The plea for help from Bulgaria was quickly sent to Vienna.
When Laszlo received the news, he was hunting in the mountains near Vienna, incidentally checking on the agricultural development in the Vienna Basin, but primarily to clear his mind.
Now, Laszlo's recently improved mood was completely ruined by the news from Frederick.
He rushed back to Vienna, preparing to deal with the rebellion in Bulgaria.
The distance from Sofia to Vienna was already long, so a round trip for a messenger would take a month or so, and if there were any further delays, who knew what other changes might occur.
"With a rebellion breaking out in Bulgaria, will the Ottomans do anything?"
In the Hofburg Palace conference hall, Privy Council Chairman Eyczing was the first to express his concern after hearing the news.
However, he appeared calmer than the other ministers, as if he had long anticipated the potential chaos in Bulgaria.
This was not surprising, as before being favored by Laszlo, Eyczing had assisted Frederick in governing Austria for over a decade.
Given his understanding of Frederick, it was already surprising that Bulgaria had maintained stability for so long.
Thinking of Frederick's weak character, it was likely that if the Emperor had not dispatched the Order of Saint George to maintain order in Bulgaria, the Balkans would have long since erupted into chaos.
This time, with the Bulgarian army's elite forces fully engaged against the Venetians, a large-scale rebellion indeed broke out within the country.
This didn't seem to be Frederick's fault, as the religious and ethnic conflicts in Bulgaria were irreconcilable, especially under the high-pressure policies set by the Emperor.
However, Eyczing held a significant prejudice against his former boss, Frederick, and naturally attributed the Balkan rebellion to him.
Anyway, it couldn't possibly be the Emperor's fault, could it? Eyczing had long since eradicated any dangerous thoughts that might affect his career.
Since the rebellion had already broken out, it was useless to consider right or wrong; the most pressing matter was how to deal with it.
If the Ottomans truly intervened to aid Venice and attack Bulgaria, then the Emperor would undoubtedly have to lead another personal campaign.
If the Ottomans did not intervene, but merely acted as the hidden hand behind the scenes, then this rebellion might be a great opportunity to settle Bulgaria.
"According to Frederick's report, the Ottomans have made no unusual moves for now.
Their war with Karaman is still ongoing, and there's also unrest within the Ottoman Empire; some people are dissatisfied with the decision to relocate the capital, and more are constantly rebelling due to excessive exploitation.
Mehmed II himself is currently overwhelmed with troubles."
Laszlo carefully analyzed the current situation, and like Eyczing, he also realized that this seemed to be an opportunity.
"If the Ottomans don't intervene, as long as we can quell this rebellion, Bulgaria's religious problem might be resolved."
Archbishop Bernhard, a royal advisor, was more concerned about the cause of the rebellion; the Orthodox believers made no secret of their hostility towards the Roman Church, and now they had directly launched this massive rebellion.
"Like we did in Bohemia?"
The aged Field Marshal Adolf was almost immediately reminded of that unwelcome memory.
He had once followed Jan Žižka in campaigns across Bohemia and had been steadfast in his Hussite faith.
However, he had now completely come to terms with it.
Ever since the Cup faction allied with the Roman Church and betrayed the Tábor faction for its own interests, Adolf had realized that so-called religious belief was nothing more than a political tool.
He was now a devout Catholic, with only loyalty to the Emperor in his heart, and no mercy for heretics.
Since the Grand Duke Conference of Florence more than twenty years ago declared the end of the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches, the Orthodox Church should theoretically no longer exist.
Therefore, the so-called Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople and the church he led, which had submitted to the Ottomans, were naturally branded as heretics by Rome, essentially no different from the Hussite.
And those Bulgarian Orthodox believers, incited by the Greeks, who had risen in rebellion were naturally categorized as heretics.
As is well known, the Roman Church's stance on heretics has always been clear: to purify these heretical elements from body to soul.
However, these heretics would not tie themselves up and offer their necks to the blade; this is when the powerful Imperial Army would need to intervene.
"Bohemia back then still had many supporters of the Empire, but as for present-day Bulgaria…"
Laszlo's attitude was clear; he needed to conduct a major purge in Bulgaria.
"Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Bulgaria is also one of your many assets; why not adopt a more refined method of governance?"
Fugger raised his concerns.
This Bulgarian rebellion might not have a great impact on other ministers, but Fugger would genuinely suffer some losses.
The reason was simple: the war in Bulgaria would inevitably affect the Black Sea-Danube River trade, and he and the Emperor were currently making big money by reselling Eastern goods through this trade route.
Not only Bulgaria but also Serbia; the status of these two Balkan vassal states should be relatively important, but the Emperor's rule over them was quite simple and crude.
Members of the Habsburg royal family served as regents, and various decrees were issued after only a brief study by the Emperor and his advisors. Many of these policies were one-size-fits-all, and with the talents of the Emperor's two uncles, even good policies could probably be poorly executed, let alone policies that weren't that great to begin with.
This made rebellions like the current one almost inevitable.
"I also want to strengthen control over the Balkans, but where do we have the conditions for that now?
Belgrade and Sofia are far from Vienna, and communication back and forth takes a long time, so we can only allow them autonomy. Regarding Bulgaria's religious policy, I admit that I was trying to save trouble at the time, which is why I entrusted the matter to the Church and the Teutonic Order.
The current situation is also within my expectations; there are too many Orthodox believers in Bulgaria, and relying solely on immigration and missionary work will never change their faith. Perhaps it's time for a strong remedy."
Fugger always felt that the Emperor was being stubborn, but he couldn't directly call him out, so he could only helplessly remind him: "Your Majesty, fighting wars costs money. You still have some savings in your private treasury, perhaps enough to support the army for one battle, but the cost of a distant expedition is very expensive.
Moreover, the Bulgarian rebels are not a small force; it's probably not enough with just the Independent Army. Are you planning to mobilize Austria's conscription system?"
Since the establishment of its standing army, Austria has generally relied on it for warfare, with conscripts rarely used, mostly as auxiliary troops for transporting supplies.
However, with Vienna's strengthening control over the various states, raising a sizable army would be no problem at all.
"By the time Austria's army is assembled and reaches Bulgaria, Sofia will probably have fallen.
Moreover, to send tens of thousands of troops on a distant campaign to the Balkans with minimal losses, we will probably have to secure some funding from the Hungarian."
Field Marshal Adolf immediately pointed out the disadvantages of deploying troops from Austria.
Laszlo agreed: "It's difficult to move troops from Austria to the Balkans. This time, let's use the Hungarian army.
Paul Kinizsi's Timisoara Legion should be able to undertake this arduous task."
The ministers all expressed their approval of Laszlo's arrangement. Firstly, it would save money, and secondly, the forces in Austria itself would remain abundant, able to respond to emergencies from the west.
"Those Hungarian will probably complain to Your Majesty about this again."
Thinking of the countless petitions, like snowflakes, sent by Hungarian Parliament members whenever Laszlo mobilized Hungarian troops in the past, Eyczing couldn't help but smile.
Every time the Emperor was not in Hungary, those fellows would be particularly vocal, but as soon as the Emperor arrived in Budapest, those Hungarian who desperately sought the Emperor's attention would become submissive again.
This situation had repeated countless times, but this time Laszlo was certain things would be different: "The opposing Hungarian have already been purged once by me. I don't think they will try to attract my attention as they did before in the coming years.
I made it clear to them in the last Hungarian Parliament that the Hungarian army reports directly to me, and where I choose to deploy the army is none of their concern."
"Since you have already achieved control over the armies and economies of the various vassal states, why don't we go a step further and establish a central government that can govern all the vassal states?
This way, we can more easily mobilize the resources of the vassal states and strengthen our advantage in international competition."
Eyczing proposed a plan that sounded very bold, causing the ministers to look at him sideways.
Laszlo fell into contemplation upon hearing this; establishing a central government for the Habsburg Composite Monarchy sounded like a completely fanciful plan.
"Your Excellency Eyczing, haven't we always borne this responsibility?" Fugger also offered his opinion at this point, "There is only one bond that maintains the relationship between Austria and its many vassal states, and that is Your Majesty himself.
Therefore, the Imperial Court is naturally the central government of these many countries.
Austria's existing government evolved from Your Majesty's advisory council and still performs the functions of an advisory council.
What we discuss here are nothing more than a few matters, such as how to use Austria's income and the tribute paid by the vassal states, and Austria's foreign policy.
As long as we make a decision, those vassal states have no choice but to follow our lead, and their armies are now entirely at our disposal.
Isn't that enough?"
As the Finance Minister in charge of the Emperor's purse, Fugger undoubtedly had the clearest understanding of the relationship between Austria and its vassal states.
The Emperor's income was roughly divided into four categories.
Firstly, income from the Austrian royal domains;
Secondly, profits from state-monopolized enterprises, customs duties, various indirect taxes, and tribute paid by the estates' assemblies;
Thirdly, a portion of the income from the royal domains of the various vassal states, submitted as tribute to Austria, or strictly speaking, to the Emperor's court.
Fourthly, income from the Empire and other diplomatic revenues, which included income from selling Elector seats, titles, and the annual payments from Imperial Free Cities.
The third category of income was direct proof of the Emperor's court's control over the vast Composite Monarchy.
Although most of the income from the royal domains of the vassal states would be given to the regent of that country to maintain rule, the portion submitted as tribute was already sufficient to demonstrate the vassal state's subordinate status.
Moreover, with the Emperor's multiple rounds of strike against the Hungarian, his control over the Hungarian army reached its peak.
Now, the armies of Austria and all its vassal states directly obeyed the Emperor, and controlling the army meant controlling the state.
The Emperor's court and the Austrian Privy Council, which extended from his court, were the true heart of the vast Habsburg Composite Monarchy.
Their only lack was the power to enact unified laws for Austria and its various vassal states, a power that could never be held by anyone.
"No, my intention is to establish a similar 'Imperial Diet' between Austria and the various vassal states, modeled after the Imperial Diet we previously promoted, but managing Austria's empire.
This way, we would create a platform for close communication between representatives of Austria and the various vassal states.
When faced with a crisis similar to Bulgaria's next time, we can make decisions through this body.
This is mainly to prevent His Majesty the Emperor from being accused of disregarding the wishes of the vassal state's subjects, so that the many subjects under His Majesty's rule will know that the interests of Austria and the various vassal states are closely intertwined."
Eyczing's words were quite eloquent, but Laszlo was unenthusiastic about it.
"It's just moving the argument to a different place, and it's even less efficient than discussing it here.
Perhaps I should give them a place to voice their opinions, but not now, at least not until the crisis in Bulgaria is resolved first.
Moreover, how to ensure Austria's dominant position is not a simple problem that can be easily solved."
"This… I hadn't considered that, Your Majesty."
Eyczing had just been regretting not being able to expand the Austrian government's influence, but Laszlo's words served as a reminder.
Those Hungarian had always been jealous of the favoritism shown to Austria; although their own strength was decentralized, it was still generally stronger than Austria's.
Perhaps, the various parts of Hungary could be divided during the process of forming a grand council. Eyczing silently noted this idea, preparing to refine his proposal and submit it to the Emperor next time.
After the Privy Council meeting reached a conclusion, Laszlo's secretary immediately drafted an imperial edict and dispatched someone to deliver it day and night to the Timisoara fortress on Hungary's southeastern border.
Another similar edict, a notice, was sent to Budapest. Although Laszlo had bypassed the Hungarian regency cabinet to mobilize troops many times, he still had to inform them each time, as they would need to take care of the pensions and military pay after the war.
Upon receiving the Emperor's order, Paul Kinizsi, the southeastern border commander of Hungary, immediately mustered his three thousand border guards, along with nearly six thousand trained militiamen. They boarded the Danube Flotilla's ships on the opposite bank of Belgrade and swiftly sailed downstream, heading straight for Bulgaria.