Although the Venetian reinforcement fleet arrived, the counterattack on the islands of Cres and others was delayed.
This quickly led Laszlo to conclude that the Venetians had likely shifted their strategic focus to Greek territories, intending to resist the invasions from Bulgaria and other vassal states.
Therefore, after ordering the main force of the Guards to continue defending the Austrian sea frontier, he left the coast with his entourage and began his journey north.
In his palace in Graz, Laszlo received a secret letter from the Pope.
"The Pope's tone is much milder this time."
Laszlo read the letter with pleasure; although Paul II still urged him to prioritize the greater good of resisting infidels, he no longer expressed any dissatisfaction with his war against Venice.
"The Holy See believes your concerns are somewhat justified."
The messenger was the same as last time, named Carlo Barbo, a nephew of Paul II.
Ostensibly, he was sent by the Pope to mediate the conflict between Austria and Venice, but in reality, due to Venice's ecclesiastical autonomy, he himself was also under the command of the Venetian government.
Of course, now the power he represented was neither the Pope nor Venice, but the prominent Venetian Barbo Family.
"It seems you have made your decision."
Laszlo smiled; it was understandable for Paul II to favor Venice, but as Pope, his true duty was to be loyal to his faith.
Although Venetians often quoted the great Doge Enrico Dandolo, who used strategy to set Byzantium ablaze and led Venice to rapid rise, saying, "Let us first be Venetians, then Christians," Paul II's own faith was beyond doubt.
Historically, Paul II not only negotiated with Frederick III and Matthias I multiple times to plan a Crusade against the Ottomans, but also excommunicated Iri, the Hussite King of Bohemia, and personally instigated the Second Hussite War, ultimately returning Bohemia to the Catholic faith.
Although his extremely conservative policies earned him the infamous title of an anti-humanist Pope and he was criticized for it thereafter, his contemporaries generally gave him positive evaluations such as "good-natured" and "pious."
Ultimately, everything he did was to restore the Pope's authority and simultaneously oppose any forces that might threaten the Catholic faith—all infidels and heretics.
Unfortunately, by the time of Paul II, the Holy See's finances were particularly strained, and secularization was almost inevitable, with the Holy See increasingly participating directly in European political affairs as a political entity.
Unlike several Popes before him who received large sponsorships from powerful backers, Paul II, as a product of compromise, had less intimate relations with the Empire and France.
Moreover, his predecessor, Pius II, had squandered the Holy See's treasury to promote church reforms and alleviate the harsh governance of Rome.
Paul II had to find ways to make money while also maneuvering with various parties to achieve his political ambitions.
And as a Venetian, the Venetian government did not offer him much help; instead, it hoped to use his position as Pope to continuously gain advantages for Venice.
Over time, he began to feel dissatisfied with the greedy Venetian government, and it was at this moment that the Emperor extended an olive branch to him.
With the small boat of Venice about to capsize in the storm, and still having a chance to secure a lifeline for his Barbo Family, Paul II quickly made his choice.
"The Holy See has agreed to your proposal; in exchange, he can persuade the Portuguese for you."
Carlo's posture was very humble, as Paul II had decided to follow the same path as his two predecessors—to stand back-to-back with the Emperor to maintain order in Europe and defend the Catholic faith.
Part of this was, of course, due to his recognition of the Habsburg Family's strength, and another important incentive was the French King Louis XI's announcement a few days prior to restore the edict of mainz.
The audacious French King not only abolished various tributes from the Gallican Church to the Holy See, pocketing the money himself, but also monopolized the right to nominate and appoint high-ranking clergy.
Furthermore, to increase tax revenue to counter the increasingly powerful Burgundy and the Empire behind it, Louis XI decided to learn from the advanced experience of the Capetian dynasty, mandating the public disclosure of church property to curb church corruption and directly taxing church territories based on this.
Previously, the only state that legally established taxation on the church was the reformed Hungary, with the Emperor citing "donations to fight infidels" as the reason, and the then Pope Pius II chose to recognize the legitimacy of this law.
But once France took this step, the authority of the Holy See would undoubtedly face a huge challenge.
To stop Louis XI, the Pope wrote him a strongly worded letter, just as he had previously dissuaded Laszlo from waging war against Venice.
Louis XI's reply was rather casual, claiming that all his decisions were for the development of the Gallican Church.
In reality, his immediate repeal of this edict upon his accession was merely to win over the Pope, hoping to improve France's diplomatic situation.
However, he was now very short of money, and the Pope's excessive fear of Austria also disappointed him, so he decided to restore this edict.
Barring any surprises, the French royal court would use this edict, issued by Charles VII, as leverage to go back and forth with the Holy See for the next few centuries.
In fact, Laszlo also had such leverage: the precious legacy left by his old father, the edict of mainz.
This edict and the French one were both products of the Grand Duke Conference of Basel, with high similarity in content and largely the same purpose.
Its value lay in expelling the Pope's influence north of the Alps, granting the Imperial Church greater autonomy, and placing it under the Emperor's control.
However, because the Empire itself was a loose collection of states, many of its provisions were much milder than the French edict, and after so many years, they had been generally accepted by the Holy See and the Emperor's subjects.
Laszlo had no interest in manipulating this edict, which was like a stabilizing force, only canceling a few clauses restricting church reform with the support of Pius II.
Louis XI's bold move undoubtedly pushed France and the Holy See to the brink of rupture, which in turn helped Laszlo—Paul II decided to ally with the Empire.
"A wise choice."
Laszlo smiled, joyfully ordering a map to be brought, and pointed out the fiefdoms to be granted to the Barbo Family to Carlo.
These were territories Laszlo had previously confiscated from the rebellious Styrian noble Andreas, consisting of two castles, several manors, and a baronial title.
"These territories originally belonged to an Italian lord; your kinsmen should find them comfortable.
Coincidentally, that person also came from Venice, named Andreas Baumkircher."
"Baumkircher, I remember that family is very powerful in Pordenone."
"Yes, his father was once the mayor of Pordenone during the Republic of Venice, and he himself was an excellent mercenary leader, but unfortunately, he took the wrong path.
But you are different from him; the Barbo Family is now on a broad road.
How about it, are you satisfied with this arrangement?"
Laszlo said with a smile, but Carlo's expression tightened; he always felt that the Emperor's arrangement was implying something.
"I'm afraid I still need to report back to my elders and the Holy See; at that time, we might still need His Majesty's assistance to secede from Venice."
"No problem."
Laszlo, in a pleasant mood, saw off the Pope's envoy; he planned to celebrate a little tonight, having won over another Pope, which could be considered a diplomatic victory.
Moreover, this was also a psychological tactic; if even the Pope's Barbo Family fled Venice, how long could the other Golden Book nobles endure when they saw this?
Besides them, the commoners and merchants at the bottom would inevitably have more ideas because of this.
Venice's population had long fallen below 100,000 after years of reduction, but Laszlo wanted to continuously undermine it.
After all, Venice was a nation of merchants; no matter how patriotic you were, how far could that patriotism go?
Just as Laszlo was still fantasizing about the Golden Book nobles of Venice defecting, disarming, and surrendering with courtesy, his Finance Minister, Fugger, arrived.
This astute Augsburg merchant had unknowingly grown very old, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles, panting after just a few steps.
Laszlo patiently waited for him to catch his breath, then took the latest report from his hand.
He merely glanced at it twice before losing interest. Although Fugger's assistant had beautiful handwriting, the Latin script, crawling across the paper like tadpoles, left Laszlo with no desire to read further.
"Fugger, from what your report implies, are you suggesting I make peace with the Venetians?"
Laszlo looked at Fugger with some curiosity, as he was the one who had initially proposed the plan for privateering against the Venetians.
However, the subsequent outbreak of war had little to do with him; instead, it was initiated after Laszlo's analysis determined the time was ripe.
Now, only a few months into the war, the consequences seemed even more severe than Fugger had anticipated, leading him to quickly change his stance.
Merchants pursue profit, and Laszlo understood that.
"Not peace, Your Majesty. I fully support your strategy to subdue Venice, but there are some minor issues within the Empire right now."
Fugger quickly explained. He wasn't particularly resistant to this war; if anything, this military and economic contest had allowed him to reap a wave of war profits, thoroughly outmaneuvering his counterparts in Augsburg.
However, with the Empire's trade network on the verge of collapse, he couldn't just stand by and watch.
"Your blockade of the trade routes in Tyrol prevents Augsburg from receiving Venetian goods and from selling Imperial goods to Venice. Now, several free cities within the Empire are suffering losses, and even the Hanseatic League has been affected.
They hope you can show some leniency and allow the Venetians to transport goods into the Empire."
"Hmm, I somewhat anticipated this situation. After all, Tyrol and Outer Austria in the north of the Alps, and Venetia and Milan in the south of the Alps, are all under my control, making their traditional trade routes unusable. Is the situation within the Empire very serious?"
This was probably a case of the city gates catching fire and the fish in the pond suffering.
"Trade related to spice, textiles, grain, and silk is facing severe losses. If you are unwilling to compromise, it might lead to severe economic damage in the southern Empire, further escalating internal conflicts.
Eyczing has already received dozens of petitions from places like Swabia, Bavaria, and Franconia. He should have mentioned this in his government report to you."
"It seems the situation is indeed somewhat serious. So, what is your opinion?"
"Your Majesty, I believe we can appropriately relax some restrictions on specific goods, such as spice, silk, and saltpeter, allowing them to be sold within the Empire, but subject to high transit taxes.
At the same time, Imperial goods, primarily grain and textiles from Flanders, should be allowed to be transported to Venice for sale, but the transit tax rate should also be increased based on the type of goods, until the end of the war."
"I recall that our current transit tariff on spice is about 12%, right? How much do you think it should be increased?"
Laszlo wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, so he asked.
Fugger had already thought about this question and immediately replied, "I believe it can be increased to one-fifth of the market value of the goods."
"Won't that be too high?"
"Not high, Your Majesty. Since the Great Interregnum, over a hundred private transit tax checkpoints have been added within the Empire, with many lords and bishops levying one-third or even higher transit taxes.
The golden tariff rate you granted to the Bishop of Würzburg reached one-fourth, causing considerable conflict in Franconia.
A tax rate of one-fifth can squeeze Venetian profits while increasing our wealth."
Laszlo nodded slightly. He had previously earned money from the Venetian spice trade, but only a small amount.
However, even that small amount was enough to fill his coffers.
One must know that in this era, 5 tons of spice could save any city from plunder, and the Venetians brought back thousands of tons of spice from the East each year.
There was a huge market for these spices within the Empire. Laszlo coveted them, but he currently had no way to acquire spices, so he could only try to suppress the Venetian monopoly through trade routes.
As long as both Austria and Venice profited, then someone else would bear the loss.
"Just raising the transit tax is still too easy for them, Your Majesty. We can also demand that they reserve a fixed share for the Vienna market."
"That's a good idea; we can add it when negotiating with them later.
Although reopening the trade routes will make the war more difficult, I am not a devil. I will leave a way out for the Empire's merchants."
Laszlo wasn't too worried about riots within the Empire, but the sentiments of the nobles in Austria and other vassal states still needed to be considered.
Without spices, their lives would probably be very difficult, as Europe's culture of bodily functions was long-standing.
"Goods like saltpeter and silk are similar to spice. Among them, saltpeter, as a strategic material, is also very scarce for us, and we can add some clauses to bargain with the Venetians.
As for the Venetians' other two pillar industries, glass and salt, I recommend maintaining the ban.
Haven't you always tried to revitalize Bohemia's glass manufacturing industry? This is an excellent opportunity to open up the Imperial market for Bohemian glass products.
Then there's salt. A partner of mine revealed to me that in 1464, before the war began, the Venetian Salt Office earned a total of 110,000 ducats after deducting costs, accounting for about 15% of Venice's total annual income.
Only spice trade, which accounted for 20%, and saltpeter trade, which accounted for 17%, had slightly higher revenues than salt revenue.
About one-third of their salt was sold in Italy, and the rest was sold in places like Dalmatia, Hungary, and Croatia.
With the outbreak of war, I estimate that the Venetian salt industry will face severe contraction, while your newly developed salt mines in Transylvania and Austria are gradually seizing the vacant market.
However, the biggest problem is that smuggling along the Dalmatian coast has become quite serious. Perhaps you should instruct the Governor of Croatia to fulfill his mission more responsibly."
"Smuggling again..."
Laszlo suddenly thought of the Rosenberg Family he had punished; it seemed they were smuggling Venetian goods and profiting greatly from it.
There was no help for it; wealth moved hearts, and even the most prominent nobles had times when they were short of money.
Even the Habsburg Family in history, when it ruled half of Europe, bore more debt than all other major countries combined; they not only occupied an Empire in terms of territory but also lived up to the name of an Empire in terms of debt.
"I will have Vitez pay attention, but we probably can't hold out too much hope, as the Venetians now control the Adriatic Sea.
Regarding negotiations, I hope you will go personally. After all, as the leader of the Augsburg merchants, it will certainly be much easier for you to negotiate with the Venetians."
"Your Majesty, this..."
Fugger was slightly stunned. He couldn't believe the Emperor could say it so lightly. Austria and Venice were warring nations now!
However, thinking about his advanced age and that his eldest son, Ulrich, was capable enough to manage the family business, he decided to go all out for the future of the Fugger Family.
"I am willing to go and negotiate with the Venetians for you, but I hope you can take good care of my family..."
"I will take care of your wife, you need not worry. Ahem, rest assured, the Venetians are unlikely to make things difficult for you."
Laszlo comforted Fugger.
The Habsburg Family and the Fugger Family were already firmly bound together on the same war chariot. He certainly wouldn't abandon Fugger, unless a better alternative emerged, such as the Genoese financial industry that replaced the Fugger Family's ecological niche after they were driven to bankruptcy by the Habsburg Family's enormous military expenditures in history.
For now, the Fugger Family was still the most convenient to use.
Fugger said no more. After accepting the order, he immediately began preparations and soon set off south to conduct commercial negotiations with the Venetians.
Although such negotiations between two warring nations were somewhat strange, the vast number of Imperial merchants and nobles affected by the blocked trade routes had long been looking forward to it.