At the fall of Copenhagen, Duke Christian's army numbered between ten and fifteen thousand men. That expense alone was more than enough to exhaust his resources. Some Knechts had to be dismissed; they were paid partly in coin, partly in promissory notes. The duke could not dismiss all of them; no one knew whether the peace would last. Performance of the remaining warfolk depended on prompt payment. A large and powerful army was one pressing expense; there were others. For the conquest of Denmark Duke Christian reckoned his outlay at fifteen times 100,000 gylden, an enormous sum for that period. The usual sources of revenue had run dry. Taxes, fines, loans, penalties, and confiscations by both sides during the civil war had punished nobles, churchmen, and commoners alike. Without a settled income the duke and his staff confronted the problems of rebuilding a devastated kingdom, creating an administration from scratch, and repaying creditors at home and abroad.

Relations with neighboring powers were unsettled. Trading privileges with the Hanse would have to be renegotiated. The connection with Sweden had frayed; the crown was heavily in debt to Gustaf Vasa. In spite of solemn treaties and agreements, a standoff existed between Duke Christian and the imperial government of the Netherlands. In the final months of the war the regent had encouraged the confederates in Copenhagen, and Duke Christian had closed the Sound and the Belts. Skram's blockade had seized fifty ships and cargos belonging to the merchants of Holland, Friesland, and Overyssel.