After leaving Pressburg, the Emperor's eastern tour continued eastward along the Danube River, heading towards Budapest, the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary.
This tour would undoubtedly take Laszlo a long time; he was prepared to spend the next few months traveling.
The only thing that comforted him was that he didn't have to make frequent long-distance trips between Austria, the Netherlands, and Spain like Charles V did in history.
Most of his territory was contiguous, a comfortable and trouble-free layout.
The massive touring party was, after all, moving too slowly; it was estimated that they would hardly reach Budapest before the end of the year.
So, Laszlo first dispatched Hunyadi Matthias, who had been promoted to Court Advisor, to Budapest on his behalf,
to assist Regent Archbishop Veszter in convening the Hungarian Parliament.
Matthias had been recruited into Laszlo's advisory group after returning from his studies in Italy, but he hadn't completed any significant independent work this year.
Initially, he still served as Laszlo's personal secretary, helping him alleviate some of the pressure of state affairs.
Later, Laszlo placed him in the Vienna Court Chancellery, where he studied under Aeneas to improve his administrative abilities.
Now, he was one of Laszlo's accompanying advisors on the eastern tour, which was also a deliberate arrangement by Laszlo.
On the one hand, it was to consider Matthias's feelings; he had been away from Hungary for many years, and it was impossible for him not to miss his hometown.
On the other hand, Matthias, as Szilágyi's nephew and Hunyadi Laszlo's brother, had a natural advantage in dealing with Hungarian issues.
Although Laszlo did not intend to use Matthias's talents for governing Hungary—he had to find a way to prevent the Hunyadi Family's power in Hungary from expanding further—it was still quite good to leverage Matthias's connections for now.
Therefore, he threw the troublesome task of convening the Hungarian Parliament and dealing with the resentful Hungarian nobles to Matthias and Archbishop Veszter.
He himself continued to accompany his family, enjoying the scenery along the way and having a relaxed and pleasant journey.
Unlike Leonor and Elizabeth's anticipation of Budapest, he had developed a certain resistance towards Budapest in his heart.
The thought of those ugly-faced Hungarian nobles made him feel nauseous.
Yet, to maintain the general stability of Hungary, he had to feign compliance with these fellows.
He dreamed of a suitable time coming, perhaps next year, or the year after, when he would almost certainly begin to settle accounts with these lawless Hungarian magnates.
For now, though, let them jump around a bit longer; these were their last good days.
In his leisure, Laszlo would also consider places further afield.
Bulgaria, although nominally his, in reality, Bulgaria only sent some tribute along the Danube River each year, no different from an ordinary vassal state.
He was the King of Bulgaria, a fact affirmed by the Pope, which no one could question.
Thus, Bulgaria was part of his property, but this country was clearly not of high value.
The Ottoman had once extracted a large amount of manpower and taxes here, but the Crusade had severely ravaged Bulgaria.
More than five years had passed since the Crusade ended, and he was still very much looking forward to seeing how much Bulgaria's population and strength could recover.
Initially, when he threw the broken, dilapidated country of Bulgaria to his useless uncle Frederick, he had no expectations.
At that time, his sole focus was on reunifying Austria, then quickly taking Bohemia, and then accumulating strength to expand westward.
Now, these established strategic goals have largely been achieved, and further westward expansion must await the right moment.
And the obstacles to manipulating Imperial politics would vanish after the Mainz War; he only needed to wait patiently for Archbishop Adolf and Gunter to completely defeat the Elector Palatine.
Under these circumstances, Laszlo finally had the opportunity to turn his gaze back to the eastern territories.
According to the intelligence Laszlo received, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II was still biding his time, frantically accumulating strength.
Earlier this year, he led his army to another major victory against the Karamanid Beylik, annexing much of Karaman's territory.
The Trebizond Empire, which had initially pledged allegiance to the Ottoman but later rebelled, was besieged by Mehmed II's army,
and the city was breached in just one month.
The entire Trapezuntine imperial family, who claimed to be the successors of Byzantium, became prisoners of the Sultan, and Trebizond was thus annihilated.
However, the fall of Trebizond led to the Ak Koyunlu, who had previously been on good terms with the Ottoman Empire, becoming hostile towards it, and the seeds of conflict were already sown.
In other parts of Anatolia, the continuous domestic rebellions had been completely quelled by Mehmed II's relentless suppression.
Although Mehmed II was more adept at managing territories and developing national strength, reality forced him to become a monarch on horseback.
Since the end of the Crusade, he had been campaigning continuously for many years, and with the continuous expansion of territory, the severely weakened Ottoman Empire was gradually recovering from the pain of defeat.
All of this compelled Laszlo to become vigilant once more. If the Ottoman returned to the European continent, would Bulgaria, as the first line of defense, be able to withstand their attack?
Clearly not.
The situation in Bulgaria was only slightly better now; the easing of religious conflicts and the population growth brought by immigrants were all having an effect.
However, this was far from enough; compared to the destruction and devastation he had once brought, these measures to strengthen Bulgaria's national power undoubtedly seemed somewhat insignificant.
Every time Laszlo thought of this, he couldn't help but get a headache.
Destruction truly was much easier than construction.
He had to come up with a good plan in the coming time to strengthen Bulgaria's border defenses, so that the Ottoman would not easily break through the first barrier he had established.
While Laszlo was racking his brains for his grand eastern development, in the distant west, the war in Rhineland continued.
On the road along the Rhine River, hooves trod slowly through the light snow, and Gunter, riding his warhorse, gazed into the distance,
where the horizon ended in undulating mountains.
From afar, those peaks were already covered in a layer of silver.
However, Gunter was a rough man; he didn't appreciate these sights. In fact, he hated having to continue fighting in winter.
In winter, armies were prone to heavy non-combat casualties due to harsh weather, losses would be even greater, and it could even cause fluctuations in morale.
Moreover, when the winter wind blew, even with a thick wool cap, his bald head still felt a bit cold, a feeling that made him very uncomfortable.
Three days had passed since the army left Speyer, and they had once again chosen to advance from the left bank of the Rhine River.
Walking alongside him were Archbishop Adolf and Eberhard, the son of the Count of Württemberg.
It was these two who strongly advocated for advancing along this road to attack Palatinate.
Ever since their first advance along the right bank of the Rhine River, which ended in a crushing defeat at Seckenheim, Archbishop Adolf seemed to have developed a phobia of the area and refused to march through it again.
Gunter had originally wanted to attack Mannheim first to see if he could rescue the Margrave of Baden, but ultimately, persuaded by Archbishop Adolf, he chose to advance with the Archbishop.
Although Emperor Laszlo had specifically instructed him before his departure that he held the power to make battlefield decisions, he still decided to respect the Archbishop's opinion.
Adolf, draped in a magnificent purple ecclesiastical robe, looked entirely like a pompous bishop on an outing, rather than the commander of an army.
His expression was quite relaxed, a self-satisfied smile on his face, full of hopeful expectations for the outcome of the war.
"General Gunter, we rendezvoused in Speyer, and while we were resting, the rebellious Elector Palatine had no choice but to disband half of his troops—he finally ran out of money to support that huge army!"
Adolf picked up the silver cross hanging on his chest and gently kissed it, exclaiming with delight, "God bless, Emperor bless.
The Imperial Ban has finally had its intended effect; no free city is willing to lend money to the Elector Palatine.
His mercenaries nearly mutinied, and the Palatinate nobles who had served him for several months complained bitterly, taking their men and horses away from the Elector Palatine's army.
Now, our enemy is at his wit's end.
He can only station his pitifully small forces in a few important cities for defense, which is a golden opportunity bestowed upon us by Heaven."
As he spoke, he pulled out a map from his warhorse's saddlebag and began to show the full extent of Palatinate to his two companions.
The Count Palatine's territory along the Rhine River was quite vast; although somewhat fragmented, it was overall indeed the largest principality in Rhineland.
More than half a year of campaigning, even for someone as powerful as the Elector Palatine, made it impossible to bear the enormous military expenses.
Although Louis IX, the Duke of Landshut, 'the Rich,' still supported him from behind, the bleak prospects of the war led the Duke of Landshut to gradually reduce his financial investment.
Unable to sustain a large army for long, the Elector Palatine had no choice but to disband a portion of his forces.
Now his main forces were all stationed on his territories east of the Rhine River, defending the core Palatinate territory centered around Heidelberg.
Adolf very shrewdly chose to lead the large army to attack the west bank of the Rhine River, which could both severely strike the Elector Palatine and reduce the army's losses.
Of course, his primary goal was to return to Mainz with this large army.
Mainz was still under Adolf's control, and the beleaguered Elector Palatine had no intention of recapturing Mainz.
And this time, after Adolf returned to Mainz, he would no longer need to flee from the city in a hurry to avoid the Elector Palatine.
Gunter's gaze withdrew from Adolf's map, his heart feeling a little conflicted.
If they could take all of the Elector Palatine's territory west of the Rhine River, centered on Mainz, it would strike the Elector Palatine while preserving the army's strength.
However, Gunter always wanted to lead the main army directly to besiege Heidelberg and end the war in one fell swoop, or attack Mannheim to rescue the Margrave of Baden, who he didn't know if he was still imprisoned there.
In his heart, the best outcome would be to besiege some strategic strongholds, forcing the Elector Palatine to lead his army to a decisive battle in the open field.
If he could decisively defeat the Elector Palatine in a direct confrontation, he would achieve greater military merits, making his reputation even more prominent, and perhaps even receive an award from the Emperor.
Gunter still remembered the day the young Emperor bestowed upon him the double-headed eagle banner, when he became the Empire's first general.
The glory of the Empire, the glory of his family, and his personal glory began to intertwine at that moment.
Now, he was full of ambition, intending to add another military achievement to his name, hoping to be promoted by the Emperor and become the Empire's sixth Marshal.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would very likely be Marshal Adolf's successor, and just thinking about this made his blood boil.
Becoming the military commander of Austria, becoming the Emperor's most trusted general—such honors constantly tempted him to win more victories.
Gunter shook his head, casting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, not allowing those bold ideas to continue to disturb his inner peace.
From both a strategic and tactical perspective, Archbishop Adolf's plan was clearly more valuable.
Heidelberg and other important cities were certainly very well defended and would be difficult to conquer in a short time.
If they wore down their forces against strong fortifications, and by next spring, the Elector Palatine seized the opportunity to reassemble his troops, then winning might come at an even greater cost.
In contrast, it was wiser to capture cities and territories on the sparsely defended west bank of the Rhine River.
"If the Elector Palatine is truly unable to stop us, he might soon lose all of his territories west of the river."
The young Eberhard was quite excited; because his father, Count Ulrich of Württemberg, was busy with Swabian affairs, he was able to participate in the campaign against the Elector Palatine as a commander.
This was his first time commanding an army in his life, while Emperor Laszlo, who was similar in age to him, had already commanded armies on battlefields for many years.
Whenever he thought of the exceptionally brave Emperor, a feeling of admiration would surge in Eberhard's heart.
Gunter glanced at Eberhard, feeling a bit emotional himself.
His mercenary company had previously signed a long-term agreement with the Count of Württemberg, and the mercenary company's headquarters were located in Stuttgart.
Before he led his mercenary company away from Stuttgart to serve Laszlo, he had met Eberhard once.
At that time, this son of the Count was still a frail, small boy, but now he had the appearance of a man.
Archbishop Adolf heard Eberhard's words and patted his chest, saying, "You can rest assured, my intelligence will definitely not be wrong."
Eberhard's expression changed, and he almost immediately recalled the tragedy of Seckenheim.
Seeing his expression, Adolf knew exactly what he was thinking and immediately explained anxiously, "Believe me, I will never be deceived twice by that despicable Frederick!"
"It doesn't matter, even if he truly has enough troops to cross the Rhine River and attack us, it would only be suicide," Gunter said calmly, as if speaking of something trivial, "Rather, I hope he can be braver instead of cowering in his castle like a coward.
I will personally shatter his glory on the battlefield."
Adolf and Eberhard both nodded, agreeing with Gunter's words.
They now held nearly a quarter of the army, and the Elector Palatine had no chance of victory.
Soon, this vast army stepped onto the territory of Palatinate, a land that had suffered greatly and was about to be trampled and ravaged once again by the Imperial iron hooves.