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

“Alright! Let’s talk about it in two years. But you have to promise me you won’t marry her off to someone else. I can’t live without her!” Nie Xiaoqian said earnestly.

"Okay, I promise you! With such a wonderful wife, what can't I promise?" Shen Lian said, leaning over to peck her lips.

"You're so annoying!" Nie Xiaoqian blushed and punched Shen Lian.

"Ruyi, you heard everything! You can rest assured now!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss, and for your kindness, son-in-law!" Liu Ruyi knelt down excitedly and kowtowed to Shen Lian and his wife.

"Hey! Get up! The ground is cold, we don't kneel in this house. Stand up straight from now on!" Shen Lian waved his hand.

"Husband, it's so cold now, and it's been snowing non-stop. I heard people are freezing to death outside the city every day. Could we go and open a soup kitchen?" Nie Xiaoqian asked Shen Lian cautiously.

"Hey! I've been so busy all day, I completely forgot about it. We have to open them. Let's open a lot more!" Shen Lian patted his head.

Although, under his influence, there are very few people in Linqing who can't afford to eat anymore, the people of the entire Taiwu Lindao area can finally breathe a sigh of relief this year.

Even the boatmen and remnants of the "bandits" along the canal were hired by merchants to clean the canal at Shen Lian's request, thus earning a living.

However, there were simply too many poor people in the world, and as Linqing's reputation grew, refugees from all over continued to flock to Linqing, where they built some shacks in the fields outside the city to live in.

Adults can usually make a living by doing odd jobs, but women, children, the elderly and weak can only beg.

Shen Lian knew these people, but even though he was rich, he couldn't support them for nothing. However, with the heavy snow falling, they must be in dire straits, so giving them some porridge was still an option.

"Uncle Fu, take my business card and invite all the managers of the various merchant guilds." Although Shen Lian didn't mind contributing some of his own money, these kinds of things are more lively when there are many people involved. Anyway, these merchants have nothing to do right now, so let them contribute some money and get together for some activities.

If merchants from other places were invited by the government, they would all secretly curse that they were being ripped off. But in Linqing, the merchants did not have this worry.

In Linqing, the commercial taxes along the entire Taiwu-Linqing route are very high, at least one-third higher than elsewhere, and for some goods, the taxes are more than double. These include items like jewelry, furs, and antiques.

Despite the heavy taxes, merchants still flocked to Taiwu Lindao and Linqing. Business was indeed good there, and many locals had extra money, leading to higher consumption levels.

The key is that throughout the entire Thai-Burlam route, you only need to pay taxes once. You can then pass through all checkpoints without hindrance, and no one will dare to take advantage of you. There will be no extortion or bribery in any area, and you can seek help from the government if you encounter any trouble.

Shen Lian selected 500 men from the garrisons in various locations and trained them for over a month. After the New Year, these men would take over every checkpoint in and out of the Taiwulin Road, specifically responsible for collecting taxes.

Of course, Shen Lian wouldn't take all of these taxes; he would return them to the various prefectures and counties proportionally, based on the tax revenue from previous years.

Of course, he was also responsible for paying the taxes to the imperial court, but Shen Lian had no intention of doing so. He would postpone it until May of next year; these things were not a problem.

Of course, where there are heavy taxes, there will also be low taxes, such as on daily necessities like grain, salt, meat, and cotton cloth. These are only nominally taxed.

This year, ordinary people have a little more money in their pockets, but they've also noticed that the prices of various goods on the market have dropped significantly. Everyone is overjoyed and expresses their gratitude to Lord Shen.

After careful consideration, Master Ye and his team realized that with this tax policy, the total tax revenue of the entire Taiwu Lindao region not only didn't decrease, but actually increased compared to previous years.

Most importantly, Shen Lian's two factories voluntarily paid taxes, and at the highest rate. This left all the officials and gentry in the region speechless, and they obediently paid their taxes.

In this era, despite the displacement and hardship of ordinary people, there were still many wealthy individuals, and families like the Shen family had cellars filled with gold and silver.

Shen Lian wanted to set an example for them and strive to create a favorable business environment so that they could confidently invest in the future. It was a waste to leave all that gold and silver buried in the ground, and Shen Lian couldn't possibly go door-to-door robbing people.

If Shen Lian can take over the entire Shandong region next year, he'll need to accomplish a great deal. That will require a massive amount of money, and even more importantly, a large number of people involved. He can't be expected to do everything himself!

Once these people make money, they won't be so fixated on that limited amount of land. Ordinary people will be able to live a better life.

. . . . . .

The merchants, having received Shen Lian's invitation, all arrived at the General's Mansion with great enthusiasm. They eagerly inquired whether Lord Shen had some lucrative project to entrust to them!

Before the Lunar New Year, those who dredged the canal earned anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of taels of silver. This made those who hadn't dared to act last time extremely envious.

After everyone had arrived, Shen Lian walked out with a smile on his face.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!" The merchants all knelt down and bowed.

"Please rise, everyone! Sit down! I don't like kneeling or bowing, so please be casual with me from now on," Shen Lian said, waving his hands repeatedly as he stood up.

"Thank you, sir!" Everyone expressed their gratitude and returned to their seats.

"Judging from everyone's appearance, you've all had a pretty good year, haven't you?" Shen Lian said with a smile.

"Thanks to the adults, we've earned a few more copper coins this year. Hehe!" a fat man in his fifties said.

"Mr. Zhou, that's too modest! You took a lot of cigarettes and lighters from our cigarette factory and sold them all in Jiangnan. You also took on a section of the canal dredging project on your own. You must have earned at least several hundred thousand taels this year, right?"

"There really wasn't that much; it was all thanks to Lord Shen's help!" Zhou Shunda stood up in a panic, waving his hands repeatedly. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Mr. Zhou, don't panic, please sit down! Under my jurisdiction, as long as you conduct business legally and in accordance with the law, and pay your taxes accordingly, no matter how much money you make, I guarantee that no one will dare to mess with you," Shen Lian said to the merchants below.

"Good! Thank you, sir!" "What an upright and just official!" The merchants below cheered. Zhou Shunda shouted the loudest.

"The New Year is almost here! I wish everyone a Happy New Year and good fortune!" Shen Lian stood up and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Happy New Year, Your Excellency!" "May Your Excellency's descendants be numerous and prosperous!" The merchants also stood up and clasped their hands in greeting.

"Let me make this clear first, I didn't call you all here today for any good projects. I'm here to beg for alms! Hehe!" Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Shen Lian revealed his purpose.