Construction work in Austria is proceeding in an orderly fashion under the leadership of various departments.
Road construction, the building of Habsburg, and a series of commercial and public investments, although these investments show little return in the short term, Laszlo firmly believes that in the future, these constructions will bring great benefits to Austria.
As the saying goes, "To get rich, first build roads." Whether it's the ancient legend of "all roads lead to Rome" built by the orthodox Romans, or Charlemagne, the spiritual Roman, issuing decrees and allocating funds to encourage the construction and maintenance of roads, all of this demonstrates that good roads are indispensable for ruling a vast country.
Unfortunately, since Charlemagne, there has hardly been any monarch in Europe with enough financial resources and courage to undertake the construction and maintenance of roads.
As feudal separatism became increasingly severe, most rulers had neither the ability nor the willingness to build roads.
The only thing that motivated them to invest in roads was to set up toll booths along the way and collect high transit taxes.
Therefore, Laszlo chose to minimize the involvement of nobles and the church in the construction of main roads. Where it was unavoidable, he dealt with it by offering dividends from transit taxes for a certain number of years.
This way, he could regulate taxes to promote commercial development and prevent the decline of Austrian trade due to too many checkpoints and arbitrary taxation.
The resources of local nobles and the church were guided by Laszlo into the construction of a secondary road network. In return, they were permitted to collect transit taxes, but the tax rates had to be controlled by the central government; otherwise, Laszlo dared not imagine what would happen.
After lengthy communication and coordination, the first phase of Austria's main road construction project finally officially began.
Architects from Milan and Florence arrived in Austria with "advanced technologies" such as roadbed laying and drainage design, to guide the construction of the road from Vienna to Graz.
Undoubtedly, this is the most frequently used road by the Emperor.
The officials responsible for this project received instructions from above to first build the roads frequently used by the Emperor, and then deal with other roads.
Laszlo was unaware of this. He would never have imagined that one day he casually complained to Fugger that the road to Graz was full of potholes due to heavy carriage traffic, making every inspection tour a misery. Fugger took this to heart and, seizing this opportunity, planned to first resolve the Emperor's distress.
Of course, Fugger would not reveal these sycophantic thoughts. His report to Laszlo pointed out that Graz connected Vienna and Northern Italy, and was also the garrison for the main army, thus making it very necessary to construct this road first.
Unfortunately, winter was approaching, and if temperatures dropped, road construction would become quite difficult, so the project stopped again before it had truly begun.
Laszlo was not in a hurry for this moment, as it was unlikely that any major crisis would emerge in Austria in the short term, allowing him to guide the nation's development systematically.
However, the selection and construction of post stations were not affected by the season. Simple post stations began to be built at many important road junctions.
Of course, many suitable locations for post stations already had better alternatives, namely inns along the roads.
In the Middle Ages, those who could afford to run an inn were generally among the wealthiest people in a town or village, belonging to the class known as the civic elite.
And what Laszlo liked to do most was to select excellent talents from the civic elite who were suitable to serve the government.
Thus, many innkeepers were summoned by the Emperor, waking up one day transformed from commoners into postmasters serving the state.
Of course, they could also choose their preferred titles, such as Royal Bailiff or Regional Bailiff.
Some innkeepers of considerable standing were even appointed as assessors to the court of justice or recommended as local town councilors.
These selected innkeepers gladly accepted the Emperor's appointment, and from then on, like other royally appointed postmasters, they could receive an annuity while also managing their own businesses.
All they had to do was, like other post station operators, provide convenience for the Emperor's bailiffs and convey decrees from the central government to every corner of the locality.
Just as construction was in full swing in Austria, the Greek battlefield presented a different scene.
As the shadow of Mount Taygetus had just passed over the Gulf of Laconia, the castle of Mystras, the capital of the Despotate of Morea, appeared like a giant rock growing out of the mountain, its stern outline visible in the twilight.
This sturdy castle, perched on the mountaintop, had endured countless attacks but had almost never been breached from the outside.
From a distance, the city could be clearly divided into upper and lower parts.
The castle on the hilltop, the imperial palace complex, the residences of feudal lords, and several churches and monasteries were surrounded by a strong wall. At the foot of the mountain, another solid wall encircled the Mystras urban area, with the cathedral at its core.
Constantine XI, the last Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, was crowned in this castle, and it has remained the capital of Morea ever since.
Even Dimitrios, who had defected to the Ottomans, ultimately failed to capture this castle.
However, now, Morea, this small nation carrying the last spark of the Eastern Roman Empire, would once again face a severe challenge.
On the fortress walls at the summit, Andreas, the young Despot of Morea, looked out at the distant sea with a worried expression.
More than a year had passed since his father's death and his succession as Despot.
As he had just turned thirteen, he was unable to manage the many affairs of Morea well, and therefore entrusted everything to Bessarion.
This initially caused dissatisfaction among the local populace and nobles, but with the arrival of the Austrian fleet in Morea, all dissenting voices were quickly silenced.
Under Bessarion's guidance, Morea's affairs were managed in an orderly fashion, yet this could not change the resentment in the hearts of the local Greeks.
They generally regarded Bessarion, who was from Trebizond, had studied at the court of Morea, and ultimately converted to Roman Catholicism, as an apostate, and many also resented young Andreas, who followed Catholicism.
Although Bessarion, to stabilize the situation, did not promote conversion among the populace in Morea, these Greeks still found it difficult to accept the reality of being ruled by Catholic believers.
Gennadius II, who studied and worked at the Morea court at the same time as Bessarion, still served as the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Ottoman Empire's Orthodox Church in Constantinople.
He and Bessarion, the Roman-appointed Patriarch of Constantinople, were the two "traitors" most hated by the Moreans.
A widely circulated saying among the Morean people goes: "Their voices sound Greek, but they do not look Greek; the glory between us is not shared."
Facing such immense hostility, Bessarion still carefully and properly governed Morea, continuing the policies of Despot Thomas,
developing culture and economy.
However, with the outbreak of the Austria-Venice War, peaceful life could no longer be maintained.
At the Sofia Conference, Bessarion had expressed his concerns, and unfortunately, these concerns had come true.
Just a few weeks ago, the Venetian deployed two mercenary legions, each over two thousand strong, from Athens in the north and Modon in the south of Morea. They advanced from both directions, rapidly capturing cities and territories on Morean soil.
The Long Wall of the Isthmus of Corinth, which should have served as a barrier, had already been destroyed by the Ottomans in previous wars and had never been repaired.
Even if it were repaired, the weakened Morea could not muster enough manpower to defend the entire fortress complex.
Thus, the Venetian marched directly from Athens to Corinth. Fortunately, the city's defenses were still strong. Although besieged, it would not fall easily in the short term.
The Venetian mercenaries, who were paid to fight, clearly had no intention of risking their lives to storm the city. They established a siege camp outside the city and used it as a base to continually plunder the surrounding areas.
The Venetian army, departing from the port of Modon at the southern tip of Morea, also showed little interest in the heavily defended city of Mystras. They chose to bypass the southeastern end of the island where Mystras was located and advanced deep into the lightly defended interior of Morea.
Due to the lack of sufficient defensive forces, most towns and villages were plundered, with only a few nobles huddled in castles escaping harm.
Suddenly, smoke signals rose across the peninsula. Andreas looked at the thick stack of pleas for help in his hand, his heart filled with fear.
He turned to look at the Cardinal standing beside him, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "Bessarion, can we rescue them?"
Bessarion shook his head in resignation, giving his reply: "We cannot take the offensive, Your Highness. We only need to hold Mystras and wait for reinforcements from Bulgaria to arrive."
As he said this, there was a touch of guilt in his heart. In fact, nearly four thousand troops had already gathered in Mystras, and there were over two thousand defenders in Corinth.
According to Bessarion's calculations, if given enough time, he could even raise an army of ten thousand, but only a few hundred among them truly knew how to fight.
Moreover, the Venetian did not give him this opportunity. Before the conscription of soldiers from some remote areas had even begun, the Venetian invaded Morea.
If he were to send troops to actively attack the Venetian army invading from the south, theoretically, Morea would still have a numerical advantage.
Unfortunately, the commander of the Grand Duke's guard, an old general who had served in the Navarre mercenary company, gave the answer that victory would be difficult.
These Morean troops were, after all, just a rabble. How could they contend with battle-hardened Venetian mercenaries?
Moreover, a rash attack would entail great risks; if defeated, even Mystras, a very defensible stronghold, might not be held.
Bessarion did not want such a thing to happen, so he chose the safest approach: to hunker down and wait for the Venetian to attack.
"But Bulgaria is still too far from Morea, and they will go to rescue Epirus first. We might have to wait a long time."
Andreas's worries deepened, and a desire to retreat gradually began to sprout in his heart, intensifying with the passage of time.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, the Emperor will not abandon us. As long as we hold firm, there will surely be a way."
Bessarion patted Andreas's shoulder, reassuring him in a gentle tone.
He himself was not very flustered. The Venetian bypassing Mystras meant that the enemy clearly understood that this city was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and would not be their primary target.
Bessarion had seen too many mercenaries who valued their lives in his lifetime; they were everywhere in Rome, Naples, and Austria.
These people rarely directly attacked cities, so Bessarion was confident he could outlast them.
He had already dispatched small units to scout the surrounding areas for intelligence and gather supplies, so they could hold out longer.
Just as Bessarion was still calculating how long they needed to hold out until reinforcements arrived, Andreas's next words directly made his jaw drop.
"Bessarion, I miss Zoe and Manuel a bit. Let's go back to Vienna."
Andreas seemed to know what these words implied, so he hung his head, not daring to look Bessarion in the eye.
"Andreas, you are the leader of the Palaiologos family, the ruler of Morea! How can you say such a thing?"
Bessarion's face became incredibly serious. Since he arrived in Morea with Andreas, the young Despot had increasingly neglected his studies and indulged in pleasure.
Originally, Bessarion hoped to cultivate a qualified monarch through education and guidance.
Unfortunately, he himself was busy with affairs, and the scholars in the court were all immersed in their own arts, only catering to Andreas's preferences for ruling Morea, rather than providing proper guidance.
He hadn't expected Andreas to become such a cowardly and life-fearing person. His heart, like his sister's and brother's, had returned to Vienna; only his body remained on the Peloponnese peninsula.
"Let the Moreans defend Mystras. We don't need to take risks with them."
Andreas now only wanted to go to a safe place and wait for this war to end.
And in his mind, Vienna was the safest place in the world.
"Do you remember the story I told you about your uncle Constantine?
He fought for Constantinople until the very end, and this Mystras is our Constantinople."
Bessarion's emotions were somewhat agitated, and even his white beard trembled.
He actually had some affection for Morea, this nation of Eastern Roman exiles.
Although he eventually remained in Rome due to the Florence Grand Duke Conference, Morea had always been regarded by him as a spiritual homeland after the fall of his native Trebizond, and moreover, he now managed this land.
If Andreas were to escape from Morea at this time, once the Bulgarian army entered Morea, it would likely be difficult for Morea to even retain its status as a vassal state.
The most probable outcome was that it would be converted by the Emperor into an overseas governorate, with a governor appointed to manage it like other vassal states, while the Palaiologos family would gradually transform into ordinary nobles.
Of course, even if Andreas didn't flee, given his current state, he was not far from becoming an Austrian, after all, having grown up in the Austrian court since childhood and speaking German more fluently than Greek.
Andreas ultimately changed his mind, not because of Bessarion's words, but because a large Venetian Fleet appeared on the distant sea, completely blockading the Gulf of Laconia and cutting off their last escape route.
"The Emperor's army will surely come to our aid, right?"
"They surely will."