The Rise of the European Emperor

Ideal is full, the reality is very skinny. Nothing is easy to do. Unless, someone is famous and unlucky, everything goes well.

At this time, Frederick III and Joachim I were in a bad mood in the Bosa coalition camp, and the two got together to drink stuffy wine...

After Marin sent someone to let Woolf Esbrand forge the letter, Woolf Esbrand quickly executed the order and sent a man with superb riding skills, dressed as a messenger, with Set off with forged letters.

Because he was dressed as a messenger and he was walking on the main road, it was difficult not to attract the attention of the scouts of the Allied Forces of Bursa. Sure enough, the fake messenger was chased and killed by seven or eight scouts from the Allied Forces of Bursa...

In the panic, the fake messenger deliberately dropped the "secret letter" to the ground...

The fake messenger's horse was too fast to catch up. The scouts of the Bursa coalition picked up the parchment secret letter that had fallen on the ground, took it back to the camp, and gave it to Frederick III and Joe. Kim I.

The two were shocked when they read "Secret Letter". They did not expect that the army of the Principality of Schleswig could not only withstand the attack of the 20,000 Danish army, but also recruit half the veterans and half the new recruits to form an army of 10,000. Reinforcement south. Therefore, the two of them drank a little depressingly.

"This Christian is just incompetent. He has twice the strength of the enemy. Not only can he not defeat the Principality of Schleswig, but he has even let the opponent split half of the main force to the south!" Joachim I despised his uncle with dissatisfaction. elder brother.

Frederick III did not despise his nephew, but helped to say something:

"Our army is also 2.5 times that of Marin's boy. Didn't we also fail to take Lubeck..."

Joachim I was at a loss for words, but he still defended:

"This is different. The city of Lübeck is too strange. It is surrounded by water, and it is really difficult to attack. We can only attack the southeastern part of the wall. Although the boy Marin has fewer people than us, we need to defend. As far as the southeastern part of the city wall is concerned, the pressure is relatively low. Therefore, we are temporarily unable to succeed."

Frederick III nodded, and what Joachim I said was true. Although the city of Lübeck is not small, it is located in the middle of the Trave River, built on a large sandbar in the middle of the river. Saxony and Brandenburg are both landlocked countries and landlubbers. Naturally, the army of Lübeck and Marin who were huddled in the city was somewhat helpless.

Even if the Allied Forces of Boza filled up many narrow river sections in the southeast and northeast of Lübeck, there were still too few areas that could be used to siege the city. The Bursa Allied Forces had a superior force of 50,000 troops, but the city walls that could be stormed were too short.

The superiority of the military cannot be brought into play at all.

On the contrary, it was Marin's army. Although there were few people, it was very easy to defend the smaller width of the city wall. What's more, they also have arquebuses that are very suitable for defense...

Speaking of this arquebus, even Frederick III, known as the "Little German Zhuge", could do nothing. If there is a fierce battle on the plain, the side without guns can attack first, or even launch a general attack from multiple directions, making full use of the superior force. As long as the two sides are in contact, the musket will become a useless burning stick.

However, the musketeers on the top of the city were different. The siege side couldn't let the soldiers rush to the musketeers as quickly as they charged on the flat ground, and could only climb up the city slowly through the siege ladder. During this time period, the musketeer had already completed the loading and shot down the person climbing the ladder. Also, the bullets of the musket are hard to stop. Even in armor, he can be knocked off a ladder by a musket.

What's more, these days, Frederick III has also seen it - no matter how much time it takes, the rivers around the city of Lübeck cannot be filled up. At the very least, it would be difficult for the Bosa coalition to fill up all the rivers around the city of Lübeck in a short period of time.

"How about we use a large army to surround the reinforcements of the 10,000 Schleswig army outside the city and force that boy Marlin to send troops out of the city to rescue?" Joachim I suddenly brightened his eyes and suggested.

Marin's army of 20,000 was huddled in the city of Lübeck, and the Bosa coalition had nothing to do with them. There are 50,000 troops in the air, but they stare blankly across the river and the city wall. If we can lead them out of Lübeck, it will be easier to fight...

At the beginning, the plan of Frederick III and Joachim I was to surround Lübeck city by surprise and take Lübeck city by surprise before Marin could react. Then, during the siege of Hamburg, wait for Marin's army and annihilate it outside the city...

However, I don't know how the news was leaked. Before the Allied Forces of Bossa had arrived on the battlefield, Marin actually got the news in advance, and brought 20,000 people to the city of Lübeck. In this way, the Bursa Allied Forces have 50,000 troops in the air, but they have nothing to do with the city of Lübeck...

Hearing Joachim I's proposal, Frederick III shook his head and said:

"Joachim, this method won't work. You know, only 5,000 people in this support army are regular soldiers, and the other half are recruits. Although the army is rare, these soldiers, no matter how precious, are not as precious as the city of Lübeck. , is not as precious as Marin's own life. So, I think, even if we surround the 10,000 people, out of various considerations, Marin's cunning boy may abandon the 10,000 army. After all, there is nothing It is more important than the safety of Lübeck City and the safety of Marin himself and the main force of his headquarters. After all, even if he wants to save the 10,000 people, he may not be able to save them, and maybe he will also take the main force..."

Joachim I thought for a while, nodded, and agreed with Frederick III. After all, although 5,000 veterans are precious, they are not as precious as Lübeck, nor are Marin's own life and 20,000 main force more important. As for the other 5,000 recruits and civilians, in the eyes of Joachim I, even if he lost, he would not feel bad. It's a big deal, I'll recruit again, it's okay to force recruitment...

However, Joachim I was still very unwilling. He asked reluctantly:

"Then what should we do? Lubeck is so hard to fight, do we have to give up?"

"Give up? How can it be possible...wait...give up...give up..." After Frederick III repeated "give up" several times, his eyes suddenly lit up...

"Haha, I have a solution!" Frederick III laughed happily.

"How?" Joachim I asked eagerly.

"We're not playing Lübeck anymore!" said Frederick III confidently.

"What? Don't fight Lübeck? Then how can we do it? That little fox Marin is in Lübeck. If we don't fight Lübeck and let the boy of Marin be spared, there will be endless troubles. This time we join forces to send troops, except for the Half of the reason for looting two cities is to destroy that kid's army. In this way, he can also divide his land." Joachim I was anxious.

"I didn't say let the little fox of Marin go, I just said, I won't fight Lubeck for the time being!"

"How to say?"

"My plan is to move the army westward and make a posture of attacking Hamburg. It is said that there are only three or four thousand defenders in the city of Hamburg, and the fighting strength is not as strong as the army of Marin's little fox. Our army of 50,000 surrounded it. , are you afraid you won't be able to get a hamburger?"

Joachim I thought for a while, then nodded and said:

"It's really a good idea. The opponent's main force is gathered in Lübeck. At this time, it is indeed easier to attack Hamburg. Moreover, there is a lot of wealth in Hamburg..."

"No, Joachim, I'm not really going to attack Hamburg, but to make such a gesture. The ultimate goal is to lead that boy Marin out of the city and fight us decisively. The 10,000 and a half main reinforcements Marin may grit his teeth and give up, but Hamburg, Marin is very difficult to give up. Once they give up, their alliance will lose a strong ally and lose a lot. This is not like a mercenary, no more You can still recruit. A city is destroyed and it is very difficult to rebuild."

"You mean to lure that little fox of Marlin out of the city to fight? Will that kid be fooled?" Joachim I said worriedly.

"It's best to be fooled, even if you don't get fooled, it's fine. When we win the hamburger, we will get huge wealth. After dividing up the wealth, our army can still go back to Lübeck to continue the siege! Anyway, no matter what. , we all made money. It is best for Marin to go out of the city, we can take the opportunity to destroy his main force. Then, Lübeck and Hamburg lost their last reliance, and they will eventually be captured by us. If we don’t leave the city, we will eat them first. Hamburg, and then turn back and slowly besiege Lübeck..." Frederick III said with bright eyes.

Joachim I nodded again and again, indeed, this method is very clever. Regardless of whether Marin and his 20,000 main force can't leave the city, it seems that the Bursa coalition will not suffer, and they will make a profit...

Next, under the command of Frederick III and Joachim I, the coalition camp stationed in the southeast of Lübeck began to move. Marin saw through the telescope that many Bursa coalition soldiers were dismantling their tents...

"What are they doing? Are they going to withdraw?" Marin fell into thinking...

The next day, when Marin saw a group of carts loaded with dismantled tents from the Bursa coalition passing south of Lübeck and heading southeast, Marin's expression suddenly changed:

"No, the enemy is going to hit the hamburger!"

Then, Marin hurried down from the top of the city and went to Lübeck Grand Chancellor Tagfacht and others to discuss countermeasures.

"What? Are you saying that the Bursa coalition is going to fight Hamburg?" Tagfacht and others were also surprised after hearing Marin's statement.

"Okay, why are they going to play burgers?" Tagfacht said suspiciously.

"Obviously, Lübeck has my army of 20,000 people, and because Lübeck is surrounded by water, it is difficult to attack, and they can't attack. Therefore, they gave up and decided to attack Hamburg first." Marin said depressedly.

"However, the city of Hamburg is also surrounded by water, and it is difficult to attack..." said Lübeck MP Schott.

In the early years, Hamburg, like Lübeck, was also located on a sandbar in the middle of the river. Lübeck is located on a sandbar in the middle of the Trave River. The Old Town of Hamburg is located on a sandbar in the middle of the Elbe River.

Marin waved his hand and said:

"That's different. I have 20,000 troops stationed in Lübeck, and the 50,000 people of the Bursa coalition want to attack the city, and they don't have a big advantage. In Hamburg, there are only three or four thousand soldiers with average combat strength. Soldiers. Facing the mighty 50,000 Bossa coalition forces, it is impossible to hold back..."

"How about that?" Tagfaht asked anxiously. You know, Lübeck and Hamburg have always been traditional allies, although they compete with each other. But when things go wrong, they support each other. If the burger is gone, Lübeck will be alone...

Why are Lübeck and Hamburg considered to be the two strongest cities in the Hanseatic League, but after all, they are only cities. Although they are rich, their strength is limited. Therefore, the two cities support each other in order to survive.

Moreover, these two cities, both located in the Principality of Holstein, were once oppressed by Denmark. At the same time, the Hanseatic League and Denmark were also competitors in maritime trade. Therefore, in order to fight against the oppression of Denmark, the two cities have formed a long-term alliance to help each other.

However, if the hamburger is finished, Lübeck's self-protection ability will be greatly weakened. If nothing else, relying on Lübeck alone, it is very difficult to suppress Denmark and prevent the Danish navy from reviving.

After all, Denmark is very big, and the Lübeck Navy can monitor the waters near the Danish capital Copenhagen and Zealand, but cannot monitor Jutland and Norway. Therefore, Lübeck needs Hamburg's military cooperation.

In addition, because of the existence of the "Elbe-Lübeck" canal, many of the bulk commodities such as fur, wood, plant ash, beeswax, and metal that Lübeck purchased from Eastern Europe were also handed over to Hamburg merchants and sold to the North Sea coast and even the Rhine. of the river area.

After all, Lübeck's sphere of influence is mainly in the Baltic region and northeastern Germany. Hamburg, the commercial hegemon of the North Sea region, is the most important trading partner of Lübeck. If Hamburg falls, even if Lübeck survives, it will suffer a huge blow in business in the future. After all, the North Sea region and western Germany are not Lübeck's sphere of influence. Lübeck alone cannot make it work.

Although it is said that Marin is also a new powerful prince, the East Frisian nature of Lübeck and Marin is different. After all, Marin is a warlord and a great prince, while Lübeck and Hamburg are both commercial cities. Therefore, Lübeck believes more in Hamburg, which is also a free commercial city, rather than a big warlord and prince like Marin.

In the eyes of the people of Lübeck, it is the right way to warm up with a commercial city like Hamburg. If you cooperate with someone with strong military strength like Marin, you might be swallowed up.

Therefore, the people of Lübeck absolutely do not want to see the collapse of Hamburg. After all, when Lübeck and Hamburg are added together, they can still be equal when they are allied with Marin. However, if the hamburger is finished, and only the Lubeck family is left, allied with Marin, Lubeck can only be a little brother.

What? Do you mean other Hanseatic cities? They don't even have a fleet, and many of them are land commercial cities, which are of little help to Lübeck. Also, the business scale is small. They are only worthy of being Lübeck's younger brothers, not Lübeck's allies...

So, the Great Speaker of Tagfacht and others began to discuss the issue of rescuing Hamburg with Marin, hoping that Marin could send troops to rescue Hamburg, so as not to lose an important ally...