Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue jointly submitted a new proposal (originally only the commander's signature was required, but Tan Renhao didn't want to take Hao Dongjue's credit anymore) The naval command did not rush to reply, Gan Yongxing just sent a telegram, asking Tan Renhao and them to hurry up and complete the preparations for the new battle, and the specific arrangements would be notified after the decision was made.

By the night of the 14th, the 6th Sentai of two and a half divisions had landed on Agripan Island (the other half of the division was forced to stay on Asunción Island because of insufficient transport forces) The 6th Sentai had received five battalions of artillery that night, as well as dozens of tanks (provided by the 6th Army, some of which had been modified to adapt to island operations) and the 6th Sentai had been expanded fivefold, The newly arrived supplies were immediately moved to a safe place (the U.S. military has not given up the bombing of Agrihan Island), and a large number of 6 Strike Force assault units are advancing deeper into the island.

Task Force 3 carried out its final artillery bombardment of the American forces on the island that day and night. All the battleships participating in the bombardment had used their ammunition to a minimum (the main guns of the battleships were not used, because the main guns of the six battleships were halfway through their lifespan) before dawn, and after Rear Admiral Yan Shiqi sent a telegram from the "Guangzhou" (flagship) to Admiral Yan Guozhong, who was commanding the 6th Sentai on the island, the 3rd Task Force withdrew to the support area and went north to join the supply fleet near Asunción Island, ready to receive ammunition and fuel supplies.

On the morning of the 15th, the bombers of Task Force 1 dropped the last bombs on Agrihan Island and returned to the fleet before ten o'clock. Immediately, Tan Renhao also sent a telegram of encouragement to Yan Guozhong, and Hao Dongjue sent two liaison officers of the 6th Squad to the transport plane. Task Force 1 began sailing northwest by eleven o'clock. At about five o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, the fleet joined up with the supply fleet. This time, the supply fleet sent fuel, as well as ammunition, and mainly aviation armor-piercing shells and torpedoes used to bomb the battleship, rather than high-explosive and incendiary bombs for ground strikes.

This resupply continued until dawn on the 16th, as time was not of the essence. Therefore, Tan Renhao did not carry out the mobilization of the whole fleet. The next thing to face is the powerful American fleet, so let the officers and men seize the time to recuperate and regain their strength, which is the basis for victory.

"Renhao, do you think the chief of staff will adopt our suggestion?"

Hao Dongjue didn't think about going to sleep, and in the past few days, he had to ask this question almost every time he saw Tan Renhao.

"Don't worry, the chief of staff will give us an answer soon."

Tan Renhao turned around. Leaning on the railing, "The chief of staff did not veto our proposal, but also promised that it would be considered in detail, and when there is a result, he will definitely be the first to inform us." You should know what a plan goes through, even if it's a special time, it should take a few days. ”

Hao Dongjue nodded, and then lit a cigarette. When Tan Renhao submitted the report, he wrote his name on the front and explained that this was the suggestion of the chief of staff of the First Task Force. If this proposal is adopted. It will be of great help to the next promotion. Of course. Hao Dongjue did not yet know how much impact his proposal would have on the war. It's like when he first proposed to attack Japan, he didn't know that his proposal would eventually turn Japan into a garbage dump!

"Go and rest!"

Tan Renhao grabbed his partner's shoulder. "We're going to be here tonight, you go get some sleep, maybe wake up, and the news will be delivered."

Hao Dongjue smiled and nodded, and after popping the cigarette butt out of the board, he left first.

Tan Renhao looked at the supply ship not far away, thinking about this combat operation, and then he laughed. When Hao Dongjue proposed this method that no one had thought of before, Tan Renhao was a little difficult to accept at first, after all, killing the enemy was the key to victory. And avoiding the enemy is a sign of cowardice. But he quickly figured out that many times, it was not necessary to have shells, bombs, and 6 Sentai to take out the enemy, and maybe there was a better way. Killing the enemy is only one path to victory, so is there another way? As long as you can win, why can't you choose a better way?

"Commander, a telegram from the command of the Navy!"

Hear the words of the staff officer behind him. Tan Renhao immediately turned around and took the telegram at the same time.

"Do you need to inform the Chief of Staff?"

"Quick...... No, you don't. ”

Tan Renhao glanced at the sky that was lighting up, "Don't disturb the chief of staff, let him sleep well, I'll go find him later." ”

The staff officer nodded, and he also knew that the most tired person in the whole fleet these days was probably the easy-going chief of staff who often joked with their young staff officers.

"You guys should be about to change shifts, right?"

Tan Renhao doesn't want others to think that he is superior, but he is not proficient in how to close the gap between this identity and status. "Let's go change shifts, there should be nothing to do today, take a good rest, maybe in a few days, we won't even have time to sleep."

After the staff officer left, Tan Renhao carefully read the contents of the telegram. This is Gan Yongxing's place, and there is also the signature of Marshal Nie Renfeng on it. After Tan Renhao returned with the suggestion that he would choose one or two islands in the middle of the Mariana Islands where the US military was weakly defended and quickly build field airfields on these islands for the use of HNA tactical aircraft, Gan Yongxing immediately realized the value of this suggestion.

When Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue realized that the enemy's sea power was strengthening, Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng also showed this new threat. If it does not immediately seize air supremacy over the entire archipelago and the surrounding waters, it is very likely that the US military will wait for reinforcements to arrive before launching a counterattack. By then, the Americans had twelve battleships in their hands, while the Third Task Force had only six battleships. If the battle had taken place at night, the probability of defeat for Task Force 3 was at least eighty percent. Even if the bombers of the 1st Task Force arrive in time at dawn, and the 3rd Task Force is finished by then, and the US forces have so many battleships and escort warships, the bombing effect of the 1st Task Force will not necessarily be much better (these battleships have strong anti-aircraft firepower), and the worst result is that the 3rd Task Force is defeated, the 1st Task Force loses its barrier, and the US fleet advances at night and is protected by shore-based aviation, then this victory will be far away. Don't say anything else. If the campaign drags on for a few months (at most March), the four aircraft carriers of the US Navy will most likely be restored to combat effectiveness, and even if the second task force "recovers" by then, the sea forces of both sides will at most return to a state of equilibrium. Before that, the advantage gained by the Tang Empire's navy will be gone, and it is bound to fight another fierce battle with the American army, and the victory or defeat will be even more unpredictable!

This question was raised by someone in the Naval Staff on the afternoon of 13 March (the day the US Atlantic Task Force passed through the Panama Canal), and then Gan Yongxing convened a staff meeting in the evening. Ask for a new plan to solve this problem immediately. Half an hour after the end of this all-staff meeting, Tan Renhao's telegram returned. Gan Yongxing first put Tan Renhao's suggestion into the scope of reference, and did not focus on it, after all, Tan Renhao is the commander of the aircraft carrier faction, and Hao Dongjue is from the aviation force, neither of them has received professional training from the 6th team, and they don't know much about the tactics of the 6th team, so Gan Yongxing didn't immediately pay attention to Tan Renhao's suggestion, but just made a haha, let Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue wait for news.

Fourteenth. The staff officer in charge of the preliminary review of the plan showed up the proposal submitted by Tan Renhao. This staff officer, who had always been in charge of the tactics of the 6th Sentai (the 6th Sentai had a separate staff department, but there was a similar department in the Navy Headquarters, which was much smaller) and he immediately realized the great value of this suggestion, and before the evening (Tan Renhao and their suggestions were arranged at the end, otherwise this staff officer could have presented this most valuable suggestion a few hours in advance) sent it to Gan Yongxing along with several other valuable suggestions. Among other proposals, there were fleets to attack Pearl Harbor, fleets to attack the US mainland, and even attacks in the South Pacific to distract US troops. Obviously, these proposals were either beyond the capabilities of the Imperial Navy at the time, or beyond the planned scope of the campaign, or they would have to take a long time to prepare. The need for the cooperation of other troops, even the 6 Army, is almost unpractical.

When Gan Yongxing saw the proposal on the top, that is, the proposal put forward by Tan Renhao, he did not ignore Tan Renhao's proposal again. That night, Gan Yongxing gathered several staff officers who were proficient in the tactics of the 6th Squad and made a detailed and comprehensive assessment of Tan Renhao's proposals, and finally believed that this plan was the most feasible. The least amount of troops invested, and the most in line with the campaign arrangement, only need to make a small range of movements and adjustments, and then it can be implemented, and the success rate is also very high.

After Gan Yongxing preliminarily decided to adopt Tan Renhao's suggestion, he found Nie Renfeng's house before Marshal Nie Renfeng went to bed that night (it was nearly twelve o'clock at this time), and the two discussed mainly some major issues this time, especially whether this kind of performance could eventually force the American fleet to come to the decisive battle, and whether this would lead to the defeat of the Battle of Agrihan Island. The two discussed until more than three o'clock, and finally Nie Renfeng personally made a decision, adopted the suggestion put forward by Tan Renhao, and immediately organized troops to implement a new Deng 6 operation, and strive to complete this operation before the 20th!

Gan Yongxing first went to mobilize the staff officers and asked them to come up with a battle plan as soon as possible, and then went to contact General Yan Guozhong to solicit the opinions of the 6th Combat Team (symbolic), and then went to contact the person in charge of the logistics department to ask the logistics department to make new adjustments and configurations. After he had finished all this, he remembered that he should send a telegram back to Tan Renhao, and by the time he sent the telegram, it was already past five o'clock, and the time in the sea area where the first task force was located was just before dawn.

Tan Renhao didn't let Hao Dongjue "lose sleep" because of this good news, he knew this friend too well, if Hao Dongjue knew that the chief of staff had adopted his suggestion and was organizing and implementing, this kid would definitely be so excited that he couldn't sleep for several days. He was more aware of his partner's current state, since the last time Task Force 1 left Naha and embarked on a journey, Hao Dongjue was like a fully fueled steam turbine, tirelessly spinning and busy. He has been persisting for nearly half a month, and after half a month, Hao Dongjue has lost a lot of weight. Tan Renhao tried to persuade him several times not to be so hardworking, but it was useless to persuade him, so he simply didn't say it.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Hao Dongjue, who had slept for nearly ten hours, woke up, he didn't know that in the cup of orange juice he drank before going to bed, his adjutant secretly put two sleeping pills into it (this was enough for his adjutant to be sent to a military court, and then spent the rest of his life in a military prison, but this must have been well-intentioned at the time, otherwise Hao Dongjue would get up after sleeping for four hours at most) Seeing Hao Dongjue come to the command cabin, Tan Renhao was also a little surprised, this kid had slept for so long, He's going to send someone to see if he can't get up!

"What, my face wasn't washed? Or do I have horns on my head? ”

Hao Dongjue's spirit has fully recovered, otherwise this kid would definitely not take the initiative to joke.

"No, no, you're in a lot of energy!"

Tan Renhao laughed, and then took out the telegram that was in his pocket. "As I said, there will be good news when you wake up, and look, the chief of staff has taken your advice and will start a new operation in the next few days."

Hao Dongjue was stunned for a moment, probably his head had not fully sobered up, and then he immediately opened the telegram, quickly browsed it, and then laughed.

"If, according to your suggestion, we can finally win this battle, I believe that it won't be long before you catch up with me!"

Tan Renhao patted Hao Dongjue's shoulder, "Don't be ungrateful, you kid, when the time comes, remember that there is still me as a difficult brother!" ”

"Renhao, who are you shaking? Catching up with you? By the time I catch up, you'll probably be a general! ”

Hao Dongjue couldn't hide the joy in his heart, and his face was about to bloom with a smile, "However, I really have to thank you this time, if you ......"

"Two brothers, why are you talking about this, will I still steal your credit?"

Tan Renhao sighed, "Let's do it, you have to thank me for your words, then tonight you have a treat, I have to go to the officer's cafeteria to order a few of the best stir-fries." By the way, everyone has a share. Brothers, don't let go of the chief of staff this time, eat big households, don't eat for nothing! ”

Those staff officers who had been watching the commander and the chief of staff immediately coaxed, Hao Dongjue was already a very generous person, so naturally he would not be stingy with this little money, anyway, the meals in the officer's cafeteria on the battleship were not very expensive.