Heraklyon, a famous port on the island of Crete, at this time, a four-masted Clark sailing ship without flying a flag docked here, and the workers were busy transporting the goods on board, and the scene was gratifying.

Retracting his gaze at the harbor, Ron Fell looked at his Genoese merchant friend Colin Levine, his face full of joy,

"My dear Levine, the supplies you have sent have really relieved our urgent need, may God know your generosity."

Ron was one of the leaders of the Greek rebels on the island, and the fact that the Venetians had not taken a large-scale action since the beginning of the uprising, but had blocked the trade routes from the outside world to the island, further illustrated how necessary and difficult Levin's arrival was.

"It doesn't have to be that way, Lord Ron, the greater the risk, the greater the benefit, and that's something I did voluntarily."

Levin didn't think that his arrival would change anything, and even if he didn't come, there would be other businessmen coming, as long as he could make money, the so-called trade blockade was just empty words.

"Levin, you brought everything I asked you to bring before, right?"

Ron suddenly lowered his voice, and Levin looked at the guards in the distance, knowing that this matter needed to be kept secret, so he also lowered his voice,

"Everything is ready, just put it under the cabin, I will leave early tomorrow morning, and your Excellency can send someone to fetch it in the evening."

Receiving an affirmative answer, Ron nodded in satisfaction, the arrival of this batch of supplies solved one of his major concerns.

Seeing that Ron didn't mean to continue, Levin's heart moved, and he asked quietly,

"Your Excellency's courage in leading the Cretans in this uprising is really admirable, but it is inevitably a little weaker, if someone can help you, then you will be much more confident in the face of the Venetians, what do you think?"

Ron smiled and put his hands behind his back and replied meaningfully,

"Someone will help us, and it's only a matter of time, we are confident in driving out the Venetians, we are confident enough to face the persecution of the Venetians, Levin, do you want to help us too?"

Levin is naturally not an ordinary businessman, this Ron must have seen that how dare an ordinary businessman come to Crete, which is strictly forbidden by the Venetians? If Levin was a Venetian, it might have been because of some nepotism or something, but Levin was a Genoese merchant, and that was clear, and Genoa and Venice were mortal enemies, so isn't it obvious that Levin came here for his political purpose?

So Levine must represent the Genoese government, although I don't know why the Genoese people are so keen to help them, but Ron doesn't care so much, as long as the other party is willing to help, he is his good friend.

Levin was silent, Constantinople had not yet communicated with the people on Crete? And looking at this posture, maybe Ron and his party have not been in contact with the court of Constantinople? Without the support of Constantinople, what kind of uprising was there?

"Perhaps Your Excellency may consider contacting His Majesty Constantine XI, Emperor of the Greeks, as the protector of the Greeks and the defender of the Orthodox Church, will be happy to help you."

kindly reminded Ron, but the other party just smiled and didn't speak, Levine was silent, knowing that the other party was not a fool, so he naturally thought of this stubble.

"If possible, I can help Your Excellency."

Levin's words made Ron overjoyed, there was no vigilance at this time, and when he was happy, Ron also asked casually,

"I wonder how much you can give us, Levin?"

"I can provide as much as you need."

Levine didn't worry about Ron's lion opening his mouth at all, and very generously promised Ron all the materials he had, and the two sides quickly negotiated in this situation, how could this not be agreed, for Ron, this is the funding that fell from the sky, don't do it in vain.

The cargo was soon finished, and Levin had no intention of going ashore to rest, and after handing over the bilge contents to Ron in the evening, he would have to set sail early the next morning, and could not afford to delay any more time here.

Looking at Levin's figure on deck, Ron groaned for a while, his heart full of incredulity.

"It is necessary to seek the support of Emperor Constantine as soon as possible, and at least to get the other party's recognition, and it seems that it is necessary to make a noise among the distant relatives of the Morea."

Ron muttered, Levine is just a businessman, and he can say so casually that he doesn't care about money at all, unless he is very rich, but Levin's identity is obviously not so noble, so there is only one possibility,

"The Genoese want to support us against the Venetians? Why? ”

Ron was even more incredulous in his heart, although Genoa and Venice have always had discordant actions, but it has always been the Genoese who has been crushed, that is, in recent years, the Genoese have begun to show their prominence, how can they dare to fight with the long-term overlord Venetian?

Constantinople's attitude was of paramount importance, and it could not be ignored that whether the emperor of Constantinople intended to make contact with the Cretans, at least, he had to communicate with the Skley family.

"Manlio Dias, you leave tonight with Mr. Levine, take the other party's ship to Smyrna, and then go to Athena, find the Skley family, with whom we have been trading, explain to them what we are doing here, and ask the other party to intercede with Emperor Constantine."

Manlio nodded earnestly, and seeing that Ron didn't continue to say anything, he immediately went to prepare his luggage.

Since there is support, then this support should be put to good use, Genoa is a great power on the sea side by side with the Venetians, and it is not allowed to be sloppy.

Crete's location is so important that there is a saying in Venice, "Without Crete, our ships have nowhere to park; Losing Corfu, our sailors were left homeless. ”

Crete is the gateway to the Aegean Sea, and there is no doubt that the Mediterranean Sea is so stormy that Venice has historically even issued a decree prohibiting ships from going to sea during this period.

Why didn't the Venetians make a decisive move, what they were waiting for was nothing more than such a reason, that is, the attitude of Constantinople, don't look at Uzun Hassan's funding from the Venetians, but this is secret, if it is really open, the Venetians may not dare to come,

But the Venetians did not know that the iconostasis they had given to Uzun Hassan had already been acquired by the Romans, and it was only a matter of time before it was surmised that the Venetians were behind it.

Time passed quietly, sporadic battles continued to be fought on Crete, the intensity of the war was escalating, and the Venetians continued to enter the island in small groups, and both sides suffered casualties.

At this time, Manlio arrived at Athena and met with the steward of the Skley family.

"Your Excellency, on behalf of the Greeks and Orthodox monks of Crete..."

As he spoke, Manlio pulled out a roll of paper from his bosom, on which was Ron's handwritten letter,

“… Asking the Skley family for help, things in Crete have changed, and the matter is very urgent. ”

The other party naturally knew the seriousness of this matter, and the geographical location of Crete was superior, and for the Skley family, who were engaged in maritime trade, if Crete could return to the arms of the empire, it would be of great benefit to them.

Hurriedly confirming Ron's signature and handwriting on the letter, the steward of the Skley family nodded with a heavy face,

"Your Excellency, wait a minute, I'll go and ask the nobles of the Skley family to come."

The steward himself is not from the Skley family, and such a big thing is not something he can put his beak into.

After a while, the steward came to Manlio again, motioned for him to follow, and after a little twisting and turning, came to a small room, and when Manlio entered, closed the wooden door, and there were only two people in the whole room.

"Mr. Manlio, please be seated."

The other party sent out an invitation, and Manlio said it, and the two faced each other.

"I'm Noelle Skley, and the current Duke of the Skley family is my uncle."

With a smile on his face, Noelle poured a glass of wine for Manlio,

"Moria, try it?"

Manlio didn't lift it, his hands were put together, his face was serious,

"Does Lord Noelle know the purpose of my visit?"

Noelle nodded, the letter lying squarely on his lap.

"Then I'll make a long story short, in addition to what is expressed in the letter, there are some things that Lord Ron wants me to make clear to you face to face."

"The Genoans have recently approached us to finance our uprising, and for the first time the Greeks on Crete are so close to freedom, everyone is excited, and the Cretans will have confidence in the future of the uprising if they can get the help of the Skley family and even the Emperor Constantine."

Noelle's fingers tapped lightly on his knee, and his mind was full of thoughts,

Not... The Genoese helped the Greeks in their uprising?

What? How could the Lombard barbarians suddenly be so kind?

"Manlio, you know, the wind and waves in the Mediterranean have been very strong in the past few months, even if the Venetians want to attack, it is impossible to send troops in a short time, and some things still have to be considered in the long run."

Noelle instinctively wanted to put it off, convey the problem to the top, or think about how to solve it himself.

"You don't know, Lord Noelle, that the Genoans have helped us to such a extent that they have promised to accede to any of our requests, any of our requests! As long as the Empire is willing to help us nominally, and we win a few battles on the island, we will be completely independent, and Crete will return to the arms of the Empire! ”

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