In the early spring of 1467, the ice and snow melted, and the cold north wind still howled.
The sun hung high in the sky, but it offered no warmth.
Emperor Laszlo rode on his steed, slowly advancing along the main road, surrounded by his personal guards.
In the villages along the road, some people were inspecting and repairing damaged houses, while those with free time, the plowmen, were already driving their oxen, pulling heavy Saxon wheel plows to turn the soil in the fields.
In the past, when villages lacked iron plows, farmers could only sigh at the frozen, hardened fields.
But now, they no longer had to worry about this, all thanks to the Emperor.
Although farmers initially had reservations when the Emperor vigorously promoted the three-field system, heavy iron plows, and fertilization methods, over the past few years, their hearts were filled only with respect and admiration for the Emperor.
On his way to Linz, Emperor Laszlo had personally visited three estates to inspect the damage.
Fortunately, the improvements in agricultural technology and systems in Austria over the years had finally paid off, and most of the populace had survived the cold winter with their previous savings.
For some farmers facing genuine hardship, Emperor Laszlo's policies provided significant help; the granaries of estates and communes under royal officials would sell them grain at harvest season prices.
This was undoubtedly a great boon for farmers struggling with reduced harvests.
It was well known that the cheapest time for grain prices was during the two autumn harvests; after that, grain prices would generally see a significant increase, and this year, due to reduced grain production in Austria, market prices everywhere had risen even more alarmingly.
This was actually a means for merchants, lords, and clergy to make money.
As Austria had now become the largest commodity producer in all of Europe, large amounts of gold and silver currency converged in Vienna and then flowed throughout Europe, objectively promoting the commercialization of Austrian agricultural products.
The result of this was that lords in Austria and neighboring countries, following the example of landlords in the Netherlands and Rhineland, began to forcibly collect monetary land rents.
Tax collection was customarily set for November, by which time even the slowest farmers had completed their grain harvests.
To meet the monetary land rent stipulated by the lord, farmers had no choice but to bite the bullet and sell large quantities of grain in the market at the lowest prices of the year to obtain currency for rent.
Merchants acquired large quantities of grain and other agricultural products for large-scale inter-regional trade, while lords and the Church hoarded grain from their own estates, selling it when prices reached a satisfactory level.
Some even more unscrupulous merchants and landlords would hoard for several years, just waiting for a sudden natural disaster or a widespread war.
Once vulnerable farmers lost their livelihoods for various reasons, their only fate was to become serfs, or even completely lose their personal freedom and be sold as slaves.
Only a minority could escape into cities and be accepted; in fact, most cities during this period were very exclusive, except for some rapidly growing international cities like Vienna and London that desperately needed population.
In Styria, there were indeed cases where free men, ruined by disaster or the ravages of war, were forced to become serfs of lords and the Church.
Such situations rarely occurred in royal territories, and farmers praised the Emperor's benevolence, which saved them from usury and other forms of oppression.
These policies were partly to ensure that farming households had enough food and partly to ensure they had enough seeds for the following year's planting.
Generally speaking, as long as a person was diligent and willing to work, finding odd jobs elsewhere or participating in public works would certainly ensure they could support themselves.
Of course, kindness was not without cost; Emperor Laszlo's personal coffers had shrunk significantly due to this disaster, spending about ten thousand florins more than budgeted.
This money, of course, had to be spent, but in Emperor Laszlo's vision, it was part of the war chest he was saving for the conquest of Constantinople and Paris.
Currently, his private treasury still held roughly one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty thousand florins in savings, while the remaining several hundred thousand florins in the national treasury were already budgeted for, meaning the money was on hand but would soon be spent.
In Emperor Laszlo's view, Austria and the Ottoman Empire were very similar now: both had high incomes but enormous expenditures, with gold and silver coins flowing into the national treasury like water, only to flow out again into the market, the army, workshops, and other places before they could even get warm.
Speaking of war and economy, Emperor Laszlo recalled someone in his previous life who used a satirical theory to explain the war economics of Renaissance monarchs.
This theory posited that a nation, or more precisely, a monarch—as the concept of a 'nation' was still vague in this era, and the monarch was the core and head of the political entity—its war potential did not lie in the amount of silver stored in the national treasury, but in how much funding it could acquire from various channels.
Of course, these 'various channels' basically referred to various forms of loans.
Italy's developed banking industry, the Fugger Family, Europe's wealthiest, imperial princes with vast fortunes, and common people willing to pay for a monarch's whims—they provided large sums of money to monarchs through loans, subsidies, and the purchase of war bonds.
Most of this money was used for war, and a portion was used to handle important affairs, such as campaigning for Emperor.
Historically, Charles V's election as Emperor cost a staggering eight hundred thousand florins, slightly more than King François of France.
Such fierce competition left the Electors flush with cash but nearly bankrupted the two great European powers, Spain and France.
Even so, they subsequently chose to continue the protracted and far-reaching Italian Wars to contend for Italy.
In this decades-long war, Charles V repeatedly suppressed the French King, relying on his more substantial financial resources, which made bankers, nobles, and commoners eager to lend him money.
His vast royal territories, mines, trade privileges, colonial assets, and his personal prestige always enabled him to borrow money to continue the war.
However, even a powerful figure like Charles V had times when he couldn't raise funds; when facing the pressure of multi-front warfare, Charles V chose to defend Vienna against the Ottoman army, but the Italian army did not receive its pay, and these audacious mercenaries ultimately chose to sack Rome.
Therefore, relying on loans to maintain the functioning of the state and the army was undoubtedly extremely risky.
Of course, there were also some monarchs who were not extravagant and were very good at making money; their countries and armies were relatively stable.
For example, King John II of Portugal in history, who externally encouraged the opening of new sea routes and vigorously developed Portugal's commerce and handicrafts, and internally suppressed the increasingly powerful nobility, greatly strengthening royal authority.
During his reign, Portugal repaid the large debts left over from the time of Alfonso V and made the Portuguese treasury increasingly abundant, and the national power grew stronger.
Therefore, this John II was given a resounding title at the time—the 'Perfect Monarch'.
If Emperor Laszlo were to choose between being a monarch like Charles V or like John II, he would, of course, choose the latter: a solid foundation, free from bearing massive risks.
However, his geopolitical environment and domestic political ecosystem were already not far from Charles V's.
Don't be fooled by how easily he was defeating the Venetians now; once conflicts simultaneously erupted with the Ottoman Empire, Italy, France, and within the German Empire, his purse would almost instantly evaporate.
The purpose of Emperor Laszlo's westward journey was precisely to prevent such a situation from occurring.
After confirming that the situation in Lower Austria had fully stabilized, Emperor Laszlo and his mobile court hastened to Linz.
Elector Albrecht IV of Bavaria had already led his retinue and waited for the Emperor in Linz for a long time.
Inside the Linz Palace, or rather, Linz Castle, Emperor Laszlo dined with several important companions, discussing the important matters soon to come.
The Emperor sat at the head of the table, and to his left sat Bernhard, the Salzburg Archbishop and Imperial Advisor, clad in red robes—he had been formally promoted to Cardinal two weeks prior.
Next to Bernhard was Carlo Balbo, the Papal Nuncio to the Empire; after completing his work in Venice, he was dispatched to reside permanently in Vienna, maintaining close contact between the Pope and the Emperor.
To Emperor Laszlo's right sat his future son-in-law, the compliant Elector Albrecht IV of Bavaria.
According to intelligence received by Emperor Laszlo, this Elector, who had once served as his close confidant, had not made any moves against him, merely using a small maneuver to reclaim the territories left by his deceased brother Sigismund to his two younger brothers, and sending his brother Christopher to Milan for further studies.
His other brother, Wolfgang, was currently serving as a close attendant behind Emperor Laszlo, and the young man's gaze towards his elder brother Albrecht was full of envy, almost solidifying into a tangible form.
Albrecht calmly ignored Wolfgang's gaze, focusing his energy on the current discussion.
"Earlier this year, when I received your letter summoning the princes, I was somewhat surprised. It seems you are full of confidence in defeating Venice, and now you can even spare attention for Imperial affairs," Albrecht glanced at the Emperor and said expectantly, "I truly hope the price of spice can return to normal soon, otherwise I wouldn't dare host banquets to celebrate festivals anymore."
If one were to ask who was the wealthiest in the entire Empire, it was undoubtedly Emperor Laszlo, but if one were to ask who loved to host the grandest banquets within the Empire, people would most likely recount the various Dukes of Bavaria throughout history.
In the banquet records of the past decades, the several grand wedding feasts and knightly tournaments hosted by the Wittelsbach family of Bavaria were always praised for their extravagance.
Eating ten thousand florins worth of food at a week-long banquet was not an exaggeration, but a true reflection of the situation.
Even Emperor Laszlo rarely hosted such grand celebrations, though no one dared to call him stingy.
To host such a banquet, besides purchasing large quantities of livestock and grain, the greatest expense was always the spices; the more and more precious the spices used at a banquet, the more people would respect the host and praise his generosity and wealth.
This was probably an old tradition of the Wittelsbach family, and now even Albrecht could not escape it.
He had already begun to entrust people to plan his future grand wedding with the Imperial Princess, even though Princess Helena was only seven years old.
Of course, Albrecht was not a pedophile; what he truly cared about were the political resources and advantages this marriage would bring him.
In fact, after several failed attempts, Albrecht had given up the idea of expanding his territory.
Now that the Habsburg Family was at its peak, the young and mature Albrecht decided to bide his time, first offering loyalty to the Emperor; doing so was certainly much safer than resorting to covert schemes.
Moreover, Albrecht's impression of the Emperor was quite good; in his view, the Emperor possessed benevolence, patience, genius, victory, and good fortune, undoubtedly a wise monarch.
Even after making such a decision, the Emperor's sudden war against Venice still displeased Albrecht.
It wasn't for any other reason; the root of the dissatisfaction was mainly that the war disrupted trade routes, causing the prices of valuable goods in Augsburg to rise,
which harmed the economic interests of many South German Imperial Estates, including himself.
The Venice-Augsburg trade route was like an important river nourishing the entire South German region.
Now the Emperor had built a dam upstream on the river, opening and closing it at will, not only ruining many merchants who relied on this trade route but also causing many princes to face losses.
"Don't worry, the difficulties are only temporary. Just grit your teeth and hold on."
Emperor Laszlo, of course, understood Albrecht's implied meaning and knew that this was not just his wish alone, but that he wanted Austria to proactively make peace with Venice and restore normal commercial activities.
However, Emperor Laszlo had no intention of easily letting Venice off the hook, and thus could only ignore their pleas.
Seeing that the Emperor was unmoved, Albrecht sighed softly and did not continue the topic.
"More than two years have passed since the last Imperial Conference. What are your plans this time?"
In fact, during these two years, the various states of the Empire had also sent representatives to hold two routine Imperial Diets in the Imperial Free Cities designated by the Emperor.
Their main purpose was for the various estates of the Empire to communicate more among themselves and then pass some inconsequential bills, which were basically useless.
However, in the eyes of the lower estates of the Empire, the prestige of this Imperial Diet was growing day by day, because they could use this platform to make their opinions heard by the Emperor and the Electors.
But this year's Imperial Diet, to be held in Nuremberg, carried much more weight, as the Emperor would not gather all the princes to argue for no reason.
"Carlo, you tell them."
Emperor Laszlo turned his gaze to the Imperial Nuncio Carlo, who pulled a parchment from his pocket and unfolded it before the others.
"This is the latest edict issued by the Holy See, at the request of His Imperial Majesty. The Holy See admonishes all Imperial princes to cease all internal disputes and immediately begin preparations for the next Crusade.
The same edict will also be sent to France, Iberia, and England. This is for the common wish of the Holy See and His Imperial Majesty: to expel the infidels and restore Constantinople."
Carlo's expression was holy and solemn, as if, just as he said, this edict and the upcoming Imperial Diet were all for the holy faith.
Another "Feast of Pheasants"? The Emperor truly deserved his title as "Defender of the Faith"; after so many years, he was still using such excuses to deceive the princes?
But this time, it probably wasn't that simple.
Albrecht thought this in his heart, then eagerly said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, defending the faith and gaining glory is our mission. I will fully support your launching of a new Crusade."
"Al, if other princes were as understanding as you, there wouldn't be so many troubles."
Emperor Laszlo smiled at Albrecht; this young man had always been sensible, perhaps it was time to give him some reward for his loyalty.
Emperor Laszlo knew exactly what Albrecht yearned for, but before truly fulfilling his desires, he couldn't just listen to what he said, but also observe what he did.
Emperor Laszlo was very pleased to secure the support of an Elector before the Imperial Conference.
This simple dinner concluded with everyone enjoying themselves, and early the next morning, Emperor Laszlo and his followers departed from Linz, heading towards Nuremberg.