1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 128: Concealing the truth
On the vast ocean, strong winds rolled up dark clouds.

Under the dark clouds, a three-masted sailing ship danced in the waves, trying hard to control its direction, trying to break through the cover of clouds and head to the distance under the blue sky.

This three-masted sailing ship was obviously strong and durable, and the sailors were skilled and brave. Although it was bumpy in the wind and waves, they seemed to be able to handle it with ease.

The ship sailed north alone, and the storm moved south, and soon they reluctantly separated, leaving behind a torn flag and gasping sailors on the ship.

The sea is so magical. After the storm, the warm sunshine once again shines on the deck of the ship and the sea soon returns to calm.

It was not until then that the full picture of the three-masted sailing ship was revealed to the world.

Judging from its appearance alone, it is an ordinary Gallic ship with a streamlined hull, a triangular ram, and a tower at the bow and stern for archers to shoot.

However, the fine wood, complex internal structure and spacious bottom hold show that this ship is unusual, and the golden lion flag of St. Mark torn to pieces by the storm and the inscriptions on the hull indicate its origin.

The Venetian Armory.

The Venetian Arsenal, built in 1104, is a large complex that includes a naval shipyard, a naval repair shop, an arsenal and a weapons store to meet the huge needs of the Venetian Republic's naval fleet.

The arsenal produced prefabricated ship parts, sails, ropes and everything needed for warship construction in different locations, with clear division of labor, orderly cooperation and a large number of workers.

If necessary, the armory was large enough to transform a log into a small ship in a day.

It can be said that this great building complex covers all the technical foundations of pre-industrial civilization for naval manufacturing and symbolizes the glory of the Republic of Venice.

In the navigation room, the captain, first mate and other senior officers of the Gatta Megata gathered together to discuss matters.

"It has been basically confirmed that the enemy's main fleet is still docked in the Bilinqi Military Port. Some small ships were originally cruising on the periphery. After the wind direction changed, they should have returned to the port."

The first mate in charge of the survey reported.

The Gatta Megata belongs to the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet of the Republic of Venice. It is currently patrolling south with the city of Candia on the island of Crete as its home port, reporting the whereabouts of the Eastern Roman Empire fleet.

"There's a storm in the south. I'm afraid we must turn back."

All the officers looked at the captain, waiting for his orders.

The captain stared at the chart with a frown on his face.

Since the outbreak of the Morea War, many overseas territories of the Republic of Venice have been attacked, which has made them somewhat overwhelmed for a while.

In the southwest of the Morea Peninsula, the ports of Modon and Koroni were attacked almost at the same time. The defenders in the city were seriously insufficient and could not hold out for long.

In the eastern part of the Attica Peninsula, Negroponte was also directly exposed to the artillery fire of the Greek emperor. The sailors sent to the Chalcis fleet were ambushed by the mercenary group and suffered heavy losses, losing at least half of their combat effectiveness.

Skanderbeg of the Albanian Alliance began to stir and set his sights on the few remaining ports and fortresses of Persian Albania in the coastal areas. He deployed troops on the coast and sharpened his swords.

At the same time, intelligence personnel of the Republic of Venice observed the whereabouts of the Eastern Roman envoys in Rhodes and Naples, and they did not know what conspiracy they were plotting.

It was not until then that the masters of the Grand Council woke up from their dreams and felt the pressure from all sides.

In this calm Eastern Mediterranean, it seemed as if an invisible net was covering them.

As a result, the Grand Council held an emergency meeting and issued three orders with unprecedented efficiency.

First, make peace with Sforza, Duke of Milan, in order to free up troops to defend the colonies.

Second, requisition civilian ships, begin military mobilization, and prepare for all-out war.

Third, the fleet quickly headed for the eastern Mediterranean, seeking out the main force of the Eastern Roman Empire fleet for a decisive battle, destroying it in one fell swoop, and then forcing it to surrender by attacking its trade.

On paper alone, these three commands are concise and efficient, very targeted, and each one is just right.

However, the actual implementation is fraught with difficulties.

As two local powers in northern Italy, Milan and Venice can be said to be century-old enemies. From the Visconti period to the Sforza period, the two sides have a long-standing grudge.

Sforza was a cunning mercenary leader. He was naturally aware of the military difficulties Venice was currently facing. If he really went to the negotiation table, he would definitely ask for a huge sum of money.

Moreover, this extremely long Venice-Milan war involved a wide range of people. Monferrato, Florence, His Holiness the Pope and Naples were all more or less involved, with different demands, making peace talks difficult.

Recruiting civilian ships is an old tradition of Venice. At that time, the difference between merchant ships and warships was not that great. Civilian ships could be slightly modified and then go out to sea to fight.

The Republic of Venice had a strong national cohesion, and generally speaking, in times of war, ordinary merchants were happy to provide their own ships to the government for use in military operations.

However, the beginning of each year was the peak business season, and merchants would bring European trade goods to the Levant and Egypt, sell them all, and then return home loaded with silk and pepper.

Requisitioning private ships at this time would simply cut off their source of income.

If the war lasts too long, even the most patriotic businessmen will begin to complain.

Therefore, the Venetian senators could only pin their hopes on the last order, hoping to destroy the Eastern Roman fleet in one fell swoop with superior forces.

However, after the fleet entered Crete, the East Roman fleet, which had been extremely arrogant, suddenly stopped fighting and only sent out a small number of fast sailing ships to patrol the sea and scout the enemy situation.

In desperation, the Grand Council issued instructions, ordering the Cretan fleet to block the Eastern Roman Empire fleet in the naval port of Birinci, keep a close eye on them, prevent their plan to go north to Negroponte, and wait for subsequent reinforcements.

The three-masted galley Gattamegata was part of the Venetian Cretan fleet, responsible for monitoring the Eastern Roman fleet at Birinci.

"That's all, I will report the situation to Gandia Port truthfully."

Seeing the captain's approval, the other officers breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the navigation room happily.

The captain and the first mate stayed and continued to discuss the enemy situation.

"Unfortunately, we still failed to directly observe the enemy's main battleship this time."

The captain said regretfully.

"We didn't see any of the Grand Duke Morea, St. Nicholas, Grand Archon, and Ichel, the absolute main force of the Eastern Roman Empire's fleet."

"At this point, we can only trust the intelligence from those spies."

The first mate concluded.

After the Battle of Constantinople, the Republic of Venice began to pay attention to the Eastern Roman Empire and sent several waves of spies to Birinci, with a special person responsible for liaison.

These spies were professionally trained and were able to determine the general situation of the fleet in the martial law naval port through clues, and report it to the officials of the Venetian Crete Squadron for reference.

The intelligence sent back a few days ago was roughly the same as before, which means that the main fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire is still stationed in the Bilinchi naval port.

The captain nodded.

"Rest for a while, then we'll return!"

……

Euboea, Chalcis port.

A trial was going on in the square of the Governor's Palace.

"Push the prisoner up!"

Governor Garibiele said on the terrace, and the attendants beside him shouted the order to the center of the crowd below.

The prisoner car creaked and pushed forward. The former head of the Catalan Mercenary Corps, Antonello, curled up in a ball, his body covered with wounds. He was suddenly exposed to the sun and looked terrified. In the past month, he had experienced ups and downs, separations and reunions, joys and sorrows.

At first, Alberto, who had always opposed taking the Catalan mercenaries to Euboea to participate in the war, changed his behavior, knocked on his door with a bottle of good wine, admitted his mistake, and flattered him, agreeing to lead the mercenaries to participate in the war.

As expected, they were highly valued on the short-staffed island of Euboea, and their old rival, the Navarre Mercenaries, became his subordinates.

At that time, he was so proud that he thought that as long as he survived this damn war and successfully transferred the power of the mercenary group to the Venetian government, he would be able to obtain the noble status awarded by the Grand Council himself, settle down in Venice, and live a life without worries about food and clothing.

He was so happy that he did not notice the unusual behavior and overly frequent gatherings of his subordinates.

Then, one night, he was knocked unconscious while drinking and stuffed into the basement, along with several of his diehard followers.

At that moment, he finally understood that he had been betrayed. Deputy Captain Alberto might have defected to the Greek emperor and brought all the mercenaries to gamble on their future.

When he was rescued from the basement by the Venetians, he recounted his grievances with tears and snot. The Venetian soldiers listened to his story patiently, then directly shackled him and threw him into prison.

And now, this mediocre and incompetent mercenary leader is about to meet the end of his life.

"Antonillo, former leader of the Catalan Mercenary Group, traitor, and mastermind of the rebellion!"

The judge read aloud his charges.

"Under the wise leadership of the Governor-General and the generals, we have successfully arrested him and sentenced him to death as a warning to others!"

Before Antonello could react, two soldiers in black carried him onto the rack, with a shiny machete inserted next to his face.

The executioner raised the machete with a grin, sharpened it on a whetstone for a while, and pointed it at Antonello's neck.

The machete was raised high.

Anthony opened his mouth with difficulty, as if he wanted to say something, but it was too late.

Heads fell to the ground.

There was a burst of exclamations from the crowd, some were happy, some were worried, some were contemptuous, and some were mocking.

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On the terrace, Garibiele stood up and faced the crowd.

"After nearly half a month of hard fighting, we successfully resisted the artillery attack of the Greek emperor and failed to allow any soldiers to land on the coast."

"The cowardly Greek emperor doesn't even dare to fight us in an upright battle. He either uses cannons and catapults or tries to sow discord. This is truly despicable!"

A low murmur of curses rose from the crowd, and the Greek Orthodox looked at the governor angrily, shaking their fists.

"Just yesterday, I received news that the Venetian Council is about to send a large army to the Eastern Mediterranean to defeat the Greek emperor in one fell swoop and punish him for his misconduct!"

Garibuele scanned the crowd with authority.

Upon hearing the news of Venetian reinforcements, the crowd, who had been angry just now, suddenly became depressed and stopped making moves.

Gabriel smiled, his eyes full of disdain.

These Greek Orthodox Christians are extremely cowardly and will kneel down and beg for mercy at the slightest threat.

However, this has achieved the goal.

"Our fleet in Crete has a firm hold on the Bilinchi naval port. The Greek emperor cannot cross the strait at all!"

"Now, the rebels are dead, and the rebels have been punished."

"As long as we hold on, victory will eventually belong to the great Venice!"

Of course, holding such a large-scale rally was not just to try an insignificant Antonello, but also to boost morale and deter wrongdoing. This was his original intention.

Garibuele raised his head and looked around.

"So--"

boom!
A shell plummeted into the city, hitting an empty block and sending up a cloud of dust.

"How could this happen? This place is clearly outside the range of the artillery fire from the Attica Peninsula!"

Gabriel held onto the railing and looked at the deep hole created by the shell, feeling shocked and angry.

"Did they change positions?"

"Your Excellency the Governor..."

"Say!"

Garibuele interrupted the harbormaster's hesitant words impatiently, not noticing the panic in his tone.

"That shell seemed to have come from the sea!"

"On the sea? How can——"

Gabriel turned his head and looked towards the strait following the harbormaster's gaze. When the words came to his lips, his voice stopped abruptly.

On the sea, a huge fleet came from afar, breaking through the morning mist and showing its full appearance to the world. On the leading caravel, black smoke was coming out of the muzzle of the gun.

Above the fleet, the eagle flag fluttered in the breeze.

……

On February 1454, 2, a squadron of the Kingdom of Aragon secretly arrived off the coast of Birinci and entered the naval port late that night.

After discussion, the Aragonese fleet will fly the flag of the Eastern Roman Empire and be stationed in the naval port of Birinci to avoid direct contact with the Venetian fleet and thus confuse the enemy.

The original Eastern Roman Empire fleet changed its flag to the flag of the Knights Hospitaller, turned eastward after leaving the port, bypassed the surveillance of the Venetian fleet in Crete, and successfully entered Rhodes, which was controlled by the Knights Hospitaller, on February 2.

On February 2, the Eastern Roman Empire fleet sailed westward from Rhodes, swaggering under its own flag, passing through the Venetian colony, the Principality of Naxos.

The inhabitants of Naxos watched in wonder as the Eastern Roman fleet passed between the islands, heading straight for Negroponte.

The Venetian governor on the island immediately dispatched a speedboat to try to notify Crete in the south.

However, it's too late.

When the Eastern Roman Empire fleet successfully arrived at Rhodes, the road to Chalcis was already unobstructed.

On February 1454, 2, the Lord became flesh. The Eastern Roman Empire fleet that was supposed to be stationed in the Birinci naval port suddenly appeared in Chalcis. The Venetian fleet, whose combat effectiveness had not yet fully recovered, rushed to meet the enemy, but was soon beaten to pieces and fled back to the naval port.

On February 1454, 2, Isaac led his army across the Eurips Strait and arrived in the southern part of Euboea, where he joined the Catalan mercenaries who had been hiding there.

On that day, Greek Orthodox Christians throughout Euboea began a large-scale uprising and offered salutes to the emperor's return.

On February 1454, 2, under attack from both land and sea, the city of Chalcis, which had suffered from internal and external troubles for a week, opened the gates and surrendered, and the entire island of Euboea was liberated.

At this point, the Morea War ended.

(End of this chapter)