consumption and casualty compensation." Nie Xianfan assumed Shen Lian didn't know and simply held up a hand.

Their standards are definitely much lower than Shen Lian's plan standards, so saying 50,000 is normal.

“The imperial court is facing financial difficulties right now and can’t give you much silver. In a small place like Linqing, it would be quite an achievement if you could train a thousand elite soldiers. You want five thousand?” Nie Gongting shook his head.

"That's why I'm planning to start a cigarette and lighter business! I think I can make a lot of money. With the family savings, I think it should be enough."

"Heh! Other officials line their own pockets when they become officials, but you're the first one to use silver to subsidize the army. Even if your family owns a silver mine, they still can't afford to let you squander it like this!" Nie Gongting couldn't help but roll his eyes.