"Excellent, then this matter is happily decided," Augustus nodded contentedly, then frowned and said, "Another thing, what's going on with your country's law restricting the Church's ownership of real estate?"
Donato unhurriedly took out the prepared statement: "In recent years, the Church has acquired a large amount of land in Venice through donations and purchases, which is essentially no different from land annexation.
The Church's land annexation has caused very serious problems, not only leading to a large number of small nobles and commoners becoming displaced, but also greatly reducing the state's tax revenue. It can be said that it incites popular unrest and empties the national treasury, with extremely negative consequences.
Therefore, the Venice Republic had no choice but to enact relevant laws to restrict the Church's ownership of real estate to curb land annexation. This is a problem with Venice's land, and it should have nothing to do with the Papal States, right? Moreover, His Holiness the Pope is compassionate and should not encourage the Church to annex land, right?"
It must be said that the Venice Republic, with its collective wisdom, was well-prepared, skillfully shifting the issue to land annexation and standing on the moral high ground to morally bind Augustus, who was momentarily stumped.
Just as Augustus was carefully pondering Donato's words and trying to find flaws, Facio preempted him: "Unrestrained land annexation does indeed trigger a series of social problems, there is no doubt about that. However, the Church is not the only one engaging in land annexation; it only accounts for a very small portion. Merchants and nobles engaging in land annexation are much more serious. Not to mention others, just those present here, I'm afraid each of you is wealthy enough to rival a nation, aren't you?"
At this point, the Venice representatives looked at each other, not knowing how to refute. Those who could sit there were all influential figures in Venice, and of course, each of them owned a large amount of real estate.
Seeing that the Venice people had nothing to say, Facio pressed on: "However, in the laws enacted by your country, there is no mention of restrictions on nobles and merchants annexing land, only those targeting the Church. Is this because you are afraid of touching your own interests, or are you intentionally suppressing the Church? In any case, curbing land annexation is certainly not the main objective, is it?"
Augustus cast an approving glance at Facio.
Donato's face flushed red as he argued, "Of course, we enacted this law to curb land annexation. Restrictions on nobles and merchants will also come later, but because the scope involved is too broad, both the formulation of the law and its specific implementation are much more complex, so it is still under discussion. But it is undeniable that restricting land annexation is beneficial to the country and its people, isn't it?"
"If there will also be restrictions on nobles and merchants, then what is the deadline? I'm afraid it's a long way off!" a representative from the Papal States complained.
Augustus waved his hand and said, "I don't care when the nobles and merchants of Venice will be restricted from annexing land, nor is it my business to manage. The current problem is that the Church is being treated unfairly in Venice, and what is this if not targeting the Church?
If your country truly intends to resolve land annexation and can treat everyone equally, we will not only not oppose it but also strongly support it. If the plan is practical and effective, we are even willing to promote your plan to the Papal States and even to various European countries."
The reason Augustus dared to say this was that he clearly understood Venice's true intentions and also knew that this group of people in Venice would never touch their own cheese to curb the so-called land annexation.
Seeing that the Pope's attitude on this matter was clear and forcing the Papal States to accept the facts was not feasible, Donato said, "Indeed, we were not thorough in our consideration and caused a misunderstanding. Then, Your Holiness, in your opinion, what should we do now?"
"For the smooth cooperation between the Papal States and Venice, I hope your country can temporarily abolish this law, and after we return victoriously, we can formulate a more reasonable law, which will be more acceptable to both of us."
Augustus's words struck a chord with Donato. As the biggest beneficiary, it was acceptable for Venice to make some temporary concessions for the smooth progress of the cooperation. Once the benefits were obtained, they could re-enact the law.
After much deliberation, Donato gave a positive reply: "Good! For the smooth progress of the cooperation and to more effectively curb land annexation, I, on behalf of Venice, accept your proposal. We will temporarily suspend the law restricting the Church's ownership of real estate."
Donato's prompt agreement somewhat surprised Augustus. Many of the arguments prepared by the Papal States had not yet been used, and he couldn't help but suspect a trick. However, after much thought, it shouldn't be a bigger trick than his own plan.
…
In the following days, the Papal States and Venice reached a settlement on many issues between them, greatly reducing the estrangement between the two countries. At least for now.
After Venice sorted out the data and went through a fierce negotiation, it was finally agreed: the Papal States would advance 500,000 ducats in military expenses to Venice.
This was an astronomical sum for many countries, but Augustus believed it was worth it as long as he could implement his plan. Moreover, if he succeeded, this money would only be temporarily stored in Venice.
With their goal achieved, Augustus and his entourage no longer lingered. After bidding farewell, they immediately returned by ship along the same route.
Watching the Papal States' large ship grow smaller and smaller on the sea of Venice until it disappeared, Donato showed a relieved smile: "This is truly Venice's greatest diplomatic victory since the Third Crusade!"
"Your Excellency the Doge, there's something I've never understood, and I'd like to ask for your guidance," Donato's confidant beside him asked in confusion.
"Speak."
"Although our gains from this negotiation are unprecedented, aren't our concessions to the Papal States a bit too large? For example, the law restricting Church real estate, even if we maintained the status quo, what could the Pope do? He could only accept the established facts. Now we are changing policies overnight, which I fear will harm our credibility."
"What do you know?" Donato said disdainfully, "The gains from this meeting, that 500,000 ducats, are just the tip of the iceberg; there's a bigger chunk to come.
The Pope, upon taking office, promised to resist the Ottoman and aid Augustus, which can be said to be a fixed national policy. Now that he is fulfilling his promise, this battle concerns the Pope's prestige, and the Papal States will certainly go all out.
The Papal States' army will attack the coastal cities of the Ottoman Empire, and the conquered lands will all be ours. Is there anything more exciting than this?
If the Pope's army can conquer land from the Ottoman Empire for us, our national strength will inevitably achieve a leap, and by then, the Papal States can only stand by and watch whatever we in Venice want to do.
If the Pope's army is not up to the task and cannot conquer land from the Ottoman Empire, and our navy is no match for the Ottoman Empire, it is understandable for us to retreat and preserve our strength. By then, the tens of thousands of troops built by the Papal States with the full strength of their nation will all be buried in the Balkan Peninsula. In this way, the Papal States will not be able to pose a threat to us for decades, and we will not have suffered any harm and will have earned such a large sum of money, and similarly, we will no longer have to consider the feelings of the Papal States!"
"Your Excellency the Doge's strategic planning and foresight are truly admirable, I am impressed!"
Donato was smug about his wisdom, his face beaming with pride.