Xinshun 1730

Chapter 638 Mediation Without Mediation
As Russia's reward for not forming an alliance with Dashun's enemy country, Liu Yu knows what Russia lacks the most, and also knows what Dashun can give Russia to the greatest extent.

That is, money.

After the ruddy queen asked Liu Yu to sit down, she didn't talk about trade and money in a hurry, but asked Liu Yu about Sweden.

"I know that the Swedish ambassador approached you. So, can you tell me how you replied to the Swedish ambassador?"

"Your Majesty, I just told the Swedish ambassador that Sweden is bound to lose. At the beginning of the war, they didn't consider the possibility of defeat at all, so I told them that they should draw up a treaty that you can agree to as soon as possible so that they can admit defeat with dignity. .”

Liu Yu smiled and gave another very personal reason.

"I told them that because you have just ascended the throne, your position is not strong enough. So you need a victory to enhance your prestige and prove that you are the successor of your father's policy. Therefore, you cannot easily give up your attack on Sweden. French mediation is pointless."

Since the theory of the monarch is something that people in the bad streets and courts in Dashun basically understood 2000 years ago, Queen Elizabeth was not surprised by Liu Yu's answer.

Indeed, this gets to the point.

At least, next year, Sweden will continue to increase its troops, and Sweden must be defeated on the battlefield and take the initiative to seek peace.

As for what conditions will be required, the formal talks can only be started after the victory, and before the absolute victory on the battlefield, Queen Elizabeth is not prepared to accept any mediation at all.

The Marquis of La Chettadi in France has been mediating, because the Russo-Russian War was instigated by France.

This made the Queen quite upset, and felt that the Marquis of La Schettadi did not understand politics at all. Although he was romantic and elegant, with many tricks and likable, he was indeed unqualified politically.

At this time, how could it be possible to continue to put pressure on her to accept French mediation?A few days after the coup, the enthronement ceremony has not yet been held. What does the whole of Petersburg think of her?

The slogan of her coup was to restore Russian orthodoxy, because the court was previously full of foreigners.

So, the Germans are foreigners, but the French aren't?
Compared with France's attitude, Dashun made the empress much more at ease.

All the boundary contracts were signed before.The Empress did not sign any treaty with Dashun on the border, and Dashun did not ask for more by virtue of "support".

Even on the issue of the Swedish war, it directly grasped the key point. Politically, this battle must be fought until Sweden takes the initiative to seek peace.

"My lord, you are a wise man. Talking to a wise man, I can speak more clearly. As you said, the Swedish war will of course continue, and for the same reasons as you said. But, as for the result, I am not sure. Considering not to oppress Sweden too much. And now, with the suggestion in your letter, I think my heart is more inclined to the result you want in terms of the post-war contract."

"So, even if you won't mediate the war between Sweden and Russia, at least you have given the Swedes some advice?"

Liu Yu wasn't going to hide it either, as this was a two-sided affair.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I consider that you must establish a crown prince, especially if you are sure that you will not execute Tsar Xun to show your kindness. Your nephew, your sister's only son, is the best choice."

"Therefore, I suggest to the Swedes, elect your fiancé's younger brother, your nephew's guardian, and regent of the duchies of Holstein and Schleswig, Adolf Frederick, as Crown Prince of Sweden, to replace the vacancy left by your nephew. "

"I stand from your point of view, or use China's thousands of years of historical experience to consider for you. I hope you can understand that I am not helping Sweden, but helping you."

Having seen how well the people on Dashun's side understood court political struggles, Elizabeth was not at all surprised that Liu Yu thought she would make her nephew the crown prince.

The reason why the nephew was made the prince was indeed, as Liu Yu said, for stability, to prevent someone from supporting the old tsar again, and to completely eliminate the influence of Mecklenburg and Courland forces on Russia.

However, Elizabeth was greatly surprised by the trick of getting Sweden to elect Adolf Frederick as crown prince.Accidents are accidents, but I agree with them in my heart.

He stretched out his hand and made a gesture of please, hoping that Liu Yu would talk about "from her perspective" why this matter is beneficial to Russia.

"Your Majesty, 30 years have passed since the Thirty Years War. But people's thinking, especially the thinking of some marshals and generals, is still stuck in the era of the Thirty Years War."

"Dashun is like this, so there is a military reform that lasted for more than ten years, and the army that was at the level of the 30-year war was abolished."

"Russia is faster in terms of equipment, but in terms of strategic awareness and tactical awareness, IMHO, it is still the thinking of that era."

"The era of mercenaries, elite troops, and small countries dominating has passed."

"The era of national soldiers, conscripts, three-month fast-training recruits, and competition for population and industrial potential has come."

"So, you can see that the Netherlands, Sweden...these small countries that once dominated have begun to decline in the new era. It is not accidental that Russia defeated Sweden, and it is not accidental that the Netherlands did not participate in the signing of the treaty after the end of the Quadruple Alliance War. .”

"The era of Sweden is over. Even if Gustav II is reborn, he will not be able to turn Sweden's population of 100 million into 1000 million. Even if they win the battlefield for a while, they will eventually be submerged in the sea of ​​​​Russians. This is the strategic thinking of the new era, but unfortunately, many people's way of thinking is still stuck in the 30-year war and the era when Dashun seized the world."

"But once you have the strategic thinking you should have in this era, you should understand that Sweden is very weak. And your other potential opponent is very strong."

"I can tell you about the founder of the Ming Empire, Zhu Yuanzhang, about the discussion of 'be strong before being weak' or 'be weak before being strong'."

Of course, people's correct thinking does not fall from the sky. The truth of taking history as a mirror is very correct. It is just necessary to ensure that the specific situation can be analyzed in detail, and it is good not to come up with stories of waiting for a sword and waiting for a rabbit.

Russia's history is not deep, and there were not many opportunities to display strategies before.

As for the historical stories of China, of course Elizabeth has not heard that much, that is, she has read some imaginary things written by Voltaire.

After listening to Liu Yu's slightly modified story about the strong Chen Youliang or the weak Zhang Shicheng first, Queen Elizabeth couldn't help but nodded.

After calmly thinking about Liu Yu's argument about "the times have changed", I have already approved Liu Yu's statement in my heart.

Indeed, many people in the Russian court, as Liu Yu said, are still using the experience of 100 years ago to understand what is happening now.

The era when a decisive battle of 2 people can affect the entire European war situation has passed.The flintlock guns and bayonets that became popular since the War of Spanish Succession made it impossible to rely on a small number of mercenaries on the scale of the war.With tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of battle scales, the war potential of the Swedes is indeed not as good as that of Russia, and it is far from Sweden in the era of the Great Northern War.

If you can't figure this out, then Liu Yu's strategy of being strong first and then weak is meaningless.Because the Russians still have "Swedephobia" at this time, the conclusion drawn based on past experience is that Sweden should not be underestimated.

However, according to Liu Yu's analysis, Sweden is no longer enough to threaten Russia.

Liu Yu did not say who Russia's potential "strong enemy" is, but it goes without saying that it must be Prussia.

Poland and Lithuania are not considered a strong enemy of Russia at all.

The wonderful king election system has become a training ground for countries to interfere, and Poland is no longer enough to be called a strong enemy.

And Prussia, which has just emerged, has already made the Russian side look at it.

Whether Russia is going west or south, it cannot bypass Poland.Poland was nothing to worry about, but the rise of Prussia made Elizabeth clearly realize that it would be a hindrance to Russia's westward advance.

Especially the current battle situation of the Austrian succession war is extremely beneficial to the Prussian side, and it even seems that Austria may be dismembered at any time.

Prussia is strong and Sweden is weak. After this consensus is reached, what Liu Yu said later will be logical.

"Your Majesty, if you want to weaken Sweden with all your strength, or even completely cut off Finland, it will definitely arouse Sweden's hatred and possible revenge at any time. This makes it extremely dangerous for you to eat Poland or become an enemy of Prussia in the future." .”

"Conversely, if you turn Sweden into a pro-Russian king, and keep Sweden's honorable surrender, then the dispute between Sweden and Prussia over Pomerania will make Sweden an ally when you move west .”

"When you defeat the strong enemy first, the weaker potential enemy is also in your bag."

"So, I said, I'm completely standing on Russia's point of view to consider this issue and give suggestions."

"Also, I suggest that you take advantage of the victory on the battlefield to request the transfer of part of the Swedish East India Company's equity. Dashun will also transfer a part of the equity to you."

"It enabled the establishment of a joint trading company of Dashun, Sweden, and Russia. It monopolized the trade east of the Cape of Good Hope in the Baltic Sea, thereby obtaining high profits."

"Wars in this era depend on population and wealth after all. Both are indispensable. Of course you know how profitable Chinese trade products are."

"Similarly, Dashun is also facing the monopoly of the East India Companies of various countries, which prevents us from obtaining high profits. We can only watch them take away the profits from transshipment."

"Dashun, bet the trade market in the Baltic Sea on you, or bet on the Russian Empire."

"Sweden is too small to get the entire Baltic rim market."

"For Russia, to go west is to use the Russian sword to acquire land for the Russian plow."

"For the Celestial Dynasty, Russia's westward expansion is to find a broader market for Dashun's goods."

"The trade circle around the Baltic Sea has huge profits. And this huge profit is also the basis of mutual trust between our two countries."

"I neither suppressed the Swedish East India Company nor the Danish East India Company. I suppressed Russia to gain hegemony in the Baltic Sea. Only with hegemony can trade be controlled."

"I ship, you grab the market. The money you earn will be divided in half."

(End of this chapter)