1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 182 Shadow Kingdom
Vienna Basin, Vienna city center, Hofburg Palace.

Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, Archduke of Austria, from the Habsburg family, walked up and down the corridor, with a look of deep sorrow between his brows.

In recent years, the European continent has been very unstable. The flames of war have been ignited one after another, and political struggles hidden by swords are also in full swing, which has made Frederick III upset.

"Your Majesty, there is new information about the changes in Bohemia and Italy..."

His chief intelligence officer came over to report, but was glared at by Frederick III.

"Can't you see I'm busy?"

"My wife is suffering, let's not talk about state affairs now!"

The Chief of Intelligence had no choice but to retreat and wait quietly on the side.

"Wow——"

A long series of cries broke the tranquility of the palace. In the corridor outside the delivery room, Frederick III, who was 45 years old at the time, heard the cries, moved his somewhat fat body, and hurried to the delivery room.

The midwife stuck her head out, holding a child.

"Your Majesty, both mother and child are safe. Congratulations, it's a boy."

The sadness on Frederick III's face disappeared, and a smile broke out on his face. He happily hugged his eldest son, as if he was holding up the hope of the family.

He carried the baby into the delivery room and came to the queen.

"Teresa, this is our son!"

Frederick III excitedly placed his son next to his wife and gently wiped the remaining blood on the baby's face.

The queen's name was Theresa. She was from the Wittelsbach family of the Duchy of Bavaria. She was one of the most powerful noble families on the European continent and a descendant of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV.

This family has produced dukes, kings and emperors, and countless middle and lower-level nobles. Family members have served in a series of important positions, including Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, King of Denmark, King of Norway, King of Sweden, Duke of Bavaria, Count of the Rhine Palace, Count of Holland, Count of Hainaut, and so on, and their reputation is far-reaching.

In terms of background alone, the Wittelsbach family even surpasses the emerging Habsburg family.

Queen Theresa looked at her own flesh and blood, her weak and tired eyes full of tenderness and love.

"Give him a name, Frederick."

Frederick III thought about it.

"Let's call him Maximilian."

Maximilian is a Latin word meaning "most powerful, greatest".

Queen Theresa was very smart and quickly understood her husband's thoughts. She smiled and nodded.

Frederick III smiled and held little Maximilian in his arms. Being a first-time father, he was a little overwhelmed.

"The princes of the empire always say privately that I am the laziest emperor they have ever seen. I spend all day sleeping in the palace in Vienna, and when I wake up, I study a bunch of incomprehensible occult symbols."

Frederick III laughed at himself.

"I hope that when this child grows up, he can become a king of kings that they all support."

"Frederick, they don't understand you."

Theresa comforted her husband.

"Who knows? I don't understand myself sometimes."

Frederick III handed little Maximilian to the wet nurse and kissed his wife on the forehead.

"There's no rush for the baptism. I'll ask the masters to read the astrology and pick the best day!"

Queen Theresa was familiar with her husband's character and nodded helplessly.

"Well, if I don't hurry to handle government affairs, the ministers will blame me again."

After bidding farewell to his wife and children, Frederick III wiped the sweat from his forehead and was led by his attendants to the meeting hall of the Hofburg Palace.

Several ministers had been waiting here early. Frederick III waved his hand to ask them to leave without formalities. Then he leaned back in the cushioned chair, sighed comfortably, and looked around.

"Ah, Capistrano? My dear friend, you are here too!"

Frederick III caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar face, recognized his old friend, and laughed happily.

"Did His Holiness the Pope send you here?"

"Yes, my dear lord."

Bishop Capistrano smiled back.

He was the main leader of the Peasant Crusade who led his troops across the Sava River and defeated the army of Mehmed II in the Battle of Belgrade.

After the war, the Peasants' Crusade soon parted ways due to factional issues. Grey Cardinal Alexander returned to the Balkans with the Orthodox peasants, while Capistrano was received and praised by the Pope and received two wealthy bishoprics.

"How are you these days? My firstborn son was born today, and you happened to be here too. It's a great day."

“It’s worth celebrating!”

Frederick III casually called the maid and brought a few glasses of wine and coffee.

The emperor picked up a glass of wine and was about to drink it when Prime Minister Felix spoke coldly.

"Your Majesty, what we are going to discuss next is very important. I think it would be best if you change to another drink to ensure a clear mind."

Frederick III grunted, put down his wine glass and picked up a cup of coffee.

“The stuff the Greeks brought back from West Africa tastes terrible!”

Frederick III looked miserable.

"But they earned half a year's worth of commercial taxes in Vienna from selling this stuff last year."

"Okay, okay, go ahead."

Felix looked at Bishop Capistrano and motioned for him to speak first.

"Your Majesty, I am here at the behest of the Holy See, firstly to congratulate the birth of the new prince, and secondly for the chaotic situation in Italy."

"Oh? How is the Holy See these days? Are you saying bad things about me behind my back again?"

Frederick III accurately missed the point and turned his attention to his good friend.

Capistrano was not surprised by this. He knew that Frederick III was a very special person. He was very taciturn in front of others, but when he was with his friends, he could talk for half a day.

"The Holy See calls you the Sleeping Emperor and thinks it's time for you to wake up."

Capistrano paraphrased Pius II's words bluntly.

Before Frederick III could respond, Capistrano continued.

"I believe you are aware that the situation in northern Italy is extremely chaotic. The Kingdom of France, the Duchy of Milan, and the Eastern Empire have deployed troops in the northwestern Apennines, and war is imminent."

"Not long ago, Emperor Isaac of the Eastern Empire defeated the Venetian fleet and entered the port of La Spezia, which originally belonged to the Republic of Genoa. The local gentry established the Free City of La Spezia and formally pledged allegiance to the Eastern Empire."

"The Holy See would like to know what your attitude is towards this matter."

The eyes of all the ministers were focused on Frederick III, who was silent for a moment and then spoke slowly.

"The crown of Italy belongs to me."

"Whether it is Charles VII, Isaac III or Sforza who was not crowned by me, they have no right to invade my territory."

"So, what are you going to do?"

Capistrano waited quietly for the emperor's answer.

Frederick III was about to speak, but he couldn't think of what to do, so he held his words back in dejection.

The Holy Roman Empire was a loose confederation, and Frederick III was a nominal emperor who did not have sufficient control over the core areas, let alone Italy, which had always been isolated.

Schleswig and Holstein in the hands of the Danes, Alsace and Lorraine in the hands of the French, the Low Countries and Franche-Comté in the hands of the Burgundians, and Brescia in the hands of the Venetians were all territories of the empire and were all occupied by powerful countries.

"What do you think should happen?"

Capistrano had anticipated that Frederick III would ask this question, so he took out the letter from Pope Pius II and handed it to the emperor.

"Two weeks ago, the Holy See received the envoy of Isaac III and brought his promise."

"According to him, the protection of La Spezia was a necessity, in order to resist the invasion of the French."

"At the same time, Isaac III received envoys from the Republic of Lucca, the Duchy of Ferrara, and several small states, promising never to take the initiative to invade, and made generous peace guarantees to all the surrounding small states."

"The envoy stated righteously that Emperor Isaac and his allies would firmly block the French from advancing southward to prevent the tragedy of Avignon from happening again." After reading the letter, Frederick III roughly understood what Pius II meant and snorted.

"The Emperor of the Eastern Empire really took advantage of the Church's weakness."

Capistrano ignored Frederick III's dissatisfaction and continued.

"The Holy See and the cardinals mean to temporarily agree to his protection of the Free City of La Spezia. I suggest you take a cold approach to this."

"What's the cold treatment method?"

"Besides verbal protest, how else can you deal with it?"

Frederick III thought about it, sighed and nodded.

"But don't worry. No matter what the Free City of La Spezia and the Republic of Genoa do, the Holy See will never grant the legal ruling rights of the two places to the Kingdom of France and the Eastern Empire. It is just a temporary compromise, waiting for the two tigers to fight."

"Okay, let's do it."

Frederick III threw the letter aside in annoyance.

"Let's gather the princes for a meeting to discuss this. Even though it won't produce any results, we must make a strong gesture to defend the empire's territory."

"Whether it was Charles VII or Isaac III, they never cared about my opinion when they occupied Italian territory, and they didn't even bother to send an envoy."

"No wonder my horoscopes have been so unlucky lately."

"Your Majesty, if you continue to indulge in these things, not only will Italy be in the distance, but even the empire will be in chaos."

Prime Minister Felix took over the conversation.

"Remember what happened in Prague?"

Frederick III was stunned, then his face darkened and he made the sign of the cross on his chest.

"May God bless my nephew, he should not have died young."

Two years ago, Hungary was in turmoil, the Habsburg family and the Hunyadi family fell out, Count Ulrich of Celje and the second Grand Duke of Transylvania Laszlo Hunyadi died tragically in the political struggle, and the Shield of God was on the verge of breaking.

Ladislaus, the posthumous son of the Habsburg family, killed the White Knight's eldest son Ladislaus and imprisoned his second son Matthias, temporarily gaining the upper hand.

The good times did not last long. Hunyadi's maternal family and some nobles started a protest and marched into the city of Buda. Ladislaus fled with Matthias in a hurry and came to his second kingdom, Bohemia, and lived in the palace in Prague.

Just last year, his posthumous son Ladislaus died tragically under suspicious circumstances, and many people attributed it to a conspiracy by the Bohemian Regent Jiri Podebrad.

The death of his posthumous son changed the entire political landscape of Central Europe. The Albrecht branch of the Habsburg family became extinct, leaving three crowns unresolved.

In Bohemia, Jiri Podebrad won the recognition of the parliament with his high prestige and status as the leader of the Hussites, and was crowned as the King of Bohemia.

On the Hungarian side, after discussion, the nobles, perhaps because they had some nostalgia for the White Knight, or perhaps they just felt that a young monarch would be easier to control, chose Matthias Hunyadi, who was still imprisoned in Prague, as king and demanded that Iran release him.

Jiri personally visited Matthias in prison, forced Matthias to marry his daughter, and reached a series of unequal treaties with him. Only then did he release him under pressure.

In early 1460, Matthias Hunyadi wore the Crown of St. Stephen in Buda Castle and was officially crowned King of Hungary and Croatia, becoming Matthias I of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Since then, Hungary finally welcomed a native king, and no one knew where this precocious young man would lead the country.

The situation in the Duchy of Austria is more complicated.

In 1379, two brothers of the Habsburg family, Albrecht and Leopold, signed an agreement to divide the entire Habsburg family territory into two. Their descendants each inherited one, forming two branches.

Albrecht's descendants inherited the central and eastern parts of Austria, including the city of Vienna, which was called Inner Austria.

Leopold's descendants inherited Styria, Tyrol and scattered territories in southwestern Germany, known as Outer Austria.

Later, the Leopold branch split again into the Tyrolean branch and the Styrian branch. The current Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III is from the Leopold-Styrian branch.

After the death of his posthumous son Ladislaus, Albrecht's line became extinct, and the remaining Inner Austria fell into the hands of Leopold's line.

However, the Leopold branch is not a monolithic entity.

After consultation and negotiation, the brothers divided Inner Austria of Albrecht's branch into Lower Austria with Vienna as the core and Upper Austria with Linz as the core.

Frederick III of the Styrian branch inherited Lower Austria, moved into the city of Vienna, and was called Archduke of Austria.

His younger brother, Albrecht VI, inherited Upper Austria and made Linz its capital.

Sigismund of the Tyrolean branch did not receive any territory, but was given the right to tax Upper and Lower Austria, and legally possessed a considerable portion of the taxes of Frederick III and Albrecht VI.

At this point, the once prosperous Archduchy of Austria was divided into many scattered aristocratic territories, which were dissatisfied with each other and constantly fighting.

"Is Podgerblad making any more noises?"

Frederick III snorted.

"Yes, after Jiri ascended the throne, he implemented many good things that were beneficial to the national economy and people's livelihood. Prague became more and more prosperous, and his own prestige further increased."

“Iri further strengthened the Czech national party, sought to legalize the Hussites, encouraged the lower classes to attack the Catholic Church, and distributed church property to Hussite peasants.”

"I have long told the College of Cardinals that Yiri is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The Holy Grail Faction and the Tabor Faction he represents are birds of a feather. We should never have reached a peace agreement with them in the first place!"

Bishop Capistrano, who was standing by, also spoke indignantly.

"The Holy See has been very busy with this matter recently, and his hair has turned quite a bit gray."

Frederick III looked calm.

"Only this?"

Prime Minister Felix glanced at the Emperor.

He knew very well that Frederick III had always been a family supremacist, had little interest in the affairs of the Holy Roman Empire, and was committed to rectifying internal affairs and making the Habsburg family strong again.

If he had not insisted on keeping Ladislaus and his mother under house arrest in Vienna, the local forces in Hungary and Bohemia would not have been able to grow so rapidly, or even directly challenge the ruling position of the Habsburg family.

"Yiri sent us a letter saying that your brother, Albrecht VI of Linz, is recruiting mercenaries in Bohemia. I'm afraid there will be big moves in the near future."

Frederick III was startled and spilled half of the coffee in his hand.

"Didn't that brat just reach a peace agreement with me? Who gave him the guts to trample on the dignity of the clan leader?"

Frederick III shouted loudly, with a layer of sweat on his face.

In the previous division of the family, although the good brother Albrecht VI was given Upper Austria, he was always dissatisfied and kept plundering Frederick III's Lower Austria. He only stopped plundering recently and reached a peace treaty with his brother.

"I'm afraid he's accumulating strength."

Prime Minister Felix spread his hands helplessly.

Frederick III could no longer sit still and stood up and walked around.

"Do we have a chance of persuading him to stop mobilizing for war?"

"Unless you are willing to give up the city of Vienna."

Frederick III bit his lip and kept thinking about how to defeat the enemy.

"Felix, you should send an envoy to Linz immediately. You have to try it anyway."

"Furthermore, increase the number of garrisons at the border castles, inventory the treasury, and prepare for war!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt, but your military strength is far inferior to that of Upper Austria. It is basically impossible to defeat the enemy in a field battle, and defending Vienna is not a long-term solution."

Frederick III's Knight Commander spoke.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"We can only seek help from outside forces. This is an internal family fight. Don't count on the German princes. You can try to borrow troops from Hungary and Bohemia."

Frederick III had a flash of inspiration.

"Since Yiri told us this, it means he doesn't like Albrecht either. We should borrow some troops from him!"

"So good."

Felix nodded.

Frederick III sat down in the armchair dejectedly. The joy of the birth of his eldest son was greatly diluted by the successive bad news.

"Go ahead and do your respective duties."

Frederick III waved his hand.

"Capistrano, stay a moment."

(End of this chapter)