Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2455 Liberty City

The weather is getting hotter, just like the battle in full swing on the Baltic coast.

Seriously, Europeans are a little hysterical right now.From the North Sea to the Baltic, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, wars are burning everywhere.England, France, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Russia, Ottoman and other major countries, none of them are in a state of peace, either you hit me, or I hit you, fighting and killing everywhere, it seems that human heads are like fields Like Chinese chives, it seems that after cutting a stubble, another stubble will grow back.

But France can be cut off, Russia can be cut off, and Austria can be cut off, but Sweden can't afford it!There are 300 million people in the country, only a million Swedes, 30 million Finns, 50 million Livonians, and 100 million Germans. This ethnic composition is so complicated that almost only Austria-Hungary, which has swallowed up too much territory in later generations Empires are comparable.And almost exactly the same as Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Sweden at this time was also suffering from internal and external troubles, and the nation was not harmonious, so that a lot of energy was consumed internally, making them unable to go all out.

In fact, the national consciousness of this era is not as strong as that of later generations. If King Charles XII of Sweden is willing to calm down, clarify the internal affairs and reduce ethnic conflicts, this kingdom across the north and south sides of the Baltic Sea may not be able to regain its strength. , becoming a pivotal force in the Nordic area.

It's a pity that this guy is really a rough man. He doesn't love money, women, ostentation, and governing the country in his life. He is only keen on fighting. He is a standard war madman living a simple and simple life like a Puritan.When the Russian army was raided at the Battle of Narva before, this person took the lead and personally led the charge. During the fierce battle, three horses were killed under him.If it were someone else, he might have been scared out of his wits long ago.But how did this man do it?He was not afraid at all, but joked that "it seems that the Russians want me to practice riding", which is evident.

The young king spent his days in the barracks practicing riding, shooting, fighting and swordplay.What is a woman?No, no, "The army is my woman", these are the original words of Charles XII, which shows how high (sick) this Spartan king has become.But although it is not pleasing to the ladies-maybe it is not just because of his character, and it may be an important reason why he has already begun to bald-but the soldiers admire him very much and call him "the last Viking". People", willing to fight for him, even die!

Charlie XII's favorite book is the "Bible", and the last thing he likes to read are various government documents. He really has a headache, especially because there are likely to be some small calculations of ministers in it, but he is too lazy to read them. It takes a lot of thought, so generally he entrusts several of his attendants and adjutants to help deal with it-many people suspect that these young and handsome attendants are the king's lovers, yes, that's right, they are lovers, because people suspect that Charles X. The second is homosexuality.

But no matter how he doesn't like to deal with official duties, he still has to make up his mind on some very sensitive matters, such as the people on the east coast requesting the Free City of Gdansk as a naval base.No one dared to make a decision on this matter, and only the king could bear the responsibility, so it was finally sent to him and asked him to make a decision.

People on the east coast have taken a fancy to Gdansk, and Charlie XII has known about it for a long time, and he even stated "no objection" before.But then the people on the east bank didn't know what they were operating, and they didn't continue to ask him for advice (for benefits) for a long time, so that our king almost forgot about it.As a result, now that they suddenly came to the door again, it seems that the private operation should have taken shape, so the benefits for themselves should be fulfilled, right?

The benefits are actually not many. The total value of 20 flintlock rifles, 10,000 artillery pieces and other military supplies is only a little over 10,000 yuan.If the people on the east coast produced it themselves (this is inevitable), then it may only be worth 10,000+. The benefit of [-]+ yuan can be exchanged for a powerful king to nod on this matter. What better deal than this?You know, the Free City of Gdansk was granted independence by the previous Swedish king and acquiesced to use it as a port for the Poles, so it is too conscientious to get a benefit of [-]+, okay?

But then again, you have always been poor in Sweden, okay?Otherwise, they would not be taken care of by the Dutch and serve their interests.Besides, the value of the military assets of 20 yuan is not measured by money. Are you fighting a war?Even if you have money to buy muskets and cannons, you have to go to the British arsenal and wait in line to pick up the goods, okay?The batch of materials donated by the people from the east bank are the spot goods that are distributed to you directly from the warehouse. They can be used immediately, and the value is quite high.

Of course, Charles XII also understands this truth, and he understands that the East Coast Republic at this time should not be offended if it can not be offended.So, after only looking at it for 5 minutes, he signed the document, acknowledging the deal.Yes, this is a transaction, a transaction in which the people of the Free City of Gdansk cannot participate as a party, it's as simple as that!

"I heard that the three-level council of the United Provinces has agreed to this matter?" Charles XII asked after putting down the gold pen imported from the east coast, sitting on a chair.

There is actually a reason why he asked this question.The Free City of Gdansk served as a port for the Poles. It was the Dutch who coordinated at the beginning and succeeded in the end.Therefore, it is reasonable for the Dutch to ask about this matter.In fact, Charles XII had heard rumors a while ago that the people on the east coast had taken care of the third-level parliament, and the Dutch would not set up obstacles in this matter, although they had been unwilling to see the people on the east coast expanding in the Baltic Sea before. power.

"Yes, Speaker Hieronymus van Beveninghe clearly agreed that the people on the east coast will get the free city of Gdansk, but the specific method is still to be discussed. He tends to use the lease method, and then the east bank government will grant A compensation from the Kingdom of Poland to make up for their losses." The aide-de-camp replied.

"What kind of compensation can make up for the loss of the country's only port? No, the Poles will not agree!" Charles XII sneered, and said: "But it's good to let the Poles suffer, they are our enemies now Well. Is there any other news?"

"The guy in Berlin objected, he didn't want heretics taking over the Free City of Gdańsk and making the people of Christ second-class citizens," the adjutant said.

"A high-sounding reason." Charles XII stood up, pulled out the sword by his side, and said while admiring: "Frederick is so courageous, he dared to oppose what the Dutch and the East Coast people decided. ...If I remember correctly, they had a very close relationship with the people from the east coast a few years ago, and the people from the east coast also had a little intention of supporting them, but now they fell out?"

"It's impossible to fall out. But they have always hoped to connect Prussia and Brandenburg. If a city like Gdansk Free City is taken away by the people on the east coast, it will be a blow to their national strategy."

"Wishful thinking strategy." Charlie XII said disdainfully: "Gdansk is just a city. What they want more in their hearts should be Pomerania, right? These lunatics will be hit on my head sooner or later. Now it is a good thing to have people from the east coast to help share the firepower, and we can concentrate on more important things."

Indeed, the Swedish army has good combat effectiveness, but its limited national strength cannot make enemies everywhere.In this Great Northern War, Denmark, Saxony, Poland, and Russia besieged Sweden from the west, south, and east, putting it in an extremely dangerous state.To be honest, if it weren't for the financial, diplomatic and naval support of the United Provinces, if it weren't for these countries not launching together according to the agreed time, if it weren't for Charles XII's determination and determination to formulate a strategy of first west and then east, Sweden this time I'm afraid it's really difficult.

Now Sweden has defeated Denmark and defeated the Russians once - but it was only defeated. After the failure of the Battle of Poltava, the Russians quickly adjusted. And they are full of desire to regain the Baltic Sea estuary that Ivan III once controlled. They will never withdraw from the war, absolutely not!

Where the Swedes really made progress was in the direction of Poland.They had defeated the Poles twice before. Not only did they annihilate tens of thousands of Saxon soldiers, but the Poles suffered more casualties, so that many nobles began to oppose their King August.Charles XII intends to make persistent efforts to support a puppet in Poland who sympathizes with Sweden, and completely control the country in his own hands. In this way, Sweden's external environment will be greatly improved.

It is precisely for this reason that Sweden invested its main resources in the Polish battlefield, while letting the Russians attack in Finland and Livonia.Charles XII had only 5000 regular field troops left in Narva and Dorpat, and only [-] in Finland. With these people and the local militia, it was really difficult to resist Peter I's rectification. More than [-] troops in the future - he just purchased two hundred small and medium-sized artillery from the people on the east coast, and fifty large artillery pieces from the English (such guns are on the export control list of Russia and need to be approved) , The arsenal in Tula also produced more than a hundred small artillery pieces, and tens of thousands of Cossacks in Eastern Ukraine joined the army, and their strength increased rather than decreased compared to before the war.

At present, Peter's forces have made great progress around the Gulf of Finland.This was personally commanded by him. The navy and army had a total of more than 30 people, well-equipped and high morale (the main force of the Russian army was still fighting on the western front under the command of Sheremetev).Yes, you read that right, the navy and army!In fact, Peter I formally formed the Baltic Fleet last year. The fleet has more than [-] small light sailboats. The small star shipyard, a joint venture between the North East and Russia, urgently dispatched technical backbones and completed the construction on the shore of Lake Lagado. —Peter I act as a supervisor, so the quality of the ship is still very good.

After the Baltic Fleet was formed, it defeated the Swedish warships that were active on the lake in the first battle.Those ships were old and heavy, but their firepower was still weak. Several ships were sunk by the Russians, and almost all of the rest fled into the Neva River, never daring to fight again—the Swedish navy, for decades, could not even fight Denmark, in stark contrast to the army's strong combat effectiveness.

After the victory of the Baltic Fleet, the Russians gained the "sea dominance" of Lake Ladoga.Peter ordered the formation of multiple mixed units of sailors, infantry, and artillery, relying on light ships to maneuver and harass the Swedish military camps, towns, and villages around Lake Lagado.It should be said that Peter I's strategy of exhausting the enemy was a great success.The Swedes were already weak in this area, and now they were facing threats everywhere, and they were suddenly overwhelmed.According to the latest news, Peter I has received more than 1 reinforcements. He has led a total of [-] troops to the vicinity of the entrance of Lake Lagado into the Neva River, intending to besiege the Swedish military fortress Nottburg.

Once at Fort Notte, Peter's army can advance by land and water, all the way down the river, to the Gulf of Finland.This is the dream of the Russians for thousands of years. Peter does not want any accidents. For this reason, whoever comes to negotiate with him at this time, as long as it is beneficial to the war, he will agree at his discretion. The thing that Sky Freedom is managed by the East Coast.

Peter I had no idea about Gdansk for the time being. After hearing that people on the east coast could sell him a large amount of military supplies from muskets and cannons to military binoculars and engineer shovels at low prices, he immediately agreed!In addition, Peter also readily agreed to the proposal from the people on the east coast to properly protect the safety of Russian capital (mainly the Little Star Shipyard, the Archangelsk Gun Factory, and the St. Nicholas Wood Processing Factory).Finally, the people on the east bank also said that they would open a bank in the Free City of Gdansk soon, and they would deposit [-] yuan in gold notes for Peter I.Although the money is not much, it is the private property of the Romanov family, but it is the state financial funds, Peter is naturally aware of it.

After the Dutch, Swedes and Russians were dealt with, the affairs of the Free City of Gdansk have been more than half successful.Of the rest, only Poland, Prussia, and England opposed it.In theory, Prussia is not qualified to intervene in this matter, and this country is also very easy to settle, so there is nothing to worry about.England is just shouting, worried that their commercial interests will be eroded by capital on the east coast, but they are currently involved in the War of Spanish Succession, and the main navy is fighting the French. They may not have the energy to really interfere in the situation in the Baltic Sea.

The most difficult thing to deal with is actually the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with stakes.They are afraid of losing access to the sea. From then on, the country's foreign trade will be controlled by foreign capital. Therefore, whether it is August, the Elector of Saxony who is about to step down by the Swedes, or Stanislaw Leon, who Charles XII hopes to push, Sinski, both strongly opposed the East Bank taking Gdansk.Especially the latter, he who built an army with the help of Charles XII even threatened to lead his troops to the Free City of Gdansk as soon as possible to control it under Polish hands.However, he didn't notice the attitude of his Swedish father, and he might suffer in the future.

But in any case, for people on the east coast, the Free City of Gdansk really needs to be brought under control as soon as possible, otherwise it may cause trouble.As for sending that army over to control the occupation, well, in fact, there is only one suitable candidate, and that is Yang Chengdong Yang, who is so busy in the Netherlands.The fourth mixed regiment has no combat missions in a short time!

(End of this chapter)