After waiting for a while, seeing that the time was almost up, Marin cleared his throat and said:

"Actually, it's not impossible to ......"

Sure enough, more than a dozen bigwigs suddenly raised their heads and said one after another:

"Say it quickly, if it works, Venice will accept your ......," Alani said excitedly, grabbing Marin's hand.

Marin quietly shook off Alani's hand, and took out a map from his bosom, spread it out, and motioned for everyone to come and see:

"Look, this is India, this is the Arabian ......"

These Venetian bigwigs were a little surprised to see such an accurate map for the first time......

Marin didn't have time to give them general knowledge of geography, but continued:

"Look, this is the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The narrowest point in the western part of the country, the Mediterranean Sea, is only 36 leagues (190 km) from the Red Sea, which connects to the Indian Ocean......"

"What if, here, the Venetians dig a canal so that more than 3,000 Venetian ships can sail freely between the Mediterranean and the Arabian Sea?"

"You mean, digging a canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea?" Leonardo Loredang asked.

"Of course, once the canal is dug up, Venetian ships will be free to travel between India and Europe. Even if Spain and Portugal form a combined fleet, so what? The number of ships that the Spaniards and Portuguese were able to send to India was probably only a few dozen. As long as this canal is dug through, Venice can send hundreds of warships over at will, and still be afraid of Spain and Portugal? As for the fact that they will challenge Venice on the Mediterranean and snatch the canals, it is even more unlikely. The Spanish and Portuguese boats, all pure sailing ships, without oars, could not compete with the Venetian galleys in the weak Mediterranean......"

Speaking of this, the Venetian bigwigs present nodded their heads one after another, agreeing with Marin's words. And, too, it's true.

In this era, a pure sailing ship cannot control the hegemony of the Mediterranean. In the early 19th century, when Britain and France were vying for hegemony in the Mediterranean, they encountered the embarrassing incident of a halt in the wind. At that time, the warships of Britain and France were driven by pure sails. The wind stopped, and the British and French warships were forced to cease fighting for 10 minutes, and only resumed the war when the wind picked up again.

In the mid-to-late 19th century, when the Suez Canal was really dug out, at that time, British warships were basically ships with a mixture of steam engine power and sail power, that is, the legendary sailing ships. When there is no wind in the Mediterranean, he turns on the steam engine to drive it. When the wind is strong in the ocean, the steam engine is shut down to save coal and the sail power is used.

Moreover, there is also a very important problem, that is, when the ship is passing through the canal, the sailboat cannot make a "Z" movement, using the wind force against the wind or other directions. Because, that requires a wide river support. But digging the canal is so difficult that it is impossible to dig a canal that is too wide. Therefore, if the sail warship wants to cross the canal, it is either to take advantage of the opportunity of the tailwind, or to find a slender man to help pull it on the shore, just like the dragon boat of Emperor Yang of Sui.

Of course, the Venetian galleys did not have this concern. When crossing the canal, lower the sails and just paddle to ensure that the route is straight and does not need to be very wide.

Later steam-engine-driven steamers or sailboats were no problem, and the 190-kilometer canal was driven by a steam engine......

……

"It's just that this land belongs to the Egyptians, and we dig a canal there, can the Egyptians agree?" Leonardo Loredang asked, confused.

"Of course they will not agree now, but soon, the combined fleet of the Spaniards and the Portuguese, will intercept all the Egyptian merchant ships. And the Egyptians were certainly not reconciled and would send ships to fight the Venetians. ”

"But what is the problem with the backward navy of the Egyptians, the opponents of the Spanish and Portuguese combined? By the time the Egyptians were defeated, their interests would have been greatly harmed. When the time comes, the only way to defeat the Spaniards and the Portuguese is to rely on Venice. ”

"At that point, they will definitely agree to the Venetians' ...... to dig a canal in the Sinai Peninsula," Marin said confidently.

"That's true, but it takes many years to dig the canal...... During the excavation of the canal...... "Leonardo Loredon said worriedly.

Marin knew what he was worried about, but it was useless to worry, so he said:

"Lord Governor, I know what you're worried about. However, it is useless to worry. With the combination of the Spaniards and the Portuguese, even the Venetian navy was somewhat struggling. Those Indians and Egyptians are impossible to win. So, in the years leading up to the opening of the canal, Venice probably won't have access to spices anymore. Only by opening the canal will the Venetians be able to regain all the lost interests and drive out the Spaniards and Portuguese......"

Everyone looked at the map and nodded, agreeing with Marin's words. After all, the Venetians have dominated the Mediterranean for a long time. Moreover, both the colonies of Crete and Cyprus were close to Egypt. As long as the canal was opened, the Venetians could send hundreds or thousands of warships to drive away the Spanish and Portuguese ships. Spain and Portugal sent ships to India, which was very troublesome to bypass the whole of Africa, and there were not many ships that could be sent. With the numerical superiority of the Venetians, it will be impossible to stop.

……

"Otherwise, we will attack Spain directly in the Mediterranean. In this way, we will be able to coerce the Spaniards into refraining from attacking our spice ships! General Marino said suddenly.

"In what name to attack Spain? For those Arabs and Egyptians? They were infidels. Fighting Christians for the infidels, you are not afraid of being beaten up by all over Europe? Marin retorted.

Everyone present was speechless......

Yes, Spain and Portugal intercepted pagan merchant ships, not Venetian merchant ships. How did Venice justify declaring war on Spain? Therefore, this dumb loss can only be eaten......

"Or can we take the ship apart and transport it to the other side of the Red Sea to support the Egyptian fleet against Spain and Portugal?" Nicolo Pier Liuno suggested. This suggestion is a sight to behold.

"It's so stupid, how many ships can you dismantle it? More than a dozen of them are in the sky. However, it will take several months to reassemble and assemble one on the other side of the Red Sea. And there were so many ships from the Spanish and Portuguese, it was simply too late to do so. ”

Therefore, the most fundamental solution was to dig this canal, so that Venetian merchant ships could travel freely between India and Europe. When the time comes, the whole of India can be Venice ......," Marin said seductively.

Everyone present suddenly became short of breath, and they all knew about the wealth of India. If the canal is opened, Spain and Portugal are defeated, and India is monopolized, what a fortune it will be......

"But before that......" Leonardo Loredon said calmly.

"No way, before the canal opens, Venice can only endure ......"

"You mean, Venice needs a strategic contraction?"

"Yes, during the excavation of the canal, Venice had better not provoke a strong enemy, but to bury its head in development. When the canal is opened, Venice will take back everything that has been lost......"

"You mean that we should bow to the Holy See this time and cede the Rimini region?" General Marino asked, dissatisfied. As a representative of the military, he hated submission and surrender the most.

"Venice can also choose not to back down, and then wait to be beaten by several great powers, and then all of you here will be robbed of their wealth and reduced to beggars......"

"If we hold on to the city, we may not lose!" Niccolò said unconvinced.

"Yes, maybe Venice won't lose. However, you will be caught up in the land struggle with the great powers. At the same time, the fleets of the Spanish and Portuguese would quietly cut off the source of spices in the Indian seas, and deal a heavy blow to the Venetian economy. With the combined attack of several great powers, coupled with the end of the maritime spice trade, how many years will Venice be able to last? ”

Marin's words, like a sledgehammer, slammed into the hearts of the Venetian bigwigs. If Rimini and the Holy See really attract the siege of several great powers, Venice is likely to be finished.

Even without defeat, the decline of Venice was inevitable in the absence of the inability to prevent Spain and Portugal from cutting off the sources of spices in India. After all, the spice trade accounted for the lion's share of Venetian commerce. Without the spice trade, Venice's economy would have suffered a heavy blow and would have lost its current glory......

"Moreover, if you submit to the Pope at this time, you can also take the opportunity to form an alliance with the Holy See and jointly deal with the Spaniards......"

"Against the Spaniards?" Leonardo Loredon was a little confused.

"Yes, His Holiness the Pope actually has a lot of ideas about the Kingdom of Naples. Unfortunately, the Papal States were too weak to compete with the Spaniards or the French. ”

"But this is Venice's chance...... You can use your status as an alliance with the Pope to find a suitable excuse to take revenge on Spain, which has robbed you of the benefits of the spice trade. For example, the United Holy See seized the Kingdom of Naples...... After all, the Kingdom of Naples is blocked at the mouth of the Adriatic Sea, and it has a great influence on Venice......"

Marin's proposal was endorsed by Leonardo Loredang and others. If Spain robs Venice of its interests, Venice is not easy to provoke. Spain may not be able to beat Spain on land, but at sea, especially in the Mediterranean, Spain can be beaten......

……

The Venetian did not immediately give an answer, and next, they gathered more bigwigs and began a heated discussion. After three days and three nights of meetings, the exhausted Venetian tycoons finally decided to submit to the Papal States......

At the same time, the Venetian parliament decided to immediately send people to Egypt to discuss the matter of digging the "Suez Canal" (the name proposed by Marin, which can be regarded as a restoration of history), and sent experts to begin exploring the route of the canal in order to prepare for it in advance.

After all, the sooner Venice finishes digging the Suez Canal and controls the spice channel, the more it will be able to take the initiative. As for the past few years, Venice intends to keep a low profile and avoid conflicts with people. Of course, for Spain, if it is really confirmed that they participated in the interception of spice ships in Indian waters, the Venetians will unite with the Holy See to find fault with the Spaniards. Not to mention the capture of the Kingdom of Naples or Sicily under Spanish control, but on the sea, it is still no problem to intercept Spanish ships and inflict heavy losses on Spain......

In this way, the mighty Republic of Venice jumped into the pit that Marin had dug for them. Moreover, it is still willing.

After all, if the Suez Canal had been dug up, Venice would have been able to defeat Spain and Portugal and monopolize India's interests. It's just that after digging the canal for so long, can the Venetians really complete the excavation of the canal safely and without incident......