The discussion regarding imperial law ultimately concluded with a concession from the Emperor.
After the Emperor agreed to compile the customary laws of the various Austrian states into a volume as a supplement to the "imperial code," and declared that he would not replace fief laws with decrees implemented in royal domains, representatives of all classes were delighted.
Later that day, representatives from several states gathered for a banquet to celebrate their rare victory.
Whether they were clergy, greater or lesser nobility, or the urban burgher class, everyone felt respected.
After all, feudal territories had feudal customary law, ecclesiastical territories had canon law, and cities had autonomous legal rights developed from traditional urban codes like the Magdeburg Law. If these laws were excluded by the new code, the judicial authority of the Emperor and the Imperial Court would undoubtedly face massive skepticism and opposition.
By agreeing to concede, the Emperor was essentially acknowledging the various privileges originally held by each class and expressing respect for them.
Furthermore, through compilation and revision, these privileges would be established in the form of national law, which could be considered an unprecedented breakthrough.
Once the code was completed, even the Emperor would not be able to easily violate the privileged interests of each class in the future.
This move directly led to a greatly improved attitude toward the Emperor from most class representatives. In the subsequent negotiations, they submissively agreed to the Emperor's demand for a new round of property registration. Conditions such as maintaining a standing army, requiring nobles to serve in the military, and increasing the tax burden in rural and urban areas also received preliminary approval from the class representatives.
For the clergy and nobility, the Emperor's recognition and solidification of their privileges in legal form effectively established an unbreakable alliance between the crown and the upper classes through a clear agreement.
With the signing of the "All-Austria Estates Agreement," the transitional phase from traditional feudalism to absolute monarchy—the starting point of a centralized system, namely the estate monarchy—was officially established in Austria.
Since the territories ruled by the Emperor outside of Austria were more than ten times the size of Austria itself, the Estates Diet had been in a weak position from the start. Now, due to their own short-sightedness, they had fallen into the cage carefully crafted for them by the Emperor.
With their own privileges guaranteed, the nobility and clergy willingly became subordinates of the royal government and, under the Emperor's impetus, were attempting to integrate into the new system—not only by participating in regional and central politics but also by serving in the army.
As for tax increases, those were imposed on serfs, tenant farmers, free peasants, and ordinary citizens; it had nothing to do with them, so naturally, they were fine with increasing taxes as much as desired.
To Laszlo, such concessions could hardly even be called concessions.
Within the royal domains, while his decrees might have some flaws in their implementation by bureaucrats such as bailiffs, they could generally be enforced.
However, in the vast countryside and autonomous cities, apart from occasional visits by circuit courts to investigate serious crimes, mediation and sentencing were basically handled by customary law and local petty courts developed from the village community system.
In other words, he previously had no control over judicial affairs in these places at all.
This resolution to compile customary laws meant he would gain a golden opportunity to profoundly influence and reform local customs and the judiciary.
Laszlo could then use this pretext to "force" the various regional estates to participate in the compilation of the code, and by acting as an arbiter in judicial disputes between the estates, expand royal judicial power into these intermediate zones.
According to the Chief Minister, a key point in the codification of customary law was to emphasize that "the Emperor is above custom."
This meant a fierce struggle would ensue between royal jurisdiction and manorial or ecclesiastical jurisdiction to ensure that a certain type of law would take effect in more common situations.
For example, serious crimes like offending or blaspheming the King, private counterfeiting of currency, defying royal orders, and highway robbery, as well as other criminal cases, should all be brought under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court.
Meanwhile, the tax exemptions, labor requisitions, and local judicial rights of lords and clergy within their respective territories would be preserved and standardized, thereby reducing the hostility of local estates.
Beyond these clear rights, there were many blurred boundaries that would become subjects of endless debate between royal agents and local estates.
As for that seemingly all-encompassing "imperial code," although the conditions for its use were greatly restricted, it was still very effective for trials in the Imperial Court.
In addition to reaching a compromise with the upper three estates and winning over their hearts, Laszlo also had an unexpected small gain.
When representatives from the cities of Vienna and Graz were discussing issues related to commercial law, they raised various disputes caused by chaotic containers and units of measurement, and expressed hope for the use of unified weights and measures in local and cross-regional transactions to avoid economic losses.
This issue was ignored by the representatives of the Estates Diet. Archbishop Georg, who presided over the latter half of the meeting, determined that this matter was more about administration than customary law and thus dismissed the discussion.
When later reporting the meeting's content to Laszlo, the Archbishop mentioned it briefly, which quickly piqued Laszlo's interest.
However, the specific reform plan involved in this proposal was still open to debate, and the matter also sparked heated discussion within Laszlo's Privy Council.
Landowners, including nobles and clergy, opposed it. Flexible weights and measures were an excellent tool for them to exploit the peasants on their land, whereas unified units of measurement were a powerful weapon in the hands of a centralized monarch, saving bureaucrats much trouble, especially when collecting taxes.
Regardless of the method, the ultimate goal was to more easily exploit the commoners; the only difference was whether the exploitation was done by landlords or by the monarch or any other form of centralized government.
Of course, from the perspective of technological improvement and commercial development, unifying weights and measures was undoubtedly a huge step forward, as it would reduce the difficulty of management.
Unfortunately, many monarchs who tried to implement such unification in the past had failed. Technical difficulties were the easiest part; the real difficulty lay in the different interest groups hidden behind each specific set of weights and measures.
Considering the accumulation of many trivial matters, Laszlo had to give up this seemingly attractive idea and instead decided to first try unifying common transaction units in cities with developed commerce, especially those with a large share of long-distance trade, to more rationally collect various indirect taxes.
In this meeting, the Bohemians did not manage to find their place as they had hoped.
Unlike the representatives of the Austrian states and even Moravia, the Bohemian representatives did not sign the "All-Austria Estates Agreement."
Although they were happy to accept the Emperor's recognition and protection of old privileges, the many responsibilities attached to it seemed like excessive oppression to them.
The subsequent topics regarding property and land registration and adjusting the amount of tribute further intensified their panic.
To keep pace with the Austrian states, Bohemia's tribute agreement had a term of only two years. After two years, the agreement would need to be renegotiated.
This short-term agreement was beneficial to the Bohemian Diet because they could use it to judge whether the implementation of the agreement would harm their interests and could bargain with the Emperor again after it expired.
But now that the Emperor intended to redo land assessments and property registration, the Bohemians were startled, thinking the Emperor was going back on the agreement he had just signed.
Fortunately, Laszlo still had some integrity. Bohemia's taxation was still outsourced to the local Estates Diet, with the Emperor's government and court only gaining the authority to supervise and adjust.
If there was any change compared to before, it was probably that the distribution of revenue between the governments of Vienna and Prague had been adjusted, allowing Vienna to get more funds from the stingy Bohemian Diet.
Regarding Bohemia's special treatment, representatives from other states even showed some envy.
Unfortunately, apart from Lower Austria, no other state existed with an economy and population comparable to Bohemia.
The 1472 All-Austria Conference ultimately achieved a relatively successful result; participants even unanimously agreed it was the most productive meeting since the 1464 conference.
At the 1464 conference, the Emperor, in the name of public interest and supplemented by military threats, forced the representatives of the various states to sign the "Recess Agreement," undertaking military service taxes in the name of tribute, which became Austria's most important direct tax.
The subsequent development of the tax-farming system ensured that indirect taxes were also controlled by the Vienna government. Thus, the military and financial systems were perfected, and Austria maintained a formidable army sufficient to deter neighboring countries with its own finances and aid from vassal states.
The legalization promoted by this meeting not only influenced the upcoming Imperial Diet but also formally established the relationship between the Emperor and the estates, proving to be a fruitful harvest.
Regarding the resolutions of the Estates Diet, Laszlo did not hesitate and quickly established the procedures for action.
The governors of each state, acting as his agents, would convene local estate diets to discuss and gather customary laws, while the court judges of each state, acting as special commissioners, would lead a group of legal experts to compile, review, and revise them.
After the edict was issued, the governments of each state immediately began preliminary preparations.
The local estate diets were exceptionally active about this, but this work was destined not to be fast, as some people needed more time to weigh the gains and losses involved.
At the final Privy Council meeting after the grand assembly and before Christmas, the ministers all expressed concern over the same issue.
"Your Majesty, the jurisdiction of Bohemia is too large; we should divide it further."
"Not just Bohemia, but also Milan. With the two centers of Milan and Turin under one government and controlling an army of five or six thousand men, it is almost impossible to keep them in check."
Laszlo deeply agreed with Archbishop Georg's proposal and Baron Grafenegg's supplement.
When he had boldly annexed territories, the consideration was to save on governance costs. Now that it was Austria's turn to implement the annexation, the drawbacks were becoming apparent.
Bohemia alone was equivalent to the annual income and military strength of two or three Austrian states. If it weren't for the family's roots being in Vienna, Laszlo might have even considered moving the capital to Prague.
As for Milan, it went without saying; it was already a Lombard powerhouse and had seized the transalpine part of Savoy. It now occupied nearly half the land of the old Kingdom of Italy, reaching an unprecedented peak of prosperity.
That second-rate Milanese army was indeed useful in maintaining deterrence against the North Italian states, but it could very likely become an unstable factor in the annexation of Milan.
After all, it was a product of taking in mercenaries and rapidly expanding the army after the war; Laszlo had to take some precautions.
"Division is necessary, but some preparatory work is still needed. South Bohemia has always had strong independence, and we also directly control the southern Bohemian stronghold of Jindřichův Hradec Castle. Promoting the independence of South Bohemia would be a good choice."
Laszlo made a decision after a moment of thought.
The land dispute of the Rosenberg family had already been resolved; the two young men had divided the family's lands and were now preparing to come to Vienna to have an audience with the Emperor and receive their titles.
If given a chance to make the Rosenberg family rise again, they surely would not refuse.
"In Northern Bohemia, you also included Lusatia, which is adjacent to Saxony and Brandenburg and is land coveted by the Imperial Princes.
Perhaps we can set up another march there, coordinating with Silesia—one facing Poland and the other facing the Empire."
"Lusatia—even I have heard of the autonomous traditions of that place. Six cities formed an alliance, and the manorial nobles govern themselves jointly. Even the Cup faction heretics failed to make them yield. It is indeed suitable for setting up a new march."
In a few words, the members of the Privy Council had worked out a plan to split Bohemia.
However, establishing new states meant needing more officials and subordinates. Even the most basic state government should have tax collectors, sheriffs, judges, and military commissioners, and then gradually control regional affairs by recruiting more specialized officials like tax farmers and forestry administrators from the local area.
Apart from these officials commonly found in various royal domains, bailiffs mostly came directly from the Emperor's court advisory group, so there was no worry about a lack of manpower.
Considering the upcoming need for more professional talent with literacy and legal knowledge, combined with the personnel shortage in the Northern Imperial Court, Laszlo realized that the selection of talent must be accelerated.
Besides Bohemia, Milan was also a major issue, but with the internal opposition between the three centers of Milan, Turin, and Parma within the Duchy, splitting it would not be a difficult task.
However, once Milan was integrated into Austria, the situation in Northern Italy might also undergo some subtle changes.
If those North Italian city-states were to misunderstand that the Emperor had ambitions to swallow all of Northern Italy, that would be a major misunderstanding.
Of course, Laszlo did not care about their opinions at all; all he sought was a strong and stable Austria.