Chapter 278 The situation is getting bigger and bigger
In the Doge's Palace of Venice, Steno was dealing with something that troubled him. The trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean have been completely disrupted by Rome, trade has dropped sharply, and food routes have been hit. The inefficiency of the Parliament caused Venice to lose Croatia as an ally, and now it can only rely on the islands in the Aegean Sea and the Knights Hospitaller to continue its fight against Rome.
"What did Genoa say? Can they provide support?"
“The Genoese parliament is negotiating the sale of Corsica with France and their coffers are at the bottom.”
"Damn it!"
Steno was very upset about the current situation. Croatia was captured, the Aegean Islands were besieged, the first naval battle with Rome was defeated, and the admirals were captured. Throughout Venice's 190-year history of the Eastern Expedition, there has never been a year in which so many troubles came together.
"Sir, it's not good!"
Steno, already immune to bad news, calmly asked what was wrong. As a result, he got news that almost killed him: Rome and Ottoman had made peace.
This signaled that the war in the east of Rome was over, and it would soon be free to fight them. According to Venice's intelligence in Anatolia, Rome could spare 30,000 people to fight against Venice. Since the death of Barbarossa, few Western European monarchs have spared 30,000 people to fight in one go.
Although there is some disrespect for Venice, Rome can actually mobilize 200,000 people to participate in the war under extreme circumstances. Of course, this is only the limit. The current number of people who can join the war is about 80,000, which means that 50,000 can be allocated from the east to join the European battlefield.
Whether it is thirty thousand or fifty thousand, it is not something Venice can withstand. The current population of Venice is less than 100,000, and even if the right men are mobilized, it will not be able to defend all the territory. There have to be some trade-offs.
"Crete must not be lost. Let the navy bring soldiers to support it. In addition... we must find allies."
There are very few allies that Venice can find now, and most of them are busy with their own affairs. Needless to say, Britain and France are preparing for the election of a new German king in the HRE. Naples is busy taking something from the Pope. Milan is about to succeed, but it still needs to continue to win over.
"My lord, why don't you send someone to Krakow? The king of Poland should send troops to help Venice."
"But Rome now has Hungary's help, and Lithuania is confronting Moscow. Will Poland end up?"
This is what Venice wants, whether it can bring Poland to an end. Poland's end will definitely share the pressure on them, so they have a chance to turn defeat into a victory or tie. But the question is whether Poland can end. After all, Lithuania has only suffered losses, and Poland will definitely be busy again.
"Send someone to Krakow and make sure to persuade the king to join. At worst, we will lend him a loan."
Venice is trying its best to pull more countries into the water. Poland, Austria, Milan, Aragon, every one of them is going to die. They can't just suffer the losses, these theatergoers should also be called in to take some losses.
An envoy arrived from Vienna, Fulk, who had come under joint orders from the Illyrian Despot of Rome and the Queen of Hungary, to discuss military passage with Albrecht.
Since Austria blocked Venice from Rome, the envoy's request was that Austria grant military access, or that Rome purchase the place at a suitable price.
"I will seriously consider territorial claims."
Albrecht wanted to end this so-called transaction because he knew that if this came up, the Venetians would hate him. This cannot be opened, even if the other party offers a price of 100,000 gold coins.
Austria needed to recuperate, and because he had contributed so much to Sigismund, his future in-laws also actively raised funds for him. If we can get Austria to board the ship from Venice, we should be able to pay off the remaining debt.
But Austria didn't dare. In the past four months, he had witnessed the destruction of two countries. This speed is even worse than that of the Turks, and a country is not afraid of dying in one bite.
But it turns out that they are really not afraid of dying. Not only was everything in order, but he still had the energy to continue attacking. Is this the manifestation of Charlemagne?
The Papal States were also nervous, and the Pope appealed to the cardinals that Rome would suffer if its actions could not be stopped. He hopes to launch an Eastern Campaign to subdue Constantinople, but the current bishops and local rulers are competing for the highest power, and they should be immune to unity.
Thanks to Venetian interference, Euboea, their most important stronghold, was captured. The Venetians on the island were all used as slaves and returned to Constantinople. The loss of this island also greatly affected Venice's strategy. The Venetian fleet could no longer come to Constantinople as they pleased.
Genoa's territory was lost faster, and all the Genoese islands such as Chios were lost. However, Rome did not embarrass them, but confiscated their property on the island and allowed them to go back. Such a contrast directly overwhelms the Venetian people. Why is it that you are the cause of the war, but in the end you get better treatment than us? Why?
In southern Italy, as a result of the Roman-Venetian War, Naples and Aragon were on the verge of war in their struggle for Sicily. Laszlo planned to use force to take back one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean. Sicily was not only strategically important, but the island was also rich in resources. He took out his army and treasury and prepared to take it back. Naturally, Martin of Aragon would not let him succeed, so he sent Aragonese soldiers from the Iberian Peninsula to Sicily, and the capital Palermo was also prepared for defense. Of course, the most important thing is that he also sent people to Castile to request reinforcements. The two countries have forged a deep friendship in the process of fighting against the pagans. Castile will generally not refuse Aragon's request. .
Laszlo imported up to 100,000 florins of weapons to Rome, and Constantinople also valued this order. So we started working overtime to manufacture, and there will also be a dedicated distribution fleet responsible for transportation. At home, he began to deal with those nobles who had violated the law and might have surrendered to the enemy. Several nobles had their property confiscated and their punishment was divided into exile. The Orthodox Church also provided some funds and food. In return, Laszlo gave one-fifth of Sicily's land to the church. Although it was just a gift, it also reflected Laszlo's attitude towards the Orthodox Church.
The Catholic Church is increasingly losing control of this country. If it weren't for the fear of a sudden attack, he would have been charged with heresy long ago. Hate…