The critical situation in Morea was quickly reported to Sofia, and then to Vienna.
However, neither Laszlo nor Frederick were moved by Andreas's urgent plea for help, or rather, they were powerless to do anything.
After all, Bulgaria's army could not fly across land and sea to the Peloponnese to reinforce Morea.
Although Morea had continuously declined due to years of war with the Ottoman and internal strife between brothers, after the Crusade ended, it experienced a real wave of economic growth and prosperity as a crossroads of the Mediterranean, and its population also rebounded.
Most importantly, the well-established Western European feudal system, once founded by two French knightly lords, was still functioning.
Morea was divided into 12 baronies, and these lords participated in the principality's politics through a Grand Council, and had to obey the Despot in many matters.
Their military obligations were far heavier than those of feudal lords in Western Europe; most barons had to serve the principality with their armies for four months each year, and also garrison border castles for four months.
In times of frequent warfare, many baronial armies were even close to becoming standing armies; they knew how to acquire supplies and provisions locally, and how to preserve their lives against fierce enemy attacks.
The Grand Duke's Guard was an army directly under the Despot, primarily composed of veterans from the disbanded Navarre mercenary company, and it was the most effective fighting force in all of Morea.
They were expected to serve as the backbone of the entire army in battle, despite their small numbers, only about six hundred men.
This organic blend of the Western European feudal system and the Eastern Roman theme system meant that Morea's military strength was not weak.
However, ten years of peace gradually eroded the fighting spirit of these Morean lords; previously, they had to fight the Ottomans almost every year to ensure the principality's survival.
But now, the lords of Morea had not been on a battlefield for a long time; they hoped to preserve their territories on one hand, and feared engaging in battle with the Venice army on the other.
Thus, some lords continued to hold their posts, garrisoning important border fortresses, while others gathered their armies at Mystras, awaiting the Despot's command.
Their forces were not small; if they only defended cities and fortresses, they could hold out for a long time.
Therefore, neither Laszlo nor Frederick were particularly worried about Morea's problems; Laszlo even hoped Andreas would take the initiative to wear down the Venice forces, making it easier for the Bulgaria army's subsequent operations.
However, he ultimately did not force Andreas to attack; if a miscalculation occurred, Laszlo would have to deal with the resulting trouble himself, so it was better to let the Morea army hunker down.
The entire Morea army huddled in several isolated cities and castles, allowing the Venice to attack and plunder the surrounding lands.
While evasion was shameful, it was also very effective; the Venice army, lacking sufficient troops and not skilled in siege warfare, was unable to conquer all of Morea.
Meanwhile, intelligence gathered by the Venice navy indicated that the Bulgaria army had marched south from Sofia along the old Roman road to Thessaloniki, which they had captured a few years ago, and was now moving south along the main road on the eastern coast of Greece, heading directly for the cities, ports, and strongholds controlled by the Venice.
This mighty army of twenty thousand, cobbled together from the Serbia and Bulgaria armies, was preparing to sweep through the Venice overseas territories.
The Despot of Epirus, coordinating with the Bulgaria army's actions, led his forces to besiege the port of Lepanto, but the city's defenders resisted stubbornly, and Venice, controlling the sea, also provided reinforcements to the defenders from the sea, leading to a stalemate.
The Venice's problem of military shortage became increasingly apparent, causing constant worry for the Doge and senators.
Previously, they could maintain a mercenary corps of over ten thousand men, making them a quasi-standing army through long-term contracts.
However, since Venice's defeat in the war and severe economic downturn, the state's financial revenue had plummeted by over 40% in just five years.
At the same time, they also needed to maintain a powerful navy to deal with maritime threats from Austria and Genoa, so investment in the army gradually decreased; now, maintaining a mercenary corps of five to six thousand men was already their utmost effort.
To expand their army, the Venice chose to recruit soldiers from sailors and citizens to form new land forces.
The first to be recruited were vagrants and gangs from the city, followed by some less important lower-class citizens.
This process was not smooth; the Venice government even urgently established a temporary conscription department, appointing senators as conscription officers to forcibly draft citizens into the army in several densely populated areas.
This involved coercion and even some clashes, but all were ultimately settled by the Venice government.
Now, approximately three thousand soldiers were undergoing training by mercenary officers on Crete; the Venice government only had to feed them and provide a meager allowance, expecting them to go to war and fight for the Republic.
Almost all Venice forcibly conscripted understood that as soon as they left Crete and set foot on Greek soil, they would not be far from death.
Most people, after experiencing fear and hatred, became numb and accepted their fate as cannon fodder.
However, those who were already on the verge of starvation were actually satisfied with the current situation, and what pleased them even more was that the Venice government allowed them to freely plunder enemy lands after engaging in war, which meant they also had a chance to get rich.
But such a cannon fodder force alone was certainly not enough for the Venice, so Moro turned his attention to Venice's allies.
The Kingdom of Aragon was experiencing civil unrest and could not provide aid.
The King of France, recently, was still expanding his army, but the conflict between him and the League of Public Weal had intensified again, and both sides were now making tense war preparations.
Therefore, Louis XI could not provide much help to Venice; he could only send a few French warships to plunder Genoese merchant ships in the Western Mediterranean, which was considered helping Venice alleviate maritime pressure.
The ones who could truly provide help were Venice's former mortal enemies, now good allies huddling together for warmth: the Ottomans.
Although their economic interests clashed after the Ottoman Empire took control of Constantinople, the rapidly rising Habsburg Family, driven by their lower halves, turned the two nations into friends again, choosing the path of cooperation.
Venice's trade privileges in Constantinople, though greatly diminished compared to the Eastern Roman Empire era, clearly held an advantage over other European countries.
And the Ottomans needed to rely on the Venice's naval fleet to guard their maritime borders, so that Mehmed II could invest more resources in land warfare.
But now, Venice's situation was becoming increasingly critical, and Mehmed II was also starting to get restless.
Bursa, the Sultan's residence, was also Mehmed II's chosen new capital.
Though called a new capital, it had actually been an ancient capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Historically, the shifts in the Ottoman Empire's capital perfectly aligned with the Empire's expansion and the transfer of its strategic focus.
When these Turks conquered Nicaea, they made Nicaea their capital.
Later, when they conquered Bursa, they abandoned Nicaea and made Bursa their capital.
Afterward, the Ottomans took advantage of the Eastern Roman Empire's civil war to cross the sea and land in Europe, establishing their capital in Adrianople after conquering it, calling it Edirne.
More than a decade ago, the ambitious Mehmed II, after conquering Constantinople, carried out a third relocation of the capital and usurped the name of Rome.
However, by today, Mehmed II no longer claimed to be the Roman Caesar; the destroyed Edirne and Constantinople, exposed to military threats, were no longer suitable as the heart of the Empire.
Thus, Mehmed II returned with his court to Asia Minor, deciding to make Bursa his capital again, and from then on, focused on unifying Asia Minor, awaiting the opportune moment to return to Europe and contend with the Austria.
Along with the Sultan's court, the residence of the Venice ambassador to the Ottoman Empire also moved.
This ambassador, named Laonikos, was saddened by the relocation, but the Sultan's decision could not be changed.
After leaving Constantinople, an important trade hub, he could not quickly handle the difficulties and disputes encountered by Venice merchant ships in Eastern trade, which caused him some trouble.
Of course, Bursa was not very far from Constantinople, so these troubles could be overcome.
The most crucial aspect was the political significance of the capital relocation, which almost indicated the Sultan's attitude of wishing to avoid the enemy's sharp edge—the Ottomans would no longer invest large resources in the Western front.
Although this did not mean the Ottomans would hand Constantinople over to the Emperor in Vienna, beyond protecting Constantinople, the Ottomans had probably been forced to turn their interest eastward.
This was unequivocally bad news for Venice.
After moving to Bursa, Laonikos received orders from Venice, so he quickly went to meet the Sultan with his mission.
Mehmed II was currently resting, enjoying a rare period of leisure.
His eldest son, Bayezid, remained in Constantinople, constantly vigilant of Christian movements, and his second son, Mustafa, was stationed in Konya, guarding against a counterattack from Karaman Bey.
He himself handled many imperial affairs in the new court in Bursa, accompanied by his third son, Cem, who now enjoyed his father's favor.
The visit of the Venice ambassador spoiled Mehmed II's good mood, making him finally remember that his mortal enemy Laszlo was now brutally attacking his ally Venice.
"Your Majesty, the Bulgaria army has moved, and the Serbia army is moving with them. The enemy's forces likely exceed twenty thousand. Venice needs your help!"
Laonikos pleaded earnestly for aid from the Ottoman Empire.
Venice was truly at its wit's end now.
The entire eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea was Laszlo's territory, and none of the Northern Italy princes dared to defy the Emperor.
Naples had become Laszlo's dog, bound by the chain of marriage.
Pope Paul II also seemed no longer to favor Venice; the recent actions of the Barbo Family aroused suspicion.
Albania, the only independent state, had taken advantage of the previous Italian Wars to seize two important Venice ports.
Skanderbeg now had an inclination to cooperate with the Venice, but he was too old, plagued by illness, and not long for this world.
Many Albanian lords, including Skanderbeg's son Peter, were unwilling to become enemies with the Emperor for the sake of the Venice.
Ultimately, the Venice could only hope that Mehmed II could create some pressure on the Emperor to force him to abandon his attack on Venice.
But Mehmed II was no fool and would not be used as a pawn by the Venice. So he replied with a serious expression, "I have already provided over a thousand light cavalry to aid you. At most, I can provide some more mercenaries. You cannot ask for more than that.
You must know that the Karaman are still resisting, and my army needs to remain in the East."
After Bilal Ahmed's failed counterattack on Konya, there were slight signs of instability in the Empire, but the situation was quickly stabilized with the help of his brother Kasim.
Now, the Genoese occasionally transported weapons and equipment to help the Karaman arm their forces, while in return acquiring valuable Eastern goods to sell in Europe; the Austria and Milan armories had made a lot of money from this trade route.
"We do need more troops, but the immediate priority is to create more trouble for the Emperor to disrupt their strategic deployment."
Laonikos was slightly anxious; the Ottomans were Venice's last hope. If they also chose to stand by, Venice would truly have to endure the Emperor's assault alone.
"Create trouble?" Mehmed II fell into thought, then said, "I do have two good ideas, but you will need to provide a little financial support."
There was no free lunch in the world, and the Sultan would not help the Venice for nothing; ultimately, an alliance was just a business deal.
Once Austria declined, Venice and the Ottoman would certainly turn on each other immediately.
Laonikos understood this and could only nod helplessly, saying:
"The Doge means that Venice will try its best to meet your demands."
"Then things are easy."
Mehmed II then ordered the summoning of Patriarch Gennadius II and his attendant Radu.
According to his plan, Gennadius II needed to send clerics to Bulgaria to incite local Orthodox believers to revolt.
Radu, meanwhile, would secretly return to Wallachia with a small elite force, joining forces with Wallachia nobles who were already dissatisfied with his brother, Vlad the Impaler, to instigate a rebellion and seize control of Wallachia.
The preparations for these two plans could be traced back several years, when Mehmed II had already planted his agents in Bulgaria and Wallachia.
Originally, these were all prepared for his plan to counterattack Europe, but unfortunately, so far, Mehmed II saw no opportunity to return to Europe.
If he could use this to preserve the Venice's strength, it would also be acceptable to Mehmed II.
Laonikos was very satisfied with these two plans and quickly reported them to the Venice government.
The Venice and the Ottomans immediately hit it off, and quickly began working together to ignite fires throughout the Balkans, hoping to alleviate pressure on the Greek front.