The Beginning of Integration

After a series of major events like the Swabian War and the Imperial Conference, the Empire finally regained its tranquility.

Of course, it wasn't as peaceful as imagined.

Setting aside the surging undercurrents beneath the fragile peace, the war in Pomerania almost immediately reignited.

Laszlo had made some "efforts" to mediate this dispute in Regensburg.

However, judging from the outcome, the hatred between the two sides only deepened after one mediation negotiation,

reaching a point of no return.

Considering this complex situation, Laszlo did not propose empty regulations like "permanent peace" and "prohibition of blood feud" again at the Regensburg conference.

Since they wanted to fight, Laszlo let them fight to their heart's content, though he still verbally urged all parties to remain calm.

However, Laszlo would never admit to secretly supporting the Duke of Pomerania's independence by sponsoring the Teutonic Order.

He didn't care what happened in North German.

As long as the situation remained within controllable limits, he wouldn't waste time and effort interfering in this regional conflict.

To put it bluntly, his maintenance of the Empire's stability was not out of a so-called emperor's duty; everything should be guided by national interests.

What? You ask which country he means?

Of course, it's Austria. Could it be the Holy Roman Empire?

Even if Laszlo genuinely considered himself the Roman Emperor, the Imperial Princes who didn't submit to him were too numerous to count.

These people were like dormant beasts, waiting for Austria to show a weak side, at which point they would not hesitate to bare their fangs and savagely tear at it.

And all Laszlo needed to do was ensure Austria never lost its absolute dominance within the Empire.

To achieve this, Laszlo felt he had found the perfect method.

His strategy to strengthen Austria was divided into three steps; the first two were now complete, with only the final step remaining.

Building the Swabian Imperial Circle, using rules to make the Princes willingly submit to him.

Inciting infighting among the Bavarian Princes, so that the Wittelsbach Family could no longer pose a threat to the Habsburg Family.

Seizing the opportunity to cripple or even dismember the Swiss Confederation, eliminating historical enemies, and weakening the power of the Kingdom of France.

Establishing a strong alliance with Burgundy, making him willingly "guard" the western border of the Empire.

This first step was Laszlo's multiple efforts to ensure Austria maintained a favorable external environment within the Empire, and it now appeared to be highly effective.

Opening the Switzerland passage, achieving the connection between Outer Austria and Anterior Austria, making the main part of the country a single entity.

This move greatly enhanced Austria's regional influence and resource allocation capabilities, and also established Austria's dominant position in the southwest of the Empire.

Previously, the Swabian people had some complaints about terms like "Outer Austria" and "Anterior Austria."

Because these lands originally belonged to the Duchy of Swabia, and had absolutely no relation to Austria.

But now, as the Emperor's power and authority reached their peak, more and more people accepted this designation. In addition to reclaiming ancestral lands, Laszlo also brought Bregenz,

Cilli, and Trento under his control through purchase, inheritance, and coercion.

Although the Imperial Count of Bregenz was not qualified to speak in the Imperial Diet, his maternal uncle, the Count of Celje, was a genuine Imperial Prince-level noble.

In Cilli Castle, there was even a document issued by Emperor Sigismund in 1433 specifically elevating the Count of Celje to an Imperial Prince.

Therefore, Laszlo, as the Count of Celje, could also occupy a seat in the Imperial College of Princes.

According to the basic principles of the Imperial Diet, holding a true Imperial Prince title was equivalent to holding a seat vote.

These Imperial-certified seat votes would not disappear with the merger of Princes.

During voting, different titles held by the same Prince were calculated separately, meaning a Prince could hold multiple seat votes based on the specifications of his territory.

This is somewhat similar to changing the voting weight in the hands of the Princes; the stronger the Prince, the higher the weight of the seat votes he holds.

And Laszlo's seat vote weight in the Secular College of Princes was undoubtedly the highest.

In addition to expanding within the Empire, Laszlo also did not forget to expand Austrian territory in areas like Croatia and Venetia.

Although Varaždin Province, near the capital of the Kingdom of Croatia, was not incorporated into Austria, its officials and councilors were all Austrians.

This was one of the inheritances from his maternal uncle, Ulrich.

As for the Venetia region conquered by Laszlo's military force, there is even less to say.

By vigorously expanding Austrian territory both within and outside the Empire, Laszlo essentially solidified Austria's core position.

This was the second step in his plan.

It also included the development of Austrian territory, mainly focusing on developing Tyrol mining and Lower Austria agriculture.

These efforts are still steadily progressing, but to recover from the prolonged wars, Austria's development will ultimately be relatively slow.

Laszlo believed that Austria would usher in a long period of peace, which would be an excellent opportunity for development.

And the final, and most important, step in his plan was to gradually complete the integration of Austria with its neighboring vassal states.

The advantages created by previous schemes were only relative to the weaker Imperial Princes.

Since Bohemia fell into his hands, Austria had already gained an absolute advantage within the Empire.

However, within the Habsburg Family territories, when mentioning the strongest part, everyone would instinctively turn their gaze to the unprecedentedly powerful Hungary to the east of Austria.

Although the Vienna court always regarded Hungary as a vassal state, the reality was that Austria was more like a vassal of Hungary.

Historically, the Habsburg Family only managed to absorb and integrate Hungary after Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory following the Battle of Mohács.

And now, with this vast Hungary, Laszlo wouldn't even know where to begin if he wanted to integrate it.

The only way he could think of was to first absorb the weaker vassal states, making Austria and Hungary the "twin poles" within the Habsburg Monarchy.

After that, Austria might gradually absorb Hungary.

No matter what, this would be a long process, and Laszlo first set his sights on Bohemia.

From a size perspective, integrating Milan first seemed like a more suitable choice, but Milan was too far from Vienna.

It was not as good as Bohemia, which was right on their doorstep.

Thus, with the aim of observing the situation in Bohemia and promoting the integration of the two countries, Laszlo embarked on his long-delayed tour of Bohemia, postponed by a year.

On the highway from Vienna to Brno, the Emperor's carriage, escorted by the Imperial Guard cavalry, moved at a very high speed.

"This road is much smoother than the roads in Hungary, and it's also wider," Leonor said, feeling the slight bumps of the carriage, her mood quite pleasant, "Building a highway to Moravia must have required a lot of labor, right?"

Laszlo smiled and nodded. Of course, there was a lot of labor, as many as the Hussites.

This road connecting Vienna, Brno, and Olomouc was undoubtedly the most well-constructed transportation artery under Laszlo's rule.

Compared to the time-consuming, labor-intensive, expensive, and poorly constructed Tyrol highway and the long, soul-crushing Hungarian Danube King's Road, the road to Bohemia was surprisingly good quality.

On this point, Leonor, who had once accompanied Laszlo on his long eastern tour, undoubtedly had the most to say.

And the reason for this, besides the relatively low difficulty of road construction, was also a key factor: the large amount of free labor in Bohemia.

After the end of the Second Hussite War, the religious tribunals in Bohemia continued for several years and are now nearing their end.

The result was that Laszlo's immigration policy shone brightly, with the proportion of German immigrants in Bohemia even nearing the level before the First Hussite War.

And the Hussites have now been almost completely eradicated, though most of them voluntarily converted to the orthodox faith.

Those stubborn Hussite remnants, as well as the heretics captured in previous wars, were either sent to Kuttenberg to mine or dispatched to various places to build roads.

Among them, the section of the road leading to Brno, the capital of Moravia, was a key construction area.

"Labor is the least scarce thing, after all, the heretics in Bohemia are not just any ordinary number," Laszlo explained lightly, "Since they hate indulgences, and they have no money to buy indulgences after their property was confiscated, I graciously showed them another path to atonement.

As long as they serve me for ten years and sincerely repent and convert to the orthodox faith, they can wash away their sins.

Counting the time, in another two years, most of the Hussite elements will regain their freedom.

The former heretics will not only receive land I allocate to them to start a new life, but after death, they will also receive God's forgiveness and salvation.

How about it? Am I not very benevolent?"

Although the labor was very arduous, Laszlo was not aiming to kill all these heretics.

Therefore, a considerable number of Hussite elements have survived and continue to work hard for Laszlo.

"You are able to grant them a chance to start anew, and I think they should also be grateful."

Leonor affirmed Laszlo's approach.

"I don't need them to be grateful; I just want to erase the lingering influence of Huss on this kingdom."

Laszlo gazed at the constantly retreating scenery outside the carriage window, and his lighthearted, joyful mood gradually began to fade.

Huss, he was undoubtedly an outstanding spiritual mentor, but unfortunately, he was born in the wrong era, ultimately leading to his tragic fate.

Fifty years have passed since Huss was burned at the stake, and his imprint on this land has still not faded.

Even in Moravia, the power of the Bohemian Brotherhood has still not been completely eradicated.

However, those scattered Hussite remnants could no longer stir up any major waves, and Laszlo did not take them to heart.

This time in Bohemia, heresy was no longer the most pressing issue; territorial integration was.

Leonor also did not want to continue this heavy topic.

Her understanding of heresy was limited to stories told by others; she had never truly encountered it.

In contrast, Prague was more likely to pique her anticipation.

This was her first time setting foot in Bohemia as the Queen of Bohemia.

She deeply regretted not being able to be crowned with Laszlo in Prague previously.

However, if she had truly seen Prague at that time, with the lingering smoke of war and corpses strewn everywhere, she probably wouldn't have had any regrets.

The two continued to chat idly about Bohemia, and the touring party was slowly approaching Brno.

At this time, in the city of Brno, having learned that the Emperor was about to tour Moravia, the local Estates Assembly quickly gathered to await the Emperor's arrival.

Compared to being part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, present-day Moravia was more like Austria's "seventh province."

It was directly governed by the Vienna government and had already completed its separation from Bohemia proper.

From a geographical perspective, Brno was even closer to Vienna than to Prague.

This was also one of Laszlo's strategies.

Among the three major regions into which the Kingdom of Bohemia was divided after the war, Vienna had the strongest control over Moravia, and slightly less over Bohemia proper.

In the more distant Silesia, Laszlo implemented semi-autonomous rule.

Except for the core area of Silesia, which was managed by an appointed Governor of Silesia, the remaining half of Silesia was ruled by the many dukes of the Piast Family.

This localized method of governance was widely praised within the Kingdom of Bohemia. In Moravia, which was fully Austrianized, the local estates quickly accepted the Austrian-style estates assembly and provincial government.

And in Moravia, where the noble power was very strong, Laszlo maintained sufficient respect for the local forces and selected a very suitable governor from among the several powerful nobles of Moravia.

Nicholas von Liechtenstein, although he came from Liechtenstein Castle in the Austrian province of Styria, was a genuine Moravian noble.

This family was granted Lednice, on the border of Moravia and Austria, as a fiefdom in the last century, and continuously grew stronger during the perennial wars in Bohemia.

Some members of the Liechtenstein Family even served Margrave Jobst during the Bohemian civil war.

However, all members of this family have always considered themselves Austrian nobles.

As an Austrian-Moravian noble, he was naturally Austria's representative in the region.

The appointed governor was to represent the interests of the Duke in bargaining with local forces in the local Estates Assembly.

Therefore, Nicholas von Liechtenstein was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate for governor.

Nicholas, who was promoted by the Emperor, did not disappoint Laszlo.

He successfully built a bridge of communication between Moravia and Vienna, further accelerating Moravia's integration into Austria.

This also aroused the vigilance of some local forces, such as the Zlín Family, rulers of Zlín Province in Moravia.

One of Laszlo's main goals for this trip was to dispel the doubts of these local power brokers.

If one-third of Bohemia could first be completely integrated into Austria, the subsequent work would be much easier.