Venice was somewhat bleak and cold in December. In the early morning, few people passed along either bank, while steaming mist shrouded the water. The Gothic buildings lining both sides of the canal looked as poetic as a painting through the watery haze, as though one had entered a dreamlike world.
What interested Ernst most were the arched bridges that occasionally appeared over the water, linking the two banks. They reminded him of the little bridges and flowing streams of the Jiangnan Region from literary works in his previous life. Venice's arched bridges had a flavor all their own, yet they also shared something that stirred a familiar resonance.
Seated in Venice's distinctive little boat, the gondola, Ernst admired this ancient city that retained such a strong medieval character. The buildings on both banks sped backward as the boat moved forward.
Those exquisite houses pressed tightly together in orderly, scattered ranks, along with elegant and majestic churches, towering weathered bell towers, and splendid golden palaces... all told of her former glory.
Medieval Venice had possessed an incomparably brilliant history in Europe. Its uniquely favorable location and naturally excellent harbor had shaped the character of the city. Venetians of that era, like the Dutch of today, were filled with longing and pursuit for wealth.
By monopolizing the sea trade routes between East and West along the Adriatic Sea, the Venetians built a prosperous commercial republic. Goods from the East were transferred through Venice, the footsteps of Venetian merchants spread across Europe, and wealth flowed into their pockets.
The flourishing of commerce and trade had created Venice's prosperity. The Venetian merchants who grew rich first had built churches and palaces one after another, and many of the buildings Ernst saw could be traced back to that era.
Economic prosperity drove cultural prosperity. With the rise of the citizenry and the gathering of writers and artists, Venice became one of Europe's important cultural centers.
Countless scholars and painters recorded Venice's wealth and freedom through words and paintings. Shakespeare, a British contemporary, also used Venice as a setting and created such a universally acclaimed classic as "The Merchant of Venice."
However, ever since Europe entered the Age of Discovery, the continual opening of new sea routes and the shifting of the world's main trade lanes had accelerated the decline of port cities across the entire Mediterranean coast. Venice was no exception.
A starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Declining Venice could not escape the covetous gaze of ambitious powers, and successively fell into the hands of France and the Austrian Empire.
At present, as one of the many regions ruled by the Austrian Empire, Venice clearly had not received sufficient attention. The contest for dominance in Europe was the Austrian Empire's primary focus, while Venice was more like a buffer zone Austria managed for its own use.
In truth, Ernst also felt regret over the history of the Austrian Empire. For centuries, all the House of Habsburg's efforts on the European continent had produced endless heroes and great figures, and given birth to countless works of culture and art. Yet in the end, none of it could withstand the advance of the times. When the tide of nationalism arrived, they failed to turn in time, and ultimately fell apart into fragments. Right and wrong, success and failure—all vanished in the turn of a head.
Ernst believed Austria had paid too many ineffective costs for European hegemony. As a typical filling caught between two biscuits, Austria was feared by Britain, France, and Russia. Prussia, by comparison, was ambitious, but it could not restore the glory of the Holy Roman Empire, because Austria was simply too large. Austria could only be kicked out, yet a Germany without Austria was not whole.
If Austria had completed the unification of Germany, it would have created a terrifying state stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, cutting across the entirety of Central Europe. All of Europe would have trembled.
Thus, Britain, France, and Russia would rather let the Prussians carry out the Little Germany plan than yield a single step to Austria.
If Austria had instead made preserving Europe's balance its goal and joined the colonial enterprise, it would certainly have had a far easier time than it did now. Sea outlets like Venice could have benefited as well.
Austria was simply unlucky. If the Suez Canal had opened ten years earlier, then with Austria's size and Venice's geographical position, Venice might not have restored the foundations of its ancestors, but it could at least have developed into Austria's largest port city.
But history allowed no ifs. In the future, Venice would still return to Italy, while the Austrian Empire would become the Austro-Hungarian Empire until its destruction.
Compared with Venice returning to Italy, Ernst thought it more promising for Venice to remain within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy was surrounded by sea on three sides and had more than a hundred ports, while the future Austro-Hungarian Empire would have only one outlet to the Adriatic Sea.
Italy had also caught a good moment. Only a few years after retaking Venice, the Suez Canal opened to navigation, and the Mediterranean Sea became important again.
Venice's Martin Shipyard was now under Ernst's control. This was a family shipyard with a long history, but in recent years it had been poorly run and fallen into losses. Its heir, Fortez Martin, had been looking for a buyer to take it over, and Ernst had paid to purchase it.
As for Fortez Martin, he intended to take the money from selling the shipyard and enter the textile industry. The Martins had made quite a bit of money in textiles over the years and were preparing to increase their investment. Their shipyard, meanwhile, had remained in the red, a thoroughly negative asset, so they sold it to Ernst to cash out.
Ernst planned to upgrade the place and expand the scale of its docks. Once the Suez Canal opened, he could form his own ocean-going merchant fleet.
This family shipyard had no particular advantage, but it had been around for a long time, possessed a group of experienced shipbuilders, and occupied a fairly large area. Within Venice, it ranked somewhat above average.
That made it convenient for Ernst to upgrade the shipyard. He intended to recruit some Austrian workers to work there, diluting the number of Italians.
Naturally, he also intended to train a group of Germanic workers as a reserve of technicians and employees for the future Hamburg branch. Ernst could not possibly fool a group of Italians into going to North Germany to work, while Austrians themselves were Germanic people. Future personnel transfers would not place much psychological pressure on them, making matters far more convenient.
Since he had already acquired the shipyard, he naturally could not continue using its old name. By the usual rule, Hechingen Shipyard was born. Ernst disliked using people's names for factories and companies, so he often used the place name Hechingen instead.
As for the shipyard's management, besides retaining the original managers, Ernst would transfer several capable people from Berlin to assist with management and supervision.
Little Hechingen, a rural region deep in Europe's interior, unexpectedly possessed a seaside shipyard, as well as a bank, a company, and a research and development center in Berlin.
What belonged to Hechingen belonged to the family. This notion had already taken root in Ernst's mind. Influenced by Prince Constantin, Ernst instinctively cast himself as Hechingen's representative.
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