Preparatory Meeting

A week before the official opening of the Hungarian Parliament, Budapest Castle was like an isolated island shrouded in the calm before a storm, seemingly peaceful but with undercurrents surging.

The situation in Hungary was like a complex chess game, and the nobles were the most crucial pieces in this game.

These days, Laszlo focused on disarmament while also making contact with nobles who had arrived in Budapest, hoping to find some individuals he could use.

However, the results were not as satisfactory as he had hoped; he had underestimated the destitution of the lesser nobles.

Many lesser nobles from remote areas could only submit their opinions to the Hungarian Parliament by appointing representatives.

And usually, unfortunately, these representatives were often dependent on the surrounding greater nobles.

They had no choice but to accept the manipulation of the greater nobles, which led to many of the lesser nobles' interests and demands being suppressed.

Laszlo could only raise his sights a bit, looking to see if there was any possibility of winning over the middle-tier nobles, and he did indeed make some gains.

Compared to other European countries, especially the rigidly hierarchical Holy Roman Empire, the noble system in Hungary could feel very informal.

There were no specific titles like Duke, Marquis, or Count here; the Hungarian noble titles were actually directly derived from the Kingdom's official positions.

Of course, there was only one highest-ranking noble, and that was him, the King, the theoretical head of state with absolute power.

But in reality?

Due to the restrictions of the golden bull of 1222, almost all subsequent Kings of Hungary became mere puppets, greatly constrained by the nobles.

It could even be said that this golden bull was more exaggerated than England's Magna Carta, excessively amplifying noble power; even the Kingdom of Poland's Nieszawa Privilege didn't go that far.

This ultimately led to the Kingdom of Hungary in history being unable to form a united front against foreign enemies, and in the Battle of Mohács, it was struck by the Ottoman's 'Imperial Ground Shattering Fist' and split into three pieces, leading to the demise of the nation.

After the Battle of Mohács, the great conqueror Suleiman stood beside the body of King Louis II, then King of Bohemia-Hungary, still looking incredulous.

He never imagined that the powerful Hungary, which had resisted his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father for decades, could truly only muster less than thirty thousand main troops to fight him in a decisive battle.

He had originally thought this was just the vanguard.

Janos, then Governor of Transylvania, was ordered to organize an army of several tens of thousands to reinforce King Louis II.

However, for unknown reasons, this army never left Transylvania until Budapest fell, and afterwards, Janos even usurped the throne in Transylvania.

These nobles still had some scruples now, but once royal power completely declined, Hungary would truly become an empty shell, crumbling at a touch.

Below the King were the high nobles, namely the Governors and Frontier Lords, equivalent to Dukes in the Empire.

Among them, Frontier Lord was a specific title for the Governor of Croatia, Governor of Slavonia, and Governor of Bosnia, to distinguish them from the Governor of Transylvania and the Governor of Hungary.

Nobles holding these Governor positions could easily expand their family's land through their power.

To this day, the position of Governor has not been fully hereditary, which is the result of the power struggles and mutual checks and balances among Hungarian nobles.

The next level of nobles was called County Head, a term almost equivalent to Count in Hungary.

The office of County Head had become completely hereditary, and they were grouped into the same tier as the hereditary lords who originally received medium-sized fiefs directly from the King; now they were all called Counts.

Below that were the lower nobles, consisting of Barons and Knights; the wealth disparity within this tier was also considerable.

The highest-ranking Barons, also known as Castle Lords, could even possess vast assets of over a dozen castles, while the poorest Knights might not even be able to afford servants.

Laszlo sought his allies among these Barons and Counts; these nobles, in pursuit of higher status, also showed favor to the Emperor.

Thus, at Laszlo's instruction, Archbishop Veszter took the lead in holding a preparatory meeting, inviting influential local nobles favored by the Emperor and some lesser nobles seeking promotion.

The nobles who participated in this meeting included Miklos Szécsényi, who had served as a general in the Hungarian Border Guard and later returned to rule his family's territory in northern Hungary.

Laszlo Rozgonyi, whose family had once supported the Anjou dynasty's rule and thus obtained a fief in Transylvania, though this family did not fare well under the pressure of the Hunyadi Family.

Peter Hejderwari, whose brother was the Bishop of Gyor, and whose family's territory was concentrated in the Sopron region, an area on the border between Austria and Hungary, very close to Vienna, representing the pro-Austrian nobles.

In addition to these Counts, there were also some small and medium-sized nobles, mainly from the Slovak region and western Hungary, who also held a friendly attitude towards the Emperor.

Sunlight streamed through the colored glass windows, illuminating the council hall of Budapest Palace.

The nobles entered the hall in order, standing by their designated seats at the long table.

Laszlo arrived early at the council hall; he was dressed in splendid ceremonial attire, with a kind and friendly smile on his face, greeting each noble present.

Only when all invited nobles had entered did Laszlo rise and begin his address.

"I am delighted to see so many loyal nobles gathered here; today we will jointly discuss the future of Hungary."

Laszlo's voice was gentle and cordial, which slightly eased the nobles' originally tense and excited feelings.

The nobles bowed to the Emperor, their eyes filled with awe.

They had never imagined that one day they would be able to interact with the Emperor so closely, feeling both excited and somewhat uneasy.

Laszlo motioned for everyone to be seated, then cleared his throat and continued, "I know that you all have been suppressed by the greater nobles in the Kingdom's politics.

Today I have good news for you.

I have decided to break the greater nobles' monopoly on royal official positions; as long as they are talented lesser nobles, they will all have the opportunity to serve as government officials."

At these words, the count-level nobles showed no reaction, as they already had opportunities to enter the royal bureaucratic system.

However, the faces of the lesser nobles revealed expressions of surprise and joy.

They couldn't believe their ears; this was simply incredibly good news for them.

A young Baron stood up excitedly, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, "Your Majesty, is this true? Do we really have a chance to serve in the government?"

Laszlo smiled and nodded, "Of course it's true. I hope Hungary can have more talented people serving the nation, regardless of their background."

Other lesser nobles also stood up, expressing their gratitude and loyalty to the Emperor.

This was a life-changing opportunity that could free them from the oppression of the great nobles and grant them more power.

"Furthermore, I promise to protect everyone's independence and freedom, and to limit the arbitrary annexation of land between nobles," Laszlo continued, his gaze firming, "I will not allow the great nobles to wantonly infringe upon your rights, so that you can live and develop in peace."

Another lower-ranking noble said with renewed spirit, "Your Majesty, your words have given us hope for the future.

These past years, we have lived too difficultly under the oppression of the great nobles.

Now, with your protection, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

"However, the great nobles will certainly not easily agree to these proposals," Laszlo showed a worried expression, his demeanor switching smoothly, "I fear that in the Hungarian Parliament, these proposals will again come to nothing, just like before. I truly do not wish to see such a thing happen."

"Your Majesty, we will firmly support you!"

"That's right, Your Majesty, we will make your benevolence and enlightenment known to more people, which will surely gain more support in the Hungarian Parliament!"

Seeing the agitated lesser nobles, Laszlo knew that half of his goal had been achieved.

He nodded slightly, "I understand your suffering and will do my best to solve your problems.

I hope everyone can support my reforms and work together for the prosperity of Hungary."

In the time that followed, the lesser nobles spoke one after another, expressing their support for the reforms and their hopes for the future.

They put forward some specific suggestions, such as strengthening supervision over the great nobles and improving the tax system.

Laszlo listened carefully to everyone's speech, occasionally instructing the scribe beside him to record it.

Subsequently, the Emperor turned his gaze to those few Counts; ordinary bargaining chips would not attract them, but Laszlo was well prepared for this.

The core of winning over the middle-ranking nobles was binding their interests and institutional checks and balances.

Szécsényi was appointed by Laszlo as the third Royal Overseer, responsible for managing the most important Hungarian Border Guard stationed outside Budapest.

Rozgonyi was granted the position of High Justice of the Hungarian Royal Court, responsible for handling legal affairs in the royal domains.

Of course, theoretically, he could also handle local disputes, but before the great nobles were cleared out, this possibility would probably only remain theoretical.

Heidervari was skilled in managing industries, and Laszlo appointed him as the royal financial official, specifically to manage the royal mines in the Slovakia region for Laszlo.

The remaining selected middle-ranking nobles also received promotions and rewards, and in addition, they were allowed to enjoy legal autonomy; under non-special conditions, the central government would not interfere with judicial matters within their territories.

As for the risks that excessive decentralization might lead to, looking at the current Hungary, which is already on the verge of collapse, there's no need to worry about the issue of 'excessive' power.

Which King of Hungary in the more than two hundred years that followed did not want to fill the huge pit dug by the golden bull?

Among them, the most successful was probably Charles I, the founder of the Hungarian Anjou dynasty. He repeatedly quelled rebellions by great nobles, and after defeating the rebellion of the strongest Csák family, he brought all their territories in western Hungary, upstream of the Danube River, back under royal ownership.

Other rebellious great feudal lords were dealt with in the same way, and Charles I even almost reclaimed the entire Transylvania.

However, his son, King Louis II, known as "the Great," was an actual prodigal.

During his reign, he issued decrees consolidating noble privileges, and in order to wage wars against Naples, Venice, the Ottoman, and even the Kingdom of Poland, he compromised with the Hungarian nobles multiple times, directly causing Hungary, which had the opportunity to move towards centralization, to regress back to an era of feudal fragmentation.

His son-in-law and successor, Sigismund, was even more extreme; he was once imprisoned by a coalition of Hungarian great nobles and forced to grant them more privileges.

To support the wars against Bohemia and the Ottoman, Sigismund continuously sold off his territories; his homeland Luxembourg was sold, Brandenburg and the position of Elector were also sold, and more than a third of Hungary's royal domains were sold.

Now, Laszlo had to taste the bitter fruits of these compromises made by his predecessors, and Laszlo stated that he did not like bitterness.

Since his predecessors were so fond of decentralization, he could also emulate them, couldn't he?

Granting power to great nobles only leads to arrogance and recklessness, but granting power to lesser nobles can bring loyalty and gratitude; isn't that wonderful?

After a joyous preparatory meeting, the satisfied nobles bid farewell to the Emperor and left Castle Hill with anticipation for the future.

Laszlo began to make final preparations for the upcoming Hungarian Parliament; he did not intend to waste too much time dragging things out with these damned nobles in Hungary.

Stabilizing the situation temporarily would suffice; once Austria's national strength somewhat recovered, he would let these Magyar nobles know that the Habsburg Family was not only hard in the lower body.

Leonor had conceived their third child last winter, and it had already been over six months.

He had already missed the births of Christopher and Maximilian, and he did not want to miss this third one.

For this reason, not quickly solving the problems in Hungary would not do, and internal affairs of the Roman Empire also required his constant attention; the preparation for the Grand Duke Conference was also nearing its end.

There were always so many things to do, as if they were never-ending, but Laszlo had long been accustomed to this.