She changed Europe

Page 94

Thus, urged on by their officers, the Italian soldiers began their first attack in days without artillery cover. Today, the Italians committed thousands of men to this defensive line, which was less than a kilometer long. Garibaldi, with his overwhelming numerical superiority, could afford the attrition, but the Austrians could not.

As the Italians launched a fierce attack, sparing no casualties, the battle between the attackers and defenders reached its climax at noon that day. After the Austrian defenders were wiped out, new reserves were sent in, and then the Italians were wiped out again. The Austrians once again recaptured the position, and so on in an endless cycle.

In order to consolidate their lines and seize the initiative on the battlefield, Nadia and Garibaldi also tacitly used their magic armor to engage in a concentrated battle. The two pure magic armor legions clashed fiercely on the central plain. The light of the white magic cannons and the dark green magic shields that were hit were as dazzling as fireworks even in the daytime.

In the battle of magical armor, the Italians, who ultimately had a numerical advantage, gradually gained the upper hand. As the fighting intensified, the Austrian allied soldiers began to waver, especially after a large number of Imperial soldiers who were mixed in with them and supervised the battle were killed, leading to a collapse in their morale.

Finally, the defending troops outside the city suffered an irreversible retreat. Nadia could only watch helplessly as her carefully constructed defenses faced the risk of being breached. Marshal Güle's previous defeat had an indelible impact on the morale of the army. As rumors of Garibaldi's invincibility spread throughout Rome, panic ensued.

As dusk fell that day, the swiftest Italian army had successfully advanced to the outskirts of Rome. Just as they had reported to their commanders, they could see the cross of St. Peter's Basilica and hear the church bells.

Some might wonder why Garibaldi didn't personally pilot the magic armor and launch the attack with VV. This isn't hard to understand, because Garibaldi didn't know how many magic users the Roman Catholic Church had, or how many trump cards they held. After all, they were the church that had controlled the field of magic research in Europe for nearly a thousand years.

Since the opponent has no inclination to fight, Garibaldi doesn't need to intervene. Most importantly, since his side currently holds the advantage, there's even less reason for him to waste his mental energy on a battle between magic users.

After four days of hard fighting, Garibaldi looked at the results her troops had achieved with satisfaction, but when she returned to the camp full of joy, VV, dressed in a black women's suit, had been waiting for her for a long time.

"Naples is besieged. Abandon the attack on Rome and focus all efforts on defending the heart of the Italian Republic." When VV handed this document to Garibaldi, the silver-haired lady seemed to have anticipated the heroine's reaction.

“Impossible! Rome is within our grasp. We absolutely cannot afford to lose this golden opportunity over such a trivial matter. Miss, you should understand the sacrifices my soldiers have made these past few days, and you should also understand how many heroic sons and daughters have shed their blood for the liberation of Italy.” Garibaldi’s face turned extremely ugly, and his voice trembled slightly.

"Choose, miss. Do you want to return as a hero, or enter Rome as an ambitious man who disregards the will of the people?" The seemingly young silver-haired girl spoke calmly, like a judge examining a soul, but VV knew in truth that she was not a righteous person either.

"Rome is the soul of the Italian people, the true capital in our hearts," Garibaldi said, leaning on his chair and taking a deep breath.

"Hero or dragon?" VV said succinctly, without offering any further explanation.

“Isn’t there any other possibility…” Garibaldi looked up at the map not far away, his heart heavy.

VV spread her hands, the meaning of which was self-evident.

“Then let’s retreat!” Garibaldi slumped into a chair, her face pale, gazing at the city of Rome lit up outside the tent. For the first time, tears of resentment streamed down her face, a testament to her inner strength. Just as she was reacting now, though she didn’t know why, she seemed to sense that this would be the last time she would lead her troops to Rome as a hero.

In the Austrian military camp outside Naples—

Gisela lay comfortably in her chair, her eyes half-closed, her legs propped up on a stool. A beautiful gray-haired maid knelt gracefully at her feet, gently lifting her feet to give her a simple massage to relax her muscles. Even through a layer of white stockings, Aponia's skillful touch made Gisela feel exceptionally comfortable; her fluffy tail swayed contentedly, and her fox ears drooped down, looking particularly relaxed.

PS1: Are you all going out and having fun during the holidays?

Chapter 351 The Fall of Saint Stephen's Crown: Capter 67 Gisela's Tactics (ra!)

"Hey! Add some jam to my pudding." Gisela raised her hand and pointed to the various flavors of jam on the table not far away. It is said that these are rare royal tributes in the Turkish court, but for Gisela's status, it is not difficult for her to get them.

“I didn’t call you ‘Hey’…” Jeanne, dressed in black armor, said with great dissatisfaction.

“Yes, yes, Your Excellency Jeanne, Saint of France, Your Grace, whatever you like, all I need now is jam.” Gisela pretended to be impatient and picked at her ear (human ear) with her right pinky finger, then brought it to her lips and blew on it.

Jeanne didn't say much, but with a look of resentment and humiliation, she obediently brought Gisela the jam.

"Your Highness, when do you plan to launch your attack?" Holy See Theresa, sitting to the side, asked with a puzzled expression.

"Don't worry, Lady Theresa, it will be soon. You will return to Rome safely, in a proper and respectable way, of course." Gisela smiled and accepted the jam Jeanne offered, while giving Jeanne's waist a quick pinch.

As Gisela made his groping gesture, Jeanne let out a cute sound completely different from her usual style, proving she truly is the most sensible woman in all of Europe.

Lin Shansi's gaze returned to Garibaldi—

As Garibaldi's order to force a withdrawal reached the entire army, the soldiers, regardless of their anger or discontent, ultimately had no choice but to relinquish all their hard-won gains to their opponents. Even the invincible Garibaldi had his moments of helplessness. This news quickly spread throughout the army, and for the first time in many years, these passionate young Italians realized that their goddess and hero were not as omnipotent as they had imagined.

Although the army retreated, Garibaldi still set a small trap outside the city and secretly informed spies in Rome to spread the news that the retreat was forced due to the siege of Naples and the interruption of supplies. She understood that even if she couldn't take Rome, she couldn't let the Austrian army inside the city have an easy time. As long as the reckless and ambitious Austrian commander went out of the city to pursue her, she was confident that she could take another bite out of them.

Unfortunately, while the young and impetuous Nadia was reckless, she wasn't foolish. She understood the current disparity in strength between herself and the enemy, and that rashly leaving the city without a firm grasp of the situation would be extremely risky. Moreover, Prince Gisela had ordered her to defend Rome to the death, not to counterattack. Therefore, self-discipline at the appropriate time is a necessary quality for an excellent general.

However, she did not simply ignore Garibaldi's retreating troops. Instead, she sent out a small number of scouts to track and observe Garibaldi's movements, and also to relay the time of Garibaldi's retreat and the possible direction of retreat to the lord in Naples.

On the morning of the second day after their withdrawal from Rome and return to Naples, the Republican Guard was harassed by a small group of magical armored units. Despite losing some supplies, they routed the enemy. However, this was merely a case of the Imperial magical armored squad slaughtering nearly a hundred soldiers before withdrawing on their own.

That afternoon, the marching army was attacked again by the same sneak attacks. Although they were prepared this time, the magic armor could not be fully distributed throughout the army, so they still suffered heavy losses.

At this time, Garibaldi was unaware that, using modified lightweight magic armor, the Imperial Army had developed a raiding magic armor unit that abandoned frontal combat and focused on flanking attacks. While these magic armors lacked thick armor and magic shields to withstand enemy artillery fire, they were equipped with magic-powered amplifiers that greatly increased their magic energy utilization. Crucially, their speed far surpassed that of the Imperial Army's main magic armor, the Royal IX assault-specialized magic armor.

When Gisela first saw this almost naked design, her first thought was of the development ideas of American tanks before World War II. Indeed, racing is the romance of men, whether it is magic armor or tanks.

It's worth noting that in the traditional military theory of this era, deploying magical armor among soldiers to assist in attacks was common sense. The idea of ​​concentrating magical armor specifically for breakthroughs and countering enemy magical armor could be considered genius, while concentrating it for high-mobility harassment of the enemy could only be called madness. After all, it has been proven that cumbersome magical armor, without the assistance and protection of infantry, becomes nothing more than a target for enemy artillery and anti-magical armor weapons.

Then some madman did just that, and it worked extremely well. This kept the Italian magic armored forces, who were already exhausted from dealing with the sneak attacks, constantly on the move, and neither the armored vehicles nor the magic warriors could get proper rest.

On the morning of the third day of the withdrawal, the vanguard of Garibaldi's advancing troops suffered heavy losses again after stepping on a bomb buried in the ground. Soldiers of this era had never seen such mysterious and dangerous things as landmines. The moment they were triggered, they scattered and fled, resulting in more explosions and more soldiers being caught in the crossfire.

Faced with such a horrific scene, the vast majority of Italian soldiers did not even dare to move forward, nor did they dare to go forward to retrieve the bodies of their comrades.

Landmines were not unfamiliar to the people of the Celestial Empire, as they were recorded as early as 1413 in the "Fire Dragon Classic": "The explosive cannon was made of cast iron, hollow inside, filled with a mortar and pestle, placed in a small bamboo tube, with a fuse threaded through it. A long line was threaded through the fuse groove on the outside. Dozens were buried in a pit along the enemy's likely route. The fuse groove was connected to a steel wheel, and the pit was covered with earth so the enemy would not know. When the trigger was activated, the mine would explode, sending iron pieces flying and flames shooting into the sky." The famous general Qi Jiguang also extensively improved and used this weapon during his resistance against Japanese pirates.

Of course, the modern landmine wasn't invented in the true sense until the Russo-Japanese War of 1903 by Russia. However, its simple principle allowed Gisela to quickly develop a clear approach for the engineers after presenting his ideas to them. After all, landmines were different from Gisela's far-fetched ideas about internal combustion engines, cars, airplanes, and machine guns—the feasibility of which was still debatable. This kind of small toy was quite easy to implement.

Then, as soon as the new equipment appeared, it blew up the Italians. This explosion left many soldiers with psychological trauma, and they wouldn't even take a step forward.

In the end, Garibaldi had no choice but to change course. Although the anti-personnel mines didn't have a large explosive charge, they couldn't use their magic armor to run over them to clear them. After all, the magic armor's Achilles' heel was in the feet, a spot that the magic shield couldn't protect...

PS1: 0v0

Chapter 352 The Fall of St. Stephen's Crown: Capter 68 "Hannibal's" Fate

Gisela didn't realize how profound an impact anti-tank mines would have on the battlefield dominated by magic armor if she invented them; right now, she simply wanted to annoy her beloved opponent.

Thus, Garibaldi led his army, in a daze, to Aversa, north of Naples, on the afternoon of the fifth day. Of the nearly 70,000 men who initially set out from Naples, after the battles of Anzio and Rome, and the losses of the past few days, less than 40,000 remained. Even more critically, due to a lack of ammunition, Garibaldi had to abandon all his artillery in an effort to increase the marching speed. Morale was low, soldiers were exhausted, and ammunition was scarce. Since the First Italian War of Independence more than twenty years earlier, Garibaldi faced a truly dire situation he had never encountered in his life.

Having studied history thoroughly, Garibaldi could easily see how similar his current predicament was to Hannibal's during the Second Punic War: his army was losing troops that could not be replenished, his logistics were disrupted, his politicians were busy fighting amongst themselves, while Rome launched a surprise attack on Carthage, his rivals grew stronger with each defeat, and he ended up with nothing.

She could still picture the desperate Hannibal, on the sun-drenched plains of Zama, leading his personal guard cavalry in a final assault on the Roman commander Scipio. On the blood-soaked battlefield, she, clad in white armor, was like Athena, brave and powerful. But the gods favored Rome, not Carthage. As the Roman cavalry returned from their pursuit of the Carthaginian cavalry, they launched a surprise attack on the Carthaginians from the rear. The Second Punic War, which had lasted for 18 years, came to a complete end. In a sense, after this battle, the 118-year-long struggle for supremacy between Rome and Carthage had already been decided.

Garibaldi's expression grew heavy as she looked at the army slowly unfolding on the plain, and opposite her was the fox-eared princess with whom she had a tragic past.

“I haven’t forgotten the blood of the Ticino River,” Garibaldi murmured, then took the silver cross necklace from his chest and held it up in the air.

“Tomorrow will be a bright and sunny day, and some battles must be decided, won’t they, Miss VV?” Garibaldi put down the crucifix he had mentioned, took off the hair tie from his head with his right hand, and let down all of his brown curly hair.

“As you can see, tomorrow will be the most important battle of your life. I don’t want to say too much nonsense and make it seem like I care so much about the result, so I just hope that you can do your best to show your best side, dear Miss Hannibal. I believe that the success of ‘Canney’ will continue to guide you to victory.” The woman named VV bowed to Garibaldi with elegance and grace.

"By the way, is Siegfried still not found?" Garibaldi felt a pang of emotion as he thought of the silver-haired youth with a strong sense of justice.

"I suggest you forget about him. His mission is complete, so naturally he won't stay by your side to help you anymore."

"What do you mean?" Garibaldi frowned slightly.

"Mr. Siegfried's true identity is a member of the Thirteen Courts, and the Thirteen Courts have always been at odds with the Jesuits. So don't you understand? Why was the King killed, and who deliberately cut off your reconciliation with the Empire? You killed the King and caused the Empire's Crown Prince Rudolf to die tragically. I'm afraid that no royal family in Europe will have any sympathy for you now. You will be used as a weapon to successfully cripple the Jesuits' influence in Italy before making a quiet exit." VV had already seen through everything, but she chose to remain silent because she wanted to see what the final fate of such a hero would be.

"Impossible! The Italian people want independence and freedom."

“Wake up, miss! They are only helping you for their own purposes. You have done a great job, turning Italy into a mess and smashing everything that was before. No interest group that was once suppressed will not like a reshuffled Southern Italy. As for the revolution that is gradually getting out of control, no one wants to see it.”

"Why are you only telling me this now? And since you've already been involved in this movement, how can you easily extricate yourself?" Garibaldi walked step by step toward the silver-haired woman, his face filled with anger and resentment.

"I admire you, so I will help you to the very end. But when you are destined to fail, I will not hesitate to betray you, because our friendship is worthless in the face of my family's interests." These rather blunt words are consistent with VV's usual style.

“Is that so! Then I will absolutely not give you such an opportunity. I will not only let you, but also let all Italians see the moment I defeat the Austrians.” After saying this, Garibaldi walked towards the camp. As she walked, she clenched her fists tightly, her eyes burning with fire.

"I still hope you can win, after all, I am Italian too." VV didn't turn around, but just looked at the orderly Imperial army camp in the distance with a slight upturn of his lips.

A gentle breeze is blowing, but unfortunately no one is enjoying it.

The many coincidences between Garibaldi and Hannibal seem to suggest that their fates are heading in the same direction.

The greatest irony is that Hannibal was Carthaginian and Garibaldi was Italian, yet they were destined to meet the same end.

On July 6, 1871, the epic Battle of Albiza began, and this time, the eyes of all of Europe were focused on it with unprecedented tacit agreement.

In Buckingham Palace in London, Queen Victoria, dressed in a gown, gazed intently at the map of Albiza laid out for her by her courtiers, contemplating the deployment of troops on both sides. This was a contest that even she could not ignore.

In the Chancellor's office in Berlin, Cloris, dressed in a Prussian military uniform, was sipping tea while discussing with Bismarck how different outcomes of the battle would affect the future of Europe.

In Paris, Thiers canceled all his business and appointments with the leaders, and sat quietly in the presidential office, waiting for his subordinates to present the results of the battle.

.........

Prussia, France, Britain, the Russian Empire, and even the Ottoman Empire, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium—any politically minded country would be interested in the outcome of this battle, because it concerned the future political landscape of Europe.

PS1: It's all about timing and fate.

Chapter 353 The Fall of Saint Stephen's Crown: Capter 69 "His Highness's chest is gone..."

8:43 in the morning

The Austrian army, far superior to the Italian army in both equipment and organization and training, gradually deployed its forces. Perhaps reflecting on the previous Battle of Magyta, which highlighted the various weaknesses of the Magyar army, Gisela's forces this time consisted mostly of Imperial Wehrmacht troops drawn from the Inner Leytania region, including some valiant Croatians.

The completely new artillery meant that the Austrian army no longer had to endure the time wasted by waiting for the breech-loading guns to finish loading before firing salvoes.

The Magic Armor Legion was assigned different combat missions based on the different models of Magic Armor, giving Gisela a hand that her opponents envied. Of course, the most crucial factor was public opinion and the support of various countries for the Empire's stance, given that the vast majority of European countries were still monarchies.

The seemingly glamorous and powerful army actually harbors problems that are not widely understood, problems not within the military itself, but rather with the country to which this nation serves. Just yesterday evening, Gisela received two intelligence reports from Hana and Marta in Budapest.

First: The Empire is preparing to issue new national bonds. Clearly, due to the enormous costs of the two wars, the Empire's finances are in dire straits. Although the war treaty in northern Italy promised reparations from France and Sardinia, France, currently embroiled in internal strife, and Sardinia, equally indebted, are simply unable to repay the debts. Therefore, this war has yielded almost nothing except for the preservation of a few territories.

Secondly, the pro-war faction within the Hungarian nobility was stirring, and Count Andrássy was turning a blind eye. While he didn't explicitly support the movement, for him, as Prime Minister of Hungary, such leniency was tantamount to blatant betrayal. Even more alarming was that the Hungarian Parliament was secretly preparing its army behind Vienna's back; the crisis from within was just as deadly as the immediate battle.

The thought of all this made Gisela inexplicably irritable, and this negative emotion quickly shifted to Jeanne beside her as her gaze moved. Jeanne felt uneasy at Gisela's fierce appearance, but dared not voice her concerns.

"Your Highness! A speech before the battle is essential." Aponia stood respectfully behind Gisela, bowing slightly as she whispered a reminder to Gisela in an elegant and proper manner.

“That’s how it is. I haven’t given a speech in a long time.” Gisela’s lips curled up slightly, and her heavy expression vanished in an instant. She gently raised her right hand and snapped her fingers lightly in the air.

As Gisela's slender fingertips tinkled, her neatly tied-up golden hair visibly turned silver from the roots, and her blue eyes were replaced by purple ones. Unlike before, even Gisela's golden fox ears and tail turned snow-white. Even more miraculously, whether it was an illusion or not, Gisela could feel that her body, and especially her chest, seemed to have changed considerably.

Jeanne stared at Gisela in disbelief, then swallowed hard and instinctively took two steps back. In her eyes, Gisela was becoming more and more like the woman named Su Beiming. After all, Su Beiming had become Jeanne's psychological shadow in a way, because she had never been able to defeat that woman in a direct fight.

Even Aponia, who was standing to the side, was somewhat surprised to see the changes in Gisela's body.

“You…you…are you Su Beiming or…” Jeanne unconsciously gripped the flagpole in her hand, her voice trembling slightly.

"Huh? What are you thinking, you idiot?" Gisela looked at Jeanne coldly, then walked up to her, grabbed Jeanne's face, and pinched it hard.

"I'm going to give a speech now. The army deployment and tactics were also conveyed to all levels of generals in yesterday's meeting. Now, put on your magic armor. We'll have to deal with Garibaldi and that VV magic user later." After saying this, Gisela released Jeanne, then activated her magic power, jumped high into the air, and walked towards the front of the troops.

Whether it was her imagination or not, she could feel the changes in her breasts. Because she was already used to her original size Gisela, the new weight made her feel uncomfortable.

"Just how much trauma did Su Beiming inflict on that woman? She always asks me this every time she sees me like this." This wasn't the first time she and Jeanne had met in her silver-haired state. After all, she would occasionally release her magic to play a hair-dyeing game to tease Jeanne. However, she had also confirmed that she and Su Beiming didn't look alike; at most, their hair and eye colors were similar.

"We've arrived!" Gisela looked at the soldiers who were gathered in the open space, ready to attack at any moment.

And just like that, a silver-haired, fox-eared lady appeared before the group of soldiers. Already in a state of high tension, they instinctively raised their weapons and aimed them at the lady.

It's no wonder the soldiers were impolite. In fact, this was the first time Gisela had appeared in front of ordinary soldiers in this state. Whether it was during the battle in the sky or when she was commanding the battle later, there were usually no ordinary soldiers of her own side present.

"Soldiers, there's no need to be nervous. I am Gisela Louise Marie, the one you are loyal to." Unlike her usual approachable demeanor, she now exuded a coldness, yet also a natural sense of authority. To put it simply, it was the difference in aura between a princess and a queen.

“We are not fools, please do not deceive us. Our noble and beautiful princess has a head of golden hair as shiny as silk and a pair of clear and bright blue eyes.”

"Your Highness! You always have a smile on your face."

"Your Highness! You are so approachable."

"Your Highness's chest is..." Before the man could finish speaking, his mouth was covered by his companion.

"Schweik! Are you crazy?!" His companion quickly covered his mouth.

“Excuse me, sir, this is a battlefield. Please forgive these soldiers who are accustomed to rudeness and killing. Although I do not know who you are, since you have the same fox-like features as Her Highness, you must be a friend of the princess. So please forget all your presumptuous words just now.” An officer walked up to the soldiers and said politely and appropriately.

PS1: Fun!

Chapter 354 The Fall of St. Stephen's Crown: Capter 70 Pre-Battle Speech (Seeking Votes)

"Could I have a mirror?" Gisele stretched out his hand.

"With pleasure." The officer took a mirror out of his breast pocket and handed it to the woman in front of him with both hands.

Gisela took the mirror and began to observe herself in it.

What came into her view was a more mature and sophisticated face than her own, possessing both the gentleness unique to Easterners and the sharp features unique to Westerners. Although it still resembled her original appearance, it now looked more like Su Beiming than Gisela. It has to be said that the fox-like appearance suited her taste better. Of course, it's not that Gisela disliked her original appearance, but she wanted both the girlishness and the mature sophistication.

“I admit the changes are indeed quite significant, but these are merely technical adjustments by this princess. Without a doubt, I am still the prince you all revere.” Gisela drew her Saint Stephen’s Sword and gently tapped the tip on the ground. With the golden light emanating from the weapon and the intricate Latin inscriptions on it, no one could question the majesty emanating from this magical relic, a symbol of the empire.

No one doubts the woman's identity now, because magical artifacts are not for everyone. Before the old user dies, they are bound to the corresponding magical user as if by contract.

"What is technical adjustment? I know it's always right to follow pretty ladies." At this moment, Schweik's words once again reached Gisela's ears. Undoubtedly, this straightforward and simple-minded man always managed to say things that Gisela wanted to hear without her even realizing it.

"I apologize, Your Highness." The captain straightened up and bowed respectfully to Gisela, while the soldiers also looked at the girl with reverence.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you yearn for victory?" Gisela didn't dwell too much on the previous slight embarrassment and went straight to her pre-battle pep talk.

"Desire!" No one doubted that Her Highness the Princess could lead them to victory, for many of these soldiers had fought alongside Gisela in the war in northern Italy.

"Close your eyes and listen. The orderly and firm steps of our troops, the roar of the magical armored vehicles, the crisp sound of shells being loaded into the breech. This is the call of the Goddess of War, the arrival of this sacred moment that belongs to you and me." Gisela gently raised her right hand, blue flames dancing at her fingertips. Her voice, powered by magic, could reach the ears of every soldier, whether they were present or not.

"The Habsburg dynasty is a symbol of glory and honor, the undisputed first family in Europe. But I understand better than anyone else where the power of our crown and monarchy comes from. Is it the might of a great man? Is it the political maneuvering? Or is it the wise leadership of Emperor Yiqi Liu and Emperor Jiu Er? No! None of these. The source of our family's power is you, you soldiers who fight with weapons in hand, you ordinary workers who toil on the production line with tools in hand. You are the cornerstone of the empire. The strength of the dynasty requires your contributions and sacrifices."

"Look at our adversary, that clumsy and despicable woman, who deceives the people and secretly slaughters her compatriots in the name of national righteousness, ****, and yet such an ambitious woman wants to liberate Italy? How ridiculous and absurd this is."

"We are different from them. The Empire is a great empire, a universal empire. Narrow nationalism can never bring me strength and greatness. Today we can send troops to correct the mistakes of the southern Italians because they are alone, while we are a united whole: Germans, Czechs, Croats..."