Imperial Tour

The triumphal procession held on the day he returned to Vienna with his army did not satisfy Emperor Laszlo; he began to use other actions to display his military achievements.

A grand banquet began to be prepared, and envoys were sent in all directions to invite many distinguished guests to Vienna to attend the large banquet that the Emperor only held once every few years.

The expansion and renovation of Hofburg Palace were supervised by an outstanding architect from Florence, who proposed using gilded copper tiles for the newly constructed buildings to make the palace appear even more magnificent.

Emperor Laszlo finally agreed to this proposal after much hesitation.

Mantegna, the court painter, was ordered to create a series of frescoes on the walls of Hofburg Palace, themed around the history of the Habsburg Family.

These frescoes began with the legend of the brothers Radbot and Werner building the "Eagle Castle," continued to Rudolph I's ascension to the supreme position, and concluded with the glorious military achievements of Emperor Laszlo today.

Thanks to the Habsburg Family's good historical preservation habits and excellent chronicle-writing ability, Mantegna was able to draw considerable inspiration from the chronicles in the Hofburg Palace library.

Thus, he quickly immersed himself in his creation, intending to leave behind a world-shaking masterpiece in the imperial palace.

In the cold winter, leaden clouds hung low like a heavy curtain, completely obscuring the vitality between heaven and earth.

On the roads outside Vienna, the cold wind, like sharp blades, whistled and cut across every exposed inch of skin.

Several shabbily dressed figures struggled forward in the icy snow; they were farmers who had fled from the countryside of Upper Austria.

These people were suffocated by years of heavy taxation and had no choice but to leave their homes and go to Vienna, hoping to find a glimmer of hope.

Leading them was old Gerhard, his weathered face etched with wrinkles like ravines, his back slightly bent under the heavy burden of life.

Beside him were the young and strong but despairing Matthias, the frail Paul, and the still young Karl, whose eyes were filled with fear and confusion.

Their clothes were tattered, and layers of patches could not block the bone-chilling wind; hunger and cold made their steps heavier, each one like a race against death.

Along the way, they barely sustained themselves with what little food they had begged.

However, in this harsh winter, supplies were already scarce, and the alms they received were very little.

They had huddled for a night in an empty barn in a village but were driven out by angry villagers; the cold scolding seemed colder than the biting wind.

When the outline of Vienna finally appeared faintly in the distance, a glimmer of hope ignited in their hearts.

But this hope, in the face of cruel reality, was merely a fleeting flicker.

Before they could even enter the city of Vienna, hunger and cold completely overwhelmed them.

Old Gerhard was the first to collapse; his legs trembling, he slowly fell, his eyes filled with a longing for life and an unwillingness to accept his fate.

Matthias tried to help him up but found himself too weak to move, able only to watch old Gerhard breathe his last in his arms.

Paul and Karl cried out in terror, their voices sounding so helpless in the cold wind.

They tried to warm old Gerhard with their meager strength, but all they got was an increasingly cold body.

Soon, they too collapsed one after another, and in this icy world, the flame of life gradually extinguished.

Peter, the deacon of a nearby village, went out early in the morning to check the snow conditions, and when he passed by this area, the sight before him tightened his heart.

The frozen bodies were piled together on the ground, their clothes ragged, their faces gaunt.

Peter sighed; this was not the first time, most people eventually went to Vienna, but many also collapsed on the road like this.

His heart was filled with pity, so he quickly called over some villagers to prepare to bury these poor souls.

At this time, Emperor Laszlo and Leonor were touring Vienna and its surrounding areas.

Their carriage moved slowly, the horses' hooves making dull thuds on the snow.

Emperor Laszlo looked out the window, his heart full of aspirations for Vienna's development.

Recently, Vienna's population had been continuously increasing, and the city's scale had also greatly expanded; he believed this was a manifestation of his effective rule and felt self-satisfied about it.

When the carriage passed by the place where the farmers were buried, Emperor Laszlo was attracted by the scene.

He had the carriage stop and got out with Leonor.

Seeing the villagers burying the naked bodies, with a pile of tattered rags next to them, seemingly stripped from the bodies, a sense of confusion welled up in Emperor Laszlo's heart.

Peter turned his head to look at the large entourage, his heart startled; he didn't know which important figure this was again,

such entourages were not uncommon around Vienna.

However, when he saw a large group of majestic knights on horseback, clad in iron armor, and the double-headed eagle banner fluttering in the wind, he immediately recognized the identities of the Emperor and Empress and bowed to them.

"What is going on? Why did these people die here?" Emperor Laszlo asked with a frown.

Peter raised his head, his eyes full of helplessness: "Your Majesty, I think these are all farmers who fled from other places; they... they perhaps could not afford the taxes and could not survive on their own land, so they could only come to Vienna to make a living. Unfortunately, they didn't make it to Vienna in the end."

Emperor Laszlo's originally relaxed and cheerful expression vanished: "Unable to pay taxes? The taxes I levy are all for the development of the country, for resisting foreign enemies; how could they make the common people unable to survive?"

Peter gave a bitter smile and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, you may not know, but officials, for the sake of their performance, have layered your demands, and people not only have to pay high taxes but also bear various corvée labors.

Most of the harvest from the land is taken away, making it impossible to sustain a livelihood."

Emperor Laszlo's face turned pale, and his mind replayed the scenes where he had repeatedly forced the provincial estates to raise taxes in order to continue the war.

He had always believed that this was a necessary sacrifice for a great purpose, and far more people died on the battlefield than this.

But seeing these impoverished farmers, hungry and cold, frozen to death in this icy snow, it was impossible for his heart not to be touched in the slightest.

The purpose of the war was to make Austria stronger, but years of continuous warfare had already left Austria in widespread misery, with the common people complaining loudly.

They did not directly revolt like the Hungarian, partly out of fear of the Emperor's army, and partly out of trust in the Emperor.

Emperor Laszlo once again felt a slight unease in his conscience.

He could, of course, ignore cold numbers, but now before his eyes were real people.

Waging war was for his goals, and bringing such heavy disaster to the common people was not his original intention.

Leonor gently held Emperor Laszlo's hand, her eyes full of worry.

"Emperor Laszlo, is the peace and prosperity you have always pursued like this?" Leonor said softly.

Emperor Laszlo slowly closed his eyes, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He, of course, also wanted true peace, but those covetous enemies, unless they were all dealt with,

Emperor Laszlo always had worries.

"I was wrong," Emperor Laszlo whispered, his voice tinged with self-reproach, "Victory, glory, and ever-expanding territory blinded my eyes."

He turned and looked towards the distant city of Vienna, secretly vowing in his heart to change all of this.

The first thing to do was to thoroughly investigate which audacious individuals dared to openly engage in corruption during his time abroad fighting.

He would not only thoroughly investigate official corruption but also reduce the common people's taxes, allowing this land to regain its vitality.

The development and prosperity of the territory ultimately required a peaceful and stable environment; in recent years, he had expanded the family's territory by an unknown amount.

However, due to the continuous years of war, these territories had not been well developed.

Even Austria and Hungary, the core of the dynasty, were gradually declining.

Years of deficits could very likely lead to serious disasters; if it weren't for the support of the rich Kuttenberg silver mine and the Tyrol silver mine, Austria's economy would have collapsed long ago.

Whether for immediate interests or long-term development, Emperor Laszlo had to do something to reverse the predicament.

Emperor Laszlo ordered two wooden sticks to be found, made a simple cross, and placed it before the graves of those refugees, praying for them, then he and the Empress boarded the carriage and turned back to Vienna.