The heavily damaged Venetian Fleet was unable to prevent the Austrian fleet from transporting troops to the island chain off the coast of Dalmatia.
In less than two weeks, the island of Cres and several neighboring islands successively surrendered to the Austrian army.
However, as the Venetian pulled more ships from the Aegean Sea to the Adriatic Sea to maintain naval superiority, Emperor Laszlo's hoped-for continuous island-hopping tactic ultimately could not be realized.
This was not unexpected, as the Venetian would never allow Austria to maintain continuous superiority in the Adriatic Sea.
Otherwise, one day, the Austrian army might really cross the lake and rush onto the island of Venice, and then their republic might face its true doomsday.
News of the Venetian Fleet's defeat in the Port of Pula naval battle quickly spread to all forces following the conflict.
Mehmed II was startled upon hearing this news, and only after confirming that the Venetian's losses were not so great as to cause him to lose naval superiority did the Sultan breathe a sigh of relief.
Mehmed II, having temporarily suppressed the Karaman counterattack, was now striving to stabilize the increasingly crumbling situation within the Ottoman Empire.
Due to the Venetian's defeat on his doorstep, his power in the Aegean Sea was further weakened.
To protect the straits, Mehmed II had to divert some resources to build the Ottoman navy and expand the Throat-Slasher Fortress north of Constantinople to cut off the Bosphorus Strait.
The increasing military expenditure had already left the Ottoman treasury strained, forcing him to levy heavy taxes year after year, which led to widespread rebellions in Anatolia.
With the further weakening of the Venetian's power in the Aegean Sea, the Genoese were able to continue their arms transit business between Austria and Karaman.
To obtain more aid to reclaim lost territories, the Karaman Bey did not hesitate to betray more national interests, opening ports to Austrian and Genoese merchant ships and granting more tariff reductions.
This made Mehmed II's life even more difficult.
He could neither quickly annihilate the remaining Karaman forces nor completely quell the continuous rebellions in central Anatolia, only helplessly rushing around to put out fires.
In such a busy life, Mehmed II, who was originally cheerful and easygoing, became increasingly reclusive and suspicious, especially after crushing a court conspiracy against him and experiencing two Janissaries mutinies.
He now only hoped that his ally, the Venetian, would be more reliable and not give the Austrian another chance.
Meanwhile, in the distant West, at the French King's court in Paris, Louis XI also received intelligence brought by a messenger.
"The Venetian were defeated at sea?"
Louis XI, who was reviewing financial statements at his desk, suddenly looked up and asked in disbelief.
The Duke of Anjou, René, who brought him the news, nodded gravely and said, "Yes, the Austrian fleet defeated the Venetian Adriatic Sea Fleet outside the Port of Pula, and quickly took advantage of the situation to capture many islands off the coast of Croatia.
However, the Venetian suffered little loss; it is said that many ships deserted during the battle, leading to the defeat.
Now the Venetian government has redeployed more warships from the Aegean Sea to reorganize the Adriatic Sea Fleet, so the Austrian will not be triumphant for long."
"I think it's the Venetian who won't be triumphant for long," Louis XI shook his head, disagreeing with the Duke of Anjou, René's view. "The Emperor's power will only grow stronger and stronger. The secret agents I planted in Austria, Hungary, and even the Empire have all been rooted out by him one by one, and the Duke of Burgundy he supports is now in his prime.
If we don't accelerate the pace of pacifying Burgundy and the Brittany rebels, I'm afraid the Venetian and the Ottomans will collapse first, and then we will have to face the Emperor alone."
René heard Louis XI's analysis and found it quite reasonable, and his mood became even more somber.
As long as Austria did not decline, his and the Anjou family's desire to return to Naples would remain an unfulfilled dream.
"But accelerating the pacification of Burgundy and Brittany is not an easy task.
Recently, Charles of Burgundy has been in the limelight; his Burgundy army successfully crushed the Gelre rebels, and now he has made Gelre a vassal of him and his son.
And Roussillon's....."
René's words trailed off as he thought of a recent event.
"The Roussillon rebels, and the Catalonia rebels of the Kingdom of Aragon who are deeply colluding with them, should have been pacified by now.
But now these rebels are repeatedly appearing and growing in strength; I hear the number of rebels in Aragon has reached fifty thousand.
Part of this is certainly due to Juan II's incompetence, but recently I heard that these rebels have a mysterious supporter behind them."
Louis XI's tone was not very good, and René's heart tightened as well.
The mysterious supporter he spoke of was not mysterious at all; not long ago, the Catalonia rebels of the Kingdom of Aragon sent a secret envoy to meet René, claiming that they wished for René's son, the Duke of Lorraine, Jean II, to rule Catalonia.
Before René could respond, he received a letter from Jean II, learning that his son had already set off with his army for Catalonia. René, left with no choice, could only tacitly approve his son's actions.
Since his repeated failures in Naples, Jean II had been living in Lorraine, depressed all day.
Now that such an opportunity had finally arisen, even if René tried to stop him, he likely wouldn't listen.
He had already prepared his excuse to Louis XI and was about to reveal the matter today, just as the news of the defeat from Venice arrived, making Louis XI even more upset.
"Your Majesty, this Catalonia rebellion was launched because the local nobles were dissatisfied with Juan II's decision to support King Enrique IV in the Castile civil war.
You should be aware that Juan II has always been very close to the incompetent King Enrique IV; he clearly harbors ambitions for the Kingdom of Castile.
If the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile merge, then another powerful enemy will emerge in the south of France, which is obviously not good for us.
We can use this opportunity to make Juan II give up interfering in the Castile civil war, and even further weaken the Kingdom of Aragon's strength, strengthening Juan II's dependence on us."
René wisely described his son's unauthorized actions as choices made for the kingdom's interests, and used this as a bargaining chip for future negotiations with Juan II.
Louis XI's expression indeed softened, but the sharp-tongued King couldn't help but tease, "My dear uncle, your family certainly has a lot going on.
Before, you lobbied me to help you regain Naples, and later you pleaded with me on behalf of your daughter to support your son-in-law in reclaiming the English throne.
Now, you've even gotten involved with the Catalonia rebels. I really don't know what to say.
I can turn a blind eye to your son's little maneuvers, but you must help me deal with the Roussillon rebels."
"This... I understand, Your Majesty."
René hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded, agreeing to the deal.
As Louis XI said, the Anjou family he controlled was too famous, and his ventures were too extensive, but the most fatal problem was that they lacked sufficient strength to maintain their vast and dispersed family enterprises.
Even though René had spent most of his life striving to maintain the family's power, he had to face the reality of constantly losing family territories.
First, he was defeated by the Duke of Burgundy, losing parts of Lorraine and Bar, and later he was defeated by the Kingdom of Aragon, losing all of Naples.
His daughter, with his grandson, the English Prince of the House of Lancaster, now lived in his castle, constantly seeking sponsors willing to support Lancaster against the House of York.
His son, after failing to secure Naples, was now on a quest to acquire Catalonia.
And he himself remained at the center of the French political maelstrom, constantly seeking support from his nephew, Louis XI, for the Anjou family.
Unfortunately, he had so far faithfully assisted the King, but had not seen Louis XI's intention to fulfill his promises.
"The Roussillon rebels are not a big problem after all, but to deal with the Duke of Burgundy, I need more troops.
The Swiss were defeated, and the damned Estates General has strictly limited the number of ordinance cavalry; they are unwilling to pay an extra penny now.
I need more money to expand my artillery regiments, and my Scottish Guard."
Louis XI's gaze was fixed on the financial report as he complained irritably. He had already squeezed enough money from merchants, nobles, and commoners, and this money had played an important role in the first few years of his reign, allowing him to clear many troubles.
But now, he didn't have enough money and had to find ways to acquire income from other sources.
"If... we reinstate the pragmatic sanction of bourges, that would increase a considerable amount of income each year.
Moreover, Your Majesty can also learn from Emperor Laszlo.
Since Austria established an archbishopric, the Emperor has forced the Austrian church to disclose its assets and pay taxes commensurate with their income, confiscating any undeclared assets.
Perhaps Your Majesty can also implement the same policy in the Gallican Church, but the Pope's side..."
René proposed the best current method to increase royal income, which made Louis XI's eyes light up.
"Paul II? Hmph, his attitude is completely irrelevant.
When I amended the pragmatic sanction of bourges, those cardinals in Rome praised me all day long.
As a result, as soon as this Paul II came to power, he repeatedly made public statements, demanding that I completely abolish this decree. Did he think he could order me?
Regarding the Emperor's actions, that old man has always remained silent.
Not long ago, he even joined an alliance formed by the Emperor; that old geezer is simply a two-faced hypocrite!"
Louis XI had long been dissatisfied with Paul II.
When he amended the decree to restore the Gallican Church's tribute to the Roman Curia, it was merely to stabilize the domestic situation and prevent the church from colluding with the nobles against him.
After dismantling the League of Public Weal, Louis XI had long wanted to find an opportunity to change that decree back, and René's policy of disclosing church assets, proposed on this basis, also aligned with his wishes.
There was no reason why the Emperor could do it and he, the King of France, could not; after all, everyone was on equal footing.
Thus, a determined Louis XI quickly promulgated a series of policies targeting the church in the Kingdom of France, attempting to extract more money from the church to expand his army.
At the same time, the three dukes of Brittany, Berry, and Burgundy were also preparing for war.
Everyone following the situation in France knew that another League of Public Weal war was bound to break out within the next two years.
In Rome, in the magnificent Palazzo Venezia, Pope Paul II also received news that troubled him.
"Your Holiness, Austria and Venice have gone to war. The two sides fought a naval battle in the Gulf of Venice, and the Austrian won and took advantage of the situation to seize several Venetian islands."
The resident papal legate, who had returned from Venice, informed Paul II of the latest news.
"What? This is not what the Emperor promised!"
Although Paul II had a premonition, he did not expect this day to come so quickly.
Clearly, his homeland, Venice, was also one of the Emperor's targets.
And it was unclear whether the maritime Crusade the Emperor had previously declared he would launch was real, or merely an excuse to gain support.
"Your Holiness, this war is undoubtedly unjust, and the mutual warfare between Catholic nations will only give infidels an opportunity..."
The papal legate had undoubtedly come with the Venetian government's entrustment, and his words plunged Paul II into a dilemma.
On one side was his homeland, and on the other was the Emperor, who was willing to support him in launching a Crusade; it was inappropriate for him to side with either.
As for the Emperor's reason for attacking Venice, it was undoubtedly something about colluding with infidels.
Paul II had always been well aware of this, but for various considerations of interest, he had tacitly approved such behavior, which had tormented him at times.
He was a fervent believer, deeply interested in the cause of expelling infidels.
Emperor Laszlo, playing to his preferences, declared his willingness to organize a new Crusade, thereby earning Paul II's goodwill and his tacit approval of Emperor Laszlo's various measures in the Archbishopric of Vienna.
However, Austria was not deploying its long-accumulated naval power in a war against infidels, but instead chose to go to war with Venice.
After weighing the pros and cons, Paul II chose the method most commonly used by successive popes: to mediate.
"I will write a letter to the Emperor, urging him to prepare and launch the Crusade he previously promised as soon as possible.
The war between Austria and Venice is indeed detrimental to the cause of the Holy War. I will advise the Emperor in the letter, and I ask you to go as a special envoy to mediate this conflict.
If peace can be achieved with the current territories, that would be ideal. If the Emperor is still not satisfied..."
Paul II wanted to unleash the most severe punishment in the entire Catholic world—excommunication—but the Emperor's immense power made him hesitate.
"In short, you should try your best to mediate the dispute between the two parties."
"Yes, Your Holiness."
Soon after, the special envoy departed from Rome with the Pope's letter, heading to Austria, attempting to stop all this before the war escalated.