Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1888 Aftermath ([-])

Alberto Morosini had just finished his journey in Zakynthos and was about to set off for Venice when a ship unexpectedly interrupted his itinerary.

This ship was coming from the direction of the Ottoman Empire. Because it was flying the flag of the East Coast Republic of China, several Venetian galley warships stationed in the port went up to check and confirm it, and then put it into the within the port.After more than ten years of in-depth cooperation with the East Coast Republic of China, the interests of the Republic of Venice have largely relied on being an agent of goods on the East Coast and their many investments in New China Island. Europe is very cooperative with various policies on the east coast, such as mixing with the feudal manor owners of the Crimean Khanate on the north coast of the Black Sea, etc. The treatment is regarded as a friendly country on the east coast.Therefore, after confirming that the brig named "Venice" is a diplomatic ship of the East Coast Republic, it will be brought into the port immediately and berthed at a dedicated berth.

Alberto Morosini was on the island supervising the transport of goods for several state farms as a commissioner of commerce sent by the noble council of the Venetian Republic to the vicinity.These farms belong to the Fengyu Office of Venice City, and produce the famous olive oil and seedless raisins of Zakynthos Island. They are very popular commodities in Venice, and they can also reap a lot of profits if they are resold to other countries.From this point of view, you can understand why the Venetians are so obsessed with some islands off the coast of the Ottoman Empire: I can’t beat you on land, take advantage of your navy scum, colonize some corners or small islands, and gain some benefits. It won't be too big, will it?

Of course, the Ottoman Empire did not want the islands at its doorstep to be occupied by the Venetians, so they have been trying to recapture them for many years, but their naval strength is not enough, and they have always ended in failure.Furthermore, the tragic Cretan War - fought for more than 20 years, and the Ottoman Empire lost about 40 people, including coastal residents - has just ended less than a generation ago, and many people still remember it vividly And shuddered.Whether it is the sultan at the top of the empire, the grand vizier, or the Aga at the grassroots level, they are very cautious about these islands occupied by the Venetians, and have not tried to send a large army to retake them like Crete. Obviously, they also The fear of another Cretan War broke out.The family is as powerful as Ottoman, and he can't afford another 24-year-long tug-of-war like the Crete War.

Therefore, under such circumstances, these small islands of the Venetians have been tenaciously preserved, and it seems that they will continue to remain for a long time. Gein is now in considerable trouble for the Ottoman Empire!

This time, the person who came to Zakynthos Island on the "Venetian" sailing ship was not the planned Thessaloniki Station Master, but Gao Wengang himself, the East Coast Plenipotentiary Envoy to Europe.After realizing that he would not be able to see any of the Sultan or the Grand Vizier even if he was sitting in Thessaloniki, someone Gao decisively changed his mind, left this important port city in Greece, and took a ship belonging to the Thessaloniki Merchant The boat at the station went south to Zakynthos Island to see if he could meet the powerful figures in Venice.And his luck is obviously not bad. Here he met Alberto Morosini, who has dealt with people from the east coast many times and is currently in a high position in Venice. An ancestor once served in the Republic of Venice Queen of the noble family of the consul.

Morosini immediately came out to receive Gao Wengang.In a private manor on the island—Zakynthos Island is not only the farm of the Fengyu Office, in fact, the manors belonging to the dignitaries of Venice belong to the majority—Alberto Morosini first smiled and said that Gao Wengang Fortunately, I met myself, otherwise I don't know what to do.

Gao Wengang was not in the mood to talk and laugh. He directly said that if he could not meet Morosini, he would always meet some other person in charge, anyway, as long as he could send messages.Afterwards, he changed the subject and said directly to Morosini: "This is a diplomatic letter I wrote to your consul, please take it back and hand it over. Of course, you can read this letter now, and I also hope that If you make some comments, if it is reasonable, I will revise it on the spot and re-transcribe it."

Alberto Morosini restrained his smile when he heard the words, and took the letter from Gao Wengang suspiciously. After a rough look, his face immediately turned extremely pale.He stood up abruptly, walked around the room a few times anxiously, and then said to Gao Wengang excitedly, "Mr. Special Envoy, what you handed over to me is really a big trouble. As a cooperation Partners for many years, I will not hide from you, yes, yes, our government has plans to respond to the Austrian Kingdom on the flanks and attack the Ottoman coastal areas, and has officially put it into practice. Our behavior is understandable, because The Ottomans are also releasing malice against us all the time. We must fight for our own living space. This time is such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we plan to send troops to attack the southern coast of the Ottoman Empire and wait for the opportunity to restore some The land that was seized by the Ottomans."

"Your government is sure that the Ottomans will fail by doing this?" Gao Wengang was still quite perceptive, and immediately grasped the words of the other party and asked.

"That's right, we are not afraid to admit this." But Alberto Morosini nodded generously, admitted Gao Wengang's statement, and continued: "Compared to Mr. Special Envoy, you also know Vienna It seems that the army of the Ottoman Empire is besieging the city, but in fact? Is the situation really as critical as the siege of Vienna? First of all, it is winter, and the Ottoman Empire besieged Vienna in winter more than 100 years ago, and the result was tragic Failure, there will not be much change now; secondly, the Pope has announced the Holy Alliance before, calling on Germany, Italy, Poland and other princes of the Catholic world to send reinforcements, and those who have no soldiers will donate money and materials to hire mercenaries with rich experience in war Heading to Austria, this time even the French Kingdom, the other end of the Holy League, is also feeling agitated. Some nobles and soldiers went to Austria in their personal capacity to fight to the death with the heretics; again, Ottoman had too many enemies, and they offended Poland, Austria Russia, Russia and even Persia can be said to be attacked on all sides. At the favorable time when they are pouring out their country, I don't believe that these people will not make any moves. Even Russia, which has signed a 20-year truce with the Ottomans, may have to Small tricks in the dark are quite deadly; and in the end, are the Ottomans still the Ottomans, and the Guards the same Guards?"

The last sentence of Morosini really grasped the main point of the key points. The Guards (that is, the Ganishari Army) have fallen, and their combat effectiveness is not good. This is the key to the Ottoman Empire's siege of Vienna.Once upon a time, the Ganishari Army was synonymous with bravery and loyalty, except that it was wiped out when fighting against the Mongolian Timur Army (Sultan Bayezid was captured, his Serbian queen was forced to dance naked in front of the Mongols, and the Ottoman Empire also was split into four...), and the rest of the time has been the master of tigers and wolves that has made the Christian world of Central Europe fear.

But no matter how powerful the legion is, it will fall. In the early years, the Sudan stipulated that the soldiers of the Guards were not allowed to marry or grow beards. They honed their war skills as adults and learned religious knowledge and traditional Turkish culture. Their combat effectiveness was strong.But because the officers and soldiers of the Guards could enter the palace as officials, their power gradually increased and became a political force, so the later Sudan was forced to agree that the officers and soldiers of the Guards could marry and grow beards, allowing their offspring Joining the Guards, so the size of the legion has been expanded again and again, creating a new class in the Ottoman Empire, that is, the Ganishari Guards class.

By now, the Guards had become a privileged class that could not be ignored.In recent decades, the Sultan and the successive Grand Viziers have been trying to rectify this legion, but sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail, and even the number of successes only provoked internal strife within the Guards, causing a group of people to fight against each other. The other group of people (many of those who failed were exiled to New China and the East Coast, and the people on the East Coast are quite clear about the inside story...) made them obedient for the time being, but the whole class of the Guards has always stood firm. It's a headache.

And now that it has become a politically privileged class, its combat effectiveness will naturally be unable to maintain, and a gradual decline has become inevitable.Of course, it is not without officers trying to re-strengthen the combat effectiveness of the Ganishari Army. The people on the east bank have also helped a lot, such as sending officers to explain the latest war ideas to them, selling a large amount of weapons and military supplies, etc., but all have achieved great results. micro.After all, I, Ottoman, have my own national conditions here. You people from the east coast don't even have a beard, so why give me lectures?

Alberto Morosini knew all kinds of things about the Ottoman Empire very well. After years of research, he knew no less than Gao Wengang, so it was difficult for him to answer this question. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly and said : "You are right. The internal chaos of the Ottoman Empire, Wen Tian and Wu Xi, still think they are strong, immersed in the confusion of conquering east and west more than 100 years ago, and having no rivals. Now, Alberto, I I have no other requirements, I just hope that you can take this diplomatic letter back to your consul as soon as possible, I don’t want the Republic of Venice to appear in this war, of course we will give some benefits for this, everything is fine It's in this letter."

In fact, strictly speaking, Gao Wengang's letter was to clean up the aftermath of the Ottoman Empire.He no longer has much hope for the empire's victory in Vienna. All he is counting on is that Sultan Mehmet IV will not use remote control commands, and Grand Vizier Mustafa will not lose all his chips. , lost too many troops, otherwise how to defend in other places?How do the domestic Christian lords deter them?

In addition, through the influence of the east coast, let Venice and Russia, which have already sharpened their knives, come to an emergency stop (of course, the latter may be more difficult), and do not participate in beating the dog in the water.Of course he understands how countries such as Venice and Russia hate Ottomans. Regardless of the latter, the former was really frightened this time: the 20 troops of the Ottoman Empire marched along the Danube and attacked Vienna. It seems logical to enter the hinterland of Germany or go south to invade the Italian peninsula.And once it wants to invade the Italian peninsula, wouldn't the Republic of Venetia, which owns a large territory in northern Italy, bear the brunt?This is in danger of subjugation!

If you think about the fights between Venice and Ottoman in the Eastern Mediterranean in the past, it was all for some islands or small pieces of coastal land. It is good to win, but the country will not perish if you lose.But if the Ottoman Empire captures Vienna, the sky will really fall for Venice, so what they have to do is reasonable: take advantage of the great opportunity of the emptiness in the Ottoman Empire, dispatch the navy and part of the army Attacking the coastal areas of the Ottoman Empire is the best way!In this way, you will not encounter great difficulties, and at the same time you can capture people and property, wouldn't it be beautiful!

But what people on the East Coast are worried about is that the Venetians are doing this!Because their fleet is strong and the Ottoman navy is too scumbag, the Venetians can even blockade Istanbul, which will undoubtedly cause great chaos to the empire. People and materials from Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and other places The inability to transport it to the Rumili area in the west in time will affect the stamina of the Ottoman Empire, causing them to suffer undue serious losses in a series of battles that may erupt later.

In order to persuade the Venetians to do this, Gao Wengang intends to give them some additional benefits: such as giving them more commodity agency shares, such as exporting some sensitive machinery or tools to them, such as allowing them to invest more land in Xinhua Island, For example, persuading the Crimean Khanate to cooperate more deeply with them and so on.

But Gao Wengang is not sure whether these additional benefits are enough to persuade the Venetians to let Osman go at this time.He wasn't sure, because in his view the benefits were good, but still insignificant compared with the survival of the country.However, he still wanted to try his best, trying to persuade the consul of Venice not to weaken the Ottoman Empire too much on the grounds that the Ottoman Empire was doomed, its decline was inevitable, and Austria's long-term rise was in full swing!After all, the Ottoman tiger wants to eat people, but it doesn't make sense for the Austrian tiger to not eat people. Isn't the best way to let the two tigers bite each other so that both sides suffer?

This angle is the only reason that can convince the Venetian Consul. He is not sure if it will work, so he can only do his best.After that, he will go to the northern shore of the Black Sea to see if he can contact the Russians. This side is also very important.

(End of this chapter)