On June 25, 1525, King Louis II of Hungary was inspecting his troops.

Fifteen thousand people have gathered in the military camp outside Buda.

After countless delays and prevarications, most of the nobles of Central Hungary finally came to Buda with their own private soldiers to fulfill their obligations to their monarch.

Louis II felt a little relieved when he saw that although the military camp was not orderly, it was still full.

He patrolled the military camp with his guards and accepted the cheers of his subjects.

In the middle of last month, after receiving news of the assembly of the Ottomans on the south bank of the Danube River, he immediately issued a mobilization order, requiring all Hungarian nobles to lead corresponding troops to Buda based on the income and size of their territories to fulfill their obligations.

But until June 2, not a single out-of-town nobleman showed up in Buda, not even one who was only a few days away.

The furious king almost went to attack these disrespectful lords first.

Only with Queen Mary's gentle persuasion did he temporarily calm down.

It was after Queen Mary's suggestion that all the royal family moved out of the palace and lived in military camps to show the difficulties of the country, nobles from all over the country came to Buda one after another.

Although moving out of the palace made life a bit sad, this attitude of jointly facing the national crisis has indeed won many hearts for the royal family.

‘At the critical moment, the queen who was born in a big family has the wisdom.’ With such a virtuous wife, of course the king had a change of heart.

So these days in the palace, Louis II did not meet with his mistress, but returned to the queen's bedroom.

Although Louis II still couldn't forget the fact that she tipped off her parents' family to prevent him from obtaining the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, he finally no longer felt tight in his chest just thinking about it.

Not only because he understood his wife's helplessness, but deep down in his heart, Louis more or less realized that he did not have a head worthy of the crown.

But this is really a very subconscious feeling. If anyone dares to say this publicly, the only thing waiting for him will be the king's executioner.

"How is the progress of distributing military shoes to the soldiers?" Louis II noticed that among the noble private soldiers who came to support him, most of the infantry's shoes were rotten after wearing them in Buda. He watched his people walking barefoot

He was very distressed by the situation in the military camp. He immediately ordered 10,000 talers to be taken from the treasury to provide hair shoes for all soldiers.

"We have mobilized the women in Buda and Pest across the river to work together, and have provided 1,500 pairs of cloth shoes to the soldiers!" The finance minister who spoke was lean and shriveled, and his body shape was best suited for managing money. At first glance, it was obvious

An innocent man.

"But a full eight thousand peasant soldiers came to Buda under the leadership of their lord, and there will be at least eight thousand more in the next half month. What can a mere thousand pairs of shoes do?" Although he is not very good at handling state affairs. One thousand and five

The difference between a hundred and eight thousand is not difficult for His Majesty Louis to distinguish.

"Your Majesty, one thousand five hundred pairs of shoes is a lot. First of all, not all soldiers have shoes, and secondly, some soldiers with particularly thick soles do not need shoes at all." The finance minister said two reasons at once.

And it sounds very convincing, at least that's what King Louis thought.

"Is that so? But last time I saw that most of the soldiers didn't seem to have shoes." However, his father had taught him not to completely trust his ministers, so even though he thought it made sense, His Majesty Louis still asked one more question.

"That group of people happens to be Bohemian mountain people from the Sudeten Mountains. They are very poor, so they have no shoes. People in other areas live a prosperous life under your governance, and most of them have shoes.

." The finance minister opened his mouth to explain. "Your Majesty, look, are there any soldiers without shoes on this road?"

The finance minister is worthy of being called "skinny and evil" by the citizens of Buda.

Indeed, the soldiers I saw along the way all had shoes, and they all had smiles on their faces that were filled with joy from the bottom of their hearts.

They were indeed happy. Today they could skip a day of training and still be able to see His Majesty the King. Although the training was not very intense, who would want to practice without enough food and clothing?

As long as you kneel down and kowtow honestly and don't talk nonsense, you can still keep the shoes on your feet.

Who can be unhappy?

The Chancellor's words are very skillful, not only covering up but also diverting.

"The Sudeten Mountains? That's not the farthest area of ​​my kingdom. Why don't they go to Prague and come directly here?" His Majesty Louis' attention was indeed diverted.

"It's not that General Federtal is worried about the king's affairs. Now that the army of infidels has arrived in Belgrade, the Bohemian Army and the Transylvanian Army will not be able to reach Buda before the enemy, so he

Send these bravest mountain people to support you first." In addition to a few hundred unruly and especially devout mountain people in Sirik, Federthaler also sent a big red envelope worth ten thousand thalers.

Of course the Chancellor of the Exchequer cannot remain silent.

The Ottoman Empire's navy has restrained the Croatian garrison, and the other two corps are Buda's hope.

You must know that he also made two thousand thalers from the "special money for shoemaking". Of course, he also wiped out the deficit of four thousand pieces of cloth in the treasury.

It's really good to fight.

However, compared to the Minister of War, he does not earn much. One-third of the food expenses of the army will flow into the private treasury of the Minister of War.

There is no way, the father of the Minister of War was a minister who supported the Jaglonny family to seize the throne of Poland. Without his support, there would be no world of the Jaglonny family, and their status is really deep-rooted.

"Well, Fedtaler is still loyal. Not only did he give me reinforcements, but he also didn't ask me to hold on to Buda. You guys will just let me hold on to Buda without any rash action or attack. No one will share my worries.

"Louis II was upset when he thought of the minister's suggestion.

The consequences of losing Belgrade are brewing. Without the shield of this important town, large areas of Hungary are under threat from enemies.

Several Hungarian regiments were scattered throughout the country and it was difficult to reach Buda before the Ottoman army caused great damage to the Hungarian territory.

"Your Majesty, the city of Buda is tall and strong. There are citizens who can help defend the city, and there are enough reserves to supply them for more than a year. There is also a wide moat built outside the city by diverting water from the Danube River. Even if the enemy really has 300,000 troops,

It can't be used, not to mention that the enemy can only be hundreds of thousands at most. As long as we stick to Buda, then Bohemia, Transy

After Vanya's King Qin's troops arrived one after another, the enemy's strength was already overwhelming and they would definitely be unable to withstand it." Hearing the king's words, the finance minister couldn't help but become nervous and repeated his point of view again. "The water gate on the east side can be passed through the pontoon bridge.

Connected with the water gate on the west side of Pest City, the thousand troops in Pest City are Buda's natural reserve."

Although he sounds like a civil servant, which executive in the Kingdom of Hungary has not competed with the Ottomans?

Although he and his cronies do have to take 70% of the funds for maintaining Buda's moat every year, Pest's bureaucracy is even less efficient. It is doubtful whether it can mobilize a thousand people, but it is certain that it can effectively support Buda and defend the city.

It is a relatively less disruptive job for inefficient bureaucrats.

Therefore, despite all the disadvantages, due to its proximity to the Danube River, this is still the premier city defense system in Europe. It is the result of several generations of poor management by the Kingdom of Hungary in order to cope with the threat of the Ottomans.

The newly built Austrian capital Vienna also had no such additional facilities.

The countermeasures he said were also correct and prudent. Although he was corrupt, he also knew that his own interests and the interests of the Kingdom of Hungary were closely connected.

But this cliché has been heard countless times in King Louis' ears in recent days.

The young king could no longer listen to such words, but the finance minister's chatter continued to grow more and more harsh.

"Depressed! Really depressed! If the Minister of War hadn't supported my attack, I would have thought that all my ministers were cowards." Although King Louis was young and vigorous, if there was no one to support him,

He also didn't dare to attack.

Except for Federtal, who did not object to the attack, there was also the Minister of War, who had the most important say in military affairs, who was determined to attack.

"What does that boy know? When I was fighting with the Ottomans, he was still wearing crotchless pants." The finance minister knew very well the real reason why the war minister advocated an attack.

That's because the War Minister's family occupies one-fifth of the fertile land in the southern provinces of Osijek and Pest.

Once the Ottoman army crossed the border, their family's losses would be too great.

However, this reason cannot be stated in any case, as it would break the rules.

There are actually quite a few Hungarian nobles who asked the king to attack for this reason. However, although the big shots in the court care about their own property, they care more about power. Once Hungary is finished, their power will naturally disappear.

Except for the young and energetic Minister of War, all other Hungarian senior officials opposed the attack.

However, the middle-level people did not have such a strong instinct to protect power. Although they could not speak in front of the king, they still used various channels to ask the main army to go south to protect their property.

Although these people were not around the king, they represented the mainstream thinking of the Hungarian nobility and had great influence.

Once he stated this reason, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had no doubt that his words would immediately be given to his political opponents by the king's bodyguards, and then he would be completely destroyed.

As for the reason why the Minister of War was too young and climbed to a high position solely because of nepotism, isn't this a scolding of His Majesty the King?

Such disadvantages made the finance minister, who usually easily fooled the king, speechless, even though he was really loyal now.

When he was speaking purely for his own selfish interests, it was not a problem for him to fool the young king, but when he really thought about the king and the country, the king just couldn't listen.

"My subjects love me so much, this is the reason why the military spirit is available." The illusion created by the Minister of Property in front of him increased King Louis' confidence. He roared with his riding whip. "Follow me back to the camp, I will hold a military meeting again."

Meeting to discuss the route of march."
Chapter completed!