After confirming the stability of Outer Austria and its surrounding regions, Laszlo and his court turned from Basel and headed north along the Rhine River.
States such as Strasbourg, Baden, Palatinate, and Mainz all enthusiastically hosted the Emperor.
Along the way, Laszlo also took advantage of this rare opportunity to personally mediate many regional conflicts, but more often than not, he was sightseeing.
After all, the Imperial Princes wouldn't be too fond of an Emperor who parachuted in to act as an arbiter.
Aside from necessary displays of authority, Laszlo largely treated this tour as a honeymoon trip for Joanna.
For the Empress, personally setting foot on the lands of the Empire was an incredibly novel experience.
Before that, she had spent most of her life in Portugal, then in Austria, and the rare two tours to Constantinople and Rome had already filled her with pleasant surprises.
This time, she finally left familiar Austria and ventured deep into the vast lands of the Empire nominally ruled by her husband.
However, compared to before, she still had no real sense of the Empire; as a politician, she did not consider the Empire a true nation, and it was clear that her husband was currently troubled by this.
Unfortunately, Joanna didn't know how to help her husband. For now, all she could do was manage the court and occasionally help Laszlo solve some problems.
Unconsciously, she had fully adapted to her role as Empress.
If her father hadn't insisted on marrying her to the Emperor, she might still be assisting her father and caring for her younger brother João in the Portuguese court.
Inside the Elector's Palace in Mainz, Joanna was slightly lost in thought as she watched the Imperial Princes clinking glasses at the banquet table.
"What are you thinking about? Are you dissatisfied with the Archbishop of Mainz's hospitality?" Laszlo, sitting beside her, suddenly leaned over, startling her.
Joanna shook her head and whispered, "No, I just suddenly thought of my father and brother..."
"Hey, your father has been in the limelight recently. The war he launched last year to personally lead an expedition to North Africa caused the infidels in Morocco to retreat steadily. Not only did he successfully capture Tangier as desired, but he also gained more land.
The Pope recently wrote to me, saying he plans to bestow upon your father the title of 'Africanus' and the Golden Rose. You always liked looking at my few, didn't you? Now your father has one too." Laszlo was quite moved by the success achieved by his father-in-law, Alfonso V.
Tangier, which the Portuguese had failed to capture for three or four decades, was finally brought under Portuguese control during a period of weakness caused by dynastic changes and frequent internal strife in Morocco, thereby realizing control over the Strait of Gibraltar.
Moreover, while the army was campaigning in North Africa, Portuguese navigators crossed the equator for the first time, embarking on new explorations south of the Gulf of Guinea.
In the past few years, the Portuguese had achieved considerable fruitful results in Africa and the Atlantic.
However, the Castilian succession conflict was also gradually approaching, and it was probably due to this factor that Alfonso V chose to retreat while he was ahead, not continuing to push deeper into North Africa.
Otherwise, the muslims of Morocco might not have just had to sign a humiliating treaty losing their maritime rights; they would likely have lost a large amount of land as well.
From the current situation, Portugal is still quite capable, able to mobilize over ten thousand or even twenty thousand troops without issue.
As for its opponent, Aragon, although Juan II was fortunate enough to have completely ended the Catalan rebellion not long ago, he also had to cede many important rights to the Aragonese Cortes.
Compared to his elder brother, Alfonso the Magnanimous, Juan II's prestige and strength were insufficient to suppress the unruly Aragonese nobles.
This can be seen from the rebel nobles' renewed oath to Juan II: "We, who are as good as you, swear to you, who are no better than us, to recognize you as our King and highest lord, as long as you respect our status and laws. Otherwise, the aforementioned oath is invalid."
Such a solemn oath had been abolished by the King of Aragon over a hundred years ago, but it was now brought back, showing that the authority of the King of Aragon had been severely damaged during the decade-long great rebellion.
The Cortes of the free states like Catalonia and Valencia have gradually suppressed the King. Whether Aragon can give its full strength in the upcoming war for Castile remains a big question mark.
Especially Catalonia, which had just experienced a decade-long great rebellion, its autonomous government's status has always been on par with the royal government. It's hard to imagine this is merely a duchy within a feudal kingdom.
Historically, when the Catalans were under Habsburg rule, they chose to support the Bourbon Dynasty, and when under Bourbon rule, they tended to restore the Habsburg Dynasty. They were practically a model of separatists, eventually encountering the iron fist of the French, with all their autonomous institutions and laws erased, never to recover.
In this era, Juan II almost relied on compromise to finally quell the rebellion, and the local forces in Catalonia were at their zenith.
The threat posed by such a Kingdom of Aragon is not as great as it appears on the surface, which is why Laszlo still has confidence in Alfonso V.
Joanna was not aware of Laszlo's active thoughts, but her husband's words still relieved her and filled her with a bit more joy.
Her father and husband had both made outstanding contributions in the war against the infidels and were praised by the Pope, which greatly comforted her devout heart.
However, when mentioning her father, Alfonso V, Joanna couldn't help but feel a little worried: "My father's victory is indeed gratifying, but recently I also heard that he has entered into a marriage contract with my cousin, Princess Joanna, and it was my poor aunt who arranged this marriage..."
Mentioning the family scandal, Joanna's head involuntarily drooped.
Her own aunt, the Queen of Castile who shared her name, was caught committing adultery with a court knight and expelled from the court, and the legitimacy of her daughter, Princess Joanna, was thus highly controversial.
To preserve her daughter's right to the throne, and also to strengthen Portugal, this Queen unhesitatingly decided to marry her daughter to her own brother, King Alfonso V of Portugal, and King Enrique IV of Castile even strongly supported this marriage.
It was already shameful enough for the family to have an unfaithful Queen; now there was to be a marriage between an uncle and his niece. To the pure Joanna, this was simply a family misfortune.
However, Laszlo didn't think there was anything wrong with Alfonso V's choice.
After all, Alfonso's goal from the very beginning was the Castilian crown. Whether marrying Isabella or his niece Joanna, it was simply about securing a claim.
What truly worried Laszlo was whether Alfonso V could balance his two goals: expansion in Africa and the claim to the Castilian throne.
In this regard, Laszlo had similar worries.
He had recently devoted most of his energy to Imperial affairs, intending to further promote the integration of the Empire. Unfortunately, the resistance he faced continuously strengthened as the reforms progressed. If he couldn't break through the obstacles in one go, the Imperial reforms might eventually evolve into a thorny full-scale war.
Meanwhile, east of the Leitha River, he also ruled a vast territory comparable to the entire Empire.
This included several kingdoms, an empire, and numerous dependencies. While bringing security and convenience to Austria, these vassal states also brought Laszlo happy troubles.
Integrate Hungary and the Balkan states to the east? Or integrate the Imperial states to the west?
He was a man, not a god, and could not attend to both directions simultaneously. This kind of thing was also basically impossible for others to do on his behalf.
If he tried to grasp both, an unexpected disaster might eventually occur.
The Empire was to him what Africa was to Portugal; every inch of land gained was a tangible strengthening of national power.
And the eastern vassal states were to him what Castile was to Portugal; even with a joint rule, the boundaries between nations were even clearer than those within the Empire's states.
Another name for joint rule is personal union, which, as the name suggests, is a common rule maintained by only one person or a couple. Even if it can be continued in future generations, its fatal weakness cannot be concealed.
Just like a theory Laszlo had heard long ago, that "tribute is an advanced form of alliance," this viewpoint could roughly explain his relationship with the Imperial Estates, but there were still many details worth exploring.
At least, in the eyes of the Imperial Estates, he had largely established the authority of an Eastern suzerain, though this authority still needed to be exercised through the Imperial Diet and the Imperial Army.
In his view, joint rule was also an advanced form of alliance; the lowest form of joint rule could be considered a semi-permanent common defense alliance, and sometimes it could even evolve into a customs union.
And as rule deepened, if the monarch could wield increasing power across different nations, then the form of union between nations could evolve.
Among them, the first step was to determine the leading nation of the joint rule, and this single step had Laszlo completely stuck.
Both the Eastern Empire and Hungary, these two Eastern European behemoths, had the ability to contend for the leading position, while Austria, which had half-annexed Bohemia and planned to integrate Milan, clearly could not gain an advantage in comparison with the former two.
Without going into details, if the vast alliance maintained by joint rule needed organizational optimization, the Hungarians would absolutely not cede the leading position.
If Portugal also formed a union with Castile, Alfonso V would similarly have to face the problem of Portugal's main body gradually being weakened.
Even if he, as King of Portugal, ascended to the throne of Castile, Castile's national strength was several times that of Portugal, so it was self-evident who would lead this alliance.
Laszlo sighed lightly, casting all these intricate problems to the back of his mind. He didn't need to be troubled by his father-in-law's potential future difficulties; he also had a rough idea for the eastern vassal states, but these would all have to be dealt with later.
Once Christopher wears the crown of the King of the Romans and ascends the throne of Co-Emperor, and can stand on his own in the Empire, Laszlo will have enough energy to deal with the issues in the East.
"This marriage was also out of necessity. Who could have known that the Castilian princess would be abducted by the Prince of Aragon? On this matter, I have always supported your father, so the marriage between that jilting princess and the Prince of Aragon has not yet been recognized."
Laszlo wanted to laugh a little, but he held it back.
Poor Alfonso V, in his middle age, to be humiliated like this by a young couple, becoming the laughingstock of the entire European continent, it was simply...
Joanna nodded. The fundamental reason she married Laszlo was her father's hope that the Emperor would support Portugal in subsequent disputes.
Of course, it would be even better if she could persuade the Emperor to provide more substantial assistance.
"I hope no more accidents happen this time." All Joanna could do was pray for her father in her heart.
Laszlo just smiled helplessly. Once this marriage was settled, a fierce battle would be inevitable, and that was far worse than a general accident.
But fortunately, he didn't need to pay too much attention to these matters, just as he had viewed the Wars of the Roses in England before—just watch the show.
Fighting and killing wasn't so bad; at least it was lively.
Speaking of the Wars of the Roses, Laszlo recalled a letter Edward IV had written to him some time ago, hoping for Imperial aid and to facilitate a marriage alliance between the York Family and the Habsburg Family.
Their mutual ally, King Charles of Burgundy, intended to act as an intermediary. After temporarily ending the war against France, Charles increased his investment in the York Family, hoping to help Edward crush the House of Lancaster's forces and achieve a complete reversal.
However, perhaps seeing little hope, and to prevent his investment from going to waste, Charles decided to help Edward attract a larger investment, so the two consulted and approached Laszlo, the Emperor.
Laszlo actually had little interest in such a risky investment, but considering that the power holder of the Lancastrian faction was Margaret of Anjou, he had to carefully consider Edward IV's request.
After all, the Imperial Army he had dispatched had recently resumed its offensive against Provence, and progress was very smooth; they were now close to Marseille.
And the lord of Provence was Margaret's father, René the Good King, and Margaret herself was a political ally of Louis XI.
To prevent North France, supported by him and Charles, from quickly collapsing under the pincer attack of an Anglo-French alliance in the future, Laszlo had to prepare some countermeasures, and the temporarily dormant Edward IV was key to this.
It was said that Edward IV would personally come to Aachen to celebrate and seek an opportunity to negotiate with him, but Laszlo did not have high expectations for this.
He was a monarch ruling in Vienna, yet he had to pay extra attention to matters in England and Iberia; he would surely go mad sooner or later.
However, the entire European continent was a grand chess game, and Laszlo needed to maintain a perspective far superior to ordinary people to fully control the situation and guide the Habsburg Family towards a more glorious future.