The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 249 The cheap Prussians
On February 1731, 2, a stately Prussian army entered Stralsund, the most important city in Western Pomerania.

The city gate opened, and countless city residents lined up on both sides of the street with complex expressions. Groups of soldiers walked into the city in a mighty manner. They wore heavy uniforms, carried muskets on their shoulders, and their serious faces revealed the air of conquerors. of pride.

The pace of the army was sonorous and powerful, and the waving flags squeaked in the wind. Behind the army, there were more than ten artillery carts, dragged by the horses, pressing through the gravel-paved streets, leaving two deep lines. Deep rut marks.

The residents in the city were stunned by the scene of the army's killing. Their hair was messed up by the wind, and some timid residents had their clothes soaked because of fear.

The soldiers were full of vigor, the sonorous footsteps and the dazzling light of bayonets deeply shocked the residents of the city. They walked along the straight street towards the square, with the bugles blaring and the troops in uniform.

The buildings in the square and the tall flagpoles have all been hung with the flags of the Brandenburg family, which seems to be announcing to the entire city that this place belongs to the Kingdom of Prussia and the Brandenburg family.

The north wind blew, and the leaves made a soft noise. The soldiers gradually left the square amidst the sound of drums and trumpets and entered the former Swedish army barracks.

The city also returned to silence. The wind blew through the squares and city alleys, and finally faded away leisurely. It was as if the city, the squares, and the hustle and bustle when the soldiers came had all disappeared in the rhythmic sound.

"Your Majesty, the Swedes will plan to evacuate Rügen in a week." Gerd Müller, Minister of War of the Kingdom of Prussia, came to the terrace on the third floor of the Governor's Palace, stood behind King Friedrich William I, and reported softly road.

"In one week, this is enough for the Swedes to search for a lot of wealth on Rugen Island." Frederick William I overlooked the entire city with a sarcastic expression on his lips, "Presumably, after they leave, they will give us more Leaving behind a territory riddled with holes.”

At the same time, Russia is also preparing to choose to cut off its tail to survive. At the cost of giving up all the occupied territories in the Caucasus, Russia will try its best to make peace with the Qi-Persian coalition, thus avoiding the dilemma of fighting on two fronts.

As for France, it chose a wait-and-see attitude towards the diplomatic intervention proposed by the Russians. When the Great Northern War came to an end, France's attitude was generally more in favor of the Kingdom of Sweden. In order to prevent the complete collapse of Sweden's power on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, it actively intervened in mediation, and ultimately allowed the defeated Sweden to retain Wismar and Switzerland. Belongs to Western Pomerania.

After King Carl XII of Sweden heard about it, he immediately declared war on Poland and preemptively invaded Poland from the direction of Courland.

This war of revenge between Russia and Sweden immediately evolved into the Second Great Northern War with the addition of Poland.

Thinking of the fact that the Swedish army once invaded the entire Poland, causing irreparable losses to the former Eastern European hegemon, so much so that the country has never been able to recover. The Polish Parliament, which had been wrangling constantly and never reaching any resolution, rarely remained consistent and agreed to the king's formation of an army of 60,000 people to launch an attack on the Swedish army and rescue Russia in decline.

At this time, the Russo-Swedish War was in its fourth year. The two sides fought several battles in St. Petersburg and Courland. More than 200,000 troops fought selflessly on a thousand-mile front.

"Although they gave up Western Pomerania, they got the richer Courland and a large territory on the east coast of the Baltic Sea, as well as our neutral attitude." Friedrich William I said leisurely: " In this way, the Swedes can control the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga, giving them an excellent strategic situation and forming a double-sided encirclement of Russia. Speaking of which, the Swedes have taken a big advantage.”

In the next two years, the Kingdom of Sweden showed great power. It fought against the main force of the Russian army in Pskov and Novgorod, and achieved great victories in both cases. More than 30,000 Russian troops were killed, wounded and captured. The Russian Tsarina Catherine I and the army commander Menshikov had to retreat to Moscow.

Subsequently, the Russian army, under the command of Menshikov, tried its best to avoid a decisive battle with the increasingly morale Swedish army. Instead, it retreated step by step, relying on the towns and fortresses along the way, and slowly resisted, gradually stretching the Swedish army's logistics. The supply line hopes to use Russia's huge territory and unlimited manpower to replicate the Great Northern War model, drag down the Swedish army, and then launch a strong counterattack.

Perhaps feeling Sweden's aggressive military threat, August II, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, took the lead in responding to Russia's request for help.

However, what was different from more than 20 years ago was that the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway did not join in immediately because it was afraid of Sweden's sharp military front, thus allowing Sweden to avoid the danger of fighting on two fronts.

Although the Kingdom of Sweden initially failed to defeat St. Petersburg for two years and lost a lot of soldiers and equipment during the siege, which dealt a huge blow to the morale of the Swedish army, the Swedish army was invincible on the southern battlefield. In less than three months, they took over Courland and Estonia, and then invaded deep into the heart of Russia.

But now it's better. After receiving a large amount of financial and material assistance from Qi, the Kingdom of Sweden immediately rolled up its sleeves and started working with the Russians. It would be impossible for the French not to feel disgusted after seeing this.

"Your Majesty, the Swedes have occupied Western Pomerania for more than eighty years and have spent a lot of energy on management and construction. Naturally, they are reluctant to leave like this." Gerd Muller smiled slightly, "They can take away What is left is just some illusory wealth, but what is left behind is the territory and people on which Prussia relies as its foundation. I believe that through hard work of our Kingdom of Prussia, we will be able to create several times or even ten times what the Swedes took away. wealth."

In the Polish Parliament, August II bitterly complained about the dangerous situation Poland was in after Sweden defeated Russia, and asked the Parliament to allow him to recruit troops to flank Sweden in order to save the precarious situation in Russia.

Gerd Muller heard this, with a knowing smile on his face.

Unfortunately, the Swedish army did not seize this favorable opportunity, assemble the main force, go straight to Moscow, and deal a heavy blow to Russia. Instead, after capturing Veliky Luki, an important city on the Lovaj River, they divided their forces into several groups and plundered Russia. , plundering property and wasting several months in vain.

The powerful Russian minister Menshikov, with the support of Peter Andreevich Tolstoy, the chief minister of the Imperial Privy Council, foiled the conspiracy of the two daughters of the Tsarina, Elizabeth and Anna, to seize the throne, and supported Peter I's grandson to inherit the throne of the Tsar. The title is Peter II.

What made matters worse for the Russians was that in the second year of the war (1727), Tsarina Catherine I died of illness amid domestic and foreign difficulties, but did not leave a will, triggering a palace coup that made Russia's top brass and military commanders A certain degree of chaos arose among the troops, which further aggravated the defeat of the Russian army on the battlefield.

Of course, the most important reason is that England, the traditional ally of the Kingdom of Denmark and Norway, is locked in a bitter battle with Qi. Not to mention receiving corresponding financial assistance, it is impossible to even send a warship to help the platform. Possible things.

In addition, Russia also sent several envoys to Poland, Prussia, Denmark, France and Austria to seek external assistance.

Your Kingdom of Sweden accepted the kindness of us French people and saved a lot of Pomerania territory, and you didn't even say thank you to us - in fact, the Kingdom of Sweden has already transferred substantial benefits to French businessmen in the domestic market, and has Export steel to France at extremely favorable prices. Now that you have turned around and hooked up with people from Qi, do you think you no longer take us French people seriously?

He didn't even say hello to me, he just went towards Russia and killed me, treating me like nothing!
Therefore, although the French did not respond to Russia's request to provide necessary assistance, the French government sent a diplomatic note to Sweden, calling on Sweden to stop the war and restore security in the Baltic Sea region.

The Austrians did express strong support for Russia, but only verbally. Because it is at war with the Ottomans and cannot make room for the time being.

After the Russians received support from Poland, the entire country was immediately excited.

To be honest, Russia really can't beat Sweden in a one-on-one match.

In the past, Peter the Great, who was so talented and strategist, was defeated at the hands of Sweden several times and was once beaten to the point of doubting his life.

In the battle of Narva, 50,000 Russian troops faced 8,000 Swedish troops. As a result, more than 40,000 Russian troops were defeated, with more than 8,000 casualties. In addition, the number of people who died of freezing, drowning, starvation, and missing people totaled more than 10,000 losses. Five thousand people. To make matters worse, almost no senior military officers survived, and seventy-nine officers were captured. Many foreign officers, including the temporary commander-in-chief Croix (Peter I ran away directly before the battle), were directly surrendered to Sweden.

This time, the Swedish army, under the leadership of King Karl XII, was determined to take revenge and once again invaded the territory of Russia. They continuously destroyed cities and fortresses and defeated the main force of the Russian army. Except for the capital St. Petersburg, which was still struggling to support itself, everything from the border to the interior All areas within a hundred kilometers of the hinterland were occupied, and more than 50,000 troops were lost.

If the Swedish army is allowed to attack all the way, they may be beaten to the gates of Moscow. By then, where can we Russians retreat?

Back then, Russia was able to defeat Sweden in the Great Northern War. In addition to having Poland, Denmark, Saxony and other allies to share the military pressure, the most important factor was to use Russia's vast and deep territory to defeat the Swedish army with a strong wall and a clear field. Finding the best combat opportunity, he severely damaged the Swedish army at the Poltava Fortress and finally won the war. As the military commander Menshikov who had followed Peter I on the battlefield for many years, he naturally wanted to follow the successful experience of the past and try his best to avoid a head-on confrontation between the Russian army and the Swedish army, which was in full swing. He ordered the troops to fight and retreat, relying on strong defense. Fortifications and fortresses continued to consume the strength and vigor of the Swedish army.

After struggling to find the main force of the Russian army, the Swedish army once again made a wrong decision.

In early October 1728, King Karl XII left more than 10 troops on the northern front and turned to strategic defense against the Russian army. He personally led a main force of more than troops to invade Poland in an attempt to use thunderous force. Defeat the Polish-Saxon coalition and relieve their worries, while also hoping to force the other side to withdraw from the war.

However, in the following more than a year, although the Swedish army defeated the Polish-Saxon coalition forces several times and even invaded the Polish capital Poznan, it was never able to force the opponent to surrender, showing rare resilience.

By September 1729, Russia, which had had a chance to breathe, gradually gathered its defeated armies from various places and recruited more than 9 troops from the rear, increasing the total strength of the Russian army to , forming a huge military advantage over the Swedish army on the northern battlefield. .

Although these troops had backward equipment and low morale, they relied on their huge numerical advantage to gradually seize the initiative on the battlefield during the battle with the Swedish army. They launched an overwhelming counterattack towards the Swedish army's defense line and gradually recovered large areas of lost territory.

After weighing the pros and cons, King Carl XII of Sweden decided to shift the target of attack again, leading his troops to leave Poland and fight back to Russia.

This time, the Swedish army fully learned the lessons of the failure of the last Great Northern War. When the depth of winter came, it did not quickly break into the depths of Russia. Instead, it shrank its troops, voluntarily gave up large tracts of occupied territory, and stationed troops in several locations along the Baltic Sea. Military stronghold, waiting for the Russian army to take the initiative to attack.

However, after the cautious (conservative) Russian army headquarters heard that the main force of the Swedish army had returned, it immediately stopped the counterattack, built a defense line on the spot, and started to play "turtle flow", hoping to use this armed confrontation to maximize the consumption of the Swedish army. Logistics and supplies.

From October 1729 to April 10, the Russian and Swedish armies fell into a rare silent war, with neither one taking the initiative to attack the other.

At this point in the war, the Kingdom of Sweden seemed to have lost the momentum of its initial surge and seemed to lack stamina.

The first party to break the calm on the battlefield was the Polish-Saxon coalition. In early May 1730, under the leadership of the "Powerful King" August II, 5 coalition troops crossed the Polish border and invaded Courland. The city of Jelgava (the capital of the Grand Duchy of Courland) pounced.

The thinly-strength Swedish army voluntarily abandoned Jelgava and retreated to Riga.

In late May, the Polish-Saxon coalition forces advanced towards Riga, bringing the Swedish army to a point of no return.

The battlefield situation seemed to be extremely favorable to the coalition forces. The Swedish army finally began to show signs of decline despite fighting on multiple fronts. Due to the lack of troops, it had to block the left and right, and was unable to advance or retreat. If the Russian army launches a powerful offensive from the east at this time, echoing the Polish-Saxon coalition forces, it might not be possible to annihilate the main force of the Swedish army in Russia.

But the situation of the war was fundamentally reversed because of a great commander.

In mid-June, King Carl XII of Sweden led more than 6,000 elite troops to land in the Courland port city of Liepaja. In just one day, they quietly reached behind the coalition forces that were stationed at the gates of Riga.

On the morning of June 6, more than 19 soldiers, led by the King of Sweden, suddenly attacked the coalition camp in three groups. The lightning-fast charge of the Swedish army caused the coalition forces to suddenly become chaotic, with shouts of killing and panicked shouts from the coalition forces everywhere. Due to the long front and backward contact methods, the coalition forces could not figure out how many Swedish troops were coming.

The trenches originally dug by the coalition forces were to block the counterattack of the defenders in the city of Riga and prevent the powerful Swedish army from approaching in close combat, so that they could fire intensive firepower from a distance and unleash the power of the coalition's large numbers, but it was meaningless at this time.

Taking advantage of the cover of darkness in the early morning, the Swedish army rushed to the Allied defense line at extremely fast speeds and fired intensively with flintlock rifles. Under the musket fire, the Allied forces only lasted four rounds before being defeated and retreating.

The Swedes divided their troops into three groups and launched a pincer-shaped offensive to attack the rear flank of the coalition forces. They cooperated with the Riga defenders and attacked from the front and back, just like making dumplings to trap the coalition forces in their trenches and prevent them from coming out. The large coalition forces were unable to exert their advantages and could only huddle together. This tactical strategy was quite ruthless and hit the weakness of the coalition forces.

In this battle, the coalition forces were completely defeated, with more than 12,000 dead, wounded and prisoners. August II fled back to Poland in panic under the protection of thousands of Guards.

If not, after hearing that the Russian army had launched another offensive on the eastern front, the Swedish army had to turn around and head north. They might have taken advantage of the situation to cover up the killing, pursued it to Poland, and captured August II alive.

The Battle of Riga greatly shocked the Baltic countries and also caused the Kingdom of Prussia to be wary of it.

In early August 1730, King Friedrich William I of Prussia mobilized more than 8 troops and stationed in Memel (now Klaipeda, Lithuania), an important town on the northern border, to pay close attention to the movements of the Swedish army.

This move made the Kingdom of Sweden nervous, which had just reversed the passive situation on the battlefield. It was worried that Prussia would join the anti-Swedish alliance as it did during the last Great Northern War, so it stopped the main force of the Swedish army that had been transferred to the northern front to attack the Russian army. Temporarily settled in Jelgava.

However, under the mediation of Qi's minister to Prussia, Sweden and Prussia did not launch an armed confrontation, and began private negotiations, promising heavy profits in exchange for Prussia remaining neutral in this war.

After some secret negotiations, Sweden agreed to grant the territory of Western Pomerania to Prussia, and Prussia recognized Sweden's restoration of control over the Grand Duchy of Courland.

At the same time, the two countries also reached a consensus on the issue of the future succession of the Polish King, that is, Sweden will support the selection of the future Polish King proposed by the Kingdom of Prussia.

To put it bluntly, the two countries temporarily divided their spheres of influence in the Baltic Sea region. Prussia successfully excluded Sweden from the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, thus establishing its dominant position in North Germany and Poland.

Without firing a single shot, the Kingdom of Prussia not only gained all the territory of Western Pomerania, but also achieved the Kingdom's strategic goal. It can be said that it killed two birds with one stone and reaped the benefits.

"Your Majesty, the envoys attending the enthronement ceremony of the Emperor of Qi are back."

Just as Frederick William I was thinking about the future prospects of the kingdom in high spirits, an attendant came to report.

"Oh, that's great." Friedrich William I said happily: "I guess my little Friedrich must have seen a lot of new things in Qi, and it helped him broaden his horizons to some extent. ”

"Your Majesty..." The attendant hesitated to speak.

"What? Did something happen to my little Friedrich?" Friedrich William I couldn't help but become nervous.

"Your Majesty, Prince Frederic did not return to Europe with the delegation." The attendant said bravely: "According to the feedback from Duke Tetro of the mission, Prince Frederic hopes to stay in Qi for a longer time. Learn more about this maritime overlord."

"..." Friedrich William I couldn't help but be stunned after hearing this, "Could it be that my little Friedrich was fascinated by the rich and powerful Qi State?"

(End of this chapter)