The Desire for Hegemony

After the Regensburg Conference, for certain reasons, Emperor Laszlo invited some special Imperial Princes to a smaller meeting.

The result of this meeting was a new agreement signed by the attending Princes and the Emperor.

Its contents included maintaining Imperial peace, upholding public order, and the signatory Princes fighting alongside the Emperor in the war against the Ottomans.

The Princes who signed and sealed this agreement were Charles the Bold of Burgundy, the Duke of Baden, the Duke of Württemberg, the Elector of Munich, the Margrave of Ansbach, the Duke of Saxony, the Archbishop of Mainz, the Archbishop of Trier, and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.

Considering the relationship between the signatories and the Emperor himself, this was undoubtedly a highly effective agreement.

Therefore, various factions within the Empire generally categorized the signatory Princes as belonging to the Emperor's faction.

There were also some Princes who were invited to the conference but did not sign for various reasons, or simply did not attend; their attitudes were self-evident.

For example, Duke of Landshut Louis IX, currently hosting a banquet in his Landshut castle for Archbishop of Cologne Ruprecht and Elector Palatine Philip.

"Philip, go see Margaret. She has been wanting to see you," Louis said with a smile, patting the shoulder of his prospective son-in-law, the young Elector Palatine Philip.

His daughter, Margaret, was betrothed to Philip shortly after her birth nine years ago, an act intended to deepen the ties between the two major branches of the Wittelsbach Family.

Louis was very optimistic about his son-in-law.

Upon hearing this, Philip glanced at his third uncle, Archbishop of Cologne Ruprecht, and only after receiving his permission did he follow a servant deeper into the castle.

Louis and Ruprecht, two powerful Princes both from the Wittelsbach Family, watched Philip's retreating back, their expressions turning grim.

"Archbishop, that traitor in Munich has now completely betrayed the family, shamelessly defecting to the Emperor. The situation is very bad for us," Louis said, gritting his teeth, not bothering to hide his resentment towards Elector of Munich Sigismund and his hostility towards the Emperor.

Ruprecht sighed and said, "The Emperor's power is greater now than ever before.

When he was fighting in Northern Italy, we didn't notice anything amiss.

But then Mainz and Switzerland clearly revealed his ambition.

Now the Archbishop of Mainz has become the Emperor's puppet.

The Swiss, who resisted the Habsburg Family for over a hundred years, were also forced to submit to the Emperor because France was unable to provide aid. It will probably be difficult for them to threaten Austria again."

"Indeed," Louis's face grew even uglier. "After the Imperial Conference, he still had to go to the trouble of convening a new meeting, clearly intending for us to grovel before him.

Hmph, talking about countering the Ottomans threat to the Empire, I think this damned Hungarian barbarian is the greatest threat to the Empire!"

Ruprecht strongly agreed with this. His opposition to the Emperor was not just due to family feuds, but more for the sake of the Empire.

In this era of great contention, the Princes needed a strong Emperor, but they did not need an Emperor who wanted to implement centralized reforms.

The Emperor only needed to act as a shield to protect them from the incursions of the Ottomans and the French.

Unfortunately, how could an Emperor with great power not want to gain even more power?

"Now the Emperor has shaken off external threats.

Under his indulgence and protection, Burgundy has grown into a behemoth, completely cutting off the Empire from France.

As for the Ottomans, may God forgive my sins, I almost miss those infidels now.

In this situation, he will continue to expand his influence within the Empire, and the next target is very likely to be..."

Archbishop Ruprecht did not continue his sentence, but the two men sitting there understood that the Emperor had already subjugated Northern Italy, Switzerland, and Swabia, and what remained was Bavaria.

Once Bavaria was brought under his control, the entire South German region would become the Emperor's sphere of influence.

"Bavaria is not a place he can touch," Louis said, though he felt a bit panicked inside. "It's just that the hounds crawling at his feet are annoyingly numerous.

The Margrave of Ansbach is one, the traitor in Munich is another, and then there are those useless fellows in Swabia.

Elector Frederick was defeated by these guys, and it's regrettable that my own predicament was so dire that I couldn't help him in the end."

When speaking of the former Elector Palatine Frederick, who was still imprisoned in Vienna, Louis's face showed a hint of apology.

He and Frederick were close allies for many years, and Ruprecht and Frederick were even closer, being brothers.

"You have already given him great help, but unfortunately, our enemy is too powerful," Ruprecht lamented.

Back then, among the three most powerful families, the Wittelsbach Family was the strongest. The Habsburg Family couldn't even compare to the Luxembourg family, let alone them.

Who knew that in just a hundred years, the Habsburg Family would swallow the Luxembourg family's inheritance, leaping to become the strongest power, far surpassing the Wittelsbach Family.

It was this huge disparity that ignited the fighting spirit of the former Elector Palatine Frederick, making him choose to fight the Emperor to the very end.

Unfortunately, the final outcome was without any suspense. While Palatinate suffered a heavy blow, Frederick himself was also trapped.

Young Philip still wanted to raise one hundred thousand florins to ransom his uncle Frederick.

Louis and Ruprecht, from a more realistic perspective, advised him to save that money and not fall into the Emperor's trap, which would make the already impoverished Palatinate even poorer.

As for Frederick, although they felt very sorry for him, he would probably have to spend the rest of his life in the Emperor's prison.

"Yes, the Emperor is indeed very strong. If we confine our gaze within the Empire, we simply cannot gather enough strength to resist the Emperor," Louis said, hinting at something.

Ruprecht looked at Louis in surprise upon hearing this, lowering his voice to ask, "Are you planning to ally with foreign monarchs?"

"Yes, the King of France has already contacted me.

If Laszlo insists on enforcing tyranny within the Empire, we can also nominate the King of France to be the Emperor.

How do you like this idea?"

"Are you crazy?" Ruprecht stared at Louis with wide eyes. "How can we let the French..."

"It seems it's not impossible."

"Moreover, the French have already allied with the Ottomans. They are looking for an opportunity to crush the Habsburg Family.

We only need to unite all forces that can be united within the Empire.

When France and the Ottomans attack the Emperor from two sides, that will be our best opportunity to get revenge on the Habsburg Family."

Louis sneered as he shared his alliance with the King of France with Ruprecht.

"Good, very good," Upon thinking of the dismembered Palatinate and his nephew's stripped Elector seat, Ruprecht's last doubts immediately vanished. "Since the Emperor doesn't want us to have an easy time, then let no one have an easy time!

I will try to contact allies in the north of the Empire. The Duke of Brunswick and the Brandenburg Elector are very likely to join us, and the Elector of Saxony might also join.

As for the South German... leave it to you to contact. Although the Emperor has expanded his sphere of influence throughout the entire South German region, there will always be those who are dissatisfied."

"No problem."

Ruprecht and Louis, two representatives from the elder and younger branches of the Wittelsbach Family respectively, reached a consensus in Landshut Castle.

This family, which had been divided for over a hundred years, chose to unite closely once again to resist the threat and suppression of the Habsburg Family.

Laszlo, who had not yet left Regensburg, was unaware of this conspiracy unfolding in Landshut Castle.

He was currently being pestered by his brother-in-law, Charles the Bold, and was having a headache over his demands. "Charles, are you serious? You want to be crowned King of Burgundy?"

In the imperial residence in Regensburg, Laszlo looked at Charles, who was sitting opposite him, with a helpless expression.

Seeing that Charles's expression did not seem feigned, it was clear that he could no longer suppress his desire for a crown.

"Of course I'm serious, Emperor Laszlo," Charles's face was full of confidence. "I have already defeated King Louis XI of France, so I naturally deserve the honor of a king."

After repeatedly confirming that his convenient brother-in-law was not talking nonsense, Laszlo was momentarily speechless, unsure of what to say.

He had actually thought about discarding this illusory crown of Burgundy in his possession, specifically during the last discussion about the marriage alliance with Burgundy.

He had expected the other party to demand the Burgundian throne as a condition then, but unexpectedly, Philip the Good ultimately chose to have him help stabilize his rule over Liège and Utrecht.

At the time, he thought Philip was a decent man, but now Charles had actually traveled all the way to Regensburg to attend the Imperial Conference and was demanding the Burgundian throne from him.

"Defeated Louis XI... Charles, do you really think you defeated that cunning spider?" Laszlo expressed deep doubt about Charles's words. "I heard that he immediately took back Normandy and now seems to be planning to act against the Duke of Brittany.

In my opinion, you still have a long way to go before truly defeating Louis XI."

Charles's face immediately turned as unpleasant as if he were constipated, having been hit where it hurt.

He least wanted anyone to mention the matter of him being played for a fool by Louis XI, yet Laszlo had calmly brought it up.

"Your Majesty, no matter what, the Treaty of Conflans, in black and white, is legally binding. It's just a pity that a scoundrel who disregards the spirit of the contract appeared among the signatories."

When mentioning Louis XI, Charles's face looked somewhat distorted.

"One day, I will make him pay for his evil deeds.

But before that, I indeed desperately need a status equal to his, so that I won't be suppressed by him in future confrontations."

Laszlo nodded slightly, seeing that Charles was truly agitated now.

Unlike his ancestors, Charles himself showed extreme aversion to his Valois royal bloodline.

He often claimed to be a "Portuguese" because his mother was Princess Isabelle of Portugal.

From this point of view, it is not difficult to understand why Charles was so eager to completely erase the label of "French vassal" from Burgundy.

For this, he was even willing to pay some prices that even his fathers and grandfathers would have found difficult to accept, such as...

"You need to think clearly, the Kingdom of Burgundy is legally one of the four kingdoms of the Empire.

If you want to obtain the kingship, you must swear allegiance to me.

And you must also incorporate all the territories of Burgundy—including the Duchy of Burgundy, Flanders, Artois, and Picardy, all of which originally belonged to France—into the Empire.

Think carefully, can you accept... no, it's still your father's time, can Duke Philip accept such conditions?"

Laszlo's demands made the confident Charles's face freeze, and it was a moment later that he shook his head in helpless denial.

In the past, he had also hoped to follow in his father's footsteps and rebuild the Kingdom of Lotharingia, which had vanished into the river of history.

That would make Burgundy an independent third kingdom, separate from France and the Empire.

According to the division of the Empire after Charlemagne's death, he even had a chance to glimpse the imperial throne.

But now, he had given up such unrealistic ideas.

Unlike his father, who was skilled at "dancing on three eggs," he had completely sided with Austria due to his wife and younger brother.

Therefore, joining the Empire to break away from France was not an unacceptable matter for him.

Moreover, the Emperor of the Empire was not hereditary but elected.

As the saying goes, "the Emperor takes turns, this year it's my family's turn."

Although the Habsburg Family was very powerful, Charles still felt he had a chance to ascend to that highest throne.

Even if he couldn't be elected Emperor, his status being elevated from Duke to King would be enough to comfort him for a lifetime.

Seeing Charles shake his head, Laszlo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, he was still a bit nervous about Burgundy joining the Empire.

On one hand, Burgundy's size was much larger than his prosperous Austria, and although the threat was not great, it was still somewhat of a threat.

On the other hand, the Princes of the Swabia-Rhine-Westphalia regions would certainly not easily accept this fact, and intense conflicts might even erupt as a result.

However, the benefits of Burgundy joining the Empire were also considerable.

Firstly, this would deal a huge blow to the King of France's prestige, and secondly, it would strengthen the alliance between Austria and Burgundy.

However, while Philip was still alive, Burgundy was not yet Charles's to command.

His hasty proposal of this idea now also gave Laszlo some psychological preparation.

Once Philip passed away, when Charles brought up this matter again, he could then have a good talk with his brother-in-law about a "heaven-sent opportunity."

The topic of the Burgundian throne thus ended, and Laszlo also learned from Charles's complaints that he had already secretly spent thousands of florins to forge a pure gold crown for himself.

Laszlo was even speechless to comment on this, only able to sigh that having money was indeed good.

The subsequent topic was about Louis XI. Laszlo advised Charles to reorganize and maintain the League of Public Weal, preparing for a long-term war with Louis XI.

Charles readily accepted Laszlo's suggestion, but how much he truly took to heart, only he himself probably knew.