Before the German Ambassador to China requested a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Shiguang as ordered, he felt a bit guilty. Although the Nazi Party was making a lot of noise in Germany, it was a very young political party, and the German upper class was not controlled by the Nazis. The article by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs attacking the Nazi Party for engaging in racism did not seem outrageous to the current German Ambassador to China.

Although he was an elite in the German diplomatic community, the German Ambassador to China was at most a bureau level official in terms of administrative rank. A mere bureau level official could only obey orders from Berlin.

Upon meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Li Shiguang and looking at this thin middle-aged man with bright eyes, the German Ambassador immediately put on an expression full of anger. "The German Foreign Ministry requests that the Chinese Foreign Ministry explain its previous article!"

Li Shiguang did not give the German Ambassador a pleasant look at all. He said, "I will first inform you that the Chinese government has downgraded diplomatic relations with Germany. Chinese diplomatic personnel in Germany have been downgraded from ambassadorial level to ministerial level."

The German Ambassador originally thought that China was just paying lip service to occupy the moral high ground. But downgrading diplomatic ties with a country was not just talk; this would inevitably trigger a diplomatic struggle between the two countries. The original idea of just going through the motions was thrown to the winds, and the German Ambassador immediately asked, "Why is your country so severe towards Germany? Mr. Minister, can you give me a clear explanation?"

Li Shiguang had also once felt that China was going too far in doing this, but He Rui did not see it that way at all. At a meeting with Premier Wu Youping, Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang, Minister of Propaganda Li Runshi, and Foreign Minister Li Shiguang, He Rui gave an explanation. "Our attitude has always been clear: human beings are equal. Whether Africans, Americans, Asians, or Europeans, all are equal members of the human world. Our propaganda offensive against Germany is not only directed at Germany, but is actually declaring our attitude to Europe and to the whole world..."

Li Shiguang felt that He Rui's attitude was too radical, but he still accepted He Rui's view. Li Shiguang was not particularly interested in promoting the equality of all human beings in the world, but from a practical point of view, if China did not express its views at this time, it would be tantamount to acquiescing to Germany's racist ideology.

There is a question of "equal rights" at the diplomatic level. If the racist system established by Germany classified Chinese people as a rank lower than white people, and China did not explicitly express opposition and demand that Germany abolish the racist system targeting Chinese people, other countries could cite Germany's racism to also classify China as a race lower than white people. The Qing Dynasty and the Beiyang government had suffered great losses in these aspects in the past, and the He Rui government would not allow foreigners to act recklessly.

Li Shiguang said calmly, "We have received the latest news. Just two days ago, Nazi Party stormtroopers smashed and looted five Chinese shops in Germany, causing property damage and injuries. Just yesterday, Nazi Party stormtroopers also attacked a Maoshan Daoist temple in Berlin and injured Daoists.

"Linking the facts of the German Nazi Party attacking Chinese people and Daoist temples in Germany with the Nazi Party's racist system, we have to reasonably suspect that the German Nazi government is institutionally discriminating against Chinese people, so we have downgraded diplomatic relations with Germany. If these matters cannot be reasonably explained, and facts prove that the Nazi Party persists in a policy of discrimination and harm against Chinese people, we will continue to downgrade Sino-German diplomatic relations until this problem is resolved."

The current German Ambassador to China was a fan of Peking Opera. He had joined the German Daoist Association five years ago and became a Daoist believer, which was very fashionable in Germany today. A thought popped into the mind of this German Ambassador, who was deeply influenced by Chinese culture: "I am more wronged than Dou E!"

There were only two Nazis in the German government right now, and one of them was Hitler, who had just been appointed Chancellor. How did it become a "Nazi government" in the description of the Chinese Foreign Ministry?

However, since Li Shiguang had explicitly stated this matter, the German Ambassador could only hurry back and send a telegram to Berlin, requesting that Berlin investigate what exactly was going on.

Hitler was not angry after receiving the clear news. He was only the Chancellor now and had not yet had time to replace the cabinet ministers with Nazi Party members. He could only immediately order the SS to investigate the matter. Fortunately, the SS had now recruited Reinhard Heydrich, a young talent whom Hitler appreciated very much. Hitler told Himmler that Heydrich must handle this matter.

After giving the order, Hitler's mood even became happy. Among the world's Great Powers, the Chinese government was the first country to use the term "Nazi government", and this was on the second day after Hitler became Chancellor. Hitler's current goal was to establish a Nazi political party and completely seize power. Being recognized and taken seriously by a major power made Hitler very happy.

Heydrich was 28 years old this year, a man with blonde hair and blue eyes who was extremely handsome. All the teachers and instructors who had come into contact with Heydrich believed that in Heydrich, what was even more outstanding than his handsome appearance was his talent. And as soon as Himmler discovered Heydrich's ability, he immediately entrusted him with important tasks. As the SS was Hitler's bodyguard, this young man naturally entered Hitler's field of vision and gained Hitler's favor within a very short time.

Heydrich did not care about this. When he heard Himmler describe the matter as "the actions of the Stormtroopers caused China's dissatisfaction," he had a judgment in his heart: Himmler wanted to suppress the Stormtroopers (SA). In this regard, Heydrich completely understood. There was a competitive relationship between the SA and the SS, and Hitler obviously trusted the SS, whose personnel had been selected and who were well-organized and disciplined, more. As for "causing China's anger" mentioned by Himmler, Heydrich did not agree. But Heydrich did not speak his thoughts, but accepted the order and got to work.

Heydrich sent his subordinate intelligence department to be responsible for investigating the smashing of the shops. As long as they went to the Chinese Embassy in Berlin to ask for intelligence, this small matter could be easily clarified. After arranging these things, Heydrich personally took a car to the Daoist temple located in the suburbs of Berlin.

This Daoist temple was built entirely on the model of Chinese Daoist temples. At this time, the mountain gate of the temple had been broken, and some Chinese and Germans wearing Daoist robes were repairing it together with workers. Seeing Heydrich arrive with some armed personnel in black uniforms, one Chinese and one German Daoist put down their work and went up to meet them.

Facing each other, the two Daoists folded their hands and performed a Daoist greeting, saying, "Immeasurable Light. I wonder what business this friend has in coming here?"

It was the first time Heydrich had met German Daoists face-to-face. Seeing the starting gesture of the Chinese and German Daoists, he immediately felt that Chinese Daoism had something to it. Not to mention the Daoist robes, hair buns, and hairpins of the two Daoists, which looked simple and elegant. That unique and charming greeting gesture contained Daoist concepts.

Heydrich introduced his background with a calm expression, and the two Daoists invited Heydrich into the temple to talk. The group passed through the broken mountain gate and the traditional courtyard, and entered the main hall. They saw that two successive gates had been damaged, and the statues of the Three Pure Ones in the main hall had also been smeared and damaged. Some workers were repairing the statues of the Three Pure Ones.

The moon gate beside the main hall led to the Cloud Room. The group took their seats in the Cloud Room, which was furnished with simple furniture. Heydrich was really curious, so he asked how Daoism had developed in Germany. After the introduction by the German Daoist, Heydrich had a rough concept.

The development of Daoism in Germany was not the result of Chinese missionary work, but formed after the *Tao Te Ching* was introduced to Europe and was appreciated and praised by German scholars in the 18th century. Kant had carefully studied the *Tao Te Ching* and made his analysis and praise. Since then, more German philosophers and scholars had greatly appreciated Laozi's views.

After World War I, Germany's economy was in shambles, leading to a surge in the people's demand for religion. German intellectuals were unwilling to believe in God anymore and turned to the thought world of Daoism. Since then, local Daoist temples began to appear in Germany.

After China's reunification in 1924, at the invitation of the German Daoist Association, the Chinese Daoist Association began sending Chinese Daoists to practice in German Daoist temples in 1926, and provided funds to invite German Daoists to travel to China.

Having clarified this matter, Heydrich discovered that his work was not simply dealing with a public security issue, but involved a "religious case". With the situation like this, Heydrich asked, "May I ask, will the destruction by the mob be considered blasphemy against the gods?"

The Chinese and German Daoists looked at each other. This time it was the Chinese Daoist Qingyuanzi who used not-very-fluent German to introduce Daoist concepts to Heydrich. Even a figure like Heydrich did not dare to be completely sure that his understanding was correct after spending a quarter of an hour listening to Qingyuanzi's explanation, so he asked the German Daoist Qingmingzi, "Sir, can I think of it this way: Daoism believes that there is no afterlife for humans, and the highest pursuit of Daoists is to attain the Dao and become immortals while alive."

Qingmingzi did not expect that this handsome young man in front of him could understand to this extent. He felt that Heydrich had quite a talent for Daoism, so he praised, "Immeasurable Heavenly Worthy. Good man Heydrich, Daoism believes that everything is operated by the Dao. Even if someone wants to blaspheme the Great Dao, there is no way to start. As for the Daoist temple, it is originally a place for Daoists and lay Buddhists to cultivate their bodies and minds. How can mortal things be called blasphemy?"

Hearing this explanation that separated the immortal and the mortal so clearly, Heydrich could not help but feel some goodwill towards Daoism. According to what the two Daoists Qingyuanzi and Qingmingzi said, the damage to the Daoist temple was entirely a matter between mortals, at most a property dispute. It had nothing to do with the "Great Dao" or the Patriarchs of the Three Pure Ones believed in by the Daoists. In contrast to Christianity, if someone burned a church, that would be an attack on God.

Since it was just property damage and a public security incident, Heydrich could handle it easily. Just as he wanted to start work, Heydrich was still a little curious and asked, "May I ask, in the view of Daoism, do heathens exist?"

The German Daoist Qingmingzi was very clear about the definition of heathens. He immediately answered, "The world has its own laws. In the eyes of us Daoists, it is like the sunrise and sunset. Whether one believes in Daoism or not, or believes in other religions, could it be that the sun everyone sees every day is different?"

Hearing this explanation, Heydrich could not help but nod. Daoism was very close to his imagination of religion. Although he was handling this matter because of the Führer's order, Heydrich himself also hoped to solve the problem of the attack for the Daoist temple.

After inquiring about the time and process of the mob attack, and the Daoists' description of the attackers, Heydrich got up to leave. At the door, he saw the Daoists re-hanging the plaque at the entrance. Heydrich did not know Chinese characters, so he asked the German Daoist Qingmingzi what was written on the plaque. Qingmingzi answered proudly, "This is the name of our Daoist temple, Sanqing Temple."

Returning to the SS headquarters, Heydrich immediately began issuing orders. It was soon determined that the smashing of Chinese shops and the Daoist temple was indeed done by the SA. When contacting the SA, hearing that the SS demanded the SA to hand over the action records, they refused with curses without politeness.

Heydrich was not angry. He did not expect the SA to hand over the perpetrators. As long as it was determined to be the SA's doing, the next thing should be resolved by Hitler. After submitting the report, Heydrich considered the SA. Himmler wanted to deal with the SA, but thought it was very difficult. Heydrich himself believed that the demise of the SA was not far off. Because from the supreme commander Röhm to the various group leaders and team leaders, the SA believed that they were the core force of the German national movement promoted by the Nazi Party. Such people completely failed to understand that the world was constantly changing. Once the Nazi government was fully established, the SA would lose the meaning of their existence. If they tried to continue to expand their influence, they were destined to face a counterattack. Especially since Hitler was starting to unite the majority of everything in Germany that could be united, the SA would sooner or later become a minority.

In the afternoon, Heydrich, who was dealing with other matters, received a call from Himmler. "You will attend the reception hosted by the Führer with me this evening."

Heydrich agreed immediately. Five minutes earlier than the agreed time, Heydrich had already arrived. After waiting for three minutes, the car Himmler was riding in arrived at the entrance of the reception. The two entered the banquet hall one after the other. Hitler was already chatting cordially with the core members of the Nazi Party who had arrived.

Seeing that it was 7 o'clock, Hitler stood on the podium and said loudly, "Comrades, we are here today to celebrate our cause reaching this day. Thank you comrades for your efforts over the past ten years!"

There was applause from the audience. Göring, Goebbels, Hess, Röhm and others were full of smiles and smug satisfaction.

Hitler continued, "Before the banquet, I would like to invite Professor Karl Haushofer and his family to come on stage. I have a gift for them."

Professor Karl Haushofer was Hess's teacher and could be considered Hitler's half-teacher in international relations. Amid the applause of the core members of the Nazi Party, the professor's family walked onto the podium. Rudolf Hess stood beside Hitler holding several certificates with a beaming smile. Hitler said loudly to the core members of the Nazi Party, "Today I want to give Professor Haushofer a gift, which is Honorary Aryan certificates for his wife and sons!"

Immediately, another round of warm applause broke out from the audience. Hitler shook hands with Professor Karl Haushofer, and then shook hands with the professor's wife and two sons one by one, giving the three Honorary Aryan certificates personally signed by Hitler to the three of them.

Watching this scene, Heydrich felt there was no problem at all. Even for Jews with conclusive evidence and clear bloodlines, as long as they were true fellow travelers of the Nazi Party, a Honorary Aryan certificate personally signed by Hitler could solve it.

Looking at the smiles of the professor's family, Heydrich's gaze fell on Göring and the person beside him. The person beside Göring was Erhard Milch, the captain of the 6th Fighter Squadron during the Great War in Europe. As Göring's old comrade-in-arms, Göring, who was about to be appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, invited his old comrade-in-arms to rebuild the German Air Force together. Heydrich had heard Himmler say that Erhard Milch's father was a Jew. But Hitler cherished talent, so Erhard Milch not only joined the Nazi Party, but no one in the Nazi Party mentioned Erhard Milch's background issues.

This was the Nazi Party that Heydrich identified with, recruiting heroes from all sides and uniting Germany from top to bottom. For policy reasons, Jewish profiteers naturally had to be eliminated and their property confiscated. As for whether the talents who joined the Nazi Party had Jewish blood, it was not important at all.

The banquet began quickly. Whether Austrian or German, and regardless of Germanic or Jewish blood. The atmosphere of this united banquet was friendly and the mood was high. Hitler did not smoke, drink, or eat much meat. Just as Göring and others were gorging themselves and drinking heavily, Hitler finished the vegetarian food in front of him and got up to leave.

Soon, Himmler, Heydrich, Professor Karl, Hess, and Röhm arrived in the reception room next to the banquet hall. Hitler's secretary Hess closed the door, and Hitler, who was already waiting in the reception room, asked, "Professor Karl, I would like to hear your analysis of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's actions."

Professor Karl had already read the article by the Chinese Foreign Ministry and heard the latest development that diplomatic relations with Germany had been downgraded because Chinese citizens were attacked in Germany. Upon Hitler's inquiry, Professor Karl explained that China's actions were no different from those of world powers like Britain, the United States, and France; they were merely protecting the legitimate interests of their expatriates overseas.

As for China attacking Germany's racism, Professor Karl believed that this was China expressing its attitude to other European and American countries by attacking Germany.

Hitler was very interested in this explanation. He asked, "Can this be seen as China's declaration of challenge to Europe and America?"

"It is a challenge to the European and American dominance of the world," Professor Karl added.

Hitler nodded slightly, and after thinking for a moment, continued to ask, "If we ignore this, what would be the worst-case scenario?"

"Mein Führer, that would likely lead to a stalemate in official relations between China and Germany. The Chinese government might not interrupt Sino-German trade, but official exchanges between China and Germany would decrease."

Hitler fell silent temporarily. For Germany to get out of its current predicament, the method was actually very simple: domestic investment to drive the economy, and international trade to provide orders. China was already a large market in the world and the single market with the largest population. The French government had achieved its current prosperity only after cooperating with China. Opening up the Chinese market was a very important link in Hitler's economic arrangements. If Chinese and German officials did not interact, Germany's economic recovery would be hugely affected.

Having determined these points, Hitler stood up. "Röhm, come with me for a moment."

Heydrich did not expect that Hitler had already read his report only a few hours after it was submitted. He saw the chubby Röhm stand up with a nonchalant look and follow Hitler out of the reception room. Not long after, faint sounds came from next door; it turned out that Hitler had lost his temper.

After a good while, Hitler walked back into the room, his face still showing lingering anger. Heydrich could roughly judge that Röhm was obviously unwilling to hand over the people, which triggered Hitler's anger. Judging from the time, it took Hitler some time to persuade Röhm. At least he temporarily ordered Röhm to obey Hitler's command. Röhm was already acting so willfully now; Heydrich felt that Röhm's future was truly dark.

Hitler calmed his emotions first before continuing to ask, "Professor Karl, do you think other European and American countries will use the Chinese government's statement?"

Professor Karl answered decisively, "They would very much like to use it, but in the current world, the only Great Power that can morally attack racism is China."

Hitler nodded slightly. China did not participate in the tide of colonialism, but instead suffered invasion by colonialist countries. This was originally China's disadvantage, but after China's rejuvenation, it became China's advantage instead. However, Hitler did not lament this change much; what he cared about was whether France would follow suit. As long as the European and American powers did not stir up trouble together with China, this diplomatic downgrading storm could be handled.

Thinking of this, Hitler ordered Heydrich, "Heydrich, go to Röhm's place tomorrow to pick up the people and send them to the police station. We need to give China an explanation."

After speaking, Hitler said to Hess, "Make an appointment with the Chinese Ambassador to Germany. I will talk to her."