On November 15, 1700, Zhao Gui arrived as promised at the Wendao Shipyard.

Wendao Shipyard is a large shipyard, at least on the Baltic coast, whether it is Denmark, Sweden, Poland (well, this country has no estuary, only one agreement can be used in Danze) or in Germany, no shipyard can be compared with Wendao Shipyard in scale.

The shipyard has six ship platforms and can build sailing ships of no more than 600 tons, with strong technical strength. In the second half of last year, in order to repay the principal and interest of the soon-to-date loan, Grand Duke Frederick of Kurland sold half of the factory's equity to the East Coast people. The transferee of the equity was the East Coast Ministry of Transport. After they bought half of the equity of the Wendao Shipyard, they immediately established a company called Beihai Transport Company, and included 50% of the Wendao Shipyard's equity and 50% of the Little Star Shipyard in Russia under the name of the company. However, you must not think that this company is just a shipbuilding company. In fact, in the positioning of the Ministry of Transport, this company called Beihai Transport Company is a serious shipping company. In the future, it will gradually purchase ships and carry out shipping business in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

At present, the Dutch and the British have not noticed the establishment of this company. In fact, they are not even clear about the equity transfer of the Wendao Shipyard. Who asked the East Coast people and the Cours to sign a secret transfer agreement? However, nothing can be kept secret for a long time. In the future, the Dutch will eventually find that they have another competitor in the Baltic Sea, which will inevitably cause them to rebound greatly.

But entering the Baltic Sea was a long-planned plan by the business community in the East Coast. They could no longer bear the long-term control of the local business order by the Dutch. The profits generated by the Dutch were sold by the Dutch to the end consumers. The Dutch accounted for more than 50% of the profits, and the local agents took another 30%. The East Coast people could only obtain a small part of the profits.

In the past, the Dutch were important ally on the East Coast. If they wanted to coax others, they naturally had to give up their interests. But when is it now? The Northern Europe is fighting wars (the Great Northern War), and the war is about to break out in southern and western Europe (the war on the succession of the Spanish throne). The East Coast Republic is ready to take the forefront and play a more important role in history. The commercial market of the Baltic Sea is very broad, and the local people are generally much richer than those in southern Europe. It is the Dutch's first bag of money. Since the East Coast people have gained enough sweetness in the business activities in the Mediterranean, how can they resist the development of the Baltic Sea?

Moreover, according to Zhao Gui's understanding, the North Sea Transportation Company has reached a strategic cooperation agreement with the Caribbean Shipping Company, which has a strong naval color for it. If the navy is interested in the Baltic Sea and intends to enter this huge "freshwater sea", it will be even more interesting. Anyway, as the ambassador to Riga, Zhao Gui does not intend to set any obstacles to the navy's operations, but will cooperate with him. Who made his two sons serve in the navy?

The representative sent by the Navy to contact Zhao Gui was a major named Liu Zhen, who was once the commander of the Djibouti security. Because of his long-term work on the shore, this gentleman is now engaged in contact work in the Baltic Sea and has formed a team with a camera. The Navy has promised him that once he gains a foothold in the Baltic Sea in the future, he will undoubtedly serve as the first security commander and his military rank will be promoted to lieutenant colonel. Being a security commander in the Baltic Sea is much more enjoyable than mingling in the hot desert of Djibouti, and Liu Zhen is quite happy.

"Ambassador Zhao, the Great Northern War is in full swing. From our east coast standpoint, are there any opportunities to intervene?" In the office of the director of the Wendao Shipyard, the Kurranians have thoughtfully transferred most of the people away. At this moment, only Liu Zhen, Zhao Gui and a few confidant followers were left.

Zhao Gui smiled in his heart when he heard this. The Army was so prosperous in Morocco, but the Navy guys really couldn't sit still. They planned to set up a military base in the Baltic Sea as soon as they came up. The problem is, is it that easy? This is not a backward area like Morocco, and every country is not alone. As the saying goes, it is very complicated to move the whole body.

"Major Liu, I don't know what constitution the Admiralty Department is? What is the degree to which it intends to intervene? What is the goal?" Zhao Gui asked directly.

"The Navy Department has only one goal given me, that is, to find a suitable foothold in the Baltic Sea. This foothold must have relatively good port conditions, a certain economic hinterland, and a certain ship maintenance ability." Liu Zhen said one by one: "There is no need to mention the conditions of the port. This involves the safety of naval warships stationed in the navy. An economic hinterland is to reduce maintenance costs. After all, once the naval fleet settles in, there will be a lot of people coming with it. Without the hinterland, it is impossible to supply food, daily necessities and corresponding raw materials. In addition, we will open ship repair factories at this foothold in the future, as well as a small number of supporting enterprises that produce key components. You know, it is impossible for all workers to be dispatched from the local area. We can only select some senior technicians and management to come here, and most ordinary workers have to be recruited locally."

"Your conditions are really not low." Zhao Gui sighed after hearing this and said, "At the moment I remembered that there were only two suitable ones, one was the Wendao Port in the Principality of Kurland, and the other was the Gdansk Free City in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Which one do you want?"

Wendao Port is now the largest city in the Principality of Kurland, the largest port, and the second largest port in the Eastern Baltic Sea, second only to Riga, with a population of more than 80,000. It is a bustling city. To be honest, it is a bit difficult for people on the east coast to classify this port as their own territory. Even if the Principality of Kurland is their own, if you want to take away someone’s money bag and one-quarter of the population, it is impossible for your brothers to turn against each other.

What about Gdansk Free City? It is more likely to be said to be more likely than Wendao Port. Gdansk is located at the mouth of the Vistula River, and the port conditions are quite good. There are lagoon sandbanks on the outside, with enough water and vast area, and a large number of ships can be moored. The sandbanks can block the strong winds and waves in the outer sea, making the anchorage of ships in the lagoon calm and quiet. At the same time, forts and fortresses can be built on the sandbanks as a defense line to protect the port. Moreover, this city also has tens of thousands of people, with many business people, many handicraftsmen, and excellent conditions for developing industries.

The best thing is that at present, this port city does not theoretically belong to any country. Like the Free City of Strasbourg in eastern France, it is a city autonomously owned by locals. The reason for this is that it can be traced back to the complex situation on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.

At first, the city did belong to Poland. The people of the East Coast came to explore the market, but later closed down because of the evil relations between the two countries. During the Polish-Russian War, the city was occupied by the Swedes, and the Prussians rebelled against Poland for a short time and looted it. In this war, the Poles lost a large area of ​​land along the coast, the Duchy of Prussia, the vassal state, was independent, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth became a completely landlocked state.

It is really unreasonable for a big country like Poland to have no sea port! So, in the following years, the Poles used all means through war or diplomacy, and finally obtained a sea port in the era of Jan Sobesky, that is, the Free City of Gdansk.

They were able to obtain the port they had always dreamed of, thanks to the Dutch's threading thread. Under the persuasion of the United Provinces, the Kingdom of Sweden also designated Gdansk near the mouth of the Vistula River as a free city and handed over to Poland for trust.

Please note that this is not Sweden's cento land for Poland, but allows Gdansk to become a free city independently and then be entrusted by the Polish government. In theory, Gdansk is not a Polish territory at all at present, and its status is in an undetermined state.

In fact, it is almost the same. Although the Poles sent officials here, the number of troops arranged was very small, with only more than a thousand people. In addition, the local economy is basically autonomous. In fact, all parts of Poland are in a state of autonomy. The local people do not think they are Poles very much, because the population here constitutes the most Germans, and the Poles are just second.

"The ministry has decided to find a way to take down the Gdansk Free City as our foothold and military base." Major Liu Zhen said. Obviously, he must have studied the Baltic Sea deeply before coming. After counting, only Gdansk, a free city that does not belong to any country, is most suitable for swallowing it. However, the Poles currently have only such a port, can they agree?

"Everyone agrees or not, you have to find a way. Now these countries are fighting to death, isn't it a good opportunity, so I just asked you what step you can intervene." Liu Zhen said with a smile.

Zhao Gui was speechless when he heard this. If he had known that the Navy had this idea, when Patkur asked him to borrow money, he should have mentioned the matter of Gdansk and asked them to mortgage the city. Anyway, he estimated that the Poles would definitely not pay the payment. However, this city is not worth three million, and the Poles might not be willing to mortgage the only sea outlet.

"Hasn't the army captured Danji and Ceuta? You can catch one of them, why bother to wade into the muddy waters of the Baltic Sea? Our foundation here is a bit weak, and things are not easy to do." Zhao Gui couldn't help but complain.

Liu Zhen felt a little embarrassed when he heard this and said, "You also know that it was attacked by the army. If you take it directly, it would not look very good. Of course, this does not mean that we don't want it. Danji and Ceuta counties, we will definitely take one. But, it's the Mediterranean! It doesn't fit in with the Baltic Sea. If you want to interfere with the situation here in the future, you really have to make a foothold here. Ambassador Zhao, don't shirk this. Let's make a decision together and think about a solution."

"There is nothing to think about. This matter is difficult to solve from economic and diplomatic channels. The only way is to defeat the enemy with strength and find a way from a military perspective. But don't blame me for not reminding me that the Poles will definitely have resentment for losing their only seaport. There are endless troubles in the future. You have to think about it." Zhao Gui looked at Liu Zhen and said with a serious face: "They may start a war to seize Gdansk. Do you have the ability to protect this city?"

"I can't think of something so far away now, so I'll take it first. At worst, I'll guide the Russians, Austrians, Swedes, Turks and Prussians to divide the Polish Counter. The system of this country is a joke, and it's a miracle to maintain unity at present." Liu Zhen said indifferently: "You first find a way to contact August and Charles XII. They are parties involved, and listen to their opinions. As for the Russians, they are too far away, let them go first, and then talk about it later."
Chapter completed!