[POTN] 2.1 - Gloria Christi Regno Septentrionli

Following the Peace of Westphalia, the Swedish Chancellor, now 66, began to allow Gustav to take increasing control of actual governance of the Kingdom. During various Privy Council meetings, he indicated his intent to retire in the foreseeable future, ready to transfer leadership to the new generation of Swedish leaders.

Gustav, meanwhile, dedicated some of his time and the state budget to rebuild the Swedish Navy. With the unexpected sinking of the mighty warship Vasa in 1628, the Navy had been in a poor form for some time. Gustav sought to rebuild the Navy as the dominant naval power in the Baltic, potentially assisting in future campaigns against Denmark. Dutch naval architects were hired to work for the Swedish Navy by Gustav's envoys in the Dutch Republic, with the King wishing to build a respectable naval force in a decade. The state also constructed a number of civil vessels, in order to facilitate exploration campaigns abroad, and to maintain existing colonies like New Sweden in America.

The Riksdag also discussed the apparent vulnerability of the colony of New Sweden. Located between the far larger colonies of New Netherland and English Virginia, New Sweden only consisted of two major settlements, Fort Kristina and Fort Gustav, both of which only had several tens of Swedish settlers. The rest of the claim on New Sweden was practically unenforceable with the small number of settlers.

The King expressed his wish to send larger hosts of Swedes to America, but it was deemed unrealistic in the short terms, given that the required vessels were still in early construction. Still, a campaign was started to seek volunteers from all Sweden, mostly young men and women from the lower classes of society, to embark on explorations in the New World. They were given training in survival, enhanced literacy, and also English, in order to communicate with the English settlers in the prominent colony of Virginia.

Meanwhile, tensions remained high on the border between Swedish Livonia and Poland-Lithuania. The Commonwealth was in a state of chaos after failing to suppress the Cosaack rebellion led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky in 1648. A treaty was signed by King Jan II Kazimierz Waza in 1649, recognising the de facto independence of the Zaporizhian Host, allowing the Cossacks to retain their rights and privileges. The Cossacks, however, did not cease their massacres of Jews and Poles on their territories, prompting some in Warsaw to suggest going to war again.

The Polish King, however, still claimed the Swedish throne, and refused to drop the meaningless claim, just like his father Sigismund insisted. For Gustav, this was a direct insult, and he was eager to threaten the Polish King into dropping the title. In late 1649, Gustav personally wrote a letter to Jan II, asking him to drop all claims to Swedish titles for the sake of peace. The Polish King, nonetheless, did not see this as a serious threat, and asserted that he was the rightful King of Sweden, even signing the letter "Johan IV Kasimir, King of the Swedes, the Goths, and the Wends".

This greatly angered Gustav, who resorted to reading the letter aloud to all Riksdag in a meeting. The more radical faction argued for war against potential usurpers, but most members believed that a war so soon after the Peace of Westphalia was not possible, given the strain on the Swedish treasury. In the end, Gustav only ordered for fortifications to be inspected and repaired on the Livonian border, while commanding the military to remain vigilant for any Polish troop movements.

Still, Gustav began to invite Prince Karl back to Stockholm more often, the two planning possible offensives into the Commonwealth should an opportunity arise in the coming years.

Before the turn of the year, the Riksdag passed an act, making Gustav's personal motto official. From December 1649, "Gloria Christi Regno Septentrionli" was made the official motto, it's initial echoing with that of the King's Latin title, "Gustavus Carolus, Rex Sueciae". "Kristi härlighet till det norra riket" was adopted as the official Swedish version of the motto, both versions meaning "Christ's Glory to the Northern Realm".

Gustav ordered for the Latin motto to be printed on the side of silver Riksdaler coins that showed their values, the other side depicting his portrait with his official title in Latin. These new designs of silver coins were first minted in mid-1650.

In the first months of 1650, the King and the Queen toured different parts of Sweden, visiting local authorities, with Gustav giving speeches in the city centres. In a few months, the royal couple visited Kalmar, Göteborg, Uppsala, Nyköping, Åland, and even the Finnish capital city of Åbo.

In late April, Gustav set sail for Riga with Kristina, as she wanted to survey the city to evaluate the possibility of founding a university in the famed Baltic port-city. Riga, being the second largest city under Swedish rule, was an important bastion for the Swedish projection of power in the Eastern Baltic. Gustav, recognising its importance, gave a speech to the local nobility in fluent German, attempting to forge closer cooperative relations with them.

After a brief stay in Livonia, Gustav and his host then set sail to Pomerania, the Duchy newly put under Swedish rule by the Peace of Westphalia.

For most of the Thirty Years' War, the entire Pomerania was occupied by the Swedish Army. While Pomerania wasn't enemy territories for Sweden, constant conscription and collection of food among other materials greatly devastated the Pomeranian population. Constant famines, plagues, and periods raids by Imperial forces left the Duchy heavily depopulated, with population dropping to less than half of the pre-war levels.

Some areas, including the capital Stettin, could have lost up to three quarters of their pre-war populations. Following the end of the war, however, some Hanseatic merchants saw the depopulation as a great opportunity, and purchased many land and houses with extremely low prices, settling around the important ports remaining.

In the city centre of Stettin, Gustav gave a passionate speech in German to the citizens, calling for the people to unite in this difficult time, and strive together to rebuild their beloved Duchy. Gustav also encouraged trade across the Swedish domains, stressing the importance of trade for Pomeranians to recover from the ruins of war. Later, Gustav travelled with Kristina to the historic university town of Greifswald in western Pomerania. The University, established in 1456, had taught continously through conflicts, but it's operation was heavily disrupted during the Thirty Years' War.

The university's functions officially restarted following a symbolic led by the King and the Princess, Kristina gave a speech to the remaining scholars and students in German, urging them to remain faithful to the university and their knowledge, and to maintain the operation of this ancient institution.Kristina also encouraged contacts between the universities of Greifswald and Uppsala, the only two well-established, ancient universities across Sweden. Young Swedish nobles were also encouraged to consider pursuing their thirst for knowledge in Greifswald

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After a few days, the royal host set sail back to Stockholm. By this point, complexes built for university uses were already in construction in Stockholm under Kristina's command. The plans to build another university in Kalmar were also being finalised, with construction expected to begin soon.

The host was welcomed back home by Queen Henrietta, who was acting as Regent for Sweden for the first time. Despite having a loving and affectionate relationship with each other, Henrietta had not yet shown any signs to be pregnant, but the couple were still patient, believing that a child would come eventually as a divine gift.