A few days later, new war reports came, and Tan Renhao's speculation was confirmed, Yan Guozhong really dispatched the Marine Corps to capture Lord Hao Island at a lightning speed, and then took Bolspiramid Island, and the Marine Corps' engineers also drove over immediately, built field airfields on the two islands, and even the fleet of ships transporting aviation fuel and aviation ammunition also drove over, and before the shore-based troops of the Navy were deployed in place, Yan Guozhong also deployed two anti-aircraft artillery battalions on each of the two islands, to protect the field airfield on the island.

It was fast approaching the beginning of April, and the weather was improving as predicted, and depending on the changing weather conditions, the fleet should be able to move south by mid-April. By this time, most of the warships in Task Force 1 had completed maintenance work, and Tan Renhao also allowed the fleet to resume normal training, and contacted Colombo to replenish the fleet with a new batch of fighters (more than a dozen aircraft were lost in previous combat operations and training). The maintenance of Task Force 3 was also coming to an end, and the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet had not gone north, and the long-range patrol planes deployed on the island of Madagascar had not found any signs of the enemy fleet heading north.

All aspects of the preparations were in place one after another, and Tan Renhao, Chang Jianxin and Jiang Zhongmin also began to consider the operation of the fleet to attack the south to open Popton. If the weather improves by mid-April, the fleet should leave Moroni as soon as possible, and try to reach the coast off Cape Town by mid-April, so as to prevent the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet from escaping. The problem is that no one can be sure that the weather will improve in mid-April, and no one is even sure whether tomorrow will be sunny or rainy. So, on the question of whether the fleet should go south in time. All three of them were a little hesitant.

"I think the fleet should go south, even if the weather doesn't improve immediately." Tan Renhao is more inclined to go south. "We've missed one chance and we can't afford to miss a second chance. Judging by the previous combat operations. The Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet is more fearful of our air strike capability. Cape Town was not a fortress-type port, its defenses were scattered and it was very vulnerable to sudden air strikes, and the Anglo-French expeditionary forces were not firmly established in Cape Town as soon as we arrived. Even the civilians of Cape Town will rise up in revolt. Therefore, as soon as the weather begins to improve, the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet will certainly leave Cape Town to avoid a surprise attack from us. It was even possible to withdraw directly to the Gold Coast, and wait until after August, when the combined Anglo-French expeditionary fleet would again go south. ”

"If the purpose of the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet is to contain us and prevent us from returning to the Pacific theater, then they may well choose to retreat on their own initiative." Jiang Zhongmin then stated his opinion. "Cunningham's previous decisions also prove that the mission of the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet is not to destroy our North Indian Ocean shipping routes, but to entangle the two main task forces to help the U.S. counterattack in the Pacific. And now.

The newly acquired fleet of the U.S. military has already reached the Pacific theater, so Cunningham will not blindly take risks and choose to retreat on its own initiative. Not only will we not be able to return to the Pacific theater, but Cunningham will not have to take any risks. ”

"But the problem is if Cunningham doesn't think the weather will get better right away, and he thinks we're going to head south before the weather gets better. So will he stay in Cape Town and be near us again? "I tend to go south after the weather is completely better." If the primary purpose of the Anglo-French Expeditionary Fleet is to assist the American forces, then the best course of action is to annihilate us. As it is now, as long as our foundation on this side is consolidated, the First Task Force can return to the Pacific Theater, and as long as the Third Task Force holds the Moroni defensive line, then we do not need to risk going south, after all, our bottom line is to hold the North Indian Ocean route. In this way, if Cunningham were to withdraw to the Gold Coast, there would be no reason for Task Force 1 to stay. ”

All three have certain reasons for their opinions, and they all have their own basis for judgment. In fact, this is precisely the disagreement of the three on the actions of the fleet. Tan Renhao advocated going south immediately, while Chang Jianxin believed that the weather should improve before heading south, while Jiang Zhongmin remained neutral. The fundamental reason for the difference in the views of the three men was the possible actions of the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet, and in particular the decisions that Cunningham might make. Because the three of them have different understandings of Cunningham, they have different judgments about the actions that Cunningham may take.

The three of them were silent, nominally talking about Renhao being the commander-in-chief of this combat operation, but he never used this title to pressure Chang Jianxin, and he himself respected Chang Jianxin very much. And Chang Jianxin and Jiang Zhongmin also know that Tan Renhao will not give orders directly, but discuss the solution to the problem in a consultative tone. Both of them looked at Tan Renhao, after all, it was Tan Renhao who made the final decision.

"It seems that we need more information, especially on the activities of the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet. And the fleet had to complete preparations for departure within these two days, and as soon as we received accurate information, we took action. ”

The problem was put on hold for the time being, and the warships in the fleet returned to their anchorages one after another and began to obtain fuel, fresh water, food, medicine and other supplies from the supply ships. The intensity of the training was also reduced, mainly to avoid excessive consumption of supplies before the fleet departed. Within two days, an important piece of information arrived, and it was information on the activities of the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet. But the problem is that the three commanders disagreed again, but this time, the positions of the three people were reversed.

"This information is sent from Cape Town, and since yesterday, the British and French joint expeditionary fleet has been preparing for departure, and the British and French expeditionary forces are also packing up supplies and equipment, and will probably be preparing to withdraw from Cape Town." Jiang Zhongmin divided the message into two parts, which were given to Tan Renhao and Chang Jianxin. "Intelligence confirms that all the capital ships of the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet, including the three aircraft carriers of the British Navy, are in Cape Town, and these three aircraft carriers have been undergoing emergency repairs in Cape Town until a few days ago for the first time out of port for navigation experiments. And judging by the readiness of the joint Anglo-French expeditionary fleet. Cunningham was ready to retreat. Moreover, the port of Cape Town was not suitable for defense, so he would withdraw the expeditionary force along with him. ”

"If that's the case. Then we have to go now. Chang Zhixin gave the telegram he read to Tan Renhao, and at the same time took the telegram that Tan Renhao looked at. After a quick glance, he continued, "Cunningham must have predicted the weather and knew we were heading south, so he decided to leave Cape Town first. Maybe flee to the Gold Coast, maybe somewhere else. And the British and French expeditionary forces will temporarily avoid our edge, and at the same time make it impossible for us to return to the Pacific theater of operations, as long as in August, when the weather is bad again, and the aircraft carrier is not suitable for fighting in the South Atlantic and the South Indian Ocean, Cunningham will lead the expeditionary fleet to kill! ”

Tan Renhao didn't rush to speak, he read the message carefully first, and then he breathed a sigh.

At this time, Jiang Zhongmin and Chang Jianxin both looked at him. Waiting for his decision.

"How reliable is this information?" Tan Renhao first expressed his doubts. "We have already confirmed that three spies in Cape Town have been arrested by the British and French expeditionary forces and sent false information. This nearly caused the fleet to be annihilated by Cunningham. So, how reliable is the information sent back from Cape Town now? ”

Chang Jianxin and Jiang Zhongmin were silent, and the question of talking about Renhao was too direct.

"Secondly, Cunningham is retreating this time. Or is it deliberately luring the enemy? Even if we do not doubt the reliability of the intelligence itself, it is not too early for Cunningham to retreat at this time, and if he does, he should have left the expeditionary force in Cape Town, so as to at least delay our attack on Cape Town. What's more, the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet has always relied on supply fleets to provide supplies, and if Cunningham wants to retreat, he should choose a more covert method, rather than making retreat preparations with such fanfare, which is clearly just a decoy. Tan Renhao also looked at the two partners, "Of course, this is indeed an opportunity for us." If the weather can improve in the next ten days, then even if Cunningham sets a trap for us, then we are sure to defeat him! ”

"Then it's time for us to take action."

"The fleet will depart early tomorrow morning, Lao Chang, you go and arrange the work at the place of departure." Tan Renhao nodded at Chang Jianxin, and then looked at Jiang Zhongmin, "Zhongmin, before the fleet leaves the search range of the shore-based patrol aircraft, the shore-based patrol aircraft will provide reconnaissance assistance to the fleet, and you must adjust the relevant deployment as soon as possible." Also, contact Colombo and get the Marines and the landing fleet that have arrived to come over as soon as possible, and if we can defeat the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet, then we must take Cape Town as soon as possible! ”

Chang Jianxin and Jiang Zhongmin immediately agreed, and then said goodbye to Tan Renhao.

After the two left, Tan Renhao picked up the information, and he read it carefully.

In his opinion, this information actually had only one effect, and that was to change Chang Jiexin's point of view, so that Chang Jiexin also believed that the fleet should go south immediately, instead of remaining in Moroni. As for the specific content of the intelligence, Tan Renhao did not believe that it was true at all. He'd been fooled once, and it was almost impossible to convince him now that the letter had been sent by a spy in Cape Town.

The content of this information is not useless, and Tan Renhao attaches more importance to the situation of the three British aircraft carriers. Some time ago, he was wondering what the three aircraft carriers of the British Navy were doing, and guessed that it was very likely that these three aircraft carriers did not go north with Cunningham's main fleet, otherwise, Cunningham would very likely choose to fight with the third task force when he encountered the third task force for the second time, and those three aircraft carriers could provide air defense cover for Cunningham's main fleet in addition to bombing the third task force and the first task force further behind.

Perhaps, there are only a few dozen fighters carried on the three British aircraft carriers, but the difference between these dozens of fighters or not is very large, and the impact on the decision-making of the fleet commander is very huge.

Perhaps, what was in the intelligence about these three aircraft carriers was credible. If the three carriers had not been in the port of Cape Town for emergency repairs, there would have been no reason why they should not be in the fleet under Cunningham's command. Moreover, if this time it is still a trap set by Cunningham, then he will have to take something decent to lure Tan Renhao into being fooled, and those three aircraft carriers are definitely a huge bait.

At the same time, Tan Renhao also realized that perhaps the British aircraft carriers were not as strong as the "legend" and were still very vulnerable in the storm, otherwise, these three aircraft carriers would not have been damaged by the storm and would not have needed to receive emergency repairs in the port of Cape Town. This is a place to exploit, and if these three carriers are not fully repaired (which is very likely, the infrastructure used to repair ships in Cape Town is almost completely destroyed), then they will not be able to achieve maximum combat effectiveness, and without the cover of the carriers, those battleships in Cunningham's hands are a pile of scrap metal in front of the bombers of Task Force 1!

In addition, the strength of the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet has been weakened, and the annihilation of the two newest battleships of the British Navy will have a huge blow to the morale of the British, and even affect the attitude of the French. All these will have a tremendous and even decisive impact on the combat effectiveness of the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet.

Tan Renhao thought carefully about every detail, in his opinion, this is the last opportunity he can seize, and it is also the most precious opportunity, and if he wants to defeat Cunningham in this battle, then he must deal with every detail, and try to be thoughtful and detailed, so as to avoid making low-level mistakes in the battle.

In the evening, Tan Renhao returned to the flagship, the fleet was making preparations before departure, and some officers and soldiers who had stayed at the homes of the secret residents were also returning to the fleet one after another, and some officers and soldiers even developed their own foreign relationships during this time. Tan Renhao did not restrain the behavior of officers and soldiers, as long as he did not violate military discipline. And as soon as he arrived at the flagship, Zheng Guanhua found him, and the chief of staff looked a little weird.