Nuremberg: After the second recess, some princes invited by the Emperor once again attended the Nuremberg Imperial Conference, where they met the Emperor's diplomat.
The first and most important agenda item of the Nuremberg Imperial Conference, the issue concerning Poland and the Teutonic Order, had concluded.
This was not because a resolution had been reached, but because the Emperor had already defeated Poland and absorbed the Teutonic Order into the Empire.
To appease the North German princes, the Emperor publicly revealed the terms he had signed with the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order: the Teutonic Order was forbidden from expanding its territory within the Empire unless granted permission by the Emperor.
This stirred the thoughts of the North German princes.
The Teutonic Order, to the princes of North Germany, was like the Duchy of Burgundy to the Rhineland princes—both were powerful helpers the Emperor used to intimidate the princes.
As long as they pleased the Emperor, they would not have to worry about invasion, so many princes began to seriously consider the issue of Imperial reform.
Imperial reform also made some initial progress, such as the establishment of a permanent parliament and the Imperial Supreme Court, which received approval from most princes; however, the Emperor and the Archbishop of Mainz had significant disagreements on the specific implementation.
However, this time the Emperor summoned some princes not to discuss Imperial reform, but for the Empire's affairs in Northern Italy.
Unfortunately, the princes showed little interest in the Italian war, as the war was quite distant from them, and even if the Emperor completely devastated Italy, it would not affect them.
Ultimately, the Emperor only collected a war tax once from the Imperial Free Cities, and the amount was pitifully small; over eighty free cities together contributed less than twenty thousand florins to the Emperor.
Laszlo had long anticipated this and did not hold too much hope; as long as the Imperial princes did not cause trouble and annoy him behind his back, he was already satisfied.
Austria's diplomatic focus at this time was on dismantling the enemy's alliances.
At the Governor's Mansion in Genoa, the "New Governor" of Genoa received the envoy from Austria.
However, this conversation did not last long.
The Austrian diplomat keenly perceived that the person he was meeting and speaking with was not the true Governor of Genoa, but a France.
Connecting this with the French patrol teams seen everywhere in Genoa and the fleur-de-lis flags flying on the city walls, a terrifying conjecture emerged in his mind—Genoa had been militarily occupied by France, and a puppet government had been established.
He hastily fled Genoa by carriage, sending this news back to Vienna.
Paris: Charles VII was discussing the issue of Milan with his courtiers.
"Naples isn't finished yet, and now Milan is about to start. Does this little fellow Laszlo really think of himself as a Hungary barbarian? Is his mind full of war? But he has given us an excellent excuse."
Charles VII played with the broom flower brooch in his hand, his expression relaxed.
He was troubled by the unfavorable situation on the Italian battlefield, and he didn't expect the Emperor to actively step out and attract a wave of hatred. After negotiating with the Venice envoy, he had already made a decision:
"Charles, what are your thoughts on the Duchy of Milan?"
The King of France's gaze turned to his cousin, the Duke of Orléans, and seeing him still indifferent, he felt a bit disappointed.
Since he, as a marshal, commanded the French in the Battle of Agincourt, suffered a crushing defeat by the England army, and was captured and imprisoned in England for twenty-five years, the Duke of Orléans almost no longer participated in France politics, dedicating himself to a comfortable life, especially enjoying writing poetry.
Interestingly, the Duke of Orléans's English poems were better than his French ones.
His absence also led to the gradual control of the Orléans faction, one of the Kingdom of France's two major political factions (the Orléans faction and the Burgundy faction), by the Armagnac, transforming it into the Armagnac faction, while the Burgundy faction was almost on the verge of breaking away from France and becoming independent.
In 1440, the Duke of Orléans was released by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and thereafter he remained close to the Duke of Burgundy and joined the Order of the Golden Fleece, becoming an official member of the Order.
It was also for this reason that King Charles VII actually did not really want to help his cousin, the Duke of Orléans, seize the throne of Milan.
It seems the Duke himself has no interest in it either.
"Milan... let it be."
The Duke of Orléans, who had come to terms with everything and chose to give up, shook his head and said. He himself was a bit annoyed that the King had summoned him.
These past few days, he had planned to go hunting outside Orléans, but because the Duke of Milan died, the King called him to Paris.
What did a distant place like Milan have to do with him?
After being imprisoned in England for twenty-five years, he did not want to leave France again, because he was already very old, and he hoped to enjoy his later years peacefully in Orléans.
The Armagnac glanced at the Duke of Orléans, his eyes full of disdain. It was this useless person who led tens of thousands of troops to be completely routed by five thousand longbowmen. Now, this matter had become a laughingstock for all France nobles and even Europe nobles, completely shaming the France army.
"Your Majesty, we have successfully controlled Genoa. If we intervene in the Milan war, we can demand Pavia and Milan as compensation. The land to the south will go to Florence, the land to the west to Savoy, the land to the north to Swiss, and the land to the east to Venice. This way, they will all fully resist the Emperor for their own interests."
"Hmm, I originally wanted to try and completely take Milan, but that's really not realistic, and... well, do as you say. The Venetians want me to send an envoy to Mantua to discuss an alliance, so you will go as our country's representative."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Armagnac accepted the order and immediately set off for Northern Italy.
Representatives from various countries gathered in Mantua, and after a fierce discussion, the representatives of Ferrara and Bologna declared neutrality.
The remaining countries signed a mutual defense treaty, stating that as long as the Emperor's army set foot in Italy, all signatory nations would need to send troops to form a coalition against the Emperor.
The signatory nations were Venice, Florence, Swiss, Montferrat, France, and Genoa.
Among them, the Marquis of Montferrat was a vassal of the Duke of Savoy, and he was appointed as the representative of the Duchy of Savoy to participate in this alliance.
As for the Duke of Savoy himself, he was currently resisting the fierce attack of the Duke of Burgundy in Chambéry, north of the mountains.
Genoa, on the other hand, was largely controlled by France. The Venetians originally did not want to be in the same alliance as Venice, but were forced to compromise under pressure from France, agreeing to join the alliance.
People called this alliance the Mantua Alliance.
Soon after, Austria, Naples, Burgundy, and Albania also signed a series of alliances.
The terms of the Austria-Naples Alliance were that Austria would help Naples resist France, and Naples would support Austria's entry into Milan.
The terms of the Austria-Burgundy Alliance were that if the Milan succession war broke out, the Duchy of Burgundy would send troops to help the Emperor protect Outer Austria.
The terms of the Austria-Albania Alliance were that Austria would help Albania reclaim territories occupied by the Venetians, and Albania would assist Austria in attacking the Republic of Venice.
These three alliances were later framed together, and in contrast to the Mantua Alliance, they were called the Vienna Alliance.