While the battle on Iwo Jima was still raging, the fleet had retreated to the sea 45 nautical miles southwest of it, joined up with the supply fleet, and received the third replenishment after leaving the port of Naha. This replenishment will be replenished not only with ammunition, but also with heavy fuel oil for warships and diesel fuel for aviation units. The entire supply lasted two days, and the officers and men in the fleet could also take this opportunity to rest.

The aviation unit organized a "polo match," in which the pilots of the four air brigades and the aviation service personnel formed eight teams, and the "horses" used were the small trailers and forklifts for transporting ammunition on the aircraft carrier, and the competition venue was the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. The competition adopts a knockout system, first the pilot team and the orderly team of each team are separated, and then the semi-finals and finals. Of course, such a game is based on entertainment, and the winner is secondary.

"I bet on 11 teams to win the championship and bet ten dollars, will anyone bet with me?" Hao Dongjue wanted to participate, but none of the teams wanted him.

"I think the 21 team has a better chance of winning!" Chang Jiexin took out a ten-dollar bill.

"How can I bet on the 31st team to say that this is my own person!" Lei Shaoqing laughed.

Tan Renhao shook his head and laughed, the rules of the formation are: the first letter indicates the brigade where they are located, while the second letter "1" is the pilot team and "2" is the orderly team.

"Renhao, which team do you fancie?" Hao Dongjue looked at Tan Renhao.

"How about I think the orderlies have the best chance of winning by 1oo dollars?"

All three looked at him in surprise and then shook their heads.

"Why don't you dare to bet?" Tan Renhao laughed.

"I'm betting with you on who is afraid of whom!" Hao Dongjue immediately jumped up.

Soon the gamble was opened. Of course, this is just a gamble between the four of them, and it is just a game, and Tan Renhao will not let other officers participate, let alone allow large-scale gambling behavior.

The winner was decided that afternoon. The winner was Team 22, which is the second team of orderlies. Tan Renhao won three hundred yuan. When the winning team invited the officers and soldiers of the other seven teams to dinner, Tan Renhao also invited the other three to the officers' cafeteria for a meal.

"Renhao, how do you know that the orderlies will win?" Hao Dongjue was a little unconvinced, but the referee of the competition was Tan Renhao, who was composed of officers selected from various aircraft carriers, did not play any tricks.

"Does that need to be said? We've all been fooled. Lei Shaoqing picked up the beer bottle and shook his head, "The orderly is most familiar with those vehicles. And the pilots are only familiar with the fighter planes they fly, if it is a 'polo game' in the air, then it must be the pilot who wins, but this is a competition on the deck, who can be the opponent of the orderlies? ”

Hao Dongjue suddenly realized this, and then sighed with pity, why didn't he think of this in the first place?

"But don't you eat for nothing?" Tan Renhao laughed, he borrowed flowers to offer Buddha and treat guests, and he didn't pay out of his own pocket.

"Forget it. Don't think about it so much. It's rare to relax in so many days, and everyone has a good rest. Lei Shaoqing immediately diverted the topic. Wait a minute, let's go and arrange the staff officer on duty, if there is nothing to do at night, how about we rest early? ”

"I also want to sleep in, and my nerves haven't relaxed for so many days!" Chang Jiexin leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Yes, after three battles, the fleet doesn't even have time to rest."

"Come on, how long has it been?" Tan Renhao took out a cigarette. Scattered a stick for everyone: "We have been away from Naha Port for less than a month, if this is all bitter, what will those submarine officers and soldiers who have been out to sea for two or three months think?" So be content, and who can predict the battle ahead? The continuous combat capability of the fleet means the utilization rate of the fleet. Japan was only a small player, and even if they had succeeded in their sneak attack, we would have turned the tide of the war in just over a year. In addition, the encirclement of Japan's native land is about to be completed. With the start of the 6th Army's counteroffensive in the Nanyang region, Japan was also about to be finished. In the future, we will have even stronger opponents, if ......"

"Renhao, you mean we're going to go to war with the United States?" Hao Dongjue immediately climbed on the table and stared at Tan Renhao intently.

"I didn't say anything." Tan Renhao leaned back in his chair, "Whether the empire will go to war with the United States or not is not something I can decide, what we have to do now is to defeat Japan as soon as possible." When the time comes, whether we fight or not, we will have the initiative, what are we afraid of? Of course, as emperors, we should be ready at any time. If one day we go to war with the United States, we will have to compete with the U.S. Navy for supremacy throughout the Pacific, not with the enemy at our own doorstep. At that time, it may take months from preparation to the end of a single campaign, and the fleet will continue to be active at sea for several months. Now that I'm complaining like this, what will I do in the future? ”

"To put it bluntly, we should be grateful to the Japanese." Lei Shaoqing came out with a shocking word.

Tan Renhao laughed and didn't hurry to speak.

"Thanks to the Japanese? Why? Do we have to thank Japan for the almost total destruction of the Imperial Navy, the drag of the Empire into the war, and the desperate fight for us? Chang Jianxin glanced at Lei Shaoqing and shook his head.

"That's not what I meant......"

"Actually, what Shaoqing said is not wrong." Tan Renhao took over Lei Shaoqing's words: "We can't avoid this war. Even if Japan does not sneak attack and lead to war, a war will break out in the big 6 in Europe within a year at most, and the empire will still be dragged into the water. Japan just let the war explode a few months early. Secondly, if Japan had not attacked the First Task Force, the Imperial Navy would not have realized that a new era of naval warfare had arrived, and would still hold the previous view, I am afraid that the Imperial shipyard would not have been built in battleships such as aircraft carriers, large air defense cruisers, submarines, etc., but battleships and battlecruisers. Finally, and most crucially, Japan sent the empire into a state of war. That little loss of the Navy can be replenished in two years. If we then go to war with the United States, we can use all our strength against the United States, and it will take a year for the United States to complete the war mobilization, right? And this year may decide the outcome of the whole war! ”

Several people nodded thoughtfully, and when Ren Hao said this, it seemed that Japan had become an ally of the empire.

Just when a few people were chatting energetically. A staff officer ran in.

"Commander's Naval Command."

Tan Renhao was the first to stand up, and after he took the telegram, he didn't rush to look through it. "Let's go to the command cabin first, let the restaurant put the account on me, and pay the bill together next time!"

Naturally, the officers who are in charge of running a restaurant at their own expense will not be embarrassed by their commanders. Tan Renhao and the others also quickly returned to the command cabin. The staff officer on duty was busy. At this time, Tan Renhao opened the telegram and handed it to Lei Shaoqing after reading it, and then Hao Dongjue and Chang Jianxin also passed it on.

"The headmaster really reuses us!" Lei Shaoqing smiled bitterly. "It seems that the principal is going to squeeze all the energy of the first task force this time, otherwise he really won't let us go back."

"Hey, those who can work hard!" Chang Jianxin shook his head.

"It's better to have a task than no task, and it looks like we're going to have a stressful time again!" Hao Dongjue leaned on the chart table and lit a cigarette.

Tan Renhao walked back and forth in the cabin for a few steps before stopping. "It looks like the operation of the 6th Army on the Nanyang side is about to begin."

The three of them all looked at Tan Renhao, and none of them thought of this.

"Now the headmaster has put us in charge of intercepting the Japanese fleet heading south. Ostensibly, it was to cover the 6 Sentai to land 6 in the Ogasawara Islands. But actually. It would have been impossible for the 6 Sentai to land on the 6 Ogasawara Islands in a month. ”

"Why?" Chang recommended a new question.

"Because the 6th team can't occupy Iwo Jima immediately, if they don't spend more than ten days on Oriwa Mountain, it will be a miracle." Tan Renhao took the cigarette handed by Hao Dongjue. "And to prepare for the new Deng-6 operation, it will take at least half a month to prepare for the material aspect alone, as well as the arrangement of the transport fleet, the transfer of bomber groups and fighter groups, etc., which is enough to keep the 6 team busy for a long time. During this period, the two 6th Sentai Divisions were not able to board the 6th Sentai in the Ogasawara Islands at all, and the third 6th Sentai Division was probably still waiting for the Nobo6 Fleet to return in Naha Port. ”

"You mean the Headmaster asked us to take this opportunity to intercept the Japanese convoy heading for the South Seas?"

"Look at the charts." Tan Renhao walked to the chart table and opened a chart of the western Pacific region: "If the Japanese fleet is too close to the Ryukyu Islands. Then our bombers deployed in the archipelago and the submarines operating around here will be enough to bury their convoys. Therefore, the convoy sent by Japan to the South Seas can only take the route of the Ogasawara Islands, and as long as we choke this route, Japan will not be able to contact the South Seas region, and the Japanese troops deployed in the South Seas region will be finished sooner or later. Therefore, the principal's actual purpose is for us to complete the blockade of the southern part of the Japanese mainland and assist the 6th Army in recovering the South Seas. ”

"Damn, it's an errand for the 6th Army again!" Hao Dongjue said fiercely.

"It doesn't matter if he's running errands or running tricks. It's good for all of us. This would also prevent the Japanese from sending reinforcements to the Ogasawara Islands. Tan Renhao glanced at Hao Dongjue, and his eyes fell on the chart again. In order to ensure the interception of all Japanese fleets bound for the Ogasawara Islands, and to ensure that the fleet was not threatened by Japanese bombers, we fixed the patrol area to the south of the Ogasawara Islands, that is, to the east of the Volcanic Islands. In this way, our seaplanes can fly to about 12o nautical miles north of the Ogasawara Islands, and with the help of submarines, it is enough to ensure that the current Japanese transport fleet is still in place! ”

"But the Japanese will also choose to go south at night, and it is impossible for our bombers to take off at night."

"Yes, so we have to arrange for an artillery formation to operate in the waters close to the Ogasawara Islands, with fighter cover from aircraft carriers." Tan Renhao smashed his fist on the chart, and then sighed: "The principal has arranged for four newly commissioned 'Solar Terms' class heavy cruisers, as well as twelve destroyers to come to provide artillery support for the 6th team, and our artillery formation can return." The Japanese would definitely send bombers, which would have risked the shelling formations, but we had to take this risk. ”

"I hope the Japanese don't have better bombers, otherwise the shelling formations will be dangerous."

"I thought so too. However, with large cruisers as the core, plus fighter jets sent by aircraft carriers, Japanese bombers could not be easily obtained. Tan Renhao glanced at everyone: "Whether or not we can take these three islands in the Ogasawara Islands before the end of the year will have a direct bearing on whether or not we can launch a large-scale strategic bombing of Japan in a timely manner." Of course, this is more related to the position of the Imperial Navy on the battlefield in the future. Even if it's an adventure, it's worth it. ”

All three of them nodded, and after several previous events, they no longer trusted the 6th Army. Although HNA has gone to the Korean Kingdom and won three airports, these three airports belong to the Korean Kingdom after all, and can only accommodate more than 400 bombers at most. According to Luo Yunchong's estimates, if you want to destroy Japan, you have to use at least 3,000 bombers, so where are the other bombers deployed? Even if the airfield on Jeju Island could be used at that time, it would be necessary to find a base group south of Japan to deploy at least 12oo bombers. The importance of the Ogasawara Islands and Iwo Jima can be imagined. Of course, if the navy is willing to lower its status and ask for the 6th airline to use the airfield in the northeastern region of the empire, then it will be the same whether to fight Iwo Jima and the Ogasawara Islands.

"Shaoqing, you are responsible for organizing and planning." Tan Renhao patted Lei Shaoqing on the shoulder: "The fleet will launch a new artillery bombardment fleet tomorrow, and the fleet will be able to reach the vicinity of Iwo Jima in three days, and when the time comes, let our artillery fleet withdraw and let it patrol the waters on the west side of the Ogasawara Islands." ”

"No problem, I'll work overtime tonight!" Lei Shaoqing smiled bitterly, he really can work hard.

"Dongjue is always old, you can help Shaoqing arrange other things!" Tan Renhao glanced at the other two, their team of four had already cooperated well enough, and there was no need to say anything at all. "I'll wait to go around the fleet, after all, the morale of the officers and men is the most important thing."

In fact, that night the fleet left the supply area and headed for Iwo Jima. The fleet will pass directly through the strait between Iwo Jima and North Iwo Jima without bypassing the volcanic archipelago.