"You are Pisani? How did you end up like this?" Looking at the old man whose clothes were tattered, one of his eyes completely covered by a bandage, and his whole body exuding a bloody smell mixed with seawater, Donato spoke with a mix of joy and sorrow, confirming with difficulty after a long moment of recognition.
Pisani ignored the strange looks from the other Venetian nobles, stepped forward quickly, and reported urgently: "It's me, Your Grace the Doge. The Papal States are very likely to invade our Venice immediately. Please have the entire cabinet immediately order entry into a state of war preparedness!"
"We already know. The Papal States have already declared war on us, and the country has entered a state of war preparedness. Envoys to various countries have also been dispatched. This is the declaration of war." Donato gestured, and a attendant handed the declaration of war to Pisani.
"What? The Papal States have already declared war on us?" Pisani was first stunned, then suddenly realized, "Damn it! I should have thought of it earlier! It wasn't Tuscany retaliating, nor was it the Papal States' lower-ranking officers and soldiers venting personal grudges. They had planned all of this long ago. It turns out the mastermind has always been Augustus!"
After glancing at the declaration of war, Pisani was instantly furious and cursed loudly: "Bastards! How dare they twist black and white like this! It was clearly they who set a trap for us from the very beginning, and now they are slandering us in return!"
Remembering how he had previously put complete faith in the Pope, and even this afternoon had hoped for the Pope to mediate the dispute, Pisani was filled with remorse, and the anger in his chest grew even stronger.
"We all know the Papal States are twisting black and white. Tell us what happened on your side. How did you know the Papal States were going to invade Venice? With a major war imminent, why would the Papal States let you return?" Donato said in a deep voice, a hint of suspicion flashing across his face.
"Just this afternoon, we were completely unaware of the Papal States' conspiracy. The despicable Augustus deliberately went out, secretly instructing Tuscany in advance to detain our innocent soldiers under false pretenses, and refusing to release them no matter how we negotiated.
Under these circumstances, I tried my best to control the situation, ordering our soldiers to exercise extreme restraint, but Tuscany deliberately provoked and angered our soldiers on a large scale. Our soldiers could no longer bear it and eventually clashed with Tuscany.
This played right into their hands. The Tuscan soldiers, without any explanation, shot and killed our soldiers in public without hesitation. At this point, the situation completely spiraled out of control, and a large-scale bloody conflict broke out between the two sides. I was forced to command the battle.
The Tuscans had been plotting for a long time and were well-rested. At first, we were at a disadvantage, but under my brilliant command and the heroic fighting of the entire army, we were gradually gaining the upper hand. The Tuscans were about to give in.
It was at this moment that the Papal States, who had long been prepared, also joined the battlefield. As soon as they entered the battlefield, the Papal States directly used all their artillery to bombard our army. Our army had already fought a bloody battle for half a day and was unprepared, suffering heavy losses for a time. The Papal States took advantage of the situation and charged out. Relying on their huge numerical advantage, our army was truly difficult to resist.
Only then did I realize that this seemingly accidental conflict was by no means the work of Tuscany alone, but a conspiracy with the Papal States. Having understood this, I immediately knew that we absolutely could not stay in the Papal States. So I made a decisive decision and ordered the entire army to abandon their baggage and break out.
The Papal States were well prepared and had built defensive lines. Our army fought desperately to break through, and after enduring countless hardships, I finally escaped. After breaking out, I immediately rushed north to Verona to inform our defending general, and then I rushed back without a moment's rest."
Although the war was extremely urgent, how to report the war situation was related to his fate and even his life and death. Pisani did not dare to be careless in reporting the war situation, speaking with twists and turns and appropriate detail, highlighting the enemy's cunning and shamelessness, and also demonstrating his resourcefulness and skill in leading the army. Of course, Pisani was unwilling to say much about the details of how he escaped.
But no matter how he embellished it, it could not cover up the fact that Pisani had lost his army, disgraced his country, and returned alone.
"How many men and ships did you bring back?" Donato scratched his ear, a little impatient, but he also understood Pisani's thoughts, so he did not interrupt. Now, the only question he actually cared about was this one.
When asked this crucial question, Pisani's expression instantly froze. He stammered for a long time before answering truthfully: "Because the conflict occurred in the camp, not a single ship could be taken away. And because the Papal States had too great a numerical advantage, and the initial camp layout placed us in the center, breaking out was extremely difficult, so I was the only one who escaped."
"What? Only you escaped? How do you still have the face to come back?" A hot-tempered noble immediately couldn't sit still and shouted angrily.
"An incompetent general dooms the entire army!" Another noble, who was at odds with Pisani, seized the opportunity to add insult to injury.
"Since the Papal States' defense was so strict, how did you escape? You wouldn't have become a spy for the Papal States, would you!" Even more, some directly questioned Pisani's current identity.
Facing the unanimous accusations, Pisani knelt down with a thud, shedding tears and saying: "How could I not know that I am solely to blame for the complete annihilation of the army. I originally wanted to commit suicide to atone for my crimes, but I thought that our Venice still did not know that the Papal States had already acted, and the border guards were completely unprepared. Someone had to deliver the message, and the fallen soldiers also needed someone to clear their names and avenge them.
If I died, what happened this afternoon would be entirely based on the Papal States' one-sided account. If Venice were to unfortunately lose the war again due to not receiving the news, then I would truly become a sinner to the country. Thinking of this, I decided then and there that I had to escape no matter what.
Realizing that the entire army's desperate bloody struggle still offered no hope of breaking out, I discarded all identifying marks, gouged out my already blind eye with a knife, and finally escaped by mixing in with the corpses."
As he spoke, Pisani removed the bandaged dressing, and a damaged eye, with several knife cuts and many times more gruesome than before, was revealed to everyone.
For a moment, the entire hall was silent. After a long time, Donato finally spoke to ease the tension: "Pisani Commander has not had it easy. Facing a nationwide plot by the Papal States and an enemy ten times their size, I don't think anyone present would have done better than him."
The spirited Veronese, however, disagreed: "Not being able to see through the lies is indeed incompetence. If it were me, I would have seen through the Papal States' conspiracy long ago and brought the men and ships back. It wouldn't have come to this."
"Veronese, speaking of conspiracy, we haven't seen through it for so long. Are you scolding all of us?" An old man of high prestige from the Council of Ten said with dissatisfaction.
Veronese quickly defended himself: "No, that's not what I meant. None of you in Venice have had much contact with the Papal States, but Pisani Commander was in the Papal States, with the other side day and night, yet he didn't notice anything at all. That is truly inexcusable."
"You're right, it's all my fault. I humbly beg you to give me another chance to lead the army to battle and atone for my crimes by annihilating the Papal States at sea." Pisani appeared submissive, but secretly resented Veronese.
"What? You still want to lead troops to battle? Do you still have your personal guards? If you go alone to command the fleet, it might be difficult to gain public trust." Even Donato was surprised by his audacity in making this request.
"I still have most of my personal guards in Venice before I left, and I didn't take the strongest warships with me, so please rest assured, Doge!"
"On what grounds? Just because you just suffered a defeat?" Seeing his position about to be challenged, Veronese immediately retorted.
Pisani said unhurriedly: "Ever since Augustus came to power, he has drastically reformed the Papal States' army. Now the Papal States' army is very different from before. Without experience, it is very likely to suffer losses. I have fought them, I have experience, and I can definitely deal with them better."
Donato considered it repeatedly and finally decided: "Very well, under these circumstances, you certainly cannot be the supreme commander. Let you serve as the deputy general to assist Veronese in fighting the Papal States."
"Thank you for your grace, Doge. In this battle, I will bring all available forces and vow to fight to the death with the Papal States!" Pisani's words were clear and resounding.