The first Nordic national examination went smoothly, attracting more than 300 candidates.
Half of them belong to the poor German nobles, and many of them are low-level knights who can only write their own names.
Examinations are very new. I have only heard that in distant China, there are exams of various sizes every year. Especially European scholars, they are all envious and jealous, and they only blame their parents for being born in the wrong place.
Now, there are actually exams for official positions in Europe, why don’t you hurry up and give it a try?
Don't look at the Jutland Peninsula, where two-thirds of the lords rebelled. The down-and-out nobles under the jurisdiction of these lords actually formed a team and came to Copenhagen to take the exam. No matter whether they won or lost in the war, it was just like that. What if they succeeded in the exam and became an official?
Wang Ji set up several ports in Jutland to welcome candidates and take them to Copenhagen free of charge.
Some down-and-out nobles only had armor and swords with them. Some down-and-out nobles actually brought war horses with them, and they were transported to Wang Ji together with them.
The scholars were very angry. The test questions had no theological content, and they did not test any literature or art. There were only mathematics, mechanics, astronomy, and official document writing. They were not given a chance to show their strength at all. They still wanted to write poems to praise the great Nordic Lord.
!
Among them, 64 candidates were hired by Wang Ji as civil servants.
Those down-and-out nobles should not run away, even if they are illiterate. Those who are willing to stay will be called into the army by Wang Ji. Especially the nobles who bring their own horses, they will be incorporated into the King's Guards Cavalry Regiment, and they will be paid a full salary every month.
Expand the cavalry to 307 men.
Immediately, Wang Ji melted the three crowns, removed impurities and jewels, and created a pure gold crown.
The Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Norway, the Principality of Finland, the Principality of Schleswig... all disappeared and were all merged into the "United Kingdom of Northern Europe". Wang Ji called himself the "King of Northern Europe".
There are temporarily five major provinces, namely Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Schleswig. Iceland is under the jurisdiction of the province of Norway.
All nobles in the country will retain their noble titles and private lands, but all privileges will be cancelled!
In Scandinavia, it's no big deal, those nobles have long been defeated.
All the lords of Jutland rebelled, without exception!
Immediately afterwards, Wang Ji announced that cities such as Copenhagen and Stockholm would permanently withdraw from the Hanseatic League. Hanseatic merchants must pay taxes in the United Kingdom of Northern Europe, otherwise their goods and merchant ships will be confiscated.
It seems very irrational to offend nobles and businessmen at the same time.
However, if Wang Ji does not offend the Hanseatic League, will the merchants stop?
These guys are still clamoring for Wang Ji to pay off their debts. The former king of Denmark mortgaged a lot of tax revenue. After Wang Ji took over, he naturally had to control the taxation rights. The contradiction between the two parties was simply irreconcilable.
What's more, Wang Ji has raised too many troops. The money he earned from sea trade and the money he used to plunder from India can only last for about half a year at most.
We must find something to do for the army, especially the navy, which must be released to rob!
Within half a month, the major ports controlled by Wang Ji seized a total of more than ten merchant ships and countless cargoes. The reason was tax evasion. The king had already issued a decree, but he still refused to pay taxes as before and searched and confiscated them.
Very reasonable and legal, right?
Another small sum of money was made to spend.
The Hanseatic League was furious. After the meeting, they ordered Wang Ji to compensate for the losses and repay the debts of the previous king, otherwise they would launch a military crusade.
These guys couldn't afford a few soldiers themselves, but they paid for 2,000 German mercenaries. They also persuaded the lords of Jutland who had declared independence to join forces to attack the northern part of the Jutland Peninsula, which was under Wang Ji's actual control.
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When Wang Ji led troops to rescue the northern Jutland area, he also sent out his entire navy to rob Hanseatic merchant ships in the Baltic Sea.
The Hanseatic League had already lost the maritime trade in Western Europe, and now it was robbed of the Northern European fleet. It was suddenly impossible to do business.
These businessmen first accused Wang Ji of violating the teachings, not only marrying a queen, but also inexplicably creating a princess who actually had two wives at the same time. They called on all European monarchs to jointly attack Wang Ji who did not follow the teachings - as for why not
Ask the Pope to come forward? Because Wang Ji believes in Lutheranism, and Martin Luther himself has been excommunicated by the Pope. How can the Pope care about the affairs of Northern Europe?
Within the Lutheran Church, there is no unified pope. Although there is a "Protestant Pope" in Switzerland, it is a joke if it comes out of Switzerland.
Moreover, one of the purposes of Lutheran reform is to allow internal differences among each sect, and no one can control anyone else under the "seek common ground while reserving differences."
As for polygamy, according to the Bible, there is no objection to polygamy for ordinary people. However, it is also said that leaders (which can be understood as kings and nobles) should only have one wife. Strictly speaking, kings can only marry one.
Faced with Wang Ji's abhorrent behavior, the Teutonic Knights responded first and contacted Russia to attack Finland together.
Is it really because Wang Ji married two wives that the Teutonic Knights were angry and sent troops?
Nonsense!
The Knights of Toutun have split into the Principality of Prussia and the Knights of Livonia, both of which are franchisees of the Hanseatic League.
The Grand Duke of Prussia was the brother-in-law of the King of Denmark who was overthrown by Wang Ji. Once Wang Ji was defeated, the Grand Duke of Prussia could inherit all of Northern Europe, and this guy would be the first in line to succeed.
The Grand Duke of Prussia declared war on Wang Ji, and the Principality of Brandenburg also declared war, because the Grand Duke of Brandenburg was the son-in-law of the Grand Duke of Prussia. Moreover, the Principality of Brandenburg was also a member of the Hanseatic League.
The Livonian Knights (Estonia and most of Latvia) make money from Nordic trade, so of course they also declared war.
Then, the Principality of Saxony declared war on Wang Ji. They were also members of the Hanseatic League, were related to Princess Margaret, and had a weak right to inherit the Nordic throne.
The seven provinces of the Netherlands are arguing internally and have not yet declared war, and they favor Wang Ji more.
Wang Ji's behavior of seizing and attacking Hanseatic League merchant ships was like poking a hornet's nest.
At the suggestion of Jürgen, the former deputy head of the King's Knights and the current deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom of Northern Europe, Wang Ji sent an envoy to the Netherlands. The United Kingdom of Northern Europe will open up business with the seven provinces of the Netherlands and allow their business
The tentacles extend from Western Europe to Northern Europe.
The seven provinces of the Netherlands responded immediately, but instead of directly declaring war, they turned into pirates and attacked the merchant ships of the Hanseatic League with Wang Ji.
Wang Ji did not dare to contact Spain, although Spain would definitely send troops to help, because Charles V was already at war with the German Protestant nobles. However, once he became an ally with Spain, he would offend half of the European monarchs, and France would probably join the war.
Spain is eager to form an alliance with Wang Ji.
After consulting the royal advisors, Wang Ji sent an envoy to Russia.
Because in name, the Teutonic Knights are a vassal of Poland. Although they often argue for independence, they have never been able to become independent. The Principality of Prussia and the Livonian Knights declared war, and Poland and Lithuania are likely to follow suit. At this time, we must find
Russia acts as a diversion.
Tsar Ivan IV had just taken over the throne and was eager to get rid of his mother's influence and to obtain military honors and establish his authority.
Just in time, after defeating the Livonian Knights, Russia can gain access to the Baltic Sea.
What are you waiting for?
Fight!
Ivan the Terrible was the first to express that Russia recognized the United Kingdom of Northern Europe and Russia recognized Wang Ji as the King of Northern Europe.
Wang Ji immediately stated that the United Kingdom of Northern Europe would recognize the change of the Principality of Muscovy into the Russian Empire and recognize the identity of Ivan IV as Tsar.
Russia joins the war!
The Polish-Lithuanian Federation could not sit still. In the name of Russia declaring war on its vassal, Poland-Lithuania was forced to declare war on Russia.
Poland-Lithuania joins the war!
Wang Ji looked at the map and was amused. It was so lively. The north was already in chaos.
Wang Yuan, who was far away in India, only received the news in the winter of the next year. When he learned that his son had dragged Poland, Russia, and Prussia into the war, he was speechless. It was so fucking frustrating.