News of the Emperor beginning to demobilize the Imperial Army in Austria spread like wildfire, causing the constantly anxious princes within the Empire to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
The Imperial Army was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads; once it fell, it could very well destroy their power.
Those princes hostile to the Emperor, such as Ludwig IX the Rich of Landshut, even held a small banquet on the day they received the news, celebrating it as a holiday.
The princes in Northern Italy were all delighted that the burden weighing on them had been lightened.
However, the Austrian cavalry and one army corps would be stationed in Venetia, and with the Milanese army, the still powerful suppression meant no one dared to harbor any inappropriate thoughts.
Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy and his sons received the news even before these princes.
Inside the ducal palace in Brussels, Anthony read the letter sent by the Emperor, word for word, to his father and brothers.
"Regarding the Lorraine issue, Emperor Laszlo's decision is to temporarily disallow Burgundy from expanding its territory within the Empire.
His Majesty believes Burgundy should now focus more on the French King's movements.
He pointed out that once the Duke of Brittany is defeated by the French King, Burgundy will have no choice but to face the military pressure brought by the French King alone."
Hearing the contents read by Anthony, Charles nodded repeatedly, looking at his father, who sat beside him with a regretful expression.
"Father, Emperor Laszlo has already granted us many favors and conveniences within the Empire, so we naturally must fight the French King for him and for our Burgundy.
Constantly demanding like you do will only incur the Emperor's displeasure and will not benefit the alliance between our two nations."
Facing Charles's accusation, Philip remained silent, looking worriedly at the spirited Charles.
He had already handed over most of the Duchy's rule to Charles, while he himself remained in the Low Countries to stabilize the populace and gain more support for his son.
However, Charles's current behavior made him worry about the future of the Duchy.
The reason Philip was so eager to expand within the Empire, even daring to test the Emperor's bottom line, was precisely because he saw the huge power gap between Burgundy and France.
After the signing of the Treaty of Conflans, Philip deeply felt that Burgundy had lost its last chance to thoroughly defeat the French King.
However, Charles, who was casually toyed with by Louis XI, was kept in the dark and even felt smug about it.
Philip also learned that Charles had privately demanded the Burgundian crown from the Emperor in Regensburg, leading to a huge argument between the father and son.
The League of Public Weal, which once covered half of France, failed to crush Louis XI, let alone the small alliance of only Burgundy, Brittany, and Berry today?
Moreover, although Louis XI had reduced his ordinance cavalry due to various reasons and faced the dilemma of all Swiss mercenaries being recalled, his strength was still considerable.
The Duchy of Burgundy was isolated and weak; if the Emperor was unwilling to provide substantial aid, then defeating the French King would forever remain an empty promise.
Given this, the most pressing task should be to strengthen Burgundy's own power, rather than rashly engaging in a decisive battle with the French King.
If he were to do that, Burgundy would undoubtedly be used as a pawn, and the Emperor, who controlled everything behind the scenes, could then arbitrarily dictate Burgundy's fate—this was the situation he least wanted to see.
Compared to truly fighting a decisive battle with the French King, Philip now hoped to use the pretext of resisting France to extract more benefits from the Emperor.
He sent his son Anthony back to inquire about Bern and Lorraine from the Emperor, which was actually to divert the Emperor's attention.
Before this, the Duke of Guelders, an Imperial prince in the Low Countries, had finally completely broken with his son, and the father and son were at odds in their territory.
Philip had already begun sending people to contact the old Duke, hoping to exchange his support for the old Duke in suppressing the rebellion for the old Duke's agreement that his son Charles would be the heir to the Duke of Guelders.
This way, the entire Low Countries would belong to Burgundy.
The next step, whether it was Switzerland, Lorraine, or Rhineland, was better than a direct confrontation with the French King.
Unfortunately, Charles was not as patient as him, nor did he treat "ally" relationships as cautiously as him.
If Burgundy did not still need to accumulate more powerful strength, Charles would probably have already led his army across the Somme River towards Paris.
"Charles, look at this."
Anthony suddenly leaned over to Charles, showing him the contents of the letter.
"Although Austria cannot directly send troops to aid Burgundy, the Emperor has honored the alliance by eliminating the threat of the Swiss Confederation to Burgundy and weakening the French forces.
Furthermore, the Emperor is determined to demobilize some of the well-equipped, resolute, and battle-hardened Imperial mercenaries.
To contend with France, Burgundy must first establish a powerful new army to replace the outdated and fragile conscript army of the old era.
If Burgundy needs these mercenaries to form a powerful army that can quickly achieve combat readiness, an envoy can be sent to Vienna to discuss this matter."
After reading the latter half of the letter, Charles couldn't help but clap his hands in approval.
"That's excellent, this is exactly what I've always wanted to do!
Father, if I can organize the French cavalry, the English longbowmen, the Burgundian artillery, and the infantry from Flanders and Austria into a professional army, they will surely help me sweep away all enemies.
By then, neither the French King's army nor the Imperial Army will be able to defeat me, and Burgundy will replace France and Austria as the true master of the continent."
Charles had loved reading military treatises since childhood, especially Caesar's Gallic Wars, and he personally regarded Caesar and Alexander as his idols.
Unfortunately, his ambition not only failed to move his father but instead drew Philip's cold gaze.
Philip looked at Anthony and instructed, "Don't let anyone know about your brother's nonsense just now, especially the Emperor, understand?"
Anthony hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Father, Emperor Laszlo already harbors suspicions about Burgundy; if we don't do something, I fear our alliance will crack."
Before Philip could answer, Charles stood up directly and said with conviction, "There's no need to worry about that. I am determined to implement military reforms in Burgundy, forming Burgundy's own standing army like France and Austria, and then challenging the French King.
Anthony, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to make another trip for the Imperial mercenaries."
"Charles!"
Philip raised his voice, interrupting the spirited Charles, and the gaze of the father and son clashed as if to spark intense flames.
"Father, the Emperor has already rejected all your requests. Now is precisely the time for us to prepare for a decisive battle with the French King.
You are too old, so I will personally accomplish all of this."
Anthony, though intending to dissuade them, found it difficult to intervene as the disagreement between his father and brother had persisted for too long, and he was now serving as the Emperor's envoy.
"Do you know how much wealth it takes to maintain a standing army?
The Emperor has been on the verge of bankruptcy several times to maintain his army, and now he is forced to demobilize to save expenses.
Even if the Low Countries can bring us a lot of income, it's not for you to squander freely."
"Your way is what I call squandering the treasury's money.
Look at who you've gathered in your court? Poets, painters, chroniclers, and even alchemists.
They are useless except to display your so-called elegance,
Moreover, you acted too weakly in the Estates-General, allowing those despicable merchants to run rampant.
We provide them protection, allowing them to trade freely in the Low Countries; they need to pay sufficient taxes for this.
I will collect a large sum of money from them, and then use that money to organize a powerful army to clear all obstacles for Burgundy." Philip had never expected his son to have such a rebellious side; he stared intently at the ambitious Charles, his hand clutching the Order of the Golden Fleece trembling slightly.
"If you do as you say, a large-scale riot will soon break out in the Low Countries. Do you want to destroy our rule over the Low Countries?"
Charles shook his head coldly and said, "I will quell all riots, and then the people of the Low Countries will pledge their loyalty."
Charles's recklessness almost drove Philip to despair; after a moment of thought, he finally decided to compromise with his son.
"I can support your military reform, but you must promise not to take drastic actions against the Estates-General.
Once you incite a rebellion in the Low Countries, the French King will not miss such a good opportunity; Burgundy cannot afford such a risk."
"Then it's settled."
Seeing his father yield, Charles immediately agreed.
Although he had gained much power with his father's permission, if Philip, the true ruler of Burgundy, insisted on opposing, his plans would be dead in the water.
Charles thought for a moment, his tone softening, and he comforted Philip, "Father, even impoverished Austria can maintain such a powerful army. I believe with Burgundy's wealth, supporting an army of twenty thousand is no problem at all.
Of course, such an army cannot be built in a day.
I plan to organize our own army in the style of the French Ordinance Cavalry, with a provisional size of 10 companies.
As long as I can recruit those Imperial mercenaries, plus our existing artillery, knights, and Flemish mercenaries, it can be easily assembled.
After that, I will act within my means, deciding how to expand this army based on the Duchy's income."
"The Emperor is not poor; he just has too many places to spend money," Philip's mood showed no improvement. "You absolutely cannot act rashly until you have enough power.
Anthony, this time when you go to Vienna, besides discussing receiving the mercenaries, also talk to the Emperor about aid.
Since the death of Henry V, the English can no longer be relied upon; we cannot pin our hopes on them."
"I understand, Father."
The conversation between the Duke of Burgundy and his son ended there, and the Duchy of Burgundy subsequently began military reforms under the leadership of the Duke's son, Charles the Bold, closely following the footsteps of France and Austria.
Meanwhile, in Austria, the demobilization efforts were steadily progressing.
During the Swabian War, the Imperial Army suffered considerable losses, especially in the sieges of Zurich and Aargau, which meant that the various units were not actually at full strength.
Many "new recruits" who joined the Imperial Army after the war through selection—some were experienced mercenaries, others were conscripts who received standard equipment after several months of training in Vienna Neustadt—became the first to be demobilized.
In Graz, at the Independent Army camp, some Imperial Army soldiers who were confirmed to be demobilized were gathered together.
Officials in charge of demobilization were dividing them into groups based on their destinations.
Gunter, the commander of the Independent Army, and Florian, his corps commander, slowly walked past the soldiers, many of whom saluted the renowned General.
Although this General was initially favored by the Emperor due to his lineage, he proved through his courage and achievements that he was worthy of everything he now possessed.
Therefore, most of the Independent Army soldiers admired and respected him.
Gunter scanned the scene with mixed feelings; nearly a thousand soldiers were gathered, and they would soon leave here and go their separate ways.
"The soldiers' morale seems to be quite good; it appears Emperor Laszlo's resettlement arrangements have satisfied most people."
"Yes, General, some of them chose to seek their own fortunes, probably planning to return to their hometowns to farm or go to mercenary camps.
These individuals will receive an Imperial Mercenary Certificate, which will grant them priority recruitment rights in the future—this is not just permission to serve the Emperor, they can also serve various Imperial estates.
However, most people still decided to go to Burgundy to serve the wealthy Duke of Burgundy; many of them want to make a fortune in Paris.
The Emperor issued an additional month's salary to each demobilized soldier, which almost quelled all complaints."
Although Florian felt somewhat regretful about the Emperor's decision to demobilize, he believed that future wars would inevitably lead to the Austrian army expanding again.
Gunter thought the same way; his old comrades who had followed him all the way from Stuttgart were all kept in the army.
In reality, not many were left, but they were the absolute backbone of this Independent Army, and many of them had the ability to command squadrons.
As long as the Emperor needed him and provided him with enough military funds, he could organize thirty squadrons to fight for the Empire in a very short time.
However, those were concerns for when war broke out; maintaining a large army during peacetime was indeed not a wise choice.
After confirming that everything was in order, Gunter and Florian walked deeper into the camp.
They had received news that a disturbance seemed to be brewing in Styria.
The governor had already notified Gunter in advance, hoping he could maintain order in Styria in a timely manner.
Moreover, it was rumored that the Emperor was planning a tour of Styria to confirm whether the situation there was truly on the verge of spiraling out of control.
By then, they would be responsible for protecting the Emperor's safety along with the Imperial Guard.