Early the next morning, Tan Renhao went to look for Gan Yongxing, but when he rushed to Gan Yongxing's office, a certain chief of the Navy General Staff hurriedly walked out.

"The intelligence was received early this morning, and this time the military intelligence is very positive." Gan Yongxing handed the document in his hand to Tan Renhao.

Tan Renhao only glanced at the word "top secret" on the cover of the intelligence, and then caught up with Gan Yongxing. "Where are we going now?"

"Headmaster, he asked me to take you, and you just happened to come here." Gan Yongxing looked at Tan Renhao and pressed it, but did not slow down.

Tan Renhao could only read while walking, and after only reading the most important part on the first page, the two entered Nie Renfeng's office.

"You sit down for a moment." Nie Renfeng covered the microphone of the phone and glanced at the two of them, and then said a few words into the phone, and then walked over, "Have you all read the documents?" ”

Gan Yongxing nodded and said, "This time the trouble is really not small!" ”

Tan Renhao quickly looked at the contents of the document, and it was only then that he understood why he had not received important news related to the US Navy some time ago.

After the "Battle of the Solomon Islands," when summing up the lessons of the defeat, the US military listed intelligence leakage as a key point, and then the US counterintelligence agencies began to go all out to deal with the intelligence networks of the Tang Empire and Germany in the United States, and to eradicate those enemy spies. An important intelligence clue that the Tang Empire's military intelligence bureau had managed to establish in the United States was over, and the high-ranking American official who had betrayed intelligence to the Tang Empire had mysteriously disappeared. An important German intelligence line in the United States was also dismantled, and more than a dozen high-ranking German spies were all missing. In May, spies in both countries went underground, and intelligence gathering was greatly restricted. And this time, in order to send out this extremely important information. It is not known how many more spies will mysteriously disappear.

"This is the most important and critical piece of information we have received so far." Nie Renfeng's expression was very serious, "Judging from the information provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau. Our spies in the Panama Canal Zone have also been withdrawn, and now the US military has set up minefields within 20 kilometers of both sides of the canal. Strengthened patrol forces, that is, it will be difficult for us to get the time for the American fleet to enter the Pacific Ocean! ”

"Someone must have betrayed our spies this time, otherwise the US counterintelligence agencies would not have acted so quickly......

"It's not something we should be concerned about. The MIA is working to resume espionage in the United States, and the Germans are doing everything possible to assist us. They are more concerned about the timing of the US military presence in Europe. Specifically, the intelligence work is the responsibility of the intelligence department, and our task is to fight this battle well. Nie Renfeng glanced at Gan Yongxing, who was slightly excited, "It's useless to worry and be angry." Ren Hao, look at the photos in the back. ”

Tan Renhao immediately flipped to the end of the document, and there were more than a dozen photos behind it, all of which were taken with a long lens at a long distance, including six aircraft carriers and four battleships. and six other battleships that did not look much smaller than the battleships. And he soon found out that the battleship in each photo was different, which should have been selected by the Military Intelligence Agency from the many photos. Each one is a new warship, and some dimensional data has been noted on the photo, which should have been extrapolated by the intelligence officer of the Navy command based on the comparative references on the photo.

"Six fleet aircraft carriers, four battleships have completed perching. This has been fully confirmed, and it will certainly leave the ports on the east coast of the United States in these days to start the Pacific theater. Nie Renfeng looked at Tan Renhao, "Those six battleships that we haven't seen before, do you think they are battleships, or some other battleships?" ”

Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment and said: "It shouldn't look like a battleship, in terms of size, it is very close to a battleship, and it is speculated that its displacement is about 25,000 tons, maybe this is the kind of large cruiser we knew before." ”

"Yes, this is the US Navy's 'Alaska' class large air defense cruiser, with more than 300 mm guns, powerful anti-aircraft firepower, and heavy armor. Its air defense capabilities are not below the 'Li Jing' class, and even comparable to our newest air defense cruisers, while its combat capability against the sea is above all our cruisers. ”

"Six?" Tan Renhao's expression also became nervous.

"Yes, six." Nie Renfeng smiled bitterly, "The intelligence obtained before was the first two ships, and now it seems that this time the US Navy will obtain six of these new warships at one time." That is, they can equip the search aircraft carrier with a powerful air defense cruiser, and even arrange battleships to escort the aircraft carrier. ”

Tan Renhao touched his forehead, this problem may be more troublesome than six fleet aircraft carriers. In the previous battle, the US Navy's aircraft carrier formation was not tight, and there was a serious lack of warships with strong air defense capabilities, although the air defense capability of the "Essex" class aircraft carrier itself was very strong, but the aircraft carrier itself was also extremely fragile, and if there was no strong escort warship cover, the aircraft carrier would be very vulnerable in front of the bombers. This is also the reason why in the previous battles, the US Navy aircraft carriers suffered heavy losses and were almost always sunk, while the aircraft carriers of the Tang Imperial Navy were most likely able to return to port after being wounded. If the US Navy aircraft carrier is provided with adequate cover, it will be even more difficult to deal with.

"In addition, according to reliable sources, the United States has also developed VT bombs."

"What?" At this moment, Tan Renhao almost jumped up, "They got it out so quickly?" ”

"The basic principle of VT bombs is actually not complicated." Nie Renfeng explained, "According to the people in the equipment office, the principle of the VT bomb was originally proposed by the Americans, and we only invested more strength in this area, so we developed it in advance. The US Navy has already suffered losses, and this time they will definitely use this new type of ammunition. ”

"Also, the U.S. Navy is training more effectively than we are." Gan Yongxing added, "They train pilots on a large scale and at a high level. From the intelligence we have obtained, the U.S. Navy was the first to use a confrontational training method. The effect is very noticeable. In addition, the backbone of the US Naval Air Force are all experienced in combat, and they are all veterans. The training of the officers and men of the fleet was also in place. They have several training warships in the Gulf of Mexico that are specifically designed to train officers and men of the aircraft carrier fleet. And most of the officers and soldiers were trained for three months, not the two months that we used. ”

"That is, this time the combat effectiveness of the American fleet will be strong?" Tan Renhao summed up the words of the two.

"Exactly, this is what we summed up from the intelligence." Gan Yongxing sighed, "Although judging from the overall quality of officers and soldiers. The US Navy is still a little worse than us, but the gap is already less pronounced. There are serious flaws in our training methods, and this one is already being improved. And this time, we will face the most powerful fleet in the history of the US Navy. ”

Tan Renhao also sighed, the superiority in the quality of the officers and men of the Imperial Navy was the key force in winning the previous decisive battles, and it was precisely because the Imperial Navy had won several battles in a row that the Imperial Navy had seriously underinvested in the training of new recruits, and the result was obvious that the Imperial Navy's superiority in the quality of officers and men had lost a lot. The Americans are catching up too fast. And the ability of the Americans to innovate is very powerful.

To a large extent, the thousand-year-old empire, and the centuries-old imperial navy, are inferior to the Americans in terms of innovation.

"There are two possibilities now." Nie Renfeng changed the subject. "The U.S. Navy can organize six fleet carriers into two task forces, and these two task forces will all be deployed in one theater, and the other nine small aircraft carriers will be organized into a separate fleet and deployed in another theater.

Or partially strengthened into the formation of the aircraft carriers of the fleet. Another possibility is that the six fleet aircraft carriers will be organized into three task forces, with at least two task forces deployed in the main direction of attack, and reinforced by small aircraft carriers. These are the two biggest possibilities that we can judge. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, he was more inclined to the former. In fact, in any direction, the US Navy can use two small fleets composed of six small aircraft carriers to contain one of the main task forces of the Tang Imperial Navy, and put six fleet aircraft carriers and three other small aircraft carriers in the direction of the main attack, so as to gain a huge advantage in terms of troops. But the problem is that it is not known which direction the US Navy will choose as the main attack.

"The fighting on Port Moresby's side has also changed. Yan Guozhong's Marines held the airfield, and three large-scale American attacks had been thwarted. Halsey's fleet did not appear on the battlefield. Gan Yongxing said another piece of news, "Last night, one of our submarines spotted an American fleet in the southern part of the Coral Sea, and we were not able to determine whether there was an aircraft carrier, and we judged that it was very likely that it was a fleet commanded by Halsey, and now it has probably returned to Port Vila." ”

"That is, the US Navy is also preparing for the next stage of the general offensive."

Gan Yongxing nodded slightly. "Task Force 4 will be on standby in the waters north of the Solomon Islands, and they don't need to rush to the area of engagement. The key now is where the US Navy is going to attack. ”

"Any other news?" Tan Renhao felt very troubled, if he could not accurately judge the direction of the US attack, then he would not be able to determine the deployment of the fleet.

"We have no other information about the deployment and movement of US troops." Gan Yongxing took out a cigarette, "The Military Intelligence Agency has promised to help us as much as possible, but no one is sure when we will receive new information." That is, it is quite possible that until the start of the counterattack of the American army, we can only speculate. ”

"One thing is for sure, the Yankees are more worried than we are right now." Nie Renfeng suddenly laughed, "Actually, the U.S. military is also guessing our movements, and our four task forces will be ready to attack before the U.S. Navy recovers its combat effectiveness." Right now, we're only thinking about defense, but we should be thinking more about offense. Since we cannot be sure of the specific deployment of the US Navy, what we need to do now is to lead the enemy by the nose and let them follow our pace. ”

Tan Renhao glanced at the principal and said, "The plan to attack Midway has been decided?" ”

"Liao Hanxiang had already submitted a campaign plan for attacking Midway the day before yesterday." Nie Renfeng went to take the plan, "I discussed it with Gan Yongxing, and now I have basically determined the combat operation this time." At the request of Admiral Liao Hanxiang, Task Force 1 was to assist the Marines in landing at Midway and capture it before the U.S. Navy could regain its strength, at least at Midway. ”

Tan Renhao was slightly startled. "When does the campaign begin?"

"On July 8, there are more than ten days to go. Task Force 1 began Guam as soon as Naha refueled, landing on about the 12th, while the fleet was supposed to arrive on the 9th, and bombed Midway to seize air supremacy. ”

"And when will the U.S. fleet reach the Pacific theater?" Tan Renhao didn't feel much sure.

"Late July at the earliest, maybe early August. Those photographs were taken at the beginning of the month, and we deduce that the ships will only reach Pearl Harbor after July 28 at the earliest. Nie Renfeng gave the document to Tan Renhao, "Now what you have to worry about are those three small aircraft carriers in Halsey. Perhaps U.S. intelligence has learned of our plan to attack Midway, and the only thing they have at their disposal until its main fleet arrives is the three small carriers. ”

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly. "Headmaster, then I'll rush back to the fleet right away."

"Don't worry, you can fly directly to Guam." Nie Renfeng stood up, "After reading this plan first, we will consider the arrangements for the fleet's operations in the next two days." Also, remember to keep in touch with Liao Hanxiang, only Task Force 1 can help him now, and you don't want your father-in-law's plan to fail. ”

Tan Renhao didn't say anything wordy, he immediately got up and said goodbye. After returning to the office, he first contacted Hao Dongjue, confirmed that Hao Dongjue had received a new order, and then asked Hao Dongjue to lead the fleet to Apra Port as soon as possible. Then, he talked to Liao Hanxiang on the phone, and after determining the general direction of the campaign, Tan Renhao began to carefully read Liao Hanxiang's campaign plan.

The attack on Midway was not a small-scale combat operation, and it was very difficult, and Tan Renhao quickly discovered the problems and loopholes in the plan, and this combat operation was too hasty.