In Vienna, crowds surged near St. Stephens Cathedral, with cheers and praises echoing incessantly.
Laszlo and the accompanying Imperial Guard were conducting their customary triumphal procession through the city.
However, this time, people's gazes did not linger on the long-familiar imperial warriors; instead, they marveled at the dozens of wagons following the procession, laden with various spoils of war.
The Emperor had even brought back items like bronze sculptures, and people could even see a portrait placed in a prominent position.
The person in the painting wore a black top hat and red robes, with hands clasped inside sleeves, possessing a solemn expression that commanded respect.
Unfortunately, people of this era knew very little about distant affairs, and no one could recognize the subject of the portrait as the renowned "Victorious King" Charles VII of France.
This portrait was found by Laszlo in the Louvre Palace; it was said to be the last portrait left by Charles VII before his death. For some reason, it was not taken away by Louis XI and eventually fell into Laszlo's hands.
Although Charles VIII hoped to keep his father's portrait in France, Laszlo decided to keep it as part of his personal collection.
A widely recognized puppet king could not bargain with an Emperor at the peak of his prestige over such matters.
After completing the customary mass in the cathedral and praying for the clergy who died in the imperial war, Laszlo returned to the Hofburg Palace after a long absence.
Just as he crossed the courtyard, Laszlo saw his wife waiting expectantly.
Before he could react, a blur appeared before his eyes as Joanna threw herself into his arms, while the surrounding attendants looked on with smiles.
Although the thought was shameless, Laszlo was beginning to understand the sentiment that "men all love eighteen-year-old girls."
Perhaps, he was just a scumbag.
After snuggling in his arms for a while, Joanna blushed and broke free from the embrace, taking his hand to accompany him to visit the Empress Dowager's residence.
One couldn't blame her for being clingy; after all, she was a young girl who had only recently reached adulthood. In several years of marriage, her husband had only spent a few months with her; the rest of the time, he was either in meetings or at war.
Having grown up in a convent with an aunt who became a nun in her teens, Joanna had originally abandoned those worldly desires and intended to follow her aunt's path and live her life as a nun.
Unfortunately, a "bad man" ruined her wish, forcibly pulling her into this marriage, then carelessly leaving her in an unfamiliar court while entrusting her with various tasks.
Logically, she should have felt resentment or at least thrown a tantrum, but this man made it impossible for her to stay angry. After Little Rudolf was born, she lost her temper even less.
Laszlo was unaware of his wife's thoughts; he only felt that since their last meeting, Joanna had gradually shed her childishness and begun to show the charm of a mature woman.
This was likely the change brought about by having a child.
At the Empress Dowager's residence, Laszlo was surprised to find that the attendants had already begun packing luggage.
"Mother, are you leaving already?" Laszlo asked with a frown.
"Yes, seeing you return safely, my mind is at ease. As for Hungary, you should take more time to visit; do not distance yourself from the Hungarians because of personal likes or dislikes," Elizabeth couldn't help but urge him a bit more.
Laszlo loathed the Hungarian nobility and parliament, and thus was unwilling to stay in Budapest for long. Elizabeth decided to go to Hungary herself to help her son keep an eye on things there.
After all, she had grown up in Budapest.
Now that her paternal Luxembourg Family and maternal Counts of Celje had both fallen, and the inheritance of both families had gone to her son and the Habsburg Family, the threat the Empress Dowager could pose on a political level had completely vanished.
She now only hoped, as a mother, to use her status to provide as much help as possible for her son.
Laszlo was not unaware of the Empress Dowager's thoughts; in fact, Elizabeth's affection for Laszlo bordered on doting. Although he didn't want to admit it, he indeed took advantage of this.
As long as the Empress Dowager stayed in Budapest, she wouldn't even need to do anything extra for the hearts of the Hungarian people to be much more settled.
"I understand, Mother. Regarding Hungary, I have indeed been too willful; I will treat it with prudence in the future."
""
Laszlo nodded somewhat helplessly and answered solemnly.
Well, it seemed he was not only a scumbag but also an overaged mama's boy now... Though not quite at the level of François I, he wasn't far off.
"I won't keep you two any longer. Go see Little Rudolf; he's a very lovely child."
Laszlo and Joanna were almost pushed out of the room by the Empress Dowager, who was happy to see her son move past his former grief.
The two then spent some time with the children, playing for a while with Rudolf, who was still in swaddling clothes.
The child's constitution seemed a bit weak, so he wasn't very active; he would play for a while, then fall asleep after being fed.
In the time that followed, Joanna finally got to be alone with her long-awaited husband.
"Laszlo, about the Styria matter..."
Just as they returned to their bedchamber and before they could exchange sweet nothings, Joanna was already planning to start her work report.
Laszlo interrupted her, half-amused and half-exasperated: "Leave those troublesome matters for tomorrow; there are more important things to do now."
"What?" Joanna asked in confusion.
"Doing what you should be doing, of course," Laszlo laughed as he picked her up.
Even though they were an old married couple, Joanna still lowered her head shyly.
As the saying goes, "a brief absence is better than a honeymoon"; it was undoubtedly a pleasant night.
Early the next morning, Laszlo went to his study, intending to handle the backlog of political affairs, understand the situation in Austria, and prepare for the upcoming Privy Council meeting.
Laszlo, who was still a bit lethargic after the night, suddenly perked up upon seeing the list of the Styrian noble faction presented by Archbishop Georg.
"Ho, I didn't expect to see so many familiar surnames on such a list. This Henry von Liechtenstein is..."
"He is the Lord of Nikolsburg; his cousin, Lord Murau, is currently the Governor of Moravia."
"Albrecht von Rohr?"
"The cousin of the current Pope, and the magistrate of Wels in Upper Austria."
"Sigismund von Aeching?"
"The cousin of the former Chief Minister, Lord Eyczing, and the administrator of the royal woodlands in Styria."
"One after another, none of them are easy to deal with?"
Laszlo complained irritably, and the lingering thought of using force in his mind vanished.
Many of these people who came out to resist the tribute taxes were from prominent Austrian families, such as the Liechtenstein and Eyczing families, as well as the recently rising Rohr family.
Bernhard von Rohr's election as Pope had made the family's name more prominent, and now they even dared to get involved in such matters.
However, the pretext of this war was to deal with the rival papacy. As a relative of the Pope, how did this fellow dare to come out and take the opportunity to oppose the tribute taxes?
Wasn't this clearly indicating that he wasn't opposing the war, but opposing the Emperor?
"His Majesty, they have received their due punishment and will not be allowed to join factions opposing you in the future." Archbishop Georg also knew these people were troublesome to handle, so he quickly provided a way out.
"Just that is too lenient for them."
After studying the list for a while, Laszlo picked out several landed nobles serving as local officials, represented by Albrecht von Rohr.
"Dismiss all these people later and replace them with a batch of more loyal officials."
It was necessary to make an example of them; if these guys were let off so lightly, someone would surely jump out again next time.
"Do you intend to personally appoint people to succeed them?"
"No, I have a new plan this time. Franche-Comté and Milan will need many officials to fill vacancies soon, and with these few spots, I intend to select suitable talents through two rounds of examination."
"Two rounds?"
Archbishop Georg had also presided over court examinations, which at the time screened dozens of talents proficient in Roman law, some of whom were assigned to various places, while others joined the Emperor's court.
From the Emperor's tone, this time seemed somewhat different from before.
"The first examination will be held at Vienna University. Of course, students and legal practitioners from the University of Freiburg, Charles University in Prague, the University of Pavia, and the University of Pécs are also eligible to participate. The content of the exam will be drafted by professors from the university's law school and approved by you, as the compiler of the Imperial Code. "
"As for the scope of the examination, the Seven Liberal Arts are the foundation, with the focus on Roman law and imperial law."
"Your Majesty, this seems not much different from the content of our previous official examinations."
"The content is similar, but the difficulty can be lowered a bit. Have you heard of the old system of the University of Constantinople in the Eastern Empire?"
"You mean, conducting examinations for all legal practitioners to verify their professional level?" Archbishop Georg quickly grasped the Emperor's intention.
"Yes, just as I recruited the Brotherhood of St. Mark in Vienna New City to train swordsmen, warriors who obtain a Master Swordsman Certificate are given priority in recruitment and receive preferential treatment in terms of salary. "
"Regarding legal affairs, we'll leave it to the joint approval of the Vienna University Law School and the government, likewise recognizing the examinees' professional level in the form of a certificate. "
"Professionals with certificates will be given priority when selecting officials, and extra stipends and such can also be tried out. "
"I intend to make this examination permanent, first encouraging legal practitioners to obtain certificates through legislation in Austria, and if feasible, expanding this to the entire empire. "
"Of course, the certificates are issued in the name of the Emperor; the reputation within the empire will have to be built up slowly."
Laszlo rested his chin on his hand, pondering if there was anything else missing.
Then, while Archbishop Georg was still busy recording the Emperor's instructions, Laszlo said with a serious expression: "I believe that legal practitioners must understand the law."
"Not just government officials like royal judges and magistrates, but also lawyers, notaries, and litigation agents should all possess sufficient professional knowledge."
"The Imperial Code you compiled with the late Pius II, based on Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis, still has many areas needing supplementation, but it's sufficient for now. The urgent task is to promote the revival of Roman law in the empire and reorganize the empire's chaotic system of customary laws."
"This examination can be seen as the second step in our forward progress."
Seeing the Emperor's high-spirited appearance, the elderly Archbishop Georg was also moved to passion.
Indeed, the empire's administrative system was becoming increasingly refined, but the judicial systems in various places were extremely chaotic. Although branches of the Imperial Chamber Court established in different regions could handle disputes between princes, the laws used in the broader imperial localities were a hodgepodge.
The western regions used laws remaining from the era of Charlemagne, while the east and north were entirely dominated by the customary laws of Germanic tribes, which advocated heavy punishment for light offenses and were extremely harsh.
If he could work with the Emperor to reorganize the empire's legal system and reintroduce civilized Roman law into the vast "barbaric lands" of German, such an achievement would surely be remembered by future generations.
"Your Majesty, I suggest you convene the lawyers of Vienna to promote the establishment of a Bar Association, so they can also participate in this reform and gradually implement the standardization of the legal profession in other cities."
"Yes, let's do that." Laszlo thought of cities like Venice, Milan, and Florence, which indeed had Bar Associations, as did Paris, but such associations were rare in the cities of the empire.
"Also, the second examination you mentioned should be for examining and selecting talents within the court to expand the bureaucratic system, right?"
"Yes, that will be the same as before, held when there is a significant personnel shortage. It won't be limited to Austrians; subjects from other regions can also participate, such as those from Bohemia, Hungary, and Milan. The basic requirement is the ability to use German."
Speaking of German, Laszlo recalled his previous argument with Maximilian.
Today, the empire had no so-called official language. Swabia, Bavaria, and Austria used High German, further north was Central German, and the northernmost was Low German. Dialect phenomena were particularly severe, with different sounds every few miles being a common issue.
However, with the expansion of his power, the language used by Austrians also began to spread within the empire.
The languages and cultures of Bavaria and Austria were very similar, and the influence on Swabia was also gradually deepening, but it was difficult to exert influence further north.
To truly unify the empire's language would likely be more difficult than unifying the empire's laws—even though the latter was already a goal almost impossible to achieve in a single generation.
Putting aside these miscellaneous thoughts, Laszlo breathed a long sigh of relief: "That's about it. Organize it into a proposal, then we'll discuss it at the Privy Council meeting. Hmm... the Imperial Privy Council can also discuss this topic."
"Then I shall take my leave. Additionally, here are some important pending matters from various states; I'll leave them for you to handle."
Archbishop Georg patted the high stack of documents on Laszlo's desk, choosing to torment the Emperor in return.
Seeing the Emperor close his eyes in pain, the Archbishop's mood seemed to lighten a bit.
In short, no one gets to slack off.