Judgment

Christmas of 1462 found Laszlo in the military camp outside Deva.

Almost four months had passed since he marched from Budapest to quell the rebellion, and the rebel forces had been almost completely wiped out.

Now, Hunyadi and the remaining rebel troops under his command could only hold out in the isolated fortresses of Deva and Hunyadi Fortress.

However, what was troublesome was that these two cities were located on extremely strategic terrain, with exceptionally strong defenses, even more difficult to attack than Timisoara.

Deva was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with one side facing the ceaselessly flowing Mures River. Behind the city, there were several mountain paths leading deep into the mountains and to Hunyadi Fortress.

Hunyadi Fortress, on the other hand, was built entirely on a mountaintop, surrounded by mountains.

With such terrain, let alone attacking the city, just reaching the castle gate was no easy feat.

Laszlo besieged Deva with his large army, slowly preparing for the assault, while dispatching a detachment to bypass Deva and cut off the road from Deva to Hunyadi Fortress.

Hunyadi himself was currently inside Deva. The remaining rebel troops under his command, along with the original defenders of Deva, likely numbered close to five thousand.

To reduce the consumption of supplies within the city and to eliminate hidden dangers, he ordered all German immigrants in the city to be expelled or executed, which directly reduced Deva's population by one-third.

Deva, a Transylvania city that prospered due to German immigrants, now rarely saw Germans.

Having reached such a deranged state, Laszlo had completely lost patience with Laszlo Hunyadi.

Although he had never intended to spare Hunyadi, this reckless rebel, there was now nothing that could shake his resolve to chop off Hunyadi's head.

However, it would undoubtedly be extremely difficult for his army of over thirty thousand, assembled from various factions, to forcefully take the heavily defended Deva.

If he were to attack regardless of the cost, it might ultimately lead to a devastating defeat, and such an outcome was not what Laszlo desired.

Therefore, facing the heavily fortified Deva, Laszlo chose the same strategy he used against Prague—a prolonged siege.

Either the city's provisions would run out first, or the besieging army's supplies would face problems first.

In short, so far, Laszlo had no better option than to outlast Hunyadi.

What he had to do every day was to find ways to secure more supplies for the army, and then wait until Hunyadi could no longer hold out and surrendered, or came out for a desperate fight.

During this period, Laszlo's camp welcomed an envoy who came to apologize.

Schmidt, the Mayor of Sibiu, personally came before the Emperor, hoping to resolve the dispute with Prince Vlad with the Emperor's support.

Inside the Emperor's excessively simple military tent, thick curtains blocked the winter cold, but could not block the tense atmosphere filling the air.

Laszlo sat formally in the main seat, uncharacteristically wearing a luxurious imperial robe in the military, with several shining badges on his chest gleaming in the candlelight.

He seemed excessively young, but his eyes were deep and sharp, as if they could see through all conspiracies and schemes.

This was Schmidt's first impression of this Emperor and King of Hungary.

Vlad, standing a little further away, felt a sense of awe. Compared to their meeting a few months ago, the Emperor's majesty was even more intimidating.

This suppression of Hunyadi's rebellion would undoubtedly elevate the Emperor's power to a new level.

It was likely that for a long time after this, no one in Hungary would be foolish enough to rebel against the Emperor.

This also served as a way for him to vent his anger.

That damned Hunyadi had conspired to overthrow him; Vlad wished he could immediately capture Hunyadi and impale him.

But now, he needed to deal with another participant in the conspiracy—the sensitive Sibiu people.

Although he himself did not have high hopes for this judgment, it was, after all, an excellent opportunity to have the Emperor preside over justice for him.

He glanced at the Mayor of Sibiu beside him, his expression grim, his eyes filled with a longing for impalement.

In fact, he had already carried out this activity in several villages around Sibiu before this.

When the terrifying forest of stakes spread from Wallachia to the land of Transylvania, the city council of Sibiu, while strengthening their city defenses, decisively chose to yield.

Surrender bought Sibiu temporary stability, and now the German immigrants in the city hoped to completely resolve the dispute with Prince Vlad.

"Your Majesty, the rebels funded by the merchants of Sibiu almost took my life!"

Vlad's voice echoed like thunder in the hall; Laszlo had never seen him so hysterical.

Thinking back to when Laszlo had just ascended to the throne as King of Hungary, and Vlad had humbly pleaded for his help, one couldn't help but lament how power truly could transform a person.

Or rather, this was Vlad's true self; he simply adapted his attitude flexibly when his circumstances were unfavorable. "The Saxons' mercenaries burned, killed, and plundered within my principality, committing unspeakable atrocities! I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for your most loyal subject."

Hearing Vlad's accusations, Werner, who was watching from the side, touched his nose with a strange expression.

Why did it always feel like the Prince Vlad was describing things that his own Saxon mercenaries had done?

However, he also understood that the Saxons referred to by the Easterners were not the people from the region of Saxony typically known within the Empire, but rather the German immigrants of Transylvania.

Facing Prince Vlad's accusations, Mayor Schmidt maintained an elegant and composed demeanor, his eyes revealing shrewdness and cunning. He bowed slightly to the Emperor, his tone calm yet subtly sharp: "Your Majesty, what Prince Vlad said is a gross exaggeration; the so-called atrocities simply do not exist.

The reason we supported the rebels was actually due to the instigation and coercion of the rebel Hunyadi.

He used his authority as Governor of Transylvania to pressure us, and even wrote to me saying, 'Prince Vlad has no intention of being loyal to His Majesty the Emperor.'

Furthermore, Prince Vlad mistakenly implemented narrow protectionist trade policies in Wallachia, severely disrupting the trade order of the Balkans.

Therefore, we were forced to support the rebels, and we hope Prince Vlad and His Majesty the Emperor can understand our difficulties.

The Sibiu city council agrees to pay Prince Vlad fifty thousand florins in compensation, hoping only that Prince Vlad will cease persecuting German merchants.

This is merely the fault of our single city, Sibiu, yet it has implicated all immigrant cities.

For this, we have endured immense pressure within the Saxon City Alliance."

"Hmph!" Vlad snorted, "What concern is it of yours what trade policies I implement within my own territory?

Listening to you, it sounds as if everything is my fault?

I'd like to peel off your skin to see how thick it truly is."

"Enough!"

Laszlo slammed his hand heavily on the table, silencing the bickering pair.

His gaze swept back and forth between them, quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Wallachia was an important barrier for the Balkans and the Kingdom of Hungary, and maintaining Vlad's loyalty was crucial for the security and stability of the family's territories.

His previous choice seemed to have yielded little result because he had not provided Vlad with much substantial assistance.

Vlad's attitude towards him remained at the level of [Friendly/Fearful], and had not yet risen to loyalty.

However, maintaining it like this was pretty much enough.

Historically, Vlad challenged the Ottoman Empire wildly after his second ascension to power because Mehmed II refused to help him fight Janos and secure his position as Prince.

He killed envoys, crossed the river to sweep through Tarnovo, and killed tens of thousands of Ottoman civilians every year.

Facing such an extremely sensitive madman, it was very difficult to completely control him, but it was very easy to use him.

The best way was to make him both fear his power and appreciate his kindness, so as to maintain long-term stability.

When Vlad died, Wallachia would probably never have such a powerful ruler again, and then Laszlo would have plenty of opportunities to deal with this small country.

As a German immigrant city, Sibiu was not only an important hub for Transylvania's commercial trade, but also a key part of his policy of encouraging immigration.

Although most German immigrants' destination was Bulgaria, many immigrants were also settled on the Kingdom of Hungary's royal estates.

Among them, Transylvania's royal estates were the largest and most complete, and had a deep foundation of German immigrants.

More than two hundred years ago, it had already begun to accept German immigrants for settlement.

If the problem of Sibiu was not handled well, it would undoubtedly lead to a certain degree of Strike to the enthusiasm of German immigrants.

It seemed that the next year's German immigration conference would be held in a few months.

And Sibiu, as the long-term host city for the conference, its status was also widely questioned because it was involved in this conspiracy.

Laszlo frowned slightly, and began to consider whether the 100,000 florin compensation proposed by the Mayor of Sibiu could appease Vlad's anger.

From the attitude shown by the other party, Vlad clearly advocated blood for blood.

The rebels almost took his life, so it was not surprising that he would launch a crazy revenge.

In fact, from Schmidt's words, Laszlo heard that Vlad had already begun to implement his revenge.

This guy seemed to be wantonly hunting and abusing German immigrant merchants in Wallachia, and plundering their property.

This was simply treating those German merchants like Jews...

"I don't want to hear you blame each other, I need a feasible solution."

Laszlo first looked at Vlad, his tone slightly softened: "Vlad, you are the Prince of Wallachia whom I supported to power, and your right to rule Wallachia has been recognized by me.

Therefore, you are undoubtedly the victim of the conspiracy, and I will not stand idly by what Wallachia has suffered."

Vlad was about to speak, but Laszlo suddenly changed the subject.

"However, the mastermind of this matter is Hunyadi, the rebel we are attacking this time, and the citizens of Sibiu were forced to participate in this conspiracy.

Moreover, it seems you have already inflicted some punishment on them."

"Yes, Emperor."

Vlad admitted his actions, somewhat anticipating what the Emperor's final judgment would be.

Laszlo's gaze turned to Schmidt, and his tone became stern: "Mr. Mayor, you must hand over all those directly involved in this conspiracy to Vlad within ten days for his disposal.

Their assets, along with the compensation you promised, will be handed over to Vlad to compensate Wallachia for the losses suffered in this rebellion.

Do you have any objections to this?"

Schmidt thought carefully for a moment; the Emperor's ruling seemed to have considerable room for maneuver, and such conditions could not be called harsh.

He immediately expressed his agreement.

Vlad frowned slightly; this condition did accommodate his demands, and those who truly participated in the resistance against him would be handed over to him for handling.

However, he always felt that his head was only worth fifty thousand florins.

The Ottomans's bounty on him seemed to be around the same price.

Laszlo noticed Vlad's doubts and turned to him again, saying: "Vlad, don't be so quick to be dissatisfied; you will receive other compensation.

All the Hunyadi Family's territories in the Severin region will belong to you from now on, but the Kingdom of Hungary will retain the right to garrison Severin Fortress.

You and I will each send a part of the garrison to Severin Fortress to protect the security of both countries."

Vlad raised an eyebrow slightly; the Emperor's move of 'borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha' was truly excellent.

Those castles were captured by his own troops, and they should have been his in the first place.

However, the Emperor acknowledged that these territories were his, so his relationship with these territories changed from occupation to legitimate rule.

This made him satisfied.

However, the Emperor was still unwilling to let go of Severin Fortress, which cast a shadow over Vlad's heart.

It seemed that when he was in Hungary, the Emperor truly considered himself a Hungarian, and he even held onto the Hungarian obsession with Severin.

Severin was like another Belgrade, an important factor for the Kingdom of Hungary to maintain its strong influence in the Balkans.

Should he strive for it? Strive for absolute control over Severin Fortress.

Vlad really wanted to do that; as long as he completely controlled Severin Fortress, Wallachia could become self-contained.

This meant he could easily defend against attacks from Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia.

At that time, he could more freely mold Wallachia according to his own will.

However, if he were to truly defy the Emperor, the result would definitely not be worth the loss.

"Thank you, Emperor, for upholding justice for me. Your just reputation will be forever remembered by the Wallachians."

Laszlo smiled slightly; such flattery did not make him happy, but Vlad's attitude towards him did not show any significant fluctuations, which was enough.

As for whether the Wallachians would remember his fairness, he probably wouldn't.

Vlad was not widely loved in the Principality of Wallachia.

Perhaps some people would even harbor resentment because he supported Vlad's ascension to power.

At least the Wallachian nobles certainly wouldn't be happy.

Among the Wallachian courtiers now, only two had served in the court five years ago; almost all the remaining courtiers did not meet a good end.

Such rule was cruel, but also effective, though it was unknown how much longer it could last.

When everyone left the Emperor's large tent, Schmidt immediately handed over some accompanying prisoners to Vlad.

Among them was Streif, the mercenary leader from Sibiu, who personally participated in the raid on Vlad.

Afterward, Laszlo heard that Vlad took these prisoners near the city walls of Deva.

Under the gaze of various armies and the rebels within the city, he publicly demonstrated the entire process of impalement.

He then threatened to inflict this punishment on all resistors in the city.

The soldiers finally confirmed that the rumors of the Prince Vlad going mad at the sight of blood were not false.

Laszlo did not personally observe the scene, and that night, many reports of soldiers suffering from insomnia came in.

Some of the conflict between Sibiu and Vlad was resolved.

As for the deeper conflict, namely Vlad's implementation of protectionist trade policies in Wallachia, he had no intention of interfering.