After several days of deployment, the administrative personnel and public security forces dispatched by the Papal States to the Venice region were in place. Although attacks and assassinations occurred occasionally, and the remaining local forces still caused trouble openly and secretly from time to time, there was no doubt that the power vacuum in the Venice region had been filled.
As the projection of administrative power was completed, a series of new policies tailored by the Papal Palace for the Venice region also began to follow up.
In this war, the Venetian side suffered tens of thousands of casualties. Although a considerable part of them were mercenaries from other countries, the surviving family members of local soldiers still totaled at least over a hundred thousand.
This was by no means a small number for the Papal States, which had a total population of less than two million. If not handled properly, these people would firmly oppose the rule of the Papal States, with far-reaching consequences.
Therefore, one of the first things the Papal States had to do was to appease the surviving family members of the fallen Venetian soldiers, even if they had once been enemies of the Papal States.
One point had been set beforehand: this war was attributed to a few Venetian nobles who had usurped the Governor and colluded with the Ottoman Empire. It had nothing to do with the former Doge of Venice, Donato, and even less to do with the Venetian soldiers who were misled into battle and lost their lives.
In a sense, they were also victims of this power struggle. Therefore, the surviving family members of fallen Venetian soldiers could receive the same death benefits as the surviving family members of fallen Papal States soldiers.
In addition, all children of fallen soldiers would receive the best education in the Papal States for free, and after reaching adulthood, they could even be specifically trained to enter various levels of government in the Papal States or become clergy. This was undoubtedly another huge expense for the Papal States; for Venetian commoner families who had been treated like dirt by nobles for generations, this was undoubtedly a huge temptation.
And the education subsequently promoted in the Venice region was, of course, not the elite education of the former Venice Republic.
On the one hand, due to the reshuffling of noble power in the Venice region and the strong investment by the Papal States, more educational resources could be distributed to the grassroots, benefiting more people.
On the other hand, in order for the Venice region to integrate into the big family of the Papal States more quickly and effectively, the content of education was also adjusted, mainly in terms of language and history.
In terms of language, since the differences between Venice and the Papal States were not significant, it was relatively easy to make the Papal States' language the official language. However, forcibly promoting it might easily provoke a rebellious mentality among the Venetians.
Therefore, the Papal States did not directly abolish the teaching of the Venetian language but only added instruction in the Papal States' language, greatly increasing the number of language teachers. This subject was subsidized by the government and made freely available to the public, and then the advantages of the Papal States' language were established in all aspects to encourage Venetians to actively learn it, creating a subtle influence.
In terms of history, the Papal States also adjusted its evaluation of some events and figures of the Venice Republic. The Papal States wrote extensively about the heroic figures of the Venice Republic in wars against heretics; as for the Venice Republic's persecution of co-religionist countries, especially those that defied the Papal States and undermined unity, the Papal States spared no effort to denounce them, even overturning the coffin lids of those whose conclusions had been sealed.
Enrico Dandolo, the Doge of Venice who instigated the Fourth Crusade to attack the Byzantine Empire and indirectly led to its downfall, was set up as a negative example, firmly nailed to the pillar of shame of the Venice Republic. Pope Innocent III, who was in office at the time, was also given a deserved evaluation.
The adjustments to history and language education were not one-sided. While adjustments were made in the Venice region, the Papal States region also made unified adjustments. After all, integration is a two-way street. The Venetian language was also elevated to a very high status in the Papal States, and a unified stance was maintained on historical issues.
In addition, to promote exchange and communication between the Venice region and the original Papal States region, the Papal States introduced many policies encouraging mutual population migration between the two.
Whether migrating from the original Papal States region to the Venice region or from the Venice region to the Papal States region, migrants would receive housing provided by the government, preferential policies for investment, and even special talent training programs if they successfully entered politics.
And for families formed by people from the original Papal States region and the original Venice region, the Papal States also strongly encouraged them. Every married couple could receive a subsidy, and after each 'mixed-blood' child was born, the caregivers could receive a monthly subsidy from the government.,
When there are policies from above, there are countermeasures from below. The policy dividends made countless people envious, and many people took advantage of loopholes: some claimed to be surviving family members of fallen soldiers to defraud pensions and survivor benefits; some settled or opened factories in the Papal States region, got benefits, and then ran away; and some engaged in fake marriages and adopted orphans after marriage to defraud subsidies…, It can be said that for a time, the Venice region was in chaos, and the administrative personnel in various places were clearly stretched.
But there were also benefits: first, it trained and tested the abilities of grassroots workers; second, Venetians were all thinking about enjoying the dividends, so they were naturally not interested in the inflammatory slogans of the restorers and were more resistant to rebellious acts. Coupled with the vigorous suppression by the public security forces, the Venetian restorers would soon have no place to stand.
However, these policies all required people and money, which was undoubtedly a huge challenge to the administration and finances of the Papal States. Liam, David, and Faol, though complaining bitterly, all worked very hard to fulfill their duties.
As soon as the policy was implemented, Liam rushed to the original Venice region, traveling back and forth between several cities, organizing local administrative forces to implement the new policy, and did not close his eyes for several days straight.
David was busy organizing personnel to expedite the sorting out of the Papal States' financial situation. Although the Papal States gained much from this war, and direct income was not small, recent expenditures were simply too large.
David finally assessed based on the data that the Papal States had almost no economic income in the Venice region, and there was even a possibility of negative income in the future.
Faol was even busier; he had to organize public security forces to deal with the rebellions and various chaotic situations in the Venice region, and also had to intensify efforts to raise money to replenish the Vatican treasury to maintain Augustus's future expenses.
Claudio, who fortunately obtained the position of Military Minister, naturally dared not neglect his duties. He was busy taking over the conscription system and also had to prepare logistics for the Papal States' army to enter the Hungary battlefield.
Although Austria promised to provide logistical support for the Papal States' soldiers fighting in Hungary, it was certainly impossible to put all hope on others. These armies were the Papal States' current pride and even its shield for survival, and no negligence could be tolerated, and the Pope seemed to have other plans.
The armies of Giovanni, Carl, and Duke received a large number of rewards, as if they had forgotten the pain of war, and their morale was greatly boosted. Carl had always been bothered by his previous experiences on the Hungary battlefield and had been eager to try again. Duke's Field Army had suffered no losses, and now they were all eager to fight.
Seeing everyone working towards a great and noble common goal, Augustus finally felt a long-lost sense of peace of mind.