Immediately after arriving at Rabaul, the fleet set off. When the 1st Task Force arrived on the 8th, it was in a state of combat readiness, and the officers and men of the fleet rotated one-third of their men to rest ashore for no more than six hours at a time, and all of them spent the night on the ships, and the range of activity did not exceed that of the Marine camp at Rabaul. In addition, the boilers on all the ships were not turned off, but were running at the lowest power. Therefore, upon learning of the return of the fleet commander and chief of staff, the staff officer of the command immediately sent all the officers and men back to the battleship, and the final replenishment of food and fresh water was completed within a few hours.

In the early morning of the 13th, the fleet reached the sea about 50 nautical miles southwest of Rennell Island. At this time, there were two airfields controlled by the Navy on Rennell Island, which were the two airfields of the previous US military, a regular military airfield, and a field airfield. It took Marine Corps engineers about a month to repair the two airfields, and now there are 200 tactical aircraft stationed on the island, as well as more than 70 reconnaissance and long-range patrol aircraft. According to Tan Renhao's request, by 15 July, the HNA will deploy at least 50 long-range patrol planes to this side to assist the fleet in combat.

There are also two airfields on nearby Makila Island, which the Marines repaired only early last month, where the HNA has deployed more than 200 tactical warplanes and dozens of long-range patrol aircraft. In addition, there is a small port to the west of Makila Island, where more than a dozen torpedo boats of the Tang Empire are stationed, mainly responsible for patrolling the nearby waters.

Early that morning, the Fourth Task Force had also moved into position, at nine o'clock. A seaplane sent the news to Task Force 1. Huang Xiaotian is carrying out lateral patrols within 120 nautical miles to 150 nautical miles south of Tagula Island with a radius of 50 nautical miles according to the predetermined plan. And already in the early hours of the morning, the first reconnaissance aircraft were sent.

The number of military airfields on Tagoura Island has expanded to two, and the Marines repaired the original regular airfield in the middle of last month. A field airfield was built fifteen kilometers to the west. HNA has deployed 200 tactical aircraft here, as well as dozens of reconnaissance and long-range patrol aircraft.

By the afternoon, the 3rd Task Force was also in place, and before evening, the seaplane sent the relevant news. Chang Jiexin is also planning to have the fleet conduct combat patrols in an area about 120 nautical miles northwest of Rennell Island and within a radius of 30 nautical miles.

In addition to the airfields on the nearby islands, HNA has deployed at least two ground-based radars on each island, one of which is a mobile radar mounted on heavy trucks (which was only made available to HNA in the mid-25 years, and HNA is responsible for air defense in key areas in addition to commanding aviation) and a fixed radar with a longer detection range. There are also at least two radio centres on each island.

Preparing an additional radar and a communication center will not only avoid being destroyed by the enemy at one time, but also avoid the situation that the defenders on the island cannot contact the outside world due to a malfunction.

The 1st Task Force also began dispatching reconnaissance planes on the morning of 13 July. The reconnaissance mission was arranged by Hao Dongjue, and Tan Renhao didn't worry about it, he wouldn't do it better than Hao Dongjue. At night. The fleet avoided about 50 nautical miles to the north, but actually reached about 30 nautical miles west of Rennell Island. The reconnaissance work is carried out by the night reconnaissance planes on the islands, while the reconnaissance planes of the fleet are to be overhauled at night, and the pilots have time to recuperate.

Tan Renhao has been thinking about the deployment of this campaign repeatedly. He had already done this work several times, and it seemed to others that it was a bit redundant, but in Tan Renhao's view, any small loophole could lead to a final fiasco, so when he had time, the most he did was to check the deployment of the campaign. The best way to check is to put yourself in the opponent's position and think about how to attack, or how to defend, in the opponent's mind. This is a very brain-intensive thing, and it is also a key point to test the ability of the commander.

As the time passed, some officers and men in the fleet were already anxious, after all, if it dragged on like this, it would have a great impact on morale. Tan Renhao did not feel anxious, he was confident in the quality of the officers and men of the fleet. Since taking over the First Task Force, Tan Renhao has spent a lot of time improving the quality of officers and men. When he led the fleet to the Mariana Islands battlefield, the quality of the officers and men of the First Task Force, especially in terms of morale and fighting spirit, could be said to be the worst among the three task forces at that time, and after more than a year of fighting, the First Task Force was already the most elite fleet in the Imperial Navy. In the same way, there will be no problem with the quality of the officers and men of the Third Task Force and the Fourth Task Force, and now all the key officers and men of the main task force have experienced many battles and are veterans for a long time.

By the evening of the 16th, even Hao Dongjue couldn't sit still.

"Renhao, don't you think it's a bit of a problem?"

"Questions? What's the problem? Tan Renhao's gaze left the war zone chart on the table, then dropped the scale and pencil in his hand, and looked at Hao Dongjue.

"Today is the sixteenth, and a few hours later it will be the seventeenth, but there is no news from the US fleet, is there no problem?" Hao Dongjue furrowed his eyebrows, "Don't you think it's strange?" ”

"There's nothing strange about it." Tan Renhao beckoned to the communications staff officer, "If there is any new news, come and tell me immediately." ”

The communications staff nodded, and there was no much nonsense.

"Get out there and get some fresh air, what's the supper tonight?"

"You're still thinking about eating?" Hao Dongjue immediately followed, "369 should be serving dumplings, are you F4U?" ”

Because there are many officers and men on duty at night, the fleet's canteen is served every day, and according to the rules of the navy, there are three main types of supper: glutinous rice balls, wontons, and dumplings. Generally, the single-digit date of 147 provides rice balls, 258 provides wontons, 369 provides dumplings, and Feng 10 will have a more sumptuous supper, of course, how to arrange the specifics. This can be arranged on an ad hoc basis by a dedicated officer in the fleet.

"Let's go to the restaurant later." Tan Renhao stopped outside the command cabin, "Do you think it's strange that the U.S. military hasn't moved yet?" ”

Hao Dongjue nodded, and then took out a cigarette.

"There's actually nothing strange about it. Halsey was waiting for a signal. ”

"What signal?" Hao Dongjue asked while striking a match.

"Nimitz's signal to him." Tan Renhao watched Hao Dongjue struck a match a few times before lighting the cigarette. Then he laughed, "We all thought that Nimitz's movements were the most dangerous. I've been thinking about this a lot these days. Halsey should be well aware that he doesn't have more forces than us, and that he will certainly see Task Force 1 as their number one opponent. Right now. We've been here for a few days, and even though Halsey doesn't know where we are, he knows we've left Rabaul. Therefore, if he goes north blindly, he will end up hitting his head against the wall and being beaten to pieces by us.

So, Halsey needed a better time. ”

"You're saying that he won't attack until Nimitz's counterattack begins?"

Tan Renhao nodded. "Otherwise, why would Spruance be in such a hurry to take out Task Force 2? If my judgment is not wrong. Then Nimitz would not let the troops land on Midway, but directly skip Midway and attack Wake Island. He would arrange for Task Force 52 to bomb Wake Island first. Destroy the airfield on Wake Island, seize air supremacy, take advantage of the fact that our fleet can't make it, and send Marines to Wake Island. And now. There were less than 5,000 defenders on Wake Island, and if Nimitz committed a Marine Division, Wake Island would fall within ten days. Then, he would send troops to the Marshall Islands, then the Gilbert Islands......"

"When's the time for Halsey?"

"Wake Island was bombed, and that's how Halsey's fleet left Port Vila. And while the fierce battle on Wake Island is still going on, we're going to have to fight Halsey. ”

Hao Dongjue lowered his head and thought about it, when the time comes, the Imperial Navy will inevitably pay close attention to the battle on Wake Island, and the Second Task Force will definitely be dispatched again, and take this opportunity to launch an attack by Halsey, and the Imperial Navy's attention will once again be focused on the Southwest Pacific, so the Second Task Force will be in danger.

"Actually, Shaoqing had a better choice at that time." Tan Renhao opened the topic at this time, "I have analyzed the combat operations of the Second Task Force, and when the Marines have completed the operation to capture Midway, the best choice for the Second Task Force should be to sail southeast and get close to Midway, so that they can avoid the attack of the 51st Task Force. Shaoqing wouldn't be unaware of this, with his cautious character, he was even the first to think of this, but he chose to sail southwest, why? ”

Hao Dongjue raised his head and looked at Tan Renhao in surprise. He had not thought about the combat operations of the Second Task Force, mainly because he did not want to think about it again.

"Because Shaoqing knows that if he can take out the 51st Task Force, it will be of greater help to us, or rather, he wants to prove that there are only three fleet aircraft carriers in the southwest Pacific, not six." Tan Renhao's expression became serious, "If there is no fierce battle between the second task force and the 51st task force, Spruance will definitely not expose the 51st task force, and it is impossible for us to know how many fleet aircraft carriers there are in the southwest Pacific, then the difficulty of this combat operation will increase a lot, and we will not choose to take the initiative, and the situation will be more favorable to the US military." Shaoqing is to help us, so he chose the risky route, and he also made the most correct decision at the most critical time, his counterattack played a role not only in tactics and battles, but even in the entire Pacific theater. ”

Hao Dongjue sighed. "I know that, but the question is, when will Nimitz send troops to Wake Island?"

"Just for a few days." Tan Renhao turned his head, "The Battle of Midway that broke out on the 10th, if Nimitz's counterattack was a series, then the Marine Corps, the landing fleet, and the transport troops were already ready to go, and he only needed five to ten days to plan a new battle plan, let the Marine Corps set off, the fleet arrived in the waters of Wake Island, and so on." Thus, by the 20th at the latest, the Nimitz counterattack will begin.

"Then we should send this message out right away."

"I had already sent a plane the day before yesterday to deliver the news to General Yan Guozhong." Tan Renhao patted Hao Dongjue on the shoulder, "Don't worry, General Liao Hanxiang will be prepared, at least he will send an additional group of troops to Wake Island, and with the fortifications on the island, the marines may be able to hold out for a few more days, if the second task force goes into battle, then the US military will be more careful in its actions, and it will be able to delay for a longer time." As long as we can overcome Halsey here, then Nimitz's counterattack will definitely fail. ”

"Is it possible for Nimitz to attack Midway?" After Hao Dongjue's thinking was released, he immediately raised a new question.

"It is entirely possible, of course, with the current strength in Han Shaofeng's hands, even if the airfield on the island is destroyed and the US Marines successfully land, I am afraid that in less than a month, the US military will not be able to defeat Midway." Tan Renhao laughed at the case, "It's better for us, at least we have more time, isn't it?" ”

Hao Dongjue nodded. "Okay, let's go for supper then, aren't you F4U?"

"You're in for a treat?"

"Why am I in for a treat? Didn't you say okay, I'll treat you on odd-numbered days, and you'll treat you on even-numbered days? ”

"Why, invite your eldest brother to dinner, you are so stingy? Otherwise, let's go to Qinglian and ask, should I invite you, or you invite me. ”

"Come on, come on, I'll invite you, I'll treat you tomorrow."

"No problem, let's talk about it tomorrow, okay? Don't be so stingy, you don't know my situation, now you don't even have money for cigarettes, do you want to see my F4U commanding the fleet with a belly? ”

"Well, it looks like I can sell some gossip to the newspaper. Vice Admiral of the Imperial Navy, General Tan Renhao, commander of the First Task Force, had no money to eat. It's sure to make headlines. ”

"You're leaking imperial military secrets, it's no problem for you to go to prison, but what about Qinglian? I don't want to watch my sister widowed. ”

"Then you'll have a treat tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, I'll please, I'm going to eat a big portion today."

"Hey, didn't you eat small portions before? Then I'll have a big portion tomorrow too! ”

……

After the two of them walked away, several staff officers laughed in the command cabin, these are really two living treasure generals.