The insistence on religious reform was only one of the reasons why King Christian III of Denmark was hostile to the nobles of Denmark and Norway.
The real underlying reason is...money!
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are a bit different from other European countries. Denmark is slightly better, but Norway and Sweden have limited agricultural output, so they cannot support the traditional feudal aristocratic system.
In France, the nobles built a castle, collected agricultural taxes from nearby areas, and raised a group of knights as thugs.
But not the three Nordic countries, they are too poor!
Places with castles are basically trading cities. As for areas with underdeveloped commerce, they are not so much local noble lords as poor farmers. They have no money to build castles, and even the taxes paid by farmers are not enough.
The nobles lived a prosperous life.
The local nobles of the three Nordic countries were eager to do business with merchants. Historically, the Nordic monarchs wanted to establish a traditional feudal system and distribute taxes in a stable manner, which actually aroused resistance from the local nobles.
As a result, German businessmen formed a group and even gradually controlled the finances of the three countries.
Before the formation of the Kalmar Union, the Nordic nobles who led the wolf into the family gave up. Because the German businessmen were too powerful and had already extended their hands into the political system. They were able to interfere in national legislation and the succession of the throne. Even the upper-class language became High German.
As a result, they introduced Dutch merchants and drove out German merchants through violent means.
Finally reaching a delicate balance, King Christian III of Denmark suddenly appointed a large number of Germans as military and political bureaucrats. German businessmen and German officers once again took control of Danish national affairs, and through the religious reform, eroded and monopolized local commercial activities in Denmark and Norway, while the Netherlands
Merchants were suppressed in Jutland.
What can businessmen do after they have a monopoly?
Of course, they have pricing power. The Nordic local nobles can only sell local specialties at low prices. Will they feel happy if they make less money?
After Wang Ji captured Aalborg, he immediately told the Dutch merchants there: "As long as I become the king of Denmark, merchants from any country can trade freely within my territory. The entry tax at each port will be
All trade taxes will be reduced by 10%. The trade tax on the same batch of goods within my territory only needs to be paid once, and will not be levied repeatedly like before! I will cancel the privileges of the German merchant group and oppose the German merchants’ influence on the people of Denmark and Norway.
Exploitation!"
Wang Ji stayed in Aalborg for two full months for two purposes: first, to completely control the Aalborg area and eliminate the influence of the Danish king; second, to let businessmen spread the news and let the Nordic nobles know his policies
.
The effect was immediate. The coastal aristocrats of Denmark and Norway were the first to learn about the content of Wang Ji's new policy. They no longer responded to the Danish king's call and stayed on their own territory. If Wang Ji won, they enjoyed the new policy; if Wang Ji lost, they
It can also force the king to change the status quo.
The coastal nobles are the real nobles, the nobles with castles and armies!
As for the nobles in Northern Europe who are not close to the sea, they are just farmers who are too poor to even raise private soldiers.
In the spring of the following year, Wang Ji finally set off again, and the Danish king also gathered his troops in the capital.
The King of Denmark has only more than 5,000 troops. Its main force is 1,000 German mercenaries, 800 King's Guards, more than 600 local nobles, and the rest are all Norwegian volunteer regiments.
What is the Norwegian Volunteer Corps?
It was the King of Denmark who ordered the Norwegian people to pay war taxes. Poor farmers only had to hand in a spear, rich farmers had to contribute axes, rich farmers were required to provide armor, and super farmers provided military expenses for the regiment. This is how the Norwegian people were organized.
The army was formed, and the Danish king did not pay a cent. It was usually stationed on the Swedish border to guard against Swedish invasion.
Christian III was so anxious this time that he recalled all the Norwegian Volunteer Corps, regardless of whether Sweden took the opportunity to invade.
Of course Sweden was going to invade, and as soon as the Norwegian volunteer regiments were transferred, the Swedish king immediately began to raise troops.
…
Aarhus, later the second largest city in Denmark.
Wang Ji's army landed here without firing a shot or an arrow, and occupied the area peacefully. The officials appointed by the king simply ran away.
This dilapidated port was very prosperous three hundred years ago, but was devastated by the Black Death. Even after decades of recovery, it now only has 10,000 people.
There are only 10,000 urban residents, and the garrison is less than a hundred people. Wang Ji's army has several thousand, so why not give him a hair?
By the way, the total population of Denmark at this time is only between 600,000 and 800,000, which is not as large as the population of a city in Beijing. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, only has 20,000 to 30,000 people, which is already the largest population in Northern Europe.
The most densely populated city!
As for Sweden, it is even less, with a population of about 400,000 to 600,000.
More than 20 years ago, Denmark caused the "Stockholm Massacre" in the Swedish capital. It was called a massacre, and naturally blood flowed into rivers, and dozens of Swedes were massacred... dozens of them!
For example, Spain has a population of less than 8 million, and the United Kingdom has a population of less than 4 million. The truly wealthy region is Italy, with a population of more than 10 million.
France has the largest population in Europe, with at least 15 million people.
Wang Ji brought dozens of ships and thousands of troops to attack a country with only hundreds of thousands of people. Isn't this bullying a child?
They captured ports along the way and were invincible along the way. The Danish people were shocked by Wang Ji's terrifying military strength.
Finally, the two sides fought a decisive battle on the island of Amager, which later became Copenhagen Airport.
The strength of each other's troops is equal, almost 1:1, which can be described as very fair.
On Wang Ji's side, there were 4,000 fusiliers and more than a dozen cannons dismantled from ships.
On the Danish king's side, there were 200 arquebusiers, 300 archers, more than 100 cavalry, and hundreds of pikemen. As for the rest, they were either peasants holding dung forks, or men holding axes and sursaks.
A Norwegian soldier with an iron sword resembling a command sword.
Many powerful nobles were unwilling to come to join the war.
If Spain invades, the local nobles will definitely unite, but Wang Ji is the husband of the eldest princess.
Christian III rode out of the military formation and scolded: "Shameless maniac, when you came to Denmark, I received you warmly. But today you actually led troops to snatch my throne!"
Wang Ji also rode a stolen war horse and ran out and said: "Princess Margaret is my wife. You imprisoned her father and tried to seize the throne of Denmark. You are the real traitor!"
After saying that, Wang Ji shouted to the Norwegian Volunteer Corps: "If I become king, I will not force conscription in Norway, and you can all go back to farming!"
It's a pity that these low-level Norwegian soldiers cannot understand the "noble" High German.
In Denmark, High German is an upper-class language and ordinary people speak Danish. In Norway, Danish is the official language and ordinary people use Norwegian.
A chain of language contempt...
Princess Margaret also rode out and repeated what Wang Ji had just said in Norwegian. Her voice was a bit soft, but the Norwegian soldiers standing in the front row could still vaguely hear her, which immediately shook the morale of the soldiers.
Wang Ji took Margaret back to the army. More than a dozen ship-borne artillery were pushed out. 4,000 musketeers advanced slowly in formation. The remaining more than 1,000 close combat soldiers protected the two wings to avoid being attacked by the opponent's cavalry.
"Boom boom boom!"
The artillery dismantled from the ship took the lead in kicking off the battle.
The 1,000 German mercenaries under the King of Denmark were unwilling to march forward in formation the moment they heard the sound of the cannon. When they saw thousands of musketeers loading ammunition, from officers to soldiers, they all turned around and ran away.
As a mercenary, you get paid to eat, and eating is the purpose.
If you die here today, how can you still live to eat?
4,000 musketeers can fight battles on the European continent. The mercenaries will attack only when their brains are exhausted.
Christian III was dumbfounded for a moment and shouted: "Come back quickly, you have already collected the money!"
The German mercenary officer did not look back, but shouted: "We can refund the money!"
The musketeers under Wang Ji were getting closer and closer with chaotic steps, and the peasants on the other side couldn't bear it anymore, so they finally chose to disperse in a hurry.
The commander of the Norwegian Volunteer Corps suddenly drew his sword and shouted: "Kill the king for Princess Margaret!"
The Norwegian soldiers defected in front of the battle and swarmed towards the Danish King. The 800 King's Guards were so frightened that they dropped the King and began to flee.
Wang Ji shouted: "Take prisoners and don't kill them indiscriminately. There are few people in this country. If we kill them all, there will be no one to farm!"
There were no prisoners to capture at all. The German mercenaries had long since escaped. All the Norwegian soldiers had defected to their own side. The king's guards, local nobles and peasants also chose to defect one after another.
The entire battlefield, with tens of thousands of troops, merged into one, and the only enemies were the king and a few henchmen.
The decisive battle ended as soon as it started...
When Christian III fought for the throne, he only brought a few hundred mercenaries with him. He could still rely on these mercenaries to suppress the local nobles.
And Wang Ji brought back thousands of troops, which was almost like using anti-aircraft guns to kill mosquitoes.