The Stronghold Halts Advance

The cold wind howled, the sky was overcast with dark clouds, and distant thunder rumbled.

It looked like a heavy snowfall was imminent.

It was on such a day that Laszlo finally led his army to Timisoara.

Before his army even met the Serbian Army sent to receive them, Laszlo spotted the striking tall tower from afar. With just a glance, Laszlo determined that the tower was definitely more than thirty meters tall, perhaps even over forty meters.

"Standing on such a tall tower, one can see far and wide. I imagine the people in the city must have already learned of my army's arrival."

Laszlo had never been to Timisoara before. His two previous journeys to the East were via the Danube River highway, not through Transylvania.

At this moment, Laszlo, seeing Timisoara for the first time, thought to himself.

This fortress would always be the core of Hungary's border defense; he absolutely had to hold it in his grasp.

Matthias, who was accompanying him, showed a nostalgic expression and said with a hint of melancholy, "Yes, standing on that tall tower, you can see very far.

That tower was ordered to be expanded by my father. He commanded people to heighten the tower so that the movements of the Ottoman could be detected more quickly.

I remember climbing that tall tower often when I was a child, and I could take in all the sights around Timisoara.

There's also a bronze bell on the tower that can warn the people in the city of the enemy's arrival... The alarm bell must be ringing loudly in the city now, right?"

Hearing this, Laszlo let out a soft sigh.

Matthias mentioned Janos again. Every time he thought of the old general's earnest expectations for him before his death, Laszlo couldn't help but start to doubt himself.

However, he quickly regained his composure, constantly telling himself that this was the only path to the dynasty's prosperity.

All obstacles in his way must be removed, without exception.

Coming back to his senses, Laszlo began to observe the city that was gradually revealing itself before him.

Sturdy outer walls protected the town, and in the city center, on an open space north of the Begej River, the Timisoara Fortress stood silently.

Timisoara can also be considered a place with a long history.

Earlier, there was an East Roman barracks here, known as Tames Fort.

Later, the barracks were abandoned until Charles I of the Hungarian Anjou Dynasty rebuilt the fortress here, naming it Anjou Castle.

From then on, it became an important border town for the Kingdom of Hungary, where troops stationed could directly threaten Belgrade.

Later, the Scolari family obtained the title of Tames County Earl by aiding Emperor Sigismund, Laszlo's maternal grandfather.

The new Earl discovered that the important town used to defend against the Bulgaria, Serbia, and Ottoman was already in disrepair and in extremely poor condition.

Over the next few decades, several generations of Earls continuously reinforced the fortress's defenses and officially renamed it Timisoara.

The Earl made this place the seat of governance for the entire Tames County, which quickly attracted a large number of settlers.

Thus, centered around the sturdy fortress, a border fortress city spanning both banks of the Begej River rose from the ground.

Later, the Scolari family became extinct, and the inheritance of the Tames County Earl title was broken.

Therefore, Albrecht II abolished the Earl title and re-established Tames County.

In 1443, Janos Hunyadi, who was promoted to Governor of Transylvania, concurrently served as the Tames County Governor. He was also the Severin County Governor and the Belgrade Garrison Commander.

Thereafter, he made Timisoara and Belgrade his permanent residences.

To establish a satisfactory border defense line against the Ottoman, Janos began a large-scale expansion and improvement of Timisoara's city defense structure.

The city walls were heightened and thickened, moats were dug, towers and the main fort were raised, and a large amount of military supplies were stockpiled. The permanent garrison of Timisoara once reached 2,000 men, all composed of professional mercenaries and Transylvania cavalry.

The high castle maintenance costs were always borne by Janos himself, and the castle lived up to expectations, repelling Ottoman invasions multiple times.

In 1453, to commend Janos's achievements, Albrecht II reinstated the title of Tames County Earl, bestowing it upon Janos as the new Tames County Earl.

Around the same time, Janos and his Hunyadi Family were also formally granted the status of "true Kingdom nobles."

This completely removed him from the ranks of the emerging nobility and the baronial class, making him a so-called "Great Noble" protected by the golden bull and enjoying all privileges.

From then on, Tames County, centered around Timisoara, entirely became the territory of the Hunyadi Family, one of the four county territories of the Hunyadi Family.

The thought of Albrecht II's generous conferment upon Janos now causing him so much trouble gave Laszlo a headache.

Although he would certainly have generously rewarded Janos if he were in Albrecht II's place, when it came down to it, he still regretted it.

Fortunately, Hunyadi did not have the same awareness as his father, and coupled with Laszlo's various restrictions on his economic sources, he had no choice but to let Timisoara's defenses gradually slacken.

Even so, thanks to the Serbia's slow assembly and march, Hunyadi once again replenished the castle's garrison to eight hundred men, not counting the militia assisting in the defense of the city, and there were still large reserves of strategic materials within the city.

The city walls, personally supervised and expanded by Janos, were still tall and thick, and the flowing moat also deterred people from approaching this fortress city.

If he could, Laszlo truly did not want to fight to the death in Timisoara.

Even with tens of thousands of troops under his command, taking this city would be no easy feat.

Moreover, even if the fortress was taken regardless of sacrifices, the army would likely suffer unimaginably huge casualties.

But, to just waste time with the city's defenders?

It was said that there was enough food in the city for the garrison to eat for two years, and two years would be enough to drag Laszlo's army to the point of collapse ten times over.

As Laszlo marched, agonizing over his decision, a Serbia was brought before the Emperor.

Laszlo immediately recognized the man as the military governor of Serbia.

After a brief conversation, the man led the army to where the Serbian Army was stationed.

In a lavishly decorated, fragrant tent, Laszlo met his bedridden paternal uncle, Sigismund.

The Serbia Regent was leisurely lying on a couch, enjoying the warmth of the stove.

In the dead of winter, he wore only a slightly thickened shirt, and his shoulder, wrapped in bandages, still seeped some blood.

When Laszlo lifted the tent flap, a cold wind blew in, making Sigismund shiver. He was about to curse when he suddenly saw that the newcomer was his dear nephew, the esteemed Emperor.

Sigismund immediately forced a smile and struggled to get up to greet Laszlo.

"Don't move around when you're injured, just lie still."

Laszlo lowered the tent flap; now only the uncle and nephew were inside. He quickly stopped Sigismund's movements.

Laszlo sniffed, then fanned his hand in front of him, frowning as he asked, "Why is the smell so strong? How much incense did you use?"

"Uh... just a little," Sigismund didn't know why Laszlo would care about this. "Maybe the tent is too stuffy, so the smell can't disperse."

He always liked to use incense because it made him feel good.

Laszlo glanced at the stove beside Sigismund, sighing inwardly: This guy is really carefree, isn't he afraid of carbon monoxide poisoning...? I was even worried this guy might be up to something in Serbia, completely unnecessary worry.

Sigismund had only been Serbia Regent for a few days, and his tent was already more lavishly decorated and fragrant than the Emperor's tent. Laszlo felt it would be best to find an opportunity to reprimand him later, otherwise, who knows what kind of mess this scoundrel would turn his Serbia into.

Laszlo moved a chair to Sigismund's bedside and immediately began to converse with him after sitting down.