Court Teachers

After returning from Worms, Laszlo, who had traveled continuously for two years and even led an army to suppress a rebellion during that time, could finally enjoy a brief period of peace.

Although Bohemia, Northern Italy, and even the territory of Milan were requesting him to tour, Laszlo decided to take a break and rest for a few months.

Touring was easier than high-intensity work, but not by much; there were still so many things that it was headache-inducing.

Constantly traveling with a large entourage also brought a considerable burden to the people in various places.

He did not want to one day receive the same treatment as Otto the Great, the founding emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

To this day, an old saying is still widely circulated:

"Emperor Otto, may God protect him, may he never come here again."

That formidable Otto the Great used to tour all over the empire with his thousands of men.

For medieval European lords, such activities were crucial for maintaining stable rule.

However, wherever the emperor toured, the common people had to offer their food and other provisions to support the massive touring entourage.

And Laszlo's entourage was even grander than Otto the Great's, naturally consuming more resources and money.

Touring was necessary, especially since the vast territories he ruled were not a single country, nor were they likely to become one.

But appropriately controlling the frequency was also important.

With this in mind, Laszlo temporarily settled down in Vienna, a place he had been away from for a long time.

Inside Hofburg Palace, Laszlo was troubled by an important matter.

As time passed, Laszlo's two sons also gradually grew up.

Christopher had just celebrated his seventh birthday not long ago, and Maximilian was also six years old.

At this age, the introductory tutors hired previously were no longer sufficient.

Laszlo intended to find some truly capable scholars, and even statesmen, to serve as his sons' teachers.

This was not a difficult task.

Laszlo's court gathered outstanding talents from many countries, including Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, France, and the Italian states.

Among them were many learned individuals with profound talents, all capable of serving as tutors for the imperial princes.

However, selecting individuals from among them whose identity, status, stance, and scholarship met Laszlo's expectations became a challenge.

In the study, Laszlo looked at the information of these candidates in his hand and deliberated carefully.

The first to consider, of course, were scholars native to Austria.

A suitable candidate was before Laszlo's eyes: Georg, the Archbishop of Vienna, who had recently been promoted to Cardinal.

He had published a widely acclaimed theological treatise a year ago.

Its main content was to argue, from a theological perspective, the "erroneous nature" of various heretical sects that had emerged in the first few decades of this century, and to praise the great achievements of the Emperor.

Soon after, with the Emperor's support, he was formally promoted to Cardinal.

Now he served in the government as the deputy to the Court Chancellor Aeneas.

His thinking leaned towards conservatism, his scholarship was beyond doubt, and he was from a pure Austrian native noble background.

Furthermore, as Austria's only Cardinal, having him teach the two children seemed very good.

Next, talents from Hungary should be considered.

Vitez Janos, the Archbishop of Alba Iulia who had been dismissed for supporting the Hunyadi rebellion, was now accompanying Laszlo back to Vienna as a private consultant.

He would certainly return to Hungarian politics in the future, but for now, his other strengths could be utilized.

Vitez came from Croatia and had lived in Italy, Vienna, and Hungary for a long time, gaining a deep understanding of the languages, cultures, and national conditions of the countries surrounding Austria.

If the imperial princes were to gain experience in the eastern vassal states in the future, Vitez's guidance would certainly be helpful to them.

There were also many other professional scholars who specialized in academics and teaching.

Guarino the Younger from Italy, he was the son of the Renaissance scholar Guarino.

He inherited a large number of Greek manuscripts and various precious knowledge from the East Roman Empire that his father had brought back from Constantinople.

However, he eventually became a rhetoric professor who taught both Latin and Greek.

During the Italian War, he accepted the Emperor's invitation, gave up his professorship at Bologna University and his family's academy in Ferrara, and came to Vienna University to serve as a professor.

There was also Regiomontanus, a professor at Vienna University from Königsberg.

He entered Vienna University in 1452, and after graduating in 1457, he remained at the university as an instructor, and is now a professor at Vienna University.

This professor was highly accomplished in mathematics and astronomy, and was currently revising and translating Ptolemy's "Almagest".

It is worth mentioning that he had a close friend, Bessarion, and it was this important figure who provided him and his teacher with the original "Almagest".

Bessarion came from Trabzon, which had been destroyed by the Ottoman, and was ethnically Greek.

In terms of religious views, he was an ardent supporter of asceticism and church reform, and in this regard, his views were highly consistent with those of Pope Pius II.

Therefore, he was appointed head of the College of Cardinals by the Pope not long ago, and then granted the honorary title of Patriarch of Constantinople.

He himself frequently served as the Pope's envoy to various countries.

Laszlo had met Bessarion a few times, maintained a good relationship with him, and had always corresponded with him,

mainly discussing the handling of the Orthodox Church in the Balkans.

For Laszlo, this Greek was a potential person to support.

Once Pope Pius II went to meet God, to prevent the slow progress of church reform from being interrupted or completely overthrown, supporting Bessarion to power was an excellent choice.

Moreover, his vast collection of Greek manuscripts was a valuable treasure, and Laszlo was quite covetous of it.

Therefore, bringing Regiomontanus into the court could also provide some help in winning over Bessarion in the future.

Among these scholars, some had outstanding political abilities and certain political status, while others focused on academics and were highly talented.

After some deliberation, Laszlo made a decision.

He decided to have Cardinal Georg of Austria serve as Christopher's tutor, and Vitez Janos serve as Maximilian's tutor.

In addition, Guarino the Younger and Regiomontanus were responsible for teaching the two imperial princes basic knowledge such as language, literature, and mathematics.

Oh, and Laszlo's court fencing master, Talhoffer, would be responsible for the two imperial princes' fencing and other combat skills training.

When personally arranging the curriculum, Laszlo still retained some leniency, not burdening them too much from the start.

After all, these two children were just at the age for elementary school; if they were truly made to learn too much, they wouldn't be able to absorb it.

When they were older, Laszlo would naturally plan carefully to ensure their comprehensive development,

making them excellent heirs to this vast empire.

"The Habsburg Empire…" Laszlo put down his pen and sighed softly.

Even though he was looking for suitable tutors for his sons, Laszlo couldn't help but start thinking about the future of this vast empire.

According to the "Austrian Succession Law" he revised and established, all territories of Austria should be inherited by the eldest son, Christopher.

However, in the "Last Knight" incident, he chose to let Maximilian gain the claim to Austria.

Although having a claim does not necessarily mean that war will break out, based on Laszlo's understanding of this mysterious panel, things would certainly not be that simple.

Perhaps then, some sub-spatial whispers or similar things would echo in Maximilian's ear, infinitely amplifying his desire for Austria.

If such a situation really occurred...

Laszlo suppressed the slight unease in his heart and stopped worrying about these distant matters.

The primary problem he faced now was that his territory was too vast and he had too few sons, making it impossible to manage such an enormous domain.

He and Leonor still needed to work harder; having only three children in eight years of marriage was truly too few.

Moreover, Leonor was already thirty years old, and in a few more years, she would be a high-risk expectant mother.

In this era, the mortality rate for high-risk expectant mothers was terrifyingly high.

At that time, every childbirth would be an adventure, and a slight mishap could lead to tragedy, which was what Laszlo worried about.

Laszlo suddenly realized that he seemed to become sentimental and overthink whenever he was idle.

However, when his goals were clear, he never thought about things that would disturb his thoughts.

Indeed, he still needed to find more things to do for himself.

Stepping out of the study, Laszlo immediately ordered someone to summon the court teachers he had selected.

Soon, several scholars from all corners of the world gathered in Hofburg Palace.

Vitez, whom Laszlo had settled in a small monastery near the palace, was the first to arrive.

Then came two professors from Vienna University.

The last to arrive was Cardinal Georg, who was busy with official duties.

As for Talhoffer, he was currently in Vienna New City training new sword masters to replenish the losses suffered in the war, and he was expected to return to Vienna in two days.

In the reception room, Vitez and the younger Guarino conversed warmly.

Vitez was good friends with the elder Guarino, and he was very happy to see his old friend's son in the palace.

Regiomontanus, however, stood awkwardly by himself, unfamiliar with the two and having no common topics of conversation.

He had even less to say to the Cardinal standing next to him.

Although the head of the College of Cardinals was his good friend, in terms of status, this Archbishop of Vienna was a true dignitary.

This made him even more puzzled: what matter would cause the Emperor to summon all of them at once?

Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Matthias, the Emperor's attendant, walked in.

Subsequently, the Emperor and Empress walked into the room arm in arm, with the two Imperial Princes following behind them, and behind the Imperial Princes were two boys of similar age and a young girl.

"Your Majesty!"

Everyone bowed in unison to the Emperor, Empress, and the two Imperial Princes.

"Gentlemen, welcome."

Laszlo motioned for everyone to sit down, then enthusiastically began to introduce those present.

"These are Christopher and Maximilian, my children.

These three are members of the Palaiologos family: Zoe, Andreas, and Manuel; I am their guardian."

Laszlo then turned to the teachers, introducing them one by one to the children.

"This is Cardinal Georg, Christopher, he will be your tutor.

This is Vitez, Maximilian, he will be your tutor.

These two are Battista Guarino and Regiomontanus, respectively; they will teach you basic knowledge such as language, rhetoric, and mathematics."

Christopher and Maximilian looked curiously at the teachers their father had found for them.

They had not yet realized how drastically their lives were about to change.

Only the slightly older Andreas's expression subtly changed.

He disliked being confined to the palace to study every day; such days felt like imprisonment.

In contrast, the gentle and lively Empress Leonor's teaching was much more cheerful.

The last scions of the East Roman Imperial family, who had traveled to Vienna at a young age, felt the warmth of familial affection from her.

However, whether or not to study was clearly not up to him.

"Andreas, you are the heir of Moria, and you should even more diligently learn how to be a qualified ruler," Laszlo specifically instructed, "I promised Thomas I would teach you well, and you must not be too negligent."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

"All of you must remember, knowledge is the key to ruling your domain," Laszlo's gaze swept over each Imperial Prince, "Besides that, etiquette, demeanor, chivalry, and piety towards God—there is still much you need to learn, and you must work harder in the days to come."

The children half-understood Laszlo's words but still instinctively nodded in agreement.

Laszlo turned to look at the teachers he had chosen; the two professors were clearly flattered, while Georg and Vitez remained calm.

The Emperor's tone was unusually solemn: "From now on, I entrust the important task of educating the two Imperial Princes to all of you."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, we will do our utmost and not fail your trust and expectations."

Georg replied calmly, a smile on his usually serious face.

Georg hadn't expected that he would be chosen as a tutor for an Imperial Prince, and moreover, the tutor for Christopher, the Grand Prince and heir to Austria.

This meant that he would most likely enter the highest echelons of the Empire's power in the future; the Emperor's trust in him pleasantly surprised him.

Vitez, sitting beside him, now looked up; he noticed that Maximilian, the Second Imperial Prince he was to teach, was examining him with an inquisitive gaze.

His bony fingers stroked the silver cross on his chest, and a subtle, elusive smile played on his lips.

These days, he had also heard some palace rumors, such as the Emperor favoring his second son more.

Although he didn't know if the rumors were true or false, the Emperor's willingness to entrust his son to him, a man in disgrace, showed that the words the Emperor spoke during their meeting were not empty promises.

Before returning to Hungarian politics, it would do him no harm to build a good relationship with this Second Imperial Prince, who was rumored to be deeply favored by the Emperor.

Perhaps the Emperor intended to settle this Imperial Prince in Hungary in the future.

No one knew what the Emperor was truly thinking; he simply arranged his sons' education this way.

Subsequently, Laszlo took out a timetable and handed it to the court teachers; for a long time to come,

they would teach their students on schedule.

After everyone filed out, Laszlo and Leonor walked last.

The Empress leaned into Laszlo's ear and whispered, somewhat worriedly, "Laszlo, isn't it still too early?"

"Education must start from childhood."

"But I heard from the Empress Dowager that you always skipped classes when you were little, and your studies were a mess."

"That... that's different!" Laszlo felt a bit embarrassed but still forced himself to say, "I am naturally intelligent; sometimes talent is very important."

As he said this, his gaze was fixed on Maximilian.

Would this boy become a pillar of the dynasty in the future, or a source of division?

This was the only thing he needed to pay close attention to; he made up his mind about it.

"You're boasting," Leonor said, looking at the smug Laszlo, and chuckled, "But you are indeed a brave Knight Emperor, just like in those knight novels."

"Really? Perhaps I should write an autobiography, titled 'The Golden Emperor'?"

Laszlo laughed heartily, feeling pleased; once these little rascals were sent off, he and Leonor could enjoy more time alone together.

Taking this opportunity, they had to work hard to ensure the Habsburg Family's proliferation.