At noon, Tan Renhao did not go to the restaurant to eat, but asked Du Xing to buy him a boxed lunch and came back, and all afternoon, he was busy in the small office assigned to him, mainly sorting out the battle plans made by those staff officers arranged by Yan Guozhong.

Unlike traditional commanders, Tan Renhao has always believed that an overly detailed battle plan is meaningless, which will limit the hands and feet of the front-line commander, and the main point of the battle plan is to embody the core idea of the campaign and the core task, and to agree on the way of cooperation between the various operational units, rather than to formulate a set of action plans for each unit. Therefore, when Tan Renhao was the commander-in-chief, he never made any specific operational plans, but only put forward a general operational plan, wrote down the key parts, and then determined the combat operations according to the battlefield situation and the actual capabilities of the commanders of various units.

This time was no exception, Tan Renhao did not come up with a very detailed plan, he only clarified the core idea of the battle, and took out the coordination plan between the fleets, even if the battle plan was completed. If in the past, I am afraid that with this plan, someone would propose to remove the title of commander-in-chief of Tan Renhao's fleet, but now, no one will interfere with Tan Renhao's actions.

"Done?".1

Tan Renhao looked up at his partner, then nodded. "Almost, just let the staff officer sort out this plan and send it to the various fleets, and we will probably be able to return to the fleet tonight."

"Leaving without dinner?"

Tan Renhao glanced at his watch, it was almost six o'clock. He laughed, "Okay. What do you want to eat at night? I'll go to the restaurant and order food. ”

"There's no need to be so stingy, right? I am also a married man, and if I wear it, the Vice Admiral of the Imperial Navy will not even have money for food. That's not a big joke? ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head, he didn't want to discuss this kind of family problem with his brother-in-law.

"Come on. We're in for a treat. Hao Dongjue walked over and gave Tan Renhao the military hat hanging on the coat rack, "Lao Chang and Huang Xiaotian are waiting outside, don't delay the time." ”

"Where to eat?" Tan Renhao was a little surprised, Lae City, a place where soldiers accounted for ninety percent.

There is no decent restaurant either.

"Don't worry, F4U won't be on your way anyway." Hao Dongjue threw Tan Renhao's coat over again, "Hurry up and let others wait for you, it's very rude." ”

The two didn't delay much time, and after Tan Renhao first asked Du Xing to send the battle plan to the theater operations center, he followed Hao Dongjue outside. Huang Xiaotian and Chang Jianxin were leaning next to a sedan chatting, and a jeep was parked behind them, and the three adjutants were sitting in the jeep chatting.

After Duchenne ran out, the two cars drove directly out of the barracks. Head towards the only street where there are restaurants and inns.

When the car stopped, Tan Renhao found out that a new restaurant had opened here, and it was a place to buy Chinese food. The hotel is small, with only five tables in the lobby, and all of them are filled with soldiers in military uniforms. When the soldiers saw the generals who had walked in, they all immediately stood up and saluted. When they walked through the lobby, they raised their hands more than a dozen times and returned the salute more than a dozen times.

"You don't have to worry about the taste of the dishes here, the boss is from Zhejiang, now as long as it is a major military base, garrisoned by more than 10,000 troops, there is one more such restaurant, I heard that this is the new policy of the imperial internal affairs department, encouraging businessmen to open restaurants in the front-line theater to provide better services for soldiers, what is said This is a good way to improve morale and improve the combat effectiveness of the troops." Hao Dongjue explained to Tan Renhao in a low voice, "The best thing here is your Su cuisine over there, which is your appetite, but I don't know if I like Sichuan cuisine." ”

"It seems that you still want to eat it all day."

"Renhao, you can't be so conscienceless.

Hao Dongjue immediately screamed, "It's not you who paid for it this time, you eat white food, is there anything else to say?" ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head, it seemed that Hao Dongjue had also returned to normal.

Soon, the four of them were taken by the boss to a private room, where there were two small round dining tables, and a screen had been put up in the middle, probably temporarily set up by the boss according to the requirements, so that the four adjutants could be outside, one to protect the safety of the general, and the other was not to be inserted into the general's conversation.

After Huang Xiaotian asked the boss to prepare the food, he asked Tan Renhao and them to sit down, and it seemed that it was not Hao Dongjue and Chang Zhixin who paid the money today.

"Talking about generals, in fact, this is what we all mean." Although Huang Xiaotian is the commander of the fleet, he has a higher status than Hao Dongjue, the chief of staff of the fleet, but he is the one with the least qualifications, and the other three people have all been his commanders, so he is also the most polite. "Everyone worked hard a few days ago, and it's rare to get together, so let's have a good meal today, which can be regarded as seeing each other off!"

"Hey, if only Lao Lei was here!"

As soon as Hao Dongjue's words came out, Chang Jianxin kicked him below, he hurriedly grimaced, and then lowered his head.

"Don't talk about that, let's have a few drinks today." Tan Renhao is more normal, "Xiaotian, Lao Chang, I have already taken out the plan, and now I am asking the staff officers of the theater command to make the final text changes, and after printing it out, I will send it to you." As in the past, the battle plan was not very detailed, and we had to make decisions based on the actual situation on the battlefield. ”

Chang Jianxin took out a cigarette. "We all know that, actually, there's nothing to worry about. In the afternoon, the three of us discussed it and felt that we had a great grasp of this combat operation. ”

Tan Renhao glanced at Hao Dongjue and Huang Xiaotian, and then leaned back in his chair, it seemed that the three of them were not idle.

"Well, after we discussed it, we decided that if the three fleets entered the Coral Sea, then Halsey would have no choice."

"He's definitely going to take the initiative, that's your purpose, right?" Hao Dongjue asked Tan Renhao before Huang Xiaotian finished speaking.

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. This is also the fundamental purpose of this operation. I also talked to General Yan Guozhong. The biggest problem is. Halsey doesn't play according to our routine. Therefore, our aim is to force Halsey to take the initiative to fight us. ”

"Then, the task of the first task force is heavy." Huang Xiaotian is a smart man. When Tan Renhao arranged the task, he saw that the main force this time must be the First Task Force.

"It's not a problem that the task is heavy. The most important thing is that we have to win, and in fact, Task Force 4 is the key. "Tan Renhao doesn't mean to look down on the Fourth Task Force." If Halsey doesn't take the initiative to look for an opportunity to fight, then I will take the initiative to fight. When the time comes, Task Force 1 will even attack Port Vila, or Noumea, and force the main fleet of Halsidi to come to me for a decisive battle. In this case, Task Force 4, as well as Task Force 3, which is on standby in the Solomon Sea, will be the backers of Task Force 1. I'm not afraid of your jokes, if I don't think I can beat it, then I will definitely escape, and I will definitely be faster than Halsey's pursuit, and I will be able to turn defeat into victory when the time comes. It's up to you two. ”

Huang Xiaotian nodded slightly, and the meaning of talking about Renhao was very clear. There is no distinction between the 1st Task Force and the 4th Task Force, and who will fight the main force. It depends on the battlefield. If Halsey takes the initiative to fight, then Task Force 1 is the main force, and if Halsey chooses to defend and counterattack, then Task Force 4 is likely to be the main force. Equally. If Halsey took the risk of sending Task Force 33 up, then Task Force 3 would be the absolute workhorse.

"Six or even seven task forces on both sides are fighting in the Coral Sea, and no task force is enough for any task force to win, and this time it is not only the combat effectiveness of the fleet, but also the command ability of the fleet commander, and to a large extent, the ability to fight for coordinated operations between fleets." Tan Renhao said the real point, "Only when the three fleets cooperate tacitly and perfectly, can they achieve the greatest victory." I'm not cowardly, even if I were given six fleet carriers, I wouldn't be able to defeat three U.S. task forces at the same time, and no one would be able to command six aircraft carriers to fight at the same time.

Therefore, coordination is the most critical. Chang, Xiaotian, you are all from the First Task Force, counting the time in the Fifth Fleet, we have been working together for several years, maybe, I don't know Xiaotian very well, but Dongjue knows a lot, and you should know something about me. In battle, communication is certainly a problem, and now we do not have a radio station that can avoid detection by the enemy, so when there is no way to determine the actions of other fleets, it is important to remember what our ultimate goal is. ”

Chang Jianxin and Huang Xiaotian both nodded, in fact, this is the key to cooperation, as long as they both move towards the ultimate goal, and they are all fighting in the most likely way to win, they can cooperate more smoothly.

"Alright, let's talk while we eat!"

At this time, the boss brought in the wine and food, and Huang Xiaotian had already said hello, so the waiters all went out immediately after putting down the wine and food.

"Talking about the general, we will do our best." Huang Xiaotian first filled Tan Renhao with wine, "I'll toast the three of them first, Huang Xiaotian can have today, there are more three people to help and help, please don't refuse the three generals!" ”

When they reacted, Huang Xiaotian had already drunk the wine in the cup in one gulp, although they all felt a little embarrassed, after all, Huang Xiaotian's current status was similar to theirs, but in the end he drank the wine.

"Xiaotian can't drink much, so please take care of yourself." Only then did Huang Xiaotian say the purpose of his toast first. "Talking about the general, in fact, we are not worried about Halsey, MacArthur is also a landlubber, before Halsey wins, he can only obediently stay on the Australian continent. Our biggest concern is Nimitz. ”

"yes, we all think that Nimitz is in more trouble!" Hao Dongjue also nodded, and consciously filled himself with another glass.

Chang Jiexin didn't rush to move his chopsticks, and he hadn't finished smoking yet.

Tan Renhao put down his chopsticks and said, "You and I have the same idea. A Nimitz counterattack would contain our operations in the Southwest Pacific as a whole. If he attacks the Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands first, he will be able to open up lines of communication, encircle the Solomon Islands from the flanks, and extend our front. If he strikes back against the Mariana Islands, then we will have to increase our forces in the western Pacific, and the southwest Pacific will have to be put aside for the time being. ”

"So, which route is Nimitz more likely to choose?" At this time, it is often recommended that the new person speak.

Tan Renhao shook his head. "I'm not sure either. If he advances to the southwest, the purpose is nothing more than to strengthen the counterattack force on the southwest Pacific side, and finally let MacArthur fight back to the Solomon Islands, or even drive us out of the southwest Pacific theater, and finally lay the foundation for an attack on the Mariana Islands, and at the same time MacArthur can also advance to the Philippines. If he chooses the Mariana Islands first, then there is no doubt that his intention is to divide our forces, which will put more pressure on us in the short term, but in the long run, it will be more beneficial for us to have salients in both of our defensive lines, and the two major theaters of the American army will still be divided.

The other three were silent, and in terms of battle situation analysis, they were too far away from talking about Renhao. Tan Renhao has done so many unpaid short-term jobs in the Navy Command, and his biggest gain is that his judgment of the battle situation has surpassed that of all other fleet commanders.

"Well, we don't have to worry about this for the time being, anyway, Nimitz's counterattack will take time to prepare, and if it wins, it will take time, a few months is certain, or even a year, anyway, in the short term, our focus is on the southwest Pacific." Tan Renhao picked up the chopsticks, "Let's fight this battle first, as for what it will look like in the future, this will be known soon." Let's eat it quickly, otherwise if the seafood is cold, it won't taste good. ”

This meal, in the end, was indeed settled by Huang Xiaotian. After eating, the three of them sat and chatted for a while, and the boss also gave a pot of Longjing tea for free. At half past ten, Tan Renhao and Chang Jianxin said goodbye to Huang Xiaotian, and rushed back to the theater headquarters with Hao Dongjue and the two adjutants. Instead of rushing back to the fleet in the evening, they waited until dawn and left the theater command with the already revised battle plan.