Although the armies of Burgundy and France had not yet engaged in direct combat, the war between them had undoubtedly broken out in full force. When Laszlo received the news, he even felt a bit pleased, as his opportunity had finally arrived.
To fish in troubled waters, one must first stir the waters, and Duke Charles of Burgundy was the best tool in Laszlo's hand.
However, not long after the war in the west began, a new upheaval also occurred in the distant east.
A rebellion once again broke out within the Principality of Wallachia. Some people and nobles, dissatisfied with the tyrannical rule of Vlad the Impaler III, supported Radu, a claimant to the princely throne who appeared out of nowhere, as the new Prince, and launched a massive rebellion.
Compared to the previous rebellion instigated by Vlad's uncle, Dan III, this rebellion seemed to be on a larger scale.
The main reasons for all this were, of course, Vlad's extremely unstable, almost insane mental state and his pathological love for tormenting others. Another key point was that the leader of this rebellion, Radu, was Vlad's closest blood relative in this world, meaning Vlad's biological younger brother.
Years ago, the father of the two brothers—or, more precisely, four brothers—Prince Vlad II, handed over Vlad and Radu as hostages to the Sultan, and soon after, faced retaliation from the Hungarian army.
Vlad II and his eldest son, Mihai, were killed by the Hungarians. Vlad and Radu, the brothers, were left in the Sultan's court until Vlad was later sent back to Wallachia to contend for the princely throne to fulfill the Sultan's ambitions.
Who would have thought that after being defeated by the Hungarian army, Vlad would turn his back on the Ottoman and swear allegiance to Laszlo, King of Hungary, and later contribute greatly to the Crusade.
Now, Vlad III, firmly seated as Prince of Wallachia, had become one of the most hated people by Mehmed II.
To weaken Emperor Laszlo's power in the east, Mehmed II, taking advantage of a large-scale civil unrest in Bulgaria and the Hungarian army entering Bulgaria for reinforcement, sent Radu, who had been kept in the palace, back to Wallachia, and colluded with the Wallachian nobles who had long harbored rebellious intentions, launching the third Wallachian civil unrest since Vlad came to power.
Meanwhile, Stephen III, Prince of Moldavia, who had previously sent troops to reinforce Wallachia, was now entangled with the Ottomans who were plundering along the Black Sea.
Without external assistance, Vlad III could only quickly assemble an army, preparing to quell the rebellion launched by his brother with his own strength.
On the outskirts of Vienna, Laszlo, accompanied by officials and attendants, was inspecting the Vienna-Graz highway, which had already begun construction. This north-south main road in Austria was named the Royal Highway. Although the name sounded a bit tasteless, it could achieve excellent propaganda effects.
In Laszlo's view, the purpose of road construction was to benefit the people, promote commerce, and meet military needs. This was a tangible achievement, a great opportunity to promote good governance.
For the officials in charge of this matter, building this road to facilitate the Emperor's southern tour to Styria or even to Italy was the most important thing.
Hired laborers and conscripted workers with bare backs were busy on the muddy construction site. Under the direction of engineers, they cleared debris, dug more than half a meter deep into the surface, filled it with hard materials such as crushed stone and gravel, and repeatedly compacted it with wooden hammers.
These roads would then need a transitional layer of sand and small stones, and finally, flat bluestone slabs or granite blocks would be laid on top to form the road surface.
This paving technique was brought by engineers from Florence, essentially an imitation of ancient Roman architectural techniques, and certainly much better than other roads of the same era.
If there was any drawback to this type of road, it was that it was too expensive; the cost of paving stone slab roads was extremely high.
Unless Laszlo could immediately transform the Empire into a powerful centralized state, perhaps by mobilizing the entire Empire's resources, such early 'highways' could be laid throughout Austria.
However, this was clearly impossible. To save expenses, Laszlo accepted the engineers' suggestion to build these high-quality roads only in sections near major towns along the route.
For the remaining sections, a cheaper road construction method would be used, widening the roads, improving drainage, and trying to enhance the durability of the roads as much as possible.
This was undoubtedly a process requiring long-term investment. Fortunately, the Independent Army had recently been leased to Burgundy, which not only saved Laszlo a large sum in military expenses but also generated additional income, filling Laszlo with confidence for future road construction plans.
"Your Majesty, the Chief Minister has arrived."
Laszlo was still on horseback, inspecting the construction site under the curious gaze of the laborers, when his attendant, Stephen, rushed over to report. Considering that it was not far from Vienna, it was not strange for Eyczing to come to him personally.
However, Eyczing would clearly not leave Vienna for trivial matters, which immediately made Laszlo prepare for bad news.
"Eyczing, has something happened?"
Laszlo immediately asked upon seeing Eyczing.
"Your Majesty, a rebellion has broken out again in Wallachia. This time, the leader of the rebels is Prince Vlad's brother, Radu."
Radu the Handsome? Wasn't he Mehmed II's male concubine... servant? How could he suddenly return to Wallachia and stir up a rebellion?
Laszlo's eyes flickered, and he immediately understood the crux of the matter.
"So, it's the Ottomans's doing again?"
"I believe that is precisely the case. The Ottomans has gone to great lengths to preserve Venice. First, they incited the Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria to revolt, and now they have sent a claimant back to Wallachia to cause unrest. All of this is likely aimed at forcing us to weaken or even halt our offensive in Greece."
Eyczing frowned slightly, feeling somewhat apprehensive about the various sudden developments.
Who would have thought that the Ottomans, who had almost been driven out of continental Europe, had so many hidden cards?
If the Ottomans had kept these hidden dangers concealed and detonated them at a crucial moment, it was possible that all the Emperor's eastern territories would be lost and return to Ottomans hands.
Fortunately, this time the Venetians truly could not withstand the pressure, and the Ottomans, fearing that Constantinople would be threatened if the Venetians were defeated, had no choice but to use these hidden moves first. This, in turn, gave the Emperor ample time to deal with these hidden troubles.
"Everyone's methods are practically the same," Laszlo quickly regained his calm demeanor, smiling as he said, "The trouble we created for Mehmed II in Karaman is based on the same principle.
There's no need to rush regarding Wallachia. Has Vlad sent anyone to ask for help?"
"Unfortunately, he has not sought our assistance. He merely informed us of the matter and referred to this rebellion as his family affair, appearing unwilling for us to intervene."
Eyczing sighed, saying.
"A clever choice, but unfortunately ineffective," Laszlo shook his head. "He doesn't want to lose his current semi-autonomous status, so he naturally doesn't want me to intervene in the internal rebellion of Wallachia, after all, this rebellion is very different from the previous one incited by Hunyadi.
However, even if he quells the civil unrest on his own, after his death, I will abolish Wallachia's independent status and transform it into a new frontier of the Habsburg Empire.
For now, let Vlad, this sharp sword, continue to play its role."
The Wallachians fighting among themselves to the death did not have much impact on Laszlo; he could intervene to settle the country at any time. For now, it was better to trust Vlad's strength.
Eyczing then continued: "Also, regarding the Karaman Beylik you mentioned, its ruler, Bilal Ahmed, after a period of arduous struggle, has finally recovered some lost territories.
Now, Mehmed II is preoccupied and poses no great threat to the Balkans.
Instead, a piece of news recently brought back by Genoese merchants may indicate that the Ottomans is about to face a new formidable enemy."
This aroused Laszlo's curiosity. Besides him, the Emperor, what other formidable enemy could the Ottoman Sultan have?
If not in the west, then it could only be from the east, which immediately made Laszlo pinpoint his target.
"Are you referring to Uzun Hassan of the White Sheep Dynasty?"
"Your insight into the situation is truly astonishing," Eyczing exclaimed sincerely. "A year ago, Jahan Shah, the ruler of the Black Sheep Dynasty, the greatest nemesis of the White Sheep Dynasty, led an army to invade the White Sheep but was defeated and killed by Uzun Hassan.
Since then, the Black Sheep has been unable to resist the White Sheep's invasion and is now on the verge of being annihilated.
Jahan Shah's son, Ali, fled to the distant Timurid Empire for assistance. This empire is the nominal suzerain of the Anatolian states.
Timur's army subsequently invaded the White Sheep, but was completely annihilated by Uzun Hassan not long ago.
If all goes as expected, a powerful state comparable to the ancient Persian Empire will emerge to the east of the Ottoman.
And Mehmed II and Uzun Hassan had already fought a battle three years ago, where the Ottomans's eastward advance was directly halted, forcing them to turn their attention to Karaman, which led to the current situation."
After listening to the news Eyczing brought, Laszlo had to admit that Uzun Hassan was indeed a powerful monarch.
Not only did he slay the enemy's monarch in battle, but he also severely beat up the suzerain state. One must know that it was the Timurid Empire.
Decades ago, it was Timur who nearly brought the rising Ottoman Empire to its demise, but this great empire that once dominated Central Asia has now fallen into a complete decline.
And the White Sheep Dynasty is very likely to succeed Timur as the new hegemon of Central Asia in the coming decades.
In Laszlo's eyes, this was not a huge threat from an infidel nation, but an excellent ally against the Ottomans.
If he could unite with the White Sheep and the half-dead Mamluk, using Karaman as a pivot point for a "three-way partition of the Ottoman," making Mehmed II also experience the despair of the Poles, that scene would be too beautiful.
"This is indeed an object that can be won over.
Eyczing, how about sending a trustworthy envoy to accompany the Genoese along the Caucasus trade route, bringing some valuable small gifts to that monarch of the White Sheep Dynasty?"
"Your Majesty, getting too deeply entangled with infidels could easily give others cause for criticism, especially given your identity and status…" Eyczing looked troubled. He knew very well what kind of person this young Emperor, whom he had served for many years, truly was.
Despite bearing the title of "Defender of the Faith," despite speaking of righteousness and faith, in reality, the Emperor was not as pious as people imagined.
This was undoubtedly what a monarch truly should do: everything guided by the interests of the state, rather than for some vague, ethereal faith.
However, Emperor Laszlo played his two-faced role very well. Now, many great scholars and high-ranking church officials praised him as the most steadfast warrior of faith.
Since even those great scholars said so, the common people naturally believed it implicitly.
And the Emperor's flexible stance on faith was sometimes his advantage, but it could also bring him some trouble.
Aligning with infidels, perhaps no one dared to do so except for the French King, who was stubborn enough to refuse to admit it.
He didn't expect the Emperor to also start contemplating this idea now, which truly startled Eyczing.
"Just do it discreetly. Look, didn't the French King also secretly collude with the Ottomans? Did the Holy See impose any punishment on him?"
Laszlo waved his hand dismissively, understanding Eyczing's hesitation.
After all, in this era, the authority of the Holy See still held some sway.
In the original history, decades later, the Ottoman Empire's navy could directly enter the French military port of Marseille, freely plundering passing merchant ships in the heart of the Christian world, and even converting a church into a mosque in Toulon, with the Pope not even uttering a peep.
"Very well, if that is your wish."
Eyczing finally agreed, but he immediately pulled out an elaborately decorated letter from his pocket and handed it to Laszlo.
It was an invitation from Rome. Paul II hoped that Laszlo could travel to Rome to discuss matters related to the Crusade with him in person.
This made Laszlo's expression a bit awkward. He then shot Eyczing a rather displeased glare and carefully put away the letter.
"Is there anything else?"
"Regarding the collection of Imperial public donations and taxes, the two officials in charge of the Lower Rhine region, the Landgrave of Hesse and the Elector Palatine, reported that the Duchy of Lorraine refused to pay any Imperial taxes, and their Duke is currently leading troops in the Kingdom of Aragon and is unlikely to return to Lorraine in the short term.
Due to the special status of the Duchy of Lorraine, the two regional officials hope that you will adjudicate this matter."
Eyczing's words reminded Laszlo that at the Imperial Conference where the public donation tax reform was promoted, the Duke of Lorraine had refused to participate on the grounds of being away at war. Now, he was probably using the same excuse to resist paying taxes.
Laszlo was just fretting that he had no perfect example to use to deter the princes, and the Duke of Lorraine, a perfect target, had presented himself.
A lord of the Kingdom of France, from the prestigious Anjou family, as a Duke of the Empire, who disregarded the Imperial Diet and refused to fulfill his Crusade obligations—Laszlo would not be worthy of the Habsburg Family name if he didn't bring him to ruin.
"Hmm, during this trip to Rome, I will specifically discuss this matter with the Pope. That Duke of Lorraine will either pay up, or, hmph, he can just wait for excommunication and the Imperial ban."
Laszlo chuckled, speaking the harshest words in a gentle tone.