The dispute over Lorraine was temporarily set aside. Before the Emperor could deliver a formal ruling, no party coveting Lorraine's power dared to take the first step toward military occupation.
However, the actions of the Burgundians remained, as ever, unpredictable and difficult to control.
As if governed by instinct, while the Duchy of Lorraine remained leaderless following the death of its Duke, Burgundian troops had already approached the borders from two sides. They began using negotiations to pressure the Lorraine regency council of nobles into surrendering military transit rights and demanding permission to construct fortifications within the duchy's territory.
These actions were largely directed by Charles the Bold. His army and ministers were so familiar with this routine that the King did not even need to oversee the details personally; his subordinates handled the matter with clinical efficiency.
A Burgundian force of roughly four hundred men, having taken a route through Metz, set up camp and checkpoints on the vital artery between Metz and Nancy, continuously intimidating and extorting the local populace.
Laszlo remained momentarily unaware of this Burgundian "muscle memory," as he was occupied with the endless bickering of the Imperial Diet. Yet, the Emperor's stalling and the Burgundians' impatience created a perfect opening for an excluded competitor.
Vaudémont was a small county wedged between Burgundy and Lorraine. Originally part of the Duchy of Lorraine, it had gained independence through partible inheritance. Later, it had navigated the wars between Lorraine and Burgundy by playing both sides, successfully expanding its territory and maintaining its sovereign status.
Originally, this family had remained allied with Burgundy in hopes of seizing the title of Duke of Lorraine. However, by the generation of Count René, the House of Vaudémont had shifted entirely toward the House of Anjou, the bitter enemies of Burgundy.
This time, René II, Count of Vaudémont, chose to follow his grandfather's arrangements and attempt to reclaim the title of Duke of Lorraine assigned to him. He departed from Tours in disguise, cautiously traversing Northern France under the rule of Louis XI and evading Burgundian pursuit, returning to Vaudémont with a group of confidants in the shortest time possible.
After brief preparations, he summoned the knights of his domain, added a few militias and mercenaries, and organized a force of several hundred. They marched from Vaudémont and reached Nancy in half a day.
The nobility of Lorraine split into two factions: one side, unable to endure Burgundian oppression, gave René a warm welcome; the other side, fearing that René's succession would bring disaster to Lorraine, remained hesitant.
Due to the information gap between the Imperial upper and lower echelons, the subjects of Lorraine did not yet realize they had been placed on the Emperor's dinner table, ready to be carved up by the participating princes. After a short debate, René was welcomed into the city and received the oaths of many local nobles. Driven by these radicals, he began attempting to muster a Lorraine army to drive the aggressive Burgundians out.
***
**Augsburg, the Imperial Diet Hall.**
The situation in the College of Electors had become exceptionally clear. With the addition of the newly appointed Archbishop of Cologne, Hermann von Hessen, the three ecclesiastical electors stood firmly behind the Emperor.
Laszlo held the Bohemian vote himself, and the Elector of Bavaria sided with him most of the time. Consequently, resolutions were passed in the College of Electors in batches.
"Then the re-demarcation of the Imperial Circles is settled as such. Does anyone have further objections?"
Archbishop Adolf, presiding over the College, gave a final confirmation. Seeing that all electors appeared composed—save for the Elector of Brandenburg, who looked displeased—he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously, the renewal and revision of various Imperial regulations had all passed after lengthy discussion and had been sent to the College of Princes for review. With the resolution to redraw the Imperial Circles strictly according to geographic blocks passed, only the two main highlights of the conference remained. It made the week spent clearing away miscellaneous topics feel worthwhile.
Outside the small room where the electors met, the ecclesiastical and secular princes were meeting in two separate groups. The situation in the College of Princes appeared stable for the moment. Even though King Charles of Burgundy personally attended the secular chamber, he was not being disruptive this time. This was because the person presiding over the secular chamber in Laszlo's name—and as Duke of Austria—was the Emperor's son, Christopher, King of the Romans.
Though it was a case of a son-in-law presiding over his father-in-law, one was the heir to the Empire and the other was a King under the Empire's jurisdiction; there was no need for much debate over who held the higher status.
In principle, the Emperor and his heir had a private audience hall during the Diet to receive visiting princes and exchange information with the various chambers. However, the Emperor disliked the representative system. After revoking the right of the Bohemian Diet representatives to attend the Elector meetings in place of the King, he had participated in the College of Electors personally as Emperor and King of Bohemia.
Furthermore, the Duke of Austria presiding over the secular chamber had previously used the Austrian Foreign Minister as a representative, but now another heavyweight had taken the role. Having two Kings present in the College of Princes was a rare spectacle in the history of the Imperial Diet. Whether this was a brash move that lowered their status or a clever way to bolster actual influence and authority was a matter of opinion.
Regardless, the Emperor now completely dominated the College of Electors and the two chambers of princes. The topics discussed, the order of speaking, and the direction of the discourse were all determined by the presiding officers. This made it easy to influence princes without firm stances, or to flip opinions during the breaks through secret deals.
In the discussion regarding the redrawing of the Circles, few princes explicitly opposed it, except for the Duke of Württemberg in the Swabian Circle. Dividing the Circles into cohesive geographic and cultural blocks was undoubtedly beneficial for administration and coordination. While the Emperor intended to use this to achieve his political goals, it was generally a positive step for the structure and optimization of the Imperial system.
The Duke of Baden, who had originally stood with the Duke of Württemberg, remained cautious throughout the proceedings, no longer rashly opposing the Emperor's decisions. As long as Lorraine was not safely in his pocket, he did not dare to cross the Emperor too openly.
Once the secondary issues were resolved, Laszlo immediately ordered several heavy volumes of law codes to be brought in and distributed to each elector. These batch-printed codes used the latest German typeface, which was aesthetically pleasing. Since they were based on the script used by Austrian officials—essentially the exclusive script for Imperial official documents—the electors could read them without much difficulty.
However, the thickness of the codes and the convoluted technical terminology soon caused the electors to lose interest, and they turned their gaze to the Emperor, waiting for his explanation.
"The Imperial legal system has always been a major challenge for reform. The laws of the various Circles and states differ wildly. Although the division of regional jurisdictions has prevented immediate conflict, judicial chaos remains an objective reality. We have many reasons to establish a universal peace for the Roman Empire, but without just, good, and beneficial laws, this is difficult to achieve. For our collective interest, we previously convened to establish the Imperial Chamber Court, and now the various regional branches have been completed. Though their effectiveness varies, it is a good start."
"According to the previously promulgated *Imperial Chamber Court Regulations*, the court adjudicates based on 'Imperial Common Law'—that is, Roman Law as refined by universities and legal experts. However, in practice, we clearly observe that the influence of local customary laws persists and frequently affects court rulings. This code is intended to solve that problem."
Laszlo picked up a heavy volume, displaying it to the electors with a touch of pride.
"In the future, all Imperial courts will use this code as the basis for their rulings, no longer influenced by regional or political factors. The *Imperial Code* has a vast scope, covering the standardization of civil law, criminal law, and judicial procedures. As for whether customary law should be adopted for a ruling, Imperial judges have established conditions of proof; as long as the requirements are met, it can be treated as a special case."
"Your Majesty, what about the lower courts?" Archbishop Adolf noted the electors' defensive posture and asked at the appropriate time.
The Imperial Chamber Court in Vienna was the highest judicial authority, and its regional branches possessed basic independent judicial power, completely replacing the inefficient Circle courts. Below these branches were the Imperial lower courts—the local courts controlled by independent Imperial Estates—which were the venues where princes exercised their judicial privileges.
"I allow them to judge according to local laws, customs, and traditions..." Laszlo paused halfway. As the electors' guard relaxed slightly, the Emperor added a turning point: "However, the Imperial courts will serve as appellate courts to review the results of local first-instance trials."
"Does this not conflict with the *Golden Bull*?" Ernst, Elector of Saxony, immediately pointed out the flaw in the Emperor's statement.
According to the *Golden Bull*, electors maintained a status of judicial sovereignty. Unlike other Imperial Estates, the subjects of an elector were forbidden from appealing to an Imperial court. A recent example was Cologne; the Archbishop of Cologne was fighting a bloody conflict with rebels in his territory, and the matter was outside the Emperor's jurisdiction. If the people in Cologne were dissatisfied with a local court ruling, their only recourse was the Archbishop's court. This meant the first and second-instance courts were the same, rendering the appeal meaningless.
This was a concrete manifestation of limited Imperial power and the authority granted to electors—one of the privileges they valued most. However, the Emperor had played a dirty trick in Cologne. By using a court established in the independent Free City of Cologne, he defined the rebellion as a dispute between the Free City and the Archbishop. He then introduced interference from the Papacy, eventually ousting the Archbishop. No one wanted such tactics used against them, so the electors were highly wary of any move by the Emperor to expand judicial power.
"No, the judicial privileges of the electors are still respected. However, when you come into conflict with other Imperial Estates, I hope you will respect the rulings of the Imperial Court."
Laszlo made a subtle jab at Ernst. The latter pretended not to hear, flipping through the code with a composed expression. The previous ruling regarding the Halle New Year Fair had created a clear rift between Laszlo and Ernst. Ernst's response had been blunt: he imposed economic sanctions and a trade blockade on the nearby city of Halle.
Furthermore, Halle's freedom had been purchased from the Archbishop of Magdeburg, so Ernst was now exerting all his effort to place his young son on the Archbishop's throne. If his son took power, he would have a valid excuse to forcibly revoke Halle's liberties and force it out of the Hanseatic League. If Halle refused, he could use his title as Circle Governor to send troops to "assist" the Archbishop in dealing with the disobedient city. If given the chance, he would turn Halle into a ghost town before the Emperor could react, showing everyone the fate of those who annoyed an Elector.
In history, he actually succeeded. Five years after the trade dispute ended, he pushed his young son onto the Archbishop's throne and brutally ended Halle's freedom in 1478, removing the greatest competitor to the Leipzig Fair.
Laszlo was well aware of these schemes. He also knew his own manipulated ruling had caused Halle's current crisis. However, the Elector of Saxony's actions did not technically violate Imperial law, leaving him no ground to attack or save the poor citizens of Halle. This was the limitation of the Imperial judicial system—even with a favorable ruling, if there is a massive power gap, the other side has a thousand ways to ruin you. Poor Halle thus became a sacrificial lamb in the power struggle between Laszlo and Ernst.
"If that is the case, I support the promulgation of the new code and the revision of the regulations."
"I hope you are a man of your word, Your Majesty."
"A unified law is beneficial for court efficiency; it is an excellent thing for the Empire."
The electors voiced their agreement one after another. In truth, the Imperial courts didn't serve them, but rather the small princes and lower Estates who lacked the armies to settle disputes and placed their hopes in the Emperor and the Imperial system. As long as the Emperor was willing to preserve their privileges, everything was negotiable. In any case, they could judge as they pleased in their own lands, and cases rarely reached the Imperial Court, so this "update" seemingly changed nothing.
Whether the Emperor had suddenly come to his senses or not, he hadn't proposed the radical idea of using the new code to override local private laws and customs. This made the atmosphere of the discussion much more peaceful.
The secretary quickly produced the updated *Imperial Chamber Court Regulations* along with a copy of the *Imperial Code*. The electors left their names and seals upon it, and the document was immediately transferred to the College of Princes for discussion.