The Rise of the European Emperor

The Danes failed to ask France for help, but in the Grand Duchy of Moscow, they got good news. Of course, good news on the surface.

As early as last year, the current Grand Duke Ivan III was paralyzed in bed due to illness. Therefore, now the regent is his son Prince Vasily, who is later Vasily III.

Like Ivan III, Vasily III was an ambitious Maozi chief. However, although Ivan III has great ambitions, he is relatively timid. In 1480, when he faced off against Ahema Khan of the Golden Horde, he was frightened and fled back to Moscow.

Vasily III was equally ambitious, but much more daring and ruthless. Prince Vasily was the son of Sophia, the sister of Ivan III and his wife, the last emperor of Eastern Rome, Andres Pariologos. Originally, Ivan III had an eldest son named Ivan Ivanovich with his ex-wife. Moreover, Ivan III originally planned to pass the throne to the eldest son. Unfortunately, Prince Ivan died as early as 1490, leaving only a son named Dmitry.

Originally, the nobles of the Grand Duchy of Moscow all supported the succession of Dmitri's grandson. However, in 1502, for some unknown reason, probably Dmitri was arrested by Ivan III on suspicion of murdering Prince Vasily. Then, just as Ivan III was paralyzed in bed, he simply let Prince Vasily regent.

In fact, there is a lot of speculation about the sudden arrest of King Dmitry. Because, King Dmitry is a timid and cowardly young man who is unlikely to murder his uncle. Many people speculate that it may be because of character problems that Ivan III chose Prince Vasili and abandoned Prince Dmitri.

Ivan III was an ambitious monarch who wanted to see the Grand Duchy of Moscow growing. The honest and timid Dmitry is more than defensive, but not aggressive enough. In addition, Dmitry was secretly manipulated by his mother, so the princess Elena made Ivan III quite unhappy.

Moreover, his wife Sophia and Prince Vasily kept lobbying Ivan III, saying that if Prince Vasily inherited the Grand Duke position of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, because he has the blood of the Eastern Roman royal family, and the Eastern Roman Empire has perished, Prince Vasily is completely This can be used as an excuse to claim that the Grand Duchy of Moscow has inherited the Eastern Roman Empire.

As for Sofia's brother Andres Pariologos selling the throne to Maximilian I, who cares? As long as the Grand Duchy of Moscow refuses to admit it at that time...

Not only that, although Prince Vasily launched a rebellion, it was only to snatch the crown prince's position with the grandson of Dmitri. This also proves that Prince Vasily is a man who dares to act. Unlike the grandson of Dmitry, some of them are too honest and cowardly, and are easily used as puppets by the great nobles.

Therefore, after repeated ideological struggles, Ivan III finally chose Prince Vasily as the regent and replaced Dmitri as the crown prince.

In fact, neither Prince Vasily nor the grandson of Dmitri are young, but they are not young either. Prince Vasily was born in 1479, while Dmitri's grandson was born in 1483. Today, Prince Vasily is 24 years old, and King Dmitri is 20 years old.

Although only one year younger than Marin, Prince Vasily's ambitions are no smaller than Marin's. What's more, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which he will inherit, is much stronger than the East Frisian Country. The East Frisian country of Marin has only 3,000 square kilometers and a population of 150,000 (excluding the army). The Grand Duchy of Moscow, at this time, already had two or three million square kilometers of land and a population of several million. Although, because most of the land area is too north, it is not suitable for human habitation. But the land in parts of the south alone is enough to beat Marin in the comparison. Therefore, people are also qualified to be crazy...

In addition to the powerful Crimean Khanate in the south and the alliance of Lithuania and Poland, which is not easy to mess with in the west,

Other directions are all in the conspiracy of Prince Vasily.

For the country of Denmark, Prince Vasily has also studied. It turns out that Denmark is a sea hegemon, a weak chicken on land...

Although it is said that if the territory of Denmark is moved, it may be blocked by sea, but so what? The Grand Duchy of Moscow has no maritime interests at all and is purely a landlubber country. It's just that the reputation of the Kalmar Union in Denmark did not dare to act rashly for a while.

But now, the Danes are actually begging to come to the door, wanting to attack Finland by themselves, and even robbing them at will... Prince Vasily was tempted all of a sudden...

When the incident was reported to Ivan III, who was paralyzed in bed, Ivan III was also a little tempted. Not only was Ivan III tempted, but the nobles of the Grand Duchy of Moscow were also tempted.

Because, in the eyes of the nobles of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Sweden, as an emerging country, although it has a bit of strength, can never be compared with the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Now, it should not be difficult to just flank the revolting Sweden with the Danes.

It's just that the dwarfs with no news know that the Danes are already unable to protect themselves at this time, and their homeland will be invaded. Because the Maozi are in the easternmost part of Europe, and they are not within the sphere of influence of the Catholic Church, the information is a bit blocked, and they do not know the development of the war on the Jutland peninsula.

Therefore, the Maozi nobles unanimously decided to send 20,000 troops to enter and leave Finland. Then, looting in Finland...

These nobles are very keen on murder and arson. Probably due to the deep influence of the original suzerain, the Golden Horde, Maozi's army has always had a style of burning, killing and looting. Later Cossacks took this barbaric style to the extreme.

As soon as I heard that they would take advantage of the stalemate between Denmark and Sweden, they would enter the Finnish area to grab a fortune, and many aristocrats enthusiastically signed up.

Prince Vasily, the regent, selected several nobles who were closest to him, and asked them to recruit 20,000 troops from the country and prepare to set off to plunder in Finland. As for supplies, Prince Vasily didn't think about it at all. At that time, let them "eat anywhere" directly. The so-called "eat anywhere" means to snatch the local people's property and food as a supply. However, for those people who were robbed, it was very unfortunate. The food has been robbed, and the property has been robbed, and it is difficult to have any hope of living...

But what does that have to do with the furry? They just know that it is enough for them to make a fortune. As for the life and death of the Finnish people, it is not in their consideration.

In fact, the ambitious Prince Vasily didn't just want to grab one. Even the ambitious Prince Vasily planned to hack part of Finland after the war. At the very least, the territory of the neighboring Baltic Sea, which is close to the Grand Duchy of Moscow, should be swallowed up. At that time, the Grand Duchy of Moscow will no longer be a landlubber country. Maybe, I can also start a sea trade, do some business and make some money...