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

Shen Lian was in a great mood and ate two extra bowls of rice for dinner.

As Xiao Yue'er made the bed, she kept stealing glances at Shen Lian with a strange expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Yue'er! Is there something on my face? What are you looking at?" Shen Lian pulled her into his arms.

"Ah!" Xiao Yue'er exclaimed, burying her head in Shen Lian's arms. After a long while, she whispered, "Young Master, you're so good to me!"

It seems the little girl was quite taken aback by his commotion this afternoon. What young woman wouldn't want her man to be a great, upright hero?

"Young Master has always been very good! You're only just realizing that now? You should be the one who understands how good I am! Hehe!"

Xiao Yue'er twisted her body a few times in protest, which aroused Shen Lian's anger.

"Moon, since I'm so good to you, shouldn't you be nicer to me too? Hehe!" Shen Lian said with a strange smile.

"Young Master, how do you want me to treat you well?" Xiao Yue'er raised her head blankly. She now loved and admired this young master to the core, and would even be willing to die for him.

"You just need to..." Shen Lian whispered in Xiao Yue'er's ear with a mischievous grin.

"Young Master, you..." Xiao Yue'er's face flushed red with embarrassment. This girl was just too shy; she couldn't relax at all in bed, making it difficult for Shen Lian to enjoy himself.

Seeing her coy and alluring demeanor, Shen Lian could no longer resist. Amidst Xiao Yue'er's gasp, he scooped her up and rolled her onto the bed.

... (Ten thousand words omitted here)

The next morning, Shen Lian woke up feeling refreshed. After breakfast, everyone continued on their journey.

After another day's journey, on the morning of the third day, Shen Lian and his party finally arrived in Jinan, the capital of Shandong. This was the location of his circuit intendant's office, which also served as the governor's office, the provincial administration office, the provincial judicial administration office, and the education commissioner's office.

These are his immediate superiors!

Wang Huaide had also received his transfer documents and was already waiting for Shen Lian. He was overjoyed to see Shen Lian arrive so quickly; he didn't want to stay in Shandong for even a day longer.

"Lord Wang, it's an honor to meet you!"

"Lord Shen is truly a young and promising talent! Please!" Wang Huaide was also surprised that the person who came to take over was so young, but on the surface he did not look down on Shen Lian at all.

The meeting between the two was very amicable. After exchanging pleasantries, Wang Huaide said, "Lord Shen, let's begin the handover!"

"Lord Wang, isn't this too hasty? Let's wait a couple of days before discussing it!" Shen Lian said, feigning reluctance.

"Hey! We'll have to hand over the reins sooner or later anyway, and I'm all prepared. Lord Shen, please don't refuse!"

"Alright! Then I'll have to offend you!" Shen Lian gestured for Ye Zhennan and the others to come forward.

The handover process didn't require Wang Huaide and Shen Lian to handle it personally; their advisors and hangers-on were naturally in charge.

Wang Huaide was indeed well prepared. After a day, Shen Lian only checked the two most important items, money and grain, and the deficit was not much.

The yamen's silver reserves were over 200,000 taels, with a deficit of just over 10,000 taels. The grain deficit was only a little over 2,000 dan. Shen Lian knew this was a common practice in late Qing dynasty yamens, and these deficits weren't necessarily caused by Wang Huaide.

It's possible that these are all deficits left over from previous officials; the fact that the deficit is so small is already beyond Shen Lian's expectations. It seems that Wang Huaide does have some talent.

Shen Lian naturally wouldn't make things difficult for people over such trivial matters, and simply signed the handover documents.

"Brother Shen, that was quick!" Wang Huaide was overjoyed; he hadn't expected the handover to be so fast. He thought it would take at least two or three days.

"Brother Wang is shrewd and capable, handling all affairs in an orderly manner. As for other minor matters, I naturally trust your character." Shen Lian exchanged a few polite words with him.

"Please allow me to host a farewell banquet for Brother Wang tonight." Overall, this Wang Huaide isn't bad; you never know when you might need his help. Shen Lian decided to curry favor with him first.

"Hahaha! Alright! Then I thank you for your kindness, Brother Shen."

That evening, Shen Lian hosted a farewell banquet for Wang Huaide at the best restaurant in the prefectural city, Gaosheng Restaurant, along with officials of all ranks from the Daotai's yamen. During the banquet, Shen Lian was very approachable, accepting toasts from everyone who offered, which put the officials at ease. It seemed this newly arrived Daotai was easy to talk to and lacked worldly experience.

The next day, Wang Huaide left a secretary to handle the follow-up matters and couldn't wait to take his family to the capital.

On the third day, back at the Daotai's yamen, Shen Lian sat upright behind his desk, surrounded by officials of all ranks. Three clerks stood attentively on either side.

On the fourth day, Shen Lian played with the official seal. Now he was in charge of this place. He had been in this Qing Dynasty for a month or two, and finally he had his own territory where he could do whatever he wanted.

"Ahem!" Shen Lian coughed, and all the officials below straightened up.

“You are all low-ranking officials with little power. I hope you will all remember this from now on. Get rid of all those old rules and regulations. I don’t want to pursue the bad things you did in the past.”

“From today onwards, there must be no more extortion or bribery. Otherwise, I will deal with each one I discover. You have probably heard about the Dezhou postmaster's case; he is a prime example.”

"The situation in Shandong is not peaceful right now. If anyone continues to oppress the people and incite unrest, I'll take their head. Do you all understand?"

"Your Excellency Jin has given you instructions!" the officials all bowed and replied loudly.

"I hope you'll listen to me!" Shen Lian shook his head. His direct subordinates, including the warehouse magistrates, granary magistrates, and customs magistrates, might seem like low-ranking officials, but each held a lucrative position controlling vast sums of money. No one would believe such people were honest and upright.

But Shen Lian needs them to do things now, so hopefully these people won't go too far in the future! Otherwise, Shen Lian will inevitably have to kill people and confiscate their property again.

"Send word to all civil and military officials in the prefectures and counties to arrive in Linqing in three days. I need to speak with them," Shen Lian added. He then waved for them to go and carry out their tasks.

Shen Lian prepared some everyday gifts and went to the governor's office. Yuan Xiangcheng was his superior, and as a newly appointed official, he had to pay his respects. Shen Lian had also always wanted to meet this ruthless man who had brought down the Qing Dynasty, established the Republic of China, and finally declared himself emperor.

Because Shen Lianxian had sent his visiting card first, Yuan Xiangcheng was waiting for him at the governor's office.

"Your humble servant Shen Lian greets Your Excellency the Governor!" Shen Lian knelt on one knee and performed a deep bow.

"Hahaha, my dear nephew, please get up quickly!" Yuan Xiangcheng laughed heartily and personally helped Shen Lian up.

Shen Lian stood up and saw that Yuan Xiangcheng was a robust middle-aged man. He wasn't as fat as he appeared in later photos. He looked like an honest and kind person, and was looking at him with a smile.