A crescent moon hung diagonally in the sky, like the scythe of the God of Death suspended overhead, taking away thousands of souls. The evening breeze was cool, gently sweeping through the camp, diluting the strong smell of blood.
Outside the camp, conditions were simple and facilities incomplete, forcing many procedures to be omitted and some steps altered. Yet, Augustus still made as many preparations as possible, with white robes, ties, stoles, a bishop's miter, and a scepter all readily available.
Military matters were pressing, but the deceased could not be treated lightly. Under the gaze of all regimental-level and above officers and the soldiers who came to observe, Augustus proceeded systematically with every step he had prepared, praising the bravery of the soldiers and chanting hymns to heaven.
The Requiem Mass ended, and everyone else had departed. After confirming that the souls of their comrades had ascended to heaven, the soldiers responsible for cremation lit a large fire on the piles of bodies, quietly waiting for the flames to burn out, and then burying everything.
"Your Holiness, what should we do with the captured Venetian soldiers?" On the way back to the camp, Karl eagerly whispered, asking for instructions.
Killing over a thousand people was certainly not an option; killing surrendering soldiers was inauspicious, and the diplomatic repercussions would be exceptionally severe. Imprisoning all of them was also not feasible, as it would require a large number of guards, and there wasn't a prison large enough nearby. Releasing them all, untouched, was even less acceptable, as they would simply reorganize and rejoin the Venetian army to fight against the Papal States, now with combat experience against the Papal States army.
How to deal with the surrendered Venetian soldiers was indeed a thorny problem, but fortunately, Augustus had already prepared: "Hand them all over to Claudio. The Field Army will dispatch a regiment to escort them. He will then transfer them to the rear to Lorenzo, to be dispersed and incorporated into the conscripted service. With tens of thousands of people holding them down, these thousand Venetian soldiers won't be able to stir up any trouble, nor will they affect the front-line operations.
Before they depart, tell them that during their service, their treatment will be equivalent to that of Papal States conscripts, and after their service ends, they can decide whether to stay or leave. By then, the war with Venice will certainly be over, and those who can persevere until the end of their service will be controllable. At that time, explain the treatment of the Papal States army to them, and those who decide to stay in the army can be directly regularized.
Speaking of which, the Papal States is still quite short of soldiers skilled in naval warfare, but these people cannot be used while fighting Venice. When Venice becomes part of the Papal States, they will be of great use."
Karl fell into deep thought and did not respond for a moment. Augustus did not disturb him, turning to Giovanni and saying, "By the way, Giovanni, speaking of naval warfare, how is the recruitment of sailors going?"
"Rest assured, Your Holiness, it's already prepared. To fill the ships captured from Venice, we have more than enough people, not too few. It's just that most can only serve as sailors; they have no maritime combat experience at all, but there's nothing that can be done about that."
"No matter. You just need to reallocate the personnel. Each ship must have a navy officer stationed on it. Just don't let a ship be entirely filled with temporarily recruited sailors. Once arranged, let the soldiers and sailors who have been reassigned familiarize themselves with the ships tonight."
"Understood."
"You haven't told the soldiers that we have already declared war on Venice, have you?" Augustus confirmed.
"Of course not. You strictly ordered it to be kept secret. If you didn't tell us to speak, who would dare?" Duke quickly replied.
Augustus nodded and said, "Good, then I will speak. Gather everyone after dinner. Riccardo, on your side…"
"I'll handle things on our Tuscany side myself. I'll listen to what you say, and then I'll have to go back and smooth over what happened earlier."
"Alright, then I'll trouble you."
...
The moonlight was dim, but the center of the camp was brightly lit. Over twenty thousand Papal States soldiers gathered there. Augustus, dressed in white, stood prominently on the central platform, his right hand tightly gripping his scepter, and his left hand holding a sword.
With over twenty thousand pairs of eyes fixed on him, Augustus, who was accustomed to grand occasions, felt a trace of nervousness rise in his heart at this moment. However, his experiences over the past year or so had forced Augustus to mature greatly, and he was already able to quickly adjust his state.
The Papal States army was still gathering, with more troops arriving successively and lining up in order. From time to time, people in the crowd whispered to each other. Augustus did not stop them, using the noise to listen to the scattered thoughts of the soldiers.
"Burp~" A young soldier burped, savoring the unusually rich dinner he had just eaten. Then he nudged his slightly older compatriot next to him and casually asked, "What do you think, why did His Holiness call all of us out so late at night? What important matter could it be?"
"Of course there is! Don't you think it's strange how this afternoon's battle was fought so inexplicably? Venice was originally our ally, and in one afternoon, we inflicted over half casualties on them, capturing all the rest. How do we explain this to Venice? Can this alliance possibly continue?"
"Ah? I hadn't thought of that."
The older soldier rolled his eyes and said, "You, you're truly heartless. You don't even care about this. What did you come to the army for?"
"Of course, it's because the army provides food and lodging, and I get paid every month." The young soldier gave a simple smile, then after a moment of thought, he judged, "We killed so many of their people; Venice definitely won't let it go. Even if they don't directly defect, this alliance is definitely over."
"Definitely. But in my opinion, His Holiness didn't intend to let Venice off the hook. He must have had plans long ago, and this afternoon's conflict was probably part of the plan. If it was just to mediate the dispute, why would we have acted so ruthlessly? Didn't you notice?
This afternoon, when Tuscany and Venice clashed, they still held back somewhat. But when we entered, we completely beat the Venetians to death. Venice's artillery and cavalry weren't even used; they hastily broke through. Of course, they were unwilling, and that's why their resistance was so strong afterward!"
"Huh? How is that possible! Wasn't this afternoon's conflict started by Venice themselves? And with Tuscany! We only received the news afterward and went to support. Could it be that His Holiness had already planted his own people within the Venetian army?"
"It's not impossible!"
"But the battle this afternoon was so fierce. If there were our own people on the Venetian side, wouldn't they also…"
"Their mission was accomplished by triggering the conflict. In such a situation, killing them off in the chaos of battle would naturally be the best option."
"Huh? How could His Holiness be so ruthless?" The young soldier looked at His Holiness in the distance, who was similar in age to himself, still had a somewhat youthful face, and was usually benevolent and loving, finding it hard to believe.
"You are truly too naive. Don't be fooled by His Holiness's appearance. How could someone so young ascend to the Papal throne without means beyond what you and I can imagine? Even if my guess is wrong, His Holiness must have more brilliant tactics. This afternoon's conflict was by no means accidental."
"If that's the case, then the upcoming war with Venice is also part of His Holiness's plan, something the Venetians never anticipated, which should be extremely advantageous for us. Moreover, the Venetians, with their money-grubbing soldiers, are much easier to deal with than the ferocious Ottoman barbarians!" The young soldier said optimistically.
"You cannot underestimate Venice. Venice's navy, even the Ottoman, might not be a match. And you saw this afternoon, even with such a disparity in forces, Venice was still able to inflict so many casualties on us, which shows that the Venetians' will to fight is not as bad as rumored."
"Got it."
...