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

"Let's check the quality and price of these guns first!" Seeing Jason's eagerness, Shen Lian naturally wanted to test him first. It would be a lie for these arms dealers to say they don't make money; there are very few businesses that are more profitable than theirs.

"Okay, okay! I'll take you to see the guns right away!" Jason said, standing up to pay the bill before leading Shen Lian and the other two towards the dock.

"Sir, isn't it inappropriate to go with him like this? Why don't I go back and call some brothers over?" Lu Da's current role is Shen Lian's personal bodyguard, so of course he has to be careful in everything he does.

“You’re right! This is the dock, it’s broad daylight, the other side probably won’t dare to do anything! But anyway, we’ll need people to carry the guns, Laifu, go back and get twenty men, and bring a few carriages over.” Shen Lian nodded.

Jason led Shen Lian and Lu Da to a warehouse used by the Germans. After negotiating for a while, Jason beckoned and led the two inside.

Deep inside the warehouse, a pile of wooden crates was neatly stacked. Jason pried open one of the crates, revealing a neat array of rifles inside. They were all wrapped in waxed paper, and the smell of gun oil still lingered.

"This guy is reliable enough," Shen Lian nodded.

"Mr. Shen, take a look!" Jason took out a gun, wiped clean of gun oil, and handed it to Shen Lian.

Shen Lian took it and examined its exterior; it did indeed look quite new. He then cocked it and pulled the trigger, which fired smoothly. Looking at the rifling inside, the wear wasn't too severe; it was a decent old gun.

The box contained a full set of maintenance tools, oil bottles, bayonets, and other necessary supplies. Shen Lian nodded.

"Not bad, it's well-maintained!"

“We Germans are known for our meticulousness, so you can rest assured when working with me,” Jason said with a hint of pride.

Shen Lian randomly checked a few more boxes, and they were all exactly the same.

"Not bad! Tell me, how much are you selling these guns for? If the price is right, I'll take them." Shen Lian took out a cigarette, lit it, and handed one to Jason.

“Mr. Shen, if you also give me the orders for heavy machine guns and cannons, I will still sell you these guns for twenty taels each, but I will give you one hundred rounds of ammunition with each gun.”

Shen Lian nodded; Jason was being sold off at a bargain price.

"Then tell me, how much are you planning to sell each of your Maxim guns and artillery pieces for?"

"A Maxim gun costs 3,000 taels, plus a basic load of ammunition. A 57mm cannon costs 12,000 taels, and a 75mm cannon costs 25,000 taels. Also, a basic load of shells is included."

Shen Lian smiled. Jason clearly wanted to recoup the losses from these guns. However, he decided to give him a little reward this time, thinking the kid might be of great use in the future.

Shen Lian secretly calculated that he planned to train an army of 10,000 men. His idea was to organize a division, which would consist of three infantry regiments, an independent cavalry battalion, and an artillery battalion.

With these two thousand, we're still short three thousand rifles. Considering damage and other issues, we'll need to order at least five thousand more.

Maxim planned to equip one rifle per company, which would mean he would still be short at least twenty-five rifles.

As for artillery, we need twenty Type 57 mountain guns, and we'll also prepare ten Type 75 cannons to start with! In case we encounter any tough opponents, we'll blast them to pieces.

It's not that we don't want larger caliber artillery, but the current road conditions in China, without cars, mean that the 75mm cannon is already at the limit of its mobility.

"This configuration should be enough to fight the Eight-Nation Alliance, right?" Shen Lian smirked. He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement just imagining the German army's expressions when they found out they'd been bombarded by cannons he'd built.

If you do the math, it'll cost seven or eight hundred thousand taels. And don't complain about the price; it's just that we can't manufacture it ourselves!

It's not that they can't build them, it's that they dare not. Shen Lian only needs to travel back in time to find the blueprints for any cannon. Even the blueprints for the atomic bomb are available online.

With current technology, at least mortars and rocket launchers can be manufactured.

He doesn't dare to show it now! China's industrial base is too weak. If foreigners learn from it, they can produce thousands of them in no time, and then we'll really be left with no choice but to fight guerrilla warfare.

Shen Lian shook his head, deciding to put those things aside. He needed to focus on acquiring the weapons in front of him first!

"Give me another five thousand rifles, thirty Maxim machine guns, twenty 57mm cannons, and ten 75mm cannons. You calculate how much silver that will cost?"

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand taels!" Jason gave a quote after a quick calculation.

"Okay, we'll go with your price. But we need to provide two extra units of bullets and shells."

Jason was secretly pleased when he heard that Shen Lian did not bargain, but when he heard that the number of bullets and shells would be increased by two, the smile on his face instantly froze.

"What? You're having trouble? Never mind then, I'll go ask the British and Americans!"

“Mr. Shen, you can’t buy this for that price from anyone else!” Jason said with a bitter face.

"Then I'll add another 50,000 taels, okay?" Shen Lian shook his head. He really didn't know the price of the cannons and shells, but seeing that Jason didn't seem to be faking it, he added 50,000. The main thing was that he didn't have time to look for other arms dealers right now.

“Alright! For our first collaboration, I'll accept a loss to make friends. I hope you'll entrust me with future business opportunities, Lord Shen.” Jason nodded.

"That's right, don't worry. You definitely won't lose out by cooperating with me; there will be plenty of business for you in the future!" Shen Lian patted Jason on the shoulder. He certainly wouldn't believe the other party said he was losing money. He figured it was just a little less profit.

"I have two more conditions. First, this batch of weapons must be delivered within three months, and you have to help me transport it to Shandong."

“No problem, I’ll rush back to China immediately to procure the goods and guarantee delivery within three months. We have a port in Shandong, and the concession makes trading even more convenient.” Jason nodded in agreement.

"Secondly, you need to help me hire a group of artillery instructors. I'll pay their salaries, and I guarantee they won't be lower than those in your country."

“That shouldn’t be a problem either. We have a lot of retired soldiers in our country, so recruiting a few instructors is no problem at all!” Jason agreed without much thought.

"Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation!" Shen Lian extended his hand.

"It's a pleasure to work with you!" Jason quickly reached out and shook Shen Lian's hand.

Shen Lian took the suitcase from Lu Da, took out a bag from it, and handed it to Jason. "Take a look," he said, "how about these things to pay for this batch of guns and the deposit for the next batch?"

Jason took the bag and opened it. It was full of pearls. Each one was the size of a fingertip, round and smooth. They were clearly top-quality pearls. Jason, who was of noble birth, had never seen so many exquisite pearls before, and he was immediately dazzled.

"What, you don't like pearls?" Shen Lian's heart skipped a beat when Jason didn't speak. If the foreigner didn't want pearls, he would be in real trouble.

"I love it! Thank you, Mr. Shen," Jason quickly replied. Because pearl harvesting is difficult, pearls are treasures sought after by royalty and nobility in any country.

These top-quality pearls are worth at least a thousand taels each, and they'd be worth even more if he took them back to Europe. Moreover, these pearls might have an even greater purpose.