In Copenhagen, Denmark, King Hans of Denmark is hosting a banquet for Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, and Joakim I, Elector of Brandenburg. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info probably had something to talk about, and Hans broke everyone up.

After three rounds of drinking, King Hans put down his glass and said with a lonely face:

"Alas, I really didn't expect that my dignified King of Denmark, the co-leader of the Kalmar Alliance, would fall into such a situation!"

Joakim I didn't speak, he was a junior, and some words were not very easy to say. Frederick III comforted:

"Brother-in-law, you are relieved. You still have Denmark and Norway, two big countries, and your strength can still be restored. ”

"Recovery?" King Hans smiled bitterly and said:

"Under normal circumstances, it would not be difficult to recover. But, Frederick, do you know? Lübeck and Hamburg, two bastards, took control of the Øresund. As soon as a Danish merchant ship was found, it was immediately confiscated. They are doing this because they are afraid that I will rise again! ”

"Now, I have to do some business, and I need to recruit some British sailors, disguised as British merchant ships, to be able to transport goods to the Baltic region. When you cross the Øresund, you have to be taxed by Lübeck and Hamburg......"

"So excessive?" Frederick III and Joakim I were amazed.

Lübeck and Hamburg were too poisonous, and Denmark, like the Hanseatic League, had a economy based mainly on trade, and it was maritime trade. Previously, the Danish Kalmar League traded no less in the Baltic Sea than the Hanseatic League. Moreover, because of the occupation of the Øresund Strait, it has a slight advantage over the Hanseatic League.

But now, Lübeck and Hamburg are domineeringly not allowing Danish merchant ships to pass through the Øresund, which is simply the life of Denmark! Will Denmark be able to recover without maritime trade? Both Frederick III and Joakim I were somewhat silent.

"Yes, Lübeck and Hamburg, this is to drive Denmark into a corner! If this situation continues, within 20 years, Denmark will be reduced from a first-class power to a second- and third-rate country. ”

"Now, do you know what I'm doing? I'm organizing all the people to reclaim the wasteland and farm! I can't make any money from the maritime trade, so I can only take my people to reclaim the land and transform Denmark into an agricultural country! King Hans shook his head bitterly, his face full of despair.

In the past, the Danes did not bother to engage in agriculture because of the huge profits of maritime trade. If there is a shortage of food, just take the money to buy it.

However, now that Denmark has no merchant ships, Denmark's economy can only rely on agriculture and fishing. Moreover, for fear of being detained by the Hanseatic League, fishing boats did not dare to take the Øresund waterway, but instead took the waterway between the islands west of Zealand. However, this waterway is not easy to walk. Because there are many islands, there are also many reefs. Walking this way, it is easy to hit the reef and sink the ship.

Fortunately, King Hans had a good relationship with England, and Henry VII saw him as pitiful, so he sold him 20 merchant ships and provided English sailors. In this way, King Hans could continue to rely on these 20 English ships, obtain a certain profit, and maintain expenses. Otherwise, the Danish court could be paralyzed by insufficient funds.

"So, Hans, how can we help you?" Young Joakim I said impatiently. (Europeans often call their father-in-law by his first name)

Frederick III did not speak, but fell into deep thought. He felt that this was a very difficult matter.

After taking a sip of wine, Hans breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"For most of the past six months, I've been thinking about why I'm failing. Eventually, I figured it out......"

"Oh, why?" Frederick III was also intrigued.

"Because, we in Denmark, we don't have a strong army!"

Both Frederick III and Joakim I were a little confused - is that why?

"Yes, that's why!" King Hans of Denmark said solemnly.

"Three months ago, a Danish merchant who had been to Portugal told me such an interesting story—"

"Spain and Portugal, neighbors on the Iberian Peninsula, are also very strong. However, Portugal is strong, and it is at sea. They had a huge naval fleet no weaker than Denmark at the time, and they were the hegemons in the Atlantic. ”

"And Spain, although the sea power is also good. However, the sea power was much weaker than that of Portugal, and the main sea power was in the Mediterranean. ”

"Originally, Spain and Portugal agreed to divide the east and west halves of the earth, with Spain getting the western half and Portugal getting the eastern half."

"A few years ago, however, the Spaniards got a nautical chart and sent Columbus to India before the Portuguese, bringing back a lot of spices. And then, the Spaniards got rich! ”

After that, the Portuguese were very angry, believing that the Spaniards had violated the original agreement and harmed Portuguese interests. So, the Portuguese threatened to annihilate the Spaniards' sea power! ”

The Spaniards, however, didn't care. The Spanish couple warned the Portuguese that if they dared to move the Spanish fleet, Spain would gather a large army from the land, besiege Lisbon, and break the city and capture all the Portuguese nobles, including their king......"

……

"I see......" Frederick III's eyes lit up.

"The Spaniards used their strengths to attack Portugal's weaknesses and forced Portugal to compromise!" Frederick III said excitedly.

"Yes, that's what I thought, too. Previously, Denmark was a naval power, and at the time of its naval presence, no one could threaten Copenhagen. ”

"But once the fleet is destroyed, Denmark is like a lamb to the slaughter, at the mercy of the four enemies. Because, the Danish Army is too weak and too few! ”

"So, brother-in-law, what are you going to do?" Frederick III asked, staring at Hans with interest.

"Quite simply, the Danish navy is now eliminated, and its development is restricted. Well, I can only go and develop the army. Because, they did not limit the development of the army in Denmark. ”

"And then?" Joakim I asked.

"Once I have developed an incomparably large army, I intend to take revenge on my enemies by relying on a decisive victory on land! Of course, I also need your cooperation, and I hope that you can organize as many troops as possible to help me fight and deal with my enemies! ”

"How?" Frederick III frowned, he wanted to hear Hans's strategy, see if it worked, and then decide whether to send troops to help.

"Specifically, I've already thought about it. As you all know, Lübeck and Hamburg are both maritime states, and the army is worse than Denmark. ”

Frederick III and Joakim I nodded, agreeing with Hans's claim.

"I intend to form a strong army to move south quickly from Jutland, and with the cooperation of your army, to first break through the city of Lübeck and seize Lübeck's property and ships."

"Then, send troops to surround the city of Hamburg and wait for the arrival of Marin's bastard army! Finally, under the city of Hamburg, fight a decisive battle and destroy the army of Marina bastards. ”

"Then, take the opportunity to attack its old nest of East Friesland, defeat Aurich, and force Marinna's bastard to sign a surrender treaty!"

……

"Well, that's a good plan. Still, brother-in-law, how do you guarantee that your Danish army will be able to defeat Marin's army. As far as I know, his army is very combat-ready! Frederick III asked earnestly.

"I've thought about that. It is true that the Danish army is relatively weak. Therefore, I intend to bring in Swiss mercenaries! ”

"Swiss mercenaries? A great choice indeed! Frederick thought for a moment and nodded. Joakim I also approved of Hans's idea.

So far, the Swiss mercenaries and Marin's army have not faced each other head-on. When the Spaniards and the French fought, the Swiss were not the main force. On the contrary, the main force was the Italian mercenaries. Many people believe that the Swiss mercenaries were actually affected by the Italian mercenaries who fought against the Spaniards. After the war, in order to maintain their reputation, the Swiss kept claiming that it was the Italian rout, which attacked the battle formation of the Swiss mercenaries and disrupted the formation of the Swiss mercenaries, which led to the defeat.

Most Europeans believe this Swiss explanation. After all, the Swiss and their prestige and achievements are there.

So, until now, no one has considered Marin's army to be stronger than the Swiss. At most, relatively close to the combat effectiveness of the Swiss......

King Hans planned to hire 20,000 Swiss mercenaries to fight Marin to the death. At the same time, Hans plans to recruit 20,000 young Danes from this year onwards and bring in Swiss instructors to train them day and night during the slack season.

After the spring ploughing was over next year, King Hans would send 20,000 Swiss mercenaries and 20,000 Swiss-trained native troops to join forces with the armies of the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg to launch an attack on Lübeck and Hamburg, as well as the kingdom of Marin.

Frederick III and Joakim I agreed with Hans's plan, and for this reason, they decided to send 15,000 veterans each, a total of 30,000 men, to join the Danish army of 40,000, a total of 70,000 horses, to destroy the armies of Lübeck, Hamburg, and Marin. The main thing is to destroy Marin's army. Because, according to intelligence, Marin now has 30,000 main troops, which is very difficult to mess with. As for Sweden, it can be eliminated at the end, and Sweden will not become a climate anyway......

However, no matter how strong Marin's army was, King Hans, Frederick III, and Joakim I did not think that Marin could win against the 70,000 combined forces of the three families. In particular, there were 20,000 Swiss mercenaries whose combat strength surpassed that of the Marin army as the main combat force.

As long as he won, King Hans promised - he would only take back the Duchy of Schleswig and Holstein, and free his cousin's family from house arrest and liberate the Count of Oldenburg. As for the lands of Marin, such as the Episcopal States of East Friesian and Münster, as well as the Bishoprics of Osnabrück, they were divided between Frederick III and Joakim I.

And Marin, King Hans intended to imprison him and lock him up in the basement of the royal palace in Copenhagen for the rest of his life, and when he was fine, he would go and whip him a few times......