Compared with the last time they met, Nie Renfeng has a lot more gray hair. In the centuries-old history of the Imperial Navy, there were no fewer than twenty naval commanders who fell from their posts, and several of them died due to overwork. In the words of Marshal Saditin, who has retired, the commander of the Imperial Navy is not a man's position!

"Sit down, how's it going?"

Nie Renfeng was obviously a little tired.

"Not bad, Headmaster, you have to pay attention to your body."

Tan Renhao was a little sad, in his impression, Nie Renfeng definitely belonged to the kind of old man who was particularly energetic, when he was the principal, he would inspect the college dormitory almost every night, and it was impossible to be so diligent without sufficient energy.

"That will also have to wait until I retire."

Nie Renfeng laughed, "Have you talked to Liao Hanxiang before?" ”

Tan Renhao nodded, he really doubted that the principal had arranged spies, otherwise what he was doing, how could the principal know everything?

"Alright, let's talk about something else."

Nie Renfeng patted the armrest of the sofa twice, "How do you feel about the position of the lieutenant general?" ”

"Headmaster, you're not going to let me leave the fleet, are you?"

Tan Renhao raised his vigilance.

"Of course not, there is no one to take your place in the fleet right now."

Nie Renfeng smiled and crossed his hands, "To be honest, even if the prime minister wants me to transfer you to do something else now, I won't agree." The four new aircraft carriers will be launched at the end of next month, complete their perching in May, and complete sea trials in June. The training of the officers and men of the fleet will probably be completed in early May, that is to say, these four aircraft carriers will be able to form combat effectiveness after completing sea trials. How's it going, how does it feel? ”

"Headmaster, this is a big cake, I can't eat it no matter how big my appetite is!"

Tan Renhao deliberately behaved modestly, but if there was really such a possibility, he definitely hoped to be able to command six aircraft carriers to fight.

"That's for sure, but I'll give you the first three of them to serve, and, moreover, the First Air Wing. How much time do you need to complete the pre-war training? ”

"A month, no, half a month!"

Tan Renhao would not let go of such a good opportunity, and immediately made a guarantee. Pre-war training refers to the training in which a battleship forms a complete combat capability before entering the war, and the most important thing is to familiarize the officers and men, pilots, and service personnel of the fleet with the environment of the new warship. Proficiency in the use of new equipment. If it were in peacetime, it would take about two months, but now it is wartime, and the officers and men of the 1st Air Wing, with its supporting officers, are real veterans, and their ability to adapt to new warships is much stronger than that of new recruits.

"Then I'll arrange a half-month vacation for you."

"Then the other aircraft carrier ......"

"Not one, but three."

Tan Renhao was taken aback and immediately understood that if he wanted to get three new aircraft carriers, he had to hand over the current two aircraft carriers.

"As a fleet commander. You should be well aware. Three aircraft carriers actually have enough strike capabilities, and under the current conditions, if the number of aircraft carriers exceeds three. This creates a serious problem in the command chain, doesn't it? ”

Tan Renhao nodded a little reluctantly. Initially, Task Force 1 had four aircraft carriers, and the problem of command confusion was exposed at that time (especially when arranging bomber groups and air defense fighters), and as a result, Tan Renhao had to organize the four aircraft carriers into two carrier strike groups. And now it is basically one carrier strike group from one aircraft carrier, instead of two aircraft carriers to form a strike group. Commanding three aircraft carrier strike groups at the same time, under the existing fleet command system, commanding three aircraft carrier strike groups is already the limit. If there are any more additions, it would be better to form a new task force.

"Task Force 2 remains the same. So, we will have three empty aircraft carriers. ”

Nie Renfeng paused, "The Fourth Task Force is being formed, who do you think is more suitable to be the new fleet commander?" ”

Tan Renhao's expression immediately sank, Hao Dongjue, Chang recommended Xindu to be the commander, but it was obvious that neither of them was suitable. Chang recommended that the new talent suffered a defeat, and the above investigation is not over. There is little chance of him being promoted. Hao Dongjue was born in aviation, although judging from his current performance, in addition to his shortcomings in navigation (which can actually be compensated for by having a chief of staff who is proficient in navigation), he is even more suitable than Ren Hao to be the commander of the aircraft carrier fleet, because he knows aviation tactics best. But the problem is that the navy does not admit this, and Hao Dongjue has never had a particularly outstanding performance in fleet operations (he also has credit for several victories, but he is just under Renhao and Lei Shaoqing) It is not easy to promote him.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that."

Nie Renfeng let go of his hands, "What do you think about the next combat operation of the US military?" ”

This is to the point. Tan Renhao thought for a moment and said: "Hold on to Anatahan Island, and strengthen the defense of Saipan, slow down our offensive speed, and strive not to completely lose Anatahan Island before the end of March, if we lose it, we must try to ensure that we cannot land on Saipan." Buy time, and when its carrier fleet is back in combat, it can compete with us. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded slightly. "You have a good grasp of the battle situation, which is exactly the judgment I made with Gan Yongxing. In addition, we have received accurate information that Halsey, who commands Task Force 16, and Fletcher, who commands Task Force 17, are still recovering from their injuries. Both of them were almost killed by you, and although they didn't die, it's a pity, but they certainly won't recover by the end of March, and won't be able to return to the fleet until at least May. ”

"In other words, the US military has two less aircraft carrier commanders?"

"Yes, we are not sure whether Nimitz will promote the Young Zhuang faction general or appoint a veteran."

Nie Renfeng shrugged his shoulders, "The intelligence department is stepping up the collection of intelligence in this area. At the moment, we've got at least two less good opponents, which is a good thing. ”

"I'm not worried about Fletcher, it's more likely that Halsey will cause us problems."

"Don't take any opponent lightly!"

Nie Renfeng immediately became serious, "The first lesson I gave you when I entered the military academy, the fourth of the ten commandments of the Navy is not to despise any enemy, as long as this enemy has not been destroyed, then never despise him!" ”

"Headmaster, I know!"

Tan Renhao secretly stuck out his tongue.

"You have to not only know, but always remember that. Yes, you are a victorious general, and you have won many battles. But you know, what is your biggest flaw? ”

Nie Renfeng has been the principal for 20 years, and as a teacher, he is definitely the best.

Tan Renhao didn't say anything, but lowered his head slightly, just like a student who had done something wrong.

"Your downside is that you haven't suffered defeat!"

Nie Renfeng's words were very serious, "The navy doesn't just need a victorious general. There is a greater need for generals who can come out of adversity. You've had setbacks, but it's not defeats. It is precisely because you have not suffered defeat that you think that you are invincible in the world, and no one can be your opponent. If you think so, then you can't have the last laugh. What is Japan? Japan is just a clown, and if you win, it depends not only on your personal ability. The current enemy is completely different from Japan. This was evidenced by the crushing defeat of the Second Task Force. Why was the US Navy able to inflict heavy damage on the Second Task Force when the quality of its personnel, the performance of its fighters was inferior to ours, and its strength was inferior to ours? Because. We all lack that mindset that values the enemy. Maybe. You won't be able to lose a battle in your life, but you can't be a victorious general. See what I mean? ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, he also felt a little proud.

"How do you feel about the current command structure of the Navy?"

Tan Renhao was stunned. Didn't keep up with the speed of the principal's thinking.

"I heard that when you were the chief of staff in the Western Pacific Theater, you thought there was something wrong with our command system?"

Tan Renhao glanced at the principal quickly, and then nodded slightly.

Nie Renfeng laughed. "It's a good thing that you're telling the truth in front of me. Perhaps, half a year ago I would not have thought about it, but now I have to think about it. ”

"Headmaster, what do you mean ......"

"We have suffered a lot of losses this time!"

Nie Renfeng sighed, then stood up, "The combat effectiveness of the U.S. military was originally not so strong. But why did they last so long? The problem lies in our command system, where the various combat units on the front line are not subordinate to each other and have no contact with each other, and the remote command of the naval command cannot solve the problems on the frontline battlefield at all. On the contrary, the US military's theater command system has a lot to learn from. Although Nimitz is a formidable opponent, his individual ability is not enough to turn the whole situation around, and his advantage is that he has a huge command of the theater and can even directly mobilize the reserves in the rear. The U.S. forces are fighting in general, while we are divided into several forces and fighting individually. If it weren't for such a huge investment, maybe we would have failed a long time ago! ”

Tan Renhao followed Nie Renfeng and stood up. "Headmaster, I also feel that the command is very chaotic, and the front-line troops are unable to coordinate their actions, which seriously weakens the combat effectiveness of our army!"

Nie Renfeng nodded solemnly. "So, are you in favor of a theater system?"

"This ......"

Tan Renhao is a little embarrassed, this is not easy to answer.

"Say whatever comes to mind."

"The U.S. theater command system does have its work, but it doesn't necessarily fit our situation."

Tan Renhao tried to find some euphemistic words. "The empire has the reality of the empire, and the military system of the empire is different in nature from the United States, we should not copy the enemy's system, but should arrange a more reasonable system according to the actual situation of the empire."

Nie Renfeng didn't speak, but was thinking.

"Headmaster, I'm just talking casually, and I don't actually have any qualifications to speak on this issue."

"You're saying a good job. I've been thinking about this for the past few days. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded at the student and motioned for Tan Renhao to sit down and talk. Then he sat down. "I've been thinking about this as well, but the Imperial Navy has a history of hundreds of years, and this kind of large-scale change has not been made more than five times, and it only came once a year ago, if it is adjusted again......"

Tan Renhao couldn't bear to open his mouth this time, he belonged to a low-level general, and his qualifications were too shallow, so he was not qualified to discuss such a topic at all.

Nie Renfeng also saw Tan Renhao's embarrassment, and he laughed. "It's a bit too much to talk to you about these things, I'm just trying to talk to an outsider. Okay, when are you going back? ”

"Wait a minute, hand over the combat report to the chief of staff, and prepare to return to the fleet."

"I won't send you."

Nie Renfeng stood up, "I have already submitted your promotion order to the Prime Minister, I believe that when you return triumphantly, you will wear a new epaulettes!" ”

"Thank you, principal, I'll go pack my bags and leave in the evening!"

Nie Renfeng smiled and nodded. "Do a good job, you have a good chance of becoming the youngest vice admiral in the history of the Imperial Navy, another new record!"

Tan Renhao immediately saluted, and then took his leave and left.

"That's right, Renhao."

As soon as Tan Renhao walked to the door, Nie Renfeng stopped him and took out a pack of cigarettes, "You don't seem to be so good at smoking, this is also a good thing, this pack of cigarettes will not be given to you, smoke less in the future." ”

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, and then laughed awkwardly, the principal even noticed this detail.

In the afternoon of the same day, Liao Hanxiang took the first step, because he had to arrange the transfer of bomber troops, so Liao Hanxiang had to rush to Taiwan Island as soon as possible to do a good job in the preliminary deployment and transfer work, especially to recruit volunteer pilots. He left only one staff officer to serve as a liaison officer on the side of the naval command.

Tan Renhao also handed over the combat report of the previous stage of the First Task Force to several Gan Yongxing in the afternoon of the same day, and then went home and packed his luggage and prepared to rush back to the fleet. He didn't forget to help Hao Dongjue hand over the letter, and of course, he didn't forget to tell his father again not to have any dealings with the people of the Chai family. He also specifically found the logistics office of the base and applied for a service soldier to help him take care of his family (this is the pre-possession of a general, a major general can have an orderly, but the average young general will not take the initiative to apply for this privilege) The plane still refueled at Kadena Airport, and then took off to Iwo Jima (at that time, the empire already had transport planes with a range of more than 3,500 kilometers, and the first batch had been mass-produced, but for safety reasons, this kind of transport aircraft had not yet been immediately provided to the generals) when it arrived at Iwo JimaIt was already noon the next day. To Tan Renhao's surprise, on the way to the fleet, he saw that green smoke had come out of the chimneys of those warships in the anchorage, and he was making preparations!