A.E.I.O.U

The news brought back by the messenger shocked all the Polish nobles. Since Grand Duke Kazimierz resolutely refused to be crowned King of Poland, they now had only two paths left: either obey the King or start a rebellion.

On this issue, the nobles of the Kingdom of Poland were divided.

The nobles of Red Ruthenia in the east were determined to refuse the King's summons. They declared that the King's actions severely violated the Nieszawa Privileges, suspended tax payments to the central government, and formed local armed alliances to defend their rights.

The nobles in central Poland were shocked by this, but realizing that their unauthorized act of enthroning a new king was, in fact, an act of rebellion, they no longer hesitated. Except for a few cities like Kraków, most provinces saw armed noble rebellions erupt.

Only the nobles in the western regions of Kuyavia and Greater Poland were mostly willing to accept the King's summons—because the Teutonic Order was right on their doorstep, and they were the most threatened.

The Duke of Masovia returned to his Warsaw, quietly gathering troops and observing the situation in the Kingdom.

For a time, chaos erupted throughout Poland. When Laszlo, far away in Vienna, received the news, he was completely stunned.

Soon after, a secret letter from Vilnius opened his eyes even further.

It was a letter from Elizabeth, stating that the Polish nobles wished to enthrone her brother-in-law, Kazimierz, as King of Poland, but Kazimierz had firmly refused.

"No wonder the Polish nobles rebelled; enthroning a new king is already an act of rebellion," Eyczing said with satisfaction.

The main issue discussed at this Privy Council meeting was how to resolve the Polish problem.

The situation was now even better than Laszlo had anticipated. Poland had fallen into complete chaos, and sending troops at this time would undoubtedly yield significant gains.

Adolf, usually serious and composed, also looked relaxed: "Your Majesty, Skanderbeg, after receiving our reinforcements, took the initiative to attack and completely defeated the French in the mountains of Apulia. Those Ordinance Knights simply couldn't play their proper role. Now the French have withdrawn from Naples, but they are likely to return."

Aeneas reminded him: "The French are gone, but the Anjou faction can't leave! Once Ferdinando has cleared out all the Anjou faction in Naples, it will be even more wishful thinking for the French to take Naples."

"Should we send troops? We might face military pressure from Venice. As for France, the Duke of Burgundy will alleviate our concerns in that regard."

"What has Burgundy been up to recently?" Laszlo recalled some things upon hearing Eyczing's analysis. "Didn't they start a war with Savoy recently?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Duke of Burgundy has not given up his grand ambition of separating from France."

Savoy, a corner of the Empire, considering the marriage between French Crown Prince Louis and the daughter of the Duke of Savoy, the possibility of Savoy becoming a staunch ally of France in the future is 1000%. In this situation, Laszlo chose to turn a blind eye to Philip's actions.

The Empire's Northern Italy territories? Look, does the Empire even have any Italian territories now? Are there any Germans in that land?

The Emperor's tacit approval meant that this war saw no intervention from either France or Austria, as the two countries were currently fiercely battling each other north of the Alps.

"Alright, overall, the situation is very favorable for us. Let's discuss the matter of sending troops."

"Your Majesty, to deal with Venice, we have another ally we can win over."

"Hmm? Eyczing, do you have another idea?"

"Your Majesty, Albania and Venice actually have considerable disputes between them. The Venetians occupy Durrës, Albania's most important coastal city.

Previously, the city of Danja in Albania was also illegally occupied by the Venetians. Skanderbeg led his army to recapture the city and besieged the Venetians in the castle.

At this point, the Ottomans suddenly invaded, besieging Krujë.

After Skanderbeg turned to repel the Ottomans, he signed a peace agreement with the Venetians, in which Skanderbeg relinquished Danja, and the Venetians were required to pay him 1,400 ducats in compensation annually."

"So we can win over the Albanians by offering to help them reclaim lost territory, making them our allies?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, this will significantly reduce our pressure in the Balkans."

"Good, Eyczing, I agree with your proposal. Get this done."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Subsequently, the Privy Council meeting discussed the issue of sending troops to Poland, intending to formulate a rough war plan, which would then be submitted to the Military Court Committee for refinement.

In the Prussian region, after receiving reinforcements from Greater Poland and Kuyavia, Władysław III and Johannes von Baysen, the Grand Governor of the Prussian League, combined their forces, totaling over 20,000 men, and advanced to besiege Marienburg.

The Teutonic Order had over 5,000 men stationed there, personally defended by Grand Master Heinrich von Reuss.

Another several thousand mercenaries remained outside, commanded by Bernhard of Bohemia, waiting for an opportunity to attack the Polish.

In the siege camp outside Marienburg, Władysław III met Aleksei, who brought him shocking news—a large-scale rebellion had erupted among the nobles in the central and eastern regions.

"These damned traitors! Parasites!"

Władysław III was furious and immediately decided to lead his army back to Poland to quell the rebellion.

Seeing this, the Polish general Lubiczowski quickly warned: "Your Majesty, if we withdraw the army now, the gains of several years of war are likely to be in vain. It would be best to first stabilize the rebels through negotiation, and after dealing with the Teutonic Order, then return to handle them. If you must return to Poland, we should sign a peace agreement with the Teutonic Order now."

Władysław fell silent. He neither wanted to negotiate with the Teutonic Order nor could he wait to kill the rebellious nobles, but he had to choose one of the two.

Losing Prussia was fine; it wasn't Polish land to begin with. But if the rebellious nobles weren't dealt with promptly, he could lose his throne.

"Rafal, you go to Marienburg." Władysław sighed as if resigned to his fate, "The bottom line is to preserve the existing borders of the Prussian League: Danzig, Tuchel, and Toruń. The rest of the land can be returned to them."

Rafal Korecki, the King of Poland's secretary, accepted the King's order and entered Marienburg alone to conduct peace negotiations with the Teutonic Order.

Although he didn't know what the King of Poland was truly planning, the Grand Master, who still had strength, was unwilling to accept the King of Poland's fanciful peace terms.

He insisted that the Polish completely withdraw from the Prussian region and no longer interfere in the war between the Teutonic Order and the Prussian League.

When Rafal informed Władysław of the Grand Master's decision, the King of Poland finally decided to postpone negotiations with the Teutonic Order.

The Polish army first retreated to Toruń. Władysław III ordered Lubiczowski to be the supreme commander, leading 6,000 troops to guard Toruń and curb the Teutonic Order's counterattack.

Subsequently, Władysław III led the remaining main force of the Polish army directly to Kraków. He would first return to the capital, and then he would begin to thoroughly settle accounts with these disloyal and unrighteous nobles.

The rebellious nobles did not sit idly by. They quickly gathered, forming a rebel army with a strength comparable to the King's.

The Duke of Masovia suddenly stopped observing at this point. He personally led 8,000 troops south from Warsaw, advancing towards Kraków.

Thus, the three forces met on a plain near Kraków. Suddenly, the Duke of Masovia became the object of fierce lobbying from both sides; whoever could gain his support would win this battle.