She changed Europe

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Meanwhile, in the open space outside the Imperial Central Bank, Gisela's most loyal soldiers, the "St. Stephen's Regiment," were diligently loading chests of gold onto wagons. The three hundred tons of gold represented approximately one-ninth of the Austrian Empire's total reserves, and nearly half of that was provided by the Rothschild family.

"Your Highness, what are you going to do with so much gold?" Aponia asked Gisela, who was wearing a modified white military uniform, with a serious expression, looking quite puzzled.

Jeanne, meanwhile, lay sprawled out on the steps of the Central Bank like a salted fish, watching the soldiers come and go.

“Aponia, you’ll find out soon enough.” Gisela slowly bent down to straighten the slightly wrinkled bow tie of her second personal maid, her tone incredibly gentle. Aponia interpreted this as proof that Her Highness had affirmed her loyalty during this time.

"Do we need to deploy the magic armor units to help protect the gold?" There are three magic armor regiments stationed in the suburbs of Vienna. If needed, they can be deployed into the city immediately to deal with any conflict. Moreover, the commanders of these three regiments are mostly descendants of high-ranking nobles, so they have absolute loyalty to the royal family.

“We shouldn’t be wary of them.” Gisela has absolute trust in her loyal subjects, but she will not hesitate to suppress those who oppose her.

“It’s getting late. Aponia, go and tell the first carriage to set off.” As she said this, Gisela raised her left hand to check the time, then fixed her gaze on Jeanne, who was already sleeping on her back.

"Yes, Your Highness." With that, Aponia left without looking back.

Seeing Jeanne enjoying herself, Gisela walked leisurely to where she was lying, gently touched her short skirt, and then sat down on the steps.

While everyone else was working, Jeanne Alter was enjoying life to the fullest. Even Gisela, the "boss," hadn't slept all night to prepare for today's events. Thinking about this, Gisela was furious and reached out her right hand to pinch Jeanne's nose, blocking her normally even breathing.

PS1: The Strategist Fox

Chapter 421 The Rebirth of the Two-Headed Eagle: Captain 40 Golden Pilgrimage (Seeking Votes)

Jeanne quickly coughed and opened her golden eyes, then looked around angrily. Her bad temper, which she was about to unleash, subsided when she saw Gisela.

“My dear Jeanne, do you remember why you’ve been by my side?” Gisela said slowly, fiddling with her hair with her right hand and gently lifting Jeanne’s chin with her left. Then she looked at Jeanne, who had just woken up, as if she were examining food.

"You!" Jeanne wanted to argue, but after a moment she sighed like a deflated balloon.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Jeanne stood up, and Gisela raised her hand and gently patted Jeanne's bottom, then pinched it hard. Jeanne, feeling the stinging pain, pretended to be calm and left.

"Feels good, the French are generally quite safe during childbirth." Gisela's harassing remarks, like those of an older man, showed he was getting increasingly adept at bullying Jeanne. As for our Miss Jeanne, she could only endure Gisela's double humiliation, her face flushed red as she gritted her teeth and left the scene. At this moment, for the saintly lady, nothing was more important than Richelieu.

Our gaze returns to Heroes' Square —

Joseph stood on the balcony on the second floor of the Hofburg Palace, looking down at the massive crowd. Although he was nominally the one who had gathered the citizens today, he had entrusted the entire matter to his daughter.

"Has Gisela not arrived yet?" the Emperor asked his Prime Minister Friedrich, who was standing beside him.

"Your Majesty is quick. Transporting nearly a hundred carriages is not something that can be done in a short time." The old prime minister's aged but steady voice echoed in Joseph's ears.

"I never expected that the various families in the council would agree to this proposal so easily. Joseph has sought reform before. In fact, before Gisela came into this world, this emperor had never given up on saving and reforming this crumbling empire. But every time a feasible plan was proposed, it was always met with all sorts of difficulties from the nobles in the council for various reasons."

“Your Majesty, when faced with two evils, choose the lesser. Compared to preserving property and minimizing losses, it is feasible to relinquish some rights. Her Highness the Princess saw this point, which is why she presented everyone with a choice that had already been decided.” While Friedrich was not an expert in the economic field, this former prime minister still possessed unique insight into the political arena.

"This child has changed. She is only eighteen years old this year, and I was also eighteen when I ascended the throne. The difference between us..." The old emperor couldn't help but feel a little emotional when he thought about this.

"Why don't we pass the throne to her, just like my uncle passed the throne to me?"

Faced with this issue, the shrewd old prime minister chose to remain silent.

"Friedrich is about to begin. Let us see where the future of the empire lies."

As carriages drove into the square, the citizens of Vienna all focused their attention on these carriages, which were completely covered by cloth.

"One car"

Two vehicles

"There are nearly a hundred of them." The citizens looked at the cloth-covered carriages with suspicion, and then discussed what might be inside. Interestingly, Gisela deliberately only invited the British ambassador to Vienna to today's gathering. The political intention was so obvious that other countries had no choice but to come uninvited.

As the first vehicle drove into the center of the square, the tarpaulin covering the goods was slowly untied, revealing neatly stacked gold bricks bearing the double-headed eagle emblem to the citizens of Vienna.

As truck after truck's cover was opened, countless tons of gold were displayed before the citizens. This was a sight they had never seen in their entire lives, and their astonishment was entirely understandable. Even Gisela was somewhat shocked when she first saw hundreds of tons of gold.

Many years later, a writer who attended the gathering recalled with excitement: "Gold! Moving wealth, a pilgrimage that belonged only to gold! At that moment, I never had the slightest doubt about the strength and wealth of this ancient empire. At that moment, I felt as if I saw the whole world!" At its peak, the Spanish Habsburg dynasty even controlled 60 percent of the world's total gold, a figure that even the United States could not match later on.

Gisela brought the people more than just the visual spectacle of gold; it also brought another unexpected surprise: the first automobile, powered by an internal combustion engine designed by Daimler and with an exterior design inspired by Karl Benz. When an object without horse-drawn carriages, without the massive size of a steam engine, and without thick black smoke drove into the square, people were filled with a new kind of astonishment.

The car finally stopped in the center, and a blonde, fox-eared girl stepped out. This beautiful princess was known not only to the citizens of Vienna but throughout the entire empire. Aside from her outstanding talents and remarkable achievements in Denmark, Italy, and Hungary, her beauty, inherited from her mother, was renowned throughout Europe, not to mention how charming her exotic fox ears were. Princess Gisela was the object of admiration and dream girl for countless young men and women.

"Your Highness!" cheers erupted from the crowd. Gisela rarely appeared in public, and in fact, this was the first time she had met her people directly like this.

Gisela waved with a smile, her demeanor and actions so dignified and perfect that even Aponia, who was observing from a distance, nodded in satisfaction.

Gisela quickly walked up to the makeshift platform and looked down at the tens of thousands of citizens below him (there might be more, since no one would bother to count them).

Taking a deep breath, stage fright was nonexistent, but to appear even more imposing, Gisela decided to use her silver hair. And so, before the people's eyes, their princess ruffled her hair, and soon a silver-haired woman with purple eyes appeared before them. Unlike her previous amiable demeanor, Gisela now possessed an added air of authority and arrogance.

"Citizens of the Empire! It is a pleasure to meet you all here today. I am not the kind of person who likes to make grand pronouncements or boast. I have gathered you all here today not to reminisce about any glory or to commemorate anything. What I want to say here is relevant to each and every one of you." Gisela glanced around. To the left of Heroes' Square were Prince Eugen and to the right was Archduke Karl, both of whom were among the Empire's most outstanding military strategists.

PS1: Ra!

Chapter 422 The Two-Headed Eagle's Rebirth: Capter 41 Gisela's New Policies (Part 1) (Vote Requested)

"The current economic downturn is something everyone has witnessed. Whether you are currently unemployed or working, you are all affected. While our neighboring countries remain at a loss, hesitant, and waiting for their doom, I will bring you a new solution." Gisela's lips curled slightly as she gently raised her right hand.

"The Empire has decided to abolish the gold standard and issue a new credit currency system. In simple terms, a new currency will be issued within the Empire to replace the original gold trading, and private gold trading will be considered illegal. Citizens holding foreign government bonds can exchange these assets for the new currency at the Imperial Central Bank and its subordinate banks, so that you can continue to invest domestically. If you want to continue investing abroad, you can exchange the new credit currency for foreign exchange."

"The Imperial Bank will provide every citizen with the service of exchanging their original currency for the new currency, without charging any additional fees, and your wealth will remain unchanged." With the power to issue currency in his own hands, Gisela was essentially getting something for nothing.

"From this day forward, the Imperial Government and the Imperial Central Bank will become the cornerstone of protecting your wealth." In fact, it is not difficult for an authoritarian government to gain the trust of the people. The reason Gisela went through this extra process was simply to make his decisions more transparent, so that the people would subjectively support him more, which was also a way to increase his personal prestige.

After listening attentively to Gisela's speech, the crowd fell into a brief silence. After all, not everyone could understand this concept. But then someone said, "Her Highness will definitely not let us down. We must believe in Her Highness," and cheers erupted from the crowd.

Gisela looked at the scene before her, her calm expression masking a strange embarrassment. She seemed to have overestimated the level of civility among the people of this era. They might not understand, but no one would question the prestige Gisela had built up over the years.

A delightful gold rush followed quickly by news that the Austrian Empire had announced the abolition of the gold standard, which soon spread throughout Europe. As if premeditated, the British, through the Queen's suggestion and the cabinet's proposal to abolish the gold standard and reform the economic system, were also quickly put on the agenda for parliamentary discussion.

Unlike Austria, this time the British policy has been met with strong opposition from a large number of parliamentarians, who believe it will shake the pound's hard-won status as the international standard currency for settlement, causing Britain to lose its original core economic position.

These short-sighted lawmakers still haven't grasped the fact that the reason people are so fond of the pound sterling in the process of international capital exchanges is not because they believe in the British currency itself, but because they believe in the value of gold itself.

The British hesitation did not mean that Gisela was unaware of progress. Soon Gisela introduced new policies to reorganize the financial sector, integrating the original Imperial Central Bank with some poorly managed private banks within the empire to establish the Imperial Central United Bank. With this as its core and main position, Gisela achieved macro-control and supervision of the financial market.

Secondly, Operation Black Hawk conducted investigations to determine the production scale of various enterprises within the Empire, the price level of products in the industry, market distribution, as well as wage levels and working hours.

At the same time, workers' right to collective bargaining is guaranteed, and capitalists are required to accept the government-mandated maximum working hours and minimum wage. Only companies that complete the investigation and agree to fulfill their obligations can display the Black Hawk logo.

This policy was clearly Gisela's way of winning over the broad working class. Although she was the future emperor, it did not prevent her from taking the mass line at this time. After all, she needed to engage in parliamentary struggles, and these members of parliament, who came from humble backgrounds and were working-class people, were her future allies to check and balance the imperial elites.

Then the Imperial Industrial Revitalization Act and the Black Hawk Movement were promulgated to prevent overcapacity caused by blind competition. According to the Imperial Industrial Revitalization Act, industrial enterprises formed guilds to formulate fair operating rules for their respective industries and regulations that market competition should follow. Malicious competition could also be arbitrated and coordinated by the guilds. If the problem was still serious, the Imperial government could intervene to investigate.

Of course, Gisela also encouraged domestic factory construction and investment, actively attracting foreign capital. After all, due to the restrictions imposed by the gold standard, much foreign capital that could not be repatriated to its home country could only choose to invest in the Austrian Empire. This was because they did not need to convert it into gold; they could simply hold the foreign currencies and bonds that had become worthless in their hands and invest without any barriers. Correspondingly, the empire offered tax exemptions and factory construction incentives.

For capitalists, only liquid capital is truly living capital, and only such capital can bring them real profits. Thus, the industrialization of the Austrian Empire was being propelled forward unexpectedly. The empire's already abundant mineral resources provided a new guarantee for the growth of these enterprises, while the large but not highly skilled population provided a substantial labor force for their development.

Although profits may be reduced due to minimum wage and maximum working hours regulations, the Austrian Empire, which is already close to the core of the world market, is even more attractive. Moreover, unlike the vast but remote, inaccessible and backward Russian Empire, Austria has more convenient sea and land transportation.

In agriculture, Transleitania has always been a renowned agricultural region in Europe. Unlike intensive farming in France and export-oriented agriculture in Russia, the Austrian Empire was already the leading producer of agricultural products in Europe. To stabilize prices and adjust production, the imperial government provided economic subsidies to farmers. Farmers temporarily reduced cultivated land and slaughtered livestock to alleviate the price collapse caused by oversupply due to decreased purchasing power.

Finally, the empire can stimulate employment by using large fiscal deficits to build public works projects such as schools. This not only raises the level of education among the population but also creates jobs. While deficits may not seem like a positive term, they can be a powerful tool if used wisely. Money can be repaid gradually; as long as the people have money, taxes will eventually be collected. The worst scenario is forcing people to pay taxes when they have none, as this will only lead to the empire losing popular support.

PS1: The reform that has been in the works for a long time

Chapter 423 The Two-Headed Eagle's Rebirth: Capter 42 Gisela's New Policy (Seeking Votes)

Riding the wave of reforms, Gisela also established a social security system, passing the "Social Security Law," which provided pensions and insurance for retired workers, insurance benefits for the unemployed, and subsidies for mothers with young children and the disabled. At the same time, an emergency relief agency was established to distribute relief funds to the people. These small policies contrasted sharply with the empire's past rough-and-ready management of its people, and the people who benefited from them developed an almost fanatical affection for their princess.

In public places, some radical Gisela supporters would not even allow anyone to say anything bad about the princess, while the working class, who benefited the most, became Gisela's loyal supporters.

A feudal princess, a symbol of backwardness and conservatism, is supported by workers, who symbolize progress. Even Mr. Karl, who is in London, has to start to wonder if the old and new forces are absolutely incompatible.

If those in power were truly as enlightened as Her Highness, then the happiness that the people seek seems not so far away...

Of course, this is only what the outside world sees. For Gisela herself, her reforms have only just begun. She has not yet truly touched the core power of the old aristocracy, so these frogs in slowly boiling water remain completely unaware. But little do they know that the rising new class represents a water temperature that will eventually cook them alive. At that time, they will be astonished to find that the empire is no longer a place where they can exert their influence at will.

This bizarre scene unfolded around the world: while the economies of European countries collapsed, the ancient Austrian Empire radiated unprecedented new vitality, and its economy began to develop in a positive direction.

Gisela's reforms were not groundbreaking; for her, they were merely a continuation of the wisdom of her predecessors. Novice time travelers only wanted to change certain events when they came to the past, while time travelers with a higher level of knowledge wanted to guide the course of history, just like what she was doing now.

Such reforms also present a challenge: the empire is bearing the financial risks of the entire European continent and even the world with itself and its vast domestic population and market. Other countries would naturally not have such courage, but Gisela's early planning gave her the confidence to do so.

Of course, from another perspective, if Austria were to completely collapse, she could pack her bags and flee to the East for refuge, since her fox ears were actually quite popular there.

Back to the present—

At this moment, Gisela was sitting comfortably alone in her office at the Hofburg Palace, enjoying the beautiful view outside with her legs crossed. Since the reforms began, Emperor Joseph had quickly prepared an office for Gisela in the Hofburg Palace, and her residence had been moved from Schönbrunn Palace to the Hofburg Palace. Unlike Schönbrunn Palace, which was a place for royal vacations, banquets, and pleasures, this palace, located in the heart of Vienna, was the center of imperial rule and a symbol of politics and imperial power.

Gisela moved in this time not as a princess, but as an imperial princess, marking her true status as the heir apparent of the Austrian Empire and the future empress.

"German General Motors was founded, headquartered in Prague, with branches in Munich, Stuttgart, and Wolfsburg. The choice of these locations was purely due to Gisela's personal quirk. BMW was born in Munich (later the Bavarian Machine Works), Daimler, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, and others were born in Stuttgart, and Volkswagen was born in Wolfsburg." Of course, most of these companies and their founders hadn't even been born yet, and the first car had only recently made its grand debut. Gisela's factory quickly received inquiries from many celebrities who wanted to buy one of these cars.

Sensing a business opportunity, Gisela decisively established a car manufacturing plant. Although it was just starting out, Karl Benz and Daimler had already formed a deep friendship despite their age difference, and they were both dedicated to product development and business operations. Of course, Gisela was also secretly gathering inventors with dreams of flight and scientists with relevant physics knowledge to work on aircraft projects, but progress in these areas was extremely slow.

Because of its shareholding system, the Skoda factory rapidly expanded its production scale. Gisela put the mass production of her improved machine gun and its deployment to the troops on the agenda. The army was hers, and the company was hers (more than 50% controlling stake), so she wasn't worried about being ripped off by capitalists. Although opening a new machine gun production line was inefficient, slow production wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, Gisela wasn't in a hurry to use it. Although she knew that Prussia and Austria would fight sooner or later, she didn't believe that the Prussian army would attack anytime soon.

Gisela has already shared the production processes for grenades, mortars, and the new Skoda 1872 rifle with other defense companies, and production volume should be guaranteed after widespread adoption.

It is worth mentioning that, as an upgraded version of the Škoda 1868 used by the Empire in the Franco-Austrian and Italian Wars, this rifle completely abandoned the original paper-cased cartridges and adopted a bolt-action design using metal-cased cartridges. The rifle had an 11mm caliber, was originally designed without a magazine, weighed 4.68kg, was 1340mm long, had a muzzle velocity of 435m/s, and pioneered a cam-driven automatic cocking and firing pin mechanism.

Gisela commissioned engineers to design this small arms weapon, modeled after the Prussian Mauser rifle. However, unlike the Mauser, Gisela insisted on a tubular magazine with eight rounds installed below the barrel. Since the Prussian army's training, marksmanship, and individual soldier skills were superior to the Empire's, the solution was to overwhelm them with firepower. Using machine guns equipped with magazine-equipped Skoda 1872 rifles would show these Prussian war fanatics that Austria's beauty wasn't just flowers, music, and women; it also included whistling bullets and a hail of shells.

Siemens' electrical company also made rapid progress, and electric lights were soon exported to various European countries. This small invention greatly enriched people's nighttime lives. Even Emperor Joseph, who was not fond of new things, requested Siemens to lay electrical circuits for the Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace to ensure that every room could use electric lights. This was just a microcosm of the era. The prelude to the Second Industrial Revolution had quietly begun, and this time the center would not be in Britain and France, but in Germany and America, two emerging superpowers that were about to transform and grow stronger.

"Reform makes me happy!" the fox exclaimed eloquently!

PS1: If the monarchy were to disappear that day, Gisela's prestige would allow him to become the...

PS1: Ra!

Chapter 424 The Two-Headed Eagle's Rebirth: Capter 43 Great Britain Has Its Own National Conditions (Seeking Votes)

While the Austrian Empire's new policies were in full swing, in the British House of Commons, the gentlemen of England were staging a full-blown brawl over the abolition of the gold standard, a debate that had been going on for nearly a week.

Prime Minister Palmerston remains a staunch supporter of the Queen's policies, tirelessly lobbying in Parliament. Unfortunately, the opposition parties firmly adhere to the principle of opposing what their opponents support and supporting what their opponents oppose, rendering Palmerston's efforts futile.

"The results of the latest round of voting are: 220 votes in favor and 227 votes against. Therefore, the proposal by Prime Minister Baron Palmerston to abolish the gold standard is rejected. The meeting is now adjourned." As the Speaker's aged yet authoritative voice announced the results, and the members of parliament left the chamber, Palmerston slumped back into his seat like a deflated balloon. Although the proposal was rejected, it didn't mean the reform had completely failed. He could still negotiate with opposition members to gain their support, but this would undoubtedly waste more time organizing the next round of voting.

The last time Parliament was so divided was when it came to whether to wage war against the Eastern Empire. At that time, he was in his prime and used his excellent political skills to unite the minority members of Parliament and the forces of his own party, and won a brilliant counterattack in that parliamentary vote, reversing the embarrassing situation of previous prime ministers whose important bills were rejected.

He no longer had the energy, but sometimes he had to continue to dedicate his limited energy, which was no longer what it used to be, for the sake of Her Majesty the Queen and the British Empire. Britain was now in a very dangerous period. The Germans on the European continent and the Americans across the ocean were slowly rising. Just like Britain in the past, they would eventually challenge the Spanish Empire, the world's superpower at the time. Only now they would be the ones being challenged.

“By the way, our Queen also has German blood.” Thinking of this, Palmerston felt a strange chuckle. Queen Victoria was the only female monarch of the Hanoverian dynasty, and would obviously be its last. Her abdication as an unmarried woman would mark the end of the German dynasty's rule over Britain, to be replaced by a new dynasty founded by her adopted daughter, the Prince of Wales. However, for Palmerston, the origins of the royal family were irrelevant. What he knew was that in Britain, there existed a secret organization dedicated to maintaining the purity and local character of the monarchy, essentially remarkably similar to the Jesuits.

“What are you thinking about, teacher?” asked White, a young man sitting next to the former prime minister. As the prime minister’s assistant and secretary, the young man had worked under him for several years, demonstrating his talent for independent work from the very first time he represented the Jesuit missionaries to visit Nelson and request her to travel to Italy.

“White, get my cigars out.” Palmerston, leaning on his cane, extended his right hand.

"Sir, smoking is not allowed in the council chamber; it is the rule."

"To hell with the rules! There's nobody here anymore!" Palmerston roared after looking around, his voice echoing through the empty hall.

"How do we explain this to His Majesty?" The young man cut off one end of the prime minister's cigar, lit it, and handed it to the old prime minister.

"Our Majesty has a very good temperament; she rarely gets angry." For the monarch of Britain, enduring mistreatment and cultivating one's character are very important matters. After all, to Parliament, you are merely a mascot, a symbol of the nation.

"I've already sent the message to Buckingham Palace, so let things take their course," Palmerston said with a somewhat ambiguous sigh after taking a deep drag on his cigar.

Our gaze returns to Buckingham Palace —

At this moment, Queen Victoria is playing chess with Nina disguised as Leo. As Gisela's husband and a prince of Bavaria, this is Victoria's first real meeting with this "man".

"Mr. Leo, what kind of person do you think your wife is?" Victoria asked casually, holding the queen of the chess pieces and pondering the game before her.

“My wife?” Nina looked up at Victoria after a brief moment of thought upon hearing the question.

"So what does Your Majesty think?" Nina skillfully tossed the question back to Victoria, moved the soldier in her hand forward one space, and picked up the cup of red tea beside her.

"Lakes and seas are like a piece of sky that slips through your fingers." This quote comes from Percy Bysshe Shelley, Britain's most famous Romantic poet.

The implication is that, in Victoria's view, Gisela can be as calm and serene as a lake at times, and as deep and profound as the sea at other times, which ultimately leads to another kind of mystery.

“She’s just a child who has just come of age. When I was her age, I was still dreaming, not trying to tip the scales of the world economy.” In fact, Victoria is still at the age where she loves to dream.

“Your Majesty, you are still at the age where you should be dreaming.” Nina put down her teacup and gracefully took a mirror from her pocket, slowly opening it so that Victoria could see her own appearance in the mirror. Her golden hair was neatly tied up, and her pale blue eyes reflected her own image in the mirror: fair skin, beautiful face, everything was as perfect as it had been decades ago.

“Your youth is still in your hands. If there’s anything that ages with time, it’s your heart,” Nina said with a gentle smile. Rita, standing behind Nina, silently observed the interaction between Nina and Victoria without saying a word.

Nina herself was somewhat confused about Gisela's attitude. Saying those flirtatious things was nothing more than trying to divert Victoria's attention, and she clearly succeeded in achieving her goal.

"Your humor reminds me of an old friend."

"Old friend?"

"Yes, an old friend, the current Tsar Alexander II of the Russian Empire, though he was in the past." Victoria no longer had any contact with Alexander. Their last formal meeting was at the negotiating table, at the signing ceremony of the armistice of the Russian Empire, where the two did not even greet each other.

"There seems to be some resentment in His Majesty's tone?" Nina said jokingly.

PS1: Just posting some random stuff.

Chapter 425 The Two-Headed Eagle's Rebirth: Capter 44 Some Rejoice, Some Sorrow (Seeking Votes)

“I wouldn’t call it resentment. I just want him to admit that even though I was somewhat weak in the past, I am now a monarch who can stand on my own.” Victoria looked up at the gray-haired maid behind Nina.

"What's your name? I already told you last time—you're one of the most beautiful maids I've ever seen." Victoria seemed to want to lighten the mood by steer the conversation towards something more relaxed.

“Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. My name is Rita.” Rita bowed deeply to Victoria before her, her every gesture perfect. Compared to a maid, she herself was a well-educated noblewoman.