Stabilizing Italy

Inside Visconti Castle, representatives from various Northern Italy states were pouring out their grievances to Laszlo.

Since the Emperor claimed he would solve their troubles, they naturally wouldn't hold back.

"Your Majesty, regarding the Imperial Army stationed in Venetia…"

Seeing that the representatives from various countries who had submitted to the Emperor were only bickering with him over trivial matters, Marquis Borso of Ferrara finally couldn't help but step forward.

Upon hearing this, the representatives from the Italian states all turned their gaze towards him.

William of Montferrat, as well as representatives from Genoa, Mantua, and other states, looked at the brave Marquis with subtle expressions.

The most pressing concern for everyone present was this very issue, but due to the Emperor's authority, no one dared to openly voice opposition, especially those states that had submitted to Laszlo; they were unwilling to raise such a matter at the meeting and offend the Emperor.

Fortunately, someone finally spoke up for them and brought the issue to the table.

"The garrison is doing well right now, is there a problem?"

Laszlo had anticipated this question, but he still feigned ignorance.

Borso was a bit anxious; it seemed everyone here was just putting on a show.

"The problem is, do you remember what you promised us at the Milan meeting?"

"Of course," Laszlo nodded, recalling, "You pay a military defense tax, and the Imperial Army stationed in Venetia will protect you. Is there any problem with that?"

"Your Majesty, for the past few years, we have borne a considerable amount of military expenses for you, but you sent the army stationed in Venetia to fight in Hungary, and now we are expected to cover the losses incurred. Surely that's not right?"

Borso was determined at this point; he didn't care if other states reluctantly paid, but having to pay thousands of florins in military expenses each year was a significant burden for him too.

The key was that this money was entirely imposed on them by the Emperor.

A few years ago, at the end of the Italian Wars, they were forced by the Emperor's formidable power to agree to this pact.

But now, the Emperor's actions were truly unbearable for him.

It was their money that maintained the army, yet the Emperor arbitrarily dispatched it to fight in Hungary.

"That's not how you should put it. The primary mission of the Venetia army is, of course, to protect the security and stability of the Northern Italy region, and they have fulfilled this mission very well.

But at the same time, they are also an Imperial Army, and they will fight for the Empire when needed."

Laszlo patiently explained.

To achieve victory in the continuous wars, he had suddenly expanded the Austrian army to over twenty thousand men.

That was an army that normal national finances simply could not sustain; maintaining it long-term would only lead to the complete destruction of Austria and Bohemia's economies.

However, he desperately needed this army.

The unruly Hungarian nobles were powerful, the numerous princes within the Empire, when united, were also not to be underestimated, and there were also France and other enemies eyeing them covetously.

Without this army in hand, he would simply be unable to calmly resolve the obstacles in his path as he was doing now.

To alleviate the financial burden caused by military expenses, he had tried many methods.

Collecting tribute from vassal states, directly levying military expenses from army garrisons, and establishing training grounds and arsenals to reduce the cost of maintaining the army.

Among them, the method he was most satisfied with was implemented in the Milan Pact: directly levying military expenses from Imperial princes under the pretext of military defense to maintain the garrison in that region.

This way, the Imperial Army served him in wartime, and during peacetime, its stationing within the Empire could also deter disloyal princes, truly achieving multiple objectives.

The implementation of this policy in Northern Italy achieved good results, which made Laszlo even more satisfied.

He even planned to implement this system in the Swabia region, placing the Independent Army there.

However, the Swabia princes, who had not been beaten and threatened by Laszlo, rejected this proposal.

Compared to raising an army for the Emperor, they preferred to provide their own men and money to raise an army that would truly fight for the interests of the Swabian Imperial Circle.

Of course, when necessary, their army would also fight for the Emperor; this situation was limited to when France and Switzerland threatened Swabia's security.

Although the attempt to replicate it in Swabia failed, the policy in Northern Italy had been maintained very well, until the Hunyadi rebellion broke out.

The Emperor directly moved the Austro-Hungarian Army from its Venetia station, which caused considerable discontent among the rulers of the Italian states.

However, no one dared to bring this up to the Emperor; Milan, Genoa, and Florence, who paid the most, said nothing.

Milan was the Emperor's own territory, so naturally, there could be no objections.

The Adorno and Fregoso families of Genoa were scrambling to curry favor with the Emperor.

They had already submitted to King Charles VII of France once in 1458, accepting a puppet governor appointed by the French King.

After the Emperor liberated Genoa, he did indeed strengthen his control over Genoa, but it was based on equal cooperation, very different from the French, who only used military threats.

If paying some money could secure the Emperor's protection, they had no objections.

Florence?

Jacob de' Pazzi, the Marquis of Florence, was still enfeoffed by the Emperor, and he had sworn to be the Emperor's vassal, so paying money to show loyalty was necessary.

Among the major states in Northern Italy, only Borso, the Marquis of Ferrara, was inexplicably paying an unfair sum despite being peace-loving.

If he could save this money, he could support more artists, open more schools, and collect more excellent works of art.

This Imperial prince, who was dedicated to making Ferrara an artistic paradise, no longer wanted to pay money to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, don't you find this absurd?

You took the army to Hungary to quell a rebellion in your own vassal state, and how does that become fighting for the Empire?"

Borso almost laughed at the Emperor's clumsy excuse.

He knew that the Emperor was acting with impunity, not at all worried about this money becoming an issue.

But he was unwilling to continue being taken for a fool.

The Venetians had long coveted Ferrara's territory in the Po Plain, and he and previous Marquises had been deeply worried about it.

To this end, the Marquis of Ferrara had strived to form alliances with every Pope to jointly resist Venice.

The current Pope Pius II had already reached a military alliance agreement with Borso.

When he heard that the Venetians had suffered a devastating blow from the Emperor, losing all their mainland territories, Borso was quite pleased.

The elimination of military threats meant he could dedicate more money to sponsoring art.

However, the meeting convened by the Emperor in Milan forced him to pay an annual sum to support the large Imperial Army stationed in Venetia, right on his doorstep, which made him very dissatisfied.

Facing Borso's questioning, Laszlo merely smiled slightly and patiently explained: "The logic is this: Hungary, as the eastern bulwark of the Empire, can block many threats to the Empire.

Hundreds of years ago, Hungary blocked the Mongol invasion for us.

Decades ago, Hungary again blocked the invasion of the Ottoman infidels for us.

Therefore, maintaining Hungary's stability is of great significance to the Empire.

I generally do not mobilize the Venetia garrison, but this situation was very special; I was facing two rebellions simultaneously.

Both the Palatinate revolt and the Hungarian rebels required a large number of troops to quell, which is why I had no choice but to mobilize the Venetia army."

"Even… even so, we shouldn't bear the losses suffered by this army outside the Italian region."

Borso argued, still feeling unwilling.

His gaze swept over the representatives present; no one stood up to support him, and this protest would likely yield no results.

To his surprise, the Emperor nodded and said, "You have a point.

The losses suffered by the Austro-Hungarian Army in Hungary require more military funds to fill the gap; I will bear this money myself. You only need to pay the same amount of military defense tax as in previous years.

Everyone can rest assured that this army will remain in Venetia for the most part to protect the security of the Italian states."

Everyone nodded, it was good to pay a little less money.

Borso nodded somewhat reluctantly; the Emperor's attitude was gentle but also very firm.

It seemed impossible to avoid paying protection fees.

This topic ended there, and other issues, such as territorial and trade disputes between states, were not major concerns.

However, the representative of the Republic of Genoa, a member of the Doria family, revealed some interesting news to Laszlo.

Recently, the Ottomans and Venetian had deepened their commercial cooperation in the Aegean Sea and Black Sea, aiming to expel Genoa's influence from there.

Laszlo was quite surprised by this.

Historically, at this point in time, it was the beginning of the First Venetian-Ottomans War.

Unexpectedly, the two rivals he had severely punished had actually united.

It seemed the Venetian nobles on the island still hadn't learned their lesson; it had only been a few years, and they were already colluding with the Ottomans again.

The Venetians probably hadn't given up their plan to retake the mainland, but Laszlo would not give them that opportunity.

Although he couldn't take Venice for now, with the gradual progress of naval construction, one day he would get his wish.

Moreover, the decline of the Venetians was almost inevitable; population reduction was only one part, and their vast fleet could no longer be maintained.

Because of this, the Venice that once held down Genoa with one hand and engaged in fierce naval battles with the Ottomans with the other was gone forever.

Now, they even had to cooperate with the Ottomans to suppress the Genoese.

However, Genoa had suffered years of turmoil, and its power had long since weakened to an extreme; it was only now showing some signs of revival.

After the Battle of Chioggia at the end of the last century, the Genoese fleet was destroyed by the Venetians.

Later, Genoa was forcibly controlled by the Milan Duke, and 14 major uprisings occurred over several decades.

In recent years, the French also intervened, and it was only thanks to Laszlo that Genoa was liberated.

Even so, Genoa's colonization efforts along the Black Sea coast were still flourishing.

In the future, the help of the Genoese would be indispensable in dealing with the Ottomans.

Laszlo could only express sympathy for Genoa's plight.

He agreed to grant the Genoese some trade privileges in Bulgaria, but there was nothing else he could do.

He believed that the Genoese would not be so easily defeated; for the past eighty years, Genoa had struggled in hell, so there was no reason why they should fare worse now that things were improving.

As for the other states, basically, they had no major troubles that needed Laszlo to solve.

The Italians enjoyed this rare peace, and Laszlo needed Italy to remain peaceful.

After the second Imperial tour of Italy concluded, Laszlo stayed in Milan for several more weeks.

During this time, he thoroughly toured Milan and also visited the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church, which was under construction.

The only regret was that the pregnant Leonor could not travel with him to Italy and relive their past pleasures.

Afterward, Laszlo followed Piccinino to the outskirts of Novara, a city dozens of kilometers west of Milan.

The Milan Army's "Broken Lance Legion" and "Milan Duke's Guard" were both stationed there.

On a winter morning, light snow was already falling, and Laszlo, wrapped in a black velvet cloak, followed Piccinino into the military camp.

The red glow of torches flickered on the damp stone walls, stretching the shadows of the arrayed soldiers into distorted shapes, like an unsettling fresco.

The officers' shouts rose and fell, trying to straighten the messy ranks a bit more.

Piccinino, walking beside the Emperor, had a flushed face, feeling both annoyed and ashamed.

He had intended to show the Emperor the best side of the Milan Army, but the Emperor had unexpectedly chosen to conduct a surprise inspection of the camp in the early morning.

The main army's camp was orderly arranged along the Ticino River, and they were currently inspecting the camp of the First Company of the Broken Lance Legion.

The name "Broken Lance Legion" actually came from a former army of the Duchy of Milan.

A mercenary group had suffered a heavy defeat in a battle against the Venetians, incurring severe losses.

Upon retreating to Milan, the Duke dismissed the severely wounded mercenary commander and directly incorporated the remnants of the mercenary group into Milan's standing army, naming it the Broken Lance Army.

This unit was once controlled by Duke Filippo's son-in-law, Sforza, and later came under Piccinino's command, making it his direct subordinate force.

He recruited more soldiers based on the original Broken Lance Army, expanding it into the current Broken Lance Legion.

Most of the soldiers in this unit were desperadoes from various parts of Italy and Germany.

Even with official prepared by and becoming a regular army authorized by the Emperor, these mercenaries, accustomed to their loose ways, could not change their old habits.

Laszlo saw mottled rust on many soldiers' armor, and some had blood-soaked rags wrapped around the hilts of their swords—souvenirs from quelling the rebellion in Turin not long ago.

"Piccinino, they don't seem as elite as you claimed."

Laszlo walked slowly across the training ground, which was covered with a thin layer of snow, and said to the somewhat embarrassed Piccinino.

"Your Majesty, although they look messy right now, on the battlefield, they are all battle-hardened veterans and will absolutely not disappoint you."

Piccinino wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, explaining somewhat awkwardly.

Laszlo did not comment on his words. He pushed open the door of a barrack, and a sour, rotten smell of cheap ale wafted out.

Inside, a few drunkards were still snoring loudly.

"Let's go, I think there's no need to inspect further."

Laszlo exited the foul-smelling barrack, his good mood from earlier completely ruined.

"Piccinino, your subordinates are not ordinary mercenaries; they are warriors of the Empire.

Perhaps the peaceful days have dulled their fighting spirit. How can such an army go to war?

I hope you can manage the army more strictly and not be too lenient with them, understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will not disappoint you again."

Piccinino's Adam's apple bobbed, and he felt a wave of despair.

He was indeed still managing the Milan Army using his old mercenary management methods, which clearly disappointed the Emperor greatly.

He could only secretly resolve to try and rectify military discipline later.

Laszlo quickly left the camp. Before leaving, he looked back at the towering watchtower on the edge of the camp.

His military flag, granted to the Milan Army, still fluttered at the top of the tower, swaying in the cold wind.

Compared to the Austrian Army, which had accepted regulations and restrictions, he really shouldn't have had too many expectations for the Milan Army.

This was a military camp built and maintained with flesh, blood, and money, a shield to guard Milan.

And in Laszlo's mind, the Milan Army's position had been reclassified from a regular unit to the ranks of cannon fodder.

Hmm, another unit in this category was also a mercenary force, namely Werner's Saxon Army.

Soon after, Laszlo and his entourage left Milan, heading south towards Rome.