A few days later, Marin received news of the start of war in West Friesland. However, there was no news of the imminent defeat of the Saxony coalition. Since Duke George failed last time, he has been much more cautious this time, and there is no Meng Lang. And Bonitz, the commander of the army of the Duchy of Gedus, also wanted to use the fortified city to deplete the morale of the Lower Saxon coalition army. Therefore, in a short time, there will be no results.

Of course, this short period of time refers to three to five days. If it drags on for too long, neither side will be happy. Because, it's already February. Next month, in March, we will enter the spring planting stage. Both sides were obviously not happy that the war would affect the spring ploughing. Therefore, after the initial tentative phase has passed, there will inevitably be a violent collision. By March, the outcome will be decided. When the time comes, Marin can also go back to preside over the spring ploughing plan. By the way, talk to the defeated George about buying West Frisland......

After reading the information from China, Marin also planned to leave for Venice. This time, in his capacity as a mediator, he was entrusted in writing by Julius II to negotiate with Venice.

Before leaving, Marin suddenly said to Julius II:

"Giuliano, I intend to encourage Venice to dig a canal to the Arabian Sea in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula......"

Julius II was stunned, but after opening the map that Marin had drawn for him, his face changed:

"Marin, do you want to make Venice rise completely? If Venice rises completely, will the Holy See not be suppressed to death? ”

The current Venice already occupies Crete and Cyprus, two large islands that are relatively close to Egypt. If the Venetians and the Egyptians had built a canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, Julius II would have been certain that Venice would have developed much faster and more difficult to contain than it is now.

"Juliano, don't get excited, listen to me first......"

Marin pointed to the map and explained to Julius II:

"Even if the canal were to be excavated in the western part of the Sinai Peninsula, which is the shortest, it would be about 200 kilometers long......" Julius II nodded, signaling that he understood. He had spent some time in the East Friesian Lamberan country, so he naturally knew what the concept of kilometer was. Moreover, Julius II now also liked to replace ancient distance calculation units such as the lig with kilometers in Rome.

"To dig such a long canal, you have to let the big seafaring ships pass through...... Juliano, how many years do you think? ”

"This ...... I'm afraid it will take twenty or thirty years......" said Julius II, after thinking for a while, uncertainly.

Marin nodded, Julius II's speculation was not outrageous. In the mid-19th century, when the French were digging the Suez Canal, it took 11 years. Moreover, in the mid-19th century, a lot of machinery was used. One of the most important is the large-scale application of pumping machines. When the canal is excavated, it is dug deep and is prone to water seepage. If it rains heavily, it will also accumulate water severely.

Once the river is waterlogged, then, in the era of manual excavation, it is impossible to continue to excavate, and the water must be pumped out first. Only then can the workers go down to the bottom and continue digging.

In the middle of the 19th century, steam engine and pump technology had been greatly developed, and water was naturally pumped quickly. Moreover, at that time, relying on colonial plunder and usury, the French spent a huge amount of 18.6 million pounds to dig the Suez Canal.

In the 19th century, when the gold standard was era, 1 pound was equivalent to 7.322 grams of pure gold. 18.6 million pounds, that's equivalent to 38.255 million ducats.

Even though prices were much higher in the mid-19th century than they are now, Venice would still need nearly 10 million ducats to dig such a canal.

However, the total annual financial income of Venice is only 100,000 ducats. Moreover, more than half of the country's institutions and armies will be consumed. Therefore, every year, the spare money that Venice officials can take out is only hundreds of thousands of ducats.

For Venice to repair the Suez Canal, which may cost nearly 10 million ducats, is definitely a huge pit. At the very least, while the canal is being built, the Venetians will be drained of their savings, and they will not want to do anything else for the time being. Moreover, such expenses will last for twenty or thirty years.

So, as soon as the canal was built, the Venetians were so entangled that they could not afford to do anything else......

And, having learned that Spain and Portugal were united in India to strike at Arab merchant ships, the Venetians had to make such a choice. Because, this is the only way out for the Venetians. Otherwise, decline will be inevitable.

What frustrated the Venetians the most was that when Spain and Portugal intercepted those Arab merchant ships in the Indian Ocean, the Venetians did not even have an excuse to send troops. Because, the Spaniards and the Portuguese attacked the ships of the Arabs, not the ships of the Venetians, so what excuse should the Venetians use to start a war with Spain and Portugal?

And when the fleets of Spain and Portugal had cleared the Arab merchant ships, the Venetians would no longer have access to spices and would lose their windfall profits of millions of gold coins a year. And this, is absolutely unbearable for the Venetians.

However, the Venetians could not afford to send a fleet to the Indian Ocean to compete with Spain or Portugal. After all, the Venetian ship could not sail across the Indian Ocean. The only exit is the Strait of Gibraltar, which is Spanish territory. If you want to make a detour to India, like Spain and Portugal, you have to ask Spain and Portugal if they agree.

If nothing was done, the Venetians would have lost the millions of gold coins a year from the spice trade. I can't even drink a mouthful of soup. And the Republic of Venice will gradually decline as a result, as it did in the original history.

And if the Suez Canal is dug, then Venice will have a glimmer of life. After all, Venice has a supersea power of 3,300 galleys, more than Spain and Portugal combined.

Even without the use of advanced tactics such as broadside guns (mainly the oars of the galleys had to be rowed on the side, and there was no space for broadside guns), the large number of ships and the guns at the bow and stern could have defeated the Spanish and Portuguese expeditionary fleets. In the original historical Battle of Diu, because it was impossible to transport ships to the Red Sea, the Venetians could only provide a few large ships, and the Egyptians could disassemble the ships into timber and send them to the Red Sea shore to reassemble. Naturally, such a method could not provide many warships.

However, if the Suez Canal was opened, the Venetians could have sent thousands of warships into the Indian Ocean, and they could have killed the Spanish and Portuguese expeditionary fleets by stacking them.

So, after Marin gave the idea, the Venetians knew that it was a pit, but in order to ensure that the Republic of Venice did not decline, they also had to jump into it. Because, if you jump into this pit, you may be unlucky, but if you don't jump into this pit, you will definitely die.

However, during the years of canal construction, Venice must have tightened its belts and struggled to survive. Because, the investment in digging the Suez Canal is too great.

During this time, Venice would certainly not be able to make waves in Italy, and Julius II could also take advantage of Venice's temporary inability to take care of it and plan for the expansion of his territory.

As for Julius II's fear of strength after the opening of the Suez Canal? Marin reassured:

"Giuliano, the great significance of the Suez Canal to the Venetians, you can see it, the Spaniards will not see it? I'm sure Spain and Portugal will be desperate to stop the Venetians from digging the Suez Canal. In the next twenty or thirty years, the two sides will be locked in a fight to the death. Everyone wants to monopolize the windfall profits of the spice trade, and no one will back down. When the time comes, Venice will definitely get involved with Spain. Maybe you can also use Venice to get the Spanish-occupied Kingdom of Naples......"

"The Kingdom of Naples?" Julius II was a little puzzled.

"Don't you look at where the Kingdom of Naples is? It's blocking the exit from the Adriatic Sea! When Venice and Spain go to war, they will definitely not be happy to let Spain choke their throats. When the time comes, you can unite with Venice and try to drive the Spaniards out of the Italian peninsula......"

"That makes sense...... said Julius II after deep thought.

A Suez Canal, involving the three great powers of Venice, Spain and Portugal, is also a very powerful strategy. Marin did this to distract Spain and Portugal. When the three great powers of the sea were tearing apart in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, Marin was able to quietly engage in colonial development in the Americas.

Moreover, this ploy actually included Ottoman Turkey......

Why? Venice's excavation of the Suez Canal in Egypt was inevitably tied to the Mamluk dynasty in Egypt. By the time the Ottoman Turks wanted to annex Egypt in 1517, the Venetians would surely have gone to the aid of the Egyptian Mamluks. Even if it can't help Egypt defeat Turkey, it will help Egypt defend against the Turks' attack. And, the Venetians will do their best.

Otherwise, once the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt, which had good relations with Venice, lost, and the Ottoman Turks, who were hostile to Venice, were in charge of Egypt, the Turks would definitely take the Suez Canal. In that case, Venice is finished......

Therefore, Marin's idea would force Venice to do everything in its power to help the Mamluks of Egypt against the Turkish attack. And if Turkey had not taken Egypt, then it would not have been as terrible as it was in the original history. After all, Egypt is a rich and prosperous region with strong agriculture, which is of great significance.

In addition, Marin itself has its own interests in Egypt. That is, the procurement of natural edible alkali and miscanthus salt. These two things are indispensable for the core raw materials of glass manufacturing and papermaking.

Although the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt was also a pagan state, it had frequent trade with Europe and was an important trading partner of Venice. Turkey and Europe, on the other hand, are mortal enemies, and historically, trade between Egypt and Europe was interrupted after Turkey occupied Egypt. In that case, Marin's glassmaking and paper industries would be greatly affected.

However, Marin was not willing to send troops to help Egypt against Turkey. Because, that would be too much investment. Moreover, there is a need for labor expeditions. Therefore, it is the best choice to take advantage of the opportunity of the Venetians to dig the Suez Canal, let the Venetians be cannon fodder, and help the Egyptian Mamluk dynasty withstand the attack of the Turks together.

As for the Venetians who kept prospering after digging through the Suez Canal, what about Marin? Anyway, the Venetians are very strong now, and they don't affect Marin......

Well...... It could affect the hegemony of the Papal States in Italy...... By that time, however, his father-in-law, Julius II, had long since died......

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