"Speaking of which, my swordsmanship teacher was a Venetian, a master of the Venetian Swordsmanship School. Yet, my first battle commanding troops independently will be against Venice. It feels a bit… like betraying my teacher and ancestors," Karl said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.
Augustus had indeed heard of the Venetian Swordsmanship School, having once read about it in a book.
For a long time, many believed that medieval knights dominated the battlefield solely through brute strength and chaotic charges. This misconception led many to die senselessly as soon as they entered battle.
Because they thought that with their sturdy armor and strong physiques, they could easily defeat or even slaughter opponents much smaller than themselves on the battlefield.
However, in reality, when they faced opponents truly skilled in killing techniques, their armor and strength could not save their lives at all.
These killing techniques were mostly true martial arts passed down through thousands of battles on the battlefield. Although many of these experiences were gradually lost with the deaths of their practitioners, some still formed their own schools and were passed down. The Venetian Swordsmanship School was one of them.
The so-called Venetian Swordsmanship School was named after a group of people skilled in swordsmanship who lived in Venice. Although they were not a single organization, they gained renown because these individuals often gathered and exchanged ideas.
A swordsmanship school that could be known centuries later must be extraordinary. It seemed Karl's swordsmanship also came from a renowned master, and he must have some accomplishments. Augustus thought he could ask him to teach him sometime.
"Where is your teacher now? Is he still in Venice?" Augustus did not want Karl to face his teacher on the battlefield; that would truly be betraying his teacher and ancestors.
To his surprise, Karl said mournfully, "He died in a duel. He was the best swordsmanship teacher in the world."
"I'm sorry to bring up your sorrow," Augustus said, comforting him verbally, but secretly relieved. It seemed his worries would not materialize, unless his teacher returned from the dead.
"He was not skilled enough," Duke said, very inopportunely.
"If one day your relatives and friends also die in battle, would you still think that way?" Karl asked, clearly displeased.
"Yes, but I would also avenge him," Duke replied righteously.
Karl nodded, "As you said, I avenged him."
"That's right, you've done very well. You've surpassed your teacher. Your teacher's spirit in heaven will be proud to have a disciple like you."
"The dead are gone, and the living continue. I hope this won't affect you." Seeing how deep Karl's affection for his teacher was, Augustus said with concern.
"It shouldn't have too much of an impact, but there might be some psychological burden. I will try my best to overcome it," Karl answered truthfully.
Duke asked very bluntly, "You even persuaded Augustus to attack Tuscany, so why can't you abandon personal ties for the greater good when it comes to yourself?"
Karl's expression instantly became indescribable.
Realizing Karl's mood was off, Augustus smiled and remedied, "Duke, don't talk nonsense. What do you mean by abandoning personal ties for the greater good? Although Karl was born in Austria, he will achieve fame and success in the Papal States, and future generations are very likely to regard him as a person of the Papal States.
And after Venice is incorporated into the Papal States' territory, Karl's teacher will also be regarded as a person of the Papal States in the eyes of future generations. In this way, you will be one family. How can this be called abandoning personal ties for the greater good? It should be called strengthening family ties."
What Augustus said contained elements of fabrication, but it was not entirely without reason. Future generations attributed the nationality of many scientists, artists, and politicians of this period and region to Italy. One must know that Italy was only established in 1861; at this time, there was no trace of Italy.
If they could all be lumped together as Italians, then as long as he succeeded, it would be perfectly fine for future generations to consider both Karl and his swordsmanship teacher as people of the Papal States. Perhaps this master-disciple relationship would even be arranged into a deeply moving and beautiful tale.
At first, Karl felt it was absurd, but upon closer thought, it actually made some sense. He couldn't help but admire Augustus's ability to distort black and white, and he couldn't resist laughing a few times, his original psychological burden completely gone.
Karl said with a sense of relief, "Alright, let's get back to the main topic. Shouldn't you tell us your plans? We can't just go into battle against Venice without knowing anything.
Let's talk about the military aspect first. We can still strive for other things, but how do we deal with the Venetian navy? We don't have the ability to suddenly make the Papal States' navy powerful enough to defeat Venice effortlessly."
Augustus replied unhurriedly, "My idea is to borrow ships from Venice under the pretext of aiding Austria against the Turks. If borrowing doesn't work, then rent. Rent as many as we can. Naval ships, civilian ships, all of them. As long as the money is in place, we won't fail to rent them."
"Rent Venetian ships to fight Venice? That would give us a terrible reputation. And would Venice really rent out all its ships, leaving itself no way out?" Karl had already witnessed Augustus's boldness, but hearing Augustus's plan still made him exclaim.
"Reputation issues can be smoothed over with time and benefits. Precisely because it's unexpected, this plan is feasible. And precisely because of this, this plan requires high secrecy. Even a hint of leakage would lead to complete failure. Therefore, I've only told you two; I haven't even told some ministers. You must not tell anyone either," Augustus said very seriously. If this matter were to leak, it would be explosive news and absolutely could not be taken lightly.
"Secrecy for such an important matter is certainly necessary, but isn't it a bit too much to keep it from even some ministers? They are, after all, subjects of the Papal States. No matter what, they shouldn't betray us. If they don't know the truth, then the forces we can mobilize will be greatly reduced, and we won't be able to enter the war in the best state," Karl said with a slight frown, full of worry.
"Better safe than sorry. We can't expect perfection, but we absolutely must catch Venice completely unprepared, striking them by surprise to end the war quickly."
"That's true, but the preparations we need to make are not just about training soldiers. Gathering intelligence on Venice, preemptively placing or bribing personnel into Venetian strongholds for later inside-outside cooperation, and so on—all these need to be done.
This increases the likelihood of information leaking, and many more people will be able to guess. Not to mention others, Enzo is in charge of espionage. From my observation, he is very sharp, and our actions will definitely not escape his eyes."
Karl's tone was a bit weak. There was nothing he could do. He was good at fighting, but these things were definitely not his strong suit. It was like a mountain separating different professions; how could he hide anything from someone specialized in this?
With Karl's reminder, Augustus suddenly realized: Indeed, having Karl and Duke do these things was somewhat inappropriate; they were neither skilled nor inconspicuous. Enzo was not so easily fooled. If this person was trustworthy, it would be best to let them communicate with each other and hand these matters over to him.
But he still wasn't sure about this person. It seemed he had to find an opportunity to test Enzo. If he was reliable, he could hand over the matters to him; if not, he would have to be eliminated.
"Very well, you two can temporarily put these matters aside and just focus on training soldiers. I will find other ways. You can rest assured and proceed; there are always more solutions than problems," Augustus comforted them.