Chapter 1850 Sure enough, someone stood up
Kasin was a little confused after hearing this: "What does it have to do with the Swedes if we Russians fish in our own lake?" Seeing that Ma Xiao and Hua Chong didn't understand Russian, he acted as an interpreter for them.
Ma Xiao gave him the answer: "Back then, the northwest side of Lake Ladoga was the territory of the Swedish Empire, which was snatched from them by Russia."
Although Sweden is located in a remote area with a sparse population and scarce resources, it did have an "imperial period" in history.
As mentioned earlier, the second "window throwing incident" in the Czech Republic triggered a large-scale war throughout Europe known as the "Thirty Years' War" or the "Wars of Religion". This war also led to the demise of the Holy Roman Empire and the decline of the Habsburg dynasty.
At the time, King Gustavus II of Sweden successfully intervened in the Thirty Years' War, seizing vast territories from Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Sweden was the leading Protestant nation in Europe! In terms of land area, Sweden was undoubtedly a leading power. The entire Baltic Sea, with the exception of Denmark, was Swedish territory. All seaports in northern Germany were under Swedish control.
And Russia is very unlucky.
They are crazy about wanting access to the Baltic Sea.
As early as 1492, they established the city of Novgorod, using it as a base to seize the Baltic coast and ports. In 1558, they seized Narva, a city in northeastern Estonia that had once belonged to the Livonian Order. This gave them direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, but this led to major battles with Poland, Lithuania, Denmark, and Sweden, ultimately leading to their defeat in 1583. By 1617, they had been completely driven from the Baltic coast.
But they didn't forget about the Baltic Sea. They began to gather their strength for decades. When Peter the Great ascended to the throne in 1682, he once again set his sights on the Baltic Sea. In 1700, he joined forces with Denmark and Poland to declare war on Sweden. This was known as the "Great Northern War." At the beginning, Sweden really beat the three countries: Denmark was defeated, and the Polish king was forced to abdicate...
Russia has a hard life. It was originally agreed that three heroes would fight Lu Bu, but two stupid teammates went offline first and it became a one-on-one duel.
But I can’t beat him!
As a result, King Charles XII of Sweden, who was crushing other countries at that time, did something amazing: he ignored the "easy mode" and challenged the "hell mode", and directly led his army north to Moscow.
Anyone who did this in history basically didn’t have a good ending: Charles XII, Napoleon, Little Mustache... Moscow is the real graveyard of empires!
The Swedish army was defeated and retreated from Moscow to Ukraine, where it was utterly annihilated by Peter the Great, who personally led the campaign. Although Charles XII fled to the Ottoman Empire, Sweden had already lost its ability to compete with Russia. Furthermore, Poland and Denmark re-entered the war, and Sweden lost not only the territory it had lost during the Thirty Years' War, but also Finland, which fell into Russian hands.
To be honest, Charles XII was also a tough guy. Even in such a difficult situation, he invaded Norway twice, forcing Norway and Denmark to go offline again and turn the situation into a one-on-one duel.
But this time Sweden was no match for Russia. Especially after Charles XII was killed on November 18, 1718, the Swedish Empire collapsed and the Russian Empire rose.
The Russian Navy has always been involved in this long war timeline: in the early days, it was called a privateer fleet, fighting other countries in Lake Ladoga and the Baltic Sea. Since they built St. Petersburg in 1703, they began to build the Baltic Fleet, which is also the oldest fleet in Russian history.
Likewise, Sweden placed great importance on its navy. Lake Ladoga and the Baltic Sea were considered its "inland seas" and "inland lakes," serving as crucial trade routes. Consequently, both the Baltic Sea and Lake Ladoga are littered with shipwrecks from the Swedish era, many of which are merchant vessels—a sure sign of wealth.
Ma Xiao continued, "Actually, there are not only Swedish shipwrecks here, but also Russian, Finnish, and German shipwrecks. In 1919, the Finns attacked the Soviet Union but were defeated. However, Finland took advantage of the fact that the Soviet Union was still newly established and at war with Poland and seized a lot of Soviet territory. At that time, the northwest corner of Lake Ladoga was Finland's territory, and they even stationed a navy there. Finland also had a Ladoga Fleet, and the Soviet Union also had a Ladoga Fleet. The two sides fought here, and the Soviet Union finally won. But when Germany tore up the agreement and attacked St. Petersburg, Finland once again made a comeback and joined forces with Germany to attack the Soviet Union. That time, they had about 200 ships enter the Lake Ladoga area, and the battle lasted for nearly three years! In this lake? It's not surprising to find anything."
Kasim said proudly, "How dare they come and shout at me? They are all defeated!"
Hua Chong retorted, "It wasn't you who beat him, so why are you so proud?"
Xiao Peng stopped the bickering and asked Desarev, "What are you going to do with what the Swedes say?"
DeSalvatore said: "This is something that the people above need to deal with, but... you know the character of us Russians!"
Xiao Peng laughed. What that means is, it’s up to you to love whoever you want, right?
"Okay, let's do this. I'll take a two-day break. After all, this journey is quite tiring. We'll discuss the work situation here after you come up with the results. Ma Xiao, let's meet with the new and old crew members on the ship at lunch tomorrow and get to know the newcomers on board."
Not all the old crew members on their ship have left. Since the old ones have to guide the new ones, some of them must stay.
Ma Xiao nodded: "Okay. I'll let them know in a moment."
Xiao Peng turned around and asked, "Hua Chong, has Van der Laupe cleaned up my room?"
"It has to be!" Hua Chong said, "The most luxurious room on the entire ship."
Xiao Peng said, "Alright then. I'll go back and rest for a while. Desarev, we can talk about anything later."
Ma Xiao said, "Boss, I'll take you to your room. Hua Chong is right. Your room was built to the highest standards when this ship was designed and manufactured. It's definitely on par with your room on the Luna."
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to it."
Watching Xiao Peng and Ma Xiao leave, Hua Chong was confused. "What's wrong with the boss? Why does he look so tired? I've never seen him this tired before. Ka Xin, what have you been doing all this time?"
After hearing this, Kasin said helplessly: "I really didn't do anything on the way. There were only two girls pestering the boss very hard."
"Two girls?" Hua Chong was happy: "Tell me quickly so I can be happy too."
Kasin frowned: "You want me to betray the boss?"
"Tonight's drinking party is on me! I'm also the one arranging the girl!"
"Well, it's like this..."
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