Without the lucrative spice trade, the economy of the Mamluk dynasty was bound to become difficult in the future. However, the Mamluks have now united with the Indian side and intend to form a combined fleet to fight the combined fleets of Spain and Portugal. But Marin knew that this battle would definitely be the defeat of the combined fleet of the Mamluks and India. After all, the gap between the technological level of the two is too great.

Historically, Portugal alone was able to defeat the combined fleets of Egypt and India, let alone the more powerful combined Spanish-Portuguese fleet? Therefore, the economic decline of the Mamluk dynasty was inevitable.

However, Marin left an important follow-up early on - encouraging Venice to dig the Suez Canal......

At present, the Venetian side is concentrating all its manpower and material resources to dug the Suez Canal quietly, and the Mamluk dynasty is also very cooperative.

It is foreseeable that once the Suez Canal is successfully dug and Venice, which has not yet declined, will surely throw its powerful Mediterranean fleet into the Arabian Sea and fight to the death against Spain and Portugal. At that time, it was also the only chance for the Mamluk dynasty to turn the tables. If Venice also lost, the Mamluks had no hope of turning over.

Of course, Marin didn't care if the Mamluks could turn over, he only cared if the Mamluks could stop the invasion of Ottoman Turkey. As long as the Mamluk dynasty is not extinguished, the caliph will remain in Cairo and will not become another title of Turkish sultan. As long as Turkey does not assert Allah's status in the world, it will be difficult to create the momentum of its original history.

The previous encouragement of Venice to dig the Suez Canal was actually for the safety of the Mamluk dynasty. Venice has dug the Suez Canal, can you protect this canal desperately? And this canal will also become the biggest obstacle for the Turkish cavalry to attack Egypt.

At that time, Venice, which had a major interest in the Suez Canal, would be forced to get involved in the war and would have to side with the Mamluks. Not only was the Suez Canal able to hold back the Turkish cavalry, but the Venetian navy was not a vegetarian. At least, stronger than Turkey. Even if Turkey wanted to invade Egypt by landing by sea, it would have to ask the Venetians if they would agree......

……

It's just that Marin is actually a little worried now, worried that the Venetians will not be able to defeat the combined fleet of Spain and Portugal in the future. If Portugal were the only one, Marin would have faith in Venice. But if you add Spain, it's hard to say.

Spain was very powerful, and the Spaniards currently occupied the Kingdom of Naples, threatening Venice's exit from the Adriatic Sea. In the event of a naval battle, it is highly likely that the Spaniards will take advantage of the geographical advantage and deploy a large number of warships in the Kingdom of Naples to blockade the Adriatic Sea.

Moreover, the battle in the Indian Ocean is not the same as in the Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean, galleys are more maneuverable because of the low wind. But in the Indian Ocean, where the wind is strong, the pure sailing ships of Spain and Portugal are more dominant.

In other words, once Venice dug the Suez Canal and sent its main fleet to Indian waters, it was possible that the ships were not as good as those of the Spanish and Portuguese forces, and the naval battle would be lost. Therefore, Marin must also remind Venice of this to avoid being defeated by the Spanish Portuguese Federation and the fleet. Once Venice is defeated by Spain and Portugal, Venice will also decline. When the time comes, there will be more opportunities for Ottoman Turkey. Therefore, Marin did not want Venice to lose after the decisive battle in the Indian Ocean.

Unlike those of Spain and Portugal, Venetian ships were mostly galleys in order to adapt to navigation in the Mediterranean. Moreover, the Latin spinnaker is hung in order to make the most of the wind.

However, the galleys were hung on the side and could not accommodate the side guns, which led to insufficient firepower in naval battles. So, Marin planned to instruct the Venetians to refit their ships when the time came—for example, to remove the oars from the side of the ship after entering the windy Indian Ocean. At the same time, blast holes were opened on the side sides. As soon as the oars were removed, the gun doors could be opened and the guns could be extended for naval warfare...... In this way, after the Venetian fleet entered the Indian Ocean, it would not be unable to defeat the Spanish Portuguese Union and the fleet. You know, in terms of the number of ships alone, Venice is currently enough to crush Spain and Portugal......

Moreover, Venice is not stupid either. It is estimated that once a conflict breaks out between Venice and Spain and Portugal, Venice will definitely pull France to help deal with Spain. When the time comes, there will be another big European scuffle......

……

Of course, it's too early to say that. For now, we have to wait for Venice to dig the Suez Canal. And when Venice finishes digging the Suez Canal, God knows when. By then, perhaps Marin had already been involved in the German Wars of Religion.

Even if he was not involved in the wars of religion, Marin would not have intervened in the naval hegemony between Venice and Spain. Because, it has nothing to do with him in the first place. Although Marin had a good relationship with Juan III of Spain, this did not mean that Marin wanted to see Spain strong. Because, when Spain became strong, it would not be good for Marin, and it would even threaten Marin's colonization of the Americas.

Therefore, Marin actually preferred the Venetian to be superior. In this way, Spain's power at sea was frustrated, and there was no extra strength to expand into the Americas.

In short, Marin's expectation is that when the time comes, Venice, Spain, and Portugal – will better play a bull's head at sea and lose all three. In this way, Marin will be at ease, and he will be able to make a fortune in silence......

In order to achieve this, Marin decided to buy a batch of galleys first. Then, let the craftsmen of the shipyard study how to convert the galleys into ships that can be adapted to the battle of the sea.

Specifically, the oars and the use of the Latin spinnaker continued in the Mediterranean. But when it came to the ocean, it was replaced with sails suitable for sailing on the ocean, and the oars were removed, and the guns were extended out of the gun door for naval artillery battles.

Once this modification was successful, Marin would send the proposal to Venice. When Venice successfully excavates the Suez Canal in the future, it will be possible to make the galleys and warships in service on a large scale and appropriately modified to make them more suitable for fighting in the Indian Ocean. At that time, it will be difficult for Spain and Portugal to have a leading edge in naval weapons and tactics. The Venetian warships, which were also equipped with a lot of artillery, would be no less effective than the warships of Spain and Portugal. Even if it was not as good as the Spanish and Portuguese warships, Venice could offset this disadvantage by numbers. After all, in terms of the number of merchant ships, before the rise of the Netherlands, the "coachman of the sea", no one could compare with Venice.

In addition, when the time comes, Marin plans to get some cheap copper from the East and secretly sell it to Venice so that it can be used to cast artillery for the Venetians. The current price of copper is too expensive, and the cost of copper alone is unbearable for ordinary countries to equip battleships with artillery.

Also, the shortage of saltpeter is also a big problem. At that time, Marin also planned to sell some saltpeter to the Venetians privately, so that they would have more confidence to fight a naval battle with Spain and Portugal. After all, Marin must have opened up the Ming trade route by then, and will also mine Chilean saltpeter. There is no pressure to provide Venice with some saltpeter......

All in all, Marin just didn't want Venice to lose the future battle at sea. After all, even if Venice wins, it will only dominate the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, and will not touch the Atlantic. Because, the Spaniards and the Portuguese will definitely block the Strait of Gibraltar and prevent the Venetians from entering the Atlantic.

In other words, a victory in Venice was more beneficial to Marin than a defeat in Venice. If Spain and Portugal had defeated Venice, it would have been a disaster. At that time, not only would the defeated Venice find it difficult to help the Mamluks hold Egypt, but Spain and Portugal, which had risen to prominence as a result of the victory, might also have even greater ambitions. For example, getting involved in the Americas or something...... And this is by no means what Marin wants to see......