On August 18, the news reached Blachernae Palace.
"Actually, I expected that a conflict would break out between the two navies one day, but I didn't expect that the cause of the conflict would be a smuggling ship."
Vitus put down the report and asked Pelato to inform Cabinet and ministers of various ministries to go to Privy Council to hold a War Council meeting of Highest-Level.
"This is what happened. Our warships fought with the enemy and robbed a broken smuggling ship. Considering the mood of the army and the people, it is impossible for me to make concessions to Venice. War is inevitable."
Vitus handed Aegean Fleet's report to Prime Minister for them to circulate to each other. During this period, Privy Council's staff adjusted the latest troop deployments of both sides on the map and divided them into three theaters:
Aegean Sea Theater, Ionian Sea Theater, Adriatic Sea Theater.
In the direction of the Aegean Sea, Euboea is the primary attack target. It is very close to Attica. The Venice navy cannot block the strait, so it is suitable for the Army to launch a strong attack.
Followed by the Ionian Sea, Ionian Islands has many islands and is the transfer station from Venice mainland to Crete.
In the future, Eastern Roman Navy needs to focus on attacking this area to disrupt or even cut off the transportation between Venice and Crete.
Adriatic Sea is regarded as an inland sea by Venice, and the coast of Dalmatia in the eastern part of the sea is occupied by them. The entire sea area is active with many small and medium-sized fishing boats and merchant ships.
Eastern Roman Navy's mission is to plunder this sea area, forcing most fishermen and businessmen to dare not go to sea, and weakening the enemy's economy. For more than half an hour, Privy Council explained the main strategy and the general deployment of the army.
In this battle, Vitus will stay with Constantinople.
He is not good at naval battles, so there is no need to go to the front line to cause trouble. He should allocate his energy to government affairs and continue to innovate Eastern Roman Empire's various systems.
"Tell the garrison in the south of Greece to attack Euboea as planned, and Aegean Fleet to cooperate. After that, Army attacked Modon and Coron in the south of Peloponnese, and the fleet began to harass the Venice route."
At this point, Privy Council's work was over, and the staff members left the venue one after another. The remaining civil servants got into a heated argument, discussing the overall plan for the next few years.
In the previous wars, Ottoman's navy was weak and had limited impact. Eastern Roman Empire could use the navy to transport soldiers and supplies.
Venice has the largest fleet in the entire Europe, and can harass Eastern Roman Empire's Trade in Eastern Mediterranean to its heart's content. Merchants, fishermen, and craftsmen will all be affected.
Prime Minister Chrysaphi sighed, "Finance's income will inevitably decline in the next few years. Carlo Santis, as Finance Minister, you bear the heavy responsibility of raising money, what are your thoughts now?"
"Borrow money from merchants and sell real estate in the eastern interior."
Carlo put forward two decent ideas. Finally, he suggested that the army organize a large-scale operation to eliminate the increasingly rampant bandits of Konya and Cappadocia.
Once the banditry is reduced and the security situation improves, the price of vacant real estate in the interior will rise, and more funds can be auctioned.
"Although the commercial tax has been reduced a lot, the income provided by Province in the east has been increasing in recent years, such as Bursa, Pamphylia, and Cilicia. I think it is not needed for the time being. Tax increases, loans, and real estate sales are enough to fill the gap." After listening to the detailed accounts reported by Carlo, Chancellor looked at each other, agreed with the subordinate's answer, and then focused on Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.
"Me?"
Ilya bit the bullet and stood up and began to report on the grain production of each Province. His department had been established for a short period of time, so it was difficult to count the situation of most Provinces, and the data he had was limited. As a result, he was reprimanded by Chancellors.
Near noon, the meeting was suspended for an hour, and the civil servants enjoyed the meal brought by the servants, and then continued the meeting.
I don't know how long it took, but there was a faint ringing of bells from the outside world. Vitus asked everyone, "What did you hear?"
The discussion stopped, the civil servants listened attentively, and indeed heard the bell ringing from the city. At this time, a Eunuch ran into the war room and reported a message to the emperor: the residents of the city heard that the emperor had declared war on Venice, and were celebrating.
Vitus is very confused. Going to war means Trade will shrink and increase taxes. What is there to celebrate?
"Continue the meeting and ignore them."
However, Vitus seriously underestimated the enthusiasm of the people.
By the afternoon of the next day, the news had spread throughout the city.
Constantinople public sentiment is high, and a large number of fishermen and sailors have signed up enthusiastically. Some merchant ship owners have applied for the right to purchase artillery, intending to load artillery on their ships, eager to kill Venice people. Patriarch Come Report to the Blachernae Palace, "Your Majesty, the church in the city has received donations from the people. The amount is too large to be counted temporarily. We have listed a list of large donations of more than one hundred Florin, and the amount of this part is sixty thousand Florin."
So many?
In the past day alone, Constantinople has provided more than 60,000 yuan. Once the news spreads to other cities, at least hundreds of thousands of military expenses can be raised.
The emperor sighed softly, "When we attacked Ottoman, we didn't see them being so active. How much do we hate Venice?"
He recalled the nature of the two wars. The attack on Ottoman was a war of liberation, to regain lost territory and save the same people.
The attack on Venice was not only to regain territory (Aegean Sea Islands, Ionian Islands), but also for revenge.
For hundreds of years, Venice merchants have taken advantage of their privileges to make profits, severely squeezing the living space of Greece merchants and craftsmen. Coupled with the key role played by Venice in the fourth Crusaders, it seems that all classes have been offended, and there is no room for compromise.
The current grand occasion reminded him of the early seventh century AD, when Persia captured Jerusalem. At that time, the Eastern Roman Empire people were furious, and the church and the people donated huge amounts of wealth. Heraclius I was able to reorganize his arms and finally defeated the Persia empire.
"Having money is a good thing. I asked Finance Minister to send a special person to receive the money. From now on, Finance Department will take full charge of this aspect."
As the meeting draws to a close, the last topic is Armed Merchant Ship.
Eastern Roman Empire The number of warships is insufficient, and civilian ships need to be recruited to supplement their combat power. The emperor decided to issue a privateering license, allowing civilian ships to load firearms and plunder Venice ships.
The cost and risk of privateering operations are borne by the ship owner, and the loot harvested is publicly auctioned by Maritime Court, and the proceeds are distributed to the ship owner and participating crew members. "Admiralty is responsible for such matters, You need to register the privateer's information, rent equipment, and conduct basic training for the crew for a period of time. Treasury has no shortage of muskets and artillery, and they can choose artillery of calibers below Twelve-Pounder Cannon!"