The scale of the German naval delegation was far larger than Nie Renfeng expected, and it was not an ordinary rear admiral who led the team, but Admiral Raeder! At this time, Nie Renfeng could only receive Raeder in person, after all, it would be rude to send anyone else to receive the German marshal. Tan Renhao was just an ordinary guest, and his job was to accompany several young generals of the German Navy to visit the Imperial Navy Headquarters, introduce the situation of the Imperial Navy, and discuss some simple tactical issues.

The reception work was not easy, and for three days, Tan Renhao accompanied the German generals to several places, and the exclamations of the German generals were endless. Especially when they arrived at the Jiangnan Shipyard, when those German ** officers saw the battleships still being built on the slipway (the second batch of the "New Provincial Capital" class) and the aircraft carriers perched next to the dock (the first batch of the "Lake" class aircraft carriers) and several large cruisers under construction, the eyes of these German generals showed emotion and envy. Perhaps, any naval officer and sailor of the Tang Empire would be proud at this time. In Tan Renhao's words, these German generals were like hillbillies who had arrived in the capital of the empire, and had never seen the world.

"Marshal, you are so enthusiastic, and I have confidence now. The Don Empire has such a powerful navy, and victory is not far from us! ”

"Marshal, in fact this is our common wealth and our common strength. Our navy is the navy of all allies, and victory is our common victory! ”

While the two marshals were greeting, Tan Renhao had already handed over the German generals to another rear admiral of the naval command to greet them, and he hid to the side to catch his breath.

"How's it going, you're tired these days, aren't you?"

Gan Yongxing also slipped out, and he, a straight-tempered soldier, was the most helpless in his entertainment activities.

"It's okay, at least I found a sense of accomplishment in the Germans."

Both laughed, and there were more than a dozen German admirals and hundreds of high-ranking officers on this visit. The unanimous opinion of these Germans was: the navy of the Don Empire was too enviable for them. Some German generals even discussed privately if they had a task force of the Tang Empire. Then the situation in the Atlantic will change completely. Of course, there are many things that the Germans envy, and everyone can find confidence and a sense of accomplishment in these German naval officers.

I don't know what Raeder and Nie Renfeng were greeting, the two talked for more than ten minutes, and then shook hands and said goodbye, Nie Renfeng sent Raeder to the plane, and the other German ** officers took several other planes. After watching the planes disappear into the sky on the ground. Nie Renfeng came over at this time.

"Headmaster, this matter is finally over, it seems that after Raeder goes back this time, maybe there will be some kind of 'task force plan' coming out."

Nie Renfeng laughed. "Let's go back first, this time the Germans are not just here to visit."

Tan Renhao was no longer joking, he and Gan Yongxing both got into Nie Renfeng's car, and soon, the group returned to the naval headquarters. When the others returned to their posts, Gan Yongxing and Tan Renhao were called to his office by Nie Renfeng.

"This time. The German side proposed a new plan. In fact, that's exactly what we planned. ”

Nie Renfeng went to pour two cups of tea, "Xiang already called yesterday. Now the British and French fleets are preparing to go south, and our forces in the South Atlantic are so small that if the British and French fleets kill them, I am afraid that we will not even be able to keep Cape Town. Therefore, we must make the best use of the German naval force to contain the British and French fleets in the North Atlantic, so that they cannot be distracted from going south. ”

"The Germans agreed to this plan?"

Tan Renhao frowned slightly, if the Germans agreed to this plan without any conditions, then there is no doubt that the Germans are all stupid.

They agreed. But they also made conditions. ”

Nie Renfeng smiled bitterly, "The Germans are not stupid, they know very well that if they let their fleet kill out of the Baltic Sea now, they will be taking the initiative to die, and the German navy is so little, they can't afford to withstand any losses." ”

"On what terms?"

Gan Yongxing then asked.

"Is there anything else?"

Nie Renfeng shook his head, then crossed his hands, "A lot of material aid." Our 6th Army has intensified its offensive in the northwestern theater, and these are easy to do, and in fact we have been doing so all the time. ”

"What else did the Germans ask?"

Gan Yongxing also frowned.

Tan Renhao laughed next to him, the Germans are indeed not stupid, and they are very smart. The situation is obvious, the Tang Empire must not lose the last bastion in the Atlantic, and the key is to drag the British and French fleets so that they cannot go south. If Cape Town fell, then the gateway to the Indian Ocean would be opened to the British and French navies. The interests of the Tang Empire in the Indian Ocean are extremely important, and the resources of Africa, as well as the resources of the six largest regions in South Asia, are directly related to whether the war machine of the Tang Empire can operate normally. If the British and French fleets entered the Indian Ocean, the Tang Imperial Navy would have to divide its forces in the Indian Ocean and reduce its investment in the Pacific, and it would inevitably be at a disadvantage in the war with the United States, and the result would certainly not be much better. It was only natural that the Germans would make additional demands at this time.

"The German Navy asked us to provide all the warships to form a fleet."

Nie Renfeng sighed, "They have a great appetite, and they need to reach at least the size of the First Task Force, and they also need to get three additional battleships. ”

"This is simply robbery while the fire is burning, we don't have enough warships now, what to give to the Germans? Moreover, they don't even have a port to guarantee the fleet to dock, so what do they want so many warships for? ”

Gan Yongxing almost jumped up, "Headmaster, you won't really agree, will you?" ”

"I'm not a prime minister, can I agree?"

Nie Renfeng looked at Gan Yongxing's excited appearance and immediately laughed.

"That agreed?"

"It's impossible not to agree, but it's certainly not right now that the fleet can be supplied to Germany!"

Tan Renhao helped the principal say this.

Gan Yongxing glanced at Tan Renhao and said, "You guess? ”

"Ren Hao guessed correctly, Xiang has already agreed to this condition, but the premise is that we must wait until we open up the Atlantic route before we can provide the German Navy with the warships needed to form a fleet."

Nie Renfeng looked at Tan Renhao, "How did you guess?" ”

"Headmaster, actually, I just think this is the way it should be."

Tan Renhao smiled reluctantly, "First of all, the protection of the Indian Ocean route is also very important to Germany, and at least seventy percent of the strategic materials we are now exporting to Germany are by sea, and if the Indian Ocean route is threatened, Germany will also be affected." Second, the German Navy now only has submarine forces in operation, while the United States has opened up the Arctic route to Russia, and if it relies only on submarines, it will be difficult for Germany to completely block the two most important sea routes in the Atlantic. At last. And most crucially, there is no way for us to deliver these warships to the German Navy now, and Germany should know that the Imperial Navy will never provide any warships to other countries until it has absolute superiority in the Pacific. Of course, it doesn't hurt to write a blank check first, let the German Navy get moving, and share a little pressure for us," Nie Renfeng nodded with a smile. Ren Hao's analysis is not wrong at all, and now the prime minister only verbally agrees, and the Germans are well aware of how important the Indian Ocean route is to them. The war has been fought until now. It is no longer a war of one country. Rather, it is a war for the entire bloc of allied countries, and the loss of any one country is the loss of the entire bloc of allied nations. The Germans understood this, and they should do something. And not just watching us shed our blood and sacrifice. Of course, the Germans had this awareness, otherwise Raeder would not have personally come to discuss with us this joint operation plan. ”

"Joint operations plan?"

Gan Yongxing hesitated, "We are also preparing to strengthen the strength of the Atlantic Fleet?" ”

"Yes, all four new battleships will be transferred to the Atlantic Fleet, and at least two of the second batch of 'Lake' class aircraft carriers will be assigned to the Atlantic Fleet."

Nie Renfeng's gaze fell on Gan Yongxing, "However, we don't need to take action in the Atlantic Ocean now, the focus is still on the Pacific theater." Yongxing, the naval command system, and the personnel system plan come out? ”

"It's all drafted, and I'll hand it over to you tomorrow."

"Hurry up, while the prime minister's energy is focused on our side, I will submit these two plans as soon as possible."

Nie Renfeng laughed, "Okay, it's okay, you can go back and rest early today." Ren Hao, you should contact Hao Dongjue during this time. Get a good grasp of the situation in the fleet, and pay more attention to rest, your health is completely well, and I will let you go back to the fleet! ”

"Thank you, Headmaster!"

Tan Renhao immediately stood up, he also wanted to return to the fleet a long time ago.

Nie Renfeng also got up to send the two students out. "By the way, there's one more thing. Major General, I have put your name first on the list of newly promoted lieutenant generals. As soon as the personnel reform system is finalized, you will be newly promoted and become the first Vice Admiral Task Force Commander in the Imperial Navy. ”

Tan Renhao was slightly stunned, and immediately thanked the principal again for his cultivation. Then he followed Gan Yongxing out of the principal's office.

"Renhao, you kid is about to catch up with me."

Although Gan Yongxing is in his forties, he often jokes with young people like Tan Renhao. "I also congratulate you, I believe this promotion will go smoothly."

"Chief of Staff, I didn't expect to catch up with you."

Tan Renhao smiled modestly, "Actually, as long as you can continue to stay in the fleet, it doesn't matter if you don't become a vice admiral." ”

"You can't say that, according to the headmaster's meaning, the status of the fleet will be much higher in the future, and the epaulette of the vice admiral will be of great help to you."

Gan Yongxing stopped outside his office door, "Also, you should be very clear about the difference between a lieutenant general and a major general, this can be said to be an essential change. ”

"I know, but at the same time the responsibility will be greater!"

Gan Yongxing glanced at Tan Renhao. "Don't worry, we all believe in you."

Tan Renhao went back to his office after saying goodbye to Gan Yongxing, and he himself was a little surprised, and the news of this promotion did not surprise him.

In the rank system of the Imperial Navy, the difference between a rear admiral and a vice admiral was enormous. The promotion from an officer to a general is a huge leap, and in the strict sense of the word, a brigadier general is not actually a general, but only a transition from an officer to a general, and there is not much say in the position of brigadier general. Major General is the most basic rank of general, and in a large sense, Major General is actually a special reward for meritorious soldiers. In the history of the Imperial Navy, the ratio of rear admirals to vice admirals exceeded twenty, that is, only one out of twenty rear admirals could become a vice admiral. The actual percentage was not so high, as many officers who had served in the Navy for decades were promoted one last time before they were discharged to the rank of rear admiral (and sometimes brigadier general) in gratitude for their contributions to the Imperial Navy.

From this point, it can be seen that a major general is actually only a starting point, and to become a lieutenant general, what is needed is not only the length of service, but more importantly, the combat exploits and the outstanding ability he has shown on the battlefield. This difference determines that most people can only go to the step of major general, and it is very difficult to become a lieutenant general. This also determines the essential difference between a lieutenant general and a major general. The power of a lieutenant general is much greater than that of a major general, and his status is much higher. The merit of the lieutenant general is recognized, and it is an important symbol of status.

Tan Renhao also knew that the principal ranked him first, in fact, telling him that his contribution was recognized and affirmed. He was grateful to the principal, but he wasn't surprised. As the emperor's **, after fighting bravely, he will be rewarded by the empire, which is a tradition of the imperial navy for hundreds of years, and it is also the driving force that inspires the officers and men of the imperial navy to fight bravely against the enemy. For the sake of the country and the nation, these big slogans are used for propaganda, and for most soldiers, the best way to recognize their contribution is to raise their ranks.

On the same day, Tan Renhao got in touch with Hao Dongjue, the first task force was still being rebuilt, the "Xuanzong" aircraft carrier was still not repaired, and now the second task force was in front of it. Hao Dongjue didn't let Tan Renhao rush to Naha either, he was already familiar with what he should do as a chief of staff. Tan Renhao also felt that there was no need to worry about the affairs of the fleet, he rushed home very early and decided to continue to "recuperate"