When the fleet went north at night, Han Shaofeng still sent a battle report to the fleet on Gardner Island every hour or two hours as agreed. The Marines did not struggle in defensive operations, and the American offensive did not pose much of a threat. Now both sides are short of supplies, and the US military is still short of troops. The fighting on the island largely stopped, with only sporadic skirmishes. In addition, the Marine Corps was not bombed by the Americans, and the bombers of the Fifth Fleet never appeared again.

In order to effectively support and cover the Marine Corps, the artillery bombardment formation commanded by Wei Dongbei only had four hours of replenishment and rest time every day, and then they were constantly operating near the landing site, providing artillery cover and support according to the requirements of the Marine Corps. In addition, Wei Dongbei also divided half of the seaplanes on the six cruisers to patrol the waters near the landing site, so as to avoid a sudden attack and to help the first task force monitor the surrounding situation.

"Do you think we'll be able to catch the Fifth Fleet this time?"

Tan Renhao shook his head slightly, then let out a sigh and asked his partner next to him, "Dong Jue, what do you think of Spruance's opponent?" ”

"Opinion?" Hao Dongjue was a little puzzled.

"It's your first feeling, what kind of opponent he is, or rather, what kind of fleet commander is he?"

Hao Dongjue pondered for a while and said, "The first feeling is that this person is difficult to deal with. ”

Tan Renhao laughed, this is probably the common feeling of all the commanders of the Imperial Navy fleet who have fought with Spruance.

"Well, if I had to use an analogy, I think Spruance was a very good guy at tai chi.

Tan Renhao was stunned. Now I laughed even more.

"Whenever we think we're holding him, we find that we're still 108,000 miles away, and whenever we feel safe. He'd pop up and punch him over. You can't find the north. Lao Lei and they have suffered many losses, and we have also suffered several losses, and we have hardly taken any advantage. When Hao Dongjue said this, his expression was very serious, "It's hard for us to figure out what he thinks." It is even more difficult to guess and judge his whereabouts and intentions. Often, until the last minute, we don't even know what he's doing. And by the time we figure out what he's doing, the danger is close. Judging from the previous encounters with Spruance, we only saw the danger at the last minute, and it was a late attack. If it weren't for the fact that the quality of our officers and men far surpassed that of the US military, I am afraid that we would have been completely defeated in the first few battles. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slowly, in fact, this was his intuitive feeling for Spruance.

"Anyway. He's a very tough opponent to play against, and if you can beat him, don't give him a chance. One less tough opponent is certainly the best thing, isn't it? ”

"I hope we don't let him slip away this time, if he doesn't die if he fights the snake. If we are bitten by a snake, then we will lose a lot. ”

"And how much faith do you have?" Hao Dongjue took out a cigarette.

Tan Renhao turned around and looked towards the sea in front of the battleship. "I can't say faith, I'm just making judgments based on my intuition."

"But your instincts are always accurate." Hao Dongjue lit a cigarette, "Actually, I have always admired you, especially your intuition. Often, when no one else trusts your judgment, it turns out that your intuitive judgment is correct. Remember the last time we played Spruance on Wake Island? ”

Tan Renhao nodded, and then sighed secretly.

"At that time, you just suppliedly let us break away from the Second Task Force, otherwise we would have been doomed. Moreover, you also intuitively judged the approximate location of Spruance and immediately sent bombers, seizing the most precious opportunity. I guess Spruance must have been surprised by your intuitive judgment. ”

Tan Renhao looked at his partner. "If you were Spruance, what would you say about me?"

"I'm not Spruance, and if I were him, what would we be bothering about now?"

"Tell me what you think of me."

Hao Dongjue hesitated. "Let's put it this way, if you can't beat Spruance, I'm afraid we'll have to find a way to escape, and don't go to the Central Pacific at all."

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and laughed. "Are you encouraging me, or are you lifting me up?"

"Neither, I'm just telling the truth." Hao Dongjue's face sank, "Ren Hao, have you ever thought about it?" ”

"What?" Tan Renhao leaned against the guardrail.

"Relatively speaking, the U.S. military has invested far less in the Central Pacific than in the Southwest Pacific, and why have we not taken advantage of the Central Pacific, but have been advancing in the Southwest Pacific?"

Tan Renhao furrowed his eyebrows and motioned for Hao Dongjue to continue.

"Since the 'Battle of the Mariana Islands', the focus of our investment with the United States has been in the Southwest Pacific, but on several occasions it has been decisive, so that the US military has not completely failed, and the naval battles that have held the defensive line are actually fought in the Central Pacific, and because of this, the war situation in the Southwest Pacific has been affected." Hao Dongjue spit out the tobacco, and then took another long puff. "Every time, when we have a certain advantage in strength, the U.S. military will launch a counterattack in the Central Pacific, forcing us to first fight the U.S. military in the Central Pacific, and then go to the southwest Pacific to continue the offensive, and the result is that after each battle, the slight advantage we have is basically consumed. And so far, we've been able to gain a huge advantage, and that's what we did by beating Halsey in the Southwest Pacific, not Spruance in the Central Pacific. ”

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly and shook his head, he already understood what Hao Dongjue meant.

"To put it bluntly, Spruance alone is holding back the pace of our strategic offensive. If we can get a win in the Central Pacific, even a narrow victory, we can counterattack a lot faster. But this year has been beaten for more than a year. We haven't had an advantage in the Central Pacific, especially when Spruance has a strong enough fleet to defeat him completely. Every time it comes down, it's a lose-lose situation. The second task force was planted in the hands of Spruance, which was a complete failure. On the surface. Our victory in the Southwest Pacific had turned the tide of the war in the Pacific, but in reality, it was precisely because of the defeat of Task Force 2 that we had to rush to the Central Pacific theater and disperse the only two fleets that could continue to fight in two directions. This actually gave Spruance a chance to break through. Other words. Whether we can gain a decisive advantage in the Pacific depends on this campaign. If we defeat the Fifth Fleet, then everything will be easy, if we lose, I'm afraid Huang Xiaotian won't be able to beat Spruance, and then the US Navy will have a chance to counterattack. ”

"You mean Spruance has become our biggest stumbling block?"

Hao Dongjue nodded. "Yes, Spruance is our biggest stumbling block. If you can't destroy him, let him have no fleet to command. Of course, it's better to be able to blow him up, and that's a hundred! ”

Tan Renhao laughed. It seems that Hao Dongjue has indeed made a lot of progress, and he knows how to think deeply about problems.

"The question is, can we do it?"

"It won't be much of a problem." Tan Renhao lay on the guardrail. "Spruance was clearly avoiding us this time, and apparently he didn't have much confidence in defeating Task Force 1.

If I had been in Spruance's position, inferior in strength to my opponents, and the task was to defend rather than attack, I would have made full use of all available forces to enhance the combat effectiveness of the fleet, among which the ground-based aviation of the HNA was the most worthy of use.

"So Spruance has to find a way to retreat to the waters near Necke Island?"

Tan Renhao nodded. "I've been analysing why Spruance is in the southwest of Gardner Island for the past few days. To be sure, Spruance already knew, or judged, our activities in the waters south of Gardner's Islands, so he made a big detour and sent bombers to strike at the landing fleet where we least expected it. But the problem is, Spruance is not stupid, he knows very well that after the bombing, his location will be revealed, and even if we can't catch him immediately, we can still know roughly where he is. Now, Spruance only had three routes to choose from, and a direct return voyage was not possible, so he either went around north or south. As a direct judgment, he would have thought that we were still south of Gardner Island, so the danger of going south was the greatest. He might even judge that we were waiting for him southwest of Necke Island, so it was less likely that he would come from this side. ”

"However, if he goes around north, it will be easy for our reconnaissance planes to spot."

"What if he takes the route east of Lysan Island, between Lysan Island and Gardner Island?" Tan Renhao looked at his partner, "Moreover, it is to use the cover of night to pass through the most dangerous sea area as quickly as possible, and then turn directly eastward 100 to 150 nautical miles north of Gardner Island, I'm afraid our reconnaissance plane will not be able to find him." ”

Hao Dongjue thought for a moment, then nodded. "There should be such a possibility, then he has to take the risk."

"Yes, if the venture succeeds, there is a good chance that he will return to Necke Island and then head south and attack from behind us. Of course, the premise is that we are still operating in the waters southwest of Necke Island. ”

Hao Dongjue laughed. "That's why you let the fleet go north?"

"If Spruance is willing to take risks, why don't we?" Tan Renhao also laughed, "Now that the two of us are even, as long as we succeed in taking risks, then we will attack Spruance in the most unexpected place and at the most unexpected time, and take him by surprise!" ”

"Then we have to avoid being discovered by the U.S. military, and we have to discover the Fifth Fleet first."

"I'll arrange the route, and you're responsible for following the reconnaissance mission." Tan Renhao turned around, "If nothing else, we will encounter the Fifth Fleet tomorrow, and whether we can defeat the Fifth Fleet depends on whether we can successfully find the Fifth Fleet." ”

Neither of them was idle at night, Hao Dongjue went to deploy reconnaissance work, and Tan Renhao worked out a new route with the navigation staff. It's a surprise operation, and the key to a raid is to get close to the enemy stealthily and then launch a lightning strike before the enemy realizes it.

Before dawn, the fleet turned four times, and by half past five in the morning, the reconnaissance planes began to depart one after another. Because the Fifth Fleet could appear at any time, Hao Dongjue comprehensively strengthened the reconnaissance force, leaving only one dive bomber needed by the bomber group in the fleet. As long as the Fifth Fleet can be found, then one bomber group is enough to paralyze the Fifth Fleet, and using the returning reconnaissance planes to organize a second bomber group is enough to destroy the Fifth Fleet.

Tan Renhao didn't go to sleep, he had already drunk several cups of coffee, if it wasn't for the fact that he had long since lost his addiction to smoking, I'm afraid he would have had to smoke a box or two of cigarettes.

The sky was getting brighter, and the fleet was still sailing in a northwesterly direction. Tan Renhao has been paying attention to the position of the fleet. He is not worried about the long-range patrol planes of the US military, and the greatest threat to the fleet should be the tactical reconnaissance planes of the US military. The patrol radius of these reconnaissance planes is about 250 nautical miles to 300 nautical miles, and the density is very large; on the contrary, the reconnaissance density of long-range patrol planes is relatively small, and the capacity of the US military airfield on Necke Island is quite limited, and if it is necessary to deploy a large number of tactical fighters, there is no way to deploy more long-range patrol planes and long-range reconnaissance planes.

"How far are we from Necker Island now?"

"About l150 nautical miles."

"After 500 nautical miles, the fleet was transferred to a state of mobile standby." Tan Renhao looked at the navigation staff officer, "I'll go rest for a while, and when the chief of staff comes, you will report directly to the chief of staff." ”

The nautical staff nodded, the commander had been holding out for more than two days and must have been very tired.

In fact, at this time, the main staff officers of the fleet command had already held out for two days, and many people were about to climb down from exhaustion.

When Tan Renhao went to rest, Hao Dongjue shouldered the command of the fleet, and now all he needed was to wait for the report of the reconnaissance plane. The Fifth Fleet has two days to transfer, so it may appear in the nearby waters at any time, and whether or not the Fifth Fleet can be defeated depends on whether those reconnaissance planes can find out!