On the vast farmlands of the Vienna Basin, autumn had arrived, and farmers were busy in the fields harvesting rye and other crops sown last winter.
The severe cold of last winter left a deep impression on farmers in Austria and across Europe. Faced with natural disasters, the power of ordinary people was undoubtedly minuscule, especially in the late Dark Ages.
All they could do was pray to God, hoping that heaven would be merciful and not send severe calamities, or hoping that the Emperor's benevolence would once again fall upon them this year.
However, people had heard news of another grand Crusade about to be launched, and to support this great expedition, perhaps they would have to make some sacrifices.
Their only comfort was the rhetoric of salvation preached daily by the clergy. Austrian priests claimed that the Emperor's piety would bring lasting good fortune to Austria.
Many unsophisticated people seemed to believe this claim, but Laszlo himself did not.
In a bumpy carriage, Laszlo sat side-by-side with his advisor, Archbishop Bernhard, holding a chronicle to alleviate the boredom of the journey.
"Bernhard, these chroniclers' writing is truly scathing; they disparage the Crusaders as utterly worthless."
Laszlo remarked with some emotion; this chronicle about the Nicopolis Crusade was too bold.
On the page he had opened, it described how John the Fearless, grandfather of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, knelt like a dog at the feet of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, the Lightning, begging him to spare his close servants, while ignoring the other massacred French Crusader captives.
The book even contained an illustration, and just seeing this ugly scene made Laszlo feel his blood pressure rising. No wonder these chroniclers were so furious.
Moreover, the reason John was able to return alive to Burgundy was because the Duchy of Burgundy exhausted its national resources to help the French King gather twenty florins of gold. It should be noted that at that time, the Duke of Burgundy had just set foot in the Low Countries and was not as wealthy as he is today. To raise this sum, countless lives were sacrificed.
Perhaps it was because of such a humiliating past that John's son, Philip the Good, dedicated his life to launching Crusades and washing away the shame?
However, thinking about how Bayezid I was defeated and captured by Timur in the Battle of Ankara a few years later, and subsequently paraded in an iron cage, Laszlo's mood suddenly lightened considerably.
After all, not many people in the world knew that the Duke of Burgundy had knelt before the Ottoman Sultan, but the legend of the "imprisoned Lightning" had been passed down for centuries, still delighting medieval history enthusiasts in the 21st century.
This is what is called "what goes around, comes around; heaven spares no one."
"Rather than a Crusade, it was a band of robbers. If they had even a shred of faith in their hearts, they wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat."
Bernhard had no good feelings for the French, not only because he was Austrian, but also because the Crusaders' performance in this historical account was truly disgraceful.
After the French Crusaders departed from Dijon, they engaged in looting activities in Swabia and Bavaria.
If it hadn't been for Duke Leopold IV of Austria being John's brother-in-law at the time, Vienna might have suffered as well.
John obtained a loan of one hundred thousand florins from Leopold IV through suspicious means, and this loan was never repaid after the Crusade failed.
Upon reaching Hungary, this group became even more undisguised, first plundering allied territories, and later violating their promises by carrying out massacres in cities that had already surrendered.
After capturing some Ottoman territories, the Crusaders' discipline became exceptionally lax.
Laszlo even read detailed descriptions in the book about knights drinking and whoring all day, with vivid descriptions that made him blush and his heart pound.
Even though Laszlo was no longer an innocent virgin, such descriptions still greatly shocked him.
"These people clearly didn't travel thousands of miles to the Balkans for faith, only to die by Ottoman swords," Laszlo said, shaking his head and sighing. "What they truly craved was profit—fame, wealth, and so-called absolution."
Waving the noblest banners, yet committing the most barbaric acts, the phrase "God's will" became the most convenient defense for these thugs.
Fortunately, this time we won't encounter robbers from France. As for the Imperial and Italian armies…
"Like the Nicopolis Crusade, set some rules that are destined to be broken to restrain them?"
Bernhard anticipated Laszlo's thoughts and asked casually, which caught Laszlo off guard, who had already prepared a long speech. The words were on his lips but difficult to utter.
Indeed, the Nicopolis Crusade, with a force of less than twenty thousand, had actually established rules to maintain army order before setting out.
However, these regulations vanished the moment they stepped out of Franche-Comté and entered Alsace.
After four months of arduous marching, almost all the Crusaders had thrown those regulations to the wind.
Lack of discipline ultimately led to the Crusade's crushing defeat, and also brought severe calamities to the people along the Crusader's path.
It was already so difficult to restrain twenty thousand people with strict regulations, let alone the army Laszlo was assembling this time, which would likely number over one hundred thousand.
Among them, the true warriors might only be twenty to thirty thousand; the rest were conscripted farmers, serfs, or citizens. Besides them, there would be a large number of hired laborers providing services to the army, such as cooks, prostitutes, and merchants. They moved with the army, turning each army encampment into a small city, providing various services to the soldiers.
It should be noted that Vienna's population was only over forty thousand, less than fifty thousand. If it were an army of one hundred thousand, its camp size would even exceed many small cities in Austria.
It would be almost impossible to maintain army discipline solely through regulations or a provost corps composed of loyal warriors.
Moreover, currently, except for a few major powers, almost no European country had a large-scale standing armed force, so using regulations to restrain the army was an anomaly.
For example, the French Knights of the Order were responsible for maintaining local order, so their discipline goes without saying. Austria's Imperial Mercenaries also had to pledge allegiance to the Emperor and abide by regulations and norms of conduct.
In contrast, the army of Burgundy lacked that certain something.
Peter von Hagenbach, a mercenary commander whom Charles deeply trusted and entrusted with important responsibilities, once served in the Imperial Army. He was dismissed for wantonly plundering, harming civilians, and violating multiple military disciplines. Now, he had transformed into a high-ranking general in the Burgundian army, achieving repeated military successes on the battlefield.
In Laszlo's view, this was entirely because Charles and he were birds of a feather; both were cruel and enjoyed causing slaughter.
Of course, together they hadn't killed as many as Laszlo, so Laszlo couldn't stand on the moral high ground to criticize them. Even the Duke of Burgundy, who had modeled his standing army after France and Austria, was unable to restrain his troops, let alone those temporarily conscripted armies.
"Regarding the issue of army discipline, once we return to Vienna, we must convene a Privy Council meeting specifically to discuss it."
"Everything outside Constantinople is our territory. If we cannot properly manage the army, I fear that for the Kingdom of Bulgaria and even the Kingdom of Hungary, an unprecedented disaster will once again arrive."
Since Laszlo had foreseen this potential problem, he naturally wouldn't let it go unchecked, otherwise, he would surely be the one to suffer in the end.
Bernhard also nodded with a solemn expression. Although he wasn't particularly concerned about the Emperor's territories outside the Empire, the lands of the Balkans were, after all, reclaimed from infidels, and the Crusaders certainly couldn't be allowed to wreak havoc there.
However, as long as Constantinople could ultimately be captured, all sacrifices would be worth it.
The carriage slowly entered the gates of Vienna, and the Emperor's procession drew people to stop and watch.
The Emperor's tours had become increasingly frequent over the years, so much so that people no longer marveled at the majesty and grandeur of the Imperial procession as they once did. Instead, they now praised the Emperor's diligence and responsibility.
It should be known that for the past hundred years, there had never been an Emperor like Laszlo who cared so much about all matters and often took a hands-on approach.
This perfectly met the Austrians' expectations for a Habsburg ruler.
Laszlo was, of course, aware of his reputation, which made his feelings very complex.
He himself actually didn't want to suffer this torment, but he was the only one who could keep those princes in check. The more critical the moment, the more he had to play his greatest role.
Otherwise, in an era without rapid transportation, continuous long-distance travel would be pure torture for himself and everyone around him.
If he could, he really wanted to try being a "Lazy King" like Frederick III in history, who was criticized by many.
However, if he actually did that, not only would the Empire become even more chaotic, but the vast territories currently controlled by the Habsburg Family would also quickly disintegrate.
With the Emperor's return to his loyal Vienna, an emergency Privy Council meeting was quickly convened.
In the Hofburg Palace's council chamber, several old ministers sat around the table, waiting for the Emperor to speak.
Laszlo's gaze swept over everyone. Chief Minister Eyczing, Marshal Adolf, the military commander, and Fugger, the finance minister, were all advanced in years. Judging by their bodies, they probably wouldn't last many more years.
Even Archbishop Bernhard, his advisor, sitting by Laszlo's side, was already over fifty, though he still looked robust.
And Archbishop Georg, the Court Chancellor, who had already completed one term, became the youngest person present apart from Laszlo, at the age of forty-nine.
Every time he saw him, Laszlo would think of his knowledgeable and humorous teacher, Aeneas.
His works were still popular throughout Europe, but unfortunately, the title of "Court Poet Laureate" had remained vacant for several years since his passing.
Not only was Austria facing such problems, but the Hungarian government was also in the same situation.
Archbishop Veszter had recently passed away at the age of seventy-three, and Vitez, the Governor of the Kingdom of Croatia, naturally succeeded him.
Vitez also took over the position of Archbishop of Esztergom, almost immediately becoming the most powerful minister in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Laszlo had originally planned to use this opportunity to divide the Kingdom of Hungary according to natural geographical boundaries—which was not impossible for Hungary at the time—but considering the upcoming Crusade, Laszlo ultimately decided to postpone this plan.
The vacant position of Governor of the Kingdom of Croatia was taken over by Ivan VII Frankopan, who had contributed greatly to the Austrian-Venetian War.
Ivan was extremely satisfied to get the governorship he had longed for. He immediately dispatched more troops to guard Cres Island, replacing the Guards stationed there.
The reassembled Guards then traveled north from the Austrian coast back to Vienna Neustadt, beginning to rest and prepare for the upcoming Crusade.
Laszlo pushed his worries about the future aside and began discussing the upcoming Crusade matters with his ministers.
First was the outcome of the Council of Constance. The ministers had already received reports on the council beforehand and knew that the Emperor's efforts had further strengthened the Crusader forces.
This was something to be congratulated, but then Laszlo raised his concerns about the Crusaders' discipline.
This immediately stumped everyone, because if such issues were not handled properly, they could severely impact the subsequent battles, and even a mutiny was possible if discipline was too strict.
Finally, Marshal Adolf offered a solution.
For the Crusaders gathering in Vienna, they would follow the Emperor along a fixed route to the East. This route was the same one Laszlo had originally assigned to the Order of Saint George, with only slight modifications.
Supply stations would first be set up along the route, supplemented by Danube River navigation, to at least maintain order among the large army before they reached Bulgaria.
As for the armies gathered in Hungary and further east, Laszlo basically couldn't and didn't intend to manage them. At that time, it would be necessary to kill a few examples to establish authority.
Regarding the cost of this plan, seeing Fugger's constipated expression, Laszlo could more or less guess the general idea.
"Your Majesty, according to the latest estimates from the Court Finance Committee, the cost of raising and maintaining an army for several months or even a year accounts for only one-third of the total military expenditure. The remaining portion must all be spent on transportation, logistics, and artillery."
"If you intend to bear this expense alone, Austria's finances are destined to collapse."
Fugger's words made Laszlo's eyebrows twitch. Reality was indeed so cruel; to save expenses, forced requisition of supplies along the way would be unavoidable.
Considering that in this era, apart from the Austrian army, which barely had a concept of a logistics line and supplies, armies of other countries basically obtained supplies on the spot, Laszlo ultimately had to accept the fact that he could not rely on the treasuries of Austria, Hungary, and other countries to supply the logistics of the entire Crusade.
Fortunately, many people chose to support the Crusade with materials or money. Some of these resources were in his hands, while others were distributed by the Pope.
Now Laszlo could only hope that the old Pope could generate more gold coins to alleviate some of the pressure on his side.
After discussing the discipline and logistics of the Crusade, Laszlo and his ministers immediately moved on to the next topic: what further preparations they could make to increase the chances of success for the holy war.
"Your Majesty, our preparations are already perfect; the entire Empire, Italy, and even distant Portugal have agreed to provide support.
France, which has always troubled and threatened us, is unable to interfere from behind due to the Duke of Burgundy's offensive.
The only two enemies we face are Venice and the Ottoman, and their strength is insufficient to withstand this massive army."
Archbishop Bernhard had followed the Emperor on his travels, witnessing all of Laszlo's efforts.
Now that the Emperor had gathered so much support, he believed that if the army simply advanced, the Ottomans would absolutely not be able to resist the Crusade's offensive.
Laszlo, however, shook his head and said, "The strength of the Ottomans should still not be underestimated. Although Mehmed II is currently plagued by internal and external troubles, he has not completely lost the power to resist.
The Ottoman Empire still occupies most of Anatolia, and it is not difficult to gather tens of thousands of troops to defend Constantinople.
Facing a heavily fortified Constantinople, we might not be able to capture it even at a heavy cost.
The best approach is to do as the Ottomans did in the past: completely blockade the city until the defenders within completely lose their will to resist."
"Like the siege you conducted in Prague?"
Field Marshal Adolf was not unfamiliar with the tactical ideas proposed by the Emperor; he had personally witnessed how the Emperor used hunger and despair to break the capital of Bohemia.
"Yes, we must be prepared for a long war, and in this process, we will look for feasible ways to break the deadlock."
Those familiar with the Emperor knew that he himself had no astonishing military talent; his leadership in military campaigns had only one characteristic: steady and cautious.
Especially when the army held a significant advantage, the Emperor's cautious nature would quickly become apparent.
This was not entirely a virtue, but most of the time it helped the Emperor achieve victory in war, so no one would question the Emperor.
"To achieve a naval blockade of Constantinople, we must first defeat the Venetian."
Chief Minister Eyczing interjected at this point.
After all, Constantinople was not Prague; Laszlo could block the Vltava River waterway with iron chains, but he couldn't use the same method to blockade Constantinople.
However, the defenders of Constantinople frequently used iron chains to blockade the Golden Horn to defend against attacks from the sea. After all, the western walls of Constantinople were indeed impregnable, but the defenses facing the sea were relatively weak. Therefore, gaining control of the sea not only facilitated a long-term siege of Constantinople but also greatly aided in the siege operations.
"The Republic of Venice's fate is like a candle in the wind, but this war has dragged on for too long. Our time is precious; we must force the Venetian to submit before the Crusade reaches Constantinople. How are the battles in the Balkans progressing?"
Laszlo was extremely annoyed by the persistent Venetian, but as a former ruler of the Mediterranean, defeating them completely was no easy task.
Fortunately, the Republic of Venice was now basically on the verge of collapse. While maintaining a considerable navy, the Republic could not also command a powerful army capable of confronting the combined forces of the Balkan states.
"The entire Morea has been completely recovered, and the entire Peloponnese Peninsula, except for the twin ports of Modon and Coron, is under our control.
In Athens and Negroponte, although the enemy has sufficient garrison forces, they cannot confront us directly on the battlefield, nor can they retake the occupied territories from us. Now the armies from Bulgaria and Morea have converged and are besieging the twin ports.
The Despot of Epirus has also basically captured the Venetian strongholds and ports along the coast, forcing the Venetian to retreat to Corfu.
The rebellion in Bulgaria has been suppressed, and Lord Frederick is currently handling the aftermath, with the Hungarian army already on its way back."
The chaotic situation finally became clear again. The Venetian had fully strategically retreated, concentrating their defenses on Athens and the twin ports. At sea, they relied on Corfu, Crete, and Negroponte to blockade the Greek coast.
Clearly, compared to the Venetian who still had the capacity to plan counterattacks in the early stages of the war, they were now completely at the end of their rope.
What made the Venetian most despair was the scarcity of Austrian and Hungarian troops in this war. The Emperor had not even deployed ten percent of his strength, yet they were already unable to resist.
"Good, that's quite fast," Laszlo nodded with satisfaction, then remembered that a subordinate seemed to be in trouble, so he asked, "How is the situation in Wallachia?"
"The rebels have been routed, and Prince Vlad's brother, Radu, is now missing, likely having fled back to the Ottoman Empire." Laszlo was not surprised by this answer, after all, Vlad was a madman who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood; though a madman, he was also a military genius.
As for his brother, the rumored Sultan's favorite, he clearly couldn't be a match for Vlad.
"Victories on land are to be expected, but I am now more eager to hear news of naval triumphs.
I had previously approved Dujam's request to lead the fleet out to sea for battle. What is the current situation at sea?"
Laszlo had received reports from the navy during his tour of the western territories, which described the continuous weakening of the Venetian naval power. Dujam believed that the time for a counterattack had come.
Although there were still considerable risks involved, Laszlo decided to take a gamble.
They say those with nothing to lose are fearless. The small naval force he commanded had been painstakingly assembled over the years. If it were lost, he would be heartbroken for a while, and then he would have to increase investment and build another fleet.
However, if the Venetian suffered a defeat at sea, their homeland would be at risk of falling.
The risk of loss and the potential for success were in such stark contrast that Laszlo had no reason not to take a chance.
"According to recent intelligence provided by our ally, the Republic of Genoa, the Venetian Aegean Sea Fleet likely numbers less than six thousand warships, and the Adriatic Sea escort fleet is already less than four thousand. Moreover, their escort missions have become increasingly arduous with the fall of continental territories and the loss of the Croatian island chain.
Now the Venetian can only rely on deploying a fleet in Corfu to blockade the Adriatic Sea, and even then, they cannot achieve a complete blockade.
Their blockade of the Gulf of Venice has been lifted, and now General Dujam is leading the fleet to continuously raid Venetian trade routes in the Adriatic Sea, achieving good results."
Dujam was well aware that the Austrian Navy's combat effectiveness at sea was not as strong as that of the Venetian Navy; even with a certain numerical advantage in warships, they could easily suffer defeat.
But at the same time, Austria had the huge advantage of controlling almost the entire eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Therefore, Dujam chose to use his most proficient combat method, namely, completely inshore warfare, which made the Austrian Navy almost inherently invincible.
The continuous loss of Venetian ports and strongholds led to their previously adjustable trade routes becoming extremely fixed, and this trade route, which ran close to the eastern Adriatic coast, was almost entirely exposed to the threat of the Austrian Navy.
Dujam, like a seasoned hunter, led the fleet to ambush in friendly ports along the way, and when the Venetian Muda trade fleet passed by, he led the fleet in a surprise attack.
Once the attack was successful, he immediately moved the fleet, catching the Venetian off guard.
Moreover, as the attacks continued, the size of the Muda fleet also shrank due to the setback in Venetian commercial trade, from the original fifty or sixty merchant ships to only about twenty large galleys now engaged in quarterly state trade.
As for the remaining privately operated trade, most of it suffered devastating blows. Venetian merchants found that there was no safe haven along the route from the Adriatic Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Among the four Muda routes, the Flanders route had already ceased operation.
Originally, Flanders, as an important textile base and wool distribution center, was a crucial source for Venice to import raw materials. They relied on processing imported wool into high-quality textiles, which were then sold to the East or resold to Western Europe for profit.
This was an industry with clear intermediary characteristics, as merely reselling goods could not sustain a powerful commercial empire.
However, with the introduction of Britain's restrictive decrees, Flanders soon experienced a shortage of wool. The loss of Venetia deprived the Republic of Venice of the population needed to sustain its massive handicraft industry, and Genoa's threat to the Western Mediterranean routes also hampered Venetian maritime trade.
Under the combined influence of these three factors, Venice's traditional handicraft industry had basically lost more than half of its capacity.
The textile industry suffered a devastating blow, the papermaking industry was completely taken over by Austria, and the glass manufacturing industry was somewhat affected by Austrian restrictions, but it still brought some revenue to the Republic.
The most crucial Venetian shipbuilding industry was currently facing a very awkward situation.
The Republic now did not lack ships, but it desperately needed sailors.
The massive loss of manpower not only affected the development of handicrafts but also brought immeasurable disadvantages in the military aspect.
"The old methods are still effective; attacking trade routes is like striking a heavy blow at the Venetian's lifeline. They won't last much longer.
Speaking of the Genoese, they have been stirring up trouble in this war and profiting quite a bit.
I intend to write to the Governor of Genoa and the King of Naples, attempting to organize a larger combined fleet to engage the Venetian in a decisive battle in the Aegean Sea, completely ending the Venetian's naval dominance.
What are your thoughts on this matter?"
The Kingdom of Portugal, like the Knights Hospitaller, only intended to participate in the Crusade but did not wish to be drawn into the conflict between Austria and Venice.
Since that was the case, Laszlo excluded them, intending to gather only his two current allies, combine all their naval forces, and deliver a final blow to the weakened Republic of Venice.
"Can the navies of just three countries defeat the Venetian?"
Although Field Marshal Adolf did not know much about naval combat, the reputation of the Venetian Navy was enough to make people pause. Even he, a military commander, harbored doubts, let alone others.
"I do think a combined fleet indeed has a chance to fight," Eyczing, who possessed a wealth of intelligence, had a clearer understanding of the relative strengths of both sides. "Even if we give the Venetian ample time now, it will be difficult for them to assemble a larger fleet.
Firstly, Venice suffers from a lack of funds and depleted treasury. Secondly, the number of ships is continuously decreasing, and they cannot expand their fleet further without harming commercial interests.
As for us, we only need to make sufficient preparations. Based on our existing naval fleet, we can requisition merchant ships from Austrian and Croatian ports to participate in the war. Adding the fleet of the Republic of Ragusa and other allied fleets, it is no longer a problem to overwhelm the Venetian in terms of total strength.
Moreover, most of the continental coastline is now in our hands, allowing our fleet to move freely without restrictions, while the Venetian Fleet can only exhaust itself scurrying between a few isolated islands, clearly showing its decline.
As long as we can defeat the Venetian Navy in the Aegean Sea, the subsequent Crusade will be a smooth journey."
This analysis greatly boosted the morale of the Privy Council members and solidified Laszlo's resolve.
After the meeting, Laszlo quickly wrote two invitation letters, which were sent to Italy at the fastest possible speed via the Tasso Company—now to be called the Royal Postal Service—communication network, delivered to the Governor of Genoa and the King of Naples, respectively.
The Crusade fleet, originally scheduled to assemble after the Crusade began, was now to assemble earlier and engage the Venetian Navy in a decisive battle.
This was undoubtedly a bold decision, and it looked very much like the Emperor was tricking Genoa and Naples into working for him.
However, considering that if the Venetian Navy could be defeated, Austria, Genoa, and Naples would all benefit, and they would also curry favor with the Emperor, the two invited heads of state both gave affirmative replies.
Soon, all three countries, under the guise of preparing for the Crusade, began to recruit and expand their fleets domestically.
This, however, confused the monarchs and nobles who had agreed to participate in the Crusade.
Because the Emperor had set the expedition start date for mid-April next year, but it was only October now, leaving half a year for preparations.
Many also saw through the Emperor's intentions, including many of Laszlo's enemies.