Before the German Ambassador to China met 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 echelons were not controlled by the Nazi Party. In the eyes of the current German Ambassador to China, the article by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs attacking the Nazi Party for engaging in racism was not outrageous.

Although he was an elite in the German diplomatic circle, the German Ambassador to China was at most at the level of a Department Director in China. A small Department Director could only obey orders from Berlin.

Upon seeing Chinese Foreign Minister Li Shiguang, looking at this slender middle-aged man with somewhat bright eyes, the German Ambassador immediately made an expression full of anger, "The German Foreign Ministry requests the Chinese Foreign Ministry to explain the previous article!"

Li Shiguang did not give the German Ambassador a good face at all. He said, "I will first notify you that the Chinese government has downgraded diplomatic relations with Germany. The diplomatic personnel of China stationed in Germany have been downgraded from Ambassador level to Minister level."

The German Ambassador originally thought that China was just paying lip service to occupy the moral high ground. But downgrading the diplomatic level for 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. The German Ambassador immediately asked, "Why is your country so severe towards Germany? Can Mr. Minister give me a clear explanation?"

Li Shiguang had also once felt that China doing this was a bit excessive, but He Rui did not see it that way at all. At a meeting attended by 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 they are Africans, Americans, Asians, or Europeans, they are all equal members of the human world. Our propaganda offensive against Germany is not only directed at Germany alone, but is actually announcing our attitude to Europe and 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 very interested in promoting equality for all human beings in the world, but from a realistic point of view, if China could not express its views at this time, it would be tantamount to tacitly accepting Germany's set of racist concepts.

There is a question of "equal rights" at the diplomatic level. If the racist system established by Germany defined Chinese people as a rank lower than white people, and China did not explicitly oppose it and demand that Germany cancel the racist system against Chinese people, other countries could cite Germany's racism and define 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 wildly.

Li Shiguang said calmly, "We have received the latest news that the Nazi Party Stormtroopers smashed five Chinese shops in Germany two days ago, causing property damage and injuries. Just yesterday, the Nazi Party Stormtroopers also attacked a Maoshan Sect 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 systematically 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 insists on a policy of discrimination and harm against Chinese people, we will continue to downgrade Sino-German diplomatic relations until this problem is solved."

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

Now there were only two people from the Nazi Party in the German government, 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

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

Hitler was not angry after receiving the clear news. He was only the Chancellor now and had not 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 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 the Nazi political party and completely control power. Being recognized and taken seriously by a major power made Hitler very happy.

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

Heydrich did not care about this. When he heard Himmler describe this matter as "the Stormtroopers' actions triggered China's dissatisfaction", he had a judgment in his heart: Himmler wanted to suppress the Stormtroopers very much. In this regard, Heydrich could completely understand. The relationship between the Stormtroopers and the SS was competitive, and Hitler obviously trusted the SS, whose personnel were selected, organized tightly, and disciplined, more. As for "triggering China's anger" mentioned by Himmler, Heydrich did not agree. But Heydrich did not say his thoughts either, but just went to work after accepting the order.

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

This Daoist temple was built completely on the model of a Chinese Daoist temple. At this time, the mountain gate of the Daoist temple was broken, and some Chinese and Germans wearing Daoist robes were repairing it together with workers. Seeing Heydrich bringing some armed personnel wearing black uniforms, one Chinese and one German Daoist put down the work in their hands 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 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 meaningful greeting gesture contained Daoist concepts.

Heydrich introduced his background with a calm expression, and the two Daoists invited Heydrich into the Daoist temple to talk. The group passed through the broken mountain gate and the traditional courtyard, entering the main hall. They saw that two consecutive doors had been destroyed, 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 simply. Heydrich was really curious, so he asked how Daoism developed in Germany. Through the introduction of the German Daoist, Heydrich had a rough concept.

The development of Daoism in Germany was not the result of Chinese missionary work, but was formed after the "Tao Te Ching" was introduced to Europe and received admiration and praise from German scholars in the 18th century. Kant had carefully studied the Tao Te Ching and made his analysis and praise. Afterwards, more German philosophers and scholars appreciated Laozi's views very much.

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

After China's unification in 1924, at the invitation of the German Daoist Association, the Chinese Daoist Association began to dispatch Chinese Daoists to practice in German Daoist temples in 1926, and funded the invitation of German Daoists to travel to China.

Having figured this out, Heydrich found that his job was not simply dealing with public security issues, but involved a "religious case". Given the situation, Heydrich asked, "May I ask if the destruction by the thugs will be considered blasphemy against the gods?"

The Chinese and German Daoists looked at each other. This time it was the Chinese Daoist Qing Yuanzi who used not very fluent German to introduce Daoist concepts to Heydrich. Even a person like Heydrich did not dare to be completely sure that his understanding was correct after spending a quarter of an hour listening to Qing Yuanzi's explanation, so he asked the German Daoist Qing Mingzi again, "Sir, can I think so? 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."

Qing Mingzi did not expect that this handsome young man in front of him could understand to this extent. He felt that Heydrich had a talent for Daoism in his heart, so he praised, "Immeasurable Celestial 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. Being objects of the mortal world, how can there be talk of blasphemy?"

Hearing such an explanation that clearly separated immortals and mortals, Heydrich couldn't help but feel some goodwill towards Daoism. According to what the two Daoists Qing Yuanzi and Qing Mingzi said, the damage to the Daoist temple was purely a matter between mortals, at most a property dispute. It had nothing to do with the "Great Dao" believed by Daoists or the Three Pure Ones Patriarchs. In contrast to Christianity, if someone burned a church, it 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 working, Heydrich was still a bit curious and asked, "Excuse me, in the view of Daoism, do heretics exist?"

The German Daoist Qing Mingzi had a very clear definition of heretics. 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 believes in other religions, is the sun that everyone sees every day different?"

Hearing this explanation, Heydrich couldn't help nodding. 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 asking about the time and process of the thug attack, as well as the Daoists' description of the attackers, Heydrich stood 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 Qing Mingzi what was written on the plaque. Qing Mingzi answered proudly, "This is the name of our Daoist temple, Sanqing Temple."

Returning to the SS headquarters, Heydrich immediately began to issue orders. Soon it was confirmed that the smashing of Chinese shops and the Daoist temple was indeed done by the Stormtroopers. Contacting the Stormtroopers, the other side heard that the SS demanded the Stormtroopers to hand over the action records, and rudely refused with curses.

Heydrich was not angry either. He didn't expect the Stormtroopers to hand over the perpetrators in the first place. As long as it was confirmed that it was done by the Stormtroopers, the next thing should be solved by Hitler. After submitting the report, Heydrich considered the Stormtroopers. Himmler wanted to solve the Stormtroopers but thought it was very difficult. Heydrich himself believed that the demise of the Stormtroopers was not far off. Because from the highest commander Röhm to the various group leaders and captains, the Stormtroopers all 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 Stormtroopers would lose their meaning of existence. If they tried to continue to expand their influence, they were destined to be counterattacked. Especially since Hitler was starting to unite the majority of all those who could be united in Germany, the Stormtroopers would sooner or later become a minority.

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

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 another. 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, today we celebrate our cause reaching this day. Thank you comrades for your efforts over the past ten years!"

There was applause below the stage. Göring, Goebbels, Hess, Röhm and others were full of smiles and ambition.

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

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

A burst of warm applause immediately rang out below the stage. 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 did not feel there was any problem at all. Even if it was a Jew with conclusive evidence and clear bloodline, as long as they were a true fellow traveler 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 eyes 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 as the Commander of the Air Force, invited his old comrade-in-arms to rebuild the German Air Force together. Heydrich had heard Himmler say that this Erhard Milch's father was a Jew. But Hitler loved talent, so Erhard Milch not only joined the Nazi Party, but no one in the Nazi Party mentioned Erhard Milch's background issue.

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, this was not important at all.

The banquet began soon. Whether Austrians or Germans, regardless of Germanic blood or Jewish blood. The atmosphere of this united banquet was friendly and emotions were 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. Hitler, who was already waiting in the reception room, asked, "Professor Karl, I hope to hear your analysis of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's actions."

Professor Karl had already seen the article by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also heard about the latest development of downgrading diplomatic relations with Germany 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, simply to protect the legitimate interests of its nationals overseas.

As for China attacking Germany's racism, Professor Karl believed that this was China expressing its attitude to other countries in Europe and America 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, he continued to ask, "If we ignore this, what would be the worst-case scenario?"

"Mein Führer, that would very 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. Germany wanted to get rid of the current predicament, and the method was actually very simple: stimulate the economy through investment domestically, and provide orders through trade internationally. China was already a large market in the world and the single market with the largest population. The French government only had today's prosperity after cooperating with China. In Hitler's economic arrangement, opening up the Chinese market was a very important link. If the officials of China and Germany did not interact, Germany's economic recovery would be hugely affected.

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

Heydrich didn't expect that Hitler had already seen his report which was submitted only a few hours ago. He saw the chubby Röhm stand up, with a look of indifference, and followed Hitler out of the reception room. Not long after, faint voices came from next door; it turned out that Hitler was angry.

After a good while, Hitler walked back to the room, his anger not yet subsided. Heydrich roughly judged it: Röhm was obviously unwilling to hand over the people, triggering Hitler's anger. Judging from the time, it took Hitler some time to convince 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 really 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 will very much want to use it, but in the current world, the only great power that can attack racism morally is China."

Hitler nodded slightly. China did not participate in the wave of colonialism, but instead suffered from the invasion of colonial countries. This was originally China's disadvantage, but after China's rejuvenation, it became China's advantage instead. However, Hitler didn't lament this change much; what he was concerned about was whether France would follow suit. As long as the European and American powers did not stir up trouble with China, this diplomatic downgrade 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 have to give China an explanation."

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