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

"Alright, alright! Take me there quickly." Shen Lian immediately led Dong Shaohua and several guards, and followed Jason to the dock.

Shen Lian didn't check the weapons first, but instead began to examine the ship.

"This is a motorboat? Jason, you actually took a motorboat into the canal?"

If it weren't for the smoke billowing from the ship's chimney, Shen Lian would have completely forgotten that small motorboats already existed at this time. Although they were just coal-fired steamships, they were still much faster than rowing by hand!

Especially on calm waterways like canals, they can tow merchant ships and cargo ships forward. Transporting several thousand tons of goods at a time is no problem at all.

"Jason, where did you get this speedboat? Are you selling it?" Shen Lian asked, patting the gunwale.

“Lord Shen, I really want to make this money off you. But my conscience tells me that some money is not to be made! As far as I know, your Fuzhou Shipyard and Jiangnan Shipyard have been producing these kinds of motorboats for a long time.”

"Oh! Really! I might have been abroad for too long and forgot! Thanks for reminding me!" Shen Lian patted Jason on the shoulder.

Jason wasn't stupid. These wooden motorboats only cost a few thousand taels of silver each; there was hardly any profit to be made. Shen Lian would find out about the manufacturing capabilities in Fuzhou sooner or later. He wouldn't risk offending Shen Lian, a major client, for such a paltry sum.

Upon his return, he learned quite a bit about Shen Lian, discovering that he had made great strides in Taiwu Lindao. Not only had he trained tens of thousands of troops, but he had also established two factories.

The cigarettes and lighters they produced were highly praised even by many foreigners. That's why he rented a speedboat at a high price and hired someone to guide him, rushing to Linqing.

"Sir, if you're planning to buy a speedboat, I have some things I must remind you of! The waterways here are extremely difficult to navigate, and many sections require manual dredging. Also, there are far too many checkpoints along the waterways."

“We originally expected to arrive in three days, but we’ve already lost a lot of time on the road. Today is the seventh day!” Jason said, shaking his head.

"Okay! Thanks for the reminder, I'll keep that in mind." Shen Lian nodded. It seems the canal needs some dredging, at least the section from Shandong to the capital needs to be cleared first.

With steamships, he could transport troops and supplies much faster!

“Sir, this is Major Mark. He just retired from our army, where he served as an artillery battalion commander. He’s the artillery instructor I specially invited for you. There are ten of them in total, and all of them were at least sergeants before they retired.” Jason said, pointing to a tall, strong, uniformed officer in his forties with a full beard standing to the side.

"Welcome, Major Mark! I hope you enjoy your work in China."

Mark simply gave Shen Lian a military salute without saying anything more. He was actually very reluctant to come to China as a correctional officer because he had heard his colleagues talk about this huge but backward country.

He'd heard this place was still a slave society, where soldiers wore long braids and filthy uniforms. Discipline was lax, and they were addicted to opium. The officials were corrupt, greedy, and incompetent. He didn't want to deal with such officials and didn't think he could make much of a difference.

But Jason was giving too much, and he desperately needed the money. Jason's family had immense influence in Berlin, and he couldn't afford to offend them.

Furthermore, Jason repeatedly assured him that Shen Lian was different from other Qing Dynasty officials, having received education at an American military academy. Only then did he decide to give it a try and recruit a group of former colleagues to travel across the ocean to China.

Shen Lian made a good first impression on him. He was young and his demeanor was unlike that of the sleazy Qing Dynasty officials he had seen in Qingdao.

His Western-style attire and fluent English made him seem more approachable.

"Then please let Major Mark introduce this cannon to us!" Shen Lian said, patting the cannon in front of him.

"As you wish, sir!" To everyone's surprise, Mark actually spoke English; Jason had really put in the effort.

"This is a 57mm mountain gun produced by our Krupp military factory. It weighs 460 kilograms and has a barrel length of 1,140 millimeters. Its elevation range is -10 to 20 degrees. The high-explosive shell weighs about 4.3 kilograms. The shrapnel shell weighs about 4.46 kilograms. Its maximum range is 4,900 meters." Mark was clearly very familiar with the artillery next to him, and he spoke of it immediately.

"This is also a 75mm mountain gun manufactured by Krupp. It weighs 405 kilograms... and has a maximum range of 4,300 meters."

"Thank you! That was fantastic!" Shen Lian led the applause for Mark.

"Thank you, sir! These are indeed two excellent infantry support artillery pieces, but their firepower is still a bit weak. They are fine for supporting infantry on the battlefield, but their power is too small for siege warfare. Our domestic army has already begun to widely equip itself with 105mm and 150mm heavy artillery."

Mark got excited and said a few more words.

"Thank you, Mark! My army is only good at dealing with bandits and rebels right now. This amount of artillery is sufficient. Besides, given the road conditions in our country, it would be difficult for me to transport those heavy artillery pieces you mentioned!"

Shen Lian certainly wouldn't tell them that his cannons were prepared for their country's army.

After the soldiers moved the weapons away, Shen Lian personally hosted a banquet for Jason and his group.

Looking at the lavish spread on the table, the group of Germans had never seen anything like it. Back home, they were lucky to have some rye bread, a roasted pork chop, and a vegetable soup.

Shen Lian raised his glass; "Let's start with the first toast, to our guests from afar. I hope you'll have a comfortable stay here!"

The Germans all stood up. They were drinking 30-year-old Shaoxing rice wine. Although they initially found the taste strange, they quickly grew to like it and drank it in large gulps.

Alcohol is very expensive in Germany, and their meager retirement pay doesn't allow them to indulge in lavish meals.

The meal was a pleasant one for both host and guests, and Shen Lian had them taken to a hotel. He remarked that the current hotel conditions seemed a bit lacking, and wondered if he should build one more luxurious than the one built by the late emperor. That way, he could entertain his clients and make money at the same time.

"Forget it! Let's talk about it after we take Shandong!" Shen Lian shook his head and went back to his room. After being helped to wash up by Yue'er, he fell asleep on the bed.

The next morning, Shen Lian first met with Jason. Now that the weapons had been delivered, the final payment naturally needed to be settled.

Shen Lian was also planning to place a few more orders, just in case they refused to sell to him after the Eight-Nation Alliance was defeated next year! It was better to stockpile some weapons.

Jason settled the score with Shen Lian once again using pearls. Although he was a little curious about where Shen Lian got so many pearls, he gladly accepted.

Shen Lian ordered another 20,000 rifles and 100 cannons, along with their respective ammunition and shells. The total cost exceeded two million taels of silver.

Jason was overjoyed with another large order. However, he made a request regarding the payment method.