Blessings are incomparable, and disasters are not singular. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 While Marin was worrying about how to attack Copenhagen, there was an urgent report from Sweden that the Grand Duchy of Moscow had sent 20,000 troops and had invaded Finland under Swedish control.

Moreover, this gang of Maozi is very cruel, and after entering the Finnish territory, they burn and loot on a large scale, and do all kinds of evil. Most of the Swedish troops stationed in Finland were brutally murdered.

Old Sten. In his urgent letter, Sturley emphasized that this Maozi army was very combative and very vicious. The point is that they are ruthless not only to the enemy, but also to the people, but also to themselves. When attacking Finnish cities, Mao Zi's soldiers were like hanging up, completely ignoring the casualties, and attacked fiercely.

Fortunately, Finland is big enough, and it will take a lot of time for Maozi to conquer the whole of Finland. If, when Maozi completely controls Finland, and then goes to Sweden to fight the Danes in the north and south, Sweden will be in danger.

So, old Sten. Stuure wanted to ask his allies to send troops to support Sweden. Otherwise, Sweden is likely to be doomed......

Originally, Marin was worried about the difficult problems in Copenhagen, but now, seeing the crisis in Sweden, he frowned......

It is clear that Sweden is here to save. If Sweden is finished, Marin is afraid that the Grand Duchy of Moscow will take the opportunity to occupy Sweden, so he will not leave. Even if Maozi does not seize Sweden and only controls Finland, it is not a good thing. Because, once Maozi controls Finland, he will expand his sphere of influence to the Baltic Sea region.

Historically, Tsarist Russia under Peter I, after opening up the Baltic Sea, soon became the overlord of the Baltic Sea. In this era, Maozi was not as strong as it was in the time of Peter I. However, if they were allowed to seize Finland, it would certainly have far-reaching consequences for the situation in Eastern Europe.

And whether it is Marin or Lübeck and Hamburg, the Baltic region is the lifeblood of their economy. The most profitable area for salt sales in Marin is the Baltic Sea. The trade between Lübeck and Hamburg was much higher than that of Marin.

Therefore, Lübeck and Hamburg behaved more seriously and anxiously than Marin. Old Sten. Sture's letter for help was also sent to Lübeck, and the Lübeck people were nervous and sent a speedboat directly to Copenhagen to ask Marin if there was a possibility of splitting troops to rescue him.

The Hanseatic League had a feud with Russia, and when Ivan III captured the Hanseatic city of Novgorod in 1487, he expelled all the Hanseatic merchants and later allied himself with the Danes. From then on, the Hanseatic League and the Grand Duchy of Moscow became enemies.

Before Novgorod, it was one of the most prosperous commercial cities of the Hanseatic League in the Baltic region. Why? This was because Novgorod was the main supplier of salt to millions of square kilometers and millions of people (including several Tatar khanates) throughout the Rus' region.

It can be said that at that time, in the Eastern European Plain, except for the Crimean Khanate and other places in the south, which imported salt from Ottoman Turkey, most of the other regions were wholesale salt from the Novgorod region.

Hanseatic merchants, on the other hand, sold salt from England to Novgorod through sea trade routes, and bought large quantities of grain, furs, flax, wool, livestock, timber and other commodities from the Rus' region at low prices, and shipped them back to Western Europe to sell at high prices.

Therefore, Novgorod was very important for the Hanseatic League. The Hanseatic cities of Lübeck and Hamburg set up barns in Novgorod.

However, since the capture of Novgorod by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, all Hanseatic merchants were expelled. Ivan III later cooperated with Denmark and brought in Danish merchants. And the windfall profits from the salt trade in the Rus' countries were given to the Danish merchants by the Muscovites. After all, Denmark is also a maritime power that is not weaker than the Hanseatic League, and its maritime trade capacity is not weak. However, this led to great losses for the Hanseatic merchants, especially the Lübecks.

Moreover, the situation of the Grand Duchy of Moscow was not quite the same as that of Western Europe. The Rus' kingdoms were ruled by the Mongol Golden Horde for more than 200 years and were greatly influenced by the Mongols.

One of the most important points is that the tax model is very different from that of Western Europe......

This is very important and often overlooked.

The Grand Duchy of Moscow was originally a vassal state of the Golden Horde, and originally had to pay tribute, that is, taxes, to the suzerain, Golden Horde, every year. So, very early on, the Rus' states formed the habit of taxing the whole people.

Western Europe of the same period did not have this habit. The serfs in Western Europe were only responsible to their respective serf owners and did not need to pay taxes to the past. The only universal sailor was the Catholic "tithe". The kings and princes of Western Europe could only rely on their own fiefdoms and commercial taxes to survive.

The Rus' states, on the other hand, were once required to pay an annual tribute to the Golden Horde, and had long since formed the habit of paying taxes to the whole people. When the Grand Duchy of Moscow stopped paying tribute to the Golden Horde, the taxation of the whole people did not stop, and the burden on the common people was not lightened. Those taxes were directly left and used by the Grand Duke of Moscow. Moreover, the burden on the common people is not necessarily heavier than that of Western European countries. This is because the Grand Duchy of Moscow is an Orthodox Christianity, and there is no practice of tithing. The common people only had to pay the taxes of the imperial court, and did not need to pay taxes to the religion.

Therefore, don't look at the Grand Duchy of Moscow as a poor country with little industry and commerce, but because the imperial court follows the Eastern practice of taxing the whole people, its financial strength is not necessarily worse than that of Western European powers.

Thus, in 1480 against the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Moscow was able to raise an army of 200,000 without economic collapse.

In other Western European countries, if it were not for Britain, France, Spain and other large countries, the food supply of 200,000 people alone would bankrupt the monarch......

Of course, the low price of food in Eastern Europe was also the reason why the Grand Duchy of Moscow was able to recruit a large number of troops. After all, the price of food is low, and the cost of conscripting soldiers is low.

In addition, the Rus' people were ruled by the Mongols for more than 200 years, and they were affected, and they also had the habit of being soldiers. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Grand Duchy of Moscow conscripted 200,000 troops.

As enemies, the Lübecks did not know that the Grand Duchy of Moscow was so powerful because of the taxation of the whole people, but what they knew was that the Grand Duchy of Moscow was very capable of exploding troops......

Therefore, when they heard that the Grand Duchy of Moscow might occupy Finland, both Lübeck and Hamburgers panicked. They were afraid that the Grand Duchy of Moscow, after gaining access to the Baltic Sea, would be able to blow up ships and sailors in large numbers, as it did on land. At that time, the evil wolf of Denmark has just been suppressed, but the tiger of the Grand Duchy of Moscow will be ushered in again......

Therefore, Lübeck informed Marin - Speaker of the Lübeck Parliament Tagfacht and Hamburg Speaker Heisenberg that they would personally rush to the front line in Copenhagen to discuss with Marin the matter of dealing with the Grand Duchy of Moscow......

In fact, Marin knew very well in his heart that Russia would later run amok on the European continent. However, it has always been a landlubber. Although it became strong very early, the navy has not been strong for hundreds of years. After all, his position is too miserable. The Baltic Sea is an inland sea that can be easily blocked, as is the Black Sea to the south, which was blocked by the Turks. Therefore, Russia is destined to have a strong navy. Even if you get a powerful fleet, you will be stuck at home and can't get out...... It is precisely because of this that Mao Zi later vigorously developed the submarine force. Because, submarines are not easy to be blocked......

Of course, Marin wouldn't say that, and even if he did, no one would believe him. After all, the Lübecks and the people of Hamburg did not have the ability to predict the future......