A cold wind dispersed the thin mist, revealing a winding "long snake."
It was now mid-February 1472, and winter was drawing to a close. Laszlo led the Imperial Army south as scheduled, and they were now approaching the outskirts of Lyon.
Earlier, an envoy from the Duke of Bourbon had reported good news: Benedict XV, out of great fear of the Imperial Army and the Black Death, had recently accepted the conditions proposed by the Emperor.
After issuing an edict to dissolve the Avignon Papacy and ordering the garrison of the Palace of the Popes to cease resistance, Benedict XV had fled Provence and was now advancing toward Lyon along with the Imperial Army led by Matthias.
Perhaps the cold winter had curbed the spread of the disease; in the end, the areas more severely affected by the Black Death were only Provence and Avignon.
The tens of thousands of men under Matthias's command suffered heavy non-combat casualties due to the plague and the season, and now the number of battle-ready troops was less than ten thousand.
The Papal army was in even worse shape, with various plagues rampant and the poor sanitary conditions of the siege camp nearly causing the army to collapse directly.
Bernhard had intended to stay with the army to boost morale, but ultimately, out of concern for his own life, he left the army at the repeated persuasion of the College of Cardinals and stationed himself in a nearby village with his personal guard.
Fortunately, at the last moment, the Antipope listened to advice and surrendered, allowing the Palace of the Popes in Avignon to fall into the hands of the Roman Pope without a drop of blood being shed.
Although no battle broke out from start to finish, both the besiegers and the defenders suffered heavier losses than they would have in a direct assault.
Subsequently, the Pope left a small force to take over Avignon and led his troops north toward Lyon.
The three forces of Laszlo, Matthias, and Bernhard finally met in Lyon, bringing the total military strength back to over twenty thousand. Those soldiers infected with the plague were quarantined in villages along the way, with specialized doctors arranged to care for them, though whether they survived would depend entirely on their luck.
Terrible luck meant the southern army's losses, despite not facing any hard battles, were close to those of the northern army that had faced the main French Army and captured Paris. Laszlo was deeply pained by this.
Consequently, Laszlo, who had originally prepared to storm Lyon, changed his mind. After forcing the city's residents to pay a ransom of two hundred thousand and handing over the Archbishop of Lyon who supported the Avignon Papacy, the Imperial Army finally spared the city.
As for Laszlo's motives, besides avoiding further heavy personnel losses, the more important reason was that Lyon would become the center of imperial rule in the Rhône Valley. He did not intend to destroy this commercial hub of southern France, as he would otherwise have to invest more resources to rebuild it later.
Afterward, Laszlo, Bernhard, and Charles de Bourbon held a brief tripartite meeting in Lyon.
The results of the meeting were issued in the form of an encyclical and quickly spread across the European continent.
The Avignon Pope Benedict XV was formally deposed, and Charles de Bourbon was eventually allowed to settle in a monastery territory funded by the House of Bourbon and wash away his sins through long-term penance.
Meanwhile, those French cardinals and regional bishops who supported the Avignon Papacy were all declared illegal.
Among these deposed high-ranking clergy was the already-detained Archbishop of Lyon.
On the same day the meeting ended, Laszlo recommended a new Archbishop of Lyon: Paul, the current priest of the Vienna Castle Church and a master of theology.
Since Laszlo had previously supported Bernhard's nephew to succeed as the Archbishop of Salzburg, Bernhard readily agreed to this appointment.
After that, Bernhard's arduous career as Pope officially began.
Charles VIII of France, Charles of Burgundy, and Emperor Laszlo all began to nominate and recommend their confidants to fill the vacant clerical positions within their respective territories.
A new and less intense investiture controversy unfolded between the Pope and the three monarchs.
At the level of secular territories, although Provence had not yet been taken, the Dauphiné territory wedged between Bourbon and Provence had all come under the Empire's control.
In 1349, the last lord of Dauphiné sold the land to the French King. Subsequently, Emperor Charles IV, under pressure, recognized this territorial transaction and handed over the long-defunct Kingdom of Burgundy to the French King for administration.
Since then, the title of Lord of Dauphiné became one of the long list of exclusive territorial titles for the Dauphin of France.
However, after Louis XI came to power, perhaps because he had ruled the area for a long time in his early years, he developed a special affection for Dauphiné.
He subsequently abolished the long list of titles for the Dauphin of France, retaining only the title of Lord of Dauphiné as a synonym for the French Dauphin. Dauphiné was also formally established as the exclusive territory of the Dauphin, equivalent in status to the Prince of Wales in England.
Now, this land has been "returned" to the Empire after more than a hundred years due to the signing of the Treaty of Orléans, and the Dauphiné territory naturally ceased to exist.
As the leader and the one who contributed the most to this war, after using the lands of Champagne to eliminate Charles's interference, no one could deny the Emperor's right to distribute this newly occupied land according to his own wishes.
Thus, this territory was granted to Christopher, who had accompanied the expedition—this was the first fief he obtained after being elected King of the Romans.
With the transfer of land ownership, the previous iris and dolphin flag of the Dauphiné territory was abolished, replaced by a four-quartered coat of arms featuring a single-headed eagle and a dolphin.
The single-headed eagle emblem representing the heir to the Empire replaced the fleur-de-lis emblem representing the French royal family, establishing the new ownership of this land.
Warriors who performed excellently during the war—coming from all over the Empire, Hungary, and even the Balkan nations—were granted lands in Dauphiné and became Christopher's vassals.
Among them, the one who received more land was the mercenary leader from the Swabia region, the Count of Fürstenberg.
He was rewarded for his bravery in the war against France and for continuing to serve the Emperor with a large number of Swabian mercenaries after the Imperial Army was disbanded.
Considering Christopher's young age and that Provence had not yet been pacified, Laszlo appointed the Count of Fürstenberg as the Vice-Governor of Dauphiné, while the new Archbishop of Lyon, Paul, served as the Governor. The two were jointly responsible for governing and defending the Dauphiné territory.
At least until Christopher and Mary produced an heir with succession rights, Laszlo would not leave him alone to train in such a remote and dangerous border region.
In order to conquer Provence after the plague subsided, Laszlo left the reorganized and replenished Independent Army there, and then left Lyon with the main army to embark on the journey home.
Vienna, Hofburg Palace.
The news of Laszlo's triumphant advance, even directly breaking into Paris and plundering the French capital, reached Austria, which directly relieved much of the pressure on Joanna.
At the beginning of the new year, she welcomed a powerful political ally.
"It's been over a year since I last saw you, and you've grown so much, my dear Joanna."
Empress Dowager Elizabeth warmly held the Empress's hand, her eyes, clouded by age, carefully observing the young Empress's slightly immature face.
This child's face always reminded her of the late Leonor; after all, the two were aunt and niece.
However, beneath the similar faces lay two completely different personalities.
Leonor was naturally lively, active, and fond of pleasure, while little Joanna went to the other extreme, almost treating life as a form of ascetic practice.
Of course, regardless of the personality, both were beloved daughters-in-law for Elizabeth.
Elizabeth, who had recently returned to seclusion in the Budapest royal palace, immediately convinced the Hungarian government to fully support all of the Empress's actions as soon as she heard someone was targeting Joanna.
As the daughter of Emperor Sigismund, the wife of Albrecht II, and the mother of Emperor Laszlo, she was respected by all Hungarian nobles.
After that, the Empress Dowager traveled by boat from Budapest to Vienna, bringing Hungarian support to Joanna.
"This is all thanks to the teachings of His Majesty and yourself. With your help, this matter will definitely be resolved smoothly."
Joanna supported the elderly Empress Dowager as they strolled through the corridor painted with murals of the Habsburg chronicles. The other's praise made her cheeks flush; she was shy but also felt some joy in her heart.
She was full of respect and curiosity for this old woman who was closely related to three emperors.
After all, not long after she married into the family, Empress Dowager Elizabeth had returned to her Hungarian hometown to live in seclusion, and her visits to Vienna since then had been few and far between.
"Those arrogant Styrians, they didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"
Speaking of the Austrian nobles who had caused trouble this time, the Empress Dowager's tone became serious.
"No, although they made a lot of noise, they weren't bold enough to challenge the Emperor's authority."
"In other words, another group of scoundrels who jumped out to cry and complain while Laszlo is away?"
Elizabeth was all too familiar with such things.
In the past, when her father and husband were in Bohemia fighting the Hussites, she had seen plenty of the ugly, greedy faces of the nobles in Hungary.
Now that this was happening in Austria, it directly brought back bad memories.
"What they oppose is the military service tax Laszlo imposed on the various estates; opposing the war is just a pretext. Perhaps they are terrified of the Emperor possessing such a massive army."
After a period of investigation, Joanna had also more or less understood the ins and outs of the matter.
More than twenty prominent Styrian nobles had united to protest the collection of the tax. If this situation spread to other states, it might not be so easy to collect taxes through the estates again.
"Hmph, the Styrians are used to weak monarchs. Laszlo drove away Frederick and weakened their liberties; these fellows were bound to resist."
Thinking that the useless Frederick was still being entrusted with heavy responsibilities by her son, Elizabeth ultimately refrained from mocking him.
Even though Frederick's father, Ernst 'the Iron', had seized most of Inner Austria through civil war and kept the Styrian nobles in line, by the time of Frederick's rule, the nobles there began to defy control.
Now Frederick was far away in the East, yet he had left such a big mess for her son. Not scolding him a few times was already the Empress Dowager's mercy.
"In this matter, you absolutely must not yield. Listen, it is better to be feared than to be loved, so the army—you must never give it up!"
Perhaps thinking of the past when her father Sigismund was imprisoned and humiliated due to the power plays of the great Hungarian nobles, Elizabeth earnestly passed on her insights to her daughter-in-law.
Joanna was confused by such remarks but still nodded in agreement with the point the Empress Dowager made at the end.
"Please rest assured, I have already sent people to widely proclaim the justice of this war and to warn the subjects that the collection of the tribute tax is to ensure Austria remains free from the ravages of war.
As for those nobles, their selfishness will be made public, and their supporters will abandon them.
My only worry was that they would use any means to incite unrest, but your arrival has completely dispelled this final concern," Joanna said with a smile.
Besides the Kremnica Legion from Hungary and the Prague Legion from Bohemia, she could now also mobilize the Buda Legion and the army of the Governor of the Kingdom of Croatia.
Using these ten thousand troops to deal with the Styrian nobles would be as simple as crushing a few stray dogs by the roadside.
"Your method is indeed sound, using the name of the Church and the Empire to pressure them. Recently, news of Laszlo's victories has been coming back one after another; I expect they will be the first to buckle under the pressure."
The more the Empress Dowager looked at the steady and calm Joanna, the more she liked her. Her serious expression dissolved, replaced by a satisfied smile.
"Remember to prepare a list; when Laszlo returns, he will naturally deal with them."
"Yes."
"..."
""
The two ladies then discussed some lighter topics, such as how to care for the Emperor's children, and Joanna took the opportunity to complain to the Empress Dowager about how Laszlo was always with the army, leaving her neglected.
However, the Empress Dowager had no solution for this problem.
After all, since her earliest memories, the Hussite Wars had broken out, and then her father had been fighting in Bohemia, and later her husband was often on the Ottoman front.
By now, she also understood the burden brought by the crown. To alleviate her daughter-in-law's gloom, Elizabeth decided to stay in Vienna for a while longer.
As time passed and more good news returned from the front, Joanna formally demanded to take those nobles who claimed the "tribute tax was being squandered and wasted" to court.
Ultimately, the Styrian nobles yielded.
Upon hearing that the Emperor was leading his army back to the Empire, these nobles, who had previously been constantly submitting petitions and protests, abandoned their original claims.
However, Joanna did not let these people off easily. After the noble faction was dissolved, these nobles were forced to swear upon the Bible and the laws of the Empire that they would no longer participate in any faction intended to oppose the Archduke of Austria.
The news of the Styrian nobles backing down quickly spread throughout Austria. While those local forces that were restless and intended to resist taxes were greatly disappointed, they also hid their ambitions deeper.
Although the Emperor taxing the nobility through the Diet was seen as a humiliation, in the face of the armored and battle-hardened Imperial Army, this bit of humiliation seemed not unbearable.