1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 339: Withered Adria Flower

With the roar of cannons and the smoke of gunpowder filling the air, an unprecedented and unique battle is taking place in the northernmost part of the Adriatic Sea.

The besieged city is Venice, the famous water city, the capital of the Venetian Republic, the bride of the Adriatic Sea, the city of wealth, the city of opulence, but also the city of blood and greed.

The earliest Venetians were Roman survivors who fled to the coast because of war. As conflicts continued on the mainland, they fled to deserted swamps and sandbanks. At that time, Venice was still a scattered gathering place, not even a village. The Roman survivors who fled to the coast used it as a refuge in times of crisis, and wanted to return to their homeland once the war subsided.

However, the situation changed too quickly. The conflicts in northern Italy caused them to lose their safe and stable homeland. More and more Romans fled to the coast, where they established villages, drove wooden stakes into the swamp as foundations, and built houses, markets and churches on the foundations.

At the beginning, Venice was a loose confederation of scattered villages. The villages cooperated but also had disputes. The repeated invasions by continental powers shaped the most primitive national identity and ethnic identity for the Venetians. The era of village unions gradually disappeared, and the parliament moved the capital to Rialto Island in the Venice Lagoon. It was not until this time that the nominal city of Venice was truly born.

In a sense, Rialto Island was a very good choice for the newly born Venice. The land area here was relatively large and it was surrounded by the sea, which could effectively block the strong attack of the mainland regime. Whether it was the Huns, Lombards or Franks, they never set foot on Rialto Island.

The developed shipping industry brought abundant goods, the unique geographical location brought peace and stability, and their identity as Roman survivors and Latin Christians enabled them to thrive between the two major powers of the East and the West, obtain a large number of trade privileges, and wealth rolled in.

For a long time, the Republic of Venice was a loyal vassal of the Eastern Roman Empire. The two major forces in the country, the Easterners and the Westerners, engaged in a long struggle. Because the lower-class people had some inexplicable and simple feelings for the ancient and long-standing homeland of Rome, even though they believed in Roman Catholicism, the Venetians did not completely turn to the West.

Later, for money and naval support, the two great rulers, Basil II and Alexios I, both granted the Venetian Doge's District considerable trade privileges. Especially the latter, the Venetians left their footprints in almost every port of Magna Graecia. The wealth of the Venetians expanded rapidly, and the conflicts between them and the Eastern Roman people became increasingly serious, eventually leading to the enmity of the two sides. The Eastern Romans launched the Latin Massacre in Constantinople, and the Venetians directly led the Fourth Crusade in 1204, causing the Eastern Roman Empire to never recover.

From then on, the Venetian Republic completely turned to the West, transforming from a loyal vassal to an irreconcilable enemy.

The past is gone, but future generations will remember it forever. Both loyalty and hatred will come to an end today in 1474.

On this day, the Eastern Roman Empire assembled almost all of its naval forces and launched a surprise attack on the city of Venice, directly bypassing the western Mediterranean islands and Latin pirates north of Africa and allowing Venetian privateers to harass the Balkans and Crete. It won the battle with one move and sealed the victory with one sword.

Due to misjudgment of the situation and the deception and deception of Louis XI, the Venetian Council did not gather the entire fleet in the capital and the mainland. Many ships controlled by major families were distributed in the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, looting the wealth of the Eastern Roman Empire with great interest.

Of course, even if the Doge is willing to gather all the fleets together, the major families will not be willing to obey. The Republic of Venice is no longer the prosperous overlord it once was, and the Doge of Venice is no longer Orseolo, the founder, or Dandolo, the lord of the revival. The direct navy was almost destroyed in the last war, and the newly established fleets are all controlled by the major families.

Although they were not united in mind and strength, but still insisted on clinging to the ambition of being the overlord of the sea, Venice had already entered the countdown to its decline and destruction. Even if they had not joined the alliance with France, the Eastern Roman Empire, which had ambitions to conquer the world, would never forgive them.

The war began, and the emperor rejected the Venetian Senate's invitation to negotiate and demanded that they immediately surrender the city of Venice and all historical artifacts, whether looted from Constantinople or stolen from elsewhere.

The aggressive Eastern Roman fleet ignored the mainland territory of the Republic of Venice and directly made Rialto Island its primary target. This is the core of Venice, where the Doge's Palace, the Council Chamber and St. Mark's Basilica are all located. It can be said that as long as this place can be taken, the Republic of Venice will no longer exist.

As the most prosperous and wealthy country in the early Renaissance, the Republic of Venice naturally built a complete defense system tailored for its own territory, especially its capital city, Venice.

The city of Venice is located in the Venetian Lagoon. To the west of the lagoon is the Apennine continent, and to the east are the connected outlying islands.

The Venetians built a series of castles and fortresses on the western coast of the lagoon, mainly to defend against land invasions. The garrison here was the largest and the defense was the strongest.

The long outer islands in the east are called "Lido". Each lido is separated by a narrow waterway. The Venetians built guard posts and watchtowers on the lidos. During wartime, they would use iron chains and sailboats to close the waterways between the lidos to block enemy attacks and form a solid sea wall.

Thanks to its dual defenses on land and sea, Venice has never been occupied by foreign enemies in the hundreds of years since its construction. Powerful enemies on land find it difficult to break through the lagoon, and powerful enemies on sea will be blocked by the Lido Wall. Even a powerful city like Genoa only reached the port of Chioggia and did not reach the edge of Venice.

The most difficult thing is the Venetian Lagoon itself. This lagoon surrounded by Lido and the coast has a complex underwater situation, with swamps and shoals. When the Lido line of defense was breached by the enemy fleet, Venice's small paddle boats were able to rely on their understanding of the lagoon terrain to deal with the enemy and make them return empty-handed.

However, times have changed. Just as the ancient Theodosian Walls of Constantinople were not adapted to the Ottoman cannons, the Lido Line of Venice could not stop the tide of the times. Gunpowder from the East changed the face of war beyond all recognition. The largest naval guns of the Eastern Roman Empire could even hit Venice directly from the Adriatic Sea outside Lido.

Of course, Venice’s maritime defense also has natural flaws. Since the fortifications of Venice and various capes are built on silt and shallows, the land is too soft to bear too much weight. The entire city of Venice is made up of low stone houses and has never had tall buildings, from the time it was first built until a thousand years later.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the Venetians preferred galleys to sailing ships.

Most importantly, and because of this natural defect, the city of Venice and the various capes cannot build city walls.

In other words, as long as the Eastern Roman fleet participating in the siege could successfully break through the Lido Line and approach the Rialto Island, the city of Venice would be within reach.

After the war began, the Eastern Roman Navy quickly deployed and was divided into four parts. Three of them targeted the three main lidos and tried to tear open the first line of defense. The last part was composed entirely of heavy ships, responsible for wandering in the Adriatic Sea, destroying the simple fortifications on the lidos with artillery, and bombarding the city of Venice as close to the Rialto Island as possible.

These heavy ships could not enter the Venetian Lagoon directly. They had to first be explored by small galleys, clearing the way for the Venetian galleys, marking the navigable waterways, and then entering the Venetian port.

Under the guidance of naval flags and naval flares that were centuries ahead of the times, each fleet had a clear division of labor and began a massive siege.

Venice also responded to the siege of the Eastern Roman Empire by hanging iron chains across the Lido, removing all signal beacons on the lagoon, and forcing the ships remaining in the port to hide in the lagoon, in an attempt to wear down the Eastern Roman Empire's army.

"Full left rudder! Go around their shore defense artillery and bombard them from the side!"

On an Eastern Roman light gunboat, the captain on the deck roared.

"Bakacitus! Get your deckhands ready with muskets and crossbows! We're getting closer!"

"Yes, Captain Felix!"

Bakacitus responded loudly, kicking a sailor in the waist.

"Take your muskets and crossbows and gather at your positions on the deck!"

The second mate at the helm directed the turn, and the ship flexibly turned around, bypassing the concentrated firepower point on the central Lido and heading northeast.

This ship was named Royal Sicily, and was the product of cooperation between the navies of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Portugal. While ensuring firepower as much as possible, it was lighter in tonnage than a caravel, and was faster and more agile. Its disadvantage was that the bottom cabin was not large, so it could not be used as a merchant ship or transport ship, nor could it sail on the ocean. It was a pure Mediterranean warship.

Captain Felix of the Royal Sicily is the eldest son of Navy Minister Fidel, a graduate of the first class of the Inland Sea College of the Navigation School. He achieved the first place in the Navigation School and became a captain directly after graduation. He is the object of envy and jealousy of many people.

Of course, Felix's extraordinary promotion did not come from his father's high position and power. The navy of the Eastern Roman Empire expanded too quickly, and there were not enough skilled officers. Most of his fellow graduates became captains and adjutants.

"Alright! Right here, give it to me—"

boom!
The deafening sound came from the rear, making the soldiers on the entire battlefield terrified. The fort on Lido was destroyed, and the side of the Cairo Star was filled with smoke where the sound came from.

"Okay, no need."

Felix grinned.

"The Emperor's cannons have knocked down the little fort in Venice. Let's move on! Take down the iron chains!"

Since the land in Venice is not suitable for building tall buildings, the artillery fortifications and crossbow towers on several capes are very low, making it difficult to carry heavy coastal defense artillery. The range is very short and the power is hard to describe.

The Light of Cairo could hit them, but they found it difficult to launch an effective counterattack.

As a well-deserved giant on the sea, the Cairo's Star has many shortcomings, but in this war, it can be perfectly avoided.

The water level in the lagoon is too low and it is easy to run aground, so we just don't go in. We just stay at sea, drop anchor, and turn ourselves into a fixed artillery position to provide vital fire support.

The more agile Black Mandala roamed among the docks and wooden fences, firing a shot from time to time to destroy the Venetians' simple fortifications.

When the Royal Sicily arrived at the iron chain, several other Eastern Roman ships were already waiting there. They tried to destroy the iron chain with naval guns, but the effect was very poor.

Venice's small galleys gathered at the other end of the chain, but their firepower was obviously insufficient, and the slave rowers took up a lot of space, which meant that the largest galleys at present could only carry a light cannon at the bow and stern, with a short range and small power.

"Captain, are we going up as well?"

The first mate looked at Felix.

"No, we won't get close to the iron chain. Let's just bombard the enemy ships on the other side from the outside!"

Felix ordered.

"Send the flag signal, it's almost time!"

The Royal Sicily raised small flags, and soon several large ships came over here.

These large ships have no broadside guns, have relatively weak firepower, and move relatively slowly. Their only advantage is their large carrying capacity.

Felix looked at these large ships with strange shapes and smiled knowingly.

This is a fire battleship, a special ship of the Eastern Roman Empire. It played a crucial role in the naval battle against the Hafsid Dynasty decades ago. But today, this combat strategy has been figured out by several mainstream naval powers and cannot achieve the effect of surprise, so it has been silent for a long time.

However, this time, they found their place again.

On the deck of the fire battleship mothership, sailors lowered small rafts into the sea with ropes. The rafts were very simple and only equipped with two oarsmen. A large brazier was placed at the front of the raft. The rafts were surrounded by simple baffles, all of which were wooden fences covered with mud. Although they could not withstand the bombardment of naval guns, they were more than enough to deal with the Venetians who were still using bows and crossbows.

The raft was launched into the water and immediately rowed towards the iron chain. After approaching the iron chain, the sailors added fuel and kerosene into the large brazier and ignited it with torches.

In an instant, a series of fires ignited on the east side of the iron chain. The sailors on the rafts used these large braziers to burn the iron chains, while the large ships outside were spread out in a line and used side cannons to attack the Venetian galleys in the lagoon.

If there are iron chains across the river, melt them with fire!
The Venetian boats wandering in the lake discovered the Eastern Roman Empire's plan and immediately became nervous. They swarmed in, and a large number of arrows and a few lead bullets flew towards the raft, but were directly blocked by the wooden fence on the raft.

The existence of the iron chain was a huge obstacle for both the attackers and the defenders. The traditional boarding tactics of the Venetian galleys completely lost their effectiveness, and the Eastern Roman ships were temporarily unable to break through the iron chain defense line, but the naval guns on the large warships could continue to bombard the enemy.

As time passed, under the powerful firepower, the simple fortifications on several major vantage points east of the Venice Lagoon had been completely cleared. More and more rafts began to approach several iron chains and ignited the large brazier.

Compared with the Golden Horn iron chains in Constantinople, the iron chains east of the Venice Lagoon are weaker due to the greater distance and lower towers. They gradually turn red under the continuous burning and may melt at any time.

Click——click——

The iron chain in the middle made a slight sound, and the sailors on the raft were overjoyed. They took out their huge axes and swung them down fiercely.

bang——

The red-hot iron chain finally couldn't withstand the huge impact force, and broke into two pieces, falling into the water, making a hissing sound.

"Good! The chain is broken!"

On the Royal Sicily, Felix was overjoyed.

"Our ship is very light. We will enter the lagoon immediately and open a passage for the following fleet!"

……

In Venice, the church's warning bells rang continuously, one after another, accompanied by the deafening sound of artillery fire and the panicked shouts of the people in the city, blending into a symphony of war. Venice has been mobilized, and citizens who can take up arms have taken to the streets. Mercenaries responsible for defending the city have also been called up and distributed next to every important building.

"Governor, the Greeks have broken through the Lido and the iron chain. Their warships are heading towards Le Vignole Island. Venice is in danger!"

The admiral came to the terrace of the Doge's Palace and eagerly found the dazed Doge Pietro of Venice.

"My Lord, Venice—"

"shut up!"

Pietro grabbed the admiral by the collar.

"Even if the iron chains are gone, we still have the galley fleet, the lagoon shoals, the loyal city militia and the brave mercenaries!"

"It won't be that easy for the Greeks to take over Venice!"

"Sir, the lagoon shoals can only play their greatest role on the side close to the coast. The Greeks are coming from the sea..."

The admiral struggled to let go and continued to dissuade him.

"Militia and mercenaries are useless. Venice is not an ordinary city. It has no walls, no forts, and waterways everywhere. As long as the Greek fleet arrives here, they will be almost invincible!"

"We still have a large number of ships distributed in various oceans. You can go to the coast first to hide, gather more fleets and troops, and deal with the Greeks!"

"There are heavy artillery on the coast, a large number of castles, countless swamps and shallows, and more soldiers. The Greeks can't attack us!"

boom--

A loud bang interrupted their argument. A heavy shell flew from the east and hit the easternmost part of Venice, smashing several houses to pieces.

"Before we even saw the shadow of the warship, their shells flew over first."

Pietro muttered.

"At this rate, even if they don't get close to Venice, these heavy naval guns will be able to destroy the city."

"Governor, that's not necessary. Only the Cairo Star can carry such a huge cannon. Other naval guns are not capable of carrying it!"

The admiral looked panicked, his chest heaving up and down.

"Where are our warships? They were once the pride of Venice!"

Pietro gritted his teeth and shouted angrily.

"Before the battle, I gave them all the kerosene and asked them to burn the Greek ships!"

"Are they afraid of death?"

"Governor, everyone is very loyal, and our fire ships did rush ashore."

The Admiral gasped.

"However, the Greeks had too many ships and too strong firepower, so most of the fire ships were destroyed halfway!"

"I advised you at the beginning that Venice's coastal defense system and naval system are seriously outdated. I hoped that you would allocate funds for reconstruction, but you just didn't listen!"

"How do you think those noble families will obey orders obediently?"

Pietro waved his hands irritably.

"You are not from an aristocratic family. I personally selected you. You have outstanding abilities. What else can you do now?"

"There is nothing we can do. Many ships have lost contact with us. The Greek artillery fire covered half of the sea. I am returning with the remaining direct fleet to take you to land."

The admiral sighed.

"Most of our previous defense systems were aimed at powerful enemies on the mainland, and we relied too much on our own powerful fleet on the ocean."

"But now, in my opinion, the Greek navy surpasses ours in terms of quantity, quality and information technology, and Venice's greatest advantage has become its greatest disadvantage."

"Moreover, the Greeks obviously conducted a systematic study of Venice a long time ago and knew how to deal with our defense system. I suspect this may be related to their shogunate."

"I suggest you seek refuge on the mainland immediately, temporarily station in Mestre, contact other major powers in the Western world, and continue the resistance."

"The noble families have already fled, and the common people must also be evacuated. If they stay here, they will only become the dead souls under the butcher's knife of the Greeks."

Pietro looked toward the port to the west. Ships with flags of major families flying high were coming and going, transporting wealth and people to the mainland. The people in the city stood aside in despair, cursing and crying.

These big families also have huge interests in Venice's northern Italian territories. The enemy is too fierce and the hope of victory is too slim. They are unwilling to stay and perish with the city.

Pietro saw that several of the ships even carried his family's flag emblem.

boom--

Another round of artillery fire was heard, and the Cairo Star was obviously closer. The shells fell straight into the city and hit a church, turning the people taking refuge in the church into a pool of blood.

"Mr. Governor! The Dandolo and Morosini families have taken their ships away! Our remaining fleet is in complete disarray!"

A voice reached Pietro's ears, and the captain of the guard ran over anxiously.

"These termites are crazy. They know the shallows and swamps in the lagoon and simply ignore the fate of Venice. They follow the waterway to the shore, avoiding these obstacles. The Greek fleet is right behind them!"

"Bastard!"

Pietro was shaking with anger.

"When this is over, I will punish them severely!"

Pietro cursed loudly, but the people beside him didn't respond at all.

When it was over, Pietro would become the ideal scapegoat, as his career as governor had ended the moment the Eastern Roman fleet broke through the iron chains.

This is the Venetian Republic, which has existed for too long, its national strength is too exhausted, it has lost all its overseas interests, and its internal contradictions have become difficult to suppress.

After venting his anger, Pietro understood the hesitant looks in the eyes of several people and remained silent.

"Bring me a pen and paper. I want to leave a letter for the Greek emperor."

……

On the evening of March 1474, 3, after a whole day of fierce fighting, the powerful fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire finally broke through most of the blockade outside the Venetian Lagoon with overwhelming firepower and successfully occupied three capes and several small islands. A large number of warships poured into the Venetian Lagoon and surrounded the city of Venice.

As the war progressed, ordinary Venetian citizens erupted in nationalist enthusiasm, and most of them were unwilling to surrender. They drove their own small boats and fought to the end with the Eastern Roman fleet, but were sunk by cannonballs and sank to the bottom of the lake.

However, the aristocratic families of Venice performed very poorly in this war. Knowing that they were no match for the enemy, they only sought to preserve their strength. Not only did they allow the Eastern Roman fleet to successfully enter the lagoon, but they also greatly dampened the citizens' enthusiasm for resistance.

That night, the Eastern Roman envoys entered the city of Venice, but did not find any officials of status. In desperation, they found the Archbishop of Venice and demanded that the city of Venice surrender unconditionally immediately, otherwise they would open fire.

The next morning, Venice still refused to surrender, and the Eastern Roman naval guns launched an endless bombardment around the city. Except for a few buildings such as St. Mark's Basilica, almost all the houses were bombarded.

The mercenaries in the city had already fled with the governor. The city militia was enthusiastic, but they could only stay on the shore and endure the repeated bombardment of the ship's guns.

The city of Venice is an isolated island in the sea. It does not produce any food of its own and even has to rely on external sources for fresh water. It is impossible for it to hold out for a long time.

The bombardment continued until noon. The Archbishop of Venice could not bear it any longer and boarded the Lega de Cairo himself. He decided to surrender to the emperor and handed the letter from Governor Pietro to Isaac, proposing the "Three Articles of Law", prohibiting the massacre of civilians, prohibiting the reduction of civilians to slavery, and prohibiting the wanton destruction of cities.

Isaac readily agreed and asked the Bishop of Venice to return to the city and persuade the people to surrender.

On the evening of March 1474, 3, the leaderless city of Venice formally surrendered and gave up all resistance. The Eastern Roman Empire presided over a grand entry ceremony into the city. Since there were almost no roads and carriages in Venice, the emperor led a fleet of ships around the city and entered the dilapidated and empty Governor's Palace from the central waterway of Venice.

Out of fear, the "foresight" of the Venetian big families actually preserved a lot of vitality for the Republic of Venice. All the wealth that could be moved away was moved away, leaving behind only a large group of petty citizens with hatred on their faces.

In the Governor's Palace, Isaac signed the "Venetian Refugee Resettlement Decree", deciding to transport all the remaining tens of thousands of citizens in Venice in batches, still dividing them into several levels according to their skills and talents.

These citizens were the backbone of the Republic of Venice and the group that had the deepest hatred for the Eastern Roman Empire in the entire Venice. If they were destroyed, Venice would lose more than half of its national potential, so naturally they could not be let go.

In theory, with the exception of voluntary slaves such as the Circassians, Eastern Roman Empire decrees prohibited the enslavement of any Christians, including the lowest-level Venetians.

Of course, this is just in name only, we can just change the definition.

Slaves? What slaves? They were all lifelong temporary workers who worked ten hours a day for free.

At the same time, soldiers of the Eastern Roman Empire searched the city wantonly, looting all kinds of cultural relics, books and works of art. They specially loaded the Eastern Roman cultural relics from St. Mark's Basilica onto large ships and shipped them back to Constantinople, including the famous statue of the Four Emperors and the Four Horsemen of Triumph.

The emperor specifically left this church untouched. Did he really think that the emperor had any special feelings for St. Mark?
In any case, the city of Venice fell, and the era of the Venetian Republic came to an end.

The sudden change in Venice shocked the entire Mediterranean world. The Eastern Roman Empire used its sudden large-scale fleet and extremely powerful military force to prove its absolute hegemony over the Mediterranean to everyone.

Even Venice, also a maritime power, was destroyed in a very short period of time. The Eastern Roman fleet was capable of destroying any port in the Mediterranean at any time.

Pirates? Alliances? Conspiracies?

Sorry, in the face of absolute force, these are all fleeting clouds.

On March 1474, 3, the Eastern Roman navy continued to set out and launched an attack on the remaining islands, and at the same time sent envoys to several Italian monarchs for negotiations.

(End of this chapter)