"Why are the houses here floating on the water? And they are so cramped and crowded... The housing prices here are probably several times more expensive than Kaifeng Mansion, right?"

This is the emotion that Ji Yi, the infamous colonist and war dealer, sentiment when he sailed into the Venetian lagoon on Anna Komunina's yacht.

Venice is a city-state built on one hundred islands or sandbanks in the center of a huge coastal lagoon. These islands and sandbanks are deposited over the years by many rivers injected into the lagoon. Most of the islands and sandbanks are small in area, and are only slightly higher than the sea.

From a distance, you will feel that there are countless houses floating above the water. Some of the houses are really built directly on the water. The Venetians lay large wooden stakes under the water as the foundation, and then lay wooden boards to build houses. Millions of hardwood stakes transported from the mountains and forests were pushed into the sea one by one. It took nearly three hundred years to finally build the prosperous and powerful water city of Venice.

As for the housing prices in Venice... of course it is high! Although it is incomparable to Kaifeng Mansion, compared with the dark and bleak medieval European real estate market everywhere, Venice's real estate is definitely worth owning.

However, Venice was able to prosper because the real estate pillar industry has developed well, nor because the Venetians are particularly good at maritime trade, nor because of Venetian glass, nor because of Venice's unique geographical location.

In fact, in the Mediterranean region where good harbors are spread, there are countless ports with better geographical location than Venice, so the geography is not the advantage of hiding in Venice, which is deep in the Adriatic Sea.

And Venice’s real advantage is actually its military strength!

Venice rose because in 809 and 810 after the birth of Jesus, this small coastal state defeated Charlemagne's army with complex hydrological conditions and the small islands in the lagoon! Finally, the Great Emperor, who lost his son Prince Pepin in the war to siege Venice, had to give up his sovereignty over Venice and exchanged the free trade rights within the empire for the annual monies of Venice.

Nearly two hundred years later, by the end of the tenth century, the merchants in Venice began to use conquest of the ocean as a means of becoming rich. They first used temporary conscripted fleets to sweep away the pirates in the Adriatic Sea, and then obtained the first overseas colony of Venice Dalmatia by transporting equipment and food to the army of the Eastern Roman Empire. And by holding the Marriage Festival, all Venice citizens learned about the future of the country at sea!

After the Battle of Manzicket in 1071, the Eastern Roman Empire's destiny took a sharp turn for the worse and relied more on the maritime power provided by Venice, a nominal vassal state. So the Republic of Venice took the opportunity to form its own standing fleet, and since then it had a powerful navy that was the best in the Mediterranean. It also took advantage of the opportunity to establish a standing fleet to sort out the local and overseas colonies of Venice into dozens of conscription areas and establish a strict conscription system, which fully guaranteed the navy's source of troops.

In the later Crusades, the Venetian Navy easily beat the Tianfang Cult fleet of the Fatima Dynasty, providing guarantee for the emergence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Otherwise, Baldwin I would have been wiped out because he could not receive reinforcements from the West from the sea.

In 1102, under the promotion of the current Governor of Venice, Odrafor Filirelo, the Republic of Venice promulgated the Shipbuilding Act, and also established a large Arsenal State-owned Shipyard to uniformly register and standardize the specifications, sizes, prices and other quantities of ships, thus allowing the fleet of the Republic of Venice to obtain sufficient and high-quality ship supply.

"Welcome, the Ambassador of the Peach Blossom Stone Kingdom who came from afar! I, the most honorable Governor of the Republic of Venice, Odrafor Ferillo, representing the People and Parliament of Venice, welcome you and Princess Anna Komningna!"

On the pier in front of Piazza San Marco, the governor of the Republic of Venice, Odrafor Ferillo, finally met the legendary ambassador of the Peach Blossom Stone Kingdom. This Venetian, who was about forties, had a slightly gray hair, a tall but thin figure, did not dare to underestimate the envoy of the Peach Blossom Stone from thousands of miles away.

As the leader of a businessman country, his eyes and ears spread throughout the Mediterranean. When Ji Yi arrived in Jerusalem, a Venetian spy conducted a full investigation into the background of Ji Yi's mission.

However, the results of the investigation made Odrafer Ferillo feel extremely shocked! When the Venetians were still complacent about their navy dominating the small pond of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Peach Blossom Stone Man's navy had occupied the entire ocean (South Ocean) and entered the Indian Ocean...

As for Ji Yi's idea of ​​opening up the Sinai Peninsula proposed in Constantinople, the oligarchs of Venice's Governor and the small committee (similar to the existence of the Standing Committee) breathed rapidly.

Open up the maritime transportation line with the Taohua Stone Kingdom!

If the canal in the Suez Isthmus can be opened again, the merchant ships in Venice will be able to directly drive to the port of Peach Blossom Stone!

Even if the canal cannot be opened, the Republic of Venice can find suitable places to build ports and shipyards in the south of the United States of Sinai, and in the future it can still make business in the Indian Ocean and the South Ocean!

Ji Yi, wearing a scarlet silk official uniform and long-legged head, looked at the crowded Venetians in gorgeous costumes on Piazza San Marco. They should have come to welcome the delegation! He also looked at the several huge tide flags hanging down on the exterior wall of the Cathedral of St. Mark, which was so carved and decorated that it was dazzling. He knew that he would definitely gain a lot in Venice.

...

Of course, Ji Yi's diplomatic activities in Eastern Rome and Italy could not hide the profession of spies in Baghdad and Isfahan, which was not only owned by Venice. The Saracen (Arabs) were also masters in this field. Saracen, a spy disguised as an Eastern Christian, almost followed Ji Yi's mission and inquired through various channels about the content of diplomatic consultations between the Peach Blossom Stone and the Roman Vatican.

Bad news and the cold winds of winter, as well as Sultan Muhammad I of the Seljuk Turks, and Emir Jabir who returned from the battlefield in Afghanistan, arrived in Baghdad almost at the same time.

"His Majesty the Caliph, the problem now is no longer whether the lower peach blossom stone and upper peach blossom stone are one country, but the upper peach blossom stone people want to seize the trade route mastered by the Tianfang Cult! Once the Fatima Dynasty in Egypt loses the Sinai Peninsula, the streets of Baghdad and Basra will become empty, and we will lose the financial resources to maintain the empire..."

In the Baghdad Tuancheng Palace, the Caliph Mustazil was sitting on the throne, his chubby face had been wrinkled in a ball. Looking at Emil Jabir who was talking nonsense, I didn't know how entangled he was.

The envoy who was on the Peach Blossom Stone traveled to Promise and did not collude with the Eastern Roman Empire to deal with the Caliph of Baghdad and the Sultan of Isfahan.

But they pointed their target at the Fatima Dynasty in Egypt! This was originally a pleasure for the Caliph. If the Fatima Dynasty collapsed, he would be the only Caliph.

But the problem is that the Peach Blossom Stone people and the Romans wanted to open up a trade route that could avoid the "Tianfang Sect Toll Station"! Isn't this taking everyone's life?

Without the income of tens of millions of dinars a year and trade-related income, the Caliph of Baghdad and the Seljuk Turks who supported him would have to drink the northwest wind.

No, it’s not that you drink the northwest wind, but that you don’t even have to drink the northwest wind! Because the head of drinking the northwest wind is likely to be cut off by their numerous enemies.

The Sarasen and Seljuk people were used to good life and could not fight in person. They had to spend money to buy small slaves on the grassland to train the scouts.

Once you have no money to buy slaves, you don’t need the army of Peach Blossom Stone to attack. Even the pauper tribes on the grasslands of Persia and Afghanistan, and the grasslands of Central Asia can also take the splendor of the Sarasen and Seljuks.

"But Emir," the Caliph asked, "Are we going to announce a holy war against the Peach Blossom Stone? In addition, I also heard that Zhong Peach Blossom Stone was involved in a war to attack the Peach Blossom Stone under the Karakhan! The one who captured Balashaguen was a Khitan army! Will there be some kind of alliance between the Peach Blossom Stone and the Peach Blossom Stone? Should we fight against the Franks of the Peach Blossom Stone at the same time, Rome and Jerusalem?"

Can the current Seljuk Turks go to war with the Khitan, the Song Dynasty, the Eastern Roman Empire, and all Western European countries at the same time?

As soon as the Caliph said, he had a fierce face and a black bearded Jabir bit his back teeth. It seemed that there were more enemies! It was enough to get on the peach blossom stone. In addition, if he was said to be even more powerful than the peach blossom stone, his Gulam warrior would not be sure of winning.

"There is no need to expand the war to this level, right?" Sultan Muhammad I interrupted in a low voice. In front of his third brother, he had no say in front of him.

"What are you going to do?" Jabir asked.

"Why do we have to go to war with Zhongpeach Stone and Rome?" asked Muhammad I, "Isn't the Shangpeach Stone Kingdom the one who seized the trade line between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea? The gains and losses of Balashaguon are not that important. They can be completely transferred to Zhongpeach Stone, as long as they can remain neutral. The Sinai Peninsula is the territory of the Egyptians, so let Cairo have a headache. We can sign a peace treaty with Alexus I of Constantine and Baldwin I of Jerusalem."

"So what about going to the Peach Blossom Stone Kingdom? Do you need to declare war immediately?" the Caliph asked.

"No need for the time being," said Muhammad I. "We do not have the power to go to war with the Peach Blossom Kingdom at sea before we prepare our fleet, right? I think we should try to numb them first, and at the same time contact the believers in the Indian Ocean and organize the fleet."

"But I must march into Kashgar!" said Jabir, "otherwise Aslan Khan will lead his army into the land of the Kashini Dynasty and even India!"
Chapter completed!