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

On the third day, the imperial decree arrived. No need to go to the palace to say goodbye! This suited Shen Lian perfectly; he had no desire to see the old hag!

Shen Lian, accompanied by five carriages and more than ten guards, set off immediately. Traveling by canal was far too slow; he didn't want to waste even a day.

The pipeline from Beijing to Jinan was fine; they traveled non-stop and caught up with Shen Xiaohu's herd of horses halfway there.

Looking at the well-fed and strong warhorses, Shen Lian was in high spirits. Giving Yikuang tens of thousands of taels of silver was definitely worthwhile. In the days before cars, cavalry played a significant role. There were quite a few people in Shandong who could ride horses, after all, the bandits there were renowned far and wide. Recruiting one or two thousand cavalrymen shouldn't be a problem.

After resting for a night, Shen Lian told Shen Xiaohu and the others to drive the horses slowly behind, while he led his men ahead.

. . . . . .

At dusk, five carriages were traveling on the official road twenty miles outside Dezhou City. A dozen burly mounted guards on both sides carefully watched the surroundings, and could tell at a glance that the people in the carriages were no ordinary people.

"Sir, we have entered the territory of Jinan Prefecture. Dezhou City is about twenty li ahead. Shall we stay in Dezhou tonight?"

Ye Zhennan said to Shen Lian from inside the lead carriage. These past few days, Shen Lian had frequently called several advisors to the carriage to consult with them, and had learned quite a bit about officialdom.

"Forget it! No need to alarm the prefectural government, let's just stay at the post station!" Shen Lian waved his hand. He only wanted to get to Jinan Prefecture as soon as possible to take over the official seal, and he didn't have time to socialize with these local officials.

After walking a few more miles, a huge post station came into view. Located on the main official road from Shandong to the capital, and being the first post station after leaving the capital for Shandong, it was naturally bustling with activity. People were constantly coming and going.

Upon entering the courtyard, a waiter immediately came to greet them. Shen Lian went to the carriage at the back and helped Yue'er down, and the group headed towards the main hall. The horses and carriages were naturally taken care of by the guards.

The layout was similar to that of a typical restaurant, with a few customers sitting in twos and threes in the main hall. Shen Lian and his companions were dressed like ordinary scholars, so they didn't attract much attention.

After settling into their rooms, seeing that it wasn't dark yet, Shen Lian habitually went downstairs to take a look around, with Lu Da following closely behind. The lobby was noisy, with many people engaged in lively discussions. They were talking about the Boxer Rebellion, business information, and Shen Lian even overheard someone discussing their cigarettes.

Shen Lian had no interest in listening to their boasting, so he strolled out of the hall and headed towards the backyard, where the carriages and horses were supposed to be stored.

A burst of shouting and cursing behind him caught his attention, and Shen Lian quickly walked over. He saw a group of people gathered in a circle, and Shen Lian nodded to Lu Da.

Lu Da's tall frame squeezed in, quickly creating a space. Those around him, seeing his imposing stature and fierce appearance, had no choice but to step aside.

Shen Lian went inside and saw a clerk dressed in black sitting on a chair, cursing loudly. On the ground, a woman in tattered clothes was kneeling and pleading, while a boy of about twelve or thirteen stood beside her.

The boy's face was swollen and red on one side, with blood at the corner of his mouth. He was clenching his fists and glaring at the official with fiery eyes.

"You little brat, you dare look at me like that? Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!" the bailiff roared.

"Sir, please have mercy! Forgive him this time! The child is still young and doesn't know any better. He offended you, sir. I'll kowtow to you!" The woman kowtowed repeatedly.

A group of farmers standing behind the child could only stand aside, angry but unable to speak out.

"Greetings, sir! What's going on here?" Shen Lian asked, bowing to a middle-aged man who looked like a businessman standing beside him.

The middle-aged businessman, seeing that he was dressed like a scholar and was very polite, returned the greeting with a bow.

"Hey! What could be wrong? They're shortchanging us! The innkeeper said their fodder wasn't enough, and the kid argued back, so he got slapped."

"If you're not satisfied, just take it back and don't sell it. Why is this woman begging him?" Shen Lian asked, puzzled.

"Hehe! Young man, you're too naive. Every household like theirs has to hand over a certain amount of hay every year. If they offend this constable, do you think they can even pay their hay? Hehe! If they can't pay their hay, the yamen will come knocking and arrest them, and they'll be fined!"

"Actually, it's probably just that they didn't give the clerk a bribe. The kid was still dissatisfied, so it's not surprising that he got punished," the middle-aged merchant said, shaking his head.

“That makes sense. They make money selling fodder to the post stations. It’s not surprising that they get ripped off.” Shen Lian had stayed at post stations the whole way, so he had learned a bit about them.

"Paying for fodder? How could that be! It's all the people who pay, okay!" The middle-aged merchant's voice rose a little, attracting the attention of the constable, who glared at him fiercely. The merchant quickly shut his mouth, frightened.

"Holy crap!" Shen Lian was furious! He knew the officialdom was corrupt, but he never imagined it was this thoroughly corrupt and utterly shameless!

They embezzled the money allocated by the imperial court for fodder, not giving a single penny to the people. Not only did they force the people to pay for the fodder for nothing, but they also shortchanged them and extorted money from them. How dare such a lowly clerk have such audacity?

It's important to know that after the Qing Dynasty was established, Kang Youwei learned a lesson. Li Zicheng, who overthrew the Ming Dynasty, was originally a courier; he rebelled because he couldn't survive.

Therefore, the Qing Dynasty took the management of post stations very seriously. Not only did the staff receive salaries, but the court also allocated funds annually for the horses' fodder. They were afraid the stations would become unsustainable and run into trouble, but now it's turned out like this. And it's not just one post station; I suspect most of them were operating this way!

They made a fortune, but the local people suffered. Besides their regular taxes, they were also exploited by these post stations. No wonder there were so many Boxers in Shandong; if it were us, we would have rebelled long ago.

Seeing that Shen Lian was not only unafraid but also staring at him, the clerk couldn't help but smile sinisterly; "Outsider, don't meddle in other people's business. Be careful not to bring trouble upon yourself."

"Heh! What kind of trouble? Tell me, was it being arrested, robbed, or killed?" Shen Lian laughed angrily.

"With the Boxers running rampant, anything is possible!" the clerk said ominously.

It has to be said that he was indeed bold; Shen Lian was too lazy to talk to a mere clerk like him now.

"Lu Da!" Shen Lian roared.

“My lord!” Lu Dayi bowed.

"Bring the postmaster here!" Shen Lian said sternly.

"Yes, sir!" Shen Lian disliked the "Yes, sir!" and instructed his subordinates to always reply with "Yes, sir!"

Soon, Lu Da came over carrying the postmaster, literally lifting him up. The tall Lu Da grabbed the postmaster by the back of the collar and lifted him up like a chick.

The commotion they made naturally alerted the people at the post station, with Ye Zhennan and her group following behind. A large group of postmen also gathered around, followed by quite a few onlookers.