Chapter 444 - Law

Spring came late to Vienna. It wasn't until mid-March that the people on this land began to busy themselves.As winter passed and spring arrived, the ice and snow melted, and cultivation in the Vienna Basin began one after another.In the Danube River and Enns River basins, Laszlo marked off large tracts of new land, recruiting farmers who lacked land for various reasons to engage in reclamation activities.Many villages and manors within the basin received special funding under the Emperor's instructions, which included the purchase and leasing of farm tools and livestock, as well as the addition and expansion of important facilities such as mills.For Laszlo, the terrain of Austria left him unsure whether to laugh or cry.If one were to say it was convenient for developing agriculture, over sixty percent of the country's land was covered and cut through by mountain ranges, making it unsuitable for large-scale agricultural development, though it was a decent environment for animal husbandry.By contrast, the vast, fertile, and flat lands of Northern France that he had seen with his own eyes made him incredibly envious.However, to say that Austria's land was extremely terrible would be wrong; the triangular basin centered on Vienna—extending west to Linz, east to Pressburg, south to Graz, and north to Brno—was quite fertile, with vast tracts of land still covered by forests and meadows, awaiting development.This territory, which was roughly Upper and Lower Austria plus a small portion of Styria and Moravia, was entirely under the direct jurisdiction of the Vienna government, meaning that his and the Privy Council's decisions would be relatively strictly enforced.Now, he somewhat understood why, when the Albrecht line and the Leopold line split, the Albrecht line—as the senior branch—ultimately only retained the Lower Austria region, which accounted for only a quarter of the family's land.Relying solely on this one region, the wealth it could provide and the population it could support completely crushed Styria, Carniola, and Outer Austria.Under Laszlo's painstaking management over many years, the population density of Lower Austria continued to increase, and land output and livestock capacity had significantly improved due to the promotion of new agricultural techniques.Even though he was busy with Austrian government affairs and the upcoming civil servant selection examinations, Laszlo still intended to find an opportunity to go on a tour, or at least stroll around the vicinity of Vienna.However, the arrival of the Archbishop of Mainz and the Elector of Saxony directly disrupted his plans, and his rare time off was completely occupied."The New Year's market… but hasn't the New Year long since passed?"Inside Hofburg Palace, Laszlo looked with some helplessness at the young Elector sitting opposite him with eager eyes, then looked with some dissatisfaction at Archbishop Adolf, whose expression was equally unpleasant.After arriving in Vienna with the Privy Council, Ernst did not even go through the motions of filing an appeal at the Imperial Court of Justice, choosing instead to follow the Archbishop of Mainz directly into the palace to meet the Emperor.Laszlo was caught off guard by this surprise attack and was unable to make a decision at the moment."Your Majesty, regarding this market, according to what they say in Halle, they intend to hold it every year, which is something I cannot tolerate. Therefore, I implore you to issue a ban on the Halle market, prohibiting anyone from traveling to Halle during the New Year's market!"The usually calm and reserved Ernst was behaving quite aggressively, and Laszlo could sense his extreme dissatisfaction with the Halle municipal government for stealing business.This was not surprising, after all, Laszlo had long heard of the fame of the Leipzig Trade Fair.Just like the Lyon Fair and Champagne Fair in France, or the London Fair in England, there were similar large-scale markets within the Empire dedicated to international trade. They often lasted for half a month or even longer, contributing immensely to the local economy.Within the Empire, the Leipzig Trade Fair in North German was the center of attention, and in other parts of the Empire, cities like Frankfurt and Augsburg played similar roles.Such large-scale markets, specifically designed to provide a platform for long-distance international trade, were held about two to four times a year. One of the most important nodes was the market held in early January for New Year's and Epiphany.Large quantities of goods shipped from South German would mostly flow through this market into the commercial circle of the Hanseatic League, to be sold in the Nordic region in exchange for high profits.In this process, the Elector of Saxony, as the licensor and manager of the market, could make a fortune just from collecting taxes.The only fly in the ointment was that, starting a few decades ago, the city of Halle, located just a few dozen miles from Leipzig, also began holding a New Year's market.Halle was originally a city within the fiefdom of the Archbishop of Magdeburg, which had obtained autonomy by paying money and was absorbed into the Hanseatic League a hundred years ago.Originally, the conflict between the two sides was not as intense as it was now, but with Halle's investment in the New Year's market and the support of the Hanseatic League over the past few years, the revenue of the Leipzig market during the New Year period had significantly declined.The Elector of Saxony, Ernst, who loathed participating in imperial affairs, was keen on developing his electoral territory, and was obsessed with making money, finally could not take it anymore and decided to use his privilege as an Elector to request the Emperor's help.He did not intend to let Leipzig and Halle return to their previous state of peaceful coexistence; instead, he planned to use the Emperor's hand to directly crush Halle's market, so that Leipzig could monopolize the bulk trade of the entire region.Just thinking about such a scene made Ernst feel incredibly excited.Laszlo sighed, quickly guessing Ernst's goal; or rather, the other party had no intention of hiding his thoughts at all.This kind of thing had actually happened in recent years. In France, it had been over forty years since Charles VII founded the Lyon Fair.A few years ago, in order to vigorously develop Lyon's commercial trade, Louis XI directly issued a decree banning French merchants from traveling outside of Lyon to participate in markets for international trade, especially the annual markets held in places like Geneva and Dijon.In addition, he granted Lyon numerous commercial privileges, which directly attracted a large wave of wealthy Italian merchants to Lyon, making it the trade hub of Southern France.Although Ernst was the strongest prince in North German and a distinguished Elector, he could not impose restrictions on all other princes, so naturally, he could not follow suit and issue a ban to strike at Halle's New Year's market.Or rather, for a long time in the past, no one could make the North German princes all bow and obey.However, the situation was very different now; no one in the entire Empire could ignore the Emperor's attitude anymore, unless they wanted to test whether the Imperial army's cannons and phalanxes were fierce enough.This meant that a ban issued on behalf of the Emperor could solve Ernst's troubles.If anyone dared to defy it, there would be no need for the Emperor to intervene; Ernst would organize an army himself to impose punishment. This was not only his duty as a governor but also to protect the interests of Saxony."But according to the information I have received, Halle has presented charters granted by Emperor Sigismund and my father at the court in Nuremberg, which means their New Year's market should be protected by the Empire and allowed to operate freely without any hindrance…"Although documents from the era of Sigismund could no longer be verified, Albrecht II had indeed obtained a small sum of money from the Halle municipal government through a charter back then.However, so many years had passed, and the Halle municipal government had just kept using the privileges claimed to be granted by two generations of Emperors, without ever coming to him for renewal or confirmation, so there was quite a lot of room for maneuver here.However, why should he damage a city that could otherwise contribute to the Empire for the sake of one Elector's interests?On the surface, he was stating facts and declining the Elector's request, but in reality, Laszlo was waiting for Ernst to make an offer.In the past, the House of Wettin of Saxony had indeed, represented by the Duke of Saxony, Albrecht, provided considerable support for his various military actions as Emperor, and they often stood on his side in the Electoral College.However, he did not accept this help for nothing. In order not to owe any favors, Laszlo had always properly rewarded and compensated them.So this transaction would be the same; there would be no free benefits, and in the end, it might still go to the highest bidder… No, this time it might be different.Laszlo's eyes changed quietly, and his thoughts became active.With the threats from the Ottoman and France eliminated, the Kalmar Union in the north was fraught with internal contradictions, and the struggle within Poland seemed to be intensifying; the Sejm was said to have completely sidelined the King, so the threat to the Empire was now reduced to a minimum.Then, his next opponents were practically obvious—the Electors and their family forces.At such a time, using his authority as Emperor to help the Electors expand their influence and suppress other estates, Laszlo did not think that was a wise choice.However, he could probe Ernst's bottom line, so that negotiations with the people from Halle would be easier when the time came."Your Majesty, the privileges granted by past Emperors were inevitably lacking in consideration. With Leipzig, the market in Halle is redundant. I can provide a sum of compensation to the Halle municipal government for this, and of course, a token of gratitude for you. In the upcoming Imperial Diet, I will also try my best to remain aligned with you."Ernst gave his conditions with full sincerity, believing that the Emperor would not refuse his request.If this were in the past, Laszlo might have truly nodded, but this time Ernst had guessed wrong."Elector Ernst, I actually think the previous two Emperors had their reasons for doing so, and I do not intend to easily revoke the promises they made to the subjects of the Empire. Moreover, this also involves the interests of the Hanseatic League, does it not? I am afraid I will need some time to consider this issue. In any case, I will soon send a document to the Halle municipal government. When their envoys arrive with the necessary proof, the Imperial Court of Justice in Vienna will make a final judgment on this dispute."Laszlo's business-like demeanor left Ernst stunned, and he immediately understood the Emperor's position.His expression changed for a while, and he was quite indignant and intended to say a few more words, but seeing the Emperor's indifferent expression, he swallowed those unpleasant questions back.The House of Wettin had not failed the Empire, but the Emperor seemed to be about to fail them…And so, the conversation between Laszlo and the Elector of Saxony ended unhappily.Although Laszlo did not want to do this, he was now indeed free to act, and the first problem to solve was the biggest one left behind by the golden bull—the territorialization of the Electoral states.Within the Empire, although the golden bull confirmed the princes' rule over their respective territories, their rule had to rely on the framework of the Empire, rather than being completely autonomous.However, for the Electors, things were not like that.The golden bull issued by Charles IV could almost be regarded as the "sovereign declaration" of the Electors, through which they completely transformed their fiefs into almost independent sovereign states.By analogy with the Swiss Confederation, which violated imperial law, in fact, the seven Electors plus Austria, which had fabricated the "Great Privilege", had already established veritable states within the state on the land of the Empire.Relying on institutions like the Circles and the courts to control those princes who had to rely on the Empire was not a difficult task, but if it came to facing the Electors, the situation would be completely different.The Circle system was just a tool to control the Empire, and this tool was not exclusive to Laszlo, but shared between him and the Electors; this was where the problem lay.The Holy Roman Empire had not existed in the concrete form of an empire for a long time after the Great Interregnum, but had transformed into a "League of Princes" in the constitutional sense, or more bluntly, an "Electoral Republic".Seven people who could restrain the imperial power could share the entire Empire, but Laszlo no longer felt that these people were qualified to share power with him.He had, in fact, already done a lot to suppress the Electors.For example, the Elector Palatine. Charles IV had stipulated in the golden bull that any Imperial Prince could sue the Emperor before the Count Palatine of the Rhine, accusing him of crimes.As a result, Charles IV never expected that this clause, which was heavily restricted and thought impossible to be invoked, would be turned around and used by the princes against his son, Wenceslaus, leading to Wenceslaus being directly deposed, and even kidnapped and attacked by his own brother, becoming a laughingstock in the courts of various European countries.To avoid such things from happening again, and to beat down those dissatisfied princes, the Palatinate had suffered his ruthless strikes and was even stripped of its Elector status.Now, when everyone read the golden bull, they would subconsciously ignore this clause.After all, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, who could accept their appeals, was completely unable to protect himself before the Emperor, let alone preside over justice.And precisely because of this, even if Laszlo manipulated the Empire at will, most of the princes silently endured it, and even the Electors remained silent.Sitting on the side and silently observing the Emperor, the Archbishop of Mainz felt quite conflicted.He could see it now; the Emperor seemed… to have no more concerns, and did not intend to negotiate, compromise, or share power with them in a friendly manner anymore, but instead began to find ways to strike at the power of the Electors.However, what did this have to do with him? The ecclesiastical Electors were not affected by the golden bull at all, because they were not hereditary princes themselves.Thinking of this, Adolf breathed a sigh of relief and broke the silence: "Your Majesty, I have a dispute between Mainz and the city of Göttingen, and I hope you can preside over justice for me. During the Hessian Brothers' War, the city provided a mercenary force to the late Landgrave of Hesse, and for unknown reasons, they launched an attack on the Fulda Abbey within my jurisdiction, causing significant losses. The Hessian side is unwilling to compensate, and the same goes for Göttingen. I trust you will not stand by and watch me suffer such offense and humiliation?""Of course, my Chancellor, you are my firm ally, so at the upcoming Imperial Diet…" Laszlo replied gently immediately."I will stand on your side." Adolf stated his position without hesitation, and Laszlo responded with a satisfied smile.Soon, the case was sent to the Imperial Court of Justice, and the Chief Justice, having received the Emperor's instructions, would undoubtedly make the most appropriate judgment on the case.