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It seems she wants to sit.
Gisela pointed to the young man from his village, then to himself, and finally to the airplane. He was highly doubtful whether such rudimentary gestures could convey his meaning.
However, the young woman started searching through the pockets of the overalls, and then opened her backpack to search as well.
But in the end, she didn't take anything out.
PS1: Gisela has too many magic users around her, and people keep coming from her hometown. She truly lives up to her title of Magneto.
Chapter 612 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 110 Arrives in Türkiye (Seeking Tickets)
She glanced at the binoculars that always hung around her neck, and for the first time, a conflicted expression appeared on her face, which had previously shown little emotion other than curiosity.
After hesitating for a while, the young man took off his binoculars, walked over, and handed them to Gisela.
Gisela felt a pang of heartache at the sight of the little girl's pained expression. She took the binoculars, hung them back around the girl's neck, and then used her uninjured hand to push her back towards the boarding stairs.
The young villager stood motionless in front of the ladder.
Gisela shook her head, thinking she would just take something from the villager as payment, and then casually picked up her hat.
"Hey!" the young villager shouted, snatching the hat back, putting it on his head, and protecting it with both hands.
Well, the hat is more valuable than the binoculars.
I'm increasingly confused about this guy's thought process.
Seeing that Gisela had no intention of continuing to snatch the hat, the young man brought his backpack in front of him, opened it, and gave her a "take your pick" look.
Gisela simply picked up a few small pieces of glass that looked quite pretty.
The young man then skipped and hopped onto the plane.
Gisela thought to herself, "Are you an alchemist? Trying to get an equal exchange..."
At the temporary airport in Marmara Herrelis, almost all the senior officers of the coalition forces in Turkey who could attend were present. Not only were officers from both Prussia and Austria gathered together, but liaison officers from the British Navy and the Magician Forces in Herrelis were also all there.
Everyone was waiting for Gisela's private jet.
Outside the cordon, pilots who had no flight missions that day gathered together, eating, chatting, and joking while watching the usually high-ranking officers and generals being baptized by the strong winds in the empty airport.
Turkey's climate isn't particularly cold, but daytime temperatures are only a few degrees Celsius at the end of November. To make matters worse, Turkey has a Mediterranean climate, with the rainy season in winter, so the dreaded damp cold makes winter days extremely difficult to endure.
A light drizzle was falling from the sky, and a strong wind was blowing, making it bitterly cold.
The pilots, sheltered under a rain shelter, made no attempt to joke about their officers who were getting soaked. Their direct superior stood in a corner of the shelter smoking, seemingly with no intention of reminding the pilots to be respectful of senior officers.
After all, pilots of this era were highly skilled soldiers. They were all highly educated and considered themselves knights of the new era in the skies. Naturally, they, who cherished freedom, scoffed at red tape.
Moreover, these flight captains felt that the Russian military had improved its air defense system in recent days, resulting in an increase in the number of pilots killed, putting the pilots under a lot of pressure and requiring a way to release it.
Finally, amidst the bitter wind and rain, the long-awaited special plane appeared in the sky at the end of the runway, slowly descending towards the runway.
The long-haul passenger plane landed smoothly on the runway without even a bounce. The pilots immediately exclaimed in admiration. The crosswind was strong, and passenger planes are usually not heavily loaded, so they tend to float. To land the plane so steadily, the pilot must be an expert.
The transport plane slowed down and, propelled by its propellers, glided slowly toward the crowd lining up to greet it on the tarmac. Many of the pilots who had been sitting under the rain shelter stood up, and some even took out binoculars, all seemingly eager to catch a glimpse of the newest and most beautiful woman in Europe—although they were generally stationed at airports near Vienna before the outbreak of war, opportunities to see the Empress at such close range were still rare.
The officers and soldiers who had been waiting on the other side of the runway for quite some time straightened their backs and perked up. The band members also jumped up, waiting to start playing welcoming music when the hatch opened.
The plane gradually slowed down, but before it could come to a complete stop, the side door was opened from the inside.
Then someone jumped directly from the plane, which was still moving forward.
The girl, wearing overalls and a hat, landed steadily on the ground, stood in the thin rain, raised her hands, and made a sound full of obvious joy.
The officers looked at each other, their expressions completely bewildered, having no idea what was going on.
The soldiers responsible for guarding the girl all looked at their superior, asking with their eyes whether they should take action to control the girl who suddenly jumped out of the plane. However, the superior clearly did not know what to do either, and could only put on a serious expression and purse his lips to deal with it.
The girl paid no heed to the astonished officers. She skipped along with the still-tapping plane, the large bag on her back jingling and rattling with each step.
Finally, the plane came to a smooth stop at the end of the welcoming red carpet, and a flight attendant poked her head out of the cabin door and lowered the gangway.
Gisela then emerged from the hatch and appeared before everyone.
As soon as Gisela stepped off the plane, veteran Moltke led a group of officers and soldiers to greet him and salute him.
"Thank you for your hard work." Gisela nodded in return, then extended her hand to Moltke. "Waiting for me in the rain was really unnecessary."
“His Majesty came to comfort the soldiers at the front despite his injuries, and Queen Chloris has instructed me to fully cooperate with your operations, so we must reciprocate this kindness.” Moltke finished speaking, his eyes naturally glancing behind Gisela, then sweeping over the little girl beside her. “Could this be…”
“My daughter, I brought her here to experience the battlefield,” Gisela said calmly, then she noticed Moltke raise an eyebrow, and the other officers exchanged glances.
Gisela understood their feelings. Where in the world would you find a little girl accompanying an inspection of troops? Gisela was probably the only one like her ever to do so.
At this moment, the young man from the village also came to Gisela's side. She stared at Moltke's watch for a few seconds, then looked down, opened her backpack, and took out some shiny little trinkets. She held them out to Moltke with her left hand and pointed to the watch she had just been staring at with her right hand.
The old man bent down slightly, revealing a kind smile as if looking at a younger generation, and asked, "What do you want to do, young lady?"
"Eek!" The little villager responded with the only word she knew.
Gisela explained from the side, "She wants to trade these things for your watch. You can just shake your head to refuse, because her judgment of the value of items is different from ours."
"It's alright." Mao Qi took off his watch and handed it to the young man. Just as he was about to straighten up, the young man took a small step forward, stretched out his left hand, which was holding something, toward the old general, and made a "yi yi" sound.
“You must accept her exchange; she seems to strictly adhere to the principle of barter, and she won’t agree if you don’t accept it.”
PS1: Austria + Prussia is the only complete German army, right? 0v0!
Chapter 613 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 111 Mr. Hemingway Appears Ahead of Schedule
“Well, what an interesting little girl.” Moltke took the shiny little thing and put it in his uniform pocket, then straightened up and looked at Gisela. “But why did she come with you? Who exactly is she?”
"Well, she's currently staying at my house as an Eastern magic user." Gisela reached out and patted the little girl's head. The little girl, who was admiring her watch, quickly raised a hand to protect her hat, seemingly worried that Gisela might try to take it again.
Moltke looked at the girl before him, his brows furrowing even more: "An Eastern magic user? This..."
“Don’t worry about it. The soldiers will be happy to have such a lovely lady come to the front lines to comfort everyone.” As she spoke, Gisela glanced at Jeanne, who had been standing faithfully beside her since the beginning. “What I mean is, it’s always good to have a pretty girl to comfort everyone. Besides, the two of them have different styles and can meet the soldiers’ different needs.”
Gisela's words elicited two completely different reactions from the group of officers in front of her.
The officers from the Austrian Imperial Army were used to Her Majesty's masculine speaking style, and given the relatively relaxed and harmonious relationship between superiors and subordinates in the military culture, they all smiled. The officers from the Prussian Army, however, frowned slightly, clearly indicating that such informal remarks were not welcomed by them.
Most of the officers in the Prussian army came from military families and had received rigorous training. They exuded a standard military demeanor from head to toe, so Gisela's frivolous remarks naturally did not gain their approval.
That's why the atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
At this moment, someone from Yiqiliu Yier interrupted the conversation.
"Your Majesty, it is a pleasure to meet you."
Gisela looked in the direction of the voice and saw an officer in British naval uniform looking in his direction. The officer did not salute him, but instead extended his hand. Gisela immediately turned around and shook the Englishman's hand.
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, my British friend. It's thanks to the British mage girls and the powerful Royal Navy that our ground offensive has proceeded so smoothly." Gisela didn't deny that she was being sarcastic. Previously, in order to reduce casualties, Gisela had requested the British to allow the British mage girls to join the operation earlier, but the British insisted on waiting until the assault group had captured Sarai before committing to the operation.
Moreover, after receiving news of the capture of Sarai, they did not act immediately, but instead took time to verify the authenticity of the news before deploying flying magic warriors. As a result, the German troops in Sarai had to use conventional weapons to fight against the Russian flying magic warriors.
Gisela's trust in the British had now plummeted to its lowest point. Had he not still had some faith in Victoria's character, he might have used even harsher language at this moment.
Most of the British men could hear the sarcasm in Gisela's voice, but he pretended not to notice and readily agreed, "It is our honor to provide support to your forces. On behalf of the Royal Navy, I would like to invite you to a banquet on our flagship. The naval magic user Lucy Jericho, who is stationed on the flagship, would very much like to have dinner with you."
In this timeline, naval capital ships are often equipped with a considerable number of magic users and even magic wielders. Therefore, the living facilities on capital ships are built with more care than in the previous timeline. Most capital ships are equipped with small bands and enough high-end wines, and banquets can be held on the decks at the stern or bow.
Gisela recalled the information she had read before setting off. This Ms. Jericho was most likely the original Royal Navy fleet commander who commanded the Battle of Jutland in history. However, she was currently just a young and inexperienced general who had become the frontline commander in this Russo-Turkish War because of her magical ability. The war in the Mediterranean in the 20th century was overseen by the experienced General Sarah Nelson.
Compared to her former gaming wife Nelson, she had little interest in this Miss Jericho.
"I'll consider it after I've finished visiting my troops," Gisela replied to the British, then turned and gestured for Moltke and the others to proceed to the next step.
At this moment, he noticed a group of people standing to the left of the German officers' corps.
Gisela had just turned to look at Jeanne when the latter reported, "That should be the International Brigade of the International Volunteer Army that has just arrived at the front. They are all volunteers from English-speaking countries. They have only received basic training in Austria, so we dare not send them to the front lines yet... However, Hebert thinks that for the sake of publicity, they should be brought to the airport for your inspection."
Gisela nodded, his gaze then falling on the officer at the far right of the first row of the English-speaking soldiers.
She couldn't help but frown, because Gisela had seen the other person's face in her textbooks in her previous life. Because the image of Erling Yolimba II looked very tough, it was very popular among hot-blooded teenagers in their chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) period.
"Is that officer standing at the far right of the first row named Hemingway?" he asked Jeanne.
Jeanne raised an eyebrow, surprised by the fox's question, and then looked down to open her briefcase.
“No, don’t bother looking.” Gisela waved his hand, then walked towards the English-speaking soldiers. He stopped in front of the officer and asked loudly, “Are you Ernest Hemingway?”
Indeed, Gisela thought the other person looked remarkably like Hemingway. After all, she was a liberal arts student, and a very true liberal arts student at that. She not only had a strong interest in history, economics, and other fields and read a large number of works, but also read a huge number of so-called "traditional literature" works.
His college classmates found it strange because he often read online novels on his phone during class. However, whenever that pretentious artsy guy in the class started talking about famous works, he would always look up disdainfully and expose the fact that the guy only reads book reviews on Zhihu and Douban in a few words.
However, all of that is "past glory," and for Gisela now, it's all "scenery of the past." But when he sees a guy who looks like a famous writer, his inner literary youth starts to stir again.
The officer looked at Gisela, squinting as he smoked, as if he were having to strain to make out what the girl looked like—Gisela remembered that Hemingway did indeed have poor eyesight.
"what did you say?"
"Are you Ernest Hemingway?"
“Ah, uh, yes. This, uh…”
Gisela laughed. The great writer who only existed in textbooks was now looking bewildered in front of her. It just goes to show how amazing time travel is.
What's even more amazing is that his appearance predates the original history, which makes Gisela think that the creator of this world must have a lot of mischievous and cruel tastes.
PS1: Hemingway not in Spain
Chapter 614 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 112 Gisela's New Speech (Seeking Votes)
“Don’t be nervous, Mr. Hemingway. I really like your work, and I believe you will definitely forge your own path in the literary field in the future.” Gisela actually wanted to “spoil” the author’s possible future works, and thankfully, she reacted quickly. At the same time, she also felt a little regretful that she couldn’t have a heart-to-heart talk with the author about her feelings about “The Old Man and the Sea,” because this work was actually written in his later years, while he was still a passionate and energetic young man.
Hemingway gave Gisela a somewhat reserved smile: "I am deeply honored that you have appreciated my humble work."
In fact, Hemingway himself had not yet published a single systematic book, yet he was naturally flattered to hear such praise from the omnipotent Empress before him.
If Gisela had been in power for some time, he probably would have felt a little uncomfortable with the flattery from these later celebrities. But now Gisela was completely used to it, so he simply nodded to the writer he once admired so much, and walked away.
Gisela stood directly in front of the English-speaking soldiers' formation, then gestured to Bradley, who immediately began fiddling with his camera equipment, searching for the perfect angle. Meanwhile, the photographer who had arrived on the same plane as Gisela was already snapping away with his camera.
"Gentlemen." Gisela paused after the word with practiced ease, considering what to say next. Then, with a sneeze from Mia beside her, Gisela realized that the rain had intensified, and the barely perceptible drizzle had become a real downpour.
At this moment, several officers came over with umbrellas, which the Queen and her nobles held up.
A sergeant offered Gisela an umbrella, but she refused.
Just as another sergeant held up an umbrella for Gisela's young fellow villager, the girl ran out from under the umbrella. The sergeant immediately followed, but the girl ran away again.
Gisela called out to the sergeant who was about to continue chasing after them, and waved to him.
Gisela then turned to the soldiers who were still standing in the rain, waiting for his instructions.
"Sorry for showing everyone this funny scene. I have a very interesting family."
Laughter erupted again from the soldiers' ranks, creating a relaxed atmosphere.
“Trust me.” Gisela decided to change tactics and continue in the relaxed atmosphere, “Those seemingly high and mighty magic users, we are actually just some slightly strange girls, not as special, not as… untouchable as you imagine.”
"Report!" a soldier in the first rank shouted. "Your Majesty, may I touch your ear?"
"You'll have to ask my guards. As long as they don't tear you to pieces, you can touch them." Gisela paused, her tone quite amiable, and another burst of laughter erupted from the ranks.
There are soldiers from all over the world here, so the formalities of the palace mean nothing to them. This is how Gisela entered the hearts of these soldiers.
Gisela continued, "Whether they are magic users or magic warriors, they are still ordinary people despite their seemingly powerful appearance. They, like us, yearn for love, family, and friendship. Even I love my husband and my people. We are all human beings."
The soldiers agreed with Gisela's words. After all, Prince Leopold was just an ordinary person like them. At least from the outside, people without magical talents were just ordinary people.
Gisela turned his gaze back to the soldiers. He raised his hands to silence them, and then continued, “If even magic users and magic users are like this, then you ordinary people are even more so. As humans, the pursuit of a peaceful and happy life is our instinct. We strive for this goal from birth. We accumulate experience and skills, and train ourselves in every aspect, all in order to enable ourselves to live a happy life.”
"Take you guys for example. Isn't it a thousand times better to be able to date beautiful girls in your hometown than to crawl and roll in the mud on the battlefield? So why are you here now?"
Gisela pointed behind her: "Those planes send a series of seriously wounded people back to their hometowns every day. The future of most of them is ruined, and they can only live with disabilities. Many of you will become like that, believe me. Why put your future happiness at risk?"
Gisela paused, scanned the crowd, and used the silence to amplify the power of his words. Before some of the more impatient individuals could interrupt him, he spoke again: "Because here, some bastards are recklessly destroying other people's lives. They are creating horrific humanitarian disasters with their weapons; they are killing people and destroying countless families."
“We absolutely cannot sit idly by in the face of this. Because we know that if we ignore their actions today, the same actions will befall more people tomorrow. If we continue to ignore it, one day their swords will be turned against us, and then no one will speak up for us, no one will come out to help us, and we will only die helplessly.”
Gisela paused again, then spoke in an even more solemn tone: "Throughout history, humanity has fought for all sorts of reasons. For glory, for freedom, and so on. In my view, these reasons are all too hollow. Today, we fight for the happiness of ordinary people, for true humanity! This land was once the battleground of the renowned Knights Hospitaller, who wielded their weapons to protect medical facilities and to aid those suffering on their pilgrimages. And we are the inheritors of their spirit!"
Gisela took a deep breath and continued in a calmer voice, “Gentlemen, many of your names will be lost in the long river of history and forgotten with the passage of time, but your achievements will live on forever.”
Gisela looked at the crowd and suddenly realized his mistake. Such speeches usually ended with the speaker raising their arms in a triumphant shout, followed by a passionate response from the audience. But he had created such a heavy atmosphere that it was impossible to transition back to a more enthusiastic state. He could try to rally the crowd again, but that would make the speech too long and tedious. He should have simply added some lofty slogans after the phrase "spiritual successors" and ended there…
If it were Martha, she would probably step in and try to liven things up, but since it's Jeanne next to her, don't count on that.
So Gisela could only maintain a serious expression and say softly, "That's how it is..."
She paused, then added on a whim, "If anyone wants to go back and date their crush, just let me know, and I'll cover their travel expenses, plus a gift for them..."
PS1: Ra!
Chapter 615 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 113 The Bells of the Battlefield (Seeking Votes)
RNP