The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 250 Danes who want to make friends
"The Kingdom of Denmark must be overwhelmed by the wealth and power of our Qi country, so it sincerely invites Ambassador Pan to visit Copenhagen. Hey, such a small European country is very aware of current affairs and knows how to curry favor with our Qi country."

The fully loaded motor-sailboat "Qingfeng" with a displacement of 2,400 tons is sailing at the northern end of the Oresund Strait. The two thick chimneys located at the rear of the ship are constantly spitting out billowing smoke, blown by the sea breeze, in the blue sky Draw out two long black shadows.

Pan Guangfeng, the general representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qi in Europe, stood on the left side of the ship's side, breathing in the cold sea breeze and looking up at the blurry outline of the continent in the distance. Zuo Guihe, the captain of the "Qingfeng" next to him, accompanied him enthusiastically and said complimentary words in the hope of winning the favor of this big man.

"Besides interests, how can there be any sincere feelings between countries? Flattery? What you say is a bit arrogant! Ha..., it's just taking advantage of each other." Pan Guangfeng's face showed disapproval. With an expression on his face, he smiled and shook his head, "Have we sailed into the Oresund Strait now? Are you familiar with this sea area?"

"Ambassador Pan, our ship has made several trips to the Baltic Sea, so we know a little bit about it. Please see, on the west side of the strait is Helsingør Fortress in Denmark. There are more than 3,000 soldiers stationed all year round, and 20 large and small forts have been built. There are more than 100 artillery pieces deployed, so that no one can open the barrier. No ship that wants to pass through the strait can escape the bombardment of this Danish coastal fortress. "

"What about the east side of the strait?"

"Oh, there is a Swedish fortress on the east side of the strait, and its name is also... Helsingborg." Zuo Guihe said with a smile: "But, although Sweden has built a fortress on the other side of the strait, , artillery was deployed, but they could not collect a penny from the strait tolls. After all, the main channel of the strait was slightly closer to the Danish side, and it had been collected for three hundred years, so merchant ships from various countries were still used to passing here. Yu gave the money to buy the road to the Danes. I remember that sixty or seventy years ago, the Kingdom of Sweden defeated Denmark in one fell swoop. Not only did it seize a large area of ​​Danish territory, it also forced the Danes to cancel the fees for Swedish merchant ships to pass through the strait. In turn, more than 20 years ago, Denmark joined forces with Prussia, Poland, and Russia to attack Sweden, defeated it, and resumed collecting tolls from Swedish merchant ships. "

"Haha, over the years, apart from Sweden, no other major European country has expressed dissatisfaction with Denmark's behavior of blocking roads and robberies?" Pan Guangfeng sneered, feeling a little incredible.

The most glorious era of the Kingdom of Denmark has long passed. After the European War (Thirty Years' War) and the Swedish War for Hegemony, the country has become extremely weak. For a long time, it struggled to survive by relying on major powers or by standing on the fence between various forces through diplomatic means.

But the strange thing is that the Danish Kingdom is in such a state of decline, but it can still guard the Oresund Strait and collect tolls from merchant ships, without being unanimously boycotted by other countries.

The Oresund Strait is located between the Danish island of Zealand and the southernmost tip of Sweden in Scandinavia. It connects the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It runs roughly from southeast to northwest, with a length of about one hundred kilometers and a width of thirty kilometers, the narrowest point is only four kilometers, and the water depth is between 12-28 meters.

The royal family has a large population and lives a luxurious life, which inevitably requires a lot of money. However, the main economic income of the Danish royal family comes from charging foreign ships, which greatly reduces the burden on the country's finances and accordingly reduces the plunder and exploitation of the people. To a certain extent, it can be regarded as easing social conflicts to a certain extent, or transferring conflicts to passing foreign ships.

However, the Danish royal family's huge financial resources are a worry for other European countries that need to trade through the Oresund Strait. The ships of these countries not only bear the natural risks of sea navigation, ship depreciation costs, sailors' wages, etc., but also have to pay a large amount of tolls. However, Denmark only needs to set up the cannons and reach out to get the money. It is not easy.

The Øresund tolls ensured that the Danish royal family had great independence vis-à-vis the Danish Privy Council and the Danish nobility.

Yes, you did not declare the value of your merchant ship's cargo, and they bought it directly at this price, causing you to vomit blood at a loss.

For Denmark, the Oresund Strait is a waterway flowing with gold, and the rolling Oresund Strait tolls have become the most important income of the Danish royal family.

Denmark can be said to be the oldest monarchy in the world. The royal lineage can be traced back to more than 800 years ago, which shows how stable the Danish monarchy is.

In order to ensure that ships passing through the Oresund Strait obey orders, Denmark built forts and set up cannons on both sides of the narrowest strait. Ships that did not greet them would face shelling from both sides of the strait, and even risk being sunk.

There are also natural waterways between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, including the Small and Large Belt Straits, but they are also controlled by Denmark and are also Denmark's inland seas. In order to prevent some ships from taking detours, Denmark also implements a toll system in these straits.

How important is this independence? If you think about Charles I, the only king to be executed in the history of England, you will know that lack of money was one of the main reasons for his defeat. Charles I was worried about money all his life. He tried every means to increase the royal family's income, while Parliament tried to control the king. He arbitrarily levied taxes on the people without the consent of Parliament, which eventually triggered the English Civil War. As a result, after losing the civil war, Charles I was beheaded.

In 1567, the Danes set the Oresund toll standard at 1-2% of the value of the goods, which was tripled from the original. In order to prevent captains from under-reporting the value of their cargo and thus paying less tax, the Danes also came up with a destructive trick, which was to reserve the right to purchase goods based on the value of the goods carried by merchant ships.

However, when Denmark's national power gradually begins to decline, countries that are dissatisfied with its toll collection behavior will inevitably have other ideas.

Therefore, in 1429, Eric of Pomerania (King Eric VII of Denmark), who was the co-lord of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (King of the Kalmar Union) issued a decree stipulating that all Non-Danish ships passing through the Øresund must dock at Kronborg, at the very tip of Helsingør, to undergo inspection and pay taxes. From this, the -year-long practice of charging for listings began.

The northernmost and narrowest point of the Oresund Strait, only 4 kilometers away from each other, has a fortress on each end, both named Helsingør. Before 1658, Denmark still ruled both sides of the strait, so the two fortresses belonged to the same city. When Sweden seized territory on the east coast of the Oresund Strait through war, the fortress naturally had to be pronounced and written in Swedish and became Helsingborg.

The so-called road leads to wealth, so the Danes came up with the idea of ​​collecting tolls from ships.

The Kingdom of Sweden was the first to challenge the Oresund toll.

In the past, when the Kingdom of Denmark was powerful, it was natural for them to sit back and collect money with peace of mind. Anyone who dared to disobey would be beaten, and they would be extremely arrogant.

Sometimes, in order to save trouble, Denmark frequently issues prohibition notices, restricting non-Danish ships from using the Belt Straits, and requiring foreign ships to only pass through the Oresund Strait.

This must be left alone with Qi State. Not to mention occupying it, we must definitely knock on the door, dismantle its toll station, and then declare that the strait is free to pass without any restrictions.

Therefore, the abolition of Oresund tolls is the common wish of all European countries.

The Oresund Strait is the most important channel for communication between countries along the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, with countless ships from various countries traveling between them.

Sweden was originally a member of the Commonwealth of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and ships entering and exiting the Oresund Strait did not need to pay tolls.

But in 1523, Sweden broke away from the Confederation and became an independent country. As a result, Denmark regarded Swedish ships as foreign ships and began to impose tolls.

In order to avoid the Oresund Strait and pay less unjustly, Sweden established a new trading port city Gothenburg on the coast of Kattegat north of the Oresund Strait in 1621.

As its national power gradually grew, Sweden began to challenge Denmark's Nordic hegemony and had many wars with it. In the Second Northern War, the Swedish army invaded Copenhagen in 1658 and forced Denmark to cede the provinces east of the Oresund Strait. In the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660, Swedish ships were exempted from tolls. It was also the most glorious moment of the Swedish Empire.

However, Sweden's exemption from tolls on the Oresund Strait did not last long. In 1720, Denmark joined the anti-Swedish alliance and launched a siege against Sweden with many small partners. They eventually defeated Sweden and once again arrogantly levied tolls on the Oresund Strait from Swedish ships.

However, due to the disparity in strength, in order to avoid retaliation from Sweden, Denmark actively engaged in diplomacy and established close relations with France, Prussia, Poland and other countries in order to obtain external support and deter the Swedes. At the same time, Denmark also fell overwhelmingly into the arms of England, hoping to use the protection of Europe's largest maritime power to ensure its own safety and to have their behavior of collecting Oresund tolls be endorsed by European powers.

You see, the Kingdom of England supports us and is a staunch ally of our Denmark. Their navy is extremely powerful. I wonder who dares not to pay the toll!

However, they never expected that the thigh held by the Kingdom of Denmark would be severely slashed by an Indian Ocean overlord who came from afar. Blood surged out. At a speed visible to the naked eye, the thigh became slender and thinner. Not so reliable anymore.

In the Battle of the Faroe Islands, the Battle of the Canary Islands, the Battle of Alboran, and the Battle of the English Channel, the once powerful English navy was repeatedly defeated by Qi and suffered heavy losses. Not to mention providing military protection to Denmark, even England itself was attacked and blocked by Qi, and the situation was extremely bad.

To make matters worse, not long after the Sino-British War broke out, the Kingdom of Sweden suddenly began to strengthen its troops and continuously mobilized troops to gather in the border areas. This frightened the Danes into chaos and kept asking for help from France, Prussia, Poland and other countries to stop Sweden. Possible military invasion.

However, when the Kingdom of Sweden continued to issue various threats to Denmark with great fanfare, causing the Danish royal family and people to panic, it suddenly turned around and invaded Russia, kicking off the Second Great Northern War.

The false alarm made the Danes let out a long sigh of relief. They could not help but cross themselves repeatedly on their chests, thanking God for his blessing and protection.

However, the Danes did not relax their vigilance because Sweden changed their attack targets. Instead, they began to reorganize their troops and actively prepare for war, preparing to take advantage of the opportunity of the Russo-Swedish War to see if they could unite several countries like the last Great Northern War. Several countries around the Baltic Sea continue to attack Sweden.

But looking around, I found that none of the major European powers had any intention of taking action.

Prussia ceased its activities and remained neutral.

France just made a diplomatic noise indifferently, but had no intention of actively intervening.

England, uh, forget it, it is being beaten black and blue by the Qi people. The navy is losing consecutive battles. The Irish colonial territories are clamoring for independence. Scotland next door is also starting to make troubles. The American and Caribbean colonial territories are also being attacked by Qi. The whole thing is There is nothing left to take care of but the affairs of the Baltic Sea region.

The Holy Roman Empire was at war with the Ottomans again, fighting fiercely in Serbia and Wallachia.

Netherlands? Well, since the Spanish Succession War, this country has not been involved in disputes in European affairs. It only knows how to make money.

Saxony and Poland were more active. King August II was running up and down, constantly encouraging the Polish Parliament to send troops to attack Sweden with the threat of death.

Soon, Saxony and Poland formed a coalition of more than 50,000 troops and marched north into Courland in an attempt to save the precarious situation in Russia.

Unexpectedly, the Swedish army's combat power remained strong. After forcing the Russian army to retreat to Moscow, it turned around and faced the Saxon-Polish coalition. It defeated August II in a panic, lost divisions and ground, and even allowed others to invade. Poznan, the capital of Poland, is in a very awkward situation.

Seeing this situation, the Danes immediately fell silent and declined the requests of the Russians and Poles to send troops, preparing to continue to wait and see.

In the following years, the Swedish army fought with the Russian army and the Saxon-Polish coalition on two battlefields. Although the Russians and Poles suffered continuous heavy blows and lost large areas of territory, the Swedish army had limited strength after all and had not yet Gain an overwhelming advantage.

However, in June 1730, the Swedish army and the Saxon-Polish coalition launched a large-scale battle in Riga. The wise and powerful Swedish King Karl XII led his light troops to land on the flank of the coalition, and then ran for more than 6 kilometers. Suddenly, They fought behind the coalition forces and defeated them, almost replicating the classic Battle of Narva thirty years ago, and achieved a hearty victory.

This made the Dane's scalp feel tight as he looked at it.

Swedes are really good at fighting!
Just when the Danes were extremely confused and uneasy, they received another bad news.

The Swedes reached some kind of private deal with Prussia and ceded the territory of West Pomerania to the Prussians in exchange for the other side's neutrality in the war.

The Danes have reason to suspect that the two families may have a conspiracy against the Kingdom of Denmark or a plan to carve up the Baltic Sea.

In this situation, Denmark feels a real threat.

After the Swedes defeat the Russians, there is a high probability that they will turn their guns and cause trouble for our Kingdom of Denmark.

So, the Kingdom of England, which relies on it for support, cannot be counted on, and which thigh should the Kingdom of Denmark look for?
People from Qi!
Although the Kingdom of Denmark had previously been an ally of the Kingdom of England, its position during the Qi-British War was skewed, but at least it did not have a direct armed conflict with Qi.

Not to mention, Qi State did not even say hello. During the war, it occupied several islands in the Faroe Islands belonging to Denmark without authorization, seriously violating Denmark's territorial sovereignty.

However, we in the Kingdom of Denmark did not raise any objection to this, which can be regarded as acquiescing to the behavior of the Qi people.

In other words, there is no dispute between Denmark and Qi, let alone any substantial interest disputes or conflicts. So is it possible to pay some price to pull Qi away from Sweden and rely on it for strong support to ensure Denmark's security?

As a result, the Kingdom of Denmark immediately sent an envoy to Amsterdam to invite Pan Guangfeng, Qi's general representative to Europe, to visit Copenhagen.

The conditions given by the Danes were simple and relatively practical. They exempted Qi's merchant ships from tolls in the Oresund Strait, fully opened the Danish domestic market, proactively reduced import taxes on Qi's goods, and allowed Qi's naval warships to dock at Danish ports.

Well, since we are so sincere, let's make friends.

(End of this chapter)