"The Republic of Genoa, carried away by the rage, actually tried to challenge the authority of the Pope and the Emperor at the same time in northern Italy, this is simply looking for death, can the Republic of Venice find our own direction in such a crisis, we can defeat the Genoans again, and officially seize the supremacy of the sea in its entirety."

The Venetian Council of Ten, the Doge Moro was all present and made their own judgment on what was currently happening in Genoa.

"I am not in favor of a war against the Republic of Genoa now, it is not in our interests, what we need is not the land of Genoa, but the trade privileges and special status of Genoa in the Greek Empire, it is pointless to go to war against Genoa alone, even if we defeat the Genoa, the Greek Empire and Constantine XI will not transfer the trade privileges of Genoa to us, it is just a waste of our time and energy." 33

Maritime supremacy? What's the use? As long as the trade route is not opened, the Eastern Empire is unwilling to give privileges, the Venetians can't really grab it, if they really start a full-scale war with the Eastern Empire, the current Venetians really have to think about whether they have such strength.

"But the opportunity now is really rare, it is rare for the Genoese to do such a stupid act, we never thought of it, if we don't act now, we won't be able to get a piece of the power of Genoa, the combination of the emperor and the pope is enough to kill the Genoans, and our actions will determine our next interests, I can't agree with your opinion."

In fact, it was Constantine's policy that put the Venetians in a very passive situation, why do you say that, under the leadership of Constantine, after the empire got rid of the threat of extinction, Constantine went to war with the policy of comprehensive friendship with the Venetians, between the Venetians and the Genoeans, everywhere the Genoians came first, and sometimes even sacrificed some of the interests of their own merchants, how could this not make the Venetians blush,

In the eyes of the Venetians, it is natural that the Genoese made some kind of exchange or influence on Constantine, so after some friction, the contradictions between the Venetians and the Genoese in the empire deepened, and the two sides were almost to the point of hostility.

As a result, the call for war with the Genoans in the Republic of Venice was growing louder, and many people thought that after the defeat of Genoia, the emperor would transfer the privileges of the Genoese merchants to the Venetian merchants, although the emperor did not explicitly express his thoughts on this.

"This is your Excellency's thinking has fallen into a misunderstanding, in the territory of the Greek Empire, although our trade privileges are restricted, but if we defeat the Genoa, then we can master the trade routes of the Black Sea, even if the trade in the Mediterranean is restricted, the trade of the Black Sea is enough for us to enjoy, such a good place, we have not had the opportunity to get it before, do we have to give it up now?"

The Genoans established several colonies in the northern part of the Black Sea, along the Volga and Dnieper rivers, and if it weren't for the Cossacks who from time to time raided the steppes in small boats and horses, the Genoyans would have long thought of extending their tentacles inland, and suffered from the small number of people.

"Occupying the colonies of the Black Sea, we have a new trade route, and the precious stones and silk and other goods of the Persian region can pass through the Black Sea to Venice, and no longer have to pass through the territory of the Greek Empire, this alone is great news for us, not to mention that we have one less important opponent, and we have exclusive naval supremacy, what a glorious thing, is it possible that we have to give it up now?"

No matter how little the benefits of defeating the Genoese are, as long as the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, there will definitely be people who are tempted, but the key is whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

"Whether we want to accept the strength of the Genoese or not, we need to remember this, that is, we must not be in the vanguard of the fight against the Genoese, the Genoese are angry with the Holy See and the Regensburg side, this has nothing to do with us, if the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy See launch an army to attack Genoa, we can fall into the ground, but if we don't have this opportunity, we don't have to rush, okay, so be it."

The words of the Doge of Moro put an end to the controversy, and it was clear that the policy of the Venetians was to stick to the needle, which echoed their usual behavior, because what the Venetians were best at was to find the impoverished crusader lords, buy their territories at a low price, and then make a fortune in various ways, which was the same way to infiltrate Cyprus in the past, and now it is just a different way to sway from side to side, just like the Italy of later generations, as long as you stand in line, the country will never fall.

However, just when the Venetians were thinking about getting a stitch on Genoa, an incident happened that directly put the Venetians in a very passive situation, and made the conflict between the empire and the Venetians appear again.

Candia City, Crete,

Candia is the center of Venetian rule on the island of Crete, Crete is divided into six regions by the Venetians, Letimo and Chania are also the military strongholds established by the Venetians on the island of Crete, that is, the castle, the entire history of the Middle Ages, is the history of the attack on the castle, there is no doubt about this,

Crete is rich in grapes, olives and cereals, and it has always been the sphere of influence of the Eastern Empire, but after the Fourth Crusade, the Venetians seized Crete and implemented militarized rule on the island, suppressing the Greek nobles on the island, canceling privileges, and restricting all political actions of the other party, not allowing the Greek nobles to enter the local parliament of Crete, all kinds of discrimination are very unpleasant,

So in 1363, a famous uprising broke out on the island of Crete, the Revolt of San Tito, which was supposed to be a legitimate revolt for his own proper benefit, but which also became tyrannical over time, and was finally suppressed by the Venetian government at the time, which became a pity.

But the situation on the island has not changed much, the people of Crete still retain the Orthodox religious rites, the Greeks occupy the vast majority, in history, the people of Crete are very eager for help from the Eastern Empire, but for various reasons, they have never been able to do so,

In order to stabilize, the Venetians placed two powerful vassals in Crete and the Duke of Naxos in some places in Crete and the Greek Islands to maintain the local law and order situation from being disturbed.

Historically, the Eastern Empire fell, the Greeks lost their empire, and naturally did not dare to jump out again, but now the prestige of the Eastern Empire in the Near East is in full swing, and the Greeks can puff up their chests outside, all because of the existence of the empire, the Greeks on the island of Crete saw that the life of the Greeks on the Morea Peninsula began to become rich, and naturally there were some other thoughts in their hearts, which is normal, if these emotions are accumulated dry firewood, then this incident is the fuse of the outbreak,

The Venice Senate announced an additional tax on Candia, which caused dissatisfaction among the Greeks on the island, as ships that did not go to the Black Sea, but only to the Morea Peninsula, were included in the category of ships going to the Black Sea.

The original intention of the Venetian government was to curb the development of the Genoese a little, because on the surface there was still no contradiction between the Venetians and the Genoese, and the Genoese would usually supply supplies on the island of Crete.

But the benefits of the Genoese have been so great lately that they cannot tolerate the disparity compared to Venice at present, and it is therefore only reasonable for them to enact such a policy.

But the Greeks on the island don't care so much, after the Eastern Empire rises, Crete and the Morea Peninsula are becoming more and more closely connected, the Cretans are already dissatisfied with the status quo, and now they actually raise taxes, which makes them even more dissatisfied, plus the Eastern Empire is next to it, and the uprising is inevitable.

On March 10, 1460, an uprising broke out in Crete, in which the rebels expelled the Duke of Candia from the island and began to besiege the two large cities of Letimo and Chania.

The location of Crete is really dangerous, it is the mouth of the Aegean Sea, and it is also a relatively rich place, it is impossible for the Venetians to give up here, although the news is a little slower, but after the Council of Ten and the Doge of Moro discussed the measures to deal with Genoa, the news of the uprising still reached the side of the city of Venice,

"Your Excellency Governor Morro, the great uprising in Crete has become a very serious accident, and we need to act immediately."

It just so happened that the Council of Ten hadn't left yet, and after learning the news, everyone's faces were serious.

"Yes, just like the original uprising of Santido, if we move fast enough, we will definitely be able to suppress the Cretans again."

In the face of such support from the Council of Ten, Governor Moro slowly shook his head and gently spit out a few words,

"No, it's not that simple."

Some people died, but not completely......