A.E.I.O.U

"We meet for the first time, and I never expected it to be under such circumstances. How unpredictable life is, King of Poland."

Laszlo, with the composure of a victor, spoke to Bolesław, who was bound tightly.

The King of Poland was filled with resentment, but he was helpless against Laszlo. The Habsburg Dynasty's military might was flourishing, completely incomparable to Poland, which was weakened after the Prussian War.

Seeing Bolesław remain silent, Laszlo beckoned, and Matthias, who was standing by, immediately presented the King of Poland's crown. Laszlo took the crown and quietly admired it, but after a few glances, he lost interest.

He could not bear this crown; at least, not yet.

Although the Poles suffered a crushing defeat, they had not completely lost their ability to resist.

Lubiczowski was one of Poland's foremost generals, having repeatedly achieved military successes in his battles against the Teutonic Order.

He still commanded a formidable Polish army, and once he gathered the routed troops and reorganized his forces, Laszlo would have to fight another major campaign to subdue Poland.

If pushed too far, the Polish nobles might quickly reorganize the ruling class and raise another army to fight him to the death.

It was best to end this war quickly while the King of Poland was captured and the nobility had suffered heavy losses.

"Untie the King of Poland. The battle is over. Find him a chair. We need to talk."

The soldiers guarding Bolesław immediately untied the captured King of Poland. Before this, they had repeatedly checked his body for anything that could harm the Emperor.

The King of Poland rubbed his wrists, snorted coldly, and obediently sat on the chair opposite the Emperor.

"Bolesław, are you now willing to accept the peace terms from the Toruń negotiations?"

"Pah," Bolesław spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, and said with a cold laugh, "Do you really think you can tame Poland?"

Laszlo's expression changed slightly, but immediately returned to normal. He stared at the King of Poland in some surprise, and after a long while, replied, "Are you not afraid at all?"

Bolesław shook his head and said, "To the victor belong the spoils; there's nothing more to say. After this defeat, the Polish nobles will certainly not let me off easily. This crown… it's like a vicious curse. Those overly free nobles, I'm afraid I won't be the only one with a headache; you will too."

Laszlo fell silent. Bolesław's readiness to die seemed to have stumped him.

Thinking carefully, given the nature of the Polish nobles, if Bolesław dared to sign a treaty that surrendered national sovereignty and brought humiliation today, the nobles would dare to band together and rebel tomorrow.

They had already installed a new monarch once, and such things, once done, tend to be repeated. These Polish nobles had, unknowingly, set a very terrifying precedent.

"You, the dignified King of Poland, have no way to deal with these nobles? If they still refuse to give up, then I will have to resort to some extraordinary measures. Until the peace treaty is signed and sufficient ransom is received, you can rest assured and stay with my army."

Laszlo ordered Bolesław to be taken away and confined, then began to ponder in the military camp.

This campaign was undoubtedly a huge success, not only crushing the main Polish army but also capturing the King of Poland.

According to the data collected during the battlefield cleanup, more than three thousand Polish soldiers were killed, and casualties likely exceeded ten thousand, including hundreds of knights and many nobles.

If the routed troops were not gathered, it would probably not be long before they turned into scattered bandits, or fled back to their hometowns to continue being honest farmers.

The Imperial Army also suffered considerable casualties. After regrouping, the frontline troops and cavalry confirmed a staggering six thousand casualties, while the main force suffered much fewer, but still over a thousand.

The Polish cavalry's charge caused significant casualties to the army and left a deep shadow in the hearts of many soldiers.

The sight of thousands of these "iron cans" charging together was indeed intimidating.

However, soon, the joy of victory dispersed all negative emotions.

Many new recruits stripped off well-made plate armor from the knights; its quality was much better than the standard armor issued to the Imperial Army. Only veteran mercenaries in the army had such armor.

Having experienced such a bloody battle, many soldiers also underwent a transformation.

Laszlo began to consider how to proceed.

He came to the war council table, his gaze focused on the map where three locations were prominently marked: Poznań, Kuyavia, and Kraków.

Poznań, needless to say, was Laszlo's war objective for this campaign.

Kraków was the capital of Poland; taking it would surely force Poland to submit.

What worried Laszlo the most was Kuyavia, where another Polish army was stationed.

Although this army was besieging Toruń, Laszlo was certain that once they received news of the King of Poland's defeat, they would immediately retreat to Kuyavia, then gather remnants and accumulate strength, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.

As for the Teutonic Order, Laszlo felt they were completely rotten.

After the Teutonic Order broke away from mercenaries, their combat effectiveness was only enough to quell peasant rebellions; to truly make them stand alone and put pressure on Poland would be quite difficult.

"No wonder everyone criticizes the Teutonic Order's corruption; three hundred years of military tradition are almost gone," Laszlo muttered to himself with some helplessness. "And Lithuania, Kazimierz, what exactly do you want?"

He couldn't see through Kazimierz; this fellow acted like an extremely trouble-averse, honest person, keeping to himself without any extra thoughts.

However, his brother was dead, and he still showed no ambition at all, which made Laszlo have to suspect him.

The historical Kazimierz (Kazimierz IV Jagiellon) was also a cunning manipulator, always trying to gain the maximum benefit in power struggles, but his military capability, comparable to Sun Quan, always put him at a disadvantage in his struggles with the nobles.

With the Kingdom of Poland defeated so thoroughly this time, surely Kazimierz should make a move?

Laszlo's fist slammed on Poznań, deciding to take Poznań first, then determine the subsequent strategic plan.

Three days later, the Imperial Army advanced to besiege Poznań. Laszlo was not in a hurry to attack the city, but first sent large numbers of small units to sweep the Poznań region, collecting all available supplies from the surroundings to sustain the siege.

The supplies needed for over twenty thousand troops were immense; transporting them from the homeland would incur too much loss, so they could only be shipped from Silesia, in addition to being sourced locally.

In fact, dividing the troops to besiege Kraków was also a good strategy, as it could both alleviate logistical pressure and make the Poles surrender faster.

However, the threat posed by Lubiczowski's Polish army in the Kuyavia region made Laszlo hesitant to divide his forces rashly.

At such a time, one improper move could easily lead to total defeat.

Reality, after all, was not a game, and he did not want to emulate a certain bald general who carelessly squandered an advantageous situation with micro-management. It was best to proceed steadily,

step by step.

Outside Toruń, Lubiczowski received this intelligence the day after the Battle of Leżnica concluded.

He immediately decided to lead his troops back to Kuyavia, but he also feared a surprise attack from the Teutonic Order.

So, this experienced old general ordered his troops to light many torches at night, making the camp brightly lit, feigning readiness for a night raid. In reality, he had already led his troops across the Vistula River under the cover of night, quietly retreating to Brześć Kujawski.

It was not until the next day, when the Grand Master discovered that the enemy was gone, that he realized he had been deceived, but there was nothing he could do.