ALL NOVEL
Chapter 45: Menacing Smile from Venice
Morea had been the only place other than Constantinope to still fly the twin-headed eagle flag prior to Shu Yichao’s arrival.
It was built on terrain highly advantageous to the defenders. The Crusaders, Venetians, Romains, and Ottomains had had many terrible fights around this fortress, but the Romains held their ground in the end.
But today, it looked like the twin-headed eagle flag was going to fall.
An emaciated, middle-aged man lay on a bed in a dim room, breathing laboriously as if he couldn’t catch his breath. He drifted in and out of sleep as he kept murmuring under his breath.
He was Thomas, Constantin XI’s youngest brother.
Those who leaned closer would hear his endless curses.
“Those damned Venetians.”
“Vile traitors!”
“You will go to hell one day!”
Half a year ago, this Romain despot suffered the most cruel up and down in his life.
Constantin XI had assigned his two younger brothers to Morea, hoping that they could guard the last few bastions of the Eastern Romain Empire together.
However, Thomas’ older brother, Demetrios, wasn’t satisfied. He schemed day and night to drive his younger brother away from his position, so that he could monopolize Morea.
When Momoana gathered all her force to attack Constantinope, Demetrios thought that the opportunity had arrived, so he unhesitatingly surrendered the Morean army to the Ottomains.
Morea was in tatters from years of infighting, and Demetrios had the backing of the Ottomains. Knowing that he wasn’t a match for Demetrios, Thomas retreated to the state capital.
Fortunately, the Venetians didn’t want Morea falling into Ottomain hands, so they sent support. Thanks to that, Thomas was barely able to guard the state capital.
His wait paid off, as Momoana and her troops were defeated in Constantinope, and the bulk of the Morean army traveled northward to participate in the Ottomains’ civil war. He heaved a sigh of relief and began thinking about how he should go about retaking lost lands.
But just then, the Venetians stabbed him in the back.
The Venetians persuaded the mercenaries hired by Thomas to turn against him, and the latter opened the state capital’s gates so that Venice could claim Morea. Following that, the Venetians held Thomas hostage and coerced him into signing an agreement for Morea to surrender all of their ports and offer annual tribute to Venice…
In the first place, the Venetians had never truly intended to help the Eastern Romain Empire. They only swooped in so that they could maximize their benefits from this chaos.
The obstinate Thomas refused to accept their deal.
So, the Venetians locked up his family and refused to find him a doctor despite him falling ill. Under their torture, a strong man was reduced to a sack of skin and bones.
“Cough cough—”
After a series of violent coughs and some wheezing, Thomas regained some clarity in his eyes.
Crk.
The door opened, and several footsteps echoed.
Struggling to open his eyes, Thomas saw his consort, his daughter, Sophia, and a priest. Sorrowful looks could be seen on their faces.
He immediately understood what was going on. I’m not going to survive the night, am I?
“My Lord, please forgive me…” Thomas murmured.
Hours later, Thomas departed from the world.
Before his body turned cold, his wife and daughter were dragged to the negotiation table.
“Esteemed consort, don’t look at me with such eyes,” a Venetian senator with braided hair propped up her glasses as she spoke with hypocrisy, “None of us wanted this to happen, but what’s done is done. It’s meaningless to wallow in the past. We have to make plans for those who are still alive, don’t you agree? You have already lost this war, so why hold on?”
The consort hugged her daughter while glaring at the Venetian senator with indignant eyes.
“I have already offered very generous conditions,” the Venetian senator said. “Just sign your name on this scroll and give the ports to us, and you’ll be able to leave with your daughter and your husband’s casket. You should know that it isn’t uncommon for noble lineages to die out during such tumultuous times.
“You might have lost your land, but you can always look for your brother-in-law in Constantinope and continue living a privileged life. This is already a huge mercy on my part.”
“You!” The consort’s face turned livid upon detecting the threat in the Venetian senator’s words.
Just then, someone tugged on the consort’s sleeves. She looked down and saw her daughter’s tearful face.
“Mother,” Sophia said, “We should sign it. We don’t have a choice.”
“What a smart little girl you are!” the Venetian senator exclaimed. “Even your daughter has opened her eyes to reality, so, esteemed consort, what are you still waiting for?”
With gritted teeth, the consort officially signed the document to cede Morea to Venice.
Thus, the twin-headed eagle flag fell, and a golden lion flag rose in its place.
“Those damned Venetians!” The young Sophia stood on a boat departing Morea with clenched fists. “I’ll return one day with a powerful army! I shall flatten Venice!”
Meanwhile, in Morea’s state capital, the Venetian senator stowed away the scroll with a satisfied smile. Now this day onward, Venice would have another colony under its name.
“Let go! Let me in!”
A ruckus could be heard outside.
The Venetian senator frowned. She raised her voice and said, “Let him in.”
Bam!
The door opened, and Venice’s Constantinope Provincial Commander appeared before the Venetian senator’s eyes.
“Miss Senato,” the Provincial Commander’s complexion didn’t look too well, “I think you owe me an explanation. Why was I reassigned to the Ink Sea?”
“I believe that’s written in your letter of appointment.” The Venetian senator tilted her head. “Pirates have recently appeared at the Ink Sea, so we need an experienced commander to defend the area…”
“Bullshit!” the Provincial Commander roared. “It’s because I refused to make a move on the Khitans, so you pulled strings in the Senate to have me deployed elsewhere!”
“Provincial Commander, I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying. This is the decision made by the Provincial Governor—”
“Isn’t the Provincial Governor your cousin?!” the Provincial Commander roared. Then, he took a deep breath and said, “Miss Senato, you have to properly explain the situation to the Provincial Governor. We mustn’t recklessly offend the Khitans…”
“Provincial Commander, there seems to be a misunderstanding here.” The Venetian senator propped up her glasses. “This is a decision made by the Senate. My cousin doesn’t call the shots here.”
“Why?!” The Provincial Commander couldn’t understand why the Senate would make such a dangerous decision. “Does no one in the Senate know how terrifying the Khitans are?!”
“The Senate is aware of the Khitans’ accomplishments, but what they have in their hands is simply too valuable for us to overlook,” the Venetian senator calmly explained. “It isn’t just the spices and silk they have…
“Not too long ago, a ship filled with goods quietly landed at Thessaloniki. Till this day, we have no idea how it slipped into the Balkans. Do you know what this means?”
The Venetian senator’s voice quivered.
“This means that the Khitans know about a secret shipping route that no one knows about, a route that leads straight into the Balkans! Venice needs the sea! We have to grasp something as important as that in our hands. There’s no negotiation whatsoever!”
“I’ll just ask you one question,” the Provincial Commander roared. “Do you think we can defeat the Khitans?”
“Don’t treat me like a child who does not know war! I have been serving Venice since I was fourteen. Look at the scars I have suffered! The Khitans might be invincible on land, but they don’t even have a naval crew!” the Venetian senator roared. “And our battlefield is not the land but the ocean!
“An encirclement net has already been weaved. Why don’t we see if the Khitan Caesar can overcome this crisis first? If you ask me,” she confidently said, “it’s only a matter of time before the Khitans obediently lower their heads.”