In the highest conference room of the Vienna Palace, the lights were brightly lit, and hundreds of candles illuminated the entire hall as if it were daytime.

Some of the most powerful men in the United Kingdom were studying the news that had just arrived.

Szazastam and Jones spent ten minutes briefing, and then Ladislaus signaled that everyone could discuss it freely.

"Please tell me again, who is the leader of the Serbian rebels, Noid?" The Archbishop of Würzburg has little qualifications, but he still spoke first because he has the least understanding of the situation in the east. "

Not just what you just said, tell me some information about his father and ancestors."

His experience during this period of time taught him that Ladislaus could accept repeated and extremely cautious confirmations of information, but he would not accept confused statements from his pursuing subordinates.

The Archbishop of Würzburg knew that he could not hide his weakness at this time and must understand the situation.

His question is also very good. When looking at a political figure, you must first look at his roots.

"According to current information, this group of people has been a very famous leader in the mountains for hundreds of years. Their ancestors may have married princesses of the Serbian Empire that perished prematurely. Starting from his great-grandfather's generation, the Noid family

He is the most powerful Serbian leader in the western foothills of the Carpathians. His grandfather and father are both very prestigious leaders. He himself is also quite talented in business and has a direct armed force of nearly a thousand people." Jones repeated the relevant information.

Said it once.

"It is said that Shauporai made a lot of concessions to the ethnic minorities, but why did it still provoke a rebellion?" The Hohenzollern officer asked a strategic question.

"Szoborai was compromising with the Romanians, who had a relatively large number of people. Not only did the aggressive mountain people in Serbia not reduce the pressure, they also faced intensified oppression from the Hungarians and Romanians. The pressure from the United Kingdom made Szoborai stay on his own.

The ruling area will be plundered with all our strength. If you don't resist, you will die." Jones was still explaining.

"Your Excellency Horthy, do you have anything to add?" Ladislaus was still flipping through the information and did not speak. The Hohenzollern official named Horthy, who was more familiar with the situation in Hungary, and asked Horthy, who was the chief minister.

One of the privileges.

Although Machiavelli is more trustworthy, the power to ask other members of the State Council to speak only belongs to Ladislaus and the Chancellor of Hohenzollern. This is the degree and tradition that gives the Chancellor the majesty second only to the monarch.

It is also the motivation for all members of the State Council to continue their efforts.

Of course, there is a difference between power and power. Ladislaus has more freedom of power, while the Hohenzollern magistrate can generally only exercise this power once or twice, otherwise it will be considered as overstepping.

"My knowledge of this Noyd leader is also very limited." Horthy had been waiting for Ladislaus to ask questions. "But I did see him once in Buda. He came to visit his tribe.

He was indeed very skillful in applying for exemption from part of the in-kind tax. But at the time, I didn’t see that he was so skillful.

Great ambition. His Highness Jones is right when he says that he is the most powerful Serbian leader in the western foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. However, there are also many conflicts among the Serbian tribes. It would be difficult for him to control other troops if he is even slightly stronger. Of course, this

Defeating Shauporai once will definitely strengthen his authority."

"How big is the scale of the battle between Soborai and Noid?" After listening to Horthy's words, Machiavelli nodded and turned to Jones again.

"Noid's envoy claimed that they had 50,000 Serbian warriors and killed a total of 30,000 Hungarian and Romanian cowards." Jones first talked about the information provided by the participating parties. This statement, which should be first-hand information, actually has no

worthless.

Horthy had a strange smile on his face when he heard this number. He was in charge of publicity work and felt a kind of affinity for such unrealistic numbers.

But before he pointed out that this was impossible, Jones continued: "Our agents judged that both sides invested between 5,000 and 8,000 soldiers each, with the Serbs slightly more, but it is certain that the total number of soldiers on both sides was less than 15,000.

.Loss on both sides was roughly the same, each suffering more than a thousand casualties, but the Serbs eventually controlled the battlefield, so the death rate on the Hungarian side was much higher."

Ladislaus, who had remained silent, then raised the cup in front of him and took a sip. This action meant that the meeting ended the briefing phase and entered the discussion phase.

Machiavelli announced the crux of the discussion: "Let us now discuss possible changes in the situation in Transylvania and our countermeasures."

"Your work is really outstanding, Your Highness Jones, for figuring out the situation so quickly. The assembled strength of the Serbian mountain people is about six to seven thousand people." Horthy complimented Jones first, and then expressed his further views. "

Although they won one game, I think Shauporai can defend Alba Iulia."

This is a very important judgment. If the judgment is accurate, it can greatly increase the power of Horthy's speech.

Everyone looked at Horthy and waited for him to continue.

"The internal relations among the Serbian tribes in the northern foothills of the Carpathians are very chaotic. The plains belong to the Hungarians and Romanians. They can only survive in the hills and foothills. The small living space makes their internal competition very fierce, Noid

Although the family has always been prestigious, he can take this

It would be great to bring some tribesmen down the mountain and conduct a field battle. I am convinced that the Serbs cannot do this kind of battle that requires the unified coordination of leaders to siege cities. Those small and medium-sized people can only be busy plundering and ransacking various places now.

Cities and towns that are poorly fortified cannot be attacked by fortresses."

"But after all, they defeated Shaoborai's regular army in a field battle," said the Hohenzollern officer.

"The area ruled by Szoborai was originally a relatively poor economic area in the Kingdom of Hungary. After the disastrous defeat in Pest, his prestige and strength were not enough to rebuild regular army-level troops. Most of the troops he added were only militia-level.

, maybe this winter because of the continuous

During the war, everyone ran out of food, so he had to fight desperately. In this case, only German immigrants in Transylvania could spend the winter with peace of mind. They know that they are prepared for danger in times of peace, so they always have relatively abundant food reserves." Horthy finally praised.

All Germans here.

"So what do you suggest?" Ladislaus finally spoke for the first time.

"I think we should reduce the size of the eastward marching army and allocate part of our strength to deal with the changes in Venice." Duke Horthy thought for a while and then added. "Although I don't have a close relationship with Noid, I still have a good relationship.

With such a relationship, I am willing to go to Transylvania to meet him."

Ladislaus was noncommittal and turned his attention to the faces of Magistrate Hohenzollern and Machiavelli.

"The large force of 20,000 people is more to deter Poland. It is indeed a huge burden on the country. Now Poland has no signs of large-scale mobilization. It would be best if it could send fewer troops." Machiavelli will never

Against saving money.

"But the size of the army should not be too small. Stimulated by Noid's victory, more Serbs may come to support him. If our troops do not have enough advantages, these fierce mountain people may not obey our orders honestly.

"General Hohenzollern still advocated caution. "Once a conflict breaks out, Transylvania will inevitably be poisoned."

"At least we can disperse the troops, with two thousand to three thousand troops along the way. The 20,000 troops march along the tributaries of the Danube River to deal with the enemy's possible field regiments. Now neither the Serbs nor Szoborai can quickly eat up our troops along the way.

Strength." The scattered march routes and the large army became one. For the rear

The pressure of transportation is completely different. The more roads that can be used, the smaller the loss of transportation. "It is enough to separate three or four roads and mobilize a total of 10,000 horses. Now Frunzberg and Pest have assembled

Eight thousand people. With some local Hungarian mobilization troops, it should be enough to control Transylvania."

"There is no need for such a large army. Hasn't Noid already sent an envoy? We can recruit him." Duke Horthy wanted to expand his strength. "Your Majesty, you can listen to what Noid's envoy said, and then

Make a decision."

Hungarians, Romanians, Serbs, and German immigrants, these ethnic groups in Transylvania are all political resources available to Horthy.

However, Ladislaus rejected his idea: "I will disappear as Noid's envoy, but don't let him go immediately."

"The Hungarian nation is the backbone of the United Kingdom. We must not condone the Serbian thugs. We are going east to quell the rebellion. Both the Szoborai group and the Serbian thugs need to be wiped out. Give Frundsberg an order to lead the troops.

Arrive at Pest and then return to Vienna as soon as possible and then follow me south. Your Highness Sazhastan, as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition, will command an army of 8,000 people to march towards Alba Iulia from the north, middle and south."

If a large army is used, Ladislaus must personally lead it. Frundsberg's victory in wiping out Bohemia is already meritorious. Military merit is supreme and cannot be too concentrated on one person's head.

Of course, Radice's success was a precautionary measure. He was able to defeat the Ottoman main force with great martial arts. In his generation, there is no need to worry too much about the emergence of military leaders. It is never wrong to be prepared for danger in times of peace.

"Then the next topic is how many troops to send south to Venice." The Hohenzollern Commander was very interested in Venice, and the results of the last robbery really satisfied all the powerful people in Vienna.

"I think it will be enough to send 3,000 to 5,000 troops. Your Majesty, Friend of Business, will definitely give us a good price." This kind of military issue should have been the one Frundsberg had the biggest say on, but he was outside.

Relying on his prestige in repelling Shaoborai's army at the Battle of Pest, Jones spoke honestly first.

None of the people present here are believers of the goddess Vol'jin. However, everyone has a consensus on curbing the expansion of Sirik's power.

Venice, the last stronghold of non-Cyric faith in northern Italy, could not be easily destroyed by the Roman Church.

"Treviso must do its best to collect any available ships." The Hohenzollern commander immediately responded to Jones, and they intended to take over the command of the expedition.

Ladislaus' intention to let several members of the Council of State take charge of small-scale battles had just been revealed. These two keen political players noticed it immediately.

Ladislaus recalled Frenzberg. If the troops sent were close to 10,000, Ladislaus would probably send Frenzberg. Only with a small army, Ladislaus might consider sending Hohen.

Commander Sauron or Jones command the troops.

"Some ships can also be collected in Trieste Port and Islia. Although there are no warships, the fleet in Venice is now in chaos. As long as I can board the island, I will definitely grab a navy for your majesty.

!" The last time Ladislaus led more than a thousand exhausted troops to conquer the island of Venice, it gave his men great confidence. Between Venice Island and the mainland,

The water between them is semi-open water. "The Warlock Royal Family is powerful all over the world. As long as they go to the island, people in the Venetian Navy will be eager to surrender to the Royal Family. Although the Venetian Navy is currently at a low ebb, it has accumulated over hundreds of years. There are many

If the United Kingdom eats these precious veterans and shipyards, then you will not only be the leader of the mainland, but you will also be able to compete in the world."

The fleet on Venice Island in its current state is indeed not enough to cut off Ladislaus' tentacles, and after several internal fights, people's minds have changed. It is really possible that the Hohenzollern Chancellor can use the Habsburg family to

His power has made great achievements in one fell swoop.

Ladislaus couldn't help but tilt his head slightly. This was really an extremely tempting blueprint, and he couldn't help but be slightly moved.

Although he ruthlessly cut down the navy that the old Emperor Maximilian was running miserably, it was because at that time he knew where the Ottoman Empire's next offensive would come from.

In fact, every country needs a navy. Now that the coastline of the United Kingdom has been greatly extended due to the seizure of Croatia, without a navy, these coastal territories will not be able to develop at all.

Moreover, the Ottoman Empire's next attack does not necessarily have to be along the Danube River. It can also launch an offensive against Zagreb and the core areas of Austria along the coastline.

By then, the logistical troubles were reversed. Ladislaus would have to either spend huge sums of money to build many forts, or he would have to take the initiative to seek battle.

This will inevitably lead to disadvantages in battlefield selection and battle rhythm.

The cost of building a navy out of thin air is too high. If we can use half of the Venetian fleet as the basis, with experienced Venetians as the backbone, and slowly infiltrate Austrian blood. This is the best way, and we can indeed get twice the result with half the effort.

Not to mention the value of Venice's naval arsenal, which has been famous in the European world for hundreds of years. Despite the mischief of Little Gorriti and the tireless poaching of Ladislaus, this arsenal still has many experienced craftsmen and a large amount of wood.

By controlling this important factory, the United Kingdom has a foundation for its exploration of the ocean.
To be continued...