Karl's words were insightful, and Faol was unable to refute them, yet he still felt something was amiss: "But convincing Venice to send out a fleet was something His Holiness the Pope personally negotiated before. If we then pull a stunt like this, turning our guns on Venice, I worry that His Holiness the Pope's reputation will be damaged."
Faol's concern was not unfounded. Doing so would certainly make Augustus infamous in the short term, drawing widespread criticism from all hostile forces. If he were to personally visit another country to seek cooperation during this period, everyone would fear the same trick being pulled again, and what was originally an act of sincerity would directly become a threat.
However, Augustus believed that paying such a price was entirely worthwhile. By annexing Venice and thoroughly integrating it, the Papal States would achieve a huge leap in terms of land area, economy, population, resources, military, and many other aspects, completely opening up the situation. With strong power, whatever he wanted to do would be much easier.
Augustus nodded slightly: "There will certainly be an impact, but it will be within an acceptable range, and this impact will fade with time. We can also take some measures to accelerate its fading later.
In comparison, the gains from annexing Venice are immense. If we don't seize this opportunity to resolve Venice, its threat and restraint on the Papal States are also huge. We cannot pursue a false reputation and suffer real harm."
"Well said, we cannot pursue a false reputation and suffer real harm!" Duke savored the phrase, then meticulously reported, "Your Holiness the Pope, the mercenaries you asked me to contact are all arranged, totaling over two thousand people. All of them are capable on the battlefield and can all arrive in the Papal States within three days. At that time, they can participate in the attack on Venice together.
However, most of them have been in inland areas for many years and are not good with water, let alone fighting on ships. For naval battles and landing operations against Venice, I'm afraid we cannot count on them."
"It's fine." Augustus waved his hand, then frankly stated, "I won't beat around the bush anymore; I'll just say it directly. I asked you to find these mercenaries not because I want them to display great power on the battlefield, but for another purpose. Within Venice, there are quite a few die-hard forces hostile to the Papal States.
If the Papal States annexes Venice, they will inevitably become a potential threat. These people can not only incite rebellion in Venice through their influence but also rely on their connections to travel to various countries to seek help from external forces to restore their nation.
At best, it will greatly increase our cost of rule; at worst, it will make us suffer losses, and even ultimately force us to abandon all our efforts under pressure.
Therefore, when attacking Venice, I hope you can clean up as many potential hidden dangers as possible. Letting them die during wartime will minimize the negative impact.
Some things that are inconvenient for you to directly handle can be given to the mercenaries. It's perfectly fine to meet the conditions proposed by the mercenaries as much as possible; you don't need to be stingy when being generous with others' resources."
"Your Holiness the Pope is far-sighted and strategizes effectively. However, if that's the case, we must take the mercenaries for naval battles and landing operations against Venice. Our number of ships is already limited, and if we pack in two thousand mercenaries, there will be even less space for our own people," Giovanni said with concern.
"Oh, and we haven't discussed how to allocate the troops. The number of ships is limited, so certainly not tens of thousands of people can all go. So, who will land in Venice, and what should the remaining people do? Do you have arrangements for these?"
Karl was ostensibly asking, but in reality, he was clearly offering himself. No matter how this battle ultimately developed, as long as they won, being the first to capture the capital, Venice, would certainly be a great achievement.
Duke was about to volunteer to compete, but then he remembered that his soldiers could fall into the water during drills, and he had no idea what kind of trouble they would cause in a real fight, so he didn't have the face to bring it up.
Augustus pondered for a moment and understood the two men's thoughts: "Originally, there were no arrangements; I was going to let you decide for yourselves. But since it's been brought up, I'll state my suggestion, and you can see if it's suitable.
My idea is to divide the troops into two routes. One route will land in Venice, and for ease of command and deployment, this route will consist of a single unit. All the remaining people will form another route, besieging Venice's castles and fortresses along the coastline to the north.
The landing operation requires more skill, while on land, we might encounter large Venetian forces, and there might be tough battles to fight. Given the performance during the parade, the Field Army excels in land warfare, and the National Defense Force has a slight edge in naval warfare.
My idea is to play to each other's strengths. The National Defense Force will land in Venice with the mercenaries, and those who cannot fit on the ships will go north along the coast with the Field Army. What do you two think?"
"All at His Holiness's command," Duke said submissively.
"Are we sending everyone to fight Venice? Then who will be responsible for the defense of the Papal States?" Karl asked.
"Isn't there Dracula's Swiss Guard? And Faol's police department, and then Lorenzo's..." Augustus's voice gradually trailed off as he spoke.
The Swiss Guard was too few in number, the police department wasn't even considered a regular army, and Lorenzo was not very reliable, and in his impression, Lorenzo was also very close to Venice.
"Then what do you mean?"
"I want to leave two regiments from the National Defense Force to guard the imperial capital, for contingencies. Other regiments should all be able to fit on the ships."
"Good, I'll listen to you." Augustus readily adopted Karl's suggestion, then looked to his right, "Enzo, guess what I need you to do?"
Enzo smiled knowingly: "Mobilize our spy network in Venice to cooperate with the army's actions."
"Very good. There's one more thing I need you to cooperate with Stirile on."
"Is it to assassinate someone?" Enzo was a little puzzled.
Venice's power structure dictated that killing one person would have limited impact on decisions, even the Doge. And acting before the war would alert the enemy, while assassination after the war would be too difficult and time too short.
"Messenger?" Stirile, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
"Precisely." Stirile's ability to guess surprised Augustus somewhat. "When Venice is attacked, it will inevitably seek help from other countries. If you can intercept the messengers en route, you can maximize the time gained for our army. Can you do it?"
"We will do our best, but..." Stirile looked at Enzo.
Enzo immediately understood: "I will provide intelligence and manpower to assist Stirile in completing the mission."
Augustus nodded with satisfaction. At this point, the entire plan was considered properly arranged.
"Are there any more questions?"
"Your Holiness the Pope, can we really completely annex Venice in this battle?" Duke was somewhat skeptical.
Augustus's eyes drooped slightly: "To be honest, no. Venice is such a large piece of fat, and many countries are coveting it. We still need to make concessions to some countries in exchange for their recognition. But as long as we win, at least more than half of Venice will definitely be ours!"
"What the heck. We fight desperately on the battlefield, and after fighting, we have to let them pick up benefits for free. Where in the world is there such a principle!" Duke grumbled, a little unconvinced.
Seeing this, Augustus encouraged: "But what's certain is that the more beautifully you fight on the battlefield, and the stronger the combat power you display, the more we will gain! Even if we make concessions to other countries, it's because we've exchanged for things we need!"