The day of departure arrived, and Augustus followed the predetermined route, traveling through Umbria to the coast of Ancona, then transferring to a ship to journey by water to Venice.
The straight-line distance from Venice to Ancona is approximately 220 kilometers, and the sailing speed of a large sailboat is around 15 kilometers per hour, making the sea voyage about 15 hours.
This diplomatic visit was different from the previous trip to Florence for a banquet; it was a formal state visit, not one where he could simply bring or not bring whomever he pleased.
Accompanying personnel, in addition to those responsible for their own food, clothing, and expenses, included 4 bishops, 20 monks, 2 scholars, 36 Ministry of Foreign Affairs personnel, over a hundred major and minor nobles, and of course, Dracula and his guard.
However, the number of accompanying guards was limited to fifty this time, to avoid provoking an overreaction from the Venetians. After all, with some prior deployment and bringing the entire Swiss Guard, a sudden attack next to the Doge's Palace, capturing the leader first, and taking out Venice's ruling center in one fell swoop, was not impossible.
But he certainly couldn't do that. Not to mention the immense risk of doing so right under their noses, even if successful, he wouldn't be able to operate in the international community afterward, or perhaps there would be no 'afterward' at all.
Stirile had no problem accompanying him as a coachman, while some of his subordinates were arranged to enter Venice in advance, in case of need.
During Augustus's absence, Rome remained under Faol's charge. Faol was always steady; there would be no earth-shattering initiatives, but similarly, no major disturbances would occur. He was confident in his handling of affairs.
In Venice, after several days of intense discussion, no one could persuade anyone else. A plethora of proposals were vociferously put forward, but all were shot down one by one. In the end, there were no concrete plans, only four words: 'adapt to circumstances.'
Moreover, through these few days of cordial and friendly talks, the rifts and divisions between the various factions intensified: those pro-Pope became even more so, wishing the Pope would lead a large army into the city and be welcomed as a savior; those anti-Pope became even more so, wishing to grind the Pope to dust; and those in the middle, who tried to mediate, thought both sides were insane.
Yet, Venice possesses a remarkably unique political system, with checks and balances, and interlocking layers, where no one can truly move against another, or rather, whoever does so is highly likely to become the next target, and even the Governor of Venice is rarely an exception.
Despite the arguments, life still had to go on. Everyone was a person of standing in Venice, and truly risking everything they were born with would be too much of a loss. Whether pro-Pope or anti-Pope, while they claimed to be for Venice's national interest, it was almost always for their own. So, besides endless arguments, there was only frustrated inaction.
After Augustus learned of these situations through his intelligence network within Venice, he couldn't help but be amused. Putting himself in their shoes, if he weren't the Pope of the Papal States but sat in the Governor of Venice's position, dealing with a swarm of annoying people daily yet being powerless against them, with his private life interfered with, and even needing six Council members present to open a private letter, he might very well be driven insane.
With restrictions here and constraints there, and only a four-year term, even a person of immense capability couldn't exert their full potential. Compared to Venice, the relatively simple and direct theocratic power structure of the Papal States was more suitable for someone like him, a god descended to earth.
After adapting to several long-distance journeys, Augustus could now sleep soundly in a bumpy carriage. When tired, he slept; when awake, he could look at the scenery outside the window, read, or chat and play cards with the accompanying nobles, sometimes even involving Dracula. Although the games weren't quite like those of later eras, they were simple and easy to learn.
Moreover, as the Pope, 'inventing' new games and inviting people to play was met with enthusiasm, and it also earned him a good reputation for enjoying himself with the people. Once others found the games truly fun, they might even spontaneously promote them upon returning, thus making a small contribution to enriching public entertainment. These were truly rare days of leisure.
However, once they transferred to the ship from Ancona, it was no longer as relaxed and pleasant. The degree of rocking on the ship was incomparable to the stable, large oil and steam tankers of later eras. The feeling was simply like soaring to the heavens and plunging to the earth. From the outside, it could barely be called magnificent, but those inside were truly suffering.
Although the Papal States bordered the sea on two sides, not everyone frequently went to sea. The accompanying people were all nobles and generally didn't go to sea unless necessary, so a considerable number suffered from seasickness.
Those severely seasick vomited incessantly, starting from the moment they boarded the ship, vomiting after every meal. Sometimes, immediately after vomiting, seeing someone else vomit nearby would make them want to vomit again. With nothing left to vomit, they would dry heave, almost bringing up bile.
When Romeo had to travel by ship for his own diplomatic missions, he mostly chose accompanying nobles who weren't severely seasick. Augustus, however, completely overlooked this detail, focusing only on how to make a grand impression. No one reminded him, either because they didn't think of it or for some other reason.
Augustus himself was not much better. Although he had lived in coastal provinces for twenty years, he had only been to sea a few times and had never ridden on such a large sailboat. He, too, vomited repeatedly, feeling completely drained.
In this state, Augustus had no inclination to go out and socialize. Vomiting while playing would be utterly humiliating, and if someone else vomited on him, it would be quite unsettling. So, he honestly stayed in his private cabin.
Amidst his near-death seasickness, Augustus remembered a very serious problem: if the Papal States' army also got seasick when landing in Venice, and were half-dead from vomiting before even reaching shore, how would they fight the battle?
This was a major issue. Upon returning, he would immediately arrange several joint land and sea military exercises, simulating landing operations, to see which soldiers were good swimmers, which could overcome seasickness, and which absolutely could not, so they could select the right people for the ships.
Out of over twenty thousand men, picking a few thousand who could board a ship wouldn't be a problem, and the distance from the northernmost part of the Papal States to Venice was very short, so those who could endure a little would suffice. However, amphibious landing operations were certainly worth training for.
He recalled how, a few days prior, to promote joint bandit suppression, the elderly Romeo had personally visited multiple countries in succession, some of which also required sea travel. Not only could Romeo endure it, but he also handled all matters large and small, returning invigorated. It seemed that Lord Romeo's vigor in old age was truly well-deserved.
But it was indeed hard on him. It's easy to watch someone carry a burden without feeling the strain, but only by experiencing it firsthand does one truly understand others' difficulties.
Having mostly finished vomiting, Augustus slowly adapted and gradually drifted into slumber. After an unknown amount of time, he was awakened by cheers on the ship. Opening his eyes, he saw Venice.