At six o'clock, Spruance had four aircraft carriers finish refueling, and in the meantime, three large cruisers, as well as a group of destroyers, had finished refueling. Now only a group of light cruisers remains, and destroyers continue to receive fuel from supply ships.

As it grew brighter, Spruance became more and more uneasy. The shore-based air bases on the islands of Nihua and Necker have not yet been heard from him, that is, the 1st Task Force has not yet been found. This made Spruance feel even more uneasy, one night was enough time for Task Force 1 to do a lot of things, could it be that this fleet with two aircraft carriers suddenly disappeared?

One thing Spruance did not know was that when he arranged for the plane to go to Niwa Island and Necker Island, the long-range reconnaissance planes on these two islands did not depart, but only departed at night after receiving his orders. At that time, Task Force 1 had already reached the waters east of Necke Island, and the reconnaissance planes on Necke Island were flying northward, with a search range of 120 degrees, and Task Force 1 was already outside this range. By the time the reconnaissance planes on Nihua Island took off, the First Task Force had already reached the sea area about 50 degrees north-west of Nihua Island, a distance of 200 nautical miles, and the First Task Force was still heading south at full speed. The reconnaissance aircraft on Nihua Island also searched within 120 degrees to the north. In other words, when the reconnaissance planes on Nihua Island flew over, the 1st Task Force had already gone south about 50 nautical miles, and it was only 170 nautical miles away from Nihua Island, and it turned at this time, which happened to miss the long-range night reconnaissance planes on Nihua Island!

In other words. The 1st Task Force entered the blind spot of reconnaissance coverage on Necker Island and Nihua Island, and the reconnaissance planes taking off from the two islands were unable to find the 1st Task Force, so naturally no news was sent to Spruance.

That's exactly what Spruance was worried about. It's almost dawn. So far, the first task force has not been discovered, so there are only two possibilities. First, Task Force 1 was north of Necker Island. Or to the north of Nihua Island, and it is very likely that it is outside the patrol range of night reconnaissance aircraft, at least these two islands will not be too close, then it will not be able to threaten the Fifth Fleet, which is naturally the best outcome. And the other thing is. The 1st Task Force had successfully moved south at night and successfully avoided the night reconnaissance planes taking off from the two islands, which meant that the 5th Fleet was already within the range of the 1st Task Force bombers.

Thinking of this, Spruance became nervous, he had never doubted Tan Renhao's monochrome and his ability to make decisive decisions, if Tan Renhao knew about the Fifth Fleet's supply near Nihua Island, he would definitely go south overnight. Spruance asked his staff officers to mark the coverage of the night reconnaissance aircraft on the charts, and to indicate the absolute search range. Then. He calculated it with the help of tools such as scales.

In the end, Spruance came to the conclusion that if Task Force 1 had turned south by eight o'clock yesterday night. Moreover, if the speed has been maintained at more than 30 knots, and the most direct route is adopted, then it is very likely that the first task force will pass through the most dangerous sea area before the reconnaissance planes depart. Avoided those shore-based night reconnaissance aircraft. If that were the case, then Task Force 1 would be only 220 to 270 nautical miles away from the Fifth Fleet, which would be a fatal distance!

"General, there's a plane over there, it looks like a seaplane."

"Seaplane?" Spruance was startled, "Flying from Niwa Island?" Do they have any news? ”

"I don't know, but they should have sent a telegram instead of a seaplane, right?"

Spruance was stunned for a moment, and immediately shouted loudly: "Quickly issue the air defense alarm and let the fighter take off immediately." Damn, it must have been an enemy seaplane, and did the other side send a telegram? ”

The aircraft carrier immediately began to accelerate, but by the time the fighter had taken off ten minutes later, the seaplane was gone. Because the radio listening stations in the fleet were always turned off, no one knew whether the plane had sent a telegram or not. But one thing is for sure, it was no seaplane flying from Nihua Island!

It was indeed a seaplane that had taken off from Task Force 1, and it was a seaplane that had flown to the maximum patrol radius. When the pilot found dozens of warships and a dozen supply ships on the sea, he was also taken aback, and then sent a telegram and prepared to be attacked by fighters. But when the pilot found that there were no fighter planes in the sky, and that there were no fighter planes parked on the flight decks of the four aircraft carriers, he breathed a sigh of relief, and after circling over the Fifth Fleet for five minutes, he found that the aircraft carriers began to accelerate, and then they flew away. At this time, the seaplane only carried enough fuel to return home, so it could not make too many stops over the Fifth Fleet. Of course, the pilots did not forget the most crucial thing, which was to send back the most important information about the location, size, and specific circumstances of the Fifth Fleet, so that the fleet commander could make arrangements.

The first to make the arrangement was not Tan Renhao, but Spruance. By 6:45 a.m., the fighters that had taken off had basically searched the surrounding airspace and found no planes. At the same time, the staff of the fleet also contacted other battleships and determined that there were no cruisers to arrange for seaplane takeoff. The supply fleet also sent a message that they did not ask the Nihua Island side to send seaplanes over. Now, Spruance was completely sure that it was a seaplane from Task Force 1.

"The fleet immediately accelerated, headed due south, and advanced at full speed. Also...... Spruance hesitated, "don't send any telegrams, and when the fleet accelerates, let all the fighters take off." ”

"Do you want to activate the radar?"

At this point, Spruance was a little embarrassed. Although the radar wave signal will not be detected more than 200 nautical miles away, who can be sure that the First Task Force is 200 nautical miles away from the Fifth Fleet?

If the radar were activated now, the radio listening stations on the ships of the First Task Force would be rewarded, and the location of the Fifth Fleet would be more determined. But the problem is. The Fifth Fleet has now been exposed, and if it does not activate the radar, it will be completely passive.

"Let the radar warm up first.

Work starts in half an hour. Spruance made the decision.

"How do you set up the fleet's route?"

"Don't worry about that much and sail south at full speed. Run as fast as you can! Spruance was also a little overwhelmed, the staff officer's questions were indeed a little too much, "Tell the convoy to let them sail east as soon as possible, the enemy's bombers will arrive soon." All the ground warships immediately stop supplying, and everyone starts to flee for their lives! ”

Seeing the commander's panicked appearance, the staff officer did not dare to be wordy, and immediately went to give the order.

Spruance also gradually quieted down, he felt himself break out in a cold sweat, even if there was no evidence that the seaplane that suddenly appeared and disappeared was the carrier aircraft of the First Task Force cruiser, but Spruance knew very well that the First Task Force was nearby, like a shadow assassin. A fatal blow is being delivered, and now, the only thing he can do is run for his life. Full speed for your life!

At the time, Spruance's concerns were completely understandable, and his decision was completely understandable. There were only so many fighters in the Fifth Fleet, and there were no bombers left on Necker Island.

What if he found Task Force 1? Should fighter jets be hung with 50-pound bombs against the aircraft carriers of Task Force 1? What's more, until now, he still doesn't know the specific location of the First Task Force, but at the last moment, someone saw that the seaplane was heading north, that is, the First Task Force must be somewhere near Nihua Island, maybe in the south, maybe in the north, anyway, it is not very far from Nihua Island, but the specific location is not known at all!

At this time, Spruance had no choice but to flee for his life, and he could only flee south to distance himself from Task Force 1 as soon as possible, and all Spruance could count on was that Task Force 1 had better stay as far away as he could and that the bombers would have departed a little longer. If this distance is 250 nautical miles, then the Fifth Fleet still has hope of escaping the blow. At least, the seaplane pilots of the Tang Imperial Navy at that time were not small, if it were not for the fuel shortage, then the seaplane would not be in a hurry to return home, and the maximum patrol radius of the seaplanes of the Tang Imperial Navy was 250 nautical miles, perhaps, the first task force was really 250 nautical miles away from the Fifth Fleet!

After gradually calming down, Spruance suddenly smiled bitterly. Now he fully understands the power of Tan Renhao, in the previous several encounters, Spruance has not been able to take much advantage, and often when he sees that the victory is about to come, Tan Renhao has a beautiful Jedi counterattack, which neutralizes Spruance's hard-won victory, and even turns defeat into victory.

In the early battles of this combat operation, the Fifth Fleet had been leading the nose of the First Task Force, not only successfully bombing the landing fleet of the Tang Imperial Marine Corps, but also severely damaging the First Task Force near Necker Island, almost completely destroying the First Task Force. However, in less than a day, the First Task Force was not only not defeated, but chased after it at full speed, ready to deal a fatal blow to the Fifth Fleet.

This is the most important characteristic of a good commander, who will never easily admit defeat in battle, and can seize that faint opportunity in the face of adversity, and finally turn defeat into victory and defeat the enemy.

Before, Spruance still felt that he was in control of the situation on the battlefield, but now he only felt that he was like a lost dog, being chased and beaten by Tan Renhao, and he didn't even have the strength to fight back.

"General, the telegram from Kauai has added that the plane to us will arrive about half an hour late, asking us to be ready to greet us."

"Greeting?" Spruance gritted his teeth, "The fleet will turn in an hour, those planes should still have some remaining fuel, contact a few fighters, and our fighters will provide flight guidance for those planes." ”

"Don't you need a radio?"

"No, you can't use the radio!"

The staff officer did not ask much and immediately went to carry out the order.

Spruance sat down, and he saw a glimmer of hope, but immediately realized that it was just an illusion. The bombers of Task Force 1 must have hit the road, and now the most important thing is to escape, if he is a step too late, he will die without a place to be buried!

"General, a telegram has been sent from Nihua Island, and the airport has been heavily bombed!"

Spruance was startled and immediately stood up.

Another communications officer ran over. "General, there is a call from Necke Island, the airfield has been suddenly bombed by the enemy, dozens of bombers have been destroyed, and the runway has been blown up."

Spruance was shocked again. "Can you count the size of the two fleets?"

"It should be possible to roughly count it, and it will take five minutes."

"Do it now and give me the results as soon as possible!" Spruance gritted his teeth and talked about what Renhao was going to do? Why go and bomb two almost useless airfields, instead of having bombers against the Fifth Fleet?

Soon, the staff officer took out the results of the statistics, and at the same time a telegram was delivered. This was also sent from Nihua Island, and a reconnaissance plane that had completed a night reconnaissance mission and returned before dawn had discovered the 1st Task Force, but it was quickly shot down, and only roughly determined the location of the 1st Task Force, but could not provide specific information.

As the staff officer marked the location of Task Force 1 on the chart, Spruance walked over, and he suddenly realized something, and then he picked up the battle report. The bombing of Nihua Island and Necker Island was huge, with hundreds of bombers and fighters, which meant that Task Force 1 sent all the bombers on both aircraft carriers to bomb the airfields on the islands, not against the Fifth Fleet. Well, Task Force 1 will certainly not have the strength to fight back now, and to send bombers again, it will take at least two hours, or even two and a half hours, to prepare.

Then, Spruance understood. Tan Renhao didn't know that there weren't many tactical bombers on Nihua Island and Necke Island, and he didn't know much about the situation on these two islands, and that was exactly the case, so he bombed the two islands first, even if the Fifth Fleet had been exposed, it would be difficult for the First Task Force to quickly organize forces to bomb the Fifth Fleet, and this was the opportunity for the Fifth Fleet to turn defeat into victory!