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

“Your Highness, the Boxers are rampant right now. Lord Yuan only has a few thousand soldiers with him. He has to suppress the bandits and guard against the Germans. He is not up to the task! Moreover, the Zhili region is not peaceful. I am training a few battalions of soldiers just in case!” Shen Lian looked at Zai Zhen and carefully explained.

“That’s true. Damn, there are Boxers everywhere outside the capital. You’ve thought it through! But where does the court get the money to train your troops right now?” Zai Zhen shook his head.

"When has the imperial court ever been generous? As long as the prince approves, I should be able to come up with this amount of money and grain!"

"There are plenty of military horses at the western suburbs horse farm; allocating me two thousand would be a piece of cake. The Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau has a large stock of imported weapons, hehe!"

"You sure know a lot about this!" Zai Zhen said, pointing at Shen Lian and laughing.

Of course I know! What do you think I've been doing in Beijing for the past two weeks?!

"These are all important resources for the imperial court, and not just anyone dares to touch them!" Zai Zhen said lazily.

"Of course, that's why I'm asking Your Highness for advice! Hehe! Don't worry, Your Highness, I will definitely reward you handsomely after it's done!"

"Alright! I'll go through the trouble again. You go back and wait for me!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Shen Lian walked out of the palace, glancing back once more. "This is the first and last time I'm begging you. Next time we meet, I'll show you what I'm capable of," Shen Lian thought fiercely.

Three days later, Shen Lian received an imperial edict appointing him as the Taiwu Lindao. After seeing off the eunuch who came to deliver the edict, Shen Lian instructed Shen Xiaohu to immediately send a telegram to his hometown in Xiangnan and to Linqing.

Before coming here, Shen Lian had discussed it with his father. Once he received the appointment, he would recruit a group of soldiers from his hometown. In those days, it was still more useful to rely on fellow villagers. Of course, most of his soldiers would still be recruited from Shandong.

Looking at the silver notes in his hand, Shen Lian couldn't help but want to curse. The imperial court allocated him 200,000 taels for military expenses, but the Ministry of Revenue only had 180,000 left. After Yikuang passed through his hands, only 130,000 remained.

"It's no wonder this dynasty collapsed," Shen Lian shook his head. "Oh well! Something is better than nothing."

Fortunately, Yikuang still managed to get the horses and weapons sorted out for him, and Shen Lian gave Zaizhen another 20,000 taels of silver for this.

Half of the military budget was already gone before we even set off, haha!

Now that Shen Lian had received his appointment and was about to launch a major military training campaign, Nie Gongting naturally offered his full support, generously gifting him a hundred elite soldiers. These were all modern soldiers who had received training at Xiaozhan, much to Shen Lian's delight.

He was still worried about where to find training personnel, and whether he should hire foreigners! Unexpectedly, his father-in-law had already made a plan for him.

"Brothers, rest assured, following me, Shen Lian, will guarantee you won't regret it. From now on, your pay will be doubled!" Shen Lian shouted.

"Thank you, sir!" The group of new soldiers, who were initially reluctant to leave the capital, were now all smiles.

Without further ado, Shen Lian immediately arranged for Shen Xiaohu to take some men to receive the horses and send them back to Shandong, while he personally led the remaining men to Tianjin to receive the weapons.

The group arrived in Tianjin, travel-worn. The seventh-ranking official personally received Shen Lian, carrying both the Ministry of War's approval and Yi Kuang's note. The official dared not delay and personally accompanied Shen Lian into the storeroom.

Opening the warehouse door, Shen Lian's mouth watered at the sight of the densely packed weapons inside. He'd read online that after the Eight-Nation Alliance captured Tianjin, they seized a large quantity of weapons, some even more advanced than those they themselves had used.

Now that I see it, it's definitely true. Not only does it have rifles from various countries, but it also has heavy machine guns and cannons—it has everything.

"Lord Shen, actually we've copied these rifles and machine guns now. They're not much worse than the foreign ones." Seeing Shen Lian lingeringly stroking a Maxim gun, the chief said with no small amount of pride.

"Great! You're all copying now? Then we won't have to buy foreign weapons at high prices anymore!"

"Alas! If Li Zhongtang hadn't been transferred to Guangdong and Guangxi, we might have already copied the cannons. How could Hanyang have stood out like this!" The general manager sighed.

I never imagined that the mechanical bureau's technology was so amazing. I guess I'll have to find a way to get my hands on it someday. It's such a pity it was bombed by the Eight-Nation Alliance.

According to regulations, Shen Lian was allocated 5,000 rifles, but he only requested 1,000. These Russian rifles have a long range and are accurate. They are perfect for sniping and will remain relevant for decades to come.

The remaining four thousand rifles were all Mausers. Whether now or decades from now, German rifles will be the most powerful.

Unfortunately, they were only given five heavy machine guns, not even one for an entire battalion. They were also given five cannons, all of which were 57mm mountain guns.

This configuration was far from what Shen Lian had planned! In the end, Shen Lian secretly gave 50,000 taels of silver to get three more Maxim guns and two cannons, plus some bullets.

It wasn't that he didn't want to buy more; firstly, the headquarters didn't dare to sell. Secondly, Shen Lian didn't want to attract attention. His equipment was already the most advanced in the country; what was he planning to do by buying so many more weapons?

Inventorying the weapons and coordinating loading onto the ship would take time, so Shen Lian decided to take a stroll around the Tianjin Concession.

The concessions in Tianjin were established after the Second Opium War, when the Qing government was forced to sign the Treaty of Beijing with Britain and France. Tianjin was opened as a treaty port, allowing foreigners to reside and trade.

Britain and France were the first to establish concessions here, followed by the United States, Germany, and other countries. Over several decades of development, the area is now filled with buildings reflecting the styles of various nations.

The concession was bustling with people. The jingling of rickshaw bells could be heard frequently. Cars could occasionally be seen driving by on the wide roads. It gave Shen Lian the feeling of stepping into an old movie.

After wandering around for a while, Shen Lian spotted a beer hall by the roadside and strolled inside. He wanted to try some beer.

"Hey buddy, three beers, please!" Shen Lian slammed a silver coin on the counter.

Three glasses of beer were quickly served. "You guys should try some, what do you think of this beer!"

Shen Lian had just taken a sip when a "pfft" sound was heard. Lu Da, who was next to him, spat it out.

"Cough, cough! Sir, what kind of beer is this? It tastes like horse piss!" Lu Da said, his face flushed.

"Haha! You could call it horse urine, but it's definitely alcohol. You might not like it the first time, but you'll get used to it after a while!" Shen Lian took a sip and thought it was alright, a bit like draft beer.

The three of them had already attracted the attention of the people inside when they entered, since there are still very few Chinese people going into beer halls these days.

Seeing that Lu Da had vomited the wine, a tall, blond foreigner stumbled over.

"You lowly Qing Chinese, all you do is waste things! Yellow-skinned pigs, get out. You're not welcome here!" the blond-haired man roared, reeking of alcohol.

The foreigner spoke English, which Shen Lian happened to understand. He had majored in English before, and he had often gone to the English corner with her back in college. Shen Lian had also learned to speak fluent English.