A.E.I.O.U

After the Imperial Army besieged Poznań, it did not launch a forceful attack, but instead built high fortifications, preparing for a long-term siege.

Laszlo entrusted the Bohemian army and a portion of the cavalry to Adolf, who was ordered to penetrate into the Kingdom of Poland to besiege Gniezno.

However, Lubiczowski acted faster, moving his main force from Kujawy to Gniezno first, where he rallied the scattered troops.

Then, from there, he dispatched two flanking forces to block the Prussian army attacking Nakło and the Teutonic Order army attacking Dobrzyń Land.

Adolf led his troops in several small-scale engagements with the Polish army near Gniezno, gaining no advantage, and had to retreat to encamp near the Warta River, serving as an outpost for the Poznań siege force to guard against Polish army raids.

The battlefield fell into a stalemate for a time, with large numbers of Hungarian cavalry dispatched throughout Greater Poland to plunder villages and towns, collecting supplies for the main army.

The outcome of the battle quickly reached Kraków. The Archbishop, who had only recently returned from Toruń, nearly fainted on the spot when he heard the news of the army's defeat and the King's capture.

The surviving Polish nobles united to form a Regency Council, electing the Archbishop as the Regent of the Kingdom of Poland. The Council then engaged in a fierce discussion on how to respond to the Emperor's offensive.

"What do we do now? We must immediately restart peace talks!"

Władysław, a noble from near the capital, looked anxious. Recently, several peasant uprisings had broken out in the areas near Kraków and Sandomierz, with peasants, unable to survive due to multiple heavy taxes levied over several years, taking up arms against noble rule.

The clergy fared no better, with many rioters storming churches, drowning priests in water, and then looting church property.

Poland's economic and social order had almost completely collapsed, and even within Kraków itself, there was a certain degree of unrest.

If not for the remaining strength of the garrison, the capital would likely have fallen into complete chaos.

Władysław's words received widespread agreement from the nobles, who had initially retained some will to resist, but the Battle of Leżnica had completely broken their spirit.

Many nobles who had followed the King were taken prisoner by the Imperial Army, demanded to pay high ransoms, and some even died on the battlefield, their bodies wrapped in horsehide.

The losses suffered by the nobles from four years of fighting the Teutonic Order were not as great as those from this single battle.

They were thoroughly terrified; if the Imperial Army continued its advance into Poland, who knew what would happen.

Spalkowski sighed lightly, looking at the majority who favored peace. It seemed they would have no choice but to accept those harsh terms.

Undoubtedly, these nobles would certainly recoup all these losses from the King at some point in the future.

For now, they only wanted to stop the Emperor's advance.

Although some dissenting voices emerged in the council, they were ultimately a minority.

For example, Prince Stanisław advocated for reorganizing a force to rendezvous with Lubiczowski and repel the Imperial Army,

to rescue the King of Poland.

But this was pure fantasy; a severely weakened Poland would need at least several years to recover. Organizing another force capable of resisting the Imperial Army would likely drain all of Poland's peasants dry, and might even cause some nobles to disappear entirely.

Compared to such a desperate measure, they were more willing to return to the negotiating table.

"Very well, then send an envoy to meet the Emperor and reopen peace talks."

The Archbishop made the final decision, ending the debate. An envoy was dispatched to the Imperial Army camp in Poznań, hoping to discuss the resumption of peace talks with the Emperor.

In Paris, within Charles VII's court, France was reorganizing its army, planning to invade Naples again while the Imperial grand army was moving north.

This time, the King of France secured the support of the Genoese navy, and with the Albanian army and Imperial reinforcements having already left Naples, the chances of a successful invasion would be greatly increased.

The Duke of Burgundy and his son were besieging Geneva, engaged in fierce fighting with the Duke of Savoy, which freed the King of France from any worries.

This time, he directly dispatched ten ordinance companies and artillery units as the core of the army, augmented by several thousand militiamen conscripted again from all over the country, totaling ten thousand troops under the command of the veteran Jean Bureau, who would set out together with the Duke of Lorraine's six thousand troops.

Last time, the King of France had entrusted the French army to the Duke of Alençon, with supreme command held by the Duke of Lorraine and Anjou generals, which resulted in failure.

This time, Charles VII directly appointed his most trusted general as the overall commander of the grand army, even forcing the Duke of Lorraine to obey Jean Bureau's command.

Although unwilling, John II accepted this condition. This army was now stationed in Provence, making final preparations for the second invasion of Naples.

Just at this critical juncture, Charles VII received news from Poland—the Polish army had been defeated by the Emperor's grand army, and even the King of Poland had been captured by the Imperial Army.

Charles VII reread the secret message with some disbelief. He turned to the head of spies: "Is this news confirmed to be true?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. In fact, the King of Poland nearly achieved victory, but the Imperial Army's numerical superiority was too great; they completely withstood the Polish charge without breaking, and then the Imperial Army's counterattack utterly crushed the Polish army."

Charles VII sighed upon hearing this. He had hoped the King of Poland could hold out against the Emperor for a while, perhaps giving him a chance to intervene in the war.

He had not expected the Imperial Army to achieve such a significant victory less than a month after the war began.

The King of France turned to the Minister of War, John IV, Duke of Armagnac, and asked, "How are the troops prepared?"

"Ready to march at any time."

"Good, inform Jean Bureau to dispatch the troops immediately. We must capture Naples before the Emperor resolves the situation in Poland."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Charles VII sat on the throne, his brow furrowed in silent contemplation. After a long time, he finally made up his mind: "Cesare."

Cesare, the French Foreign Minister, immediately came before the King of France to receive orders.

"Prepare a grand gift for me and send it to the court in Constantinople. Use every diplomatic phrase you can think of to tell the Sultan there that France now needs a truly strong and reliable ally."

"Your Majesty, this…

Cesare looked troubled. Alliance with the Ottoman had always been a taboo subject. As a member of the Catholic world, allying with infidels was undoubtedly a blasphemy.

"This is a desperate measure taken to counter the tyrannical Emperor. God will forgive France. Now, execute my command immediately, understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Soon after, an envoy carrying numerous gifts left Paris, boarded a sailing ship in Marseille, and embarked on the long journey to the Ottoman Empire's capital.

In the Doge's Palace in Venice, Francesca and the members of the Council of Ten held a regular meeting, and their discussions yielded similar results.

In fact, after signing the treaty with Poland, Venice also provided Poland with a loan, though the amount was not large as it wouldn't yield much profit.

Now that Poland was directly confronting the Emperor, Venice should have, according to the treaty with Władysław III, dispatched troops to attack Austria and aid the Kingdom of Poland.

However, Władysław III was now dead, so whether to maintain the alliance with the usurper became a flexible choice. If the situation was favorable, Venice would certainly not mind taking advantage, but events always unfolded unexpectedly; the Polish had been almost completely defeated in a single battle.

This instantly extinguished the Venetians' interest in further funding; any more investment would be wasted.

The Ottoman were more powerful; after defeating the Mamluk, Mehmed II received a large indemnity and severely weakened the Mamluk Sultan's influence in Syria, allowing Venetian merchants to seize a larger share of the Eastern Mediterranean market.

Moreover, by providing loans to the Ottoman, the Venetians made enormous profits, not only receiving sufficient interest but also seizing the opportunity to gain more trade privileges and strengthen the trade routes to the Black Sea.

As for Venice's seizure of Greek territory during the Crusade, Mehmed II simply chose selective amnesia, accepting Venice's aid with a clear conscience.

After the Battle of Leżnica, France and Venice both, by coincidence, chose to abandon Poland, firstly because it was too far out of reach,

and secondly, they already had better options, with a new alliance subtly taking shape.