More than two months after the Crusade arrived at the walls of Constantinople, Rosenberg, Szilágyi, and Vlad finally led their armies to break through Edirne (Adrianople).
The three stood on the city walls, gazing at the ancient and magnificent city.
More than a year ago, Edirne was still the capital of the Ottoman Empire. After the capture of Constantinople, Mehmed II designated it as the new capital of the Empire, and Edirne maintained its long-standing prosperity.
Now, the flames of war consumed everything. The Crusade carried out a massacre here, and all non-Muslims and resistors could not escape death. To collect as much material as possible, soldiers ransacked the rich former imperial capital house by house.
They had besieged the city for nearly two months and lost thousands of warriors in the assault, so the pent-up anger in their hearts was unleashed that day.
All mosques were violently demolished by fanatical soldiers, and the wealth within was plundered.
Even the tombs of high-ranking Ottomans officials and nobles could not escape. Most tombs were excavated, and the valuable burial treasures became the soldiers' spoils, tucked into their pockets.
Unarmed civilians were slaughtered in droves by fully armed soldiers. The entire city was burning, and for a whole day after the city fell, the city was filled with wailing and roaring.
The next day, the Crusade, having made a fortune, were in high spirits, transporting carts of military supplies to the siege camp at Constantinople, leaving behind a tattered Edirne and despairing, weeping survivors.
Laszlo condoned their atrocities; this was the rule of war.
Instead of increasing the soldiers' pay, it was better to save the money to recruit more troops; they would find money themselves.
The destruction of Edirne brought more supplies to the Crusade, especially military rations, allowing them to hold out longer at Constantinople.
During this time, the Mamluk Sultan's army had assembled. They crossed the Ottomans border and invaded the Adana region, intending to use it as a base to engulf the entire Anatolia.
After all, the last elite Ottomans troops were still besieged in Constantinople.
Unless Mehmed II abandoned the defense of Constantinople and led his troops across the sea back to Anatolia to meet the Mamluk, the Ottomans could not withstand the Mamluk Sultan's offensive.
A year ago, when he conquered this city, Mehmed II was full of ambition, believing himself to be the chosen one who would lead the Ottoman Empire to a new peak.
But now, he looked very haggard. Though only twenty-four years old, he often fell into contemplation like an old man.
He had also received news of Edirne's destruction. Intelligence reports indicated that the Crusade had scoured every inch of Edirne, seizing all food edible by humans and horses, determined to fight to the death at Constantinople.
If he dared to withdraw the Constantinople army to defend Asia, the Crusade would immediately launch an assault to seize the city.
In the Battle of Varna, two of his most important ministers, Mahmud and Haladin, both perished. The newly appointed Governor of Anatolia, Ali Pasha, hastily organized a new army but was powerless against the Mamluk, sending daily pleas for help to Constantinople.
Such a situation exhausted Mehmed II, and finally, in the third month of Constantinople's siege, he announced to his ministers that he would negotiate peace with the Crusade and conclude a treaty under the city walls.
All Ottomans were deeply saddened; this was a humiliation to be remembered forever, but to prevent the Mamluk Sultan's attempt to destroy the Ottoman Empire, they understood this was the best course of action.
In the open space beneath the walls of Constantinople, Laszlo's envoy handed the peace agreement, jointly drafted by the Crusade commanders, to Mehmed II's envoy. It contained the following terms:
1. All territories south, west, and north of Edirne-Gallipoli shall be ceded to the Crusade, including the Mesembria region north of Constantinople. From here, a forced march of less than a week can reach Constantinople, meaning the garrison here can constantly threaten Constantinople.
2. The Ottoman Empire shall pay one million florin in war reparations to the Crusade. This money shall be distributed by the Pope, with the Holy See receiving twenty percent and the remaining eighty percent distributed to all rulers and nobles who participated in the Crusade, based on their contributions.
3. The Ottoman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire shall conclude a thirty-year truce. The Crusade shall allow all surviving Muslim to return to the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire shall not prevent Christians and Orthodox believers willing to return to the Christian world.
4. Mehmed II shall renounce the titles of "Roman Caesar" and "Sultan of Rum," and shall not claim to be the successor of Rome, acknowledging Holy Roman Emperor Laszlo as the sole Roman Emperor.
5. The Ottoman Empire shall no longer obstruct trade routes to the East, opening Constantinople and the trading ports of Anatolia to all Crusade states, and shall not levy unreasonable transit taxes.
Despite such harsh terms, Mehmed II could only grit his teeth and accept; he had no room for negotiation—the Mamluk Sultan was about to reach Ankara, and if Anatolia wasn't reinforced soon, his homeland would be lost!
News of the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople reached Europe, and all those threatened by the Ottomans rejoiced. The Pope even described the treaty as proof that "the red dragon of the apocalypse had its wings broken and fell into hell."
As for failing to recapture Constantinople?
The great victory made everyone silent about this matter and the East Roman Empire. After all, displeasing Emperor Laszlo for a defunct empire would be more trouble than it was worth.
The Crusade finally came to an end. It was a great victory that completely crushed the Ottomans ambition to invade Europe.
This great victory also raised the vigilance of various European countries, especially Poland and France.
Władysław III of Poland and King Charles VII of France clearly realized that the rise of a behemoth in Central Europe was unstoppable.
The Habsburg dynasty seemed to have no more expansion bottlenecks. Now, they had dealt with their biggest threat and opponent, the Ottomans. The thirty years of peace seemed like a handout to the Ottomans. Who knew if the Ottomans could survive thirty years?
Perhaps in a few years, the severely weakened Ottomans would be conquered by its watchful, powerful neighbors?
Based on such concerns, both sides gravitated towards each other. Communication between the Kingdom of Poland and the Kingdom of France suddenly became incredibly close, and a secret alliance was already formed. If Emperor Laszlo insisted on continuing to expand his territory, he would face the joint challenge of two powerful European nations.
All of this, Laszlo, still immersed in the joy of victory, naturally had no way of knowing.
The main force of the Crusade gradually began to return. The Portuguese, who suffered heavy losses due to the betrayal of the Venetian, received additional money and land compensation from the Pope and Laszlo as a thank you for their support. Therefore, the Portuguese no longer clamored for the Crusade to turn their spears and destroy Venice, that great traitor.
Laszlo appointed Szilágyi to succeed Janos as the military commander of the Kingdom of Hungary. Laszlo Hunyadi returned to Transylvania to inherit his family's fief. The position of the Emperor's Guard Cavalry Commander was taken over by a Hungarian noble cavalry general named Bela Ester.
Szilágyi's Hungarian Border Guard, Vlad III's Wallachia army, and Rosenberg's Bohemia returned to their respective homes together.
Philip left a few thousand personal guards with his son Anthony to help him defend his Macedonia territory and consolidate his rule there, then led his army back to Burgundy.
Laszlo immediately repaid the previous loan in one go. Now, he had made a huge profit and had plenty of money.
Considering that Burgundy had additionally gained profits from the Kosovo gold mine, Philip directly waived the interest on the loan and only accepted a repayment of one hundred thousand florin, canceling the debt.
Laszlo was therefore even more satisfied with Philip.
Many from the Holy Roman Empire princes' allied army remained in Bulgaria. Most of those who participated in this expedition were younger sons of princely families who had no right of inheritance. After the war, they all received satisfactory fiefs, and thousands were granted the title of Imperial Knight for their military achievements.
Some warriors who had accumulated enough spoils in battle and longed for home returned to German, while a considerable number remained to build and govern the territory of Bulgaria.
Prince Fernando of Portugal stayed in the Balkans to manage the valuable trade ports Portugal acquired along the Aegean Sea and Black Sea coasts. Prince Henrique had already led the remaining fleet back to the Portuguese naval base on the south bank of the Strait of Gibraltar earlier.
Laszlo announced the establishment of the Kingdom of Bulgaria in Sofia and was crowned King of Bulgaria. The Pope sent a Cardinal to crown him and recognized the legitimacy of the Habsburg Family's rule over Bulgaria.
Laszlo, eager to return to Vienna, had no time to establish a complete government in Bulgaria. He could only temporarily delegate several advisors from his advisory group to form a provisional government with the new Bulgarian nobles to manage Sofia and a large surrounding royal territory, and to handle internal disputes within the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
Ulrich was granted the title of King of Serbia as he wished. He selected some strong warriors from the previous peasant army to form the Royal Guard and began his rule in Serbia.
Before this, his resignation had already reached Laszlo's hands. In his letter, he recommended Ulrich von Eyczing to take over his position, which happened to coincide with Laszlo's thoughts.
Ulrich, who finally obtained the title of King, also became an object of envy for everyone. Of course, some jealous individuals called him a "master investor."
From marrying the Serbian princess to diligently assisting two generations of Habsburg emperors, all of this ultimately made him an inspiring example of striving and finally achieving one's desires in this era.
To this, Laszlo stated that Ulrich deserved it.
Everything seemed so wonderful for everyone because they had survived this brutal war, and only those who lived were qualified to share the rich spoils.
Just as Laszlo was about to leave Sofia and lead his army back to Vienna, an envoy from Morea visited again. This time, the situation was not as easy as last time.
After months of campaigning and multiple victories, Dimitrios had captured most of Morea's territory. Thomas was trapped in Mystras, and with no retreat, he was finally forced to agree to Laszlo's demands and send an envoy to request his aid.
This displeased Laszlo. So much time had passed that he had almost forgotten about it, and now this happened.
This Thomas truly wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin. The demise of East Roman was destined, yet he clung to that crown and claim?.
Would anyone truly be charitable enough to help you revive East Roman?
Laszlo was German, an Emperor who inherited the "Roman Orthodoxy" himself, not a Russian.