Chapter 278 The Situation Is Getting Bigger and Bigger

In the Governor's Palace in Venice, Steno was dealing with a headache. The trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean had been completely disrupted by Rome, trade had plummeted, and food channels had been hit. The inefficiency of the parliament had caused Venice to lose its ally Croatia, and now it could only rely on the islands of the Aegean Sea and the Knights Hospitaller to continue to fight Rome.

"What did Genoa say? Can they provide support?"

"The Genoese Parliament is negotiating with France on the sale of Corsica, and their treasury has run out of money."

"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 naval commander was captured. Throughout Venice's 190-year history of the Eastern Expedition, there was no year with so many troubles at the same time.

"My lord, it's bad!"

Steno was already immune to bad news, and he calmly asked what was wrong. As a result, he got a news that almost killed him: Rome and the Ottomans had made peace.

This meant that the war in the East of Rome had ended, and Rome would soon be able to free up its hands to fight them. According to Venice's intelligence in Anatolia, Rome can spare 30,000 people to fight Venice. Since Barbarossa died, few Western European monarchs have taken out 30,000 people at once.

Although it is somewhat disrespectful to Venice, Rome can actually allocate 200,000 people to participate in the war under extreme circumstances. Of course, it 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 the European battlefield.

Whether it is 30,000 or 50,000, Venice cannot withstand it. At present, the population of Venice is less than 100,000. Even if all the suitable men are mobilized, it is impossible to defend all the territories. Some trade-offs must be made.

"Crete must not be lost. Let the navy bring soldiers to support it. In addition... we have to find allies."

Now Venice can find very few allies, most of whom are busy with their own affairs. Not to mention Britain and France, the Holy Roman Empire is preparing for the election of the new German king, Naples is busy with deducting something from the Pope, and Milan is about to succeed, but it still needs to continue to win over.

"Your Excellency, why don't you send someone to Krakow? The King of Poland should send troops to help Venice."

"But Rome now has the help of Hungary, and Lithuania is confronting Moscow. Will Poland be defeated?"

This is what Venice is thinking, whether Poland can be defeated. Poland's defeat will definitely share the pressure for them, so there will be a chance to turn defeat into victory or draw. But the question is whether Poland can be defeated. After all, Lithuania has just suffered losses, and Poland must be busy.

"Send someone to Krakow, and be sure to persuade the king to join. At worst, we can lend him money."

Venice has done everything it can to get more countries involved. Poland, Austria, Milan, Aragon, one by one must be defeated. They can't just suffer losses, and these spectators must also be called in.

An envoy came from Vienna. Fulk, who came on the joint order of the Illyrian Despot of Rome and the Queen of Hungary, came to discuss military passage with Albrecht.

Since Austria blocked Venice and Rome, the envoy's request was that Austria grant military access or Rome buy the place at a suitable price.

"I will seriously consider the request for territory."

Albrecht wanted to end this so-called deal because he knew that if this hole came, the Venetians would hate him. This cannot be opened, even if the other party offers a price of 100,000 gold coins.

Austria needs to recuperate, and because he has made a lot of contributions to Sigismund, this future in-law is also actively raising funds for him. If Austria can get on the ship of Venice, it should be able to pay off the remaining debt.

But Austria dare not, these four months can be regarded as him witnessing the destruction of two countries. This speed is even faster than that of the Turks, and they are not afraid of dying of one country at a time.

But the facts prove that they are really not afraid of dying of death. Not only is it well managed, but there is also spare energy to continue the attack. Is this the appearance of Charlemagne?

The Papal States are also very nervous. The Pope appealed to the cardinals that if Rome's actions cannot be stopped, then Rome will suffer. He hoped to launch an eastern expedition to subdue Constantinople, but the bishops and local rulers were fighting for the highest power, and they should be immune to unity.

Under Venice's wrangling, their most important stronghold, Euboea, was conquered. The Venetians on the island were taken back to Constantinople as slaves, and the loss of this island also had a great impact on Venice's strategy. The Venetian fleet could no longer come to Constantinople at will.

Genoa's territory was lost even faster, and Chios and other Genoese islands were lost, but Rome did not embarrass them, but only confiscated their property on the island and let them go back. Such a contrast directly broke the defense of the Venetians. Why did you cause the war, but you got better treatment than us? Why?

In southern Italy, as an impact of the Roman-Venetian War, Naples and Aragon were on the brink of war in the fight for Sicily. Laszlo planned to use force to take back one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean. Sicily is not only strategically important, but also rich in resources. He took out his army and treasury and prepared to take it back. Martin of Aragon would naturally not let him succeed, so he sent Aragon's soldiers from the Iberian Peninsula to Sicily, and the capital Palermo was also ready 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 pagans. Castile generally will not refuse Aragon's request.

Laszlo imported up to 100,000 florins of weapons from Rome, and Constantinople also attached importance to this order. So he began to work overtime to manufacture, and there would be a special distribution fleet responsible for transportation. At home, he began to deal with those nobles who were hypocritical and might surrender to the enemy. Several nobles had their property confiscated and were sentenced to 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 promise, it also reflected Laszlo's attitude towards the Orthodox Church.

The Catholic Church's control over this country is getting worse and worse. If it wasn't for the fear of a sudden attack, it would have already put a heresy charge on him. Hate it...