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

Zhang Tieniu didn't aim for first place; he had worked as a tow rope puller before. He knew that putting in a lot of effort at the beginning was useless and would only lead to exhaustion later on. Five li (approximately 2.5 kilometers) wasn't far, but it wasn't short either. He just needed to stay in the top thirty.

Soon, the crowd returned in a scattered fashion. A short boy was the fastest, and after he crossed the finish line, Shen Lian checked his pocket watch. A little over five minutes!

"Very good!" Shen Lian nodded. He remembered that the modern world record for two kilometers was close to five minutes. This kid is good; he's a good candidate to be a messenger or a scout.

"Good! You've passed! Everyone else is eliminated." An instructor shouted, pointing at the heads.

The first thirty people were elated, while the more than one hundred behind them stood there dejectedly, not knowing what to do. Several young men even burst into tears on the spot.

"Sir, aren't we being too strict in our selection? I think many of the candidates are quite good!" Ye Zhennan said from the side.

"It's good! But I want the best; I want to train elite troops. And we only have this many troops, so there's no other way." Shen Lian shook his head.

The second group of two hundred people rushed out again, having witnessed the events of the previous group. Each one gritted their teeth and ran forward with all their might, none wanting to be eliminated.

"Stand up, everyone! If you have any skills, please speak up. We need more people for logistics!" an instructor shouted as he walked into the group of those being eliminated.

Chen San sat on the ground in a daze. He thought he had run very fast today, but he didn't expect there to be so many people who could run faster than him!

Am I really going to slink back like this? I remember when I came here, I was bragging to my friends in the village that I would definitely be selected this time. How can I face them if I go back like this?

"Sir, I am a carpenter!" Chen San quickly stood up upon hearing the instructor's words.

The instructor gave him a scrutinizing look and nodded; "Hmm! Count you in."

"Sir, I can ride a horse!" "Sir, I can drive a carriage!" "Sir, sir..."

"Don't panic, speak one at a time!" the instructor waved his hand.

The instructors quickly selected the candidates. Out of 170 people, only seven or eight were chosen who had some skills.

"Alright! You can all disperse now! Don't be too discouraged. Keep that sign safe. Go back and train hard. You can apply first when we recruit soldiers next time. Go over there and get two steamed buns. They're dry rations sent to you by my master, Lord Shen."

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, Lord Shen!" Those who had been eliminated finally perked up a bit. After all, they'd come all this way, had a good meal, and even managed to take two steamed buns home—it wasn't a wasted trip.

Many secretly vowed to train their legs and feet properly when they got back, so they could be selected for the next recruitment drive.

That evening, Shen Lian looked at the compiled data. The first day, they recruited more than 1,600 people, which was not bad.

It just started today, and the prefecture and county are too far apart, so many people will definitely not make it in time. He stipulated that the recruitment period is five days, and he expects to recruit 10,000 people. Adding the 2,000 people recruited from his hometown in western Hunan, the total is 12,000 people.

In that case, 10,000 soldiers, 2,000 support personnel, and a large number of carts and horses should be enough. Anyway, we won't be fighting too far away anytime soon; we'll see how things go later!

If all else fails, logistics can be handled by hiring civilian laborers; that's how most armies operate nowadays.

In the following days, the number of people increased significantly. After five days, the recruitment of 10,000 people was fully completed.

Meanwhile, the soldiers from western Hunan arrived, led by Shen Lian's cousin, Shen Daowu. Thirty-two years old, he held the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). However, he had loved martial arts since childhood, and now that Shen Lian had become the Daotai (a high-ranking official) and was training troops, he naturally wanted to join him.

"Uncle Daowu, you must be tired from your journey!" Shen Lian told the maid to serve tea.

"It's not hard work, but it's certainly been a bit of a hassle to have so many people come together! I never imagined that after just a few years, Zhiyuan, you'd be a high-ranking official now. You truly are a prodigy of the Shen family! Haha!" Shen Daowu said excitedly.

"How are those people? Were they all recruited according to my requirements?"

"Don't worry, Zhiyuan, I know what I'm doing. My own army is definitely not made up of inferior men. They are all respectable young men aged sixteen to twenty-five, just as you requested, and not one of them smokes opium."

"Moreover, over a hundred of them had some schooling!"

"Great! Thank you, Uncle Daowu. Let's go see them together!" Shen Lian immediately stood up.

Upon arriving at the temporary camp outside the city, they found a group of young men from western Hunan quietly waiting in the camp. They had all been instructed by their families and given important reminders by Shen Daowu along the way. They were all determined not to embarrass Shen Lian now that they were in Shandong, so they were all quite self-disciplined.

Moreover, Fenghuang has a long history of fierce and warlike people, especially after the rise of General Zeng. He recruited many soldiers in western Hunan, and many of them were promoted for their merits. This led to the men of Fenghuang all aspiring to join the army and practicing their combat skills at home. These soldiers could be deployed in battle with minimal training.

"Third Master!" A burly young man stood up and greeted them as soon as he saw Shen Lian and Shen Daowu enter.

“This is my eldest brother’s grandson, Shen Congjun!” Shen Daowu introduced.

"Hurry up and come over here to greet your sixth uncle!"

"Greetings, Sixth Uncle!" Shen Congjun kowtowed. Only then did Shen Lian realize that he seemed to be the sixth among his peers in the family.

"Good, good, get up! You're really strong, and you have a good name too. You're a good candidate for the army!" Shen Lian patted his sixteen or seventeen-year-old nephew on the shoulder.

"Hehe! This kid also disliked studying since he was a child, but loved martial arts. He trained with me for a few years. His skills are not bad."

"Greetings, Sixth Uncle! Greetings, Sixth Master! Greetings, Sixth Brother! Greetings, Cousin..." A group of young men gathered around.

They were all from the same place, so they were bound to be related by marriage. Shen Lian didn't recognize them, so he could only nod in greeting.

“Although we are relatives, things are different once we enter the military. There are no relatives here. Everyone is treated equally under military orders, and no one can be given special treatment. You all know that, right?” Shen Lian said sternly.

"Lord Jinzun's military order!" the disciples replied in unison.

"Okay! You all get some rest! We'll start working tomorrow!" Shen Lian nodded.

The men were recruited, but their camp was still empty! The next day, Shen Lian waved his hand and herded more than 10,000 men outside the city. They were divided into six parts and construction of the camp began.

Fortunately, the requirements for military camps in this era were not high. The places Shen Lian found were sparsely populated wastelands near the mountains and forests. As long as they leveled the land and cut some trees from the mountains, along with straw and wheat stalks, they could make do.

The soldiers were mostly from farming families, so doing these tasks was no problem for them. Knowing it was built for their own residence, they all worked very diligently and conscientiously.

The construction site was bustling with activity, and it took only three days to take shape.