In the history of the European continent, Venice is a very special existence, and it is special because Venice has played a very special role in all the crusades launched by the West against the Middle East.
Venice was once a Byzantine vassal state, but it was one such vassal that captured and sacked Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
Later, important islands in the Mediterranean, including Cyprus and Crete, as well as a considerable part of the Adriatic coast, were taken into the arms of Venice, and thanks to trade with the Mediterranean, the Republic of Venice became one of the richest countries on the European continent.
At that time, the navy of the Republic of Venice was also the main force in the naval confrontation between European countries and the infidels.
The Republic of Venice is most famous, apart from the sacking of Constantinople, for its direct war with the Pope.
In 1508, in order to limit the power of the Republic of Venice, Pope Julius II, King Louis XII of France, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and King Ferdinand II of Aragon formed the League of Cambrai and went to war with Venice.
But the result caused an uproar throughout Europe, with the Union of Cambrai undefeated and the Republic of Venice undefeated.
"Your Majesty, do you want to teach those Venetians some lessons?"
Seeing William's unkindness in his gaze at the Venetian scouts roaming around the periphery of the army, Horn immediately whispered in William's ear.
The Prussians and the Venetians were in contact for the first time, after all, Prussia's traditional sphere of influence was Central Europe, and Prussia was a rather distant existence for the northern Italian region to which Venice belonged, except for a small amount of trade between the two sides.
There is little other contact.
Hearing Hound say this, William's heart was quite moved, after all, this behavior of the Venetians at the moment is objectively a provocation to Prussia, and William, as the Holy Roman Emperor who is about to receive the papal blessing in Rome, can give the Venetians a little color to see, let them know what is the difference between a monarch and a minister!
However, Prince Henry, who was on the other side of William, seemed to see the look of interest on William's face.
I only heard the old prince say: "Your Majesty, it's better not to move those Venetians for the time being, we have just entered Northern Italy, and we have not yet thoroughly figured out the attitude of the various city-states here towards us, at this time it is the truth to go directly to Rome and not make trouble with these states!"
Prince Henry's words made William dismiss his previous idea.
But then, Horn said something more "But.
Your Majesty, the man we sent to Venice to buy grain and grass has just returned, and according to him, those merchants in Venice have actually offered a price that exceeds the market price by 20%, which is simply slaughtering us Prussians as wronged leaders!
” Hearing Horn's words, William's face suddenly turned gloomy.
William traveled to Rome.
Coupled with the various princes of the empire and the army accompanying the guards, there were more than 30,000 people, and these people all ate horses and munched, and they needed to consume a lot of grain and grass every day.
Obviously, to rely on the Prussians to transport these grains and grass from the mainland would be to die to do so.
After all, it is so far from Frankfurt to Rome, if you adopt a policy of transporting grain and grass.
Then on the road, these grains and grasses will be consumed at least 10% to 30%, which is unavoidable.
Under such circumstances, the logistics of the army could only rely more on the purchase of grain and grass in various places.
William had never encountered the problem of grain and grass along the way, after all, from Frankfurt to Austria, all the way was within the sphere of Prussian influence, and even Austria, under the reality that Karl also accompanied William to Rome, those Austrians could only sell grain and grass to the Prussians even if they were unwilling.
Of course, this reluctance is only to some extent.
After all, no one thinks that the less money they have, the better, and the Prussians' clear and fair prices will naturally make these merchants make some money.
And now the Prussian army has just left Austria, and the logistics of the army has enough grain and grass for the army to consume for a month, which was originally just a backup, after all, Wilhelm wanted to come.
He and the Venetians have no grievances and no enmity, and the Venetians should not limit themselves in terms of food and grass.
But now that he thinks about it, William finds that he is definitely thinking too much, these Venetians are really lawless!
The price at which the Prussians bought grain and grass was originally the market price, which also took into account the profits of the merchants, in this case, if the Venetians had to raise the price by two percent on this basis, then it can be said that the Venetians regarded the Prussians as Kaizi!
"Didn't I ask you to send my handwritten letter to Venice two weeks ago to give it to their parliament?
Is it that the letter didn't arrive, or that the Venetians weren't going to buy my account!
” Hearing William's words, Horn immediately looked a little frightened and said: "Your Majesty, your handwritten letter has been sent to the Parliament of the Republic of Venice, but according to the messenger's report, the Venetian Parliament has said that the purchase price of grain and grass is determined by the market, and they have no way to come forward to buy grain and grass for us and lower the price!"
After Hornder's words, not only William's face was ugly, but even Prince Henry's face became quite ugly.
In any case, William after the coronation in Frankfurt can also be called the co-lord of the states of the Holy Roman Empire, even if this co-lord has no real power over the states below, but at least respect and face still have to be given, but now it is good that the Venetians actually ignore William's handwritten letter.
After a while, William said with some meaning: "It seems that some people are trying to provoke me openly, do they think that I won't kill chickens to show monkeys!"
After speaking, William commanded Henry: "Your Royal Highness, I hand over the Fourth Division to you, and you immediately lead the Fourth Division to Venice, and tell them that there is a limit to my patience, and if they insist on not providing food and grass for our army, then I don't mind making Venice history!"
William's words can be described as domineering.
It was originally this way to Rome.
William was not prepared to make any big moves, after all, he had gone to Rome to receive the Pope's blessing, and in this case, having just become the head of the Holy Roman Empire, he naturally wanted to create a peaceful atmosphere within the Empire.
However, this does not mean that William is soft on those who dare to challenge him head-on.
And William also believes that there is not only one Venice in the purchase of grain and grass this time, otherwise, a Venice army of more than 10,000 people at best would dare to stand on the opposite side of William?
It was William who had this idea in his heart, so he ordered Henry to lead the Fourth Division to Venice, if the Fourth Division was in Venice, those Venetians would still oppose William.
Then William doesn't mind killing chickens to show monkeys!
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What's more, killing chickens and monkeys has always been one of the best ways for rulers to maintain their rule.
And for William's thoughts, Prince Henry and Horn are clear.
Just as William thought.
Behind the Prussian purchase of grain and grass this time was manipulated by several forces behind the scenes.
For William, the city-states of northern Italy were very unfamiliar, after all, Prussia's traditional sphere of influence was far north of the Holy Roman Empire, and for them, the city-states in northern Italy.
They had never felt the pressure of Prussia, and in such a situation, they naturally had less reverence for Prussia.
To tell the truth, the city-states of northern Italy, led by Milan and Venice, were very resistant to a Prussian ascending to the highest throne of the Holy Roman Empire, because for these city-states, their impression of the Prussians was still at the stage of barbarians!
After the Republic of Venice received a letter from William.
They immediately convened a meeting, but most of the councillors at the meeting were more intransigent, that is, the Prussians could buy grain and grass, but they had to follow the rules of Venice.
On the one hand, they did not believe that the Prussians would dare to make a move against Venice, after all, Venice had an army of more than 10,000 people anyway, and Venice and Pisa and Florence had the same attitude towards the Prussians.
In this case, the Venetians believed that they had the support of the entire city-state of northern Italy.
Therefore, it was necessary to deliberately create some trouble for the Prussians, so that the Prussians understood that even if the Prussians could get the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, the Prussian name would not work in the land of northern Italy!
Among the city-states of northern Italy at present.
The Florentine-like rulers of Pisa were members of the Habsburgs, while the rulers of Milan were members of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty.
One of the characteristics of these states is that they all have more or less considerable power, and they are all quite hostile to the Prussians.
Originally, as a vassal state of the Habsburgs, Florence and Pisa should have surrendered to William as soon as the Prussian army arrived, after all, Karl, the supreme leader of the Habsburgs, was now a member of the Prussian army.
But these two states did not choose to do so, whether it was Florence or Pisa, although they were under the rule of the Habsburgs, but they both had their own status, and with several civil strife in Austria, the binding force of Habsburg orthodoxy on these northern Italian states was also shrinking.
It is precisely because of this situation that after William arrived in Northern Italy, these states not only did not choose to meet William at the first time, but even took the time to attack behind the Prussians.
"My lord, it is too risky for us to do this, and now we have violated the meaning of the Prussians, and it is hard to guarantee that the Prussians will not go south with a large army, and then we will be unlucky in Venice!"
A young man said worriedly to a middle-aged nobleman sitting in a chair.
This middle-aged nobleman had a somewhat fat figure, and his eyes were very slender and gave a feminine feeling, and he was one of the members of the Council of Ten of the Republic of Venice.
"I said Taklin, you don't have to be nervous, the goal of the Prussians is Rome, we didn't say that we don't sell grain and grass, just because the demand of the Prussians is too great, in this case, the red-eyed merchants will naturally raise the price, this is the law of the market, not something we can interfere with!"
said.
The middle-aged nobleman raised his right hand and carefully examined the ruby ring on the middle finger of his right hand, his eyes revealing a hint of intoxication.
This middle-aged aristocrat is named Domingo.
Sevo, which comes from the famous family of the Republic of Venice, is a family of great glory in the history of the Republic of Venice.
In 1071, the 31st President of the Republic of Venice led the rise of the Republic of Venice in the Mediterranean, and the president of the Republic of Venice at that time was from the Sevo family.
After that, hundreds of years, regardless of the change of times, but in the upper echelons of the Republic of Venice.
The Sevo family has always held a place.
Similar to the House of Sevo, the other members of the Council of Ten of the Republic of Venice were also from the old Venetian ruling family.
It was under these circumstances that Taklin became the clerk of Domingo, one of the current members of the Council of Ten, by the arrangement of the elders of the Venetian family, who had always been a political ally of the Sevo family.
Nominally a clerk, but in fact he is also one of the staff.
"My lord, but there is always a bad premonition in my heart.
The Prussian king had just become the ruler of the empire, and it was entirely possible to establish his authority within the empire if he were to attack Venice because of this matter, so I think we should not discuss this matter anymore!
” As Domingo's clerk and staff, Tackerin was able to know a lot about the upper echelons.
Although the Prussian grain and grass incident seems to be just a Venetian merchant raising the price of grain and grass in the hope of making a profit, in fact.
Behind the matter is not the wrestling of several states.
As early as the news of William's imminent departure to Rome, several city-states in northern Italy began to make frequent contact in private, and the attitude of these once-different city-states towards the Prussians was surprisingly unanimous, that is, hostility.
And in this case, they did not want to see the Prussians arrive in Rome without a hitch, and then a Prussian would wear the Holy Roman Crown, and if they could cause some trouble for the Prussians in it, then it would obviously be excellent, and later.
The Prussians' purchase of grain and grass became a means for them to add to the Prussians' blockage.
"Don't worry so much, Taklin, you have to know that there is a lot of complexity behind this matter, whether it involves us in Venice, but also in Florence, Pisa, Milan and even Rome.
No one wanted Prussia to dominate the Holy Roman Empire.
In this case, we have a lot of allies.
Even if the Prussians want to do something to us, but don't forget, we in Venice have not yet declined to that point, although the army on the surface is only more than 10,000 people, but if the Prussians come to the city, we can completely recruit an army of 10,000 people.
Moreover, the allies around us will certainly not sit idly by!
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” Hearing Domingo's arrogant words, Taklin planned to persuade again, but thinking about Domingo, after all, he was a member of the Council of Ten and one of the rulers of Venice, and his family was certainly friendly with the Sevo family, but if he angered Domingo, I am afraid that his future life would definitely not be too good.
And if he is disgusted by Domingo and loses his current job, then his status in the family will definitely plummet, after all, in a powerful family, there are too many excellent children.
Noon on April 30, 1794 Henry led the 4th Prussian Division to Venice.
As early as the 4th Division left the march of the army and rushed towards Venice, the Venetian scouts, who had been roaming around the Prussian army, hurriedly returned to Venice to report this information.
After receiving the information, the Venetian high-level did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly sent people to confirm, and after repeated confirmations, the Venetians finally affirmed that the Prussians had sent troops to Venice.
As a result, the city of Venice immediately became in turmoil, and countless soldiers were conscripted, because it was already evening after the confirmation of the news, so countless soldiers were urgently pulled out of the bed to catch up with the city, and more people were improvised and began to build fortifications around the city walls.
The Venetian Council also hurriedly sent representatives to Henry's army to inquire about the intentions, but all of these representatives were detained by Henry.
After nearly ten hours of busyness, Venice was almost exhausted, and just when Venice was not fully prepared, the Prussian army had already appeared in the sight of the defenders of Venice.
By the time the defenders standing on the walls of Venice saw the Prussian army not far away, cold sweat was already breaking out in their palms.
The Prussians were so fast that it took less than a day for the Prussians to lead their troops out of the ranks to the time they landed in Venice.
As the sirens sounded, the gates of Venice were all closed, and all the soldiers were assembled and assigned to their respective positions.
And in the Great Council of the Republic of Venice, the fierce quarrels continued.
Looking at the chaotic council scene in front of him, Domingo, who had been in the hall for more than ten hours, was full of exhaustion, and he asked Tackerin beside him: "Did the emissaries from Milan, Florence and Pisa be sent?"
"My lord, these envoys were sent out as soon as possible, but at the moment we don't know what the Prussians are going to do, is it too early to ask for help?"
Faced with Taclin's question, Domingo rubbed his bloodshot eyes and said: "The Prussians have not replied to us so far, it seems that there is a lot of bad luck, and at this time, if the Prussians really attack and then ask for help, I am afraid it will be too late!"