1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 123: Controlling the Sea with Land
Eastern part of the Attica Peninsula, Euboea Island.

Euboea is the second largest island in the entire Greek region. It is connected to the Attica Peninsula by only an extremely narrow strait. It has convenient exchanges with the European continent and frequent trade. In terms of area, it is second only to the isolated Crete.

After the Fourth Crusade, the Boniface family established the once prosperous Kingdom of Thessalonica and gave the island of Euboea as a fiefdom to the noble families who participated in the Crusade.

After 1205, Euboea was divided into three major regions: North, Central and South, each ruled by an Italian noble, establishing the Principality of Negroponte, also known as the Tripartite Kingdoms of Negroponte.

At the end of the 13th century, the Eastern Roman Empire, which had gradually awakened from its decline, began to gradually recover its homeland and reconquered most of Euboea.

The good times did not last long. With the help of the Venetians, the local Latin feudal lords of Negroponte gradually expelled the army of the Eastern Roman Empire and became one of the vassal states of the Republic of Venice.

Decades ago, the Republic of Venice completely brought Negroponte under its direct control, making it an important node in the Eastern Mediterranean trade system.

Chalcis is the largest city on the island of Euboea. It has a relatively large population, a complete agricultural and pastoral system, and is located at the crossroads of trade between the Aegean Sea and the Balkan Peninsula.

The city of Chalcis is located on the west bank of the Eurips Strait. Since ancient times, there have been many bridges connecting it to the European continent, making both water and land transportation extremely convenient and fast.

After the fall of the Principality of Athens, the colonial government on the island of Negroponte immediately burned down several bridges and requisitioned local civilian ships for patrols to prevent the Eastern Roman Empire from sneaking in and fighting.

This strait is too narrow. Without considering the fleets of both sides, the water area of ​​less than ten meters at the narrowest point can hardly pose a real obstacle to the attacking forces.

Garibiere of the Foscari family, the Doge of Negroponte of the Venetian Republic, stood at the westernmost part of the city of Elcis and looked across the strait at the Attica Peninsula.

"How many naval ships have arrived as I requested?"

"My Lord, the Grand Council has approved the mobilization order. Venice has begun recruiting private fleets, and the first batch of ships has arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean."

"However, as you know, most of these ships were left in Gandia, and not many were actually sent to us."

Gabriel took the report from the aide-de-camp and glanced at the list of ships.

A large carrack, fifteen large and medium-sized galleys, and more than thirty galleys of various types.

"Too little."

"We cannot completely gain control of the sea with just these ships. If the Greek emperor launches an attack, I cannot guarantee victory."

Then, Gabriel looked down and saw the long list of ships stationed on Crete, and his brows furrowed.

Among all Venice's colonies, Crete is the richest. Many wealthy and powerful people have interests here, and it is known as the pearl of the Mediterranean.

However, Venice had been operating on Crete for two hundred years, and its city defenses were strong, its fortresses were numerous, and its ruling foundation was relatively solid. Even if it was left alone, it would be impossible for it to be conquered in a short period of time.

On the contrary, Negroponte is closer to the European continent, more likely to be attacked, and has a weaker ruling foundation, so it should be the focus of defense.

What's wrong with these people?
Gabriel crumpled up the report and threw it into the sea angrily.

"Sir, are you worrying too much? After conquering Athens, the Greek emperor has been clearing out local forces and consolidating villages and towns. He doesn't seem to have the desire to continue expanding."

The aide-de-camp said cautiously, looking at Garibile's face.

The well-born governor has been irritable these days.

Garibiere is from the Foscari family. He is the cousin of Francesco Foscari, the current Doge of the Noble Republic of Venice, and the most outstanding one of the new generation in the entire family.

The Foscari family was one of the commercial oligarchic families of the Republic of Venice. It had considerable influence in the Great Council, and its head, Francesco, had served as governor for thirty consecutive years.

However, in the past twenty years, Doge Francesco has encountered a cold winter in his career, and the entire Foscari family has fallen into a trough.

The loss of Thessaloniki, the rise of the Duchy of Milan, the failure of the Albanian War, and the collapse of the Constantinople strategy were all things that had nothing to do with the governor's governing policies, but they were still used by the opposition as sharp arrows shot at Francesco.

What was most worrying was that the dying Eastern Roman Empire suddenly showed signs of revival, opened up a large territory overseas, and won the Battle of Constantinople.

The key point is that the Republic of Venice occupied many territories that originally belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire. The contradictions between the two sides were irreconcilable and a war was inevitable.

First Constantine conquered Morea, and then Isaac overthrew Cyprus. Both father and son had clear goals and would never compromise.

At the same time, Sforza, Duke of Milan, Skanderbeg, leader of Albania, Cosimo de' Medici, tyrant of Florence, Afonso, King of Aragon and others were all wise and capable rulers. They expressed their dissatisfaction with Venice's hegemony in both open and covert ways and tried every means to cause trouble for them.

A tall tree attracts the wind. The Republic of Venice, which has been domineering in the Mediterranean for two hundred years, has colonies all over the eastern Mediterranean, and naturally has countless enemies.

At the same time, domestic disputes also made Governor Francesco exhausted.

Among all the business families in Venice, the Foscari family just barely reaches the threshold of a first-class family, and is in an awkward position of being neither up nor down.

Top old-fashioned families such as Dandolo, Mocenigo, and Gradanigo firmly control the way to the upper class, while emerging families such as Barbarigo and Gramanni begin to squeeze Foscari's original ecological niche.

With the development of aristocratic politics, the power of the Doge of Venice was greatly restricted, and various aristocratic families controlled the country's affairs through the Great Council.

A few years ago, Governor Francesco's only son Jago was found to have committed corruption, bribery, and treason and was thrown into prison. As a father, Francesco was helpless and had to watch his son tied up and tried in front of everyone.

From then on, Governor Francesco's prestige further declined, he himself became depressed and no longer cared about many things.

After the Battle of Constantinople, Venice's power in the eastern Mediterranean underwent a major reshuffle. Gabriele took this opportunity to obtain the position of Governor of Negroponte and stood on the front line against the Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire.

In response to the aide-de-camp's question, Gabriele slowly shook his head and pointed to the Attica Peninsula across the street.

"What did you see?"

The aide-de-camp looked at it in confusion.

“It’s a mess.”

"The Greek emperor was cunning and treacherous. Do you think he went to all that trouble just to make a mess like this?"

Gabriel pursed his lips.

"In any case, we should prepare for the worst."

In the distance on the sea, a huge ship hoisted its sails and sailed towards the port of Chalcis.

This is a large carrack military sailing ship, strong and beautiful, with its black gun muzzles pointed at the coast, the flag of St. Mark painted on the sail, and Latin characters carved in a flamboyant style on the hull.

Enrico Dandolo.

With a displacement of nearly 1,500 tons, the hull is made of fine materials, has strong firepower, and can carry a large number of passengers. It is the pinnacle creation of the Venetian Arsenal, and is one of the best even among carracks.

Seeing this undisputed overlord of the sea, Gabriele's tense expression relaxed a little.

"Send the ships that have arrived at Chalcis back to the port as soon as possible. The port's garrison and fire prevention matters must be well prepared. There must be no chaos!"

Gabriel said sternly to the attendant.

"Don't worry, we will make all the arrangements."

"We have dispatched troops to guard the granaries, gunpowder depots, artillery batteries and ports day and night. We have also erected fences at the docks where warships are parked, prohibiting people from entering."

Gabriel nodded, glanced at the Attica Peninsula where the double-headed eagle flag had been erected, and rode away.

……

In the Acropolis of Athens, Isaac and his generals and staff gathered in the meeting room. A map of the Aegean Sea was placed on the table. "Darodo, please introduce Venice's trade system in the Eastern Mediterranean."

Isaac looked at a middle-aged man sitting directly opposite him.

The middle-aged man had an untidy beard and was unkempt, with a rough face full of the vicissitudes of life.

His name was Daruddo. He was originally a Venetian captain. During the Battle of Constantinople, he chose to respond to the call of the alderman Miloto and stand on the side of the Eastern Roman Empire.

After the Battle of Constantinople, due to his strong family power and the aura of a jihadist, Miloto was not punished by the Venetian authorities and he continued to serve as the municipal governor of the Venetian expatriate community in Constantinople.

However, several ordinary captains, led by Darudo, were not so lucky. The authorities cracked down on them for various reasons.

So, these captains could no longer endure the oppression and surrendered to Isaac, bringing with them two small galleys and three merchant ships.

Isaac welcomed them warmly and gave them both money and fame.

For a monarch, spending a fortune on horse bones is never a loss.

In this way, when this situation occurs again in the future, captains who defect from Venice will regard the Eastern Roman Empire as their first target of loyalty, rather than the Ottoman Empire.

You know, in the original time and space, the Ottoman Empire's naval and military industrial system was almost built by defected Venetians.

"Long before, the Venetians had extended their tentacles to the eastern Mediterranean and officially began to build a colonial trade system."

"On the Balkan Peninsula, the Dalmatia region on the Adriatic coast is the most important colony, responsible for connecting Venice to the Mediterranean islands."

"They established a complete ruling framework here, and the Doge of Venice also served as the Duke of Dalmatia."

"Later, they acquired the Welsh Albania and Corfu, which really opened up this sea route."

Daruo explained.

"Of all the islands in the eastern Mediterranean, the most important is Crete, which not only has a large population and a superior geographical location, but also has been ruled for a long time and has complete defense facilities, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack."

Crete is the core of Venice's colonial system in the Eastern Mediterranean. After two hundred years of operation, it is like an iron barrel.

Later, relying on their powerful national strength, the Ottomans slowly conquered the city of Candia over several decades before finally taking Crete under their control.

"In addition to Crete, the twin ports of Modon and Koroni, located at the southwestern tip of the Morea Peninsula, and the island of Negroponte, located in the east of the Attica Peninsula, are also important trade nodes."

"Finally, there are the remaining lower-level islands, such as Kythera Island and the Naxos Islands southeast of the Morea Peninsula."

Darudo finished his speech and looked at Isaac.

"very good."

Isaac nodded at him.

For the current Eastern Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice is a behemoth, and its naval hard and soft power are enough to crush Isaac's Mediterranean fleet.

But, of course, they have weaknesses.

"Everyone sitting here today must have known that we are about to launch a war against the Venetians."

Isaac looked around. In addition to his military generals, there were also Grand Duke Thomas and Commander Yaroslav who had come to attend the combat meeting.

“We have two initial goals.”

"First, recapture the entire Morea Peninsula, especially the important twin ports of the Venetians, Modon and Koroni."

"Second, recapture Euboea, unite with the Genoese on Chios, and strike directly at Venice's trade route north to Constantinople."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other.

"Your Majesty, it's easy to recover the entire Morea Peninsula. The main force of the Venetian army is fighting the Duke of Milan in Italy. As long as we gather superior forces, it is very likely that we can capture these coastal ports."

"Euboea is more difficult, but there is a way."

"But how will you deal with the Venetians' naval power and the subsequent retaliatory strikes?"

Archduke Thomas spoke first.

"In order to protect their scattered territories, the Venetians cannot gather all their fleets together. This is our opportunity."

"According to intelligence, a Venetian squadron is now gathering on Euboea, and another on Crete."

"Our fleet is based in Bilinchi and is patrolling northwards, looking for lone Venetian ships."

"As long as the two fleets do not merge, we have the possibility of defeating them separately."

Isaac said firmly.

"What if the Venetians attack our territory directly? How should we respond?"

“After the two sides go to war, the Aulong Military Region, the North African coast, and even the trade routes in the Central Mediterranean may be attacked.”

Prince Mikhail asked.

"Then let them attack."

Isaac smiled.

"Before this, I had asked the Colonial Secretary, Earl William, to deliver the last batch of gold to Billinge, and trade activities have gradually slowed down."

"Not only is the North African coastline long, but there are only a few cities that can serve as supply points for the army. Our defense area is actually not very large. As long as we gather heavy troops to defend a few important ports, it will be difficult for them to achieve any results."

"As for the Aulon Military Region, I have already negotiated with Lord Castrioti, and he will assist us in guarding it."

The meeting lasted a whole night, and Isaac laid out every detail he could think of, striving to make the plan flawless.

In fact, the current Eastern Roman Empire and the Republic of Venice have quite a few similarities. Both are relatively poor and weak in their homeland, and both rely on colonial trade to reap huge profits.

The difference is that the Eastern Roman colonies were far away, while Venice's were right in front of us.

Venice is currently trapped both internally and externally, and is at its weakest in decades. If it does not fight now, it will have no chance in the next few decades.

The Republic of Venice was like a lame giant. While its navy was extremely powerful, its army had long relied on various mercenaries to assist in combat, and its army became increasingly unbearable as the times progressed.

As long as they were able to attack Venice's important strongholds from land, they would have to split up their fleet to support various ports and transport and dispatch supplies and troops.

Isaac's strategy was to control the sea by land, making Venice's powerful fleet scatter and run around in all directions, and then assemble the superior fleet to defeat it separately.

On December 1453, 12, Archduke Thomas led his army to the ports of Modon and Coroni, demanding that the Venetian troops stationed there open the city and surrender. When they were rejected, he opened artillery attack.

The Morea War breaks out.

(End of this chapter)