After settling some more details, the issue of sending envoys to various countries was finally arranged.
"Karl, Duke, what has the army been doing these days?" Augustus asked with concern.
Karl carefully deliberated, "Reporting to His Holiness the Pope, after successfully completing the bandit suppression mission, the National Defense Force has been thoroughly trained, its combat effectiveness has greatly improved, and its morale is high. Knowing that a major war is imminent, training has not slackened for a moment."
"The Field Army is the same," Duke echoed, saving himself the trouble.
"Giovanni, how is the Navy doing recently?" The next opponent would be Venice, and the importance of naval combat was no less than that on land. Augustus placed great importance on the Navy.
"I have been diligently studying more naval knowledge during this period, and at the same time strengthening my understanding and training of our Navy. From what I can see, our Navy has a decent foundation and possesses certain combat capabilities, but there is still a lot of room for improvement," Giovanni answered truthfully.
Compared to Karl and Duke, Giovanni's answer seemed to lack much confidence. However, this was understandable, as Giovanni was a latecomer to the Navy, and the time was too short, so such an answer was not surprising.
If Giovanni had said that the Papal States' Navy was already invincible, Augustus would have truly been scared.
"Indeed, the Papal States' naval combat power still needs a lot of time to improve further, but we no longer have that time. Do you have confidence in leading the Papal States' Navy and the navies of the allied nations to defeat the Ottoman Empire?"
Augustus asked vaguely, as he himself didn't know how large the allied navy would be at that time. However, if everything went smoothly, when facing the Ottoman, the Papal States would have, in addition to its current Navy, the entire Navy of Venice and most of the Navy of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He couldn't say it was a guaranteed win, but at least they would have the power to fight.
Giovanni thought for a moment, then answered decisively, "Yes!"
Augustus laughed loudly, "Good, confidence is good! As long as it is beneficial to the development of the Papal States' Navy, feel free to raise any needs. Oh, have the Navy and Army tried to cooperate?"
"Navy and Army cooperation?" Giovanni looked very confused, apparently having never considered it.
Karl and Duke also looked equally bewildered.
"Many of the upcoming battles will require joint operations between the Navy and Army. How can we proceed without first practicing cooperation?"
Giovanni looked at Karl and Duke and remedied, "Then, if we start practicing amphibious joint operations from today, will it still be in time?"
"Hmm, start as soon as possible. Both the National Defense Force and the Field Army should go. The number of ships is limited, so you yourselves arrange the order."
"Okay, then what should we train?"
"You think about it yourselves, of course, according to your needs. For amphibious joint operations, it certainly won't work if every soldier gets seasick, right? So, first, you must find a way to help the soldiers overcome seasickness and adapt to the rocking of the ships on the sea.
Are you all familiar with naval landings? If not, you certainly need to drill. Attacking from the sea is different from on land, and this is also something you need to practice."
"So much…" Duke muttered softly.
"These are just a few of them; there are more problems that you will discover yourselves during your drills. Never treat this as a trivial matter. If the Army is completely ineffective at sea, it will become a burden to the Navy.
In 1588, the Invincible Armada, led by the Spanish Grandee Medina Sidonia, consisting of 130 warships and transport ships, 7,000 crew and sailors, and 23,000 infantry, set sail to invade England. As a result, after being severely damaged by the English Navy in the English Channel, they were forced to detour around Scotland to return, and encountered a storm near the northern coast of Scotland, almost completely annihilated," Augustus stated sorrowfully.
Upon hearing this, Duke and Giovanni simultaneously broke out in a cold sweat. Duke deeply understood the immense impact of this failed expedition on Spain. As for Giovanni, he had almost been one of the expeditionary officers and soldiers buried at sea at that time.
Speaking of which, the scale of that expedition was indeed very close to the scale of the upcoming one. Would the Papal States follow in its footsteps? Everyone had this question in their minds.
"Your Holiness… I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it…" Faol, who had remained silent, stammered.
"What is it? Is there anything you cannot tell me?" Augustus asked in surprise.
"Do we really have to attack the Ottoman Empire from the sea? Although I don't know much about military matters, since the risk is so great, shouldn't we reconsider taking the land route? Although it's much slower, at least it's safer."
"I think so too. Why not reconsider? Or perhaps first use the Navy to test the Ottoman Empire's naval strength, and only then, once it's safe, send the main army eastward. Otherwise, the risk is truly too great."
Duke strongly agreed. He disliked putting his life in someone else's hands. The true strength of the Papal States' Navy was yet unknown. If the Navy's strength was insufficient, then at sea, even if his Field Army had extraordinary abilities, it would be useless.
Karl didn't say it out loud, but he still hoped to get back up where he fell and return to fight on the Hungary battlefield.
Giovanni also fell silent. He could originally bear the responsibility of commanding the Navy, but the thought of tens of thousands of Papal States' soldiers depending on him alone, such a heavy burden, truly made him feel a bit breathless.
Augustus never expected that the historical story he used to encourage everyone not to be careless would actually make everyone want to change the battle plan.
Augustus shook his head helplessly and said, "Why are you already thinking of changing the battle plan? If feasible, attacking from the sea is certainly the best shortcut, and controlling naval supremacy can also gain a great advantage.
How to fight specifically will mainly depend on your improvisation on the battlefield. But even if the plan is ultimately changed, amphibious joint operations are still unavoidable, and you must take them seriously.
However, a desperate gamble is indeed risky. I never intended for you to deploy the entire army to the Balkan Peninsula when the enemy situation is unclear. Duke's suggestion is still very commendable."
"Good, we will certainly not fail our mission!" Duke, seeing his opinion affirmed, happily guaranteed.
"Also," Augustus stroked his nose, then asked, "Duke, do you have any familiar mercenaries?"
Duke was first startled, then replied, "I know some people. Our army already has so many people, do we still need to rely on mercenaries?"
"Recruit some. You go talk to them; familiar people are easier to deal with, and prices are negotiable. It's not about reliance; there are some things we find inconvenient to do ourselves that can be handed over to mercenaries. Not many, one or two thousand will suffice."
"What kind of work?"
"You'll know then."
Duke nodded, half-understanding.
"You'll understand then."