The Chinese Empire forcibly took back the customs, and the same thing happened not only in the General Taxation Office in Yanjing, but also in the customs of Jinmen Customs, Oriental Customs, Yangcheng Customs and other places. The Imperial Cabinet, which had already been prepared, took back all these customs in one fell swoop.

The vast majority of those expatriate employees, especially management, were dismissed and replaced by Chinese. Faced with the toughness of the Imperial Cabinet, the legation expressed great indignation. However, they did not take the next step, which made the Imperial Cabinet, which was originally a little apprehensive, finally relieved. These foreign devils, as the young marshal said, are all paper tigers.

The newly appointed director of the General Administration of Taxation ordered that the Chinese customs should be put in order from now on. As for the goods that need to enter the customs, the customs declaration will be temporarily suspended.

Nominally, this is to straighten out customs. In fact, this is to force countries to take a stand. Only if all countries agree to the Empire's revocation of customs will the Empire declare customs for their goods. In addition, tariffs will also be significantly adjusted. Previously, the tariff was five percent, however, after the repossession of customs from the Empire, the average tariff would be raised to more than fifteen percent.

Of course, not all goods will be subject to tariffs of 15 percent, but some goods. Tariffs on some goods will remain at a relatively low level. For example, the empire needs to send heavy industrial products abroad as soon as possible, those machinery and equipment, etc. The empire is not yet able to produce on its own, and can only import from abroad, and of course it will not impose too high tariffs. The tariff on light industrial goods produced by the factories of the empire would be set at more than 15 percent. In this way, it can also play a role in protecting the national industry of the empire.

The fact that Imperial Customs stopped declaring goods from various countries could provoke even greater anger among countries. Their merchandise remained on the ship, unable to be unloaded, and stayed at sea for every day. You'll pay even more losses! While venting their anger on Chinese customs, businessmen from various countries also demanded that the governments of various countries find ways to protect their interests.

It's a pity that Wu Haoxuan has decided to link the customs with the previous proposal to abolish those unequal treaties. Only by agreeing to abolish those unequal treaties. The empire will open its markets to all countries.

For this reason, various countries lodged a solemn protest against the Chinese Empire, and some countries even threatened the empire with force. It's just that Wu Haoxuan has already ordered the Imperial Army to enter a state of emergency combat readiness. Under such circumstances, the countries saw that they could not bargain for anything, so they had no choice but to give up.

The Chinese Empire forcibly took back the customs and used the market to force countries to abolish unequal treaties, which made all countries very dissatisfied. But. As the attitude of the Chinese empire became more and more assertive, the attitude of some countries gradually changed.

In Berlin, the capital of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II is convening important ministers to discuss the series of events in the Far East. There is no doubt that German interests have been seriously affected. Kaiser Wilhelm II, however, had no intention of venting his anger on China.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that we all underestimate the prince of the East! For the sake of the country's interests, he did not hesitate to make enemies of the entire Western world. Still, I have to admire his boldness. Wilhelm II smiled. It doesn't seem to be angry because of this.

"Your Majesty, although our interests have been somewhat damaged by this. But it was mainly the British and the French who suffered from the real interests. Their products can't be compared to ours in the first place. If it weren't for the vast colonies, they would have been robbed of all the markets by us. Now, the Chinese are also refusing to allow goods from various countries to enter the country, which will undoubtedly deal a bigger blow to them. German Chancellor Bonhardt. Feng. Billo said.

Wilhelm II nodded. Then he said, "So, what do you think we should do about this?" What kind of change should be made to our position? ”

"Your Majesty, though. The Chinese Empire was determined to abolish those unequal treaties, but for the German Empire the impact was modest. We only have two concessions in Jinmen and Hankow. The other is Jiaozhou Bay. These benefits, although it is a pity, are abandoned. But if we can use this to further strengthen our relations with the Chinese Empire, or even draw the Chinese Empire into the allies, it will undoubtedly be very cost-effective. Foreign Secretary Theobaden. Feng. Bateman. Holwig said.

In China's two concessions, as well as in Jiaozhou Bay, Wilhelm II did not care. On the contrary, he was more concerned with the Chinese market, the military power that the Chinese Empire had demonstrated. The world only knows that the Chinese Empire has a powerful army, but the Germans know better that the navy of the Chinese Empire should not be underestimated. The warships secretly built by Germany for the Chinese Empire have been completed and are undergoing sea trials. The sailors sent by China are also being trained. It is estimated that in a few months, this fleet will return to China. Once they appear in East Asia, it will greatly change the situation in East Asia. In a way, the Chinese Empire has become a rising empire with a strong continental navy. Such an empire, if not an ally of Germany, could never become an enemy of Germany.

"The renunciation of the concessions in China and the benefits of those unequal treaties was nothing to Germany. The point is that everything we do will bring greater good and benefit to the German Reich. Kaiser Wilhelm II said.

"Your Majesty, now that the Chinese are banning goods from various countries from entering China, it will be a good opportunity for us to seize the Chinese market. Especially for the heavy industrial equipment that the Chinese need, the tariffs are still at a low level. The Chinese plan to import £300 million worth of industrial goods in the next five years, which would mean tens of millions of pounds in profits for the empire. At the same time, it can also lead to the development of heavy industry in the empire, which is very beneficial to us. In comparison, giving up the benefits of those unequal treaties is nothing. Prime Minister Billo said.

Wilhelm II pondered, and then he looked at Moltke Jr., the chief of the General Staff, who was present at the meeting, and Marshal Tirpitz, the Minister of the Navy.

"What about the opinion of the military? Should we win over the Chinese Empire by giving up some of the interests of the Empire? Wilhelm II asked.

"Your Majesty, although, the strength of the army of the Chinese Empire is inferior to that of the German Empire. However, the fact that they defeated the Japanese and the Russians in two successive wars undoubtedly proved that their army strength was among the best in the world. Although it is not as good as us, the gap will not be too big. What's more, China has a population of more than 400 million, and even if the quality of their population is too poor, there is still no problem in easily arming millions of troops. If the Chinese Empire can join the side of the Allies, we will have a greater chance of winning the next war. Moltke said.

The German top brass no longer had any doubts about the outbreak of war. What they were thinking about now was how they could win the war. After all, that war would be at stake for Germany. In the event of victory, they will become the most powerful country in the world. But if they fail, they will lose badly. Therefore, it has become the consensus of the German monarchs and ministers to increase the bargaining chips for their own victory as much as possible.

"Tirpitz, what is your opinion?" Wilhelm II asked.

"Your Majesty, I can only say that if the Chinese Empire can become our ally, it will undoubtedly be the best. Although, both in terms of industrial strength and military strength, there is still a big gap between the Chinese Empire and us. However, we have to admit that in war, the human factor is very important. The huge population base of the Chinese Empire provided them with an almost infinite source of soldiers. In addition, the Chinese have been bullied by the Western world for too long, and they are also desperate for revenge to prove them. This makes them very enthusiastic once they are engaged in war. This can be seen from the Chinese sailors who train for more than ten hours a day. Marshal Tirpitz said.

At the time when the warships of the Chinese Navy were being built in Germany, the sailors of the Chinese Navy were also training with the German Navy. These officers and men of the Chinese Navy may not be comparable in quality with the Germans, but they are diligent and studious, and they train hard, which greatly impressed Marshal Tirpitz.

In addition, the main ships of the German Navy have also been greatly improved with the help of the Chinese Navy's 'Longteng-class' battleships and 'Longyao-class' battlecruisers. During this period, the German Navy's 'Nassau-class' battleships, 'Helgoland-class' battleships, and 'Caesar-class' battleships were much more powerful than in history. Not only did the tonnage of the battleship increase a lot, but it also made the firepower and defense of the battleship more powerful. In addition, all the artillery along the central axis is far better than those strange artillery layouts in history. This has made the combat power of the German Navy invisibly increased a lot. Although the overall strength of the German Navy is not comparable to that of the British Navy, the gap has narrowed a lot. In the future, if there were another Battle of Jutland, the German Navy might be able to turn the tide.

"In other words, does the military support further strengthening relations with the Chinese Empire?" Wilhelm II asked.

Moltke Jr. and Tirpitz both nodded.

"Then, let our envoy to China take action and let the Chinese see our goodwill." Wilhelm II made a decision. (To be continued......)

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