On their way back, the army arrived in Brno and rested there for a night. A papal envoy arrived in Brno at this time, claiming to be from Rome to recall Cardinal Nicholas.
Laszlo immediately sent for Nicholas and asked the envoy what had happened at the Holy See.
"His Holiness the Pope is gravely ill and has summoned Bishop Nicholas back to the Holy See to prepare for the next papal election as a member of the College of Cardinals."
The envoy informed the two of this important news.
Laszlo was surprised at first, then overjoyed; this was a heaven-sent opportunity.
"You may leave first. Bishop Nicholas will return to Rome with you shortly."
"Yes, Emperor."
After the envoy withdrew, Laszlo immediately pulled Nicholas aside and began to scheme.
"This is a great opportunity, Nicholas!"
Nicholas nodded slightly, but then sighed softly and said, "Your Majesty, do you intend to manipulate the papal election?"
Laszlo smiled and said, "Haven't you always wanted to promote Church reform? And I also need support from Rome for my actions to re-establish imperial authority in Italy. This is a great win-win situation."
"You are thinking too simply, Your Majesty. The powerful families within Rome are intertwined, and they can have a significant impact on the election. Moreover, if you manipulate the election through bribery or other means, it goes against my principles. If I were to be elected Pope in such a way, how could I possibly promote reform within the Church?"
Laszlo shook his head and earnestly persuaded him, "Given how corrupt the Holy See is now, only by conforming to the rules can you ascend to that position. But once you are there, won't you have the power to change everything?
Moreover, you yourself are highly respected within the Church; I am merely offering a little help.
Look, throughout history, among so many Popes, the number of German Popes can be counted on one hand. It is precisely for this reason that the Emperor and the Pope are often at odds.
We are now at a critical turning point in history. My imperial reform needs the support of the Pope, and your reform of the Holy See will certainly need power to contend with those unruly Italians.
This is merely an expedient measure that must be adopted to achieve a greater goal."
Nicholas looked at the young Emperor with satisfaction. He had not expected the Emperor to possess such eloquence, which almost swayed him.
"Don't hesitate, Nicholas, opportunities are rare. I will fully support you, and if you succeed in being elected Pope, please do not forget the Emperor's favor."
"This…" Nicholas was conflicted deep down, but thinking of the increasingly corrupt Church and the disintegrating Empire, he finally chose to agree, "I'm not sure if I will ultimately succeed, but I will do my best."
"Good!"
Laszlo immediately wrote a letter and sent it by express messenger back to Vienna for Aeching, instructing him to select some officials skilled in negotiation.
As soon as Nicholas arrived in Vienna, they would depart together for Rome with a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels.
To protect Nicholas's safety, Laszlo also selected some highly skilled warriors from his Imperial Guard cavalry to serve as his escorts.
After a simple farewell dinner, Nicholas and the papal envoy departed first, heading to Vienna, and then directly to Rome.
Soon after, the Imperial Army returned to Vienna, but this time, Laszlo did not allow the Imperial Army to return to their respective garrisons.
The reason was simple: the King of Naples had already sent more than a dozen letters of appeal, hoping the Emperor would send more reinforcements to help his brother.
The French were about to arrive in Genoa, seemingly poised to follow the same route as their first invasion of Naples.
This French force was stronger, not weaker, than the previous one. Although Ferdinando had almost purged the remaining Anjou factions in his country,
Naples alone was simply unable to resist the French invasion.
Inside Hofburg Palace, at the first Privy Council meeting since their return from the campaign, Laszlo was reading Aeching's diplomatic analysis report on various regions.
The main content, of course, was still the Naples issue, as well as intelligence gathered by spies about secret contacts between France and the Ottoman.
"Wait? The Ottoman are almost driven out of Europe, and the French are still seeking them out?"
Laszlo was somewhat speechless. This unholy alliance made him feel a deep sense of malice, but it was only malice. As for a threat?
The Ottoman were unlikely to have the strength to return to Europe within five years; the rebellions in central Anatolia had not even been quelled yet.
France did have some strength, but he also had Burgundy, a good ally. He figured France couldn't stir up much trouble.
"Are the Venetians really making no moves?"
"They have been making some small moves behind the scenes, but other than that, they have been extremely quiet."
Laszlo chuckled and shook his head, "I overestimated them. I specifically left a lot of troops to guard strictly, but they actually sold out the Polish so decisively. However, they wouldn't think that by not acting, they wouldn't get hit, would they?"
Adolf's expression changed, and he said with a hint of anticipation, "Are you planning to launch a punitive war against the Venetians as well?
Their Doge is still under papal excommunication. We can take advantage of this opportune moment…
3
Laszlo waved his hand, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Let's first find a way to save Naples. I don't know what got into the King of France, but he's fighting so hard to help the Duke of Anjou seize Naples. It doesn't make sense."
Aeching, however, said at this moment, "Your Majesty, our spies have uncovered a piece of intelligence, of unknown veracity. It is said that the King of France agreed to the second military expedition because he signed an agreement with the Duke of Lorraine: if the Duke of Lorraine dies without issue, the throne of Naples will be transferred to the French royal family."
"This…"
Laszlo felt this kind of agreement was very familiar. "Oh, you, King of France, have also learned to take advantage of childless noble families, and even want to take advantage of your vassal's childless family." Now it was not difficult to understand why the King of France was so zealous. Perhaps even if the Duke of Lorraine had children in the future, they would unfortunately die prematurely due to various accidents.
After all, Charles VII was still relatively good. His son Louis was a guy who would stop at nothing to expand royal territory and strengthen French centralization. Who knows what he would do for the Naples throne.
"Then Naples absolutely cannot fall into French hands," Laszlo stroked his chin, pondering. The French were coming fiercely; how should they respond?
"Can a defensive counterattack like last time succeed?" Laszlo asked Adolf.
Adolf gently shook his head, "Your Majesty, last time, the Naples navy firmly controlled the sea, and the French Army could not blockade Naples, nor could they besiege and break the city. But this time, the Genoese navy, hired by the French, combined with the French navy, has strength far surpassing the Naples navy. As long as Naples is blockaded by both land and sea, the defenders inside the city will be unable to hold out for long."
"The navy, huh."
Laszlo's expression was somewhat complex. This was something Austria didn't have, but it was extremely important.
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that the establishment of a navy should perhaps be put on the agenda, but upon careful consideration, for a navy to truly be effective, its scale would at least need to reach the level of the Venetian navy.
The cost for that was incalculable, so Laszlo, for the Nth time, shot down the idea of establishing a navy in his mind.
It was better to continue expanding the army. As long as the enemy was defeated on land, everything would be fine.
"I plan to form a mixed force of the Hungarian Border Guard, some Serbian Army, and the Imperial Army, to cross the Adriatic Sea and reinforce Naples. Who is suitable to command this army?"
"Hmm, how about having Szilágyi, the Hungarian military commander, lead the expedition?" Adolf, after careful consideration, recommended Janos's successor. "He is a steady general, capable of commanding an expeditionary force."
Laszlo recalled observing Szilágyi's stats when he first met him.
The data was as follows: [General Attributes: Firepower 3, Shock 3, Maneuver 2, Siege 1].
But then he remembered that the French commander this time was the renowned general Jean Bureau.
This was one of the two two-star divine generals France had at the start of 1444. Laszlo vaguely remembered his attributes as [General Attributes: Firepower 4, Shock 4, Maneuver 1, Siege 3].
Such strength almost completely overwhelmed Szilágyi, and the French had brought a lot of artillery this time.
Jean Bureau was the first artillery commander in human history to serve as a supreme commander of all three branches of the military.
In the Battle of Castillon in 1453, the "last battle of the Hundred Years' War," his artillery bombardment disoriented and decisively defeated the English army, earning Charles VII victory in this century-long war. Thereafter, Charles VII was known as Charles the Victorious.
"No, no, Adolf, you should lead the troops yourself. Oh, and we also need to invite Skanderbeg," Laszlo thought of the fiercest man in Albania, then turned to Aeching and instructed, "Immediately send a diplomat to persuade Skanderbeg to send troops to aid Naples again. We won't let him send troops for free; we can promise him some compensation first, like five thousand or six thousand florins."
"Your Majesty, who will pay for this?" Jacob, hearing money mentioned, immediately asked with concern,
"Of course, Naples…." Laszlo paused, "We can advance the funds first, and then seek reimbursement from Naples later."
"That will likely be very difficult, Your Majesty," Jacob did not hold out hope for this. "Naples' situation is quite dire, and the loans we provide may be difficult to recover for a long time."
"Oh, it's most important to save Naples. Don't get bogged down in these details for now. Didn't we make a large sum from fighting Poland this time?" Laszlo was somewhat helpless. Anyone could get Naples, but not the French.
"Let's proceed with these arrangements, Adolf, I'm counting on you."
"Your Majesty, I will do my best."
With the Privy Council meeting concluded, Austria's military and diplomatic departments immediately began to diligently execute the Emperor's orders. Simultaneously, the governments of Hungary and Serbia also received the Emperor's commands and began to mobilize troops, forming an expeditionary force of about twenty thousand men.
The assembly point for this army was the Croatian coast, from where they would cross the sea to Naples.