According to recent published studies, the first government in 1917 was funded by the German Empire which provided two million dollars because Sun had opposed China's entry into the First World War. The money allowed Sun to bribe the northern navy to defect and pay for the salaries of the National Assembly. He also used the money to buy the loyalty of the southwest due to the nearly mercenary nature of the warlords. Relations with the Germans became strained when it was revealed that they had supported the Manchu Restoration and that Sun refused to cooperate in the Hindu–German Conspiracy. With KMT activists being arrested abroad and Germany losing the war, Sun declared war against the Central Powers in the vain hope of garnering recognition and a seat at the Paris Peace Conference but the seat went to the Beiyang government instead. After the assassination of Tang Hualong by a Nationalist in Canada, several KMT overseas branches were banned. Sun Yat-sen also relied on gambling and selling opium to pay for his government which lacked practical revolutionary spirit.