She changed Europe

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At this moment, one of the soldiers shouted, "Don't joke around! I've come all this way to save the poor people on this land!"

“That’s right! We are fighting for freedom!”—the second man shouted passionately, but Gisela doubted whether he was even listening to the speech.

However, the soldiers clearly didn't care about that. The previously serious and heavy atmosphere suddenly became excited, and the soldiers' clamor for battle showed that Gisela's speech had achieved its intended effect.

Gisela's photographers, overjoyed, carried their cameras and snapped away at the crowd.

At this moment, Gisela noticed that Hemingway was not infected by the passionate emotions of the others. He was looking at the young Queen with a calm and intellectual expression.

No wonder he's the guy who can write an anti-war work like "A Farewell to Arms," ​​which shows absolutely no passionate or exciting side of war. When Gisela read this book and came across the part where the protagonist's passionate spirit was shattered by German artillery fire, she was deeply moved. This was the first war novel with anti-war sentiment that Gisela had ever read.

True anti-war sentiment doesn't involve repeatedly telling you how terrible war is through pale words, but rather subtly instilling in you aversion to everything about war through language. All passion and madness seem so pale and powerless in the face of death.

Gisela suddenly wanted to know what "For Whom the Bell Tolls" would be like in this timeline, and in what form her speech would be reflected in the book.

This sense of anticipation is very wonderful.

If, in the future, after Gisela reaches the end of her life on Earth at the age of 13, her soul is thrown into the future of this world to be reborn, so that she can see how her great deeds are seen by the historians, that would be very interesting.

On the way out of the airport, Jeanne said to Gisela, "If I had just met Gisela and then listened to your speech after witnessing the decision-making process firsthand, I would have found you hypocritical and disgusting, and my impression of you would have been completely negative."

Gisela asked with a smile, "And now?"

Jeanne sighed and remained silent for a while before replying, "Someone told me that a Magician embodies both masculine and feminine characteristics. They can dominate the world like a man, displaying their strength and bravery, while also possessing feminine beauty and everything else. I think she's right, so as a Magician... well, now whenever I have this overly righteous thought in my head, a thousand or ten thousand voices rush out from all parts of my brain, reminding me of this annoying trait."

Jeanne sighed again.

"I'm actually starting to think that whatever you do is perfectly reasonable!"

Gisela looked at Jeanne's profile, feeling a sense of satisfaction no less than that of conquering a country—no, even stronger.

Jeanne seemed to sense something from Gisela's gaze, and her blush deepened. She turned her head to look out the car window.

"Speaking of which, it's been so long already." Gisela looked out the car window, her tone filled with emotion. "Back then, you were just my captive. I only wanted your body, but I never imagined I'd get your..."

"Hmph! If it started from her ill-fated relationship with Su Beiming, then it would have taken even longer. Indeed, life is full of surprises." Through the reflection in the car window, Gisela saw Jeanne smiling. It seemed that in Jeanne's memory, this long period was a rather happy time, and knowing this made Gisela feel extremely relieved.

Gisela shifted her attention from the girl to the view outside the window.

To be honest, Gisela had always thought Türkiye was a country full of yellow sand.

This isn't because Turkey's name contains the word "Tu" (土), but because when Istanbul is mentioned, he habitually thinks of the Islamic world, and when that world is mentioned, Saladin easily comes to mind. But in fact, the only connection between Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and the Ottoman Empire is that Saladin's mother was Kurdish, and Kurds were widely distributed within the Ottoman Empire.

This is probably because Saladin's empire and Suleiman the Magnificent's Ottoman Empire were both historically powerful Islamic states.

Influenced by this illogical association, Gisela would think of words like yellow sand and mosques whenever she thought of Istanbul, and consequently, she came to the impression that Turkey should be filled with yellow sand.

Adding to the fact that he had seen scenes on TV where the Turkish army was keen to appear in the Middle East, the image of endless yellow sand was reinforced, and until the time travel, Gisela thought that Turkey should be covered in sand everywhere.

So when planning the battle, he once wanted to paint the tanks in desert camouflage, but Marta and the others laughed at him mercilessly. Now, the green fields flashing past the window completely shattered Gisela's impression of "Turkish" Turkey.

Think about it carefully, how could a country with an average annual rainfall of over 800 millimeters be a desert country?

Gisela was gazing out the window, lost in thought, when Jeanne suddenly said, "Are you thinking about using desert camouflage again?"

Gisela instantly felt a burning sensation in her skin. She quickly turned her face away, but it was too late. Jeanne's lips curled into a mischievous grin as she patted Gisela's shoulder. "You silly fox, you've finally met your match! Hahaha, I'll definitely tell everyone you've finally gotten what you deserve!" Usually, Gisela was the one bullying Jeanne, but this time Jeanne had a rare moment of victory.

Gisela shook his head, just then he heard the excited voice of the young man sitting on the roof of the car.

She turned her head and saw a column of "water tanks" passing through the intersection ahead. One after another, the steel behemoths were crossing the small puddle at the intersection and heading northwest.

Gisela said to the driver, "Stop the car."

After the car stopped, Gisela got out and stood beside it, watching the tanks passing by in the distance. The infantrymen sitting on the tanks looked over curiously, and many of them immediately recognized the beautiful woman with animal ears. They excitedly poked their comrades who were looking in other directions in the waist or back.

Soon, the infantrymen began waving their helmets and cheering for Her Majesty the Queen. They never imagined that they would see the legendary Queen in such a distant land!

Gisela smiled and waved his right hand at the soldiers, striking a pose befitting a national leader.

The young man sitting on the roof of the vehicle also raised his hands and shouted "ee-ee" in response to the soldiers' cheers. To be honest, the scene was quite amusing.

PS1: Happy weekend begins! 0v0!

Chapter 616 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose (by Yi Qiyi) (Vote Requested) (Capter 114: The Russian Dilemma)

Gisela stopped, and the vehicles carrying a group of high-ranking officers behind him also had to stop. General Moltke and others came up behind Gisela and accompanied him to inspect the armored unit that was advancing towards the front line.

After all the chariots had passed, Gisela turned to face Moltke.

"General, are all our tanks currently relying on their own power to drive to the front lines?"

“Yes, there’s no railway from here to Sarai, so this is the only way.” Moltke seemed quite dissatisfied with the lack of a railway. Come to think of it, the Prussian army had always relied heavily on railways to mobilize and supply troops. They originally wanted to rely on faster transportation and mobilization capabilities to defeat the Austrian army before the Austrians could react.

Unfortunately for them, their opponent was Gisela, who had anticipated the Prussian army's plan and made preparations in advance.

"From a practical combat perspective, wouldn't the wear and tear on these vehicles be too great?" Gisela asked worriedly. She had experienced many breakdowns during the testing of this new weapon. Although she had repeatedly urged the engineers to improve the reliability of the equipment, Gisela had no idea what the specific improvements should look like.

“Indeed,” Moltke nodded. “While the new weapon boasts astonishing breakthrough capabilities, it also exposes many shortcomings. Currently, the repair units are the busiest in the entire Allied forces, constantly towing and repairing broken-down tanks. This new weapon is clearly better suited for transport to the front lines by other means and then deployed under its own power. But we have no other option. Using horses to pull artillery to the front lines is far too inefficient and cannot quickly reinforce our defenses. Furthermore, conventional artillery is too vulnerable against the magical armor piloted by enemy magic users; due to its inconvenience in relocation, it's essentially a expendable resource that must be abandoned after a few shots—hence, most of our Prussian artillery is crudely manufactured because there's no need to pursue high performance; cheapness and mass production are more important. As for tanks…”

Mao Qi abruptly stopped speaking, clearly hesitant about whether he should continue.

Gisela shook his head at the old general: "Speak freely."

"At least eight tanks survived the ambush."

In other words, if it were artillery, not a single one would survive.

Gisela couldn't help but wonder if a better exchange ratio could be achieved by using pre-positioned positions and a hit-and-run tactic during city defense.

As she pondered, Moltke continued, following his own train of thought: "But Your Majesty, please rest assured, there is a... well, barely worthy of being called a highway, dirt road between the unloading yard in Erelisi and Sarai. The failure rate of vehicles traveling along these roads is much lower than when advancing off-road. Our engineering units are reinforcing these roads, and in some sections with poorer conditions, they are relaid with locally felled timber. As the project progresses, the failure rate of the vehicles will certainly decrease further..."

"Hmm, very good." Gisela hadn't actually been listening carefully, but nodded after hearing "the failure rate will definitely decrease further." "Now let's hurry to headquarters." After all, in terms of logistical deployment and allocation capabilities, Moltke was far superior to the old folks in his own staff.

However, Gisela and Chloris are already secretly pushing for the integration of the two countries, and the relationship between the two countries will reach an unprecedented new height in the future, at which time the joint military staff will have a real possibility of being established.

Back to the present, Gisela looked up at the sky. There were hardly any clouds, yet the rain was still drizzling down. How strange.

On the same day Gisela arrived at the front, November 22nd of that year, the Tsar was presiding over a cabinet meeting in the Winter Palace in Petrograd, with his entire cabinet present.

The finance minister, under the Tsar's intense gaze, kept wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Your Majesty, we have done our best. In order to expand our control over the Far East, we have already fought many battles with the Ming Empire. Although we have achieved de facto victories, the Ming Empire refuses to negotiate peace with us. We have already issued too many war bonds, and before these bonds have been fully repaid, we are issuing new bonds to attack Istanbul... If we increase the issuance of bonds again, the domestic economy, which has finally begun to recover..."

"There won't be any problems with the economy, because I'm not trying to withdraw money from the current market. I just want those guys to bring out the money they've been saving up for fun at night. Take you, for example! With your fat head and big ears, I bet you've hidden a lot of money at home. Those gold and silver items should be worth a lot. If I take all that away, your factory can still continue operating without any impact, right?"

The Finance Minister wiped his sweat again. At this point, His Majesty the Tsar was like a gambler at a card table. Whether it was to prove himself to his father or to realize the ambitions and strategies of the Russian Empire, he needed to make the European continent realize the power of the Russian Empire again after this momentous serf reform.

"Well... if residents don't have savings, their sense of security will decrease, and their desire to consume will also decrease..."

"The national debt isn't something you can just take away and not pay back. Buying bonds is no different from making deposits, and bonds even offer returns." The Tsar paused, then continued without waiting for the Finance Minister's response, "Or do you want me to carry out another economic reform like before? This time I won't hold back. I'll make you give up even more, centralize your factories and your land in the state's hands. I think that through this centralization, we can better organize unified production, and production efficiency will definitely improve significantly."

In reality, the Tsar had already purged the uncooperative nobles who had opposed the serfdom reforms through political struggle, and their properties had been seized and centrally managed; so far, the results have been quite good. Furthermore, the series of factories she established through state investment using the national treasury are now, to some extent, supporting the Russian economy.

Most Russian capitalists were worried that the Tsar would one day extend these policies, which seemed to be working well at the moment, to other countries. Therefore, their support for the Tsar's foreign expansion was not simply for the benefits that would follow, but also for the purpose of currying favor with the Tsar.

After all, judging from Alexander II's methods at this stage, the Tsar's boldness is absolutely beyond question.

But the Tsar is not someone who can be satisfied with a little flattery. This is an era in which great nobles have transformed into big capitalists. The finance minister, who initially thought he could escape unscathed, is probably regretting it now.

"You must be thinking that you should have done everything in your power to stop my attack on Istanbul, right?" The Tsar's words hit the nail on the head, making the Finance Minister's face turn green. "Hmph, you really are a traitor, it seems..."

"I am utterly loyal to Your Majesty!" the Finance Minister hurriedly declared, but judging from the Tsar's expression, it was undoubtedly too late.

Just then, Natalia, the chief attendant and deputy administrator of the Tsar, who had been sitting to the right of the Tsar, coughed.

After everyone turned to look at him, the Tsar's most trusted deputy slowly picked up his pipe, filling it with tobacco as he said, "If we suddenly take economic action now, the situation will likely spiral out of control. The most urgent task is to end the war with Turkey as soon as possible. Whether it's a swift capture of Istanbul or a decisive withdrawal, a decision must be made. Besides, hasn't Her Highness Anastasia already arrived at the front lines?"

PS1: Ra!

Chapter 617 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 115 The Tsar's New Decision (Seeking Votes)

The Tsar looked at Natalia, and the gloomy expression on his face relaxed.

Their relationship was that of mentor and friend, but there was no doubt that Natalia was a trustworthy person for Tsar Alexander II.

"You're right. I can sense that Her Majesty the Empress of Austria is trying to wear us down through the war in Turkey. That's why her army hasn't continued its offensive. If it were me, I would have definitely teamed up with the British to attack our troops west of Istanbul from both sides. Although it would be unwilling, we would have had to admit defeat and lose so much equipment and troops for nothing. Unless we fully mobilize and start an unprecedented all-out war, there is no hope of victory. She's just letting go of the victory that was within her grasp. She must be planning to keep us at a disadvantage in Türkiye."

The Tsar crossed his arms and sneered, "So we must get out of here as soon as possible. Natalia, do you have any good plans?"

“Yes, of course.” Natalia lit her pipe, took a puff, and said leisurely, “The reason we are being held back is because we are not fighting according to the experience of past battles. So we must break this pattern.”

"Oh, how do we break it?"

"It's very simple. We'll take advantage of the situation by concentrating our numerical superiority in magic users, then quickly break through their defenses in Sarai, withdraw our troops, and escape. We can retain the land we've already occupied. I estimate that the allied forces won't attack us under those circumstances, and the concentrated magic users can quickly return to their original garrisons."

"Hmm, but why don't we concentrate our magical powers and take Istanbul in one fell swoop?"

“The key to this strategy,” Natalia said casually, exhaling a smoke ring, “is to avoid contact with enemy magic users as much as possible. In a battle between magic users, only when there is a power imbalance of more than twice that of the other magic users can a quantitative change lead to a qualitative change. But don’t forget, that seemingly lovely and charming Empress has defeated several French magic users with fewer troops and inflicted heavy casualties on the Ticino River.”

"She made it possible for her father not to personally go to Türkiye."

"Even after we deployed twice the number of magic users and successfully occupied Istanbul, we would have to be wary of joint actions by the British and Germans for quite some time. There are still unresolved issues between us, the Ming Dynasty, and the Americans."

"To capture Istanbul would present us with immense logistical challenges and would also cause panic and apprehension in the West." After all, the Russian Empire controlled the Black Sea, effectively turning it into its own inland lake, giving its fleet the confidence to enter the Mediterranean and contend with Britain for maritime supremacy.

"Alright, I understand." The Tsar nodded. "Then we'll hold off on taking Istanbul for now. Let's rescue our people first, and then try to gain benefits from other directions." In this Russo-Turkish War, the Russian Empire at least did not suffer a complete defeat like last time. It even gained a considerable amount of land in the Caucasus. As for the changes in the situation in this direction, the British and Austrians were somewhat powerless to intervene.

The Tsar glanced at his ministers with the look of an eagle eyeing a hare, then a sinister smile spread across his face: "Although we are about to retreat, we are still unwilling to give up. How about this, Natalia, you and Anastasia work together to destroy the Germans and their tin toys!"

"Hmm." Natalia blew out another smoke ring. "I don't object to that. It's good to stretch your muscles."

The battlefield of the ambush at Velikoy has not been completely cleared. The wreckage of completely burned tanks and the remains of magic armor abandoned by the Russian army are left in the fields, along with the trees that have been burned down to their blackened trunks, conveying to Gisela the intensity of that battle.

The logistics and guard units stationed in the village of Velikoy lined up in the village square to welcome Gisela. General Moltke personally introduced Gisela: "The Allied soldiers who survived that battle and were not injured have been incorporated into the troops that are now here."

As he spoke, the old general nodded to the officer standing tall and ready at the front of the formation, who immediately shouted, "Hero, step forward!"

The heroes, who had received prior instructions, quickly ran out of the ranks and re-lined up in front of Gisela. Only after everyone had lined up did an officer slowly walk to the far right of this new line.

Gisela walked up to the officer and carefully examined his face.

Interesting. He bears a striking resemblance to the male version of Prince Eugen from my previous life; he is indeed a member of Prince Eugen's clan.

"Colonel Erwin Johansen Eugen, in recognition of your outstanding service in the Battle of Velikoy, on behalf of the heads of state of Austria and Prussia, I hereby award you the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of the German Confederation." After saying this, Gisela took the medal from Jeanne beside her and placed it around Erwin's neck.

The Iron Cross was supposed to be standard issue for the Prussian army. Although Gisela disliked Prussia's mad militaristic system, he admired the aesthetics of its army. Therefore, the design of the medal drew heavily on Prussian designs and the style of the medals designed by Sanders during World War II.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Erwin replied briefly.

Gisela shook hands with him, gave the reporters time to take photos, and then moved on to the next soldier.

After pinning the medals on everyone, Gisela returned to the front of the small group, hands behind her back, and said loudly, "The Battle of Velikoy was a battle of immense significance. Never before has any army forced a sizable force of mage warriors to retreat with such a small force. Tactically, you were indeed defeated, but strategically, this battle fully achieved your objectives; it was a successful and victorious battle."

Gisela paused, then continued, “When you faced the sudden attack of the magical warriors, you displayed courage and determination that are unimaginable to ordinary people. During the battle, you fully demonstrated your tactical and technical skills. I am proud of you, and I am here to convey this pride to every fighter who fights for justice.”

After the simple medal-awarding ceremony, Gisela laid a wreath at the cemetery where the fallen soldiers of the Medic Sanlin II were buried, and led the group in a moment of silence for nearly five minutes.

While he was doing these things, the young man kept running around in the fields, from one wreckage to another, looking like a child in an amusement park.

After all the ceremonies were over, Gisela led a temporarily drawn company back to the fields to begin arranging for the shooting of propaganda photos.

PS1: All these years of writing haven't been for nothing; my writing skills have improved significantly, haven't they? 0v0!

Chapter 618 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 116 My Cute Little Fellow Villager (Seeking Votes)

"Gentlemen, you are all engineers, and I hope you will use your skills to recreate the battlefield as much as possible," she said to the soldiers. Then she personally directed the engineers to erect two Russian magical armors that looked relatively intact, and placed explosives next to them, preparing to simulate the effect of a tank cannon hitting the Russian armors at their feet.

Then she directed a tank that had never been in combat to drive into the grove, with its cannons aimed at the Russian armored vehicles ahead.

The repairmen repainted the two tanks with the number 214, and Erwin, under Gisela's instructions, sat in the commander's seat of the tank, his body exposed outside the turret.

This photo was taken repeatedly, using up a considerable amount of explosives and training ammunition for the tanks.

Gisela then directed the filming of photos showing Allied infantrymen poking their heads out of foxholes and attacking the backs of the magical armors with rockets, and also staged many scenes that would be difficult to actually capture on the battlefield.

After filming ended, Gisela had dinner with the officers and soldiers, while General Moltke and others, in order to continue coordinating military affairs, drove back to the headquarters in Herrelis before dinner.

After dinner, Gisela, accompanied by Jeanne, took a walk around the area that had been completely transformed into a military camp, with Mia following closely behind her mother.

Then they discovered a group of soldiers sitting together eating, and the little fellow villager was mixed in with them.

The young woman was trading her canned goods with the soldiers for food.

The young woman brought out high-quality canned food from the supply warehouse of Gisela Hofburg Palace, while the soldiers offered her crudely made bread and the like from the field kitchen in exchange for canned food.

"Hey, you guys," Gisela stepped forward, "You can't take advantage of a young girl like that."

The soldiers all turned to look at Gisela, then sprang to their feet and saluted her, their cheeks flushed as they gazed at the beautiful queen before them.

Gisela waved casually and then walked up to the young man.

The girl was already holding a lot of rye bread and other battlefield kitchen creations in her arms, which looked like an amount that a girl could not possibly eat.

"Give the can back to them."

"Yes!" the soldiers responded in unison, then handed the unopened cans of food they had obtained to the young girl. The girl took a step back, shook her head vigorously, and hugged the mess of food in her arms even tighter.

“Fine, if they won’t give it back, then so be it.” Gisela sighed. “Remember not to take advantage of people in the future. Her judgment of the value of things is a bit strange, but we are all decent people and we can’t take advantage of that.”