News of an Old Enemy

Days of intense meetings had left most attendees, including Laszlo, feeling exhausted.

Therefore, the Imperial Diet temporarily entered a recess, allowing Laszlo to deal with a backlog of legal cases.

After a day of diligent work, Laszlo left the city hall, surrounded by his attendants, and headed to his temporary residence, the Regensburg Palace.

After handling a large number of property disputes, inheritance cases, and blood feuds, Laszlo felt a headache coming on.

Originally, cases in the Regensburg area were managed by the Margrave of Ansbach, Albrecht von Hohenzollern, whom he had appointed as the Law Enforcement Officer of Franconia and Bavaria.

However, after his arrival in Regensburg, these people all came directly to him, the Emperor, to appeal.

If he hadn't brought several legal advisors with him on this trip, Laszlo would have been truly unable to cope with these troublesome matters.

Once these trivial Imperial affairs were dealt with, Laszlo finally had the opportunity to consider how to get the Imperial Diet to pass the universal Imperial tax.

Strictly speaking, his financial problems had already been largely resolved through various means.

By extracting wealth from Northern Italy, Bohemia, and Hungary, he was able to maintain a standing army of tens of thousands of men at a relatively low cost.

As for Austria itself, it only needed to support the Independent Army and the Guards, which were the absolute main force of the Austrian army.

After rational allocation of resources, he had finally achieved a delicate economic balance.

However, this was all based on the premise of imposing heavy taxes on all the countries under his rule, including Austria.

A considerable portion of the accumulated wealth from the previous years of recuperation had been spent in Switzerland.

The military expenditure for the Imperial Army's invasion of Switzerland alone cost hundreds of thousands of florins, and although this money would be shared among several countries, it was still not a small sum.

A vast territory required an astonishingly large army to protect it, and these semi-conscripted, semi-mercenary standing armies were the most terrifying money-guzzling beasts of this era.

This meant that cutting expenses was a rather difficult task for Laszlo.

Even in peacetime, military expenses of several hundred thousand florins a year were enough to scare many Holy Roman Empire princes to tears.

It should be noted that the Duke of Landshut, Ludwig IX, known as "the Rich," had an annual income of only about one hundred thousand florins from his territory, which was already among the highest in the Empire.

In times of war, it was no exaggeration to say that it was not uncommon for military expenses to exceed a million florins annually.

Since he couldn't spend less money, Laszlo could only choose to increase revenue and find ways to earn more.

He was steadily implementing various measures such as investing in and encouraging the development of urban handicrafts, vigorously developing mining, monopolizing resources in Central and Eastern Europe, and attempting to reduce noble privileges to broaden the tax base.

The universal Imperial tax to be collected now was also a means of increasing financial revenue.

Compared to the meager taxes "donated" by the Imperial Free Cities to the Emperor in the past, collecting taxes from the vast Imperial subjects was much more substantial.

Laszlo's gaze swept across the shops along the street; it was dusk, and the busy merchants were preparing to close for the day, their faces still showing the joy of a bountiful harvest.

The convening of the Imperial Diet had brought a temporary prosperity to Regensburg, making life a little easier for the citizens.

If the universal tax were indeed passed, the burden of this tax would ultimately be shifted to these ordinary Imperial citizens.

They had no idea that the meeting being held in the old city hall was discussing how to add more burdens to their shoulders.

Not only the citizens of the Free Cities, but also the farmers in the Imperial countryside, the Imperial knights, the Imperial nobles, and their subjects—these groups, which constituted a large portion of the Empire's population, would all face greater living pressure due to the universal tax.

Moreover, this tax would be used for Imperial affairs, providing almost no direct benefit to them.

The contradictory point was that the vast majority of the populace, as the main target of taxation, could only symbolically protest and resist in the low-status Third Estate; they didn't even have the right to vote.

The Emperor, the Electors, and the princes—these high-ranking nobles of the Empire could even decide any matter without regard for the attitude of the parties involved.

However, since the universal tax was levied based on the assets of each Imperial estate, treating both Electors and the free citizens of Swabia equally, it was highly likely that both the Electoral College and the College of Princes would resist the collection of this tax.

At such a time, finding a good excuse to levy taxes, by cleverly devising a name for it, was undoubtedly the best way to silence the dissenting voices in the Empire.

They needed to know the Emperor's hard work and sacrifices, otherwise, who would willingly pay for a vague and intangible Empire?

Along the way, Laszlo thought of many reasons for taxation.

Besides the fundamental need to support the Imperial government, another excellent excuse was to resist foreign invasion.

However, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of France were currently being beaten down by him, and the greatest threat to the Empire was actually the Duchy of Burgundy.

He couldn't possibly levy taxes within the Empire under the pretext of resisting his ally, Burgundy, could he?

Thinking carefully, his past actions within the Empire seemed to indeed show too little regard for the Empire.

Now, apart from a few princes who were close to him, hardly anyone truly believed that the Emperor would protect the Empire.

This greatly troubled Laszlo.

He had always treated the Empire as a tool, and now that it was time to try and integrate the Empire, he suddenly found that Imperial authority was insufficient.

However, he did not regret it, because raising Burgundy as a barrier against France was already a predetermined national policy.

Perhaps the time was not yet ripe.

As Laszlo thought this, he slowly entered his residence, only to see Eyczing waiting for him with a letter.

As soon as Eyczing saw Laszlo, he immediately came forward and handed him the letter.

"Your Majesty, Frederick has sent an urgent report from Bulgaria, reportedly concerning the Ottomans."

Hearing this country, which he hadn't heard about in a long time, Laszlo was somewhat surprised, then frowned slightly, took the letter, and entered the room.

Frederick would send letters to Vienna periodically, detailing the situation in Bulgaria, which was a regular work report.

In previous letters, Frederick always complained bitterly, asking Laszlo for more aid.

Or he would curse the Bulgarian mobs, how they robbed a church today and murdered several missionaries tomorrow.

This time, the letter seemed very different, which sparked a hint of curiosity in Laszlo, along with a faint sense of worry.

He tore open the letter and quickly scanned its contents, his tightly furrowed brow immediately relaxing.

The letter read: "Several months ago, the Ottomans's formidable rival in Anatolia, Karaman Bey Ishak, passed away.

Karaman's suzerain, the distant Timurid Empire in the East, is currently embroiled in war and has no interest in interfering in Karaman affairs, thus issuing the directive: 'He who is strong in arms and horses shall be the Emir of Asia Minor.'

Ishak's seven sons immediately launched an extremely chaotic civil war to contend for the throne.

The Ottomans, Ak Koyunlu, and Mamluk each supported a contender in this war.

At the same time, the Ottomans took the opportunity to launch a new Karaman expedition.

Mehmed II assembled a large army, personally leading his multiple Janissaries corps on the campaign, seemingly attempting to conquer Karaman in one fell swoop and unify all of Anatolia.

Now the Ottomans are making rapid progress and are said to be gaining the upper hand in the war.

Once Karaman falls, the Ottomans are very likely to return, and we must be prepared to resist the hateful infidels."

The rest of the content was all about asking for money and men, as if Bulgaria would be instantly overrun by the Ottomans if Laszlo didn't provide aid.

Laszlo put away the letter, his expression relaxed, not feeling the slightest tension about the intelligence Frederick had sent back.

Karaman was no pushover; in the original timeline, even the full-strength Ottoman took a full decade to completely conquer Karaman.

Now Mehmed II had been half-crippled by him, making it almost impossible to quickly eliminate Karaman.

The greatest possibility was that the Ottomans would be deeply mired in the Karaman war, allowing Laszlo to patiently develop during this time.

When the time was ripe, he would completely expel the Ottomans from the European continent.

"Your Majesty?"

Eyczing, standing beside Laszlo, looked at him with some curiosity.

"The Ottomans have launched their thirteenth, no, fourteenth expedition against the Karaman Beylik; perhaps they will succeed this time."

Laszlo's tone was relaxed, but his words immediately made Eyczing tense up.

"Should we then take this opportunity to try and retake Constantinople from the Ottomans?

Or merely threaten the Ottomans's European territories to disrupt their expansion plans?"

Laszlo shook his head, walked to the window, looked out at the deserted Regensburg, and sighed softly, saying, "If too few troops are dispatched, it won't pose any threat to Constantinople at all.

If a large army is assembled, we might go bankrupt before even reaching Constantinople.

This war against Switzerland, although it was to clip the wings of the Kingdom of France and wipe away the family's shame, the huge losses incurred by the war are also a reality.

Before the war, I had just signed the 'Recess Agreement' with the All-Austria Conference; I absolutely cannot turn around and break the agreement by imposing taxes on the Austrian people.

Bohemia is currently in a recovery phase, and the increasing number of German immigrants is a good thing for us, so the preferential policies cannot be changed.

As for Hungary...

In short, at this stage, the focus is still on recuperation and strengthening national power.

With the Burgundians helping us contain the French, and now the Ottomans are bogged down in the quagmire of Karaman.

Ak Koyunlu and the Mamluk will not let the Ottomans occupy this important buffer zone between the three powers.

This way, our external environment will be relatively stable, which is a good opportunity to deal with Imperial issues and develop our territories."

Eyczing nodded slightly upon hearing this, agreeing with the Emperor's decision.

"Then, regarding the Imperial Diet, the discussion on the universal Imperial tax is scheduled for tomorrow. What are your plans?

From my observation, most princes are opposed to it, considering regular taxation within the Empire a form of tyranny."

"Tyranny?" Laszlo scoffed, "What an ungrateful bunch.

I protect them from the threats of the Ottoman and France, yet they don't even want to pay a little tax.

I've always said that the responsibilities and obligations borne by the Emperor of this fragmented Empire are completely disproportionate to the rights he enjoys.

If it weren't for the late Emperor's dying wish, I would have quit long ago; whoever wants to be Emperor can be!"

Hearing the Emperor's complaints, Eyczing smiled helplessly; he was already used to it.

Governing a vast territory was not an easy task, and it was only natural for the Emperor to accumulate a great deal of pressure.

It was not bad to occasionally vent like this in a private corner.

However, the Empire was always more beneficial than detrimental to the Emperor and Austria, and he had to remind the Emperor of this.

"Your Majesty, the princes have always only recognized self-interest, not public order.

The only realistic reason to make them pay money and send troops is a common external threat."

Laszlo looked at Eyczing with a strange expression.

Now that the French and the Ottomans had been defeated by his efforts, there was no chance for them to threaten the Imperial homeland.

The greatest threat to the princes was probably other neighboring princes.

"What if we slightly exaggerate the Ottomans threat in the Imperial Diet," Laszlo pulled out Frederick's letter again, "for example, that the Ottomans are now on the verge of unifying Asia Minor and will soon counterattack the European continent..."

"I think they will only gloat about it, after all, the Ottomans, far away on the shores of the Black Sea, can hardly cause panic among the princes.

If the Ottomans were to reach Croatia, perhaps they would agree to your universal tax plan."

Eyczing knew those princes too well; some of them even wished for the Ottomans to return now.

"What a decline in the world; the glorious Crusades tradition has been completely lost by these degenerates who only care about power struggles and intrigues."

Laszlo was very helpless about this.

The Ottomans could not be used as an excuse, and neither could the French, naturally.

Although the Treaty of Conflans had lost its effectiveness, many still believed it was proof of the French king's submission.

If the French king couldn't even manage his own domestic princes, what threat could he pose to the Empire?

On the contrary, Charles the Bold, the son of the Duke of Burgundy, who personally attended the Imperial Diet in Regensburg, was the greatest threat to the Empire.

The Emperor's indulgence had allowed Burgundy to expand its territory significantly within the Empire, leading to continued unrest in Rhineland, Switzerland, and Westphalia.

Laszlo couldn't genuinely raise the banner of resisting his ally Burgundy, so he temporarily abandoned the idea of making the princes pay. "How about this: first, set up a universal tax that is collected irregularly and in small amounts, claiming it is for maintaining the Imperial government, and see if they can accept it."

"Yes."

The next morning, the Imperial Diet, which had been in recess for several days, reconvened.

The proposal for the universal tax passed in the Electoral College thanks to Laszlo's strong influence, but it encountered considerable obstacles in the College of Princes.

Fixed taxation was no joke; the princes generally regarded the right to levy taxes on their territories as part of their "ancestral inheritance."

Now, the Emperor intended to bypass the princes and directly tax all Imperial subjects, which was shaking their foundations.

After a long and largely meaningless debate, the College of Princes reluctantly approved the proposal, on the condition that each tax collection would require the approval of the Imperial Diet.

In any case, the collection of this tax would ultimately require coordination and supervision by the Imperial Diet, with the various Imperial Circles responsible for execution, so Laszlo could only wearily approve this amendment.

He no longer hoped to gain much from this meager and uncertain tax.

Subsequently, various issues concerning Imperial central institutions, such as the establishment of a supreme Imperial court, also sparked many disputes.

Ultimately, Laszlo succeeded in getting most of the princes and Electors to recognize the authority of the Court of the Empire, without establishing a separate judicial body.

However, in return, Laszlo allowed the various estates to jointly elect a portion of judges to his private court, making up about one-third of the total.

As for establishing standing armies for the Imperial Circles, all princes except those of Swabia, Rhineland, and Westphalia opposed this proposal.

They did not consider standing armies necessary, only believing that they would waste a lot of money that should be used for their own enjoyment.

Finally, this proposal was also modified to allow the Emperor to conscript troops in wartime within each Imperial Circle at a ratio of one soldier per hundred households to replenish the Imperial Army.

By mid-March 1465, the Regensburg Imperial Conference, which had lasted for nearly a month, concluded as the princes successively affixed their seals to the "Imperial Farewell Document."

From now on, the Empire would hold a full Imperial Diet annually at a location chosen by the Emperor to discuss Imperial affairs.

The governors of the various Imperial administrative districts also received their appointments and prepared to return and organize the so-called Imperial Circles, following the Swabian model. Most of these governors were princes close to the Emperor, which was rare good news for Laszlo.