Hallstatt, a fairytale-beautiful town nestled between steep slopes and an emerald lake, became bustling with the arrival of a large number of guests.
The Emperor's mobile court quickly overwhelmed this remote town, which was close to Salzburg, forcing Laszlo to house some of his retinue in Ischl, the administrative center of the region.
Letters and reports from Vienna were delivered to Ischl daily, and messengers often had to spend several hours traveling by boat to Hallstatt to report to Laszlo.
The lives of the local residents were not greatly disturbed; most of them made a living by mining salt, and the arrival of many tourists even brought a temporary boom to the area.
Hallstatt was known as a treasure trove of salt mines, and it was said that mountain salt had been collected here for over two thousand years.
As Laszlo tightened control over strategic resources like salt and iron, the illicit trade in salt had significantly decreased, though the salt miners' incomes remained considerable.
Unfortunately, Hallstatt's geographical environment greatly limited the development of its mineral resources; in contrast, experienced miners preferred to go to the two large mines in Salzburg for extraction.
With the advancement of tunnel excavation technology in the German region, Hallstatt's salt mines actually had great development potential, at least according to Fugger's report.
However, while it had potential, the cost of investing in and developing the salt mines there was also significantly higher than in other regions, so Laszlo temporarily had no plans to expand extraction.
Of course, the local residents were already quite satisfied with their current lives.
Although they lived in a border region, the relationship between Austria and Salzburg virtually guaranteed that no war would break out, allowing them to enjoy centuries of peace.
Since this was imperial territory, although the burdens they bore were not light, they were standardized, without too many temporary additional taxes and levies to destroy their lives.
Therefore, the local residents welcomed the Emperor's visit, not only because they respected the Emperor, but also because the Emperor and his retinue were always generous and lavish.
This was intentional on Laszlo's part; he certainly had the right to purchase any goods at cost price in his imperial territory, but he was willing to pay more, considering it as poverty alleviation.
At the pier on Lake Hallstatt, a sightseeing boat carrying Laszlo and some accompanying personnel was preparing to depart.
A report from the Finance Minister Fugger was delivered to Laszlo before they set off.
Last year, Austria's annual income finally officially surpassed the 800,000 florin mark, which included Moravia, which had just been integrated into Austria, as well as the newly conquered Swiss and Bavarian territories, and special income obtained from the Empire, vassal states, and other sources.
All things considered, Austria's tax revenue actually surpassed that of the Kingdom of Hungary, though its population and land output were naturally far from matching Hungary's. However, Austria excelled in having sufficient additional income, and Laszlo could periodically acquire funds from various undisclosed sources.
However, the monetary income that actually entered the state treasury and the imperial private coffers accounted for about two-thirds of the total income, with the remainder being the value of in-kind taxes converted at Vienna's market prices.
More than half of this monetary tax revenue needed to be used for military expenditures, especially now that Austria was pursuing both land and sea power, its reliance on currency was no less than that of the Ottoman Empire.
Fortunately, the mints in various places were sufficient to provide ample currency and allowed Laszlo to profit considerably from them.
The remaining money had to be used to maintain Austria's growing administrative institutions, as well as for public construction and investment.
The money for maintaining court expenses came entirely from Laszlo's private coffers, which primarily received in-kind tax revenue, leading Laszlo to accumulate large quantities of grain, ore, and even textiles.
Some of these items were kept for court use, while the rest were mostly sold through various channels under Laszlo's command at good prices.
For Laszlo, the line between the state treasury and the private coffers was not so clear, and transfers between the two were basically unhindered,
because it was always Laszlo who ultimately decided how to spend the money.
Typically, the private coffers would be used to fill gaps in state treasury expenditures, as income Laszlo received from various vassal states, the so-called "tribute," would flow into his private coffers.
And developing Austria better by exploiting the resources of these vassal states basically meant using the money from these private coffers to invest in Austria's construction.
Following this income statement was the budget plan for the next year, in which Fugger explicitly opposed the further increase in naval expenditure requested by Admiral Dujam.
Maintaining Austria's two legions alone cost 180,000 florins a year, and the navy's budget had grown from a few thousand florins a year to 50,000 florins today.
The navy's ability to generate revenue was indeed good, providing stable guarantees for the development of Austria's maritime trade, but further increasing investment to expand the fleet was truly unsuitable for Austria.
Austria itself was a great power with a land-based core, and there was no need to engage in a naval arms race with the Venetians, who depended on the sea for their livelihood. However, considering the Emperor's instruction to continue strengthening the navy until it could contend with the Venetians at sea, Fugger proposed a new plan.
The plan involved using Austria's influence in the Balkans to support the Republic of Ragusa, which was subservient to Laszlo, in competing with the Venetians in the Adriatic Sea.
Compared to developing its own navy with great effort, it was more cost-effective to support a commercial republic that already had a good foundation to defeat the Venetians.
Fugger's suggestion reminded Laszlo that he seemed to have fallen into a misconception earlier, actually planning to compete with the Venetians, who were fully committed to maintaining their navy, with Austria's meager investment.
For this "poor man's navy development plan," Laszlo quickly thought of some new additions.
Since he was planning to support a proxy force in the Adriatic Sea to help suppress Venice, then adding a letter of marque wouldn't be a problem, would it?
Laszlo briefly glanced at the beautiful scenery of green mountains and clear waters, then returned to the cabin to write his thoughts in a letter.
Austria's current naval size was already relatively large, with the number of ships exceeding 40 after incorporating the fleet of Morea.
Maintaining naval bases and warships, recruiting and training sailors, and purchasing new ships were all very expensive endeavors.
Laszlo certainly wasn't short on money, but Fugger's proposal to invest more of the state treasury's surplus into public construction and industrial investment clearly aligned better with his wishes.
Previously, he had already supported the Genoese to compete with the Venetians in Eastern trade, but unfortunately, the Genoese's path dependence on the Black Sea trade route meant that Venetian control over Eastern Mediterranean trade was barely affected.
After recently aiding Karaman, the Genoese finally found a foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean, and their conflicts with the Venetians became increasingly fierce. Seizing this opportunity, Laszlo decided to set another fire under the Venetians in the Adriatic Sea, making it impossible for them to attend to both ends, thus ensuring the Venetians' eventual downfall.
After the sightseeing trip, messengers immediately took Laszlo's instructions back to Vienna, and these orders were then conveyed to all parties involved.
Dubrovnik, also known as Ragusa, was the capital of the commercial Republic of Ragusa on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, and also the most prosperous port city in Dalmatia.
Inside the Governor's Palace of Ragusa, a heated discussion was currently underway.
Governor Ercole Gondola and the Small Council, composed of 12 city nobles, were discussing the instructions recently received from Austria.
"Governor, didn't we just sign an agreement with the Emperor six months ago? Why is there another one now?"
A young elite city noble expressed some dissatisfaction with the Emperor's capricious actions.
Previously, the Emperor had offered some trade privileges and then demanded Ragusa, like other Croatian free cities, to raise warships to assist the Austrian navy against Venice, which had already caused some opposition within the Republic.
How much time had passed? The Emperor was now making new demands on them, truly treating the Republic of Ragusa like a dog to be commanded.
"Haha, Ivan, don't be too agitated. His Imperial Majesty is a man of many ideas, and this new agreement means greater benefits for us."
Ercole, smiling, handed the Emperor's instructions to the council members for their perusal.
Over these past few centuries, Ragusa had weathered various storms, but those seemingly terrifying disasters had never broken them; instead, they had made them stronger.
In 1204, the Venetians, with the help of the Crusade, destroyed Constantinople, and Ragusa was forced to submit to Venice, surrendering its port and paying an annual tribute.
In 1358, Louis the Great led a large army south against Venice. After defeating the Venetians in Dalmatia, Ragusa's suzerainty was transferred to the King of Hungary.
Louis's powerful influence in the Balkans brought many benefits to Ragusa's development, and the territory and coast of the free city expanded.
Later, the Ottomanss rose powerfully, and Ragusa, which had only recently been elevated to a Republic, sent envoys to pay tribute to the infidels, gaining many trade privileges.
Until recent years, with the decline of the Ottomanss and the rise of the Habsburg Dynasty, the Republic of Ragusa quickly submitted to Laszlo as a vassal of the Kingdom of Hungary, thus avoiding the calamity of war.
Each time it switched allegiance, the Republic benefited, and in Ercole's view, this time was no exception.
"Hmm? His Imperial Majesty is so generous, willing to grant us more tariff reductions, and tariffs for both Hungary and Serbia, and wants to deepen trade cooperation with us?"
A white-haired old council member exclaimed, but was immediately interrupted by the person next to him.
"But this time the Emperor also put forward more conditions. He is... encouraging us to engage more in Eastern trade?
And this one, to recruit loyal and courageous captains for privateering activities against the Venetians?
As soon as these two points were announced, the council members understood the Emperor's intentions.
It seemed that the development of Austria's navy had indeed reached a bottleneck. After realizing that it still couldn't directly overpower the Venetians at sea, the Emperor began to change his strategy.
"Eastern trade has always been an area we dared not deeply venture into, but now the Republic of Venice is in decline.
If we can boldly take this step, replacing Venice may not be impossible.
Regarding the other point, the Emperor has issued a public notice to all port cities in Austria and Croatia to recruit privateers.
Of course, privateering activities are strictly restricted; if ships other than those of the Republic of Venice are attacked, the license will be revoked, and they will be considered pirates and hunted down.
However, if they do inflict a blow on the Venetians, they may receive the Emperor's commendation or even rewards.
If we can capture the Venetians' overseas strongholds, these strongholds will all belong to the Republic of Ragusa."
Ercole's fingertip pointed on the map; the Venetians still had numerous strongholds and ports on the Greek coast, and the same was true in the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
"Are you crazy? Even if the Venetians decline, they still have thousands of merchant ships sailing the Mediterranean Sea.
And us? We only have a mere two hundred merchant ships, not even a fraction of theirs. Such a risk will only lead to heavy losses!"
Opposition quickly arose in the council.
Although everyone disliked Venice, before the Italian Wars, the Venetians had an astonishing 3,300 merchant ships, more than ten times that of Ragusa.
Even if the Venetians lost many mainland territories in the war, the size of their merchant fleet was still considerable.
At this time, interfering in the Eastern trade, which the Venetians considered their lifeline, and specifically the trade with the Mamluk Sultanate as explicitly pointed out by the Emperor, did not seem to be a wise move.
"I think the Governor is right. Since His Imperial Majesty has offered such generous terms, wouldn't it be a great pity if we couldn't seize this opportunity to rise?"
Ivan, the young noble who had just expressed dissatisfaction with the Emperor, smoothly changed his stance at this moment.
In fact, being the Emperor's dog wasn't so bad; after all, their Republic of Ragusa had always been someone else's dog for the past few centuries, the only difference being that the masters changed a bit frequently.
However, the powerful forces from the mainland were always the ones they needed to curry favor with, because Ragusa City, unlike Venice, was not protected by a lagoon,
any powerful inland monarch could destroy Ragusa.
But for a powerful maritime rival like Venice, Ragusa needed to crush it underfoot to rise.
"Venice's decline is inevitable, and we have the Emperor behind us, so there's no need to fear the Venetians.
If you are truly worried about interfering in Eastern trade, we can start by recruiting privateers.
We are not the only ones participating in this action; even Austria's navy will join in the privateering activities.
In the past, people called the Adriatic Sea the Venetian Sea; now it's time for the Venetians to taste the malice of the Adriatic Sea."
Except for a few extremely conservative council members, most of the members who hoped for Ragusa's rise expressed support for the Governor's decision.
A new agreement quickly replaced the old one previously signed by Laszlo and the Republic of Ragusa, and an undeclared war thus began in the Adriatic Sea.
As the strongest maritime power on the Adriatic coast apart from the Venetians, Ragusa first assembled a sizable fleet of privateers.
They used Ragusa's geographical advantage to fiercely attack Venetian trade routes.
Subsequently, courageous individuals willing to plunder Venetian merchant ships gradually began to appear in many ports of Croatia and Austria.
As the navies of Austria and Naples joined the plundering of Venetian merchant fleets, the trade order in the Adriatic Sea gradually collapsed amidst the escalating privateering activities.