1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 183 Austria's Destiny
The ministers bowed and disappeared into the corridor of the conference room, while Frederick III took his good friend to his study.

Frederick III opened a bottle of liquor and poured it into two ornate glasses.

"Remember? When Pius II was my court poet, he sat where you are today."

Capistrano looked at the wine glowing temptingly, and a trace of nostalgia flashed in his eyes.

"Yeah, back then I was only fit to stand on the side."

Frederick III leaned closer to his friend and asked in a low voice.

"You once led the Peasant Crusade and fought alongside Hunyadi. You must have met Matthias, right?"

"Honestly, what do you think of him?"

Capistrano thought for a moment.

"Better than his brother."

"He has learned the wisdom of the White Knight, but he has not been tainted with arrogance. He knows how to be patient and how to play the game of power."

"This is a young tiger that is growing up."

After listening to this, Frederick leaned back in his chair in a daze.

"Same feeling as I do."

"No matter how powerful Jiri Podebrad is, he is still a heretic after all. He is destined to be rejected by the entire Catholic world and can only stay in Bohemia to entertain himself."

"I'm afraid that in the eyes of the Holy See, the Hussites are a greater threat than the Greek Church."

Capistrano nodded.

"I've been to Constantinople. The citizens there were very hostile to the Latin merchants, who were mainly Venetians, and they extended this hostility to the Holy See, but the upper class nobles on both sides have always maintained a good relationship."

"When the first few emperors of the Eastern Empire came to Western Europe for help, we showed them great respect. The poems of Manuel II are still sung in major courts today."

"Besides, you also know that the current Eastern Empire has been reshaped by Isaac III and has always adhered to a diplomatic strategy that prioritizes interests. It will not be our enemy for the time being."

Frederick III nodded silently.

"As far as I know, Matthias I established a legion of standing mercenaries as soon as he took office, known as the Black Army."

"He joined forces with his in-laws and began to gradually consolidate central authority. His intention to centralize power was obvious."

"When this man grows up, he will definitely become a great enemy of the Habsburg family."

He looked at the Bishop.

"If I succeed in defeating Albrecht VI in his rebellion, you will go to Constantinople for me."

"The Ottoman Empire has declined greatly. Now the only person in the east who can limit Hungary's growth is Isaac III."

"Italian affairs are for the two sides to argue about, and the Habsburgs are doomed to have nothing to do with that country."

Capistrano curled his lips.

"It seems that the Holy See's evaluation of you is correct."

"You only care about your family, not the empire."

Frederick III was not angry and laughed out loud.

"If the Habsburg family declines, what good will it do even if they have the crown? They will still be despised by the various princes, just like me today."

"By the way, I also brought a gift."

Capistrano clapped his hands, and the attendant handed a painting to Frederick III.

"This is a portrait of you when you went to Rome for your coronation. You were so eager to return home that you never left Austria again."

"I really don't understand. The favorite thing of previous emperors was to tour their empires, but you always like to stay at home."

"With such a negative attitude, you can't blame the princes for not listening to you."

Frederick III lifted the curtain without comment and looked at his younger self.

Many years later, Frederick III faced his own portrait and recalled that distant noon when he received the Holy Roman Crown in the Vatican.

The emperor in the portrait is tall and handsome, with blond hair and a lion's eyes.

As the third Holy Roman Emperor named Frederick, the coronation of Frederick III caused a wave of admiration within the empire. When people saw his name, they couldn't help but think of Barbarossa the Red Beard and Frederick II who brought great glory to the empire, and they were full of expectations for Frederick III.

“When I first saw this, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

"Is this you?"

"it's me."

Frederick III nodded.

“I was still very thin at that time.”

He couldn't help but recall the rash actions he had taken when he was young.

In the Vatican Palace, when Pope Nicholas V was crowning Frederick III, Frederick III suddenly felt very aggrieved. He took the crown from Nicholas V and put it directly on his head to show that the sacredness of the Holy Roman Emperor did not require the Pope's approval.

However, after returning to Austria from Rome, Frederick III never left and has been committed to integrating the broken Habsburg Empire.

In his heart, the family is always above the empire, and the fate of the Habsburgs is more important than anything else in the world.

Therefore, he sent troops to Switzerland very early in an attempt to recover the Habsburg family's ancestral homeland of Aargau, and ignored the French invasion war that took place at the same time, allowing Alsace and Lorraine to be ravaged by the French cavalry.

Of course, he was still defeated by the Swiss peasants.

For this reason, he always maintained control over his posthumous son Ladislaus, refused to hand over his underage nephew to foreign nobles as a puppet, and allowed local forces in Bohemia and Hungary to grow.

Now it seems that his worldly career has been a complete failure. He is approaching middle age, but has still achieved nothing and is still being attacked by his own brother.

Seeing his friend's face looking a little gloomy, Capistrano couldn't help but offer words of comfort.

"Your Majesty, things have not reached the point where they are irreversible. As long as you focus more on government affairs and interact more with the princes, it is not completely impossible to regain their trust." When he mentioned this, he became a little angry again.

"You are obsessed with mysticism and astrology all day long, tinkering with a bunch of symbols that others can't understand. This is of no help to the empire and the family!"

The bishop looked up and pointed to the letters carved on the wall.

"Why did you come up with these things without telling anyone what they meant?"

Five letters are prominently carved on the wall, which is Frederick III's original motto, which he often engraved on the family coat of arms.

AEIOU
"This is destiny."

Frederick III said mysteriously.

"What destiny?"

"I have written a lot of notes. When I am gone, my descendants will know about them."

"Humph, I advise you to think about how to solve the current dilemma!"

Frederick III rubbed his head.

"We have done everything we can, and now it all depends on God's will."

The two talked for a while, and hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor.

The Knight Commander burst in with an urgent letter in his hand.

"Your Majesty, last night, your brother, King Albrecht VI, led his army across the border and launched a massive invasion!"

"This is a declaration of war."

The Knight Commander placed the letter of challenge on the desk, but Frederick III did not take it.

Capistrano turned his head and saw Frederick III's expression change from surprise to confusion to anxiety, and finally to iron-like firmness.

"Have all the preparations been done?"

“We are doing everything we can.”

The Knight Commander nodded with an embarrassed look on his face.

Frederick III turned to the bishop.

"Capistrano, please leave here quickly. No matter what the situation in northern Italy is, Rome is always safe."

"Tell the Holy See that I accept his advice and will not take drastic action."

After saying that, he sighed again.

"I don't have the ability to meddle in northern Italy's affairs. Let Charles VII and Isaac III fight it out. It would be best if both sides suffer losses."

"Knight Commander, go wake up my wife and children and take them to a safe place to hide them."

Frederick changed the subject.

The Knight Commander saluted and left. Capistrano looked at the emperor who was in command and felt a little emotional.

"Your Majesty, if you had been so decisive and resolute earlier, the country would not have fallen to this point."

"Before you leave, there is one more crucial thing."

"You tell me, I'll make sure it's done!"

Capistrano looked at Frederick III's serious expression and restrained his smile.

"Go and call the astrologer!"

……

On September 1460, 9, Albrecht Habsburg, Duke of Upper Austria, brazenly tore up the peace treaty with his brother and led his army across the border towards Vienna.

In just one month, Frederick III's defenders were killed or surrendered, the fortresses on the front line were lost one after another, leaving only Vienna standing in the front.

On October 10, Albrecht VI besieged the city of Vienna. From then on, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III faced the second siege of Vienna in his long life.

"That's pretty much it."

In the port of La Spezia, Isaac was sitting in his study, while Dimarco was putting down the intelligence from Central Europe and waiting for the emperor's answer.

"We'll wait and see. Frederick III won't be defeated so easily."

"Even if he really lost Vienna and fled Austria, it wouldn't be a complete loss. After all, Albrecht had no children. As long as he died, the territory would still belong to Frederick III."

"What happened in Austria is too far away and has nothing to do with us for the time being."

Isaac took the information, looked at it, and threw it aside.

At this time, Austria was still far from the future British Empire. There were nobles fighting for power at home and powerful countries outside were eyeing it covetously.

Frederick III was also an unlucky man. He was surrounded by many wise and capable rulers, and his subordinates were all ambitious people, and he was beaten up by them all.

The capital was captured four times and the emperor moved five times.

"Sire, regarding the French proposal..."

DiMarco asked in a deep voice.

Isaac found a letter with a picture of blue irises on it and read it over and over again.

In the letter, King Charles of France finally began to realize that it would be difficult for their army to capture Isaac's heavily defended mountain fortress, and that Isaac's navy could not reach Paris. He hoped that the two sides could have a meeting to resolve their grievances.

"That's right."

"If Charles VII, a mere decayed man, had such courage, why should I not dare?"

"Tell him that when he leads his army to the gates of La Spezia, we will have a chance to meet!"

(End of this chapter)