Chapter 308: The Holy Roman Empire Responds

Within the city of Florence, the Doges of Venice and Genoa were kneeling before the Holy Roman Emperor. Emperor Balsamo Corsini was beyond livid after the pre-emptive strike Berengar had engaged in on his two most powerful vassals.

The destruction of the majority of the Genoan and Venetian navies was a massive blow to Imperial power, not just in the war against Austria but across the Mediterranean as a whole. Besides this, Berengar had openly licensed pirates, or privateers as he referred to them to attack what little shipping remained of Empire.

With this in mind, the Emperor had called his two subordinates to the current capital of the Empire with the intent of seeing how this crisis they were suffering could be salvaged. The Venetian Doge was the first to speak his mind.

"Three-fourths of my Navy was destroyed in the attack on my harbor, along with well over half of my merchant fleet! The attack has laid waste to the pier itself; as such, Venice can no longer accept trade by sea without a port! 

If that were not bad enough, our shipyards were annihilated, and our factories have been reduced to rubble. Because of this, we cannot build new ships for God knows how long!"

The Venetian Doge's face was flushed with anger, and his fists were curled as he shouted these words at the Emperor. The attack was swift and unexpected; Berengar had purposely sent the swiss agent without a horse to deliver the news of Austria's Independence to the Emperor. 

With the time it took the man to reach Florence, Berengar had engaged in pre-emptive strikes on Venice and Genoa and amassed an army at the Italian borders. The aftermath of these attacks had severely reduced the Empire's ability to fight on the seas. 

The Genoan Doge was not in any better condition; despite this, unlike his Venetian counterpart, he remained calm and collected as he informed the Emperor of Genoa's losses.

"We are in a similar situation; eighty percent of our Armada now lies at the bottom of the Ligurian Sea, our harbor is non-existent, and our ability to manufacture new ships has been crippled. We don't even possess the ability to repair the ships that remain. I must say, your Majesty, we are poorly equipped to face the Austrian Navy at sea."

The Emperor frowned as he heard this and tapped his armrest repeatedly as the noise echoed in the otherwise silent throne room. He could not believe that such an attack had occurred; not only that, but the Austrians were now laying siege to Verona as he spoke to his Vassals.  Eventually, the Emperor collected his thoughts before asking the question on his mind.

"How many ships do we still have?"

The Genoan and Venetian Doges looked at one another before the Genoan Doge answered the Emperor's question.

"Less than three hundred, your majesty..."

The Emperor sighed when he heard this; if this was the case, then the Empire as a whole had between three hundred and four hundred ships left available for combat. The losses they had suffered in Berengar's sneak attacks were an unmitigated disaster.  As such, the Emperor asked the following question on his mind

"How many ships do the Austrians have at their disposal?"

The Venetian Doge was the one to speak as he gave a rough estimate of the Austrian Naval Power.

"In there Navy? About seventy-five. However, there also appears to be a half-dozen of these so-called privateers attacking any Imperial merchant vessel they can get their hands on. So it is closer to 80 in total. The problem is the Austrian ships are larger and carry far more cannons on board; we don't know the exact number, but they should have thousands of cannons on their eighty or so ships."

The Emperor gripped his armrest tightly when he heard this report; he gritted his teeth as he struggled to contain his inner fury. Eventually, he calmed himself down before inquiring about information on the firepower that their remaining fleet possessed.

"And pray tell, how many cannons do we have onboard our vessels?"

The Venetian and Genoan Doges looked at one another with fear in their eyes, the two men were terrified to answer the question; ultimately, the Genaon Doge mustered the courage to reveal the truth of the matter to the already agitated Emperor. 

"Less than 1500 in total. The Austrians may have fewer vessels than we do, but their firepower and speed are vastly superior to ours. To engage them in direct conflict is suicidal."

This was not the news the Emperor wanted to hear. However, it was real, and he was forced to deal with it; as such, the Emperor sighed heavily as he placed his face in the palm of his hands while struggling to come up with a solution for the crisis they were facing.

"What are the odds of us being able to attack their shipping? If we can return the favor and cripple their economy, then surely we might be able to turn the tides of war around?"

In response to this question, the Venetian Doge was far from calm on this matter as he immediately objected to the notion's feasibility.

"Impossible! The Austrian merchant vessels travel at an incredible speed; they are capable of close to three times the speed of our ships. There is no feasible method that we can use to pursue them effectively."

When Balsamo heard this, he began to grind his teeth in discontent; it appeared as if he were out of options at this point. However, he outright refused to abandon the Naval aspect of warfare with the Austrians, and as such, he began to ask for suggestions from the two Naval experts in the room.

"Tell me then, how do you suggest we most effectively utilize our remaining naval power?'

With this said, the Genoan Doge immediately presented what he believed to be the most efficient use of their ships.

"We should use our remaining naval vessels as escorts to our merchant ships. With such a large number of warships protecting our trading fleet, the Austrian pirates will have to think twice about attacking them."

Having heard this, the Venetian Doge nodded as he voiced support for the proposed plan.

"If we can not protect our merchants, then our economy will crumble, and we will not be able to sustain the war effort against Austria. I support my Genoan counterpart's plan of action."

It was quite possibly the first time these two men had agreed on anything, and as such, the Emperor was quite surprised. Thus, he sighed heavily before making a decision.

"We will do as you suggest then; I would like to see how daring these privateers are when a naval escort protects our merchant fleet!"

After this was said, the two Doges nodded their heads in firm resolve; they would immediately relay the orders to their remaining warships to protect merchant convoys at all costs. As such, the Emperor dismissed his two Vassals so they could make the appropriate preparations.

As for the Emperor, he sighed heavily as he thought about the numerous problems with the war for Austrian Independence. While he was sulking in his thoughts, a General came into the fray and handed the Emperor a report from the battlefield in the Swiss Confederation.

The moment the Emperor finished reading the report, he tore it apart in a fit of rage as he chastised his General heavily. 

"The County of Chur has surrendered without a fight? What lunacy is this!?!"

The General bowed his head respectfully as he tried to appease the enraged Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the County of Chur is a hotbed of reformist thought; it does not surprise me in the least that they would defect to Berengar's cause. If this is the case in Chur, it could prove to be a potential reality in other parts of the Empire that have begun to embrace the German Reformation."

The Emperor struggled to maintain his dignity as he heard this observation and ultimately failed to do so as he lashed out as his General.

"These damned Heretics! The fact that you refer to them as Reformists shows where your loyalties truly lie! Get out of my sight before I have you executed!"

The General was shocked to see the Emperor behave in such a manner; he was utterly unaware of the conversation that had just taken place and had no way of knowing that the poor news he brought to the Emperor was just the icing on the cake. 

Despite his reservations over his mistreatment, he merely bowed respectfully in response to the Emperor's request. With his departure, the General left behind the words.

"As you command, your majesty..."

In the end, the Emperor was left alone, seething in his enraged state, as his world began to collapse around him.  The truth of the matter was, with half of the Empire already embroiled in a state of conflict, the Emperor was not ready to fight a war with Austria.

The Italians had yet to muster their army in its entirety, and 50,000 Austrians were already laying siege to Verona.  By the time the Italians could rally their forces to combat the threat, half of Northern Italy was likely to be taken by the Royal Austrian Army.

The Emperor may be quick to anger, but he knew well enough that if he met the Austrians in the field, only death awaited him and his men. With this in mind, the Emperor began to construct a plot to slow down the Austrian advance and buy him the time necessary to build an army large enough to counter the Austrian invasion of Italy. 

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