"The alliance you speak of, do you mean to annex the territory of Bamberg?"
The conditions Laszlo presented to Bishop Georg of Bamberg instantly chilled the bishop's heart.
It was densely packed with what seemed like a bunch of overbearing clauses; it didn't look like the Emperor wanted to ally with him, the bishop, at all.
Instead, it seemed he intended to directly swallow Bamberg's several enclaves in Austria.
In a fragmented nation like the Holy Roman Empire, where 'you are in me, and I am in you,' the existence of an Emperor so intent on territorial integrity left Georg at a loss for words.
Previously, many imperial-level direct vassals within Austria, such as the Count of Gorizia, the Count of Cilli, and the Bishops of Schaunberg, Brixen, and Freising, had their territories incorporated into the Archduchy of Austria by Laszlo through various means.
Now, only the prince-bishoprics of Bamberg, Salzburg, and Trento remained in Austria proper, untouched by the Emperor's hand.
No, the Bishop of Trento had, in a sense, become a complete vassal of the Emperor, and the Salzburg Archbishop had also begun to serve the Emperor.
Thus, the final piece of the puzzle to complete Austria's territory was the several enclaves he, the Bishop of Bamberg, held in Austria.
This was likely the reason the Emperor had specifically summoned him from Franconia to Austria.
Understanding this, Bishop Georg felt a deep sense of helplessness.
Due to geographical distance, managing these enclaves was already very difficult for him, and they were entirely located deep within Austria.
If the Emperor employed some minor tactics, such as increasing tariffs and transit fees on Bamberg, or prohibiting the people within Bamberg's territory from using Austrian markets, his territory would soon fall into disarray.
He could not possibly contend with the Emperor, and no one could help him,
because this was in the Emperor's home territory of Austria, and Laszlo could use perfectly legitimate means to force the bishop to surrender the land.
The fact that he was still willing to discuss and negotiate was, in fact, already showing Georg great respect.
"You can't say that, Mr. Bishop. Look at the conditions I've offered. Where does it mention annexing territory?
The focus is on protection—protecting the safety and rights of Bamberg's territory and people in Austria. This is precisely the responsibility I, as the Emperor, should bear."
Laszlo righteously refuted Bishop Georg's doubts.
Georg stared helplessly at the protection agreement offered by the Emperor. Its main content indeed promised to protect Bamberg's territory in Austria and allow its people to enjoy the same treatment as subjects of the Archduchy of Austria.
However, in the additional clauses, the Emperor demanded that all protected Bamberg castles, towns, and other territories be opened as part of the Archduchy of Austria to the Emperor and his successors during the protection period, and that when Austria faced war, Bamberg's people would need to provide manpower and material support to the Emperor.
The term of this protection agreement was five years, with the possibility of renewal thereafter.
Moreover, this agreement was not one-sided.
"The many privileges I grant to the people of Bamberg will allow them to create more wealth and tax revenue, and I will only collect special taxes and transit fees for entry and exit from Bamberg's territory; all other taxes go to you.
In this way, do you still feel you are at a disadvantage?"
Hearing the Emperor's persuasion, Bishop Georg fell silent. The so-called collection of only special taxes and transit fees also meant that the Emperor would levy war taxes on Bamberg's Austrian territories during wartime, and normal transit taxes on people and goods during peacetime.
Then, he would also need to open Bamberg's castles and towns for the Emperor's army to garrison and obtain supplies.
By paying such a price, Bamberg's territory and people in Austria would receive the protection promised by the Emperor and many rights equal to those of Austrian subjects.
Thinking it over, it was indeed not a losing proposition.
Who didn't know that Austria was the safest and most stable nation on the entire continent now?
The best road conditions in the entire Empire, banditry almost completely eradicated—at least in the Austrian heartland, highwaymen or robber knights preying on merchant caravans were rarely seen—and the Emperor's powerful military strength as the fundamental guarantee of peace, all contributed to immigrants and merchants alike flocking to Austria.
If Albrecht II had not issued the "Expulsion of Jews Decree" at the beginning of his reign due to his dislike of Jews, Austria's commercial prosperity might have reached an even higher level.
However, interestingly, this decree was only effective in Lower Austria around Vienna and was not implemented in Styria and Tyrol.
Therefore, specialized Jewish officials were established in all other Austrian states to collect taxes from Jews and supervise their commercial activities.
In fact, everyone knew that the Emperor's financial manager, Jacob von Fugger, was the largest Jewish magnate, but Laszlo had not yet lifted the Jewish ban in Lower Austria.
Rather than allowing the malicious commercial practices of Jews to disrupt the market, Laszlo preferred to control everything himself.
In short, all these advantages made life in Austria objectively happier than in other regions.
They did not have to worry about war destroying their property or even taking their lives.
As the saying goes, only secure farmers are high-yield farmers, and the same applies to merchants and artisans.
A stable and prosperous Austria could undoubtedly offer generous conditions, whereas refusing the Emperor's terms would mean terrifyingly high tariffs and transit taxes for Bamberg's people, and even embargoes on certain crucial goods.
Bishop Georg finally acknowledged the legitimacy of Laszlo's demands and signed the bilateral protection agreement, handing over control of Bamberg's enclaves in Austria to the Emperor for the next five years.
After obtaining the agreement and seeing off Bishop Georg, Laszlo breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face.
He had finally, for the time being, brought all those scattered foreign territories within Austria under his control.
Some of these were through forced submission or inheritance, while others were controlled through the Archbishop of Vienna.
As of now, apart from the four castles of the Salzburg Archbishop within Austria, there was no territory in all of Austria not under his control.
He looked up at the map of Austria, personally drawn by the late Pope Pius II, hanging on the wall, and immediately ordered it to be taken down for modification.
Soon after, a more complete and perfect map of Austria replaced the original map.
Those numerous direct imperial territories, scattered like herpes across Austria proper, had almost entirely disappeared, merging into the Archduchy of Austria.
Staring at the new map, Laszlo's gaze gradually sharpened. With external issues resolved, it was now time to address internal conflicts.
As he had not yet obtained all information about the rebels, Laszlo did not act hastily but stayed in Graz for a full month.
During this month, he sometimes heard cases and handled government affairs, and sometimes summoned local officials from Styria.
These officials were Styrian magnates whom Laszlo had learned from William and Governor Heinrich's reports might be involved in the conspiracy.
Laszlo judged whether a person had rebellious intentions through personal conversations with them and some special methods.
Unexpectedly, this search indeed yielded results.
Andreas Baumkircher, Baron of Schleining, had served as the county governor of Pressburg and was now the commandant of Korneuburg.
Korneuburg had been the venue for numerous Styrian diets until it was abandoned after Laszlo's ascension.
This Andreas was quite reputable in Styria.
His family hailed from Udine in Venetia, and his father had long served as the mayor of Pordenone in Venice.
Andreas himself, due to his talent, was appreciated by Laszlo's uncle, Frederick, and became an important military commander under Frederick.
However, this man was extremely ambitious. Even before Laszlo's ascension, he had participated in a rebellion targeting the then Regent of Austria, Duke Frederick of Styria.
This rebellion aimed to force Frederick to revoke some decrees that harmed the interests of the nobility, but with Albrecht II dispatching troops from Hungary to help Frederick suppress the rebellion, the two sides eventually reached a settlement.
The rebels were not punished, and Frederick's decrees lost their enforcement authority.
When Laszlo heard Governor Heinrich, a participant in that rebellion, recount the incident, he fell into deep silence.
"Your Majesty, these are the archives about that rebellion that you requested, and the most important among them is this settlement agreement."
Heinrich pulled out a document densely covered with names from a stack of files and handed it to Laszlo.
"Andreas Baumkircher, Heinrich von Liechtenstein, Ulrich von Grafenegg…
Laszlo looked at the names on the settlement agreement, suddenly feeling somewhat relieved.
"Besides Letold von Stubenberg, who was governor at the time, and you, did most of the most powerful nobles in Styria participate in the rebellion?"
"That is largely correct, Your Majesty, but I think not every one of these individuals is involved in the current incident. I hope you will handle this cautiously."
Heinrich's wrinkled face was filled with helplessness.
He had once been delighted to replace the Stubenberg family in governing Styria, but now he was filled with constant trepidation.
"However, they dared to raise an army in rebellion merely because they were dissatisfied with a few decrees issued by my uncle Frederick. They don't seem like the type to endure my reforms silently.
Send people to monitor these former rebels, especially this Andreas. He needs extra attention. It would be best to collect some evidence of his conspiring to rebel. I suspect he is the leader of the rebels."
The more Laszlo looked at this fellow now, the more he felt he was not a good person.
He was the father-in-law of Hans von Stubenberg, who had already clearly rebelled, and the relationship there was very subtle.
"Your Majesty, I will immediately dispatch people to monitor him closely."
"One more thing, what is the relationship between this Heinrich von Liechtenstein and Nicholas von Liechtenstein, the Governor of Moravia?"
They belong to the Murau branch and Nikolsburg branch of the Liechtenstein family respectively.
Lord Nicholas is the head of the main branch of the family, but the relationship between the main and collateral lines of this family has always been less than harmonious.
The previous rebellion did not involve Lord Nicholas."
"That's good."
Laszlo felt relieved. He always conducted strict vetting before promoting officials, but due to the limited information conditions of this era, oversights were possible.
Fortunately, he had not actually promoted an official with a history of rebellion.
Nicholas von Liechtenstein was not only an important noble of Styria, but his daughter was also married to Hermann, the brother of John, the current Lord of Bregenz-Tettnang.
The Liechtenstein family and the Montfort family, two important families in southwestern Austria, had formed a strong alliance and held considerable influence in both Tyrol and Styria.
Most importantly, they understood their own insignificance and were well aware that the only path to advancement was to serve Austria wholeheartedly, thus maintaining their loyalty to Laszlo at all times.
In contrast, those Styrian rebels hidden in the shadows were much more muddled.
After Laszlo identified several specific targets, the investigation quickly made significant progress.
The line of William and Hans von Stubenberg had not yielded much, but Andreas's side gave Laszlo a big surprise.
The monitors arrested a French spy who had left Andreas's residence.
They tortured the spy for a short time, and he confessed everything, revealing all the Styrian nobles he knew were involved in the conspiracy.
The next day, Laszlo announced that he would be leaving Styria, and before that, he would convene a Styrian Diet.
On the day the Diet convened, Andreas, Hans von Stubenberg, and Oswald, who had lowered their guard, were arrested on the spot by Laszlo's Guards.
Subsequently, Laszlo entrusted the Salzburg Archbishop to act as the chief judge, with several Styrian representatives as judges, and conducted a public trial of the arrested nobles.
Under the watchful eyes of numerous Styrian estate representatives, the seven nobles, forcibly kneeling at the Emperor's feet by the Imperial Guards, cried out that they had been wronged.
Laszlo watched these traitors with a dangerous smile, their lips pale with fear, yet shouting words of defiance against his tyranny.
He immediately ordered the bloodied French spy to be dragged out.
The man quickly repeated his confession in front of all the Styrian estate representatives.
In addition to these arrested nobles, some minor nobles who were not qualified to attend the Diet were also named, and troops had already been dispatched to arrest them.
As soon as the spy finished speaking, the assembly hall erupted in an uproar. The estate representatives, initially confused and even terrified due to their lack of understanding of the situation, now directed their anger at the traitors on trial.
Their curses did not elicit further reactions from these traitors, as their faces had already turned ashen.
"Some of you previously incited rebellion, and Duke Frederick forgave you then," Laszlo raised his voice to declare his stance, "but there will be no reconciliation between me and rebels. Anyone who attempts to divide Austria or disrupt national order will face the most severe punishment!"
After a brief discussion, the Salzburg Archbishop announced the verdict.
All Styrian nobles who colluded with the King of France and conspired to rebel were charged with treason.
Laszlo confiscated their territories and sentenced them to death.
There was one exception: Oswald of the Greisler family. His territory would be inherited by his brother William, in recognition of William's loyalty.
A castle belonging to the Stubenberg family was also awarded to William as a reward. He simultaneously took over his brother's office as the City Commandant of Marburg,
and gained a seat in the council.
Furthermore, he was granted the hereditary honorary title of Royal Cupbearer of the Stubenberg family, with permission for it to be inherited within the family.
All accused traitorous nobles were hanged in the bustling market of Graz, their bodies suspended from the city walls of Graz.
The interrupted Styrian Diet reconvened thereafter. Laszlo listened to the voices of the various Styrian estates and decided to reduce Styria's taxes for the upcoming year.
Simply confiscating the property of the Stubenberg, a prominent Styrian noble family, had already filled Laszlo's coffers, so he naturally didn't mind using such means to stabilize public sentiment.
The tour concluded, and Laszlo departed the city amidst the farewells of the people of Graz.
Riding on his steed, Laszlo turned to look back, and the distorted, tortured faces of the rebels before their deaths came into view.
He couldn't help but clench a letter in his hand; it was a correspondence between the Duke of Landshut and Andreas that had not yet been destroyed.
Thinking of that pillar of the Wittelsbach Family who always jumped at him, Laszlo's anger steadily accumulated.
He no longer looked at those ugly corpses, and surrounded by his Guards, he set off on the road back to Vienna.