The Siege of Kuttenburg

Iri acted very quickly. Before the Imperial Army could complete its encirclement, he had already led his troops to repel Rosenberg's besieging forces and retreated with a few thousand remnants into Kuttenberg.

Laszlo immediately commanded his troops to completely surround Kuttenberg, but he was not in a hurry to launch an attack.

After several destructions and reconstructions, the city was much smaller than before. The outer town had no city walls to protect it, and many Hussites living there had fled to Prague before the Emperor's army arrived, preparing to seek refuge elsewhere via Prague. Therefore, more than half of the houses outside the city were empty.

Hussite believers who were unwilling to leave their homeland hid in the barely strong castle, ready to fight to the death against the Emperor's army.

Just like during the First Hussite Wars, Bohemian residents who could not endure the torment of war fled this chaotic, decaying, and fragmented kingdom, becoming vagrants wandering across the continent.

People sometimes confused them with the nomadic "Gypsies"; the French were even more extreme, directly calling "Gypsies" "Bohemians."

Now, this heartbreaking history was repeating itself.

Laszlo felt no joy or sorrow about this.

As Laszlo, the Holy Roman Emperor, he would only be pleased by this; the fewer heretics in his territory, the better.

Besides, he even felt a little regret; the captured heretics were rare laborers, and it was obviously unrealistic to try to capture those who had fled to work as laborers.

However, there were so many Bohemians, with heretics all around Prague and quite a few in Moravia, so Laszlo was not too worried about not being able to capture enough laborers.

To complete a grand project he envisioned, he needed enough labor. Originally, this was likely to be a costly and labor-intensive undertaking, but now things were different.

These Hussites were simply a gift from heaven, the best free labor.

Of course, none of this was most important to Laszlo; the most important thing, naturally, was to send Iri to meet God.

As long as he died, the Hussites in Bohemia would no longer be a force to be reckoned with, and Laszlo's rule over Bohemia would become incredibly stable.

A church in the town became Laszlo's temporary command post. Finally, he didn't have to sleep in a simple tent, and he was very satisfied with this.

This church was one of the few Catholic churches in Kuttenberg.

Although the Roman Pope and the Cup faction had agreed to a policy of religious tolerance in Bohemia after their reconciliation, Kuttenberg, as a royal direct municipality, under the influence of Regent Iri, rejected Catholic faith and promoted Hussite faith, just like Prague.

Therefore, there were not many Catholic believers in this city, and they did not experience any discrimination or differential treatment in their daily lives—the people of Bohemia detested the corruption and sin of the priestly class. They spontaneously became followers of Huss, and this was not the result of coercion or delusion.

The Imperial Army, under the banner of "protecting the faith and eliminating heresy," did not harass these Catholics. They only plundered spoils of war and military supplies from the homes of captured heretics or those who had already fled the city.

The senior commanders of the Imperial Army gathered in the church where the Emperor was stationed to discuss how to capture Kuttenberg.

"Adolf, how confident are you in a direct assault?"

If he could achieve a quick victory, Laszlo would certainly not let the time drag on longer. Military expenses and food supply consumption were astronomical figures.

Adolf replied without hesitation, "Your Majesty, we can definitely capture this castle. But is it worth it?"

Yes, is it worth it?

Laszlo began to ponder. A direct assault would undoubtedly lead to huge casualties.

The cost of recruiting new soldiers and replenishing the army was also not low, and once the troops were severely weakened, their combat effectiveness would inevitably decline.

Iri was already trapped here, absolutely unable to escape. Solving him was only a matter of time.

But time was precisely the most troublesome aspect. Intelligence showed that the French had already marched into Italy from Provence. They had received some reinforcements in Savoy and were now heading south.

Skanderbeg led the Albanian army across the strait to Naples, where they joined forces with the troops of Naples and the Papal States to form a coalition army intending to march north to meet the enemy.

Laszlo kept a close eye on the situation in Italy.

On the Moldavia front, Lithuania and Poland formed a combined army of about twenty thousand, intending to partition Moldavia.

Laszlo was quite satisfied with Stefan's actions; he had effectively diverted Poland's attention.

As for how long he could hold out?

Laszlo felt that Poland and Lithuania might stumble in Moldavia this time; this was a kind of confidence.

The sooner the heretics in Bohemia were dealt with, the more calmly Laszlo could deal with the wars on all fronts.

However, on second thought, time was still on his side. The external pressure on Austria was not actually great at the moment; in fact, the situation could be described as excellent.

At this moment, Rosenberg suddenly pointed to a place on the map and said, "Your Majesty, look here, not far north of Kuttenberg, this is Podebrady Castle, Iri's old lair. If we raid this place, we might have unexpected gains."

"Are you talking about his family?" Laszlo became interested, but he immediately shook his head and said, "No, they must have already fled to Prague. Your suggestion is very good. I want to destroy this castle, Rosenberg, can your troops undertake this task?"

Rosenberg smiled slightly and replied confidently, "Please leave it to me, Your Majesty."

"Good, Podebrady Castle is entrusted to you. I await your good news. We will besiege the city first, and once the morale and combat effectiveness of the defenders inside are sufficiently worn down, we will take the city in one fell swoop!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The large army camped outside the castle, constructing siege works, preparing for the assault, and engaging in a war of attrition with the rebels inside, to see whether the city would run out of supplies first, or if the army's provisions would fail.

The defenders inside the castle and the hidden residents desperately waited for the Emperor's army to launch an attack, but the tens of thousands of besieging troops showed no signs of attacking. They merely raised the siege ramparts day after day, and specialized soldiers ambushed by the stream, shooting residents or soldiers who sneaked out of the city to fetch water.

The supplies inside the city dwindled day by day, and people began to search for anything that could be used to fill their stomachs. But after the water source was cut off, the murky well water inside the castle alone could not supply the fresh water needed by thousands of people.

This campaign transformed into a prolonged torment for the heretic rebels within the city.