The Sun and the Lion

The news that the Holy See once again called for the Crusade spread to all parts of Europe, and the French and Austrian courts, which had "high hopes", ignored it. However, the people still responded to the Turkish threat, and several small groups of volunteers set out from various places. The furthest group of troops traveling across Germany to Hungary even came from England.

But Hungary, the core of the crusade, was not so easy to deal with. Archbishop Tamas Bakoz, who also served as the apostolic envoy, faced the embarrassed King Wladyslaw and the financial controller Istvan.

"Your Majesty, today our country's biggest threat and the enemy of Christ, the Turkish Sultan, is extremely weak. The Holy See thinks so too. If a successful attack can be launched, at least Serbia and Bosnia can be liberated from the hands of Muslims." Bakoz talked. As for the benefits of the new Crusade, it could expand its territory in the name of holy war and gather aid from all over Europe. In the end, the results of the victory went into the pocket of the King of Hungary.

However, Hungary's finances are currently in real difficulty. Since taking office, Wladyslaw has been very weak to the domestic lords. He has constantly compromised in the parliament. First, he exempted the nobility and clergy from collecting tariffs. Later, the nobility no longer had to pay for production and production. Purchases of goods were taxed and the jurisdiction of serfs was completely delegated to serf judges appointed by the nobles. The nobles did not need to pay for preventing the flow of serfs. They also canceled the hunting rights of serfs and reduced the autonomy rights of market towns to strengthen the feudal relationship with the lords. Relationships etc.

Loans gave the Fuggers control of mines throughout Hungary, reducing the palace's income once again and the profits from these mines flowing into the purses of German merchants rather than Magyar tax collectors.

Stephen also dissuaded Bakoz: "Your Excellency Archbishop, war requires time to prepare. I heard that after the Holy See's edict was conveyed, priests and monks mobilized people in various dioceses. This is a very dangerous behavior. . Moreover, they are producers rather than sword-holders. Fighting is beyond their abilities and beyond their responsibilities. Rushing them into the army will only cause losses to the economy. The safest way is to increase taxes and rely on sword-wielders. The troops led by the leader fight."

Speaking of this, the other nobles and courtiers present at the state meeting were all astonished. They did not expect the archbishop to act so quickly. This meeting was not to discuss with them how to organize the army, but to tell everyone: "The crusade organization work It’s already started, come over and help me.”

Without the participation of the lords, Bakoz relied on diocesan priests and Franciscan and Dominican friars to recruit organized troops composed of peasants and volunteers - foreigners, veterans of the Black Army, dismissed mercenaries, and minor nobles. and monks - as the main body, the temporary camp assembled is on the outskirts of Buda.

After learning that many of their subjects had joined the Crusades without permission, the lords were furious, and the archbishop was immediately criticized. Unable to show weakness, Bacchus quickly moved out of the authority of the Holy See to occupy the rightful name, and he was the leader of the late King Matthias. When he came to power, he served as an internal affairs adviser, and supported Wladyslaw as the Queen of Hungary and served as prime minister for twelve years. He accumulated huge power both in the church system and at the secular level.

Under the leadership of Bakoz, he tied the opposition to the Peasant Crusade with not sending troops, and vice versa. The participating nobles were divided into two groups for debate. Opponents continued to accuse the archbishop of taking the opportunity to suppress dissidents and infringe on the rights of the lords. natural rights. The clergy, nobles, and officials who supported the archbishop reiterated the Ottoman border threat and the justice of the war, as well as the rationality of accepting all volunteers.

The Treasurer's dissuasion was quickly used as a point of view by the opponents. Even so, the Archbishop still refused to compromise. This "reasonable" move failed to gain advantage, and even when Wladyslaw had to order an adjournment, it did not produce any results.

The divisions and internal strife within the rulers are not helpful to the current war. The lords who failed to refute the archbishop and convince the king in the state council then went their own way locally. The serfs were warned not to leave the village for any reason. Those who had already left The residents were ordered to return within a time limit.

This time, however, they encountered unprecedented resistance.

The leader of this peasant crusade was Dosa Györgyi, a Sakayi knight. He had served in many fortresses on the border. He performed well in border conflicts with the Ottomans. He had a reputation for being good at fighting, and his family background was not too high. The gap between him and most of the people he leads is not that big. The combination of these factors made him favored by Archbishop Bakoz and entrusted with important tasks.

Seeing that verbal threats were ineffective, the lords began to use force to suppress the rebels. Cavalry squads composed of private soldiers roamed the roads and arbitrarily attacked the serfs who went to gather. Those who refused to return to the camp threatened to kidnap or even murder their family members. punish.

Most of the Crusaders who were moving towards the border were also attacked. More than half of the forwards were killed or injured in the ambush. Only a small group of cavalry fled, and the intersection turned into a massacre scene.

Such blatant acts of hostility successfully angered the Peasant Crusaders. At this time, there were as many as 40,000 troops gathered. This was not known to the lords, but it gave them a The confidence to fight back.

"Brothers, a despicable atrocity just occurred at the intersection that is only half a day's journey ahead. Our brothers who were walking in front were attacked. It was not the Turks who killed them, but the Magyars! Magyars! My people!"

The despicable atrocities known to various lords were listed one by one in the speech, leaving the soldiers frightened and angry. And due to the opposition of the lords and the indecision of the king, the archbishop was still unable to raise enough supplies for the Peasant Crusade. The spearhead of his anger was not only directed at the various lords, but also at Wladyslaw and Bakoz.

At this time, Gyorgi had the support of almost all the leaders. Other officers headed by his brother Dosa Gregory and the priests who led the troops unanimously supported him. Whether the peasant crusaders would still obey the wishes of the archbishop depended on him. will.

The kings and lords were all labeled as "traitors begging for mercy from the Turkish Sultan". The first step to defeat the Muslims was to eliminate these degenerate nobles!

Hus's ideological legacy not only remains in Bohemia, but is now also blossoming in neighboring Hungary. These volunteers with heretical ideas successfully influenced the leaders.

The angry Györgi reorganized the survivors into the front group, and personally led all the cavalry to the battlefield quickly under the guidance of the guide. The noble private soldiers who were still searching for loot and insulting the corpses did not expect the revenge of the untouchables to come so quickly. A single charge by the peasant army cavalry defeated these lord hawks.

The spark of the Hungarian Peasant War has been ignited, and the development of this Peasant Crusade has completely exceeded everyone's expectations, including Selim, who is marching towards the Serbian border.