"This battle of the Ottoman Empire in Vienna has shaken the country's foundation, to be honest." In the meeting of the Executive Committee's administrative building, Liao Xiaoyao, chairman of the East Coast Executive Committee, said while smoking a pipe: "Once the 200,000 army was dispersed, it was chased and driven north, and it was defeated. Even if not all of them were killed or wounded, the morale of the army would be dissipated, and the negative impact in the future would be very alarming. An army that was already frightened was nothing to fear, and if the Ottomans tried to put it back in order, it would have to take a long time and a very high price, and they might not succeed. ”

Liao Xiaoyao said this, not caring at all that the new ambassador of the Republic of Venexia, Leonardo Morosini, was sitting opposite him. Perhaps because of his military background, Chairman Liao looked at the problem from a different angle than that of ordinary civilian officials, and first thought from a strategic and military perspective.

In his opinion, the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the Battle of Vienna, not only by the army, but also by prestige, military morale, morale and many other complex things. The Ottoman Empire was known to be an ethnically complex state, with Christian lords scattered throughout the richest regions of Greece and Rumilia, the richest regions in the country. For more than 100 years, these people did not dare to make a mistake because of the powerful force of the Ottoman Turks, and they have always obeyed the rule of the Ottomans in a regular manner, contributing money, troops, food, and sometimes paying a "blood tax" for this purpose, and the burden is very heavy. It would be a lie to say that they had no grievances about this onerous exploitation, and even the Ottomans themselves did not believe it.

In the past, because of the great power of the Ottoman Empire and the prestige it had accumulated over the years, the Christian lords in these places did not dare to make a mistake. Even the occasional rebellion in some of the fringe areas was quickly quelled, of course, by strength, but also by psychological influence.

And now the mighty tiger skin of the Ottoman Turkish Empire has been punctured! When the news of the victory of the Austrians, who had been challenging the Ottoman Empire for several years, came back to the Balkans, many Christian lords who had been suppressed in the early years suddenly became excited and had some new ideas. And this idea began to become more realistic as the Austrian army advanced, as evidenced by the rebellion in the Balkans for most of the past six months, especially after the capture of Belgrade, an important Ottoman Empire.

Liao Xiaoyao felt that the most important thing for the Ottoman Empire now was to stabilize the front as soon as possible, stop the decline, and prevent people's hearts from continuing to be turbulent. Otherwise, over time, there will inevitably be changes internally, and they will be unfavorable to the Ottoman Empire. Fortunately, the situation seems to have improved slightly, and the latest news that the people on the east coast have received is that the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV ordered the execution of Mustapha the Great Vizi, who was responsible for the defeat, and resent the best troops to Serbia to retake the important city of Belgrade. At the same time, there were many envoys from the Sultan of the Empire from all over the place, who either co-opted or used force to deter them to ensure that the wealthy Greeks, Rumilies, and other regions remained under their control—of course, the ultimate success of all these measures depended on the situation on the battlefield, which was decisive.

Austria and Poland are said to have formed an alliance against the Ottoman Empire. It's good that you Venetians didn't join in, and it shows that you're sober too. Liao Xiaoyao suddenly turned his gaze to Leonardo Morosini again, only to hear him say: "We have an old saying on the east coast, called 'take chestnuts from the fire, and the wise do not do it'." The Austrians have drawn you into the gang in order to draw your country into their anti-Turkish coalition with the help of your naval forces, and at the same time to flank some of the Turkish forces on land. But is this really a good thing for your country? At a time when the Ottoman Empire was greatly weakened, it was no longer appropriate to continue beating the Reservoir Dogs. The rise of the Kingdom of Austria over the years has been quite obvious, and the decline of the Ottoman Empire is also quite obvious. ”

"Maintaining the independence of Italy is an eternal goal that you should pursue. The Kingdom of Austria is not a very wealthy country, and they do not have access to the sea, and their ambitions for Italy can be seen by anyone with a slight international vision, so you have to be wary of them. Liao Xiaoyao finally said.

In fact, he was exaggerating a little, for as far as the present indications were concerned, the Kingdom of Austria had not yet shown a strong desire for a so-called outlet to the sea, and its coveting of the Italian land was only an idea, and had not yet been put into action. Therefore, Liao Xiaoyao's words are actually suspected of incitement and smearing, but so what? Do you Austrians dare pat your chest and say that you have never had a heart for Italy? Are you really that sure you could get access to the sea from the Ottomans?

Therefore, this may not have much effect on others, but for the Venetians it is better to believe it than to believe it! What's more, because of the lack of money, in the middle of last year, the Habsburgs in Vienna also sent people to northern Italy to fight the autumn breeze, half-hard and half-soft to ask for a lot of money and materials to meet military supplies - to be honest, although the Kingdom of Austria is not barren, but such a country has been facing France and Ottoman countries for many years, and the consumption of the country is very large, so their finances are still relatively tight, so that after this big fight with the Ottoman Turks, they have to go to the Italians to resolve their fate, and there is really no way.

"I will convey Chairman Liao's remarks to the Council of Governors of our country, and I believe that the gentlemen will have a complete understanding." Leonardo Morosini politely thanked Liao Xiaoyao, and then changed his conversation to the commercial aspect: "Before I set out for your country, the Council of Archons of our country asked me to bring you a business cooperation plan about the establishment of a plantation on the island of New China and the distribution of your country's goods in the Eastern Mediterranean......"

"Oh, the plan. My secretarial class has been translated, but I haven't had time to read it yet. I would like to simply emphasize to you and to the Council of Archons of your country that we will never be short of what we have promised you, and that we will not be stingy with the right to act as a commodity agent. There is no problem with plantations, there are already many people in the Italian peninsula who have set up plantations in our new Huaxia Island and have made good profits, and Geno*Asia Africa and Delta have become more and more important players in the market for tropical products in recent years, as I think your country is well aware of. In a word, we welcome the government of the Republic of Venesia or private businessmen to invest in New Huaxia Island and are willing to facilitate it. After hearing Leonardo's words, Liao Xiaoyao immediately replied: "However, because of the distance, if your country wants to start a plantation on New Huaxia Island, the Ottoman Empire seems to be an unavoidable obstacle, which may require your country to maintain a relatively good relationship with them first." ”

The meaning of Liao Xiaoyao's words is actually quite clear, the fastest and most convenient passage from the Apennine Peninsula to the western Indian Ocean is undoubtedly the Red Sea, which can save more than half of the time. The specific route is to start from Italy, arrive at the Mediterranean coastal port of Egypt, and then pass through the Suez Railway (a wood-clad iron road traveled by horse-drawn rail cars) maintained and operated by the East Coast, and cross the narrow isthmus to the Red Sea port of Suez, which is also invested and built by the East Coast and jointly managed and operated by East and Austria. At this point, you can change into a sea ship and go to Xinhuaxia Island, and the coastal navigation is almost a smooth road.

At present, Geno*Asia Africa and Delta are recruiting people and procuring supplies in Italy, which is relatively overpopulated, and then transported by ship to Egypt, and then transshipped by rail to the Red Sea to New China. However, most of the tropical commodities they transported from New China Island to Europe (mainly sugar, pepper, and occasionally sisal, coffee, or other goods) were transported via the Indo-Atlantic route, and even if they returned to the Mediterranean around the Cape of Good Hope, only a small part was transshipped to Italy by the Suez Railway. This may be partly due to the fact that Egypt may not be much cheaper to transport large quantities of goods, but also because the people on the East Coast restrict the entry of foreign goods through the Red Sea into regions such as Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula and Persia, and they want to monopolize this market.

The states of Gena*a, Tuscany, Lucca, and Milan maintained a relatively good relationship with the Ottoman Empire, and under the mediation of the people on the eastern coast, they only had to pay a certain amount of tolls (which was quite cost-effective compared to the unpredictable transoceanic sea transport) to transport people and goods to the Indian Ocean side according to the designated routes, and even the necessities such as draft animals, tools, forage, grain, and water could be purchased in Egypt, further saving costs.

If the Venetians wanted to replicate this model, it would be impossible not to reconcile with the Ottomans, so Liao Xiaoyao mentioned the issue of reconciliation. Leonardo Morosini came from a family of consuls, and this is naturally clear about this, and this is actually an important reason why the Council of Consuls of the Republic of Venesia finally ordered the cessation of the march and refused to join the anti-Turkish alliance led by Austria - in history, the Venetians joined this alliance and sent naval and army forces to attack the Ottoman Empire, seizing large areas of land in Dalmatia, Greece and other regions, greatly hating the Ottoman Empire. But in this time and space, because of the unremitting efforts of the people on the east coast, the Venetians thought twice, and finally stopped off the coast of Greece after taking a little sweetness, and rejected the proposal of an alliance on the part of Vienna, and seemed to intend to mediate relations between Austria and Austria through the East Bank Republic.

Of course, Venice was not without opposition, and some consuls hated the Ottoman Empire to the core, after all, not many years after the end of the Cretan War, which lasted for twenty years, many people still remember this tragic war that almost emptied the Venetian family (the Ottoman Empire, which lost 400,000 soldiers and civilians, was also greatly damaged in this war), and refused to reconcile with the Turks, which was clearly reflected in the Council of Consuls: at that time, the peace faction and the main war faction debated for a long time, In the end, they had to compromise with each other, and although the Lord and the faction still had the upper hand in the end, they still couldn't stop the initial invasion.

"Dear Chairman Liao, I think that if the Turks are willing, the Council of Archons of our country will not refuse peace talks now. Moreover, we have stopped marching troops, there is a certain tacit understanding between the Turks and us, and they see the sincerity of our ceasefire. Leonardo Morosini thought for a moment and said slowly: "They are now facing very heavy military pressure, and they are desperate to draw troops from Dalmatia and other places to the north, so I think there is a basis for peace talks between the two sides." ”

"It's good to have a basis for peace talks. You have temporarily stopped military operations, which is even better. I guess you had a big plan to move troops in Dalmatia and Greece at the same time, right? Maybe there is also the luxury of entering Athens? Liao Xiaoyao commented: "I advise you to give up those unrealistic hopes for the time being." Although the Ottomans lost a lot of troops last year, it is not very difficult to reorganize an army of 20-300,000 (although it will certainly not be too capable of fighting), how many men can you dispatch? 3-50,000 people are in the sky, and even if there are some religiously fervent Catholic volunteers joining you, it won't be too many, not to mention that your finances are not enough to support a large-scale army for a long time. Therefore, reconciliation with the Ottoman Empire is a very good proposition, which is very beneficial for the long-term development of the future. ”

In fact, what Liao Xiaoyao said is also the truth. Historically, the Venetians took advantage of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and sent troops on a large scale, occupying many fortresses and towns in the adjacent Dalmatian region, and landing on the Greek peninsula, once occupying the famous city of Athens, which shocked the entire Ottoman Empire. As a last resort, the Ottoman Empire began to frantically transfer troops from various places to reinforce Greece in order to stabilize the southern front, which was on the verge of collapse, which objectively greatly helped the Austrian army fighting in Hungary, Serbia and other places.

Eventually, after a bitter battle with heavy casualties on both sides, the Venetians were expelled from Athens, the southern front stabilized, and both sides withdrew. In this costly and deadly battle, the Venetians received little of value, and the financial situation was a disaster. The only winner was the Kingdom of Austria, which was soaring in Hungary, and the Habsburgs were getting closer and closer to the Hungarian throne.

Therefore, if the people of the East Coast really helped to bring about peace between the Republic of Venesia and the Ottoman Empire, it would be great news not only for the people of Dalmatia, Greece and other see-saw regions, but also for the two countries themselves. From then on, the Ottomans could concentrate on dealing with the more vicious Austrians, and the situation would certainly be much better. In a way, this is almost a change in the course of history—at least partially.

"You're right, Chairman Liao, the only ones who have benefited from the long war against the Ottoman Empire are the Austrians. But I would like to be cautious to point out that because there is still a large opposition in our country, and the power of their forces and supporters is very large, I think there may be a long way to go before a real ceasefire is possible if the Turks do not pay enough for the truce. Leonardo said.

What he meant by this was actually that he wanted to keep some of the Ottoman territories that he had occupied so far, after all, he couldn't do nothing, and he couldn't explain it to the people, which Liao Xiaoyao also understood. Therefore, after thinking about it carefully, he finally nodded, saying that both sides could write their intentions into diplomatic documents and send them back to Europe, and then each of the three parties would send some representatives to sit together and discuss in detail, and Leonardo agreed to this approach.