In Prague, the Bohemian Parliament was holding its final meeting.
More than half of the seats were empty, as all Catholic nobles refused to attend the "illegal parliament," and some Cup faction members also made excuses for their absence.
Many Bohemian parliament members fled Prague overnight, returning to their own territories. The Catholic nobles were preparing to liquidate Hussite followers in their territories—this was a good opportunity to make a fortune; the cowards among the Cup faction tried to feign conversion, hoping to survive the Emperor's purge first before considering future matters.
In the end, only a dozen or so parliament members remained, discussing matters. Without exception, they were all core members of the Hussite Cup faction.
At this moment, all eyes were on Iri, who appeared calm and showed no sign of panic. The parliament members also calmed down and began to report on the situation throughout Bohemia to the "illegal" Bohemian Regent, Iri.
"In Silesia, German immigrants in Breslau have revolted, supported by the Piast Family, and they are frantically persecuting our brothers and sisters who share our faith," said the parliament member from the northern part of the kingdom, his voice low.
Originally, Bohemia had subdued the Silesian duchies by force. Now that Prague was in a critical situation, how could the Piast dukes ruling Silesia miss such a good opportunity to kick them when they were down?
Moreover, German immigrants accounted for a very high proportion in Silesia. Even during the First Hussite Wars, Hussite armies massacred many German immigrants and expelled non-Slavic ethnic groups there. However, within twenty years after the war, large numbers of Germans who believed in Catholicism poured into this land from all over the Empire, with the Piast Family's preferential immigration policy playing a significant role.
Iri had long anticipated this situation. He nodded slightly and said, "The Piast Family won't be able to cause much trouble; there's no need to worry about them. What is the situation around Prague?"
"Large numbers of citizens and farmers have signed up to join our army, and even students from Charles University hope to join the ranks against the tyrant," said the parliament member responsible for army recruitment, his voice filled with excitement.
The people's support could be utilized. Iri secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Tell the students to go back to the university; they don't need to worry about matters on the battlefield."
"Yes."
Before he was burned at the stake, Huss had served as the Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Rector of Charles University in Prague. After the Hussite Wars, this university, under the management of the Cup faction, had completely transformed into a religious center for the study and dissemination of Huss's ideas. The students who studied there were all loyal followers of Huss.
Charles IV probably never imagined that the first-class European institution of higher learning he had invested heavily in building would become the birthplace and religious center of heretical ideas. If he had known, he might have been so angry that he would crawl out of his coffin and brutally beat his two good-for-nothing sons, Wenceslaus and Sigismund.
A parliament member added, "There are also many volunteers from Moravia—mainly from Olomouc. A reinforcement of about three thousand arrived in Prague not long ago. They were organized by those rats… by the Bohemian Brotherhood. They promised to help us resist the tyrant's invasion."
Three thousand men, plus the new recruits from around Prague and the Cup faction's main force that was already prepared, Iri calculated that he had about twenty thousand usable troops.
Such a force, if used to defend Prague, would be tantamount to suicide. The enormous daily military supply expenses would be unbearable, and that tyrant would only need to besiege the city for a month to exhaust the defenders' ammunition and food.
Therefore, Iri was determined to lead his army out of the city to meet the Emperor's army, just as he had defeated Albrecht II eighteen years ago. If he could decisively defeat the Imperial Army in a pitched battle, Bohemia might be able to achieve true independence.
The outcome of failure was also clear: the Hussites would be completely purged, and Bohemia would become part of Austria, existing thereafter only as a geographical concept.
In early June, the climate in Bohemia was not hot. Iri left one thousand soldiers to guard Hradčany Castle and Charles Bridge, which connected the eastern and western districts of Prague, and sent another one thousand soldiers to guard Vyšehrad Castle south of Prague. He entrusted the city's defense to the spontaneously organized city guard, and then personally led the main army to encamp by the Vltava River, south of Prague.
This intelligence was soon known to Laszlo. At this time, the Emperor's tens of thousands of troops were encamped near Tábor, dozens of kilometers south of Prague.
That's right, this was once the core base of the Tábor faction.
Before the Hussite Wars, this was just an unremarkable small hill, inhabited by many poor people.
As Huss was burned to ashes, people who sympathized with and followed Huss, filled with anger, stormed into the nobles' manors and castles, killing all those who had oppressed them.
Rosenberg led his army to suppress the rioting populace. Just as he was about to succeed, Jan Žižka arrived with the Hussite army, causing Rosenberg to flee in disarray.
Subsequently, people hoped to establish a utopian city here, as envisioned by Huss.
They chose a holy name from the Bible—Tábor, a name derived from Mount Tábor near Nazareth in Israel.
This place was regarded as holy by Huss's followers and quickly became the political, military, and religious center of the Hussites, which also laid the groundwork for the later split between the Tábor faction and the Prague Cup faction.
The ideal society of Huss's followers rejected human laws and only obeyed God's law.
When Tábor city was first established, residents first handed over their property to the collective, and then the collective distributed it according to each person's specific needs.
Half of the people, regardless of gender, joined the army, while the other half engaged in production.
This was a beautiful vision, but backward productivity destined them to a tragic end.
In 1434, the Tábor faction was jointly defeated by the Catholic army and the Cup faction army, losing most of their main force. The remaining forces were forced to hold out in several relatively strongholds.
In 1436, Tábor fell. Sigismund ordered the massacre of all Hussites here and then bestowed this land upon Rosenberg in return for his arduous fight against the heretics in South Bohemia.
In 1452, the last Tábor faction stronghold was eradicated by Iri, and from then on, the Tábor faction ceased to exist.
The Bohemian Brotherhood, formed by the remnants of the Tábor faction and Huss's followers who broke away from the Cup faction, split into two organizations from the very beginning, which was an old tradition of the Hussites...
One faction went deep into the grassroots, spreading Hussite doctrines and continuing to explore their communist ideals.
The other faction inherited the Tábor military tradition of over thirty years since Jan Žižka, becoming a mercenary group wandering in Central Europe, using their advanced organizational forms and military technology to defeat enemies, acquire spoils, and receive payment.
Both were called the Bohemian Brotherhood.
The former was the target Laszlo wanted to eradicate, while the latter no longer spread Huss's ideas, and Laszlo bothered less with them.
However, he probably never expected that these remnants of the Tábor faction, who had become mercenaries, would come forward to aid Iri, adding many variables to this war.
From Tábor to Prague, a forced march would only take three days. At this time, the main force of the Hussite rebels led by Iri was blocking the Emperor's army from marching north to Prague.
Inside the war room, Laszlo, Adolf, Rosenberg, and Laszlo Hunyadi gathered around a table, discussing. On the table was a military map, detailing the distribution of strongholds and terrain around Prague.
"Is Iri really in such a hurry to die? I remember he cherishes his life quite a bit," Laszlo said in a relaxed tone.
Iri's choice to sally out for a decisive battle was out of helplessness. Laszlo, of course, understood this. If Iri chose to be besieged in Prague, that would truly be waiting for death.
Adolf reminded him, "Your Majesty, please do not underestimate the enemy too much. Iri commands tens of thousands of troops and has the strength to fight us."
Laszlo nodded slightly, but inwardly he was somewhat dismissive. Wasn't the current situation clear enough?
Of the troops in Iri's hands, apart from six thousand main Cup faction soldiers, the remaining tens of thousands were temporarily conscripted farmers and citizens.
Whereas Laszlo had the Imperial Army, Hungarian cavalry, and Bohemian Catholic army, all seasoned by the Ottoman holy war. These were elites, vastly superior to the Hussite rebels in both numbers and quality.
Thinking back to how the Tábor faction's twenty-five thousand men directly crushed Emperor Sigismund's seventy thousand troops, Iri wanting to replicate such a miraculous victory of the few against the many could only be described as a pipe dream.
Regarding Sigismund, Laszlo only wanted to say: "If you're weak, practice more. If you can't lose, don't play."
This "God of War" suffered countless defeats in his life, being brutally beaten in both civil and foreign wars. Only when it came to backstabbing his own brother was he not at all hesitant.
After defeating the Ottomans, Laszlo had already proven his strength. He was a bit arrogant now and didn't even consider Iri a threat.
Rosenberg and Adolf exchanged glances, both showing helpless expressions.
"Your Majesty, in Bohemia, farmers can also kill knights. Fanatical heretics can achieve decent combat effectiveness with a little training. It's better not to underestimate the enemy too much," Rosenberg, who understood the Hussite rebels, advised.
Since both marshals said so, Laszlo finally adjusted his mindset and began to seriously face the Hussite rebels he was about to confront.
"Alright, let's analyze what confidence Iri has to fight a decisive battle with us."
Everyone gathered to analyze the upcoming battle.
The terrain south of Prague was flat but crisscrossed with rivers, which would greatly restrict the movement and combat of cavalry and war wagons.
Directly marching north from Tábor could very likely put the troops in danger.
After deliberation, Laszlo decided to circle around from the east to secure a more favorable combat terrain for the Imperial Army.