In Vienna, Laszlo had just attended the annual All-Austria Estates Assembly.
Although the core issue of the assembly, matters related to estate taxation, had been resolved through the Adjournment Agreement, the assembly still served as an excellent platform for promoting communication among the various Estates throughout Austria.
During the assembly, Laszlo would listen to the requests and suggestions of representatives from various regions, selectively adopting some of them, and making arrangements that satisfied the majority.
It is noteworthy that the representatives from Moravia, attending the assembly for the first time, received a grand welcome from representatives from other regions of Austria.
As a territory only recently incorporated into Austria, the local representatives from Moravia were initially somewhat nervous and forgetful, but they quickly adapted to the atmosphere of the assembly with Laszlo's help.
For most Austrians, this annual "National Congress" had gained their recognition and acceptance.
Through this annual plenary assembly, Laszlo successfully broke the long-standing fragmented political landscape among the Austrian states.
The joint deliberation of the Estate representatives from Austria's core territories was laying the foundation for a unified national political framework.
Previously, people's impression of Austria remained that of a vast and fragmented territory, stretching from Vienna to the Swiss mountains, ruled by the princes of the Habsburg Family.
Now, more and more Austrians, and even subjects of the Empire, began to view the Austrian states as a single entity, a completely united Austrian nation.
This was not very evident among the less mobile farmers, but it was particularly noticeable among the nobility and the burgher class.
By establishing a cross-regional deliberation mechanism, Laszlo aimed to strengthen the perception of "Austria" as a whole among the people of the various states, thereby weakening local separatist sentiments.
This goal had not made significant progress before; on the contrary, after he brutally suppressed Styria recently, the various Estates there began to recognize Styria as an inseparable part of Austria.
After Laszlo purged those rebels who secretly incited local secession and even advocated for Styrian independence, most of the unpleasant dissenting voices in the assembly almost immediately disappeared.
Laszlo was gradually building a national identity belonging to the Austrians.
This was his most loyal base; after completing the integration of Austria, he would have to set his sights on larger goals.
However, those goals were quite long-term, and for now, Laszlo's energy was once again focused on military matters.
Inside Hofburg Palace, Laszlo was discussing the war against Landshut with Marshal Adolf, Eyczing, and others.
"Your Majesty, news from Bohemia indicates that General Sigismund von Seinsheim has already led the Bohemia army to attack the Landshut territory, successively taking three towns.
Should the troops from Linz also set out?"
Marshal Adolf described the offensive posture against Landshut to Laszlo on the map.
Laszlo nodded in satisfaction, not immediately giving an answer, but instead asked, "What is the situation with Ansbach and Munich?"
"The Margrave of Ansbach is still preparing; his troops are scattered in two regions, and it will take a considerable amount of time to assemble them.
The Elector of Munich is leading his army to besiege the Wittelsbach castle in the west; he does not seem to intend to directly confront the Count of Landshut."
Laszlo and Adolf were both experienced commanders and naturally saw through the Elector of Munich's little scheme.
"Hmph, this fellow is slacking off, hoping to pick up the spoils after my army has done the work.
Never mind, let him be; if he gets less land later, he can't blame me.
By the way, what's the latest from Landshut?"
"Your Majesty, we haven't been able to gather much intelligence yet, only that the Count of Landshut is recruiting mercenaries at five times the market rate, seemingly intent on spending all his family's wealth."
"How much? Five times?" Laszlo was somewhat incredulous. "What is he trying to do?"
"It's still unclear, we only know that the troops gathering at Landshut castle are gradually increasing.
Despite your Imperial ban, many have succumbed to the temptation of money and are risking everything to serve Louis IX.
There's a rather suspicious piece of intelligence that Louis IX seems to be sending troops to protect the road leading to Palatinate, which is the Margrave of Ansbach's target of attack."
Marshal Adolf reported with some hesitation, then paused before making a guess.
"Perhaps he is preparing to flee to Palatinate for refuge, but that doesn't seem quite right; the Elector Palatine shouldn't have the courage to harbor Louis IX."
"He wants to run to France," Laszlo instantly saw through Louis's intention. "From Landshut to Palatinate, through there he can reach Lorraine, and past Lorraine is France.
Damn it, he wants to take an army to France! Adolf, do we have any way to send troops to intercept him?"
Marshal Adolf shook his head helplessly and replied, "Your Majesty, with the reaction speed of the Margrave of Ansbach, he cannot possibly intercept Louis IX.
Our army cannot possibly fly over obstacles to appear in that direction; the only feasible way is to have the Elector Palatine or the Duke of Lorraine intercept his path."
"Elector Palatine Philip is the Count of Landshut's prospective son-in-law, and the Duke of Lorraine is French, which means we can only let him escape?"
Laszlo slammed his fist on the table in displeasure.
The Duke of Armagnac had provided him with much assistance and was still active on the front lines of resistance against the King of France, building Laszlo's France-Burgundy intelligence network.
From him, Laszlo clearly understood a principle: giving an enemy a day's grace brings trouble for generations.
Although the Count of Landshut posed little threat to Laszlo, Laszlo knew all too well what terrifying effect his understanding of the Empire and his personal network, combined with the King of France's financial resources, could have.
"Your Majesty, it's best to first issue an edict to the Elector Palatine, ordering him to intercept the Count of Landshut," Eyczing suggested.
"That's the only way," Laszlo sighed lightly, giving up the idea of mobilizing the Duke of Baden and the Duke of Württemberg.
Even if these princes were close to him, they were still the type to not act without seeing a clear benefit.
To get their help, Laszlo would have to pay some price, and with their strength, it would probably be difficult to stop Louis, who was determined to flee.
"By the way, have the princes made any special moves? For example, the Archbishop of Cologne, who has been the most vocal...?"
"Your Majesty, according to current intelligence, no prince has any intention or action to aid Landshut."
Hearing this news, Laszlo was quite satisfied, though he also felt a slight disappointment.
With the King of France unable to intervene at the moment, he could deal with any rebels who emerged within the Empire without worrying about external interference.
It could be said that this was undoubtedly the best of times for the Holy Roman Empire, but also the worst of times.
Without strong external forces interfering, the centralization of the Empire had a chance of success, but at the same time, internal resistance was constantly increasing.
The South German region was fine; Laszlo could firmly hold it in his grasp, but the princes of North German were not so easy to control.
However, Laszlo did not yet intend to extend his reach so far, so there had not been too fierce resistance from the northern princes.
"By the way, Duke Eberhard of Württemberg offered to help you attack Landshut; he hopes to receive Dillingen and Burgau as compensation."
Eyczing's words made Laszlo's gaze focus on the map again.
"Dillingen, hmm, that's a Landshut exclave near Württemberg territory.
Burgau, why does that name sound familiar?"
"It's the land you granted to the widow of the rebellious Albrecht VI, where she lives; it's also the territory the Augsburg city council hoped to purchase last time."
Laszlo became even more curious as to why this land had such great appeal.
Last time, the people of Augsburg offered forty thousand florin, but he refused, and now the Duke of Württemberg wanted it again.
Soon, he found Burgau on the map; this land bordered the free city of Augsburg and directly controlled several important trade routes of Augsburg.
Laszlo's strong control over Augsburg, known as the "New Florence" of South German commerce, came partly from the Augsburg Merchant Alliance led by his finance minister Jacob, and partly from his control over a large area of land surrounding Augsburg.
Augsburg was like Austria's external engine, driving the operation of the state and the army.
The Imperial Bank's Augsburg branch developed far better than its headquarters in Vienna; Laszlo always obtained large loans and funds from here for wars.
Now the Duke of Württemberg also wanted a piece of the pie in Augsburg, and Laszlo naturally could not agree.
Moreover, he didn't think the Duke of Württemberg could be of much help.
"Go talk to him; if he can intercept Louis IX, who is trying to escape, Dillingen can be his."
"Such terms might not be enough to move that Duke."
"Just try; there's nothing to lose anyway."
Laszlo then turned to Marshal Adolf and ordered, "Have the Linz army attack; reach Landshut castle as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After the brief military council ended, as soon as Laszlo walked out of the council chamber, Al, the attendant waiting outside the door, came forward.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager's maid just came by and asked you to go to the Empress Dowager's chambers."
"Hmm, I understand."
Laszlo observed Al; the young man had been restless these days, occasionally showing a worried expression.
Although the other party had tried his best to hide it, Laszlo still noticed something amiss.
"What's wrong, Al? Is something on your mind?"
"Oh, I apologize, Your Majesty, I received a letter from my family saying that my elder brother seems to be very ill.
I can't help but worry and pray for him, please forgive me."
Laszlo patted Al's shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry, Elector Sigismund is personally leading the army to besiege Wittelsbach castle right now; if his illness were serious enough, he wouldn't be personally leading the army into battle."
However, his comfort had no effect; Al forced a smile and expressed his gratitude to Laszlo.
Nevertheless, Laszlo did not notice Al's unusual behavior and turned to walk deeper into the palace.
"By the way, you've reached this age; have you considered your own marriage?" Laszlo asked casually.
Last time, he had intended to arrange a marriage for Matthias with the Margrave of Ansbach's family, but Matthias did not accept, so Laszlo didn't press him.
Who knew that Matthias, now over twenty years old, was still a bachelor.
Laszlo turned to look at his attendant, Albrecht von Wittelsbach, who was nearly twenty, and decided to arrange a marriage for him.
"Currently, I haven't found a suitable match."
"Then, what do you think of Helena?"
Laszlo tried his best to keep his voice calm, reassuring himself that this was the best arrangement, but he still couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
"You mean, Princess Helena?"
Al's eyes widened in surprise; if he remembered correctly, the princess was only five years old, wasn't she?
"Yes, what do you think?"
Laszlo's voice was a bit low, but when he thought that Al would likely inherit the Elector of Munich, no, it should be the Elector of Bavaria, in the near future, he had to harden his heart and make such a decision.
The Margrave of Ansbach was already wavering, and Laszlo had to make some plans to ensure the stability of his power within the Empire.
Even if he had to take a step back, he still had ten years to observe Bavaria before his daughter came of age.
If the Wittelsbach Family's ambition remained unquenched, he could annul this marriage at any time, which was as common as eating and drinking in this era.
"I am deeply honored, Your Majesty."
Al replied almost immediately; he had to seize this opportunity for his family.
The reason he had been looking troubled before was not because he was worried about his brother's illness, at least not primarily for that reason.
What truly worried him was that his kinsman, the Count of Landshut, was about to face utter destruction, while his brother had no intention of stopping it, but instead became the Emperor's helper.
Using the Emperor's power to eliminate Landshut and complete the unification of Bavaria—this was their brothers' initial goal.
But the current situation was that the Emperor himself was going to eliminate Landshut and also carve up Landshut's territory.
In the future Bavarian Imperial Circle, besides the Archbishop of Salzburg, there would only be Bavaria and Austria left.
He could already envision the Emperor gradually encroaching on Bavaria.
By then, they would find it difficult to resist the Emperor and Austria.
But at this moment, the Emperor proactively extended an olive branch to him, even offering his daughter's hand in marriage, and this gesture of pulling him in gave Al a new opportunity.
The Emperor evidently viewed Bavaria at this stage as an entity that needed Austria's protection and alliance.
If he could serve as a link to achieve reconciliation between the Habsburg Family and the Wittelsbach Family, his family's position within the Empire would likely improve significantly in the future.
Hearing this reply, Laszlo nodded expressionlessly and said, "Good, then after this war, I will discuss this marriage with your brother.
This is quite important for Austria and Bavaria, and even for the entire Empire."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Their conversation ended there; they were already standing outside Empress Dowager Elizabeth's room.