Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 794 A War No One Dared to Launch
Guo Kang said he had previously read Helena Bonham Carter's memoirs, written during her later years in Crimea. When the topic of Venice came up, she couldn't help but mock it, saying that Venice's system was actually the worst system for ordinary citizens.

In classical city-states, citizens possessed direct power; in contemporary monarchies, although commoners do not have the power to decide political affairs, there is a strong antagonistic relationship between the monarch and the nobility and bureaucrats, thus necessitating the support of commoners and enabling them to seek help from higher authorities.

In republics like Venice, through ingenious design, the possibility of commoners interfering in politics was essentially eliminated. The nobility and officials above the commoners were also united; there was no single, superior authority who would help the commoners against them.

While hoping that nobles would suppress other nobles to protect the interests of commoners is theoretically possible, it is certainly impractical. The reason is simple—why are Caesar and his allies called the "commoners' faction"?
In a republic, if a ruling noble is too kind to the common people, the first to object will be the other nobles, even if their interests are not directly harmed in the process. This is because under a republic, the most dangerous threat is not external enemies—even if an enemy destroys the country, someone is still needed to govern, and the republic can continue—but if someone bestows favors upon the people, gains their support, and bypasses the chaotic parliament and institutions, then the nobles are in danger.

Therefore, even if there are a few highly moral people, they may not dare to help ordinary people. Because even if they don't have that intention, others will see it as an attempt to win over the people.

Moreover, this isn't an unfounded accusation, because compared to the cunning nobles, the biggest flaw of the commoners is their straightforwardness; they only understand principles like gratitude and don't adhere to the political principles of the city-state. If an ambitious person continues to act this way, the commoners will truly raise him as their shield, making him a veritable "Caesar."

Unfortunately, the citizens of Venice seem unaware of these problems.

The Queen Mother commented that the Venetian Great Council, despite its similar name, was neither a citizens' assembly like those in classical city-states where everyone directly participated, nor a Centuriate Assembly like in Rome where commoners elected centurions who then participated in important matters. On the contrary, this thing had little to do with the common people.

These commoners—who were carefully excluded from the power structure—were incredibly enthusiastic about city-state affairs, as if they truly had the power to decide anything. This misalignment, of course, presented her with a good opportunity.

Even before the Crusades, many ordinary citizens in Venice harbored resentment towards the Greeks. The ethnic tensions between the two sides were long-standing. Historically, both Greek and Venetian nobles had exploited this, inciting citizens to take drastic actions to justify their subsequent actions and reduce the difficulty of the process.

Faced with the sudden loss of Crete and the “betrayal” of the Purple Horde, the common people could easily recall this long-standing grievance and were filled with righteous indignation.

The spies exploited this sentiment, hiring people to spread extreme rhetoric, inciting conflict between Greeks and Latins, and further fueling public anger towards the Greeks. They declared that this incident proved that regardless of the dynasty, Byzantium remained the same. These Greeks had to be severely punished, made to pay a heavy price, so they would learn their lesson and know that the greatest Venetian Republic was not to be trifled with. All acts that infringe upon the Republic's interests would be brought to justice!

However, the Senate was busy with the election at this time. Most nobles hoped to delay the process a little, since it wouldn't take long and wouldn't have a significant impact. But the anxious citizens, stirred up by the situation, clearly didn't want to wait that long.

In particular, Crete is no ordinary island; it produces agricultural products and is an important shipping center. Some merchants have established trading posts there, and merchant ships need to stop there for supplies. The livelihoods of ordinary people are often tied to maritime trade, and many are even members of seafarers' guilds. Therefore, if the businesses operated by merchants are affected, it can directly lead to a decrease or even the disappearance of their income.

In addition, there were others who weren't directly involved in local business but had purchased stocks and bonds in Crete. If the Cretan business collapsed, they would also suffer heavy losses. Therefore, these people were also actively working on it, not wanting to wait a moment longer.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the spies incited the citizens, urging them to petition the Senate during the election. They told everyone that the nobles' hesitation must have a reason. Therefore, they could explain the benefits of sending troops to the candidates.

The potential gains this time are very clear. If successful, it will thwart the currently powerful Eastern Roman Empire—an opportunity that many great powers would covet.

More importantly, although the enemy is not easy to fight on a regular basis, and has already caused some countries to suffer losses in the past, those were all land wars. This time, however, the main battlefield will definitely be naval warfare, which is the Venetian's forte, so the odds of winning are actually quite high.

Now, in the Catholic world, from the major powers of Eastern Europe to the remnants of the Fourth Crusade, all have been brutally defeated by these "Romans," almost to the point of developing Roman phobia. Therefore, if they win this war, the Republic of Venice will undoubtedly gain the respect of all nations immediately; and the one who led the war will acquire immense fame that will shock all of Europe. How could they possibly miss such a golden opportunity?

The citizens were indeed easily swayed. They flocked to the city center square, and their numbers grew steadily, continuing for several days without ceasing. However, the Senate remained increasingly hesitant, and no one even came forward to give them a response.

Upon realizing they had reached this point, the spies immediately began the next step of their operation, following the Empress Dowager's previous plan.

The Empress Dowager later said that the reason she dared to gamble like that was because she understood the system very well and also understood the situation on her side.

The Empress Dowager's mother was from Milan, Italy, and was the daughter of a noble family from a city-state. Because of this advantage, her father had always been involved in diplomatic duties, taking them on trips throughout Europe to seek foreign aid for Rome. She experienced various courts, different political systems, and the chaotic turmoil within them during her childhood.

In her view, republics, under favorable conditions, are more likely to wage war than monarchies—because a group of supreme rulers is more easily swayed by emotions than a single ruler. Moreover, as long as it aligns with their interests, the ruling aristocracy and oligarchs, along with their vested interests, will swarm in, even exhibiting a "tail wagging the dog" phenomenon. This is because if one party has a stake in the matter, and the others have no grounds for insisting on their opposition, everyone will be dragged into it.

Conversely, under other conditions, a republic is the least likely to wage war, even if it means suffering losses—that is, when the oligarchic interest groups cannot gain the greatest benefit in a war.

War is the most intense means of political struggle, and also the fastest and most impactful action. Regardless of the outcome, a war will profoundly alter the distribution of interests within a political system.

Moreover, this influence extends beyond short-term gains. Besides direct benefits like wealth and territory, war is also the fastest and easiest path to upward mobility, breaking down class barriers. If the war is won, those who participated will inevitably be promoted, forming a new interest group with new demands outside the control of the oligarchs. Therefore, if the oligarchs don't pocket these benefits themselves, this uncontrolled group will undoubtedly quickly spiral out of control, soon creating another "Caesar."

Therefore, what needed to be done at this point was to launch a massive propaganda campaign in the areas the other side feared most. Due to their dissatisfaction with the Senate's procrastination, the citizens quickly began discussing the next steps. By this time, they had formed several groups of varying sizes, and their leaders and activists had largely emerged.

The Empress Dowager had prepared a large sum of money for them beforehand, instructing the spies to pose as "righteous merchants who wish to uphold the interests of the Republic" and provide them with sponsorship. Because the propaganda they requested focused on hatred of the Eastern Roman Empire and the initiation of war, no one suspected they came from this side. Under their guidance, the spies' efficiency increased significantly. The citizens quickly decided to take advantage of the large crowds and petition the candidates.

At this time, three candidates stood out as the most promising. One of them came from the Dandolo family. This family remained powerful after 1204, producing several governors, and just 20 years earlier, a Dandolo had come to power. Therefore, they were highly regarded.

However, after this incident escalated, the Dandolo family became increasingly secluded, rarely responding to the public, and their activities decreased significantly. Their supporters, deeply resentful, flocked to the mansion.

The family's current star, Dandolo the Younger, was resting at the manor. The citizens surrounded the manor, forcing him to come out and respond. The citizens then began to clamor, saying that the Greeks, whom their ancestors had so painstakingly defeated, were causing trouble again. "Our nation is much stronger now," they declared, "shouldn't we teach them a lesson? If we can't even do this, how can we face the late Governor Dandolo and the noble bloodline of our family?"

Little Dandolo was taken aback and kept changing the subject. Finally, he simply insisted that he was ill and unable to answer such a serious question, then slipped away under the cover of his servants. The citizens were also astonished by this reaction and didn't know what was going on.

The other two groups faced similar situations. Another promising candidate was the wealthy nobleman Cantarini, who owned many overseas estates. A group of citizens went to his doorstep, demanding he quickly persuade the Senate to send troops. Cantarini ignored them, but the citizens on this side were more impulsive; some stormed into his house and dragged him out.

The spies had previously taught these city leaders a great deal, including what kind of talk people liked to hear and how to gain popularity. In Venice, the avenues for advancement for commoners were extremely limited. If they could seize this opportunity to accumulate a large following, they could gain a rare chance and greater influence. Therefore, they all studied very diligently.

The citizens quickly became agitated upon seeing Contarini, questioning why he wasn't taking action and why he was hiding from them. They believed that once he became governor, he would inevitably have to take over the war. Since that was the case, he might as well accept the task first and try to get the campaign done well. In this way, he would be assuming office a few days early and getting things done for the country. At this point, the Grand Council and the Senate had no choice but to elect him.

Contarini was horrified by the suggestion. He quickly replied that just over a decade ago, Governor Marino Faliero had only served a year before being arrested by the "League of Ten," subsequently deposed and executed for treason, and even subjected to a "curse of amnesia" by the Senate. Commoners might not be so sensitive to this, but as someone aspiring to the governorship, he remembered it vividly. Therefore, something that so seriously violated procedure and could potentially alter the republic's political system was absolutely unacceptable.

However, ordinary people lack this kind of "political wisdom" and don't know what the real meaning is. His explanation was so vague that no one could understand what was going on or what needed to be changed.

Everyone exclaimed, "What nonsense are you spouting? Hurry up and exercise your noble rights!" So, amidst Cantarini's cries of "Don't hurt me!", they forcibly carried him to St. Mark's Square.

However, the matter dragged on into the night with no progress. Some citizens, feeling there was no hope, prepared to disperse and go home to sleep. Seeing everyone wanting to leave, and realizing there was no new work to be done, someone had a sudden inspiration and called on everyone: "The Senate is weak and incompetent, let's ignore them! Doesn't the council always have some kind of group of dozens of people or a meeting of a few people? Let's establish one too!"

Everyone else agreed. Military power in Venice rests with the Doge, which is why the council decided to wait for the Doge's election before deploying troops. The current dissatisfaction among some candidates stems from the incomplete process. It's inappropriate to issue crucial military orders before a winner has been decided, bypassing the others. The other candidates and their supporters will undoubtedly feel this is unfair.

However, this isn't difficult to handle: there are only three of them who have a chance. Regardless of who is elected, one of them will be in command and issuing orders. Therefore, let them form a "three-person team" to jointly manage the Republic's military affairs. After the election process is complete, the handover will proceed according to normal procedures. This way, the interests of any party will not be violated, and the urgent military situation during this extraordinary period will be smoothly handled—a perfect solution.

Everyone was delighted by this, and even those who were about to go home stopped and immediately took the three of them and started spreading the word everywhere.

The news quickly reached Parliament, causing an immediate stir.

It turns out that "the three-person organization" and "the triad alliance" are the same word in the local language. The parliament was still confused about the situation, but after hearing the briefing, it began to get restless.

The elders immediately rushed to various locations and mobilized the mercenaries stationed outside the city to enter and suppress the unrest. The citizens were also greatly surprised, not knowing what was going on. In their anger, they also took out their weapons and fought with the mercenaries.

Several days later, the matter was brought to a close, and the rioting citizens were dispersed. But at this point, no one in the Senate dared to mention sending troops now.

At this juncture, the delegation dispatched by the Queen Mother arrived in Venice and proposed a peace treaty. They explained that the legions were too eager for military merit, and therefore the Queen Mother could not control them. However, they had already made arrangements with those at the front to protect the port and warehouses. They said that as long as the Venetians were willing to negotiate and offered some money to appease the legionaries, the Queen Mother would guarantee that the port would remain open to the Venetians. The trading posts could also continue to be used by them.

Venice was in complete chaos; the senators were doubting every candidate and had no energy left to deal with the situation. The seamen's guild had no objection to the outcome, believing that the key was to quickly restore navigation. Under their pressure, the Venetian Senate hastily agreed and, as a token of gratitude to the Queen Mother, gave her 100,000 ducats to distribute to the soldiers. Then, they ordered the Duke of Crete, who was still en route, to return with his merchants and henceforth act as trade representatives. The Senate instructed him to ensure the safety of the shipping lanes and, if possible, drive away the Genoese. The rest could be dealt with later.

And so, they went around in circles and came back. Fortunately, after half a month, nothing seemed to have changed in Crete; merchants were still doing business, which was a relief. But losing ownership of the island for no reason, losing money, and then having to thank the Queen Mother seemed a bit odd…

In the end, no one could explain how things had turned out this way.

(End of this chapter)