Inside Hofburg Palace, Laszlo and Leonor were alone in the garden.
This was a farewell; Laszlo was about to depart for Hungary, where he would gather the Crusade in Budapest.
Though her heart was filled with reluctance, Leonor understood the importance of this expedition.
Her eyes were full of anticipation and blessings for Laszlo.
Laszlo gently embraced his Empress, wanting to say things like, "Wait for me," or "I'll be back victorious soon."
But out of reverence for God, such words, which implied life or death, simply could not be uttered.
Thousands of words ultimately converged into one sentence: "Wait for me to return."
Leonor chuckled softly, gently smoothing Laszlo's furrowed brow, and slowly said, "Laszlo, you bear a heavy responsibility and are destined to make history; I am not a fragile woman, so you need not worry too much. My mother and I will pray for you day and night. You must return victorious, my proud husband."
"Mm."
Laszlo exerted all his strength to pull himself from his wife's gentle embrace.
Outside Vienna, thirty thousand Austro-Hungarian Army soldiers had already assembled. Food and supplies had long since been transported to Hungary, with supply stations set up along the way to ensure the army would not suffer too many losses due to insufficient supplies during the march.
This army was composed of three parts: Laszlo's Imperial Army, which included the Austro-Hungarian Army and the Imperial Independent Army commanded by Marshal Adolf von Kuttenberg; the second part was the conscripted army summoned under the Austrian feudal noble system; and the third part was the "Black Guard" mercenary group, recently hired from the Duchy of Saxony.
After several months of training and replenishment, Adolf's military reforms had begun to show initial results. Firstly, the deployment of eighty light cannons and hundreds of Hussite War Wagons, along with the training of their Packages tactics, had been completed.
Now, this twelve-thousand-strong army could, in a very short time, erect a sturdy Wagenburg on an open field and arrange firepower points, easily repelling frontal attacks with large-scale artillery bombardment and crossbow bolt volleys.
This would be the core strength of the future Imperial Army, and their combat effectiveness would be tested in the upcoming war.
As for the Austrian conscripts, Laszlo directly handed them over to Werner von Kresen, the Grand Master of the "Black Guard" mercenary group, forming a motley army with eight thousand German mercenaries as the main force and conscripts as support.
Laszlo had no interest in even organizing such an army, leaving it to Werner to handle.
In his vision, this army should serve as a flank-filling unit, ensuring the Wagenburg's flanks were not subjected to cavalry charges... The specific method was to fill it with lives, simple and practical.
Imagine a group of muscular Saxon devils, standing in formation with two-handed greatswords, behind them peasant soldiers forming tight lines with long spears, and behind the peasant soldiers, knights supervising the battle. With such a strong defense, the Ottomans would probably have to pay a considerable price to break through.
Laszlo stood on the city wall of Vienna, below him were thirty thousand high-spirited Crusade soldiers, a spectacular sight of surging humanity.
Now was the classic pre-battle mobilization. Laszlo raised his hands above his head and began his impassioned speech: "Brave warriors! Today, we stand at the crossroads of destiny. Constantinople in the East, this great city, is being trampled by infidels. Her people are weeping, waiting for us to come and redeem them!"
His slightly youthful voice resonated through the camp like a great bell, and the soldiers looked up, their gazes focused.
The military flags beside him flapped in the wind, their cross-emblazoned surfaces like burning fires of faith.
Laszlo drew his sword and raised it towards the sky.
"We bear God's will, fighting for faith. Every wound will be a medal of glory, and every drop of hot blood will not be shed in vain! Our wives and children at home, the church bells, are all praying for us."
His gaze swept over everyone, his eyes as firm as iron.
The accompanying priests began to chant hymns softly, solemn melodies flowing through the air. Some soldiers silently made the sign of the cross, others gripped their weapons tightly, their palms slick with sweat.
"Advance, brave warriors! Break through the enemy lines, let the light of God penetrate the darkness. Upon victory, glory will be ours, wealth at our disposal, and history will remember this moment!"
Instantly, the soldiers' shouts rose like a tsunami. The Crusade, high in morale, marched with firm steps towards that thousand-year-old famous city in the East, towards the land occupied by the infidels, raising clouds of dust beneath their feet.
Laszlo and Laszlo Hunyadi's Imperial Guards rode ahead, leaving the main army far behind. They galloped across the open plains of Hungary, reaching Budapest within three days.
Matthias was left in Vienna by Laszlo. At only thirteen years old, Matthias certainly couldn't go to the battlefield; he could only silently pray for his father, brother, and Emperor in Vienna.
When Laszlo arrived in Budapest ahead of the army, he received news that Janos was not in Budapest. It turned out that Janos had left a few days earlier, taking the Danube Flotilla, which he had spent considerable resources building, downstream to Belgrade.
This somewhat puzzled Laszlo. He had given Janos such great power, intending for him to further strengthen the border defense forces, but this old general had diverted a lot of energy to building Hungary's inland river fleet.
What was the point of building such a fleet? Laszlo didn't understand, but he believed Janos wouldn't do anything useless. He decided to observe further.
In the port of Belgrade's lower town, Janos was inspecting the Danube Flotilla, which he had urgently expanded and assembled, accompanied by Szilágyi Mihály, the commander of Belgrade and his brother-in-law.
This fleet consisted of over two hundred warships of various sizes, all oar-sail ships. Each ship's bow was equipped with one to two cannons of varying sizes, totaling five thousand sailors. A quarter of them were armed with firearms or crossbows, and their equipment was superior to that of ordinary soldiers. The core was composed of skilled swimmers selected from the border defense forces.
After seeing it, Szilágyi was extremely excited and full of fighting spirit, saying, "Excellent, Janos! With this elite fleet, the Ottomans will not be able to gain an advantage on the Danube River, and our initiative will be greatly enhanced!"
Janos nodded slightly. A battle awaited the Hungarian navy soon, and that would be the time for this fleet to show its prowess.
"How is the fortification of Giurgiu's defenses?" Janos asked.
Szilágyi pulled out a checklist and reported, "According to your instructions, we have already sent three thousand soldiers into Giurgiu Castle under the cover of night. The reinforcement and expansion of the city's fortifications are largely complete, and supplies are abundant. Vlad emptied Wallachia's treasury, all used to buy grain and armaments."
"Good. Once there's any movement there, this fleet can prepare to depart. As long as we defeat the Ottomans on the water, they won't be able to complete the encirclement of Giurgiu, and that city can hold out indefinitely!"
"Janos, will you observe the situation here and lead the army into battle? That Vlad..."
Szilágyi was somewhat worried. He wasn't very confident in Vlad. He had met the new Prince Vlad a few times before. That person seemed extremely unstable, cold, irritable, and ruthless, which made Szilágyi trust him very little.
Janos sighed softly, saying with some melancholy, "How could I not know what is on his mind? His hatred for the Hungarian and the Ottomans is equal, because both we and the Ottomans invaded his country and ravaged his people, and his father and elder brother were assassinated by my men... Now he simply needs our support, so he is temporarily hiding his fangs. However, he is also a very useful tool. If he truly cannot be controlled, then he will simply have to be crushed. I will personally lead this fleet to Giurgiu, hoping we can repay His Majesty's trust with a victory."
Szilágyi nodded gravely in agreement. Janos's words had reminded him that Vlad III's (the Vlad mentioned in this book) father, Vlad II, the Dragon Prince, was an old acquaintance of theirs.
The title "Dragon Prince" originated from Vlad II being a member of the Dragon Knight Order under Emperor Sigismund, and he was a colleague of both Janos and Szilágyi.
They were known as Hungary's sword and shield against the infidels. In almost every war the Ottomans fought in Europe, the Dragon Knight could be seen fighting against them.
Later, Vlad II inherited the title of Prince Vlad. In many battles, he fought alongside the Hungarian against the Ottomans.
However, with age and the reality that Hungary's wars against the Ottomans were more often lost than won, Vlad II succumbed to inner fear and submitted to the Ottomans, paying tribute and even sending his sons Vlad and Radu the Handsome to the Sultan's court as hostages.
In his anger, Janos sent men to assassinate Vlad II and his eldest son, Mircea, which led to ten years of unrest in the Principality of Wallachia.
Now, it was precisely Janos, the killer of his father, who personally helped Vlad III ascend to the throne of Prince Vlad, as if the world had played a colossal joke.
However, Janos was not as worried as Szilágyi. He knew that under the immense pressure of the overall situation, Vlad could not stir up any waves. He was destined to be a sacrifice offered by Laszlo and Janos to test and wear down the Ottomans.
The pitiful thing was that he hadn't yet seen this point, or perhaps, even if he did, what could he do?
Laszlo intended to use the deaths of the Wallachian to replace the deaths of the Hungarian. The more Wallachian died, the fewer Hungarian and Crusader would die. This was the cruel reality!