Long-Term Farming

The rebellion had not yet fully broken out, but the news of Hunyadi Laszlo's treason had already spread throughout Budapest and its surrounding areas.

Members of Parliament also received notice of the postponement of Parliament, thus learning of this shocking fact.

At the Hungarian Border Guard camp near Budapest Castle Hill, Laszlo had just finished inspecting the camp.

He was currently having lunch in the main camp with Supervisor Szécsényi Miklós and Ester, among others.

"Your Majesty, I wonder if you are accustomed to the food?"

Szécsényi watched Laszlo, a little nervous, as he calmly ate the not-so-delicious bread and pickled meat.

"This bread is made from wheat our soldiers grew themselves on the land you graciously permitted us to use.

The taste is probably far inferior to the food made by your Italian chefs."

Laszlo smiled and shook his head, saying, "Szécsényi, you think too highly of me.

I began leading armies in campaigns across the land when I was fifteen.

In recent years, I sometimes spent almost an entire year in military camps, so how could you think I can't handle such food?

Haha, to be honest, I've been in the royal palaces of Vienna, Innsbruck, and Budapest for so long, I'm almost rusty.

This time, I can finally stretch my muscles properly again."

The generals and close retainers in the tent all knew the Emperor was referring to Hunyadi's treason.

Szécsényi secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and happily said, "It's good that Your Majesty is accustomed to the food."

Earlier, the Emperor had specifically asked to taste the soldiers' rations, and he had been so nervous that he had ordered the most delicious food in the army to be sent to the Emperor's table.

Of course, it wasn't the delicious food he and other officers often enjoyed across the river in Pest.

After all, if those foods were sent to the Emperor, he would immediately see through the perfunctory gesture, provided he wasn't foolish.

Fortunately, the Emperor seemed satisfied with the food he ate, which finally put Szécsényi's anxious mind at ease.

Laszlo gnawed on the slightly tough black bread in his hand, washing it down with a mouthful of wine.

To be honest, these things were far inferior to what he usually ate in the royal palace; they could barely be called food, perhaps?

Laszlo knew this was because his palate had become accustomed to finer things.

Originally, he had almost gotten used to the food of this era, especially military rations.

However, the peace of the past few years meant he rarely stayed in military camps, and of course, he wouldn't mistreat himself while living in the palace.

Now, suddenly tasting military rations again, he really wasn't used to it.

None of this was the point; the point was that this military camp had implemented the system of military farming according to his vision.

In fact, the early Hungarian Border Guard also had such practices, but those were spontaneous actions by the soldiers.

When directly confronting the Ottoman in the past, the Hungarian Border Guard maintained a massive scale, and such a burden almost single-handedly crippled the finances of both Austria and Hungary.

To reduce military expenditure, Albrecht II began to allow garrisons in some less important fortresses to cultivate the surrounding land themselves to offset military costs.

Only core fortresses like Timisoara and Belgrade maintained standing mobile forces, ready to respond to the imminent threat from the Ottoman at any time.

After the Crusade ended, Laszlo no longer used Austrian and Bohemian finances to fund Hungary, and he rapidly reduced the size of the Hungarian Border Guard.

At the same time, he spent more money on supporting the Austro-Hungarian Army.

In just six short years, the positions of the two countries underwent an astonishing reversal.

Now, it was Hungary that needed to hand over a portion of its fiscal revenue to support the Austro-Hungarian Army.

Two years ago, in 1460, the "turkey tax" was forced to cease collection.

Originally, not much money could be collected due to the nobles' continuous tax resistance, and now, not a single penny could be expected.

Therefore, the economy supporting the Hungarian Border Guard relied entirely on income from royal domains, which brought a considerable financial burden.

It was precisely to solve such problems that Laszlo had no choice but to let the remaining Hungarian Army, numbering less than ten thousand, begin self-sufficiency through farming and herding.

This method indeed greatly alleviated the financial difficulties of the Kingdom of Hungary, and the royal treasury could finally achieve a balance of payments.

The drawback of this measure was also quite obvious: it transformed the former professional warriors into half-farmers, half-soldiers.

This would undoubtedly lead to a weakening of the troops' combat effectiveness, but Laszlo was not overly worried, as this was not a long-term solution after all.

Perhaps, after tax reform this year or next, the Hungarian Army would no longer need to save military expenses in this way.

Moreover, they would no longer need to be stationed in the royal core territories in the Hungarian heartland, yet still bear the title of "Border Guard."

"The upcoming war will again take place in winter," Laszlo said, having finished his meal, a little troubled, "I hate fighting in winter.

The weather is cold, which is not conducive to marching, and the morale of the soldiers will also drop.

I just hope this war doesn't drag on too long, otherwise the losses might expand further."

"Your Majesty, since we need a swift victory, when should we advance into the eastern part of the Kingdom to suppress the Hunyadi rebels?"

Szécsényi was somewhat concerned about this question; since he took office as supervisor, there had often been dissenting voices within Hungary.

After all, compared to the other two supervisors, he did not have sufficient experience and military achievements, yet he received this honor, so it was normal to be envied.

It was precisely for this reason that Szécsényi was eager to prove his ability.

Not to those who questioned him, but to the Emperor.

As long as he could show the Emperor his value, then no one could shake his position.

Laszlo pondered for a moment, resting his chin, then said, "My Austro-Hungarian Army and Saxon Army are expected to arrive in Budapest in three days.

At that time, they will merge with the Imperial Guard Legion here and your Budda Legion, totaling approximately eighteen thousand troops.

With such a force, I am still not at ease; after all, the opponent is Hunyadi, so no amount of caution is too much.

The Pressburg Legion will also arrive in Budapest to join us later, and once they arrive, we will march east and pacify Transylvania."

Szécsényi nodded slightly, contemplating the balance of power between the warring parties in his mind.

The Emperor had over twenty thousand elite troops in his hands, a truly formidable force.

However, if Hunyadi, who controlled Southern Transylvania, were to act ruthlessly, he could also raise a considerable rebel army.

With the Hunyadi Family's private army as the core, plus a large number of coerced and conscripted peasants, it might indeed cause them some trouble.

Seeing that Szécsényi still seemed a little uneasy, Laszlo smiled slightly.

He turned to Ester, saying pointedly, "Ester, you should have sent out my summons, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ester replied, "Every member of the Dragon Knight Order will answer your summons and help you suppress the rebels."

Laszlo heard this and said with satisfaction, "Very good, the people of the Balkans have enjoyed several years of peace; it's time to let them recall the smell of gunpowder.

Lest when the Ottoman return, they are all slaughtered and scattered."

In the afternoon, Laszlo returned to the royal palace in Budapest and began to deal with the continuous stream of nobles.

Some were still pleading for Hunyadi, but more chose to distance themselves and pledge loyalty to the Emperor.

Whether it was true loyalty or false loyalty, Laszlo had his own judgment, but he did not expose those with ulterior motives at this time.

Originally, Laszlo intended to deal with Hunyadi and those with ulterior motives all at once.

However, since Hunyadi had escaped, it was clearly unwise to pressure the remaining nobles at this time.

After all, one has to eat one bite at a time.