Chapter 308: The Holy Roman Empire Responds (1/2)
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.”