The Rise of the European Emperor

After the autumn harvest, the rain stopped after about half a month. However, the bad consequences have been done, and the rye in the wheat fields has been rotten.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, Marin took a team of escorts, boarded the ship and headed for Hamburg, and then turned overland to Lübeck to participate in the second Quartet talks to determine the plan of action and the time to dispatch troops.

When Marin entered the secret room in the backyard of the parliament building in Lübeck, Lübeck Grand Chancellor Tagfacht, Hamburg Grand Chancellor Heisenberg and Sweden's senior Sten Sture's deputy Svante Neil Song has long been waiting for him.

Old Sten Stulay cannot leave Sweden at this time, because Sweden is now in a state of war. Once the old Sten Stuure disappears, rumors of his escape may appear, seriously affecting the morale of the Swedish Resistance. Therefore, old Sten Stuley could only send his deputy to participate in the talks.

"Hello everyone, I want to kill you all!" Marin thought that a large area of ​​territory would be added after the war, and he was in a good mood. He couldn't hold back for a while, and came directly to the old Feng-style greeting. It's just that the other three felt that Mao looked at each other in dismay?

After sitting down, Heisenberg, the Chancellor of Hamburg, could not help but ask:

"Lord Marin, what makes you happy?"

"Oh, after the war, I will increase the territory of an earl and a principality, shouldn't I be happy?"

"Hmph, why do you have two countries alone, but we can only carve up one country with Lubeck?" Thinking of Marin's proposal, Heisenberg was unhappy.

"Mr. Heisenberg, Hamburg is a city that started with business. Did it make a fortune on land?" Marin asked rhetorically.

"This...more land is not a bad thing after all..." Heisenberg also suddenly understood - Hamburg never made a fortune from land, but from the commercial trade of the Hanseatic League. Therefore, although they only have one city and some surrounding areas, they have wealth that many principalities and counties envy.

"That's good, I don't want the Principality of Schleswig anymore. I'll exchange the western half of the Principality of Holstein with you. What do you think?" Marin directly commanded the first army.

"This..." Heisenberg was suddenly choked. If half of the duchy of Holstein was replaced by the entire duchy of Schleswig, it would seem to be much larger. However, on the one hand, the Principality of Schleswig is not close to Hamburg; on the other hand, the Principality of Schleswig is close to the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, and it is easy to be attacked by the Danes in retaliation.

Therefore, although Marin said he had taken more land, he had to take the responsibility of facing the Danes head-on and defend against possible retaliation by the Danes. With Marin blocking the front, Lübeck and Hamburg were much safer behind.

The Grand Chancellor of Lübeck, Tagfacht, could see clearly that he would not compete with Marin for the Duchy of Schleswig. However, he expressed concern about the handling of relations with Denmark after the war:

"Lord Marin, the Danes will surely hold a grudge against us after the war. What if they continue to intercept our merchant ships?"

"Didn't I suggest that you dig a canal connecting the North Sea and the Baltic Sea? Likewise, connecting Lübeck and Hamburg."

"Yes, the two of us do have this plan. After we get the Principality of Holstein this time, we plan to start construction. However, the canal is expected to be built, and it is estimated that it will take about ten years. Before that, what should we do? The Danes will definitely hate our merchant ships, so what if we intercept our ships in the Øresund Strait?" Tagfacht said worriedly.

"That's it...there is..."

After speaking, Marin took out the map and spread it out on the table, so that the other three gathered around:

"Look, this is the southern coastal area of ​​Sweden, which is currently under the control of Denmark. When Denmark is defeated, we will force Denmark to cede it to Sweden, right?"

The other three nodded, especially the Swedish representative Swante Nilsson, whose face was full of joy.

The southern coast of Sweden is the most elite part of Scandinavia in Sweden. It is definitely a blessing for Sweden to be able to retake it from the Danes through this battle. This time, with the other three companies, the Swedish talents are the biggest beneficiaries. Because, this will not only succeed in independence, but also take back the most prosperous part of the peninsula from the Danes. And without the help of the other three, Sweden's independence may not have been successful. If they were suppressed by Denmark, they would have nothing.

"On the eastern shore of the Oresund, the top city is Helsingborg, and the bottom city is Malmo..."

"what do you mean?"

"Until your canal is built, you can send fleets to the ports of these two cities to supervise the Danes. Until the canal is built, then withdraw. I don't think the Swedes will object? Just a few years. That's it, it doesn't affect Sweden's sovereignty."

After Swante Nilsson thought for a while, he still nodded. After all, the people of Lübeck and Hamburg did not intend to occupy these two important port cities, but were only stationed here before the canal was repaired. There is no issue of sovereignty, so it is not a big problem. After all, Sweden is now begging the other three to send troops.

"Malmo... This city is directly opposite Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark... If we station the fleet here, the Danes will regard it as a thorn in their side..." said Lübeck Grand Chancellor Tagfacht.

Hamburg is in the west of Denmark, and their ships must arrive in Helsingborg first. Therefore, their fleet must be stationed in Helsingborg. And the Lübeck people are below Denmark. If you choose to be stationed, it must be Malmo. However, Malmö and Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, face each other across the sea, and the Danes will definitely feel sleepless when they see the Lübeck people stationing their fleet opposite their capital.

"Your Excellency, I don't think you have thought about it. If we defeat the Danish fleet, will Denmark keep the navy?" Marin reminded.

"You mean?"

"After defeating the Danish Navy, the remaining Danish warships will definitely surrender. At that time, we will snatch all those warships that surrendered, and leave none of them for Denmark!" Marin said with high spirits.

"His--" The other three all gasped for breath--this is going to take Denmark's spine off. If Denmark has no navy, can it still be considered a powerful country?

"Remember, not only must all the warships be robbed, but also all the naval officers. It doesn't matter whether you hire them or enslave them. In short, don't leave a single naval officer to the Danes!" Marin said grimly.

"But... this is not in line with the rules... There has never been a precedent, saying that the other party's soldiers were captured and not redeemed..." Heisenberg said worriedly.

"Hehe, this rule is aimed at the nobles. Well then, among the Danish Navy prisoners, noble officers can let them redeem them, and civilian officers, especially captains, sailors and other veterans, don't let any of them go. Go back. To the outside world, say they are all hired by you!"

Swante Nilsson's eyes brightened:

"You mean, make it impossible for them to rebuild the navy for a short time?"

"Yes, the foundation of the Danish navy is actually those very experienced junior officers and excellent captains. Plus those experienced navy veterans... As long as these people are taken away by us, the Danish navy will not be able to recover within ten years. .And when their navy recovers, your canal will be dug, and there is no need to go to Denmark's Oresund..."

"It's really wicked... Abu... it's wisdom!" Lübeck Grand Chancellor Tagfacht praised with a thumbs up.

If the Danish Navy is difficult to recover in ten years, then there is no danger of stationing the fleet in Malmö, opposite Copenhagen...

In the end, the four forces signed a mutual aid and cooperation treaty in Lübeck, stipulating that the four forces would do their best to defeat Denmark at that time. Once Denmark is defeated, the forces of the Quartet will be decided in advance - Marin will obtain the Counties of Oldenburg and Schleswig; Lübeck and Hamburg will share the Principality of Holstein equally, and will be responsible for abducting all those who surrender. Denmark survived warships and navy civilians; Sweden, on the other hand, acquired areas of the southern coast occupied by Denmark and forced Denmark to recognize their independence and territorial sovereignty.

As for the time of dispatching troops, it is scheduled for early February next year. The war will certainly not only take a few days, and even the march will take time. When the spring ploughing begins in March, it is estimated that the war is fierce. And if the Danes choose to continue fighting, then the army of the Quartet Alliance, which is driving straight in, will definitely affect the spring ploughing in Denmark. If spring ploughing is hindered, then, in the autumn, Denmark will inevitably encounter a great famine.

Therefore, this time of dispatching troops is very vicious. It forced the Danes to make a life-or-death choice—if they continued to fight, it was impossible to win. Merely hindering the spring ploughing will put the Danes in a desperate situation after the autumn harvest. By then, the Danish Navy was wiped out. The Hanseatic League will send warships to block the Danish waters, and the Danes will starve to death...

Therefore, sending troops at this juncture can also force Denmark to compromise in order to achieve political goals. And if Denmark wants to keep its face uncompromising, it will wait for a large number of people to starve to death in the autumn...

As for the specific rules, on land, Marin led 20,000 troops as the main force, while Lübeck and Hamburg each hired 5,000 mercenaries to follow. The Swedes will launch a counterattack in January to attract the attention of Denmark and force the Danes to place their main force on the Swedish battlefield. Then, Marin will personally lead the army to swept the Counties of Oldenburg, Holstein and Schleswig, and directly attack Jutland, occupying the entire Jutland, as a bargaining chip, Negotiate with Denmark.

At sea, the Lübeckians will join forces with the Hamburgers to declare war on Denmark. Then the Lübeck people will let out the wind and say they will send a fleet to attack Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. As a result, the Danes would have to keep at least half of their warships behind to protect the capital and the surrounding waters. The Hamburg fleet, swaggering northward, attracted the attention of the Danes. At that time, the Danes will certainly divide their fleet to intercept them, but certainly not too much. After all, their number one maritime enemy is Lübeck. Then, in the North Sea, the Hamburg Fleet was responsible for the frontal containment of the Danes' fleet. And Marin's 23 warships will quietly appear from behind, attack the side of the Danish fleet, and attack the Hamburgers back and forth, striving to eliminate the Danes' interceptor fleet. After the completion of the incident, the fleet continued to go to the Oresund, and sent people to go to the land to inform the Lübeck fleet, and make an appointment to attack the remaining Danish fleet together, and strive to wipe out the Danish warships...