She changed Europe

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The ambassador adjusted his glasses, and at that moment Rita spoke up: "Mr. Ambassador, your news travels really fast!"

Faced with Rita's clearly sarcastic tone, the ambassador smiled calmly and replied, "There's no other way. I'm in a hurry to clean up this mess. It's really unfair that the intelligence department made this mess and I, a diplomat, have to clean it up."

It seems the British intend to take the route of frankly admitting their mistakes.

Rita sneered, "Since Britain is so open about admitting that it messed up, can we skip the formalities and talk about compensation? Your actions have severely damaged the friendship between our two countries, especially at this critical juncture. You don't want to face the Russian army's offensive alone, do you?" As things stand, the biggest loser of Russia's control over the Middle East is not Austria, since Austria's Middle East strategy has not yet officially begun, but Britain's interests in the Middle East are very real.

They need to maintain their influence in the Middle East to ensure their ties with India.

"You're right. In fact, Her Majesty the Queen is considering lifting the restrictions on the Austrian navy..."

“You know, if relations between the two countries deteriorate, whether you lift the ban or not, we will begin to increase our naval construction efforts. This is something that even the whole of Germany can easily agree on.” Rita interrupted the ambassador directly, then crossed her arms and stared at him, waiting for his next move.

It is worth mentioning that the three countries of Prussia, Austria, and Brazil are now closely connected due to their rulers, and large states such as Hanover and Saxony were restored with the support of Austria. Austria maintains control over these states in the economic and political spheres. Therefore, the German Confederation can be said to be Gisela's backyard.

"Her Majesty the Queen is still considering giving your country a portion of the former Ottoman Empire's territory."

"Anyway, it's just some backwater you don't want," Rita scoffed. "Why should we want it if you don't want it?"

The ambassador looked embarrassed.

Rita knew very well that there was no such thing as an apology in the international community. The conditions they would offer to express remorse were either already agreed upon or seemed generous but were actually insignificant. In such cases, one had to take the initiative to fight for it in order to obtain a satisfactory compensation—of course, this would involve a series of negotiations.

Rita tried hard to think about what Gisela would ask for in this situation. She recalled every word Gisela had ever said to her and tried to put herself in the fox's shoes.

Finally, just before the British ambassador could speak again, Rita interrupted, "Our current agreement with Queen Victoria already includes exploration and mining rights in the areas surrounding Baghdad and Basra. Now we want the rights to the Palestinian territories and to build a naval base in the Persian Gulf."

Upon hearing this, the British ambassador's expression immediately turned serious. Clearly, the existence of an Austrian naval base in the Persian Gulf was something Britain absolutely could not allow. Rita knew this too; she brought it up so that she could later negotiate and reluctantly abandon the demand for a naval base, thus making it appear that "Austria has made a huge concession."

This is similar to the principle of offering a price much lower than your expected price before negotiating a lower price.

As for why Palestine is the target, it is naturally related to the agreement Gisela reached with the Luo family in her early years. Hannah is now diligently making money for the empire's finances, so it is reasonable to give her a reward when the time is right. Of course, how to establish a country after acquiring the land will still be decided by the empire, and that will not change.

The British ambassador wanted to say something, but Rita didn't give him the chance: "I know you don't have the authority to decide such an important matter, Mr. Ambassador. You can go back first and consult Her Majesty the Queen in London. By the time you get a reply, Her Majesty should have woken up, and then we can talk slowly."

As she spoke, Rita nodded to the lieutenant who had been standing guard by the door.

So the lieutenant opened the door with a very loud movement, his intention to see the guest out was all too clear.

The ambassador glanced back at the lieutenant, then at Rita, and finally his gaze fell on the mysterious girl who was still eating.

"Then, I'll take my leave."

“When His Majesty wakes up, I will convey Britain’s and Her Majesty the Queen’s apologies to him.” Rita deliberately emphasized the word “apologies.”

The ambassador bowed to Rita and then slowly withdrew from the room.

When the ward door closed, the girl seemed startled by the sound. She looked up to check the situation, then looked down again to continue examining the can of food in her hand.

Rita let out a long sigh of relief, looking as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Jeanne came over and patted her on the shoulder: "You've worked hard."

"It's not too hard. I'm not cut out for intelligence work. If I can't even handle diplomacy, then I really can't convince myself to stay by His Majesty's side."

As she spoke, Rita came to the fox's bedside, reached under the covers, and gently took Gisela's hand.

“It must be because I’m too willful sometimes…” Rita said softly, her expression gentle yet tinged with sadness. “Your Highness, you really know how to pick the time to get injured. If the operation with Osman goes wrong, it will all be your fault!”

After saying that, the girl sighed.

"Wake up, Your Highness!" Rita clearly preferred the way she used to call the fox to His Majesty...

PS1: The fox is a technical adjustment 0v0!

Chapter 583 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 80 The Queen's Wrath (Seeking Votes)

In fact, while Rita was confronting the British ambassador, the Queen, far away in London, was unaware of what was happening in Trieste.

Here’s what happened: When Sir Fleming, who was in charge of intelligence, heard that his subordinate might have accidentally killed the Queen of an allied country and made a huge blunder, he was so frightened that he dressed in the middle of the night and rode in a carriage from his lover’s villa to find the Prime Minister to discuss how to handle the situation.

But it happened to be a Saturday, and Sir Stanley had gone back to his own estate for the weekend. The old man was originally an earl, but in order to gain the support of the House of Commons, he renounced his earldom and became a knight, but he still retained his estate. Every even-numbered week of the month, he would return to his manor, which was built like a castle, to spend the weekend.

Sir Fleming called the manor, only to be told that the lord had gone hunting.

In desperation, Fleming sought out Chamberlain, a favorite of Her Majesty the Queen. Chamberlain acted decisively, immediately ordering the ambassador to Austria in Vienna to investigate and confirm whether the Queen, a mage, had truly been killed (though the possibility was slim). He also told Fleming that once the Queen's fate was confirmed, he would report to the Queen at the afternoon's political meeting.

It was Saturday, so Her Majesty's morning schedule was leisurely, and Chamberlain considerately did not disturb her.

In the afternoon, Victoria finally learned the details of the incident from her lovely ministers.

“You wounded him?” Victoria stood up, hands on her hips, glaring at her subordinates. “You actually wounded him at this crucial moment? More than half of the troops on the Istanbul front are loyal to him. If they turn to support the Russians, we’ll have to abandon our plan to stop the Russians in Istanbul and instead defend the Gallipoli Peninsula and hold the Dardanelles! Worse still, our troops in Istanbul may not be able to withdraw safely! If the Russian Black Sea Fleet crosses the Bosphorus, the Royal Navy will have to retreat to avoid a full-scale war!”

The Britain of today is not the same Britain that was so determined to fight the Russian army in Crimea last time. Because of France's powerful cooperation in that war, Britain still incurred a massive national debt, its financial situation deteriorated, and public discontent was boiling. Neither Victoria nor anyone else dared to easily consider fighting the Russian giant again.

We are capable of fighting and confident of winning, but the cost is too high and not worth it.

Especially in places like the Sea of ​​Marmara, the Royal Navy's advantage is not obvious, and if they fight head-on, all that money spent on shipbuilding will be wasted.

The Queen's anger seemed to have caught Chamberlain somewhat off guard, but now that everyone else was watching him, the Queen's favorite, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

"Your Majesty, we have already sent our ambassador to Trieste to confirm their intentions. The ambassador successfully met with the comatose Empress and brought back the Austrians' compensation demands, so..."

"That's not important. What's important is that you bunch of bastards only told me this now!" After yelling, Victoria realized that she had lost her temper. No matter what, the Queen of Britain could not call the gentlemen under her command "bastards." Moreover, the Queen of Britain should remain calm and composed, and always be a well-mannered and elegant lady.

She composed herself and then addressed her ministers in a much calmer but also lower voice: "Listen, if you cannot deliver important messages to me immediately, then I will abdicate and go live my idyllic life. I have long wanted to travel the world on my yacht, understand?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Victoria took a deep breath, and her full breasts swelled up high.

Then she turned to the window and looked at the sky outside, seemingly trying to calm herself down.

With the Queen's back to the interior of the room, everyone seized the opportunity to exchange a series of meaningful glances, but no one dared to break the silence first.

The power of the British monarch in this time and space is thus evident.

Finally, Victoria turned to the ministers led by Chamberlain and said in a voice that was noticeably calmer than before, "Send a telegram of condolence to Vienna in my name. I will write a personal letter later and send a special envoy and gifts to Vienna. Sir Fleming, you must take responsibility. Whether it is a public dismissal or a quiet retirement depends on the Austrian propaganda line. In any case, your position as intelligence chief ends here. I thank you for your hard work over the years."

Sir Fleming had a look on his face that said, "Damn, why am I so unlucky?" but he still said in a very gentlemanly and courteous manner, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will organize all the information and hand it over to my successor."

The Queen nodded.

“I don’t know how Austria will announce this incident to the public. If Her Majesty Gisela hadn’t fallen into a coma, I’m sure she would have chosen to keep it a secret. But now that she’s in a coma, her staff has taken over the reins, so I don’t know what they’ll do.” Victoria sighed. “None of the women around Gisela are kind-hearted, and they’re all ‘deeply in love’ with that fox, at least that’s what Victoria thinks.”

Otherwise, you wouldn't understand why Jeanne and Aponia defected, and even the Queen of Prussia was bewitched by the fox. Although even Victoria had to admit that the fox was indeed very beautiful, even more beautiful than herself...

After Victoria finished speaking, the room fell silent again. She remained silent for a while before continuing, "Never mind, tell me about what the ambassador saw when he visited the sick."

“Yes,” the Foreign Minister immediately replied, not daring to be negligent. “He went directly to see Her Majesty, who was unconscious, and met with Miss Rita, the Queen’s chief attendant. Her Majesty’s vital signs appeared stable, and there were no signs of any ongoing resuscitation efforts. It seems that her life is no longer in danger. Miss Rita directly made a request for compensation to her.”

“Oh?” Victoria seemed somewhat surprised. “She made a direct request? It seems she wasn’t defeated by anger; I thought someone else would make it. So what is her request?”

"..." The Foreign Secretary glanced at Chamberlain before hesitatingly saying, "She demanded, in addition to the existing railway, administrative control of the cities of Baghdad and Basra, as well as mineral exploration rights in the surrounding area, and..."

Victoria frowned and muttered in a voice only she could hear, "This request... could it be that the guy wasn't actually unconscious and was just trying to fool us?"

Once this suspicion arose, it firmly occupied Victoria's mind, so she said to the Foreign Secretary, "Let's delay for now, use diplomatic procedures or whatever means are appropriate, you are best at this kind of thing anyway. If His Majesty is not seriously injured, he will soon come out to stabilize public opinion, and then we can talk to him directly about compensation for this shot. At least we have to hold out until the Russian army launches this offensive on Istanbul."

PS1: British version 0v0

Chapter 584 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 81 President Grant's Vision (Seeking Votes)

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Foreign Minister assured him confidently.

“Alright, let’s leave this matter here for now. Report any new developments from the German side to me immediately.” Victoria paused, glancing down at her memo on the table, which contained issues she had originally planned to address at the political meeting this weekend. “Hmm, what’s the situation on the Istanbul front?”

"Judging from intelligence from all sides, the Russian army is preparing to launch a new offensive." The Minister of War, who had been holding back for so long, finally spoke with a refreshed expression. "The expeditionary force has already entered the positions, and German troops (including those from Austria and Prussia) have also been sent to the front. However, the German troops gathered in Marmara Herrelis have no intention of moving yet. It is said that they are continuing to expand the airfield, and it seems that they do not intend to launch an attack until they have air support."

“If we don’t launch an attack soon, the Russian army will have completed its assembly, and then we will face fierce resistance from the powerful Russian forces. They will lose their best opportunity to flank the Russian army.” The Minister of War paused. “In fact, I think they have already lost that opportunity.”

Victoria stared at the map of northern Türkiye in her office, her lips pressed tightly together in silence.

Meanwhile, in Trieste.

Mata Hari was staring at the district supervisor who had been in charge of last night's operation.

“I remember giving the order to eliminate all security risks in the surrounding area without alerting the target. If I’m not mistaken, sir.”

“Yes, you’re not mistaken.” The on-site supervisor from last night said in a trembling voice, “We have indeed cleared the surrounding area…”

"But our Queen was shot by a damned spy and is still unconscious!"

"We later discovered the spy's hideout; he was outside our designated clearing zone! But to avoid any danger, we specifically dispatched agents skilled in night surveillance to closely monitor the area around the target, but that night the fog was thicker than usual..."

The man's words came to an abrupt halt as Marta unleashed her power. It was as if an invisible hand had gripped the man's throat, slowly lifting him up and suspending him in mid-air, his legs struggling helplessly, futilely trying to touch the ground.

“Failure is failure. My Majesty has previously stated that I am forbidden from using assassination or other means to carry out missions. Therefore, I must ensure that my organization is filled with strong individuals who can reliably guarantee the completion of missions. You are not qualified. Fortunately, our kind and benevolent Majesty has not forbidden me from killing my own subordinates.”

"I...Miss! Our perimeter has successfully intercepted another British spy, preventing a larger..."

“I will personally interrogate that spy, strictly adhering to my master’s principles of not using inhumane methods or torture. I will use very humane methods to torture his mind bit by bit… However, none of this concerns you. Do you see all around? So many regional supervisors are watching. I need to let them know what the consequences of failure will be.”

The next moment, the man's body exploded, every muscle and bone flew off, and his internal organs were torn to pieces. The fragments were scattered in a fan-shaped area with a radius of three or four meters in front of Marta.

The onlookers were all cold-blooded, but the scene still caused many to change their expressions drastically, and many took a small step back.

Marta turned around, her dress stained with blood.

Although she appears somewhat carefree in front of the fox, none of this changes the fact that Marta was previously a queen of intelligence who traveled across the world, and the number of people she had killed was countless.

She looked at her other subordinates: "I sent Her Majesty the Empress down because I trusted him, and my trust has been betrayed. He is indeed very capable, but if he can't complete the mission, it's meaningless. You should all take this as a warning."

After saying that, Marta's expression suddenly changed drastically, revealing a ferocious look: "Now get to work, all of you! I'm going to wipe out all the British spies in Austria!"

Washington, D.C., White House Oval Office —

After Hamilton entered the office, he didn't greet Grant and went straight to the point: "We have confirmed an assassination attempt against Queen Gisela, but we don't yet know which side carried it out."

"Why does Her Majesty the Queen keep getting assassinated?" Grant put down his Cuban cigar and sighed with some emotion. "I've felt for a long time that her security, especially the security for her personally, is really terrible."

But she's a powerful mage, she shouldn't be dead, right?

"From all indications, no. Several other British spies on our list were arrested in Austria within a day, which suggests that the British were behind it."

Grant then raised his head, a smile playing on his lips, and looked at Hamilton: "The British did it? Have they been kicked in the head by a donkey? This would threaten the Anglo-Austrian alliance. It would be perfectly logical to say that the Russians did it."

Here Grant used the idiom "double-winged VI1sani兒" to mock his political opponents, because he was a Republican.

Historically, the Democratic Party was in opposition for 24 years due to the Civil War, which was also the period when the party was at its weakest.

"But……"

"No buts, none of this concerns us. If Queen Gisela dies, we'll have one less potential rival. Even if she doesn't die, it won't affect us. In that kind of environment, it'll be difficult for her to develop. By the time she's finished dealing with the surrounding areas and starts intervening elsewhere, we'll have already recovered from this damn crisis, and America will be stronger than ever before."

Grant stuck the cigarette butt in his hand into the ashtray.

"More than that, I'm concerned about how effective the new weapons the Austrians have deployed in Erelis in Turkey will be. Their air force was quite effective in sniping the Russian ground offensive, which really opened my eyes. I wonder how effective these 'water tanks' will be."

Hamilton frowned. "Mr. President, what about the effectiveness of the operation against those aircraft..."

“I know, I know, the generals have different opinions. Those old men are too old and just stubborn. I clearly know more about military matters than they do!” Grant shook his head and continued, “Hamilton, fifty years ago, it was the same group of old guys who stubbornly rejected Dr. Babbage’s difference engine. But the founding fathers, who were already over seventy at the time, had a far-sighted vision, so they kept the difference engine. Half a century ago, the head of our U.S. Patent Office actually thought that all the patents had already been applied for and that mankind would never have any more amazing inventions.”

These people, like the generals of today, are obstacles to social progress. One of my most important responsibilities as the leader of this country is to remove these obstacles.

PS1: When Gisela first traveled through time, Edison and Tesla were already working on flying magical armor. The Americans were pioneers in this field, but they didn't think of creating flying devices for ordinary people, so they still lagged behind Germany, led by the fox.

Chapter 585 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 82 White House Meeting (Seeking Votes)

Unlike most U.S. presidents in history, Grant graduated from West Point and served in the Mexican-American War early in his career. After retiring from active duty, he worked for a time in a leather goods store to make a living. He returned to the military after the outbreak of the Civil War, gradually gaining the favor of President Lincoln. In the later stages of the war, he rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant general and Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army, achieving numerous distinguished feats. In 1865, he captured Richmond, forcing the Confederate army to surrender and ending the war. He was known as the "Unconditional Surrenderer" and the "Hero of Appomattox." In 1866, he was promoted to the first general in the United States Army.

He understood better than anyone the value of weaponry to the war effort, and if it weren't for the current economic crisis in the United States and the complex financial and domestic situation, he certainly wouldn't have reduced investment in weapons development.

Just then, the phone on Grant's desk rang. He picked up the receiver, and the operator's sweet voice came through: "Your Excellency, Mr. Rockefeller has arrived at the door." The telephone was more convenient to use than magic communication because it did not consume magic energy.

“Let him in.” Grant put down the phone, looked at Hamilton, and continued the previous topic, “When my uncle was the New York City Police Commissioner, he went against the majority of the opposition and installed telephones in all the police stations. Do you know what those old guys thought to stop him? They said that with telephones, the police would spend all their working hours chatting and catching up with their colleagues from other departments! They also said that the deafening ringing of the telephones would affect the police’s concentration! But in the end? My uncle was right. He often told me that the widespread use of telephones was an inevitable trend, and his actions put the NYPD ahead of the times.”

As soon as Grant finished speaking, Rockefeller was led into the room by a female secretary.

“Oh! Hamilton, my old friend, it’s been a long time.” Rockefeller gave Hamilton a perfunctory greeting, then turned to Grant, “I hope you enjoyed the recent performance by that opera singer.”

"I really like it, Mr. Rockefeller. It's your loss that you didn't go to see it with me. Okay, let's get to the point. Aren't you Rockefeller planning to organize a team to participate in the so-called aircraft bidding?"

“Mr. President Grant, you know that the Rockefeller family doesn’t have any businesses related to the aviation industry. You should look for someone else, such as the head of General Motors…”

“But you have money, don’t you? The government has already spent a fortune on this damn economy, and there’s no extra money left for developing new aircraft this fiscal year. If you don’t want to build your own team, you can provide support to the companies that are scheduled to participate in the bidding, in exchange…” Grant paused, “Congress is discussing antitrust laws again, and breaking up Rockefeller is probably their primary goal. If Rockefeller can provide support for the development of this new aircraft, I will not sign that bill. If you don’t get involved, I will sign whatever bill Congress passes.”

Rockefeller scratched his head.

“I bet I’m not the only one who’s been threatened like this.”

“You are not,” Grant nodded frankly. “But this threat is most effective for you and your family. After all, other families haven’t been watched so closely by Congress, and the Morgans are a family in the financial sector. They lack so-called real industries.”

Rockefeller shrugged.

“Grant, you’re always so direct. You’re scaring away a lot of potential partners.” He stood up, paced around the office, and walked to the wall covered with various decorations. “However, it’s great that you can help us block the antitrust laws, Grant. It saves us a lot of public relations time. These days, lawmakers are getting more and more insatiable when it comes to political donations.”

Rockefeller paused for a moment: "Grant, what's the difference between political donations taken by congressmen and embezzlement by ordinary government employees? If political donations are legal, then embezzlement should also be legal, right?"