She changed Europe

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"The state cannot interfere in this process, and it is so fragile that it can only lead to one result: uncontrollable periodic outbreaks of economic depression." In Capital, the mentor predicted that this would happen every 10-12 years (1825, 1837, 1847, 1866), and this time the interval was eight years.

While there are errors here, it also reflects the increasing globalization of the world market, and certain events can accelerate this process. Historically, the outbreak of this crisis was largely due to the large amount of reparations Germany received from France after the Franco-Prussian War, which led to a surge in investment. However, unlike in the past, this time it was Gisela who induced it.

Regarding how to resolve the economic crisis, the mentor chose to completely eliminate this economic system to fundamentally solve the crisis. While this approach is not without merit, Gisela would not do so because she could not. Austria alone could not stand against the entire capitalist world. What she wanted was not to fundamentally change the world's economic order, but simply to use this economic crisis to achieve her own political and military objectives...

PS1: The foreshadowing that's been building up for so long has finally been resolved.

Chapter 413 The Two-Headed Eagle's Rebirth: Capter 32 Arsène Lupin (Vote Requested)

“Your Highness, while I have never doubted the Austrian royal family’s elite education of you, I am still surprised and delighted by your performance in the field of economics.” Why was Hannah willing to follow Gisela? It all started years ago when she had a conversation with her grandfather; this discerning princess had deeply captivated her attention. As a princess of the Sixth Empire, she could disregard politics and military affairs, but economics and finance were things she absolutely had to pay attention to. Yet, in this girl who was even younger than herself, she discovered her own ignorance.

"I have already revealed our intentions to Queen Victoria. Now, our first task is to collect the existing gold, including the gold of the Austrian Empire, the gold of the Rothschild family, the gold of the Stauffen family, and the wealth of all financial giants and aristocratic families who are willing to cooperate with Gisela. The Central Bank of the Austrian Empire will then present the world with an unparalleled performance, after which a new revolution will lead the world."

"Your Highness, your words have made me quite expectant." Hana smiled as she sat down in a chair and patted Mia, who was standing to the side looking at the adults with a puzzled expression.

"Does Mia understand?" Gisela tilted her head and looked at her daughter teasingly.

"Mommy, I don't understand." Mia shook her head blankly, looking just as adorably silly as Quincy.

"That's the good thing about kids, they're innocent and honest." Gisela now really likes the cute and well-behaved Mia. Eight-year-old Mia is at the most obedient and sensible age. Because she grew up in hardship, she is more mature than her peers. Although she still has a childish side sometimes, that's what children of this age should be like.

"Mia, which sister do you like the most?" Hana took out some candy from her pocket and handed it to the little girl, clearly wanting to give the little girl some sweet treats.

“I love my mom!” Mia said confidently.

"Besides Mom?" Hana looked at the little girl in front of her with some expectation.

"Rita, Mom!" Rita, who was obviously very gentle with her, became Mia's second favorite person after Gisela. After all, mature and steady older sisters are always the kind of people that children like.

"Hmph! My daughter won't fall for your sweet talk." Gisela's face was full of pride, her arrogance almost overflowing.

“No, she’ll mention me sooner or later!” Hannah rolled up her sleeves and took out a second candy.

"And what about the third one?" Hana continued to coax Mia.

"Let me think about it." Mia closed her eyes, looking somewhat conflicted, and said after a long period of contemplation.

“Nina, Daddy!” “Snap!” Gisela seemed to hear the sound of the young lady of the Luo family’s dignity shattering. Perhaps she hadn’t expected the little girl in front of her to be so uncooperative, which was rare for Hana, the young lady, as few people had ever disobeyed her since she was a child.

"Hahaha! I can't take it anymore, hahaha!" Gisela laughed wildly, involuntarily speaking Chinese, the stool she was sitting on almost floating.

"Your Highness!" Enraged, Hana completely abandoned her dignity as a young lady and kicked the leg of the stool Gisela was sitting on. With a loud crash, Gisela fell to the floor.

“You scumbag!” Hana retorted in Chinese. Although her pronunciation wasn’t perfect, at least Hana was speaking Chinese. She knew that Gisela would occasionally slip into a few words of Chinese, so the young lady often studied some Chinese in her spare time.

Just then, several gunshots rang out from the next room.

Gisela and Hannah then stopped arguing and released their magical perception.

"Hana, you stay here and protect Mia. I'm going to check next door." The gunshot came from number 221, the house where Holmes was.

"Yes, Your Highness." Hana led Mia back to the room. Rita and Nina were not in the room today because Nina (Leo) had gone to a noble salon for gentlemen, and Rita had been called by Gisela to take care of Nina. Since they were going to the outskirts of London, they would not be able to return tonight.

After giving instructions, Gisela grabbed a coat from the doorway, put it on, and left the house.

The gunshots at night were alarming and piercing. Not only Gisela, but even the neighbors came out into the street, looking in the direction of number 221 with puzzled expressions.

"The door is open?" Gisela gently pushed open the door and found the first floor empty. She quickly went up to the second floor and noticed Miss Holmes slumped against the wall, covered in blood, while a middle-aged man lay on the floor in the middle of her room. A person wearing a black cloak and a top hat sat on the windowsill. (Gender unknown)

"Who is Miss Holmes, and who is that person lying on the ground?" Gisela asked, observing the situation inside the room from the doorway. Gisela wouldn't be careless with someone who might become an enemy; her silver hair and red eyes instantly materialized.

"Fine, let's catch it first." Gisela raised her hand, flames dancing at her fingertips.

"Your Highness, please don't hurt him! He just saved me!" Holmes leaned against the wall, swaying as she stood up. Blood streamed from her head, and a broken vase lay on the ground, clearly the work of this man.

"This man is the murderer who killed the children a few days ago. I was planning to have the police arrest him tomorrow morning, but I didn't expect him to attack me first." Holmes said this with a self-deprecating expression.

"Watch out." Gisela noticed Holmes was about to fall and put her arm around her waist to help her up.

"I'm fine, Your Highness." Holmes straightened his back, supporting Gisela's shoulder.

"Arsène Lupin, that's you, isn't it?" Holmes's lips curled slightly as he calmly looked at the man in the distance.

"Bonjor Mademoiselle! (Hello, Miss.)" The person by the window took off their hat and bowed very politely to the two of them.

"So you're the petty thief who came to steal my ring?" Gisela asked coldly. In Gisela's view, no matter how elegant and gentlemanly he was, it couldn't change the fact that he had committed theft.

“Stealing? No, no, no! Miss, what I want to steal is your heart.” Arsène Lupin appeared in Gisela’s hand in the blink of an eye, then took Gisela’s right hand and put the Bavarian Heart, which he had already obtained, back on Gisela’s ring finger.

"Are you a man or a woman? If you're a man, I'm sorry, I'm not interested in you," Gisela, in her silver-haired form, uttered a startling statement.

“Hahaha! Your Highness is truly amusing.” Arsène Lupin and Gisela maintained their distance once again.

PS1: Many foreshadowing elements will be resolved soon.

PS1: Ra!

Chapter 414 The Two-Headed Eagle's Rebirth: Capter 33 The Queen of France's Letter (Seeking Votes)

"Let me guess when you've been lurking by my side all this time." Miss Holmes raised her head with a serious expression, looking at the self-proclaimed gentleman thief in front of her.

Interestingly, in terms of seniority, this world-class thief is also the grandfather of Lupin III, a very famous national animation. That witty monkey-faced phantom thief inherited the romance of "men".

However, it is clear that the two cannot be from the same time and space, because the Arsène Lupin in front of us does not have a monkey face, and it cannot be ruled out that the other party is actually in disguise.

"One day or two days ago? Or was it that very night?" Holmes asked firmly, indicating that she must have some basis for her statement.

"Does Your Highness still remember the police officer who supposedly took care of Mia that day? What did he say?"

"What the police officer said?" Gisela's excellent memory allowed her to recall it clearly after a moment's thought.

"Adoption is possible, but you must first verify your identity and whether she consents."

"Not this sentence, but the previous one." Holmes sighed slightly. Even though the silver-haired princess in front of him had become much more aloof and powerful, she still didn't seem to be very good at reasoning.

"Orphanage, church, that depends on the arrangements from above."

“Sir, in London, churches no longer accept or adopt children. This is a custom that only exists in the Catholic Church. We have orphanages and child care facilities for adopting and accepting children.” Holmes’s lips curled up slightly. Observing every detail was not a problem, if she wanted to.

Gisela, who was standing nearby, was also somewhat surprised. She had never imagined that the flaw would be found in these casual conversations. In a sense, this was what made Holmes a world-class detective.

“You have very well revealed your identity. From that sentence you said that day, I could tell that you are an outsider from a Catholic background.”

"Another issue is your hands. I couldn't see any wrinkles from work on your hands that day, so I suppose you weren't used to manual labor. But in fact, Scotland Yard officers, because they need to investigate crime scenes and carry heavy objects, generally prefer to recruit hardworking veterans. As for someone who is pampered or from a wealthy family, they probably wouldn't choose the arduous and thankless job of a policeman unless they were forced to." At that time, Scotland Yard police officers were not well paid, and because London was a large city with insufficient police force, one person had to be responsible for a large area, making the work very arduous.

"Combining the two points above, and with just a little confirmation from the sheriff, finding a well-bred out-of-town officer with a Catholic background on the officer roster shouldn't be too difficult." As Holmes reasoned, Gisela looked at the girl beside her with some surprise, and a sense of admiration welled up within her.

"Heh heh, Miss Detective seems far more astute than I appear," Arsène Lupin said, expressing his admiration for Holmes. He slowly walked to the windowsill, crossed his legs, and sat down.

Suddenly, a gold coin appeared between his fingers. He deftly twirled the coin while waiting for Holmes to speak next.

"But I don't understand why you returned the ring to His Highness just now." Holmes's confusion was also Gisela's confusion. Although Gisela, who had read the original work, knew that Arsène Lupin was a thief who hated evil and helped the poor, he was also a detective with a strong sense of justice. The duality of his existence was a manifestation of the romanticism of France that was different from that of Britain.

"I might steal ill-gotten gains for the poor and needy, or to fulfill someone's wish, but I give up stealing for myself. Besides, I don't want a beauty like Your Highness to be heartbroken." The phantom thief's voice was elegant and poetic, and he sang simple words with a poetic feel.

“Mr. Arsène Lupin’s theft does nothing to improve social order and stability. Your homeland, France, has just experienced civil unrest, and I believe you understand better than anyone else the importance of order to the general public.” In fact, Gisela knew that Arsène Lupin was a typical anarchist.

“Ahem, Your Highness, please call her Miss Arsène Lupin. Although you are facing a gentleman, she is far more perceptive and adept at disguise than any thief you may have encountered,” Holmes said, coughing.

“Your Highness, I suggest you take Miss Detective to stop the bleeding first, otherwise she might die,” Arsène Lupin said calmly. She gently placed one foot on the windowsill. Because it was the second floor, she could easily hear hurried footsteps approaching from not far away. These were clearly the London police.

"Stop!" Gisela helped the nearly unconscious Holmes to sit on the sofa, looking at the phantom thief with a serious expression.

“Your Highness, if you want to capture me, I will not run away,” Arsène Lupin said calmly.

"At least let me see your true colors beneath the disguise." This wasn't out of curiosity on Gisela's part, but simply because she didn't want to owe anyone a favor, after all, she had saved Holmes's life, and Miss Holmes had protected her ring.

“Your Highness, we will meet again in France very soon.” With that, Arsène Lupin jumped from the second-floor window and ran into the deep alley. Where she had been standing, a letter lying on the ground caught Gisela’s attention.

This time, the signature was not Robin as before, but a name that Gisela found quite unexpected: Eugénie de Montijo, the wife of Napoleon III who should have died long ago, and the former Empress of the Second French Empire.

Empress Liu Yiqi didn't die; was it her double who died that day? Gisela couldn't find any other way to deceive that wicked woman, Thiers, except for this hypothesis.

From the letter, Gisela learned that Empress Eugénie was now living on the border between France and Switzerland. The Empress hoped that the Austrian Empire could help her husband reclaim the French throne, and she was willing to pay any price for it.

Looking at the letter, Gisela sighed helplessly. As a politician, this queen was clearly unqualified, because the most taboo thing in negotiations is having no bargaining chips or throwing out all of them. Since she said such a thing, it naturally means that she has no bargaining chips left. Therefore, Gisela had no reason to pay attention to her.

"Besides, I still have some grudges with Napoleon III that need to be settled..."

PS1: These are all good brands.

Chapter 415 The Two-Headed Eagle's Rebirth: Capter 34 Harmonious Times (Seeking Votes)

However, personally, she greatly admired this Empress of Napoleon III. Even at this point, she did not give up on reclaiming everything that her husband deserved. On the other hand, Napoleon III, far across the Mediterranean in the African colonies, had the loyalty of the French navy and the colonial army but did nothing.

It was expected that a massive French civil war would unfold between the Republicans and the Royalists, but Napoleon III's rule in France collapsed so quickly and unexpectedly. Even though he still controlled Provence and Marseille, he could not compete with the Republic by relying on the resources of southern France. Therefore, Richelieu's defeat was only a matter of time.

In short, France's national strength was not greatly depleted by the civil war, and Gisela certainly did not believe that there was no deal between the Republicans and Britain behind it. As for the planned intervention, it could only be changed in form and method, and this method would probably have to rely on Her Majesty the Queen.

Gisela admitted that she had never met Empress Eugénie, but she had heard of her fame in Europe. Unfortunately, she had a rather unreliable husband who was ambitious but lacked shrewd political skills and wanted to emulate her ancestor, whom she could only look up to.

Rather than saying that Napoleon made the era what it is today, it is more accurate to say that the era made Napoleon.

"Oh no!" Gisela turned around abruptly and noticed that Miss Holmes had completely fainted. Ignoring her wild thoughts, she quickly tore off a small corner of her dress, bandaged the girl's head, and then carried the girl in her arms to the clinic.

-

Let's turn our attention back to the outskirts of Vienna, where a black magical armor is floating in the air under the moonlight, watching the convoy transporting "goods" below.

"Lady Jeanne, thank you for your help, which enabled us to successfully complete the transport mission." A somewhat reserved female voice came through the magic communication, and Jeanne, who had been looking solemn, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"In fact, this secret transport mission had already begun when Gisela went to London. Frankfurt, Naples, Budapest, Prague..." The wealth of the empire, and even Europe, was converging on Vienna in an unprecedented way, and their final destination was the treasury of the Imperial Central Bank. Even Emperor Joseph himself found the enormous wealth strange, but strange as it was, he had no right to interfere with the free flow of capital, and in his view, the influx of gold was not necessarily a bad thing.

All of Europe now knows what the Austrian Empire is planning, but no one can say for sure what it is.

"I'm exhausted, I'm exhausted." Jeanne descended impatiently and finally stopped at a nearby repair station. Soon, many magical craftsmen and scientists appeared around her, disassembling her armor while collecting experimental data from it.

"Lady Jeanne, how is the new flight device? Is its descent performance sufficient to allow for flight in ordinary magic-powered armor?"

"Lady Jeanne, how is the magic energy conversion effect of the magic stone? Does it require some further refinement?" Questions like these kept ringing in Jeanne's ears, making her, who already disliked talking to Germans, even more irritable.

“Go look at the instrument data yourselves, don’t ask me!” Jeanne looked at the noisy Austrian staff with disdain, finding no other way to vent her frustration besides verbal complaints. This was part of the work Gisela had assigned her—assisting with cargo transfers and helping researchers complete various tests.

"Her suffering was unspeakable"—that perhaps perfectly describes her current state.

However, she had recently heard about Richelieu. Their Emperor had retreated to North Africa and was organizing a counter-offensive in Algeria. But the prospects were not optimistic, because more than 80% of the magic users in France had chosen the newly formed republic. This effectively marked the irreversible defeat of Napoleon III. However, even so, the strength of the troops loyal to the Emperor was still not to be underestimated, which meant that Richelieu would not be in great danger in the short term.

Gisela's promise of intervention became Jeanne's biggest reason for staying in Austria, or at least Jeanne firmly believed it and considered it the biggest reason for following Gisela, even though she had become so accustomed to obeying Gisela's orders that she was completely unaware of it.

Returning to the present, Jeanne turned her gaze to Miss Aponia beside her. She seemed to be there to monitor her, but she still had some work to do, such as checking the current inventory list. To ensure everything was in order, there was still much to be done.

Aponia can refuse any job offered by anyone, but she cannot refuse the prince's offer.

"Hey, Miss Aponia, you've had a long day. I have some tea that I brewed myself." Jeanne, looking tired, looked at the maid in front of her with friendly eyes, wanting to improve her relationship with her supervisor. It was one thing for Rita to be hostile towards her, after all, that woman had been having an affair with her lord, and she looked down on her like she liked the silly fox, so she was particularly hostile towards her. But the lady in front of her was not like that.

“Lady Jeanne, you must have had an even harder day. I’ve made you a little supper. Please make do with it.” Aponia, also smiling, gracefully handed the lunchbox to Jeanne.

The two men took the items from each other, and their gazes immediately sharpened.

"Then you should try a bite first!" The two of them simultaneously put the other's food into each other's mouths.

"Cough cough! Don't think I didn't know you gave me laxatives!"

"You even gave me sleeping pills, making it impossible for me to complete my work!"

"What a wicked woman!" The two exclaimed in unison before quickly wrestling again, creating a lively atmosphere in the camp at night. In fact, the two were still rivals because of the fox, especially after their last night of sleeping together and having a long talk, which gave them a better understanding of each other's ulterior motives.

Although neither of them admits to liking Gisela, they both care deeply about her. Jeanne is bound by their promise, and Aponia is bound by Gisela's life-saving grace. Therefore, neither of them will allow the other to overtake them, resulting in a strategic stalemate.

Tonight seems to be another noisy night.

PS1: Every character has their own role. I won't create any inexplicable characters. My little cuties can check the last chapter of Volume 3 to see if I left any foreshadowing there 0v0!

Chapter 416 The Two-Headed Eagle's Rebirth: Capter 35 Economic Turmoil (Seeking Votes)

A week after the economic turmoil and the evaporation of market value—

Zee Cook Financial Corporation, holding a large amount of bonds issued by the North American Pacific Railroad, declared complete bankruptcy, and the chain reaction it triggered quickly unfolded as Gisela had predicted. Several steel manufacturing giants and their subsidiaries began massive layoffs, leading to a significant increase in unemployment and a severe decline in consumer purchasing power. This, in turn, resulted in lower profits for other products due to reduced sales. Consequently, downsizing became imperative to maintain corporate profits, but this downsizing and reduced production capacity led to new unemployment, thus plunging the economy into a vicious cycle.

Although the United States government recognized the dire economic situation, it still lacked a good solution to the problem, except for restricting gold runs and reducing wealth outflows. This was because most economists of the era, from the White House to Congress, still believed in the magic of market economics and continued to follow Hayek's laissez-faire approach.

The investment failures in the United States led countless European capitalists to bring this disaster back to the Old World like a plague, with London—the world's economic center—being among the first to be affected.

Starting on the 16th, stocks on the London Stock Exchange were also affected, experiencing a severe sell-off. Unlike the relatively minor fluctuations in New York, investors lost nearly £19 million by the close of trading that day. To put this in perspective, the total profits from the exploitation of less developed regions by Western powers in the mid-50s amounted to only £4.5 million. Until the end of the century, one pound sterling contained 7.32238 grams of pure gold. Based on gold prices, it's easy to see that one pound sterling at that time was equivalent to several thousand yuan. (This illustrates just how much money Gisela gave her children four pounds sterling.)

Britain's light industry, led by cotton textiles, heavy industry, mainly steel, and even agriculture were severely affected. Businesses shut down, went bankrupt, unemployment rose, and crime rates increased. Similar problems spread from the New World to the Old World.

Gisela sat on a bench at the London Stock Exchange, observing the ashen-faced, dejected investors coming and going. The bundles of bonds and stocks they held had become worthless pieces of paper. What is the most despairing thing for capitalists and investors? Undoubtedly, it is watching their wealth steadily depreciate over time.

"Bang!" A familiar gunshot rang out. Gisela turned her head to look in the distance. A middle-aged man pointed his self-defense pistol at his temple and decisively pulled the trigger. He quickly fell into a pool of blood. His body was carried away by staff and would be handed over to the police. As a suicide, there was no controversy about it. This was the third such incident Gisela had witnessed today.

"Rita, do you think what I did was too much?" Gisela stared blankly at the tragedy unfolding in the distance, feeling no sadness at all. If it were her past self, she would have definitely stepped forward to stop it, but now she was simply feeling a little sentimental.

“Your Highness, you didn’t manufacture the gun, you didn’t produce the bullets, you didn’t pull the trigger, you didn’t even have any contact with him, his death has nothing to do with you.” Rita seemed to be stating the facts, but her gaze was always fixed on the trading board hanging high in the distance, written in chalk.

How many people like this are there in London, or even in the world?

“Tell Hannah that we can begin our operation, and I will return to Vienna in a week.”