Dear Senators and Honorable Minister Fodoron,
I fear our great Republic must prepare for war. We have already achieved great triumphs against the perfidius Hungarians, but they are not our historic enemies. We face great dangers from the Visconti in Milan, and the infidel Turks who are rising in the east. To compound this, the Byzantines appear on the verge of collapse. However, we have excellent leaders both of the army and the navy, and our fleet can dominate the seas.
We must end the current war quickly, while maintaining our rightful hold on Dalmatia. Then we should shift our military doctrines to emphasize the upcoming offensives. We should attempt to rally the free cities of Italy to our cause (Firenze, Modena and Siena). We must crush Milan, and reclaim our rightful lands of Mantua, and liberate the Emilia if possible.
Then we must look to the east. If the Byzantines can not stabilize their situation, we may be forced to take possession of the great city of Constantinople to save it from the Turk. Although I regret having to wage war on fellow Christians, the alternatives are far worse. As they are schismatics, and have failed to stem the Turkish tide, Christendom will not look too harshly on our conquests.
We must also look for opportunities to free the Christians who are held under the thumb of the infidels of Ghazi and Egypt, but this can await favorable events.
After we have secured a stable base for our power in the East, we can return to focus on our more natural mercantile persuits.
Your humble servant,
Arturo Ernesto Gandolfi
I fear our great Republic must prepare for war. We have already achieved great triumphs against the perfidius Hungarians, but they are not our historic enemies. We face great dangers from the Visconti in Milan, and the infidel Turks who are rising in the east. To compound this, the Byzantines appear on the verge of collapse. However, we have excellent leaders both of the army and the navy, and our fleet can dominate the seas.
We must end the current war quickly, while maintaining our rightful hold on Dalmatia. Then we should shift our military doctrines to emphasize the upcoming offensives. We should attempt to rally the free cities of Italy to our cause (Firenze, Modena and Siena). We must crush Milan, and reclaim our rightful lands of Mantua, and liberate the Emilia if possible.
Then we must look to the east. If the Byzantines can not stabilize their situation, we may be forced to take possession of the great city of Constantinople to save it from the Turk. Although I regret having to wage war on fellow Christians, the alternatives are far worse. As they are schismatics, and have failed to stem the Turkish tide, Christendom will not look too harshly on our conquests.
We must also look for opportunities to free the Christians who are held under the thumb of the infidels of Ghazi and Egypt, but this can await favorable events.
After we have secured a stable base for our power in the East, we can return to focus on our more natural mercantile persuits.
Your humble servant,
Arturo Ernesto Gandolfi