Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2412 Great Northern War ([-])

On November 1700, 11, it was snowing heavily, and the situation inside and outside Riga was somewhat tense.

Zhao Gui, the ambassador of the East Coast Republic of China in Riga, was stopped when he was driving out.A group of Swedish soldiers with live ammunition set up a jam on the main road, supposedly to catch Russian and Polish spies.After revealing his identity, the Swedish military officer who led the team let him go immediately.The relationship between the Kingdom of Sweden and the East Coast Republic can't be called good, but it can't be said to be bad either.At this difficult time of being besieged by the four countries, offending the people on the east bank does not do any good.

Main roads outside Riga were also cleared.Large numbers of Livonian residents were evicted from their homes to clear snow and repair potholes in the roads.From time to time, an army passed by. It was the people who came from the north to the south, and it was said that it was to strengthen the defense line in the south.August of Saxony is rushing over with 10 people. The entire Swedish Livonia has entered a state of emergency. More than 2 Livonian soldiers were temporarily recruited, focusing on defending some key nodes east of Riga, preventing the Polish army from going north and joining the Russian army led by Peter I.

In other words, if necessary, the Swedes believe that the city of Riga can also be abandoned, as long as the strategic goals are completed.No way, they were besieged by Denmark, Saxony, Poland, and Russia this time, and the enemy's total strength was as high as more than 20.Even if Sweden smelled the wind before the war and desperately expanded its army, limited by its population, economy, and industrial production capacity, it could only expand its army by more than [-] troops, and its numbers were clearly at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, the pace of several anti-Swiss countries is not consistent, which gives the Swedes a chance to break through.At present, they have solved the troubles on the Danish side on the western front. With the help of the main force and the Duke of Holstein, the joint attack on Denmark has forced the Danes to withdraw from the war in fact.Afterwards, the Swedes seized the opportunity and took advantage of the favorable opportunity that the Baltic Sea was not yet frozen, transferred a large number of troops to the east by ship, and deployed the main force in the Livonia region, intending to fight to the death with Poland and Russia.

King Charles XII of Sweden is currently stationed in Tallinn, with more than [-] soldiers by his side, and may march eastward at any time to fight the Russian army led by Peter I.The Russian army opposite him did not have any advantage, because Peter I divided his troops to attack Karelia, England and other places, and his troops were only tens of thousands.If Charles XII seizes the opportunity to defeat this Russian army first, then he still has a chance to go south to defeat the Polish and Saxon coalition forces.

In a word, the Swedes are surrounded by enemies and cannot make any mistakes.And even if the Russian army and the Polish army are defeated once or twice, as long as they insist on not surrendering or withdrawing from the war, the Swedes will never be able to improve their strategic disadvantages.In a long-term war, the comparison is not just one or two victories or failures, but the overall strength of the country. This is exactly where Sweden's lifeblood lies-the country has a population of only 300 million, and its territory is distributed in the Baltic Sea. On the vast land on both sides of the North and South Straits, it can be said that defenses are needed everywhere, and the battlefield is basically within the borders of the country. If it is fought for ten or 20 years, it will be 100% finished.

As an old man who has lived in Riga for many years, Zhao Gui is well aware of the plight of Sweden.What they like most is a quick battle, and what they fear most is a long-term war. However, several enemies are clearly well prepared this time and will not surrender easily—except for Denmark, which knelt down in a few months.

The carriage continued on.Surrounded by more than [-] embassy guards, these people coordinated with the Swedish luggage vehicles crowded on the road, while guarding against someone taking advantage of the chaos to loot.The situation in Livonia has not been very stable in the past two years, because the newly enthroned king firmly implemented his father's "land reduction" policy during his reign, that is, with the support of priests, farmers and business people, he reduced the number of nobles. land, liberate the population, and increase the country's income level.

Although the business in Livonia is still prosperous, it is located in Eastern Europe after all, where serfdom is extremely prevalent, and there are many big land nobles.The Swedes acted so violently that many nobles took advantage of the war and rebelled to vote for Russia and Poland.Although the local Swedish garrison suppressed the rebellion immediately, the scattered noble troops scattered in all directions, which made the local security situation deteriorate rapidly.

Fortunately, the more than 20 people guarding Zhao Gui are local experts in Livonia, and the people on the east bank have maintained high-intensity training after being hired. enough.Be careful along the way, and if you don't take remote paths, there won't be any problems.

Stopping and stopping all the way like this, it took Zhao Gui and his party three days in two carriages to arrive at Mitao City, the capital of the Principality of Courland.Because of the support of the people on the east coast and the friendly relationship between the country and Poland, the Principality of Courland has not been invaded by anyone, and the country is relatively stable.Coupled with the fact that the war caused a large number of Livonians to flee for refuge, the country's economy prospered abnormally, and the business income increased greatly, making the chief financial officer of the Principality laugh from ear to ear.

After Zhao Gui arrived here, he first met with Grand Duke Frederick and reiterated the east bank's support for Courland.At the same time, he also "educated" His Excellency the Grand Duke through the current situation, making him realize that only by staying out of the war can he get enough benefits.The latest statistics of Wendao Port, which has just stopped operations due to the freeze, have not yet come out, but there is no doubt that the trade volume has reached a new high this year.As a neutral party, both warring parties are using this port that has not been affected by the war to purchase materials. The Swedes purchase materials and ship them to Riga, and the Poles purchase materials and send them to the front line, avoiding the pain of hundreds of miles of transshipment. Make a lot of money and accumulate amazing profits.

In addition, Port Wendao has now become a famous "capital of spies".Sweden, Russia, Poland, Saxony, Denmark, Brandenburg, etc. have all set up business offices here, doing business while inquiring about various news.No one has carefully counted how many intelligences are traded here every day, and no one has counted how many intelligence personnel are active here. Anyway, the Principality of Courland doesn't care, so it doesn't matter.

On November 11, Zhao Gui secretly met with a Swede in Mitao City.The gentleman's name is John Patkull, who was born in Livonia, Sweden. He once joined the Swedish army and served as the commander of the infantry. In 12, he strongly protested against the land reduction policy of King Charles XI of Sweden. He was wanted by the whole country and fled to Poland as a last resort.After Charles XII came to the throne, he asked for forgiveness and returned his family's fiefdom in Livonia, but was rejected, so he wholeheartedly joined August II, acting as his pawn, and serving as the leader of Bo, Dan, Russia, etc. The country's joint operations run around and communicate.

The meeting with Patcourt was not in the crowded city, but in the manor of a senior Courland official outside the city.Patkull represented the Elector of Saxony, August II, King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a German nobleman who "devoutly" converted from Protestantism to Catholicism for the king's throne.

This is the man who signed an agreement with Turkey last year, theoretically ending the state of war with the Ottoman Empire.Why is it theoretical?Because of the agreement, the Turks renounced their claim to Western Ukraine and recognized it as Polish territory.But the problem is that the Crimean Tatars who have been hosting the place have not left and still firmly rule the place.August II wanted to attack Sweden, and he would have no time to take care of it for a while. Fortunately, the Tatars were also doing their best to reform their internal affairs and had no interest in invading other countries. Therefore, the two sides maintained a strange and fragile peace on the border.

Patkull and Zhao Gui first talked about the trade between Poland and the east coast.In the past few years, the trade volume between the two countries has increased year by year. The situation is gratifying. The Poles have obtained a large amount of cheap weapons and military supplies, and the people on the east coast have dumped industrial products. Both sides are happy, which can be called a win-win situation.Patkull said that the market will be further opened to the East Bank in the future, and not limited to Poland, Saxony and areas that may be affected by Saxony will be opened as much as possible, provided that the East Coast Republic fully supports the August family, First send the navy to the Baltic Sea, defeat the Swedish navy, and paralyze its ability to dispatch between the north and south sides of the Baltic Sea.Then, if possible, request a loan of not less than 300 million won to support the war between Poland and Sweden.

"Mr. Special Envoy, the matter of the loan is not negotiable. But there is a premise, what will your country use as collateral?" Zhao Gui said straight to the point.

"His Majesty August has proposed adding three new taxes in Greater Poland, Krakow, and Palatine, which can be used as collateral." John Patkull said.

"Sorry, our country does not accept this kind of collateral." Zhao Gui said directly.What a joke, raising taxes in Poland will be directly vetoed by members of the noble council, okay?In history, are there few things that most people agree with and then get rejected by one vote?One vote, as long as one vote is enough to veto this tax increase proposal!This is completely unreliable!

Zhao Gui has no confidence in Poland's painful system.As one of their own puts it: "...if you can't solve this 'evil' (free voting), the Federation will be a spoil for foreign enemies. Every great power, would rather come to break up Poland than keep it as a whole, and abuse such freedom as it is today."

did you see it?The countries around Poland have clearly seen the shortcomings of the Polish system, and are unwilling to allow the Poles to make changes, unwilling to allow Poland to formulate stable national policies, and to allow Poland to continue to maintain a large number of local independence and collective incompetence status, which is in their best interest.People on the east coast have studied the Baltic Sea for so many years, how could Zhao Gui believe that Auguste could get the parliament to pass the tax increase proposal unanimously?This is a fairy tale, it's impossible!

"But Sweden is a public enemy of the region and the biggest threat to the security of the Baltic Sea. Their young king is cold and cruel. He is likely to lead the war to Courland and threaten your country's interests." John Patcur Continue to work hard and do everything possible to persuade Zhao Gui, because if he can't get a loan from the people on the east coast, he can only go to the Dutch or the English to find a way, which is also not easy.

"The governor of Dalberg in Riga has just assured me of the security of the Principality of Courland." Zhao Gui said, "Mr. I don’t think he can use the full strength of Poland. And your country’s military deployment is seriously out of touch with the Russians, which has delayed a lot of time. We are not very optimistic about the outcome of this war. War, but the weapons and equipment do not seem to be as good as the Swedes. They got a large loan from the Dutch, and purchased a lot of weapons produced in our country and England through the Dutch channel. Let’s take a look, His Majesty Charles XII has already With an army of [-], I have traveled eastward, and I am about to collide with the Russians, but you are still slowing down on the southern front. If the Russians fail, I don’t think His Majesty August has any chance. This is all I have to say, please You think carefully."

After speaking, Zhao Gui ended the meeting on the grounds that there were still matters to be dealt with, and returned to Mitao City.Next, he will go to Wendao Port, and talks with Navy officials.Compared with the indifference of the army, the navy on the east coast is actually very concerned about the Great Northern War, which is in full swing, for no other reason. They are a little interested in entering the Baltic Sea.

(End of this chapter)