"Grand Duke, Kraków, your birthplace, is bleeding right now."
The Polish envoy looked anxious and spoke earnestly, hoping to move Kazimierz, the Lithuanian Grand Duke.
The candlelight in the Lithuanian Grand Duke's Palace flickered in his sunken eyes, highlighting his nervousness and unease.
Kazimierz ran his fingers over the carvings on the Lithuanian Grand Duke's ring, as the bronze candelabrum cast shadows on his chiseled face.
The fingers of the four Lithuanian guards remained on the hilts of their scimitars. The relationship between Lithuania and Poland was not good, and Kazimierz also disliked his elder brother, who had sent him from Poland to Lithuania.
"Five days ago, the King's messenger burst into the Kraków Parliament," the envoy took out a secret letter from his personal clothing and presented it to the attendant beside the Grand Duke, "He insisted on the Parliament holding a fourth grand conscription, despite everyone's opposition."
The Lithuanian Grand Duke's fingertip suddenly stopped at the crossed-swords carving on the ring.
He recalled receiving a secret report last summer: his elder brother, Władysław III, had sold royal lands and granted more privileges to local nobles in order to recruit more soldiers.
What did his chief minister, Albertas Radziwiłł, say at the time?
"Your Majesty, this is the first step into the abyss."
"So my elder brother is now taking the second step?"
The Grand Duke thought this to himself, taking the secret letter from the attendant's hand, but not opening it immediately.
"Grand Duke, we sincerely implore you to save Poland, do not let this land turn to ashes."
The Polish envoy was in tears, trying to awaken Grand Duke Kazimierz's patriotism and make him willing to undertake the mission of saving Poland.
Kazimierz frowned slightly. He noticed the Jagiellonian Family's emblem on the envelope. Could this letter be a plea for Lithuania to send troops to aid Poland?
Impossible. If it were, then the envoy should have been sent by his elder brother. But the envoy before him was clearly from the nobles of the Kingdom of Poland.
An ominous premonition enveloped his heart, and Kazimierz felt his temples throb.
He opened the envelope and quickly scanned its contents. In shock, his gaze focused on the noble signatures at the end—more than half of Poland's great nobles had signed their names on this secret letter.
This was actually a petition requesting him to be crowned King of Poland!
"You are rebelling!"
Kazimierz's voice was stern. He ignored the Polish envoy's pitiful act and angrily denounced the treasonous actions of these nobles and the Archbishop of Kraków.
"Grand Duke, we cannot stand by and watch Poland head towards destruction!" The envoy's tone was low, full of despair, "His Majesty the King wants to drag the entire Kingdom down with him! The Emperor's iron hooves are about to arrive, and now only you can save Poland. As long as you nod, Poland will bow at your feet overnight, without you needing to expend a single soldier."
Kazimierz took a deep breath, rubbed his forehead, and waved his hand, saying, "You go rest first. I will consider it and give you an answer tomorrow."
Although unwilling, the envoy obediently left the palace.
It was late at night, and the bronze door of the bedchamber suddenly creaked.
As Kazimierz entered the palace, the Grand Duchess—Elizabeth of Austria—who was sitting against the headboard, keenly sensed her husband's worries.
"What troubles you, my husband?"
Elizabeth did not get up. She was pregnant again recently and was nearing delivery, making movement somewhat difficult.
Since marrying Kazimierz, she had already given birth to a son and a daughter, Władysław (Ulászló) Jagiellon and Hedwig Jagiellon, in just a few years.
Now she was carrying Kazimierz's third child.
It was precisely because of her healthy body and strong fertility that Kazimierz, even with his reservations about her appearance, still maintained an affectionate relationship with her as husband and wife.
"The Polish nobles sent an envoy, hoping for me to become the King of Poland," Kazimierz confided in his wife, troubled.
Elizabeth was somewhat surprised and quickly asked, "Did something happen to your elder brother?"
"No, nothing unexpected," Kazimierz shook his head and continued, "After my elder brother was excommunicated by the Pope, your younger brother, Laszlo, seems to be planning an attack on Poland. The Polish nobles are afraid of war with the Emperor, and my elder brother's continuous exploitation of Poland's national strength has already cost him the people's support... They now want me to take over this mess."
Hearing Laszlo's name, Elizabeth couldn't help but show a look of longing.
Since her marriage, she had not seen her young brother for a long time. Recalling him, her impression of Laszlo was still of the little one who used to follow her around every day.
However, in these years, she heard that he had campaigned in the north and south, achieving greater accomplishments than their father, and she often felt proud of Laszlo in her heart.
She just didn't expect that this time, her husband seemed to be about to confront her brother.
"So you don't want to go? Then you can just refuse directly."
Elizabeth did not wish to see her two closest people at odds, so she proposed directly.
Kazimierz sighed softly: "Of course I don't want to go, but Poland…
2
Poland was, after all, the territory of the Jagiellonian Dynasty. If possible, he still did not wish to hand it over to others.
"I thought our marriage would end the disputes between the two families, but I didn't expect everything to return to square one…
?
Elizabeth's expression darkened as she recalled the years of constant strife between the two families.
In 1438, the Hussite Cup faction, attempting to completely break free from Albrecht II's influence, elected to bestow the Bohemian throne upon Kazimierz, who was only eleven years old.
The then Archbishop of Kraków, Oleśnicki, strongly opposed Kazimierz going to Bohemia, but most Polish nobles and Władysław III saw profit in it. Thus, they twice sent troops to try and crown Kazimierz with the Bohemian crown.
However, Albrecht II, allied with the Pope, stubbornly resisted Polish interference. The Austrian-Hungarian allied forces defeated the Polish invaders several times, and the two sides finally shook hands in Moravia.
Albrecht II's daughter, Elizabeth, became engaged to Kazimierz, in exchange for Kazimierz no longer claiming the Bohemian throne.
Who would have thought that after Poland abandoned its interference, Albrecht II would turn around and be defeated in Prague, suffering a major defeat at the hands of the then unknown Iri.
Only then, the Bohemians no longer wished for Kazimierz to rule them, and the Cup faction decided to establish their own rule in Bohemia.
Two years later, the Lithuanian Grand Duke died, and Kazimierz was sent by his elder brother as part of an envoy mission to Lithuania.
Who would have thought that upon his arrival, the thirteen-year-old Kazimierz would be unanimously elected Lithuanian Grand Duke by the Lithuanian nobles, and would remain in Vilnius to rule from then on.
The feud between the Habsburg Family and the Jagiellonian Family was also temporarily put to rest.
And now, the tables have turned!
Back then, the Jagiellonian brothers insisted on interfering in the Bohemian issue, which greatly disgusted the Habsburg Family.
Now, Laszlo intends to interfere in Poland's affairs, so the two families will be even.
"It is better for me to refuse. Those Polish nobles were not loyal to my elder brother, and naturally, they will not be loyal to me. Their fate is their own doing."
Kazimierz ultimately could not bring himself to usurp his elder brother's throne. Moreover, in his opinion, none of the Polish nobles were good people. Rather than getting involved in this messy situation, it would be better to maintain good relations with the Emperor. The threats from Crimea and Moscow were already gradually emerging, which was enough to give him a headache for a long time.
The next morning, Kazimierz summoned the Polish envoy to the palace and solemnly informed him of his final decision—whoever wants to be King of Poland can be King of Poland!
Then, he ordered the palace guards to drag the unwilling Polish envoy out of the palace and refused to see him again.