The Hunyadi Twins

The next morning, King Laszlo, diligent and benevolent, began to toil over the difficult issues facing the Kingdom of Hungary.

The powerful magnates, represented by the Hunyadi Family and other top nobles, once again used the opportunity of a Parliament session to pressure him, seeking more benefits.

Laszlo had gradually grown accustomed to this, realizing it was not a good sign.

In his study, Laszlo reviewed the chronicles of the Kingdom of Hungary while writing down his thoughts and insights.

To further strengthen the Kingdom of Hungary, reforms must be implemented. The direction of these reforms was clear: finance, administrative system, and the army.

The primary goal of the reforms was to increase the Kingdom's tax revenue, and then to strengthen the army loyal to the monarchy.

Then, use the army to suppress rebellious nobles, and thereby extract more wealth from their pockets.

The Hungarian nobles were notoriously audacious throughout Europe.

In 1222, they had even held the King hostage, forcing him to issue the golden bull, which confirmed the nobles' extensive privileges.

In 1401, the magnates had also imprisoned King Sigismund until he agreed to further expand noble privileges.

They were not only daring but also extremely stubborn and cunning.

Besides these events recorded in the chronicles, Laszlo was also clearly aware of the fate of the Kingdom of Hungary in his original world.

In the original timeline, Laszlo V, which was him, died in Prague in 1457.

The Hungarian nobles decided to elect a new, easily manipulated King.

After a fierce debate, Szilágyi led twenty thousand Hungarian Border Guard to surround the Parliament, forcing the nobles to elect the young Matthias to the throne, with himself as regent.

The nobles were happy to see Matthias ascend the throne; firstly, he was still young, and secondly, Matthias had no royal blood whatsoever.

The only thing that gave him legitimacy to rule Hungary was his identity: the son of Janos, the hero against the Ottoman, as for legality, there was none at all.

The nobles believed they had seized Matthias's weakness and could easily control the King, and even his uncle Szilágyi, who had supported him, acted wantonly under the guise of regent.

However, none of them expected Matthias not to be a weak and incompetent monarch.

From Laszlo's perspective, Matthias could certainly be described as a 'capable minister in times of peace, a cunning hero in times of chaos'.

In his third year on the throne, Matthias used others to kill his uncle Szilágyi, forcing him to die on the front lines against the Ottoman.

Subsequently, he began to control the army, carried out a series of sweeping reforms, abolished many noble privileges, and forced them to pay large taxes.

When he ascended to power, the Kingdom of Hungary had already experienced noble rebellions, with some rebels hoping to welcome the Habsburg Family to rule Hungary.

After six years of arduous struggle, Matthias quelled all domestic uprisings and executed many nobles.

He took the opportunity to absorb lesser and middle nobles into the Parliament, achieving a one-third turnover of seats in the Hungarian Parliament.

Subsequently, almost every few years, Hungary would experience noble rebellions of considerable scale, but without exception, they were all suppressed by the Black Army.

He introduced the Renaissance wave, reformed royal finances, established a complete bureaucracy, and continuously strengthened the Black Army.

During Matthias's 33-year reign, he used iron-fisted centralization and efficient institutional reforms to bring Hungary's territory and national strength to its peak, leading people to call it the Hungarian Golden Age. At this time, the Kingdom of Hungary not only had over a million florin in tax revenue but also a standing mercenary army of over thirty thousand.

More than half of Austria, as well as Moravia and Silesia, were forcibly annexed by him.

At this time, Hungary was the third strongest country on the European continent, second only to the Ottoman and France. Such powerful national strength made the Ottoman dare not easily wage war against Hungary.

However, all the centralization and military reforms carried out during Matthias's 33-year reign were completely overturned just one year after his death.

Matthias died without legitimate heirs, and his only illegitimate son, Janos, was a frail scholar, completely lacking the military talent of his grandfather and father.

The magnates then elected the weak Polish Prince and King of Bohemia, Ulászló, as King of Hungary, and then began a very swift counterattack.

The powerful Black Army was quickly disbanded, a large part of which was declared bandits and rebels and was purged by the nobles.

All reforms implemented by Matthias were abolished within a single year.

Thirty-three years of effort turned to dust overnight, and the Kingdom of Hungary reverted to the period of Sigismund's rule.

Oligarchy, warlordism, noble republic, incompetent kings...

All of this ultimately led to the easy demise of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Ottoman Empire less than forty years after the end of its Golden Age.

It was precisely because he was familiar with such history that Laszlo held a somewhat pessimistic view of the future of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Matthias killed so many Hungarian nobles who resisted him during his reign, but ultimately, the lack of an heir led all his reform efforts to fail.

From this perspective, the demise of the Kingdom of Hungary was entirely self-inflicted.

If it weren't for the arduous support of Janos and Matthias, the father and son, Hungary might have been destroyed by the Ottoman decades earlier.

This is also the flaw of strongman politics: once the monarch becomes weak and easily bullied, these nobles will immediately transform from house dogs into vicious wolves, baring their sharp fangs.

Laszlo couldn't help but consider the future.

If he completed the purge of the Hungarian magnates and implemented reforms to strengthen the national power in Hungary, could he use some means to ensure that those conservative feudal magnate forces would not launch a counterattack and overturn the reforms after his death?

Laszlo suddenly stopped writing, realizing that his worries were completely unnecessary.

The reason Matthias's reforms were overthrown was ultimately due to his lack of legitimate heirs and the strong intervention of external forces.

However, Laszlo clearly would not have such worries. Firstly, he had a son, and would have more sons in the future.

From these children, he would always be able to pick someone of outstanding talent to rule Hungary.

Secondly, his dynasty was not as fragile as Matthias's; his rule over the three core countries of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary was legitimate and lawful.

These past years, he had continuously strengthened Austria's own power precisely so that Austria would be capable of handling everything if major changes occurred in its subordinate states.

Finally, and most importantly, he had been reborn, so why worry so much? Of course, he would do whatever felt best.

Just thinking about having to haggle with those dog-like Hungarian magnates made Laszlo feel utterly disgusted.

He wrote down the last reform idea on the paper, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Just wait a bit longer. Once things on the Holy Roman Empire side are settled, the good days for the Hungarian magnates will be over.

Laszlo reined in his wandering thoughts and began to consider the immediate problems.

The proposal to restrict serf migration absolutely could not be passed.

If it wasn't, those magnates would certainly not give up easily.

Laszlo almost immediately thought of compromising, making concessions in other areas to win over more people to his side.

Concession, compromise... When did he become so weak, his edges worn down by life?

He had won so many wars; those nobles should fear him!

Yet, these guys dared to summon him to Hungary every year to convene the Parliament, and dared to unite and pressure him, forcing him to make concessions beneficial to the nobility.

He suddenly recalled the grand ambition he had declared to Matthias many years ago, standing on the city walls when he first arrived in Budapest.

He wanted the entire European continent to prostrate at his feet, but now he couldn't even handle the Hungarian nobility, let alone the countless Imperial Princes and Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.

By the time he slowly climbed out of these two massive pits, decades would likely have passed.

Undoubtedly, he needed to be tougher and no longer let these nobles easily get their way.

After realizing all this, Laszlo immediately sent Matthias to summon the Governor of Transylvania for an audience.

He wanted to confront the audacious Hunyadi face-to-face and force him to abandon this absurd proposal.

Meanwhile, at Hunyadi Laszlo's residence, Hunyadi was also meticulously preparing for his audience with Emperor Laszlo, who had rarely visited Hungary. He adjusted his simple winter attire in the mirror, satisfied with his dignified and appropriate appearance.

Clutched tightly in Hunyadi's hand was a petition he had drafted, for which he had collected signatures from over half of the Parliament members in recent days.

This joint petition was the gift he intended to present to the Emperor today, though the Emperor might not particularly appreciate it.

Hunyadi checked the content of the petition one last time, ensuring there were no overly aggressive words that might offend the Emperor.

Afterward, he began to ponder the arguments he had prepared in advance, which included softly worded requests and coercion backed by the influence of many nobles.

Deep down, Hunyadi did not wish to sour his relationship with the Emperor too much.

However, the problem of serf flight was becoming increasingly severe, and he had no choice but to demand that the Emperor use decrees to restrain those unruly serfs.

Just as he was still deliberating his wording, a servant entered the room and reported, "Governor, your brother has arrived. He brings the King's decree."

"Oh, it's him," Hunyadi paused, "Bring him in."

Matthias followed the servant to Hunyadi's presence. Seeing his elder brother's attire, he knew he was ready and said, "Governor, the Emperor has summoned you for an audience."

"Let's go, we'll go to the Royal Palace together."

Hunyadi and Matthias rode their horses side-by-side along the road leading to the Royal Castle. Behind them, the Hunyadi Family guards followed closely.

Hunyadi's robe was embroidered with the black raven, symbolizing the Hunyadi Family, while Matthias's clothes were embroidered with the double-headed eagle, symbolizing imperial majesty.

This was an honor granted by Laszlo to his close imperial retainers.

Just as some Holy Roman Empire princes would voluntarily add the double-headed eagle emblem to their family banners to show their close relationship with the Habsburg Family.

Two brothers, bound by blood, now stood on different sides, which couldn't help but evoke a sigh.

Hunyadi's gaze occasionally fell on Matthias's expressionless face, as he quietly pondered.

Six years had passed since Matthias became the Emperor's attendant. Unbeknownst to them, some estrangement had appeared between the two brothers, who were once very close.

Regardless, the bond of kinship was always strong, and Hunyadi hoped to leverage this.

"Matthias, my dear brother, you must know why His Majesty has summoned me this time, right? I think it must be to discuss the decree restricting serf migration, don't you think?"

Hunyadi probed Matthias indirectly, hoping to gain more information from him, preferably to know the Emperor's thoughts in advance,

so he could better handle the Emperor.

"Governor, the Emperor considers many things. You should also reflect on whether your actions are truly for the Kingdom, and remember Father's teachings..."

Matthias remained expressionless, answering in a detached tone,

but Hunyadi still detected concern in his words. It seemed his brother was not as indifferent as he appeared.

Matthias was inwardly worried about Hunyadi's actions. He knew very well that some matters were the Emperor's bottom line, and his brother was recklessly testing that bottom line.

However, his loyalty to the Emperor prevented him from directly telling Hunyadi the Emperor's thoughts, so he could only remind him indirectly.

Father's teachings...

Hunyadi began to silently grasp the deeper meaning in Matthias's words.

Their father, the renowned Janos, the "White Knight," began their military education when the brothers were very young, teaching them how to fight and how to command armies.

Hunyadi Laszlo, at only twelve years old, was taken by his father to the military camp for training, enduring hardships on the bloody battlefields against the Ottoman.

In addition, Janos also diligently passed on the chivalric spirit he believed in throughout his life to the two brothers.

As a knight, besides being brave and fearless on the battlefield, one also needed to possess many other virtues.

The two most important points were loyalty to the country and benevolence.

Janos's life was dedicated to defending the territory and people of Hungary. He was unfailingly loyal to three generations of Kings, and though he held the position of Regent, he never engaged in factionalism, always remaining fair and strict, even incurring the jealousy of the great noble faction because of it.

He once invested over eighty percent of his private wealth into the Hungarian Border Guard, providing good treatment and security for the soldiers.

In his youth, upholding the spirit of chivalry, he accompanied Sigismund in invading Bohemia. The atrocities of the Bohemian Crusade shocked the young Janos and made him realize the cruel nature of war.

Subsequently, he voluntarily requested a transfer to the southeastern border region of Hungary, and from then on, he spent thirty years on the front lines fighting the infidel Ottoman.

As a valiant warrior, he was very benevolent in governing local areas, trying to avoid cruel exploitation of Hungarian commoners. Although this was often based on plundering foreign territories, he regarded it as a last resort.

It was precisely because of this that ordinary people and minor nobles greatly respected and supported Janos. After Janos's death, this support transferred to the Hunyadi Family.

However, as things stood, Hunyadi, who had led the Hunyadi Family to fully integrate into the great noble class and become its leader, had personally pushed the people who supported the Hunyadi Family towards the Emperor.

In Matthias's view, his brother had completely deviated from his original intentions and violated his father's dying wish.

His actions seemed no different from those greedy and wicked great nobles in Hungarian history.

Always complaining that he earned too little money, acquired too little land, and held too little power.

When Matthias heard that his brother had begun to exploit the people of their homeland, Transylvania, to enrich the family treasury and raise more private armies, he was actually somewhat disappointed.

Seeing Hunyadi lost in thought, seemingly still unaware of where he had gone wrong, Matthias knew that his elder brother had strayed far.

He began to consider how he could guide his misguided brother back onto the right path.

With different thoughts, the two brothers thus arrived at the Royal Castle and entered the palace together to meet the Emperor.