Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 450: Peace Returns to Europe
"Viva~! Victoria!"
"Hurra!", "Hooray!", "Hourra!"
In Spanish, German, English and even French, all kinds of long live shouts were heard one after another, and flags of various colors were waving all over the mountains and plains. There is no doubt that the Justice League coalition led by the Spaniards has once again won a major victory!
"Your Highness, our soldiers have already entered the Riga Fortress, and the Swedes have raised the white flag."
"Hahaha, I didn't expect that the heroic Majesty Gustav would choose to surrender."
His Royal Highness Prince Rudolf of the Basque Country, who was 20 years old this year, had fully grown up. Thanks to his years of military service, his 1.90-meter-tall body was extremely strong, with well-proportioned muscles, and he looked very strong. Coupled with his light blond hair and angular facial features, he looked even more heroic and had a very strong aura.
Under his command, the old general Tilly of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke Wallenstein of Friedland, King Christian IV of Denmark, Prince Charles of England, as well as the kings, dukes, and earls of the former French territory, and the senior officers of the Spanish New Army, all bowed deeply with sincere admiration: "Congratulations, Your Excellency, you have led us to the final victory of this long war!"
Even if we count from the beginning, this battle has only lasted for more than two years. Spain has led the Justice League countries to participate in the war for only one and a half years. Compared with the 30 years of delay in the original history, it is much shorter. Of course, only Philip, who is still in Madrid at this time, can understand this, and I can't tell you.
"Thank you all for your outstanding contributions. It is because of your help and sacrifice that the justice of the Justice League has finally landed on the entire European land! Glory to Spain, Great Britain, Denmark... to the Justice League! Glory to God!"
"Glory to the Justice League! Glory to God!"
"Coutinho."
"Awaiting your orders, my Lord."
"My dear adjutant, please take the trouble to invite His Majesty Gustav here. Be sincere and tell him that I deeply admire his talent on the battlefield."
"It's my pleasure."
On October 5, 1620, Riga, the last stronghold of the Swedes on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, was captured . As the Spanish Atlantic Fleet entered the Baltic Sea and cut off the Swedes' retreat, Gustav, who had run out of ammunition and food, was forced to surrender. Thus, the religious war that started in April 1618 quickly came to an end after the strong intervention of the time traveler.
In this war, the Habsburgs suffered the most: Vienna was saved, but the emperor's prestige was completely destroyed. Except for some parts of Austria, other fertile lands such as the Czech Republic and Bavaria were all taken away by Spain during the war.
Apart from the Holy Roman Empire, all the great princes in the former Holy Roman Empire, whether Protestant or Catholic, were actually losers: a large number of people were lost, the Justice League had extensive garrisons in their territories, and their lords were sidelined... Of course, the Protestant princes suffered the most, because they allied with the Swedes and even introduced weapons from the Ottoman Empire, which was regarded as a betrayal of God. Therefore, the inheritance of the titles of these princes was mostly cut off at this point.
Of course, saying that you collaborated with the devil and betrayed God was a political necessity. Saying that you were brave and worthy of admiration was also a political necessity. In fact, Rudolf was very polite to Gustav II, who actually used weapons provided by the Ottomans on a large scale and caused great casualties to the army of the Justice League.
Soon, under the guidance of Coutinho, Gustav came to the coalition camp with only two attendants, and Rudolf gave him the highest courtesy.
On the one hand, such an action is indeed due to the time-travel plot: when European soldiers study military history, they can never avoid legendary figures like Gustav, whose heroic death in battle in the original plane of history is instinctively admired by the soldiers.
Of course, no matter how interesting the plot is, it has been twenty years since he traveled back in time. In the vortex of power, even though Philip has always tried his best to keep Rudolf in the relatively simple army and hardly let him touch other things, after so many years, Rudolf has long understood that feelings must be put behind reality.
However, even in reality, Rudolf had to be polite to Gustav: the king's talent on the battlefield was really not to be underestimated. Starting from April 1620, the coalition forces had enough Maxim machine guns and bullets to launch another attack. For six months, Gustav's troops were less than 20,000 for a long time, and he still caused heavy casualties to the coalition forces that often participated in the battle with more than 100,000 troops.
After six months of fighting, the Allied forces had more than 10,000 casualties and nearly 30,000 wounded . When Gustav surrendered, he still had nearly 10,000 troops - it was because the machine gun bullets given by the Ottomans were gone, otherwise he could still fight!
Such a natural commander is certainly worthy of respect.
Besides, whether you accept it or not, Sweden is now a powerful country that dominates Northern Europe. It is not easy to do anything to such a country: even if Gustav died in the war, Axel Oxenstierna is still there. This person is the key to a country with a sparse population like Sweden always having enough soldiers and food - he is Gustav's Xiao He!
Therefore, when Spain was eager to further integrate European forces, it was fortunate that Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire had not yet become powerful and quickly defeated the Ottoman Empire. The twins were unwilling to kill Gustav, to have an irreconcilable relationship with Sweden, and finally to have to land and fight in Sweden.
Therefore, we must show enough .
"Great commander, brave king, worthy opponent, Your Majesty Gustav, welcome. I hope that our meeting today can bring lasting peace to God's people who have suffered so much from war."
"Thank you for your enthusiasm, Your Highness Prince Rudolf." The two-meter-tall Gustav stood in the center of the tent, not afraid of the stage under the gaze of the princes, nobles and famous generals: "Before the specific negotiations on the armistice terms begin, my soldiers need doctors, medicines and food. Please show your kindness and save those soldiers who have been infected but are getting worse due to the lack of penicillin. After all, they are just following my orders and they have done nothing wrong."
"With great pleasure, Coutinho , please enter the city again and ask the king's officials how much supplies they need and complete the contact procedures with them."
"As you command, Your Highness."
"Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Now, can you announce my punishment? Do you want me to commit suicide or hang myself? If possible, I hope to be shot."
"Hahaha, my king, I don't have the same idea as you did above. On the contrary, on behalf of our king, His Majesty Philip, I sincerely invite you to visit Madrid. Regarding the future relations between our two countries and how Europe will develop after peace, His Majesty needs to listen to your opinions."
"Huh?" Gustav was a little surprised by Rudolf's proposal: opening the city of Riga to surrender was a serious violation of his usual character. The reason for making such a move was that he was surrounded on land and his retreat route at sea was blocked by the Spanish fleet. With the defeat already decided, he wanted to use his life to exchange for the survival of his soldiers.
But now it seems that the other party has no intention of fighting to the death?
"How about that, Your Majesty? After your soldiers have received preliminary treatment, I wonder if I would have the honor to accompany you to Madrid? His Majesty is waiting for you and all of you there."
"...Thank you once again for your kindness. I personally would very much like to follow you to Madrid."
"Okay, Your Majesty. Let's take a short rest here and then set off. I heard that the railway from Madrid to Paris has been opened to traffic. This time we will go to Paris first, and then take the train across the Pyrenees Mountains and go directly to Madrid!"
