Chapter 461 Gustav IV's Decision

Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden royal palace.

The atmosphere was a little depressed. King Gustav IV of Sweden sat upright on the throne. Below him, he sat in two rows with Prime Minister Gut, Foreign Minister Aubrey, Army Minister Alfrey and Navy Minister Alves. However, the faces of the four were very ugly. Especially Aubrey, Yalfrey and Yalfrey, their faces were no longer as proud and arrogant as they were.

Gustav IV glanced at his four ministers and looked a little unhappy. "Four gentlemen, you all have the people I trust the most in the world. Now the kingdom is facing this huge danger? Do you have nothing to say?" Gustav IV's voice was very cold.

"Your Majesty, I think there is no need to continue this war. We are no match for the French at all. We should send people to negotiate with France immediately to strive for a decent end to the war." Prime Minister Gut said. At the beginning, he was not optimistic about this war, but at that time, Gustav had made up his mind and could not listen to other people's advice at all.

"Peace talks? Do you think the French will accept our peace talks now? I think even if we announce our surrender, the French may not necessarily accept it." Gustav said bitterly. In order to realize his ambitions, his country now has to pay a huge price.

When Gustav said this, Gut had to shut up and stop saying anything.

"Your Majesty, Oslo was captured by the French army two days ago, and all Norwegian royal family and cabinet members fled to the United States." said Army Secretary Alphri.

Regarding this news, Gustav IV just nodded and said that he knew it, and there was no other statement. Although the Norwegian war report was undoubtedly a worse injury for Sweden. But now Sweden is losing crazy to a gambler, and Norway is just a bargaining chip with little value. Sweden's previous losses were already far greater than this bargaining chip. After saying this, Gustav IV was already numb to such bad news.

"Aubry, what news is there in the United States?" Gustav said. Now, the United States has become Sweden's last life-saving straw. If the United States sends troops to attack Europe, the situation of the war may change. This is their last chance.

Aubrey's face looked a little ugly, because the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not play any role. In the face of Gustav IV's inquiry, Aubrey had to bite the bullet and answer: "Your Majesty, we cannot get any reply from the United States. Our ambassador to Washington cannot get the reception from the US Foreign Ministry."

"Americans raised by bitch." Gustav cursed angrily. Americans were simply considered to be destroying bridges across the river. The reason why Sweden dared to resist France was entirely because the United States stood behind them. But what he didn't expect was that the war in Europe was extremely unhappy, and now the United States is not saving it.

"His Excellency Aubrey, how likely do you think it is if we ask France for peace talks?" Guter asked.

"Prime Minister, this may be difficult. If we proposed peace talks before the war in Eastern Europe ended, the French government might agree. But now Eastern Europe has been pacified by the French army, and hundreds of thousands of French troops can head north to enter the Nordic region at any time. At this time, there is basically no possibility of peace talks with France." Aubrey said in frustration.

"What if we agree to pay a price that satisfies France enough?" Guter asked unwillingly.

Aubrey still shook his head: "The French are now in sight of victory, and the whole Sweden will belong to them after that. Will they give up their occupation of the entire Sweden for a little benefit?"

Gut was speechless now. If Sweden had an absolute advantage in the war, I'm afraid Sweden would not have agreed to the peace talks.

When Aubrey heard this, Gustav IV, Yalfre and Yarves changed their faces on the spot. The three of them were the most fierce people who shouted at the beginning. Is Aubrey slapped them in the face?

"Hmph! I don't think it's possible to say that failure is now. Although we are at a disadvantage now, this means that we have no chance to turn defeat into victory. You must know that we still have hundreds of thousands of elite troops and tens of millions of people. As long as we can persevere to the end, I believe we will definitely win the final victory." Yalfrey snorted coldly.

After hearing what he said, Yarves quickly agreed. As Swedish Navy Minister, Yarves' status is no longer as good as before. By now, the Swedish Navy has long been killed or injured. In addition to a few staff officers, Yarves is almost becoming a commander-in-law.

Guter and Aubrey looked at each other and smiled bitterly. They also knew that they were stubborn. The battle situation is now very clear. If Sweden wants to turn defeat into victory, it is simply a fool.

However, Gustav felt that the words of the two of them made some sense. The situation in Sweden now seems very dangerous, but Sweden is not without a chance to win the war. The struggle between France, the United States and Canada is becoming increasingly sharp. I believe that in the near future, the two sides will start a war. As long as Sweden can hold on until that time, it will be able to get a very big turnaround. Not to mention driving the French army out of Sweden, it is not impossible to enter Europe.

"Alfre, how many troops do we have available now?" Gustav asked. He had made up his mind to fight France to the end.

"Your Majesty, we still have 350,000 'elite' troops. In addition, we can also recruit more than 300,000 troops within half a month." Yalfre said a little deceivingly. His so-called elite troops are not as good as those of the armies of many French vassal states. The real elite troops of Sweden have long lost all in the Battle of Gothenburg and the Finnish battle. The current elite troops are basically second-line troops and newly recruited troops.

"The French army has more than 600,000 troops in Northern Europe. However, they have to use at least half of the troops to deploy the Norwegian coast, and the troops that can be invested in the war will not exceed 400,000 troops. After our army is recruited, our army can have nearly 700,000 troops, and it may not be impossible to resist the French attack." Gustav IV murmured.

"Your Majesty, you can't fight any more. If you fight any more, the entire Sweden will be destroyed." Gut spoke loudly.

Gustav IV's face suddenly turned pale, but he finally made up his mind. "His Excellency Gut, it's getting late, so you'd better go back and rest first. Alphres and Alves stayed." Gustav IV said with a horse's face.

Gut was stunned, then sighed helplessly. He knew that Gustav IV had made up his mind and would not listen to his persuasion. If he persisted, he might even bring disaster to death. So he had to leave.

After Guter left, Aubli had to leave the palace. He knew very well that Gustav IV had fallen into his imagination and tried to continue the war with the already weak army of Sweden and France. However, this would only push more Swedish youth into the fire pit. However, he also knew that Gustav IV could no longer listen to anyone's advice. The Swedish ship was about to sink. But he did not want to follow the broken ship to sink to the bottom of the sea. So Aubrey began to move and began to arrange a way out for himself.

"Your Majesty, I think that in addition to assembling large troops to confront the French army in the North Kopin area, we should also deploy heavy troops in South Telier, Orebru and Eskilstina to build a second line of defense. In this way, even if the front line changes, we can use the two favorable terrains of Lake Vines and Lake Bolaren to curb the French route to the north." Alphrey pointed to the map and said.

Gustav IV nodded, which was a good idea. In this way, Sweden could concentrate limited troops. At the same time, the danger was much smaller. "How many troops do we need to draw to deploy defenses in these three places?" Gustav IV asked.

"At least 150,000 people are needed, and 50,000 people are needed in each place," said Yalfrey.

"How many troops do we have available now?" Gustav IV asked.

"There are only 100,000 people at most. And these 100,000 people are still responsible for guarding the capital." Yalfre said. Now, the serious shortage of troops is the most serious constraint in Sweden.

"Let's do this, one place will first send 20,000 people. In addition, it is necessary to recruit 100,000 troops within one week, and the remaining 200,000 troops must be recruited within half a month. After the army is recruited, 30,000 people will be sent to each place." Gustav IV said. After all, Stockholm, as the capital of Sweden, cannot be stationed at any force. Moreover, the French navy is completely controlled by the sea, so we have to be more careful.
Chapter completed!