My Italy

Chapter 526 Dark Clouds in the Balkans

The airport outside Rome once again became crowded with nearly 100,000 people watching the arrival of the Swan airship. After a 23-day voyage, the Swan returned to its place of departure.

As the Swan slowly landed, the onlookers burst into cheers. When the cabin door of the Swan airship opened, the band played cheerful music to welcome the passengers who had completed the round-the-world flight.

"Mr. Andrews, congratulations on completing your journey around the earth. This is your commemorative badge."

"Mr. Jonathan, congratulations..."

Alitalia General Manager Arman took out a medal from the tray and put it on the chest of every passenger who got off the airship.

This commemorative medal issued by Alitalia is also quite thoughtful. This commemorative medal is made of silver on a copper base. The upper part of the front is engraved in the shape of the Swan airship, and the lower part is the earth. On the back of the medal, the upper half reads, "Around the World in 23 Days." The lower half reads, "This chapter is given to every customer who participates in the first circumnavigation of the world."

There are a total of 36 commemorative medals, all of which are carefully carved and considered to be perfect.

Although the passengers who got off the airship were either rich or noble, this very commemorative medal scratched an itch. So everyone seemed happy and even had a few chats with the photographers who were taking the photos and the reporters who wanted to interview them.

The entire airport was filled with laughter and laughter, and the atmosphere was peaceful.

Of course, Alitalia also has its own purpose in organizing a huge welcome ceremony this time. During the time when the Swan was flying around the world, the craze for air travel took off. Many people have asked about the time of Alitalia's next round-the-world voyage, and want to experience the fun of flying around the world.

Faced with the influx of passengers, Alitalia had to postpone the start of the American route and planned to wait for the Swan airship to be completely overhauled before flying around the world again.

Of course, this round-the-world flight not only allows Alitalia to gain a large number of potential passengers who are either rich or expensive. As the world's major rigid airship manufacturer, Zeppelin Airship Company is also facing a surge of orders. Every day, people ask about airship construction, keeping the company's front desk busy.

Of course, more importantly, taking advantage of the craze for airships, Count Zeppelin decided to expand the airship manufacturing factory in order to get the largest share of this craze.

The Swan's round-the-world flight was indeed an outstanding advertisement, making airlines and manufacturers a lot of money.

So this round-the-world flight is worth thousands of dollars, and the Swan also gets star-like treatment in this round-the-world flight, becoming the focus of attention everywhere it goes.

In San Francisco, one hundred thousand people watched the Swan's arrival in the city.

In Tokyo, nearly one million people watched the Swan's arrival. Not only that, the crew of the Swan also received hospitality from the Emperor of Japan.

In Beijing, the largest industrial crystallization in history also stunned the Qing people. Even the empress dowager, who was in poor health, watched its grand arrival in Beijing in the yard.

After causing a sensation in the Far East, the Swan also caused a sensation all the way west.

In Tehran, more than 200,000 Iranians watched the arrival of the Swan.

In Istanbul, Sultan Abdul Hamid II boarded the Swan and experienced it.

The Swan's round-the-world flight allowed countries around the world to see the huge role of airships in aviation. I believe that after this flight, the importance of airships in various countries will definitely reach a new high.

In fact, while the Swan was flying around the world, countries had already taken action.

In the UK, a new round of funding for airship research has just been approved.

In Russia, Tsar Nicholas II also approved the development order for his country's airships.

In the Far East, Emperor Meiji of Japan called on citizens to donate money for the purchase and introduction of airships. To this end, he also allocated 300,000 yen from the palace to the military.

The same is true in France. The government is integrating various civilian companies and letting them conduct joint research on airships with the military.

In the United States, Major Blade's report also received attention. Theodore Roosevelt even publicly declared that the United States needed to build its own air fleet for more than half a year of his term.

That's right, it's an air fleet. President Roosevelt, who was extremely passionate about the navy, believed that this huge airship was a battleship in the sky and a continuation of the navy to the sky, so it was not an exaggeration to call it an air fleet.

President Roosevelt also had a like-minded person in calling the airship, that is, Admiral Fisher, the Lord of the Admiralty of the British Empire. The reason is also very simple. It is obvious that they want to incorporate airships into the navy's establishment in order to increase the navy's strength.

Of course, no matter what it is called, the military use of airships has also been fully demonstrated in the Swan's global flight. This can be seen from the fact that various countries have launched the development and introduction of airships.

Of course, Germany and Italy, which are currently at the forefront of airship research, are also studying the use and training methods of airships.

The German military formed an airship fleet and planned to equip forty-eight airships of various types. In Italy, there are also thirty-six airships.

However, both countries currently have insufficient airships. On the one hand, the Zeppelin Airship Company's construction has been in short supply, and on the other hand, airships are expensive and the purchase cost is not low.

In addition, only a few of the Italian military's airship purchases come from Zeppelin. Others are built domestically. Italy, which has obtained Zeppelin technology authorization, has started construction of an airship manufacturing plant covering an area of ​​80 hectares in Milan. Subsequent airships for the Italian military and Alitalia will be built at the factory. The factory is not yet completed, and it will take at least a year to start construction.

“It’s so lively!”

In the palace, Carlo looked at today's newspaper. The headline on the front page was the report that the Swan completed its flight around the world.

For the current airship craze, as the driving force behind the scenes, Carlo is happy to see the results.

To be honest, although airships currently look much shinier than airplanes in all aspects, a large and slow aircraft like an airship cannot become the king of the sky. It can only be used as a substitute for aircraft whose technology is not yet mature, and only has advantages in transportation. Therefore, countries are conducting research and construction of airships. How could Carlo be unhappy?

"McCarlan, continue to spend money to let newspapers in various countries report on airships."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

Looking at the captain of the guard leaving, Carlo withdrew his gaze.

Yes, Carlo has half of the credit for this vigorous airship craze. Many reports on airships in newspapers from various countries are sponsored.

While Carlo was enjoying taking the road to different countries, he suddenly heard the guards coming in to report. "Your Majesty, His Excellency Bacona has something urgent to ask for."

"Invite him in."

Upon hearing that the Foreign Secretary was eager to see him, Carlo certainly would not let him wait.

I saw Foreign Minister Bacona walking in with a telegram and saying. "Your Majesty, urgent news from the Balkans. The Bulgarian army and the Ottoman army exchanged fire on the border between the two sides. It is known that dozens of casualties were caused on both sides. The armies of both sides have gathered in the area."

"What?"

Upon hearing what the Foreign Secretary said, Carlo immediately felt something was wrong.

“Ask Vienna and Berlin immediately what they think about this matter.”

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