The Rise of the European Emperor

In September 1501, about a month later than the original history, the old Sten Stuure declared Swedish independence in Stockholm, Sweden, and deposed the Swedish throne of King Hans of Denmark.

Because of the battle of Hemmingstedt that broke out in the conquest of the Dittmarschen region (see Chapter 343 of "The King of German Mercenaries"), the Danish King Hans lost more than 7,000 elite soldiers, which greatly damaged Denmark's vitality. Afterwards, seeing the weak old Sten Stuley in Denmark, he took the opportunity to secretly eliminate the pro-Danish forces in Sweden and began to continue his power...

More than a year later, in August 1501, the preparations were almost done. The reason for the delay of one month compared to the original history is actually to recall outstanding young officers such as Eric Johansson Vasa from the new army commanded by the Teutonic State Schwartz.

These dozens of outstanding young children of the Swedish aristocracy are all young and handsome that old Sten Sturley is optimistic about. Now, they have learned the new phalanx and training methods with Schwartz in the Teutonic country for a few months, and naturally they have to recall them to start a war with Denmark... After all, Denmark is definitely not happy with a country as big as Sweden (including Finland). ) on their own, out of their own control...

After dozens of young officers returned, Old Sten quickly arranged them into the new army he formed as officers and was responsible for training.

With the financial support of the Hanseatic League, the old Sten Sturley obtained a lot of funds and proudly formed a resistance army of 10,000 people to resist the Danish rule. If there were only 10,000 troops before the outbreak of the Battle of Hemmingstedt, old Sten Stuley really wouldn't dare to make independence. However, King Hans of Denmark lost most of his elites in the battle of Hemmingstedt in the conquest of Dittmarschen, and his vitality was bruised all of a sudden. At this time, old Sten Stulay finally had the courage to resist. Moreover, before the resistance, the old Sten Stulay was not only accumulating strength, but also took the opportunity to clean up many pro-Danish forces in Sweden to avoid internal instability. After everything was ready, old Sten Stuley finally declared Sweden's independence...

Before the old Sten Stuley declared independence, Marin urgently dispatched a ship to quietly deliver a batch of arquebuses and ammunition. Columbus is about to return, and will surely bring a lot of saltpeter by then. Therefore, Marin gave old Sten Stuley enough ammunition this time, enough for them to use it for a long time.

Moreover, the reason why Marin transported so much at one time was because he knew that it would be difficult to support him in the future. Because the Danish navy is too powerful, not only has 50 warships, but also many armed merchant ships. Once the Swedish War of Independence begins, Denmark will block the Swedish coast. At that time, it will be difficult to support old Sten Stuley.

As for the arquebuses, Marin also did not provide the Mushket large muskets installed in the East Frisian Army, but changed to smaller arquebuses. The Mushkert musket weighs 50 grams, while the arquebus supplied to Sweden has only 30 grams, which is the same as the later British Brown Bass flintlock and has the same caliber. Such a musket has a lot of lethality, and does not require a bracket, it can be held and fired.

Due to the rush, Marlin made only 1,000 arquebuses despite having several hundred skilled musket craftsmen. However, when transporting muskets and ammunition to Sweden, Marin also sent a musket craftsman to instruct those Swedish craftsmen to make them on the spot.

You know, Sweden has no shortage of iron ore. Even if the super iron ore in the Arctic Circle is not discovered, iron ore is very rich in the southern region. Therefore, there are also many Swedish blacksmiths. Marlin sent a craftsman over to guide them, and more arquebuses were bound to be made.

Moreover, this time Marin almost emptied his own powder magazine, just to help Sweden. Therefore, the Swedes will have no shortage of ammunition when they arrive.

The musket may be just as effective on the frontal battlefield, but if the musketeer is approached, it will be troublesome. After all, muskets of this era had no bayonets. It is useless to have a bayonet. Your musket is only over a meter long with a bayonet.

Can it grow longer than a spear a few meters long?

However, in the defense of the city is different. Relying on this solid city wall, the musketeers can comfortably retract from the head of the wall to slowly reload the ammunition, and then stick out their heads with their muskets to shoot at the enemies who try to climb up the city wall. It is very safe and has a strong impact.

Moreover, when climbing the city walls, soldiers could not carry spears that required both hands, only short knives. Therefore, even if the enemy climbs up the wall, they can only fight with short swords. The musketeers are in a hurry, and they can also use the heavy barrels to smash the enemy down the city wall...

Therefore, the musket's combat power is multiplied in the defense of the city wall...

The 1,000 arquebuses provided by Marin this time can completely raise the Swedes' defense to a higher level. Moreover, old Sten Stuley also said in private that this war of independence will be dominated by defensive warfare, and will not confront the Danes head-on.

After all, although the Danes have lost a lot of elites, their national strength is still there, and they can recruit many more mercenaries to suppress Sweden. The 10,000 mercenaries in Sweden were secretly supported by the Hanseatic city of Lübeck and the Teutonic state.

Because the Danes occupied the Kattegat Strait and the Oresund Strait (the strait between Zeeland and Scandinavia), and levied a "passage tax" on passing merchant ships, causing dissatisfaction with the Hanseatic League. Among them, the most dissatisfied is probably Lübeck, the first Hanseatic city with a large number of merchant ships frequently entering and leaving these two straits. The second is the Teutonic state with four Hanseatic cities.

Therefore, when the people of Lübeck heard that Sweden was going to oppose Denmark, they were very happy and immediately paid for it. They also helped hire a lot of German mercenaries and quietly sent them to Sweden. The Teutonic State also secretly sent some mercenaries to Sweden. In this way, the Swedish army of 10,000 was formed. After all, Sweden looks big, but it is a high-latitude area, so its population is very small, including Finland, which is only a few hundred thousand people. On its own, it is difficult to gather tens of thousands of troops.

With the support of Lübeck and the Teutonic State, as well as the support of a large number of arms from Marin and the training of officers, the old Sten Stuley is even more confident...

As a result, the old Sten Sturley issued a statement more severe than in history, saying that King Hans was a brainless idiot, unfit to lead the Swedish people, and should be deposed...

When the news reached Copenhagen, King Hans of Denmark was furious. So, he began to recruit troops everywhere, ready to launch a powerful offensive against Sweden, intending to quickly suppress the Swedish "rebellion".

In this era, although Sweden owned Finland, the southern tip of Scandinavia, the coastal areas of the Kattegat Strait and the eastern coast of the Oresund and the southernmost coastal areas of the peninsula, including Gotland, were all in Denmark. under control.

Therefore, the Danes have bases to attack the Swedish interior and do not need to launch landing operations. From this point of view, the Swedes are inherently disadvantaged. Therefore, old Sten Stuley would choose defensive warfare to consume the strength of the enemy.

The Danes drew large numbers of troops from all over the Danish kingdom, including Norway, and concentrated on the Danish-controlled area at the southern tip of Scandinavia, where they rallied and prepared to attack. Even the King of Denmark, Hans, borrowed 1,000 soldiers and horses from his home, Oldenburg...

Marlin was instantly excited, and it was a good opportunity to be delivered to the door! When the Danes and Sweden were in a tug-of-war, Marin would be able to send troops to Jever and remove the nail from Jever. At that time, Denmark was powerless to intervene, and Oldenburg's own strength was insufficient, and a lot of troops were dispatched to support Denmark... In short, the several hundred square kilometers of land in Jever was not far from returning...

(Note: The Jever issue is a legacy issue from history, similar to the Gulf issue in Huaxia. And Denmark, the old beauty, hindered the protagonist's unification of Jever. Therefore, the protagonist planned to plot against Denmark.)

When the Danes gathered their army, Marin also began to gather troops quietly, preparing to attack the independent Jever area in the northeast. When the battle between Denmark and Sweden is inextricable, it is time for the Marin army to invade the Jever area...