Inside the carriage, Laszlo pulled back the curtain and peered out, seeing the city walls of Vienna already on the horizon, though they were just a tiny black speck.
The journey back to Vienna from Budapest was not long; following the Danube River upstream would quickly lead them there.
However, the massive entourage still took nearly a week to reach Vienna.
Accompanying them were Laszlo's mobile court, the Imperial Guard, and the Hungarian Guard, a force numbering an astonishing five thousand.
It was inconvenient for the King to travel in such a manner, but Laszlo had no choice, for he had three courts. Constantly moving back and forth was truly exhausting.
For the first few days, he was still enthusiastically galloping across the Hungarian plains, but later, his backside hurt so much he wished he could slap himself a few times, so he could only return to Vienna steadily by carriage.
If he could, Laszlo truly did not want to travel around so much, but the current circumstances did not allow it.
Not to mention that his election as Emperor was such a significant event that it naturally had to be celebrated grandly in Vienna, but the Empress Dowager Elizabeth's constant urging, with three letters a day, made him feel like an unforgivable unfilial son if he stayed in Budapest for even one more day.
As the only child of the old Emperor Sigismund, Elizabeth of Luxembourg was a tenacious and resilient woman, and her devotion to her children was truly admirable.
While she was still deeply engrossed in the grief of losing her husband, she received news that her favorite youngest son had left Vienna, which further broke the Empress Dowager's heart.
She was no longer young, nearing fifty, and could not endure the rigors of long-distance travel, which was why Laszlo's coronation did not include her.
Now in Vienna, Empress Dowager Elizabeth suddenly became the loneliest person.
Her husband had passed away, and her son had eagerly rushed to Hungary to inherit the throne, intending to stay there indefinitely.
She and Albrecht had two daughters and one son.
Her eldest daughter, Anne, had married Charles (skull-crushing warning), the son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, a few years prior. Philip used this to gain Emperor Albrecht II's understanding for his forceful annexation of Luxembourg.
Luxembourg was Emperor Sigismund's hometown, and also Empress Dowager Elizabeth's hometown. Sigismund had sold Luxembourg to his niece Elizabeth (who merely shared the same name as his daughter) due to financial issues.
Duchess Elizabeth of Luxembourg had no heirs, so she signed an agreement with Philip that the Duchy would be inherited by Philip upon her death. However, two years later, Philip grew impatient and directly sent troops to forcibly occupy Luxembourg, sending the Grand Duchess to her demise.
Afterward, Philip was heavily criticized, and he was always worried that Emperor Albrecht II would hold him accountable, as Albrecht II prided himself on being Sigismund's successor.
It should be noted that the period of Charles IV, Wenceslaus IV, and Sigismund of the Holy Roman Empire was known as the Luxembourg Dynasty, precisely because these three, father, son, and brother, all came from Luxembourg.
In other words, Sigismund's hometown was forcibly occupied by Philip through dishonorable means. As Sigismund's son-in-law and successor, Albrecht II could use this as an excuse to wage war against him at any time.
Perhaps Albrecht II was only a slightly difficult enemy for the Ottoman Empire, but for Philip, Albrecht II was a far more powerful and terrifying opponent than the King of France.
Fortunately, he ultimately gained Albrecht's understanding through marriage, and he never had the chance to witness Albrecht's outwardly strong but inwardly weak, beleaguered appearance, besieged on all sides.
In short, through the marriage of Anne and Charles, the Duchy of Burgundy and the Habsburg Family formed an unbreakable alliance (truly).
Empress Dowager Elizabeth and the late Emperor Albrecht II's second daughter, who was also Laszlo's second elder sister, Elizabeth (another Elizabeth), married the young Lithuanian Grand Duke Kazimierz of the Jagiellonian Dynasty, thereby maintaining friendly relations between Poland, Lithuania, and Austria, facilitating the concentration of forces to resist the Ottomans invasion.
Of course, Kazimierz is currently deeply mired in the quagmire of the unrestricted fighting competition on the Eastern European plains, enduring hardships together with Elizabeth. There's no helping it; the wildly growing nobility of Lithuania is truly difficult to control, and Kazimierz also has to guard against his dear brother, King Władysław III of Poland, stabbing him in the back. Life is somewhat overly difficult.
The two married daughters obviously could not stay by their mother's side. The extremely filial son Laszlo eagerly left Vienna, leaving his mother to grieve alone. Truly, a great show of filial piety that brings down the house.
It was at such a sorrowful moment that a beautiful woman came to Elizabeth's side, bringing her joy and comfort—Leonor had arrived in Vienna.
Frederick hosted the wedding party from Aragon with the highest honors, but only allowed the future empress to bring two maids into Hofburg Palace. He disliked the Portuguese presence in the court and had already decided to suggest to Laszlo that these Portuguese attendants be dismissed.
On one hand, it was to save expenses, and on the other... he truly disliked these Portuguese; their gaze at the Austrians was like they were looking at bumpkins, lacking basic respect for the Emperor.
Despite being impolite, Leonor, with the Empress Dowager's special permission, moved into Hofburg Palace early, accompanying the Empress Dowager daily, awaiting Laszlo's return.
Laszlo did not rush directly back to Vienna but instead took his men to the mercenary army's encampment in the suburbs.
The estate here was Laszlo's private property, temporarily lent to the mercenary army for Stationed.
As he went deeper into the military camp, Laszlo observed the camp's situation from his carriage. The camp was set up very standardly, circle within circle, with three clear main roads leading to the three exits of the camp.
Some soldiers were competing in the sheep pen training ground, with people setting up bets nearby, a crowd of people squeezed together, shouting strangely.
More soldiers were either resting in their military tents or found an empty spot to sit down, drinking heartily while sharing interesting stories with their comrades.
Their relaxed demeanor hardly seemed like that of desperadoes who lived by the sword, but the sharp weapons in their hands and the heavy plate armor on their bodies indicated that these were professional soldiers.
Laszlo was quite pleased to see that they hadn't dismantled his estate or made a mess of it.
This was a royal wine estate, and Laszlo intended to transform it into a proper military supply station for this army to be stationed, which could both guard Vienna and deter the petty criminals within the Empire.
The large house in the center of the camp was the residence of the mercenary army's supreme commander—the General—and other high-ranking officers.
Here, Laszlo met a burly bald man whose chin shape was so similar to Frederick's that Laszlo knew he was family even before checking his stats.
The character panel appeared before Laszlo.
[Character: Gunter von Habsburg]
[Identity: Commander of the Double-Pay Mercenary Corps, Commander of the Imperial Mercenary Corps, General]
[Attitude: Loyal (Blood Relative)]
[General Attributes: Firepower 2, Charge 2, Mobility 2, Siege 1]
[Traits: Strict Instructor (Army Training +5%)]
Laszlo had basically figured out the pattern of the character panel; except for a few special cases, it was linked to the character's identity, and most people did not have a panel.
To be honest, Laszlo was not satisfied with this panel; the values were completely ordinary.
But after all, he was family, and he was already in the mercenary business, able to provide much help beyond what was recorded on the panel.
However, Laszlo's mind kept recalling Janos's [General Attributes: Firepower 4, Charge 4, Mobility 4, Siege 1]. Truly, there's no harm without comparison.
"Gunter, well done." Laszlo was quite satisfied with the efficiency of recruiting 6,000 well-equipped mercenaries within a month.
"It is my honor to serve you, Your Majesty!"
Gunter was quite excited to hear Laszlo's praise.
He was the youngest son of a certain Duke of the Habsburg Family. Since his family had no land for him to inherit, he went out alone to make his fortune, joining the Double-Pay Mercenary Corps in Stuttgart.
Because of his prominent family background and outstanding ability, he became the commander of the Double-Pay Mercenary Corps in just over a decade. Gunter, who was originally racking his brains to develop and expand the mercenary corps, suddenly received news from his family that the Emperor had issued him a special charter, requiring him to recruit six thousand experienced mercenaries and organize them in a specific way, then gather in Vienna after completion.
Such a huge piece of good news fell on him; he could smile in his dreams. This was the Emperor's special permission and commission!
The Double-Pay Mercenary Corps itself already had a size of nearly 5,000 men. After absorbing some smaller Swiss mercenary corps, he led 6,000 mercenaries from Stuttgart to be stationed in Vienna.
As stated in the charter, full weekly wages were paid, and a perfect garrison was provided—this estate also stored a lot of fine wine brewed for the royal family, which Laszlo generously bestowed upon them as the Emperor's reward. After all, selling off the family's assets doesn't hurt... Moreover, this wasn't given for free; they would soon be tasked with fighting to the death against the Bohemians.
Leopold Elmayer, Frederick's military advisor, was responsible for supplying this army and distributing their pay.
Although Frederick himself was stingy about various matters, Laszlo had made demands of him regarding the recruitment of mercenaries, so he couldn't skimp on anything more.
Laszlo gestured to his attendant, who immediately stepped forward and handed a golden banner to Gunter.
Gunter unfurled it and saw a yellow banner with a black double-headed eagle. This... this was the Emperor's banner.
"Gunter, from today onward, your army will be renamed the Imperial Independent Army First Legion and Second Legion. You are permitted to use this banner as your military standard. The Imperial Independent Army will exist as the Empire's standing mercenary army, continuously employed by me. Should there be any losses, you are authorized to recruit to fill the gaps yourself, but you cannot over-recruit. The Empire will currently only pay the wages for these 6,000 mercenaries."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
This could be considered getting the brothers on the imperial payroll.
Gunter carefully put away the Imperial Army banner. This banner was more precious than his own head and had to be properly safeguarded.
"Get ready, it won't be long until you are put to good use."
Laszlo finished speaking, then turned and departed.