The water city of Venice, once the most crucial and prosperous hub for Asian-European trade, was now in decline for various reasons.
The loss of mainland territories forced the Venetians to take huge risks by choosing a longer route to try their luck in the west, or to endure heavy tariffs when trading with countries like Austria.
Fortunately, some important monopoly goods were not heavily targeted, and these precious Eastern goods were key to the Republic of Venice's continued existence.
However, the situation had now changed completely.
In the Adriatic Sea, Austria, allied with Naples, posed a significant threat to Venice's trade routes.
Patrol fleets could barely maintain a safe passage from Venice to Corfu, but they were not infallible, so this route could only be considered relatively safe.
Moreover, with Austria's various actions, the Venetian government faced increasing pressure.
Inside the Council of Ten's hall, Moro, the Doge of Venice, and the councilors sat around a table, their expressions growing more solemn by the minute.
These oligarchs, who held the highest power in Venice, were well aware that Venice was on the brink of a precipice, and one wrong move could send it plunging into an abyss.
At such a critical moment, it was inevitable that people's morale would be shaken, which was Moro's greatest concern.
His gaze roamed the council hall, trying to ascertain that none of his colleagues harbored any inappropriate thoughts, but these shrewd and experienced councilors concealed their intentions well.
"Have the messengers sent to see Emperor Laszlo returned? I'm eager to know the current situation; we've already lost dozens of merchant ships in the past few months."
A portly councilor appeared quite agitated; several of his ships had been attacked near Ragusa, and both ships and cargo were seized by privateers.
This had caused him a loss of at least twenty thousand florins, even making him so angry that he almost publicly denounced the navy's incompetence.
And the culprit behind all this—Emperor Laszlo—had been subjected to countless curses and condemnations.
"Emperor Laszlo refuses to release all the merchant ships he has detained, claiming that the captains and crews on those ships have 'voluntarily' pledged allegiance to him and will henceforth serve Austria.
As for the letters of marque, Emperor Laszlo offered no explanation; he is condoning and protecting those pirates in the Adriatic Sea, watching them slowly breed and grow."
Moro sighed helplessly, explaining the outcome of the negotiations to everyone.
After Austria's letters of marque were issued, the Venetian government had sent envoys to protest to Emperor Laszlo, but the response they received was that Emperor Laszlo detained two Venetian merchant ships in Trieste, forcing them to serve Austria.
Although Emperor Laszlo offered many favorable terms to the Venetian merchants and publicly declared that the two merchant ships had 'voluntarily' pledged allegiance,
the councilors were well aware that merchant ships separated from Venice would be completely unable to operate.
For a long time, Venice had established a monopoly network and various trade privileges in the Eastern Mediterranean, such as only Venice and Genoa being legally allowed to enter Mamluk core trade ports without paying high tariffs.
This privilege was the result of long-term diplomatic maneuvering, something continental countries like Austria could not replicate.
If a merchant betrayed Venice and defected to another country, it would be tantamount to directly abandoning their core commercial interests.
Those merchants who, out of fear or other reasons, defected to Austria could now only manage to survive by engaging in transit trade.
Some even suffered retaliatory attacks from Venetian warships at sea, resulting in their ships being destroyed and lives lost.
Of course, some merchants also defected to the Genoa Republic. Although not many went there due to the long-standing enmity between the two nations, it was still enough to impact Venice.
After the Ottoman decline, the Genoa Republic, relying on Emperor Laszlo, re-strengthened its control over Black Sea trade, almost squeezing Venice out.
They relied on the Black Sea-Aegean Sea-Mamluk trade route to transport large numbers of slaves to Egypt, exchanging them for valuable Eastern trade goods, posing a considerable threat to the Venetian system of Eastern Mediterranean trade.
In the preceding decades, Genoa had gradually declined and repeatedly became a vassal of continental powers, leading to a diminishing threat to Venice.
The Venetians, dominating the Eastern Mediterranean, then ceased to consider this century-old rival a serious concern.
However, with Emperor Laszlo's support, the Genoa Republic showed signs of rising again.
Recently, the Genoese not only intercepted two Karaman ports that should have belonged to Venice but also strengthened their control over Famagusta, a Genoese colony in southeastern Cyprus.
As a result, the Genoese had re-established a foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean and began to dabble in things beyond the slave trade, such as spices and saltpeter.
Almost all the Eastern goods they obtained from the Mamluk Sultanate were transported to Austria for sale, gradually eroding the foundation of Venetian merchants' monopolized trade.
It was as if the era had returned to over a hundred years ago when the two republics, Venice and Genoa, were fiercely at war, and their ships could erupt into conflict at any encounter at sea.
Fortunately, the Republic of Venice's foundations were deep enough to still exert pressure on Genoa in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.
However, the Adriatic Sea, right on their doorstep, had become chaotic, causing the Venetians immense headaches.
"No explanation? This is an act of war! Do those Austrian barbarians not even bother with reason anymore?"
A certain councilor exclaimed, though his heart felt a little hollow.
In the last war, the Venetians lost most of their mainland territories and were forced to hand over the Doge who instigated the war, enduring the great humiliation Emperor Laszlo inflicted upon them.
If another war broke out, who knew if they, too, would be sent to the gallows.
"Gentlemen, though I regret it, I must clearly inform you that we are already embroiled in a war against Emperor Laszlo, and the seas are full of our enemies."
Moro rapped the table, indicating that his words were not a joke.
At this, the faces of the Council of Ten's members grew even grimmer.
"War without declaration, how shameful."
Someone cursed through gritted teeth.
"We must resolutely strike back!"
This was Niccolo, a pro-war councilor and a wealthy financial oligarch, who harbored political ambitions and hoped to gain higher status and prestige through this war.
When the Doge led the fundraising effort to organize the fleet, he contributed the most money and was thus appointed commander of the escort fleet.
"War is not good for us; we should try to negotiate peace and meet Emperor Laszlo's terms. If ceding a few ports can make the Austrians quiet for a while, it is not unacceptable."
These were the majority of the peace faction, who declared that war was not beneficial to the Venetians.
In fact, most Venetians did not want war, but at the same time, they hoped the Venetian government could effectively guarantee the safety of trade routes, so they could trade and make money with peace of mind.
However, the reality did not allow them that luxury; as long as a ship flew the Golden Lion of Saint Mark, it could be attacked by privateers along the Adriatic Sea coast.
The deep-seated conflict between Austria and Venice destined the two sides to fight to the death.
"Of course, we must seek peace, but ceding territory and paying indemnities will not bring peace. Only by making the Austrian barbarians feel the pain will they understand the value of peace."
Moro stated his position seriously, and this was approved by most councilors.
"The biggest reason Emperor Laszlo dares to challenge us at sea is his makeshift naval fleet. If we can annihilate it, negotiating peace with Austria will be no problem."
Niccolo was full of confidence, as if Venice's fleet could easily crush the Austrian navy.
His confidence was actually well-founded; they had previously raised funds to recruit armed merchant ships and warships to form an escort fleet, temporarily suppressing privateering activities in the Adriatic Sea.
Currently, the main force of this fleet was enforcing a strict blockade of the Austrian coast in the Gulf of Venice, having almost sunk or captured all ships bound for Austrian ports.
On paper, their escort fleet consisted of over sixty ships of various sizes, including six main oar-and-sail warships and several medium and small carracks.
In contrast, the Austrian navy had only over forty warships, many of which were refurbished second-hand Venetian warships captured in the past, making their strength relatively weaker.
The naval strength was sixty ships against forty; the advantage was ours!
"But ever since our escort fleet was organized, the Austrian fleet has always avoided battle. Can we find an opportunity to deal with them?"
"Now is a good opportunity," Moro revealed a top-secret intelligence report, "Our spy in the Port of Pula reports that Emperor Laszlo has personally led the Austrian Guards to Istria.
Their target is clearly Cres Island, and the latest intelligence shows that the Austrian naval fleet is sailing towards Pula and will soon enter the Gulf of Venice."
"Then what are we waiting for? Your Excellency, the Doge, quickly order the fleet to assemble! I will send all those damned Austrian barbarians to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish!"
"Niccolo, this war concerns the fate of Venice; please give it your all."
"Please rest assured, everyone, I will fight to the end to protect Venice."
Niccolo thumped his chest, vowing solemnly.
This decision was quickly sent down to the Grand Council for discussion, and most councilors agreed to engage Austria in a decisive naval battle.
There was no other way; these nobles, whose names were recorded in the Golden Book, were only nobles in Venice.
In the lost territories, the property of the Golden Book nobles was entirely confiscated by Emperor Laszlo, and their privileges were completely abolished.
These were centuries of accumulated wealth and power for each noble family, but once they left the Republic of Venice, almost all their resources would vanish.
Within the already completely closed circle of Venetian nobles, their tradition of intermarriage and joint deliberation had continued for hundreds of years.
All their interests were integrated with the Republic; they would prosper or suffer together.
Therefore, as long as there was a possibility for the Republic to continue, they would try their best to salvage the critical situation.
Of course, some also realized that the decline, or even demise, of Venice was almost inevitable, but before the final moment arrived, few had the courage to align themselves with Emperor Laszlo.
After all, outside of Venice, in the eyes of those in power under feudal systems, they were merely fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered, just like the Jews who had wandered for a thousand years.
After the decision was made, the ships that were originally performing blockade duties throughout the Gulf of Venice were quickly assembled.
Under the command of naval admiral Niccolo, they headed straight for the Port of Pula, intending to intercept the Austrian fleet there.
On the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, the Austrian fleet was sailing close to the Dalmatian island chain towards the northwestern Port of Pula.
On the deck of the flagship, the carrack Genoa, Austrian naval admiral Dujam was discussing the current situation with his nephew, Ivan.
"Uncle, the main Venetian fleet is currently gathered in the Gulf of Venice. Shouldn't we slow down a bit and wait for the reinforcing fleets from Ragusa and Naples to catch up and rendezvous?"
Ivan suggested to Dujam with some concern.
Dujam shook his head, rejecting his suggestion, and said earnestly, "Our sailing speed is not fast; they have every opportunity to rendezvous with us near Ragusa, but the fact is I haven't even seen a shadow of the reinforcing fleet.
They are trailing far behind, and I'm afraid that if we fall behind in the battle with the Venetians, they will immediately return the way they came.
And if we gain the upper hand, they will 'enthusiastically' rush forward to share the spoils of war with us.
So don't count on any reinforcements; let's rely on ourselves."
As he spoke, Dujam turned his head to look at the three carracks next to the flagship; unlike the other warships flying the double-headed eagle flag, these three ships flew the white-backed red-cross flag of Saint George.
This small fleet was sent by the Genoese to assist the Austrian navy in combat; their main task should have been to assist in troop transport and landing operations, but they also had opportunities to play a role in naval battles.
Compared to the less affluent Ragusa and Naples, the Genoese aid was much more substantial.
They had always been very enthusiastic about participating in actions against the Venetians, and this time was no exception.
About eighty years ago, also outside the Port of Pula, the Genoese fleet decisively defeated the main Venetian fleet in one battle.
Unfortunately, in the subsequent Battle of Chioggia, the Genoese fleet was unexpectedly ambushed and heavily defeated by a temporarily reassembled Venetian fleet, and Genoa had never fully recovered since.
Dujam only hoped that these Genoese could help him achieve a victory as glorious as the Battle of Pula from back then.
Ivan fell silent upon hearing this. Indeed, as his uncle said, the Ragusans and Neapolitans all had their own selfish motives, and he was no exception.
The most important reason he led his family fleet to participate in this war was that Emperor Laszlo intended to attack Cres to lift the island chain blockade on Croatia.
His territory, Krk Island, was adjacent to Cres Island, and if he performed well in this battle, Emperor Laszlo might bestow this island upon him.
Even if Emperor Laszlo ultimately kept Cres for himself, the open Croatian shipping lanes would still greatly benefit him, which was the main purpose of his participation in this operation.
Just as the uncle and nephew were each pondering their own calculations, a shout suddenly came from the lookout, breaking the calm atmosphere.
"Venetian fleet spotted to the northwest, massive in number!"