Among the many key strongholds under siege, Orléans was the first to fall.
The Duke of Berry and the Count of Nevers, who had besieged the city for months, encountered little resistance during the breach; the city had been without food for weeks.
To vent his personal spite, the Duke of Berry allowed his troops to plunder the city wantonly, resulting in the destruction of nearly a third of Orléans and the loss of sixty to seventy percent of its citizens, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.
Afterward, the Count of Nevers led his army north to join the forces of his cousin, Charles, King of Burgundy, intensifying the siege of Paris.
The Duke of Berry then entered a second round of negotiations with the Emperor; on the premise of ensuring he would bear the logistical burden of the Imperial and Burgundian armies, he temporarily limited the ravaging of French lands by those forces.
However, his actions were still too slow; the entire area surrounding Paris, as well as most of Normandy and Champagne, had already been swept through by the allied forces. Almost all defenseless towns and villages were destroyed, and fields were either trampled or turned into scorched earth.
Regardless of whether the local populace had followed Louis XI's orders to clear the fields and implement scorched-earth tactics, Laszlo's raiding units helped them achieve that goal.
During this process, the local officials and lower nobility arranged by Louis XI suffered heavy blows, which conveniently provided an opportunity for the Duke of Berry to install his confidants and take control of the regions.
Thus, as soon as the Imperial-Burgundian allied forces left, the Duke of Berry's army visited Normandy and Champagne respectively. After establishing temporary control over these locales, the Duke began to negotiate with the powerful families and cities of Orléans, Normandy, and Champagne.
By peddling that fragile but tempting "security" and "protection," he actually managed to scrape together the military funds for the great army besieging Paris.
Although the French people felt somewhat dissatisfied with this practice, which resembled taking advantage of a house on fire, they did not raise any objections.
If paying a little money and supplies could save their lives, who could care about much else at such a time?
After all, before the King's brother arrived, those less fortunate villages and towns had already been razed to the ground by the Imperial Army, and their people mostly met tragic ends.
Much like the policy implemented by the English on French soil during the Hundred Years' War, they not only destroyed everything in hostile territory but also exerted every effort to drain all resources from the French lands they already controlled to support the court and army of the King of England.
The current situation was not yet that dire; at least it was a monarch from France who took over their land and appeased those violent and powerful Imperial forces.
In this way, the Duke of Berry instead became a hero who saved the people from peril.
As for where the peril came from, best not to ask.
In any case, tracing back to the source, this war was also ignited by that King Louis XI, whom they hated with a passion. That it was Louis XI's own younger brother who finally saved them from a precarious life was truly a twist of fate.
The Duke of Berry was busy taking over the vast lands of Northern France promised to him, filled with joy, never imagining that in the eyes of Laszlo and Charles, he was merely a temporary tax collector.
As for whether putting pressure on the Duke of Berry would cause him to defect and plunge the allied forces into a predicament?
Such a possibility was almost non-existent.
After all, the allied forces outnumbered the Duke of Berry's troops by more than tenfold. Once he failed to meet the Emperor's demands, the Imperial Army would immediately march south, plundering all the way starting from Orléans—Orléans, along with the territory of Berry, was undoubtedly the core power base of the Duke of Berry. If he did not want his foundation to be ruined, he would not take such a risk.
Thus, a very delicate balance was reached in Northern France.
After the Imperial-Burgundian allied forces swept through in turns, leaving a large power vacuum, the Duke of Berry took the opportunity to strengthen his control over the locales and acted as the Emperor's agent, helping the Imperial Army automatically squeeze resources from Northern France to supply the siege of Paris.
From this perspective, the most miserable were undoubtedly the citizens of Paris. They were trapped in the capital of the Kingdom of France, unable to obtain aid from the outside, while other French cities and lands even had to provide supplies for the army besieging them.
That Duke of Berry, who had sold them out so casually, looked forward to the scene of his coronation as the King of France after Paris fell, yet out of shame in his heart, he did not dare to lead his army to the outskirts of Paris himself, lest he leave behind some unpleasant memories.
Laszlo expressed great understanding for this kind of awkward psychology of a young man, and therefore did not force the Duke of Berry to participate in the siege of Paris.
Now, this young man who was to be crowned as the new king was stationed with his army in Rouen, northwest of Paris, using it as his temporary center of rule while waiting for the battle of Paris to conclude completely.
In Paris, within the Imperial Army's camp, Laszlo was inspecting the grounds surrounded by his personal guards.
The suburbs of Paris also gathered a large population, with many villages and towns densely packed. Consequently, many units found ready-made quarters, needing only a bit of expansion to obtain a decent living environment.
Not long ago, the sturdy Palace of Fontainebleau had also fallen after a long siege. Many people advised the Emperor to move his residence there, staying in the French King's palace until the army broke into Paris.
However, Laszlo resolutely rejected this suggestion; he did not want to be far from his army, as doing so would undoubtedly lead to many accidents.
By staying in the camp, Laszlo would show his face before the Imperial soldiers every so often and occasionally give an impromptu speech, which was undoubtedly the best encouragement for the soldiers.
Moreover, by being closer to the army, his control over the military camp was stronger.
Even though Laszlo had paid extra attention to hygiene, even specially arranging for people to handle foul excrement or the piles of corpses in the camp, the plague eventually found the army anyway.
Looking from afar at the quarantine zone on the edge of the camp, Laszlo sighed somewhat helplessly.
It was said that because the water source of a certain barracks was contaminated, nearly a hundred people contracted Dysentery. Fortunately, it was discovered in time and did not cause a large-scale spread.
Doctors wearing full-body robes, holding sponges in their hands and covering their mouths and noses with cloth soaked in vinegar, walked through the quarantine zone to check on the patients' conditions.
There were no legendary Plague Doctors, but the methods of these doctors were passably professional; at least they significantly reduced their own chances of contracting the disease.
As for their treatment... it was hard to count on. Aside from feeding the patients and providing some drugs of unknown efficacy, they could only watch over them to see who was lucky and who was unfortunate.
In Laszlo's view, these soldiers who had contracted the plague and were vomiting and suffering from diarrhea were mostly experiencing symptoms of being unaccustomed to the local climate and environment, a situation that had almost always existed during the Crusades.
After all, in an era with weak concepts of hygiene, soldiers from all over the Empire could not withstand the germs on this French land and would naturally contract diseases.
In contrast, the Burgundian army's camp was much more stable; there were almost no reports of similar situations over there.
Although he very much wanted to go in and comfort those sick soldiers, Laszlo's self-preservation instinct took the upper hand, and he merely ordered the doctors to do their best to treat the poor patients.
After leaving the quarantine zone, Laszlo inspected the small market near the camp, which had now become the soldiers' "entertainment zone," with various vendors, brothels, taverns, and even literate people providing services for writing and sending letters home.
Laszlo knew very well that relying solely on strict military orders would eventually drive people mad, so the Imperial Army now implemented a rotation and rest system.
During their rotation and rest, soldiers could play dice games here and also release pressure through some of the most common ways.
Laszlo would sometimes have people organize events such as wrestling or martial arts competitions, where the winners could receive some monetary rewards or simply be allocated extra meat.
The accompanying priests would also hold mass in the camp daily to pray for the soldiers and would instill in them the concept of a "Holy War against Heretics," trying to stimulate their religious fervor.
At the very beginning, these words had some effect, but later they were completely incomparable to the attraction of the "Six Days of Pillage" promised by the Emperor.
Despite these means of appeasement and encouragement, most of the time the soldiers had to stay fully armed behind the walls, listening to the loud roar of cannons bombarding the city and staying alert for possible counterattacks from the defenders inside.
However, after so many days, if the people in the city really dared to counterattack, they would have come out to be beaten long ago; it wouldn't have remained so quiet until now.
Seeing the Emperor's arrival, the surrounding soldiers all let out enthusiastic cheers, and voices of praise were endless.
Previously, the Emperor had led them on a rapid march of over a hundred miles to crush the main force of the French Army, and now he was leading them to Paris to make their fortunes. This alone made him worthy of their support, let alone the immense prestige the Emperor had accumulated over years of previous wars.
Laszlo spoke a few words to the gathered soldiers and then spurred his horse toward the next camp.
Compared to the orderly Paris siege camp, the situation of the Imperial Army currently besieging Arles was much more dismal.
Hearing that the Imperial Army had broken into the territory of Provence, the Duke of Anjou lifted the isolation of Marseille. The city's residents fled in competition to escape the blockade and the plague, and the Black Death subsequently spread everywhere.
A unit responsible for forcibly requisitioning supplies passed by a pond where the dead were placed while on the march, bringing the terrible plague back into the army.
Inside the main tent, Matthias and several of his subordinate generals were gathered together, discussing the matter with furrowed brows.
"If I had known this godforsaken place had an outbreak of plague, we shouldn't have come in the first place!" Piccinino slammed his fist on the table, complaining aggressively, though his sharp eyes remained locked on Matthias, his tone unabashedly questioning and annoyed.
"General Piccinino, the plague was brought back by your men, wasn't it? If they hadn't gone to strip things off those dead bodies, how could things have turned out like this?"
Gunter, standing to the side, gripped his sword hilt tightly and glanced disdainfully at Piccinino.
The Independent Army under his command had good pay and good discipline, but the Milanese army shouldn't have been much worse.
With Milan's wealth supporting several thousand mercenaries, how could they have raised such a bunch of bullies who were also greedy for money?
However, this was probably the nature of the Italians; he had heard of it before.
Being retorted, Piccinino's momentum immediately weakened significantly. He opened his mouth to argue but was preempted by Matthias.
"Enough, the matter has already happened, and those involved have been punished. The urgent task is to solve the trouble of the plague and also determine our subsequent strategy."
"All soldiers suspected of being infected or who might be infected have been quarantined, and those who died of the disease have been burned to ashes and buried deep underground.
As long as we leave this godforsaken place quickly, the plague will subside on its own."
Piccinino was also a veteran general of many years, so he had quickly taken measures after the plague began to spread, but a large number of soldiers had still unfortunately contracted this terrible Black Death.
"Then what about Provence?" Gunter asked, unwilling to give up.
If they retreated now, they probably wouldn't be able to complete the Emperor's task. Although there was a reason, it would always make one feel uncomfortable.
"Marseille, Toulon, and other places have all had large-scale plague outbreaks. I'm afraid that even if we don't act, it won't be long before Provence loses its ability to resist. It won't be too late to act then."
Matthias analyzed the current situation and decided to retreat for now.
"I heard that the last time the Black Death broke out in Marseille, it lasted for a full ten years, and that was only a dozen years ago. Who knows how long it will last this time?"
Hearing this, Matthias also couldn't help but let out a helpless sigh.
If it were some military problem, he would still have the confidence to solve it, but the current difficulty was simply not something human power could oppose. Unless God performed a miracle, there was absolutely no way.
"The Emperor will have a way," Matthias finally decided to push the problem to the all-powerful Laszlo. "Our goal is to seize the lands east of the Rhône River, but more importantly, to preserve the Empire's military strength. If this army of over ten thousand men perishes from the plague, we will all go to hell."
With the words spoken to this point, everyone's faces became extremely unsightly.
They did not yet know that the spread of this plague was actually deliberately promoted by someone; otherwise, they would have had to take their swords and go kill that cold-blooded Duke of Anjou.
Soon after, the siege of Arles was lifted. After burning the hastily constructed camp, the army began to return to Avignon by the way they came, trying to avoid the terrifying plague.
However, when they returned to Avignon, the scene there was even more heart-stopping.
Not only had the Black Death spread here, but the slaughter after the city was breached previously had caused other plagues to breed, almost destroying the Pope's besieging forces.
Meanwhile, the number of soldiers in the army with fevers from the plague was still increasing, and a significant number of soldiers fled the camp every day. The army's morale had almost hit rock bottom.
In desperation, Matthias led the army to camp on a high ground near Avignon, conducting a strict inspection of the entire unit and finding some professional doctors to treat the patients.
Although the Pope's army could hardly save itself, Bernhard still sent some priests to comfort the Imperial Army. The priests prayed day and night, barely managing to calm the army's panic.
However, the plague was still raging in Provence, like a dark Grim Reaper harvesting lives and sowing despair and fear.