"Make a big deal out of it!" Riccardo immediately followed up.
"Exactly!" Karl nodded in appreciation.
"But how exactly should we do it? Those guys from Venice are very cunning; every time things go south, they chicken out and then stab us in the back through that damn arbitration court, which is full of their own Venetian people." At this point, Riccardo was itching with hatred.
Karl smiled calmly, full of confidence, and said, "If they won't be honorable, then we'll help them be honorable. As the leader of the coalition army, it wouldn't look good for our Papal States to directly instigate a conflict.
If you're willing to participate, then everything will be easy. Tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock, make arrangements in advance. When you find Venetian soldiers causing trouble in your camp, have your men actively confront them. Once a conflict breaks out, immediately detain all the Venetian soldiers involved on the spot.
Then, immediately set up defenses along the camp's border. After Venice receives news that their men have been detained, they will definitely come to demand their release. At that time, no matter who comes to demand them, you will hold the border firmly and not let them pass. You can also find any excuse not to meet them.
As long as they violently charge the checkpoint, have your men open fire directly. The Venetians won't stand there and take it. When our neighboring legions hear the gunshots, they will send people to investigate. When they discover the Venetians are assaulting your camp, we will have a reason to intervene. In an emergency, we can send troops to suppress all the Venetian soldiers in the conflict as rebels, and severely curb the arrogance of the Venetians!"
Riccardo broke out in a cold sweat. He did want to teach the Venetians a lesson, but to fire on friendly forces before the war even began was something he dared not even imagine. Looking at Karl's murderous gaze, an indescribable strangeness rose in his heart.
"What if the Venetians don't come to demand their men themselves, but go directly to His Holiness the Pope? We can't stop His Holiness the Pope, can we?" Riccardo blinked as he asked.
"That's why I'm telling you to act tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock. Tomorrow afternoon, His Holiness the Pope will be inspecting logistics and supply work and won't return until evening. The Venetians are accustomed to being arrogant and overbearing; they won't be able to patiently endure it for so long." Karl looked as if everything was under control, appearing very reliable.
"To curb the arrogance of the Venetians, of course I'm willing, but isn't doing this a bit too much? You know, once a conflict breaks out at the camp border, there will be dozens, if not hundreds, of people from Venice. If we suppress them directly like this, the Venetians will suffer at least dozens of casualties. Will they just let it go?
Your Holiness the Pope has tolerated Venice for so long; we can't let our momentary impulse ruin everything. If we jeopardize the overall anti-Turk situation, we will become eternal sinners!" At this moment, Riccardo, on the contrary, started to consider the bigger picture.
"No," Karl said firmly, a sharp glint flickering in his eyes. "Venice joined this coalition because His Holiness the Pope promised them great benefits. If they return empty-handed without doing anything, the ducats given earlier won't even cover the losses incurred from assembling the fleet these past few days. They won't be able to account for it to their own country. Moreover, that money has already entered the pockets of their powerful figures; do you expect them to take it out again to appease the populace? Therefore, they are the least likely to withdraw.
Furthermore, if they really dared to withdraw, we certainly couldn't take the sea route for the anti-Turk campaign. If we took the land route, wouldn't they be afraid that our coalition army would simply flatten Venice on the way?
Previously, His Holiness the Pope repeatedly tolerated them to quickly get Venice to send more reinforcements. But now, as you should have seen, Venice hasn't had any more ships arrive for several days, which indicates that this is all the ships Venice is willing to send.
The fleet that has already arrived cannot be partially withdrawn. Even if Venice truly wanted to withdraw, that old fellow in the Venetian military camp would never agree. The more troops he has, the more leverage he possesses, and the greater his influence on the battlefield."
Riccardo's pupils gradually widened. Suddenly, a light bulb went off, and he realized the biggest problem: "How do you seem to know everything? His Holiness the Pope's schedule, thought process, inner thoughts, purpose of actions... Do you have an informant near His Holiness the Pope? Are these your guesses, or did His Holiness the Pope tell you personally?"
"Some things I learned by asking around, and some things are, of course, conjectures based on some of His Holiness the Pope's words. Although I haven't been in the Papal States for long, I have known His Holiness the Pope for many years, and I dare say these conjectures are almost certainly accurate.
Hey, don't worry about it so much, just tell me if my deductions are correct." Karl briefly dodged the question in his words, but he covered and adjusted it so quickly that it was imperceptible, not attracting Riccardo's attention.
Riccardo's thoughts were pulled back, and he tried hard to consider Karl's words, which indeed seemed to make some sense.
"Does His Holiness the Pope know about this plan?"
"How could His Holiness the Pope know? If His Holiness the Pope were aware, the nature of this matter would be different," Karl replied as if it were obvious.
Riccardo was somewhat exasperated: "Then if we do this, how will we explain it when His Holiness the Pope returns?"
"Didn't I just say? His Holiness the Pope's goal has been achieved, but it's not convenient for him to explicitly state it. We seize this opportunity to teach Venice a lesson, which will neither affect His Holiness the Pope's prestige nor boost the morale of our soldiers. Moreover, it will serve as a warning to Venice, so they won't be so arrogant in the future. This is helping His Holiness the Pope!"
"Even if there's a small problem, you are the Admiral of the Navy of Tuscany. His Holiness the Pope cannot truly do anything to you. This concerns the relations between two nations, and from an external perspective, your Tuscany will merely be seen as acting in self-defense. Furthermore, you are an accessory, and I am the principal offender."
"As for me, with a major war imminent, His Holiness the Pope and the National Defense Force cannot do without me. At most, there will only be a verbal reprimand as a formality. Once we return victorious and achieve great merits, His Holiness the Pope will not possibly bring up this minor matter for retribution later."
Karl's string of fabrications made his forehead veins throb, but fortunately, he didn't give anything away. Although it seemed outrageous at first glance, he explained it logically.
Riccardo nodded repeatedly, gradually dispelling his worries, and then asked, "By the way, do Duke and Giovanni know about your plan?"
Karl was first stunned, then cautiously replied, "Not yet, why?"
"What's their attitude towards Venice? You could try to pull them in. Even if they don't join, they shouldn't obstruct it. More people make things easier, and the law doesn't punish a multitude. Even if something goes wrong, His Holiness the Pope can't punish all the generals equally. Of course, this is mainly for your consideration, as you said, I have nothing to fear," Riccardo said with a grin, teasing him.
"Good idea, I'll go sound them out right away."
Karl agreed verbally, but thought to himself: 'It'd be strange if they didn't know. Including His Holiness the Pope, everyone is just waiting for you to fire the first shot against Venice!'