Many things are not decided by Liao Hanxiang and Tan Renhao, they are just soldiers, and what they need to consider is only military issues, not political issues. After Xue Xiyue strengthened his control over the army, the impact on the navy was great. Although the specific performance is not obvious, in many details, such as the handling of Japan this time, it is enough to see the arrangement of the prime minister to exclude the military from handling political affairs.

The secret Japanese delegation arrived at the end of May, and Xue Xiyue arranged for a meeting with these opponents of the junta in Japan. Subsequently, the navy received an order to draw up several sets of operational plans for military operations against Japan according to possible situations, that is, what Tan Renhao and Liao Hanxiang were doing. Subsequently, the special envoy sent by Prime Minister Xue Xiyue held a secret meeting in Tehran with the envoys of Germany and Persia to discuss the issue of policy toward Japan. At that time, the Allies had not yet reached a consensus on the issue of accepting the surrender of the enemy countries, and in order to maintain the unity of the Allies, the Tang Empire had to put the surrender of Japan on the table, rather than making a decision based on its own interests alone.

It is difficult to reach a unified agreement against all enemy countries, and different countries have different requirements for war. For example, on the issue of Russia, the Tang Empire's demand was simple, it was enough to hold on to its current territory, while the Persian Empire had been coveting the North Caucasus, and Germany wanted to expand its territory further eastward. Therefore, on the issue of Russia, the attitude of the Tang Empire was very conservative, as long as Russia did not pose a threat, it was enough, but the other two countries were different, so on the issue of Russia's surrender, the requirements of the three main countries were all different. The Japanese problem is the same, to put it bluntly, the Japanese problem is the problem of a country in the Tang Empire. But now that the common interests of the Allies are involved, the Japanese issue is not so easy to solve.

After several days of consultations in Tehran, the envoys of the three countries finally reached only one basic consensus, that is, Japan could only surrender unconditionally and could not offer any conditions for withdrawing from the war. It's just a consensus, but it's a lot of stuff. If Japan surrenders unconditionally, then the Allies should send troops to occupy Japan. and dismantle the current regime in Japan and form a new government. In addition, Japan had to sign a series of unequal treaties with the Allies without any consultation. This basically meant that Japan would lose all sovereignty, and even after the war, it would be reduced to a state with incomplete sovereignty, forever under the control of the Tang Empire and the other victorious powers.

This condition is actually unacceptable to Japan. At the beginning of June, when Tan Renhao and Liao Hanxiang were still formulating a series of military plans for how to control Japan, Prime Minister Xue Xiyue issued an announcement to the Japanese government through several neutral countries that if Japan did not accept "unconditional surrender." Then the war will continue. Then. Xue Xiyue began to arrange for senior cabinet officials to consult with Japan's secret representatives, and began to work on resolving the Japanese issue.

Japan's Tojo government's answer was no, and "unconditional surrender" was a new term. But everyone understands that if Japan surrenders according to the demands of the Tang Empire, then Japan will fall into the abyss from which it will never recover, and lose the opportunity to become a great power forever. This is completely contrary to the core idea of the Japanese militarists, and it also means that Japan has lost its last hope. Two days after Xue Xiyue's public note, Japan's Tojo government vetoed the proposal through neutral countries and announced that it would fight to the end.

The Japanese Government's declaration was in fact a signal of the start of a new military operation, and on 6 June, Prime Minister Xue Xiyue issued an order for military action. All aspects of preparation have begun.

"It seems that our guess was completely correct."

Tan Renhao looked back at the transport plane that had already moved, and then looked back at Liao Hanxiang, "At least, we should be prepared this time!" ”

"I'll make arrangements as soon as possible, but of course, what to do with Japan depends on the decision."

Liao Hanxiang patted his son-in-law on the shoulder, "After returning to the fleet." According to our plan, if we can solve this troublesome problem once and for all, then we can say that we have a thousand achievements! ”

Tan Renhao smiled and nodded. "Then I'll get on the plane first, when are you going to Jeju Island?"

"It's just a few days, and there are still some things in my hands that haven't been dealt with."

"Perhaps, we should meet in Japan next time."

Liao Hanxiang also laughed. "I hope so, take care all the way!"

After the two said goodbye, Tan Renhao got on the plane. It was the 11th of June, and he rushed to Naha to join the fleet resting in Naha. It was half past two in the afternoon when the plane arrived at Kadena Airport, and Hao Dongjue was waiting for the arrival of the fleet commander at the airport.

"How's it going?"

As soon as the jeep moved, Tan Renhao asked.

"Everything is in place, guaranteed that you will be amazed."

Hao Dongjue quickly drove the car onto the road leading to the port, "The two new aircraft carriers are simply amazing, this is the best aircraft carrier I have ever seen!" ”

Tan Renhao leaned back in his seat. "Is the training of officers and soldiers, as well as the training of pilots, in place?"

"Basically, the requirements have been met, and now everyone is waiting for you to come back."

Hao Dongjue turned his head to look at his partner, "How much do you know about the new aircraft carrier?" ”

"I guess I know a little bit."

Tan Renhao let out a sigh, his interest in battleships would never catch up with Hao Dongjue.

The four newly commissioned aircraft carriers are the first four of the third fleet aircraft carriers built by the Empire, and the name of this class of aircraft carriers is "Lake" is named after the major lakes of the Empire, and the first four of the "Xingkaihu" and "Daihai" are assigned to the First Task Force.

The "Lake" class aircraft carrier is a completely new aircraft carrier designed by the Empire on the basis of summarizing the experience of the first two aircraft carriers. Unlike the "Yangtze River" class aircraft carrier (in fact, this is a first-class transitional aircraft carrier, if it is an official model, then it should be named after the "River" class, not after the name of the ship), the "Lake" class aircraft carrier is basically detached from the design basis of the "Emperor" class aircraft carrier, and is completely designed in accordance with the requirements of the war and some suggestions put forward by the military. The aircraft carrier has a closed bow and an armored flight deck, which thickens the armor below the waterline. The design of the internal compartments has been improved, and there are thousands of watertight compartments in the whole ship, and the design of small compartments has improved the survivability of the aircraft carrier after being shot. In addition, the main deck (the deck of the hangar) is also armored, which is combined with the armored flight deck to greatly improve the horizontal armor defense of the aircraft carrier. The biggest feature is that the displacement of the aircraft carrier has increased to 38ooo tons, and even the light load displacement has reached 32ooo tons, which is far more than the previous two types of carriers. The increased displacement was not used to increase the number of aircraft carriers on the carrier. Most of it was used to improve defense. Among them, the weight of the aircraft carrier's ground armor reached 45oo tons. The hangar adopts a three-stage structure, and the number of elevators has been increased to three, which has improved the sortie rate of the aircraft carrier of the aircraft carrier and also improved the continuous combat capability of the aircraft carrier after being damaged. The aircraft carrier's anti-aircraft firepower has been comprehensively strengthened, with 24 8o mm anti-aircraft guns, 56 4o mm anti-aircraft guns, 48 2o mm machine guns, and hundreds of small-caliber machine guns added in the later period, which greatly improved the aircraft carrier's ability to resist bombing. The number of aircraft carriers on board is still 1o8 (12o aircraft are carried in combat. 12 more reconnaissance aircraft), but the heightened hangar could accommodate more advanced fighters, which provided the basis for later retrofitting of new fighters.

Tan Renhao has only read the design book of the aircraft carrier, which is the aircraft carrier that the Imperial Navy really needs. The "Emperor" class and the "Yangtze River" class had a large number of defects in their design. Many of these shortcomings (such as the wooden flight deck, the large cabin design, the open bow, and the absence of any partition design) could not be remedied by improvement. The brutal war proved that these flaws were fatal in many cases (the aircraft carrier "Taejong" was eventually sunk because of the design of the large compartment and the unreasonable arrangement of the power system) After these flaws were exposed, the Imperial Navy demanded a new kind of aircraft carrier, one that completely solved these problems.

The "Lake" class aircraft carrier is also of great significance, this is the first mass-produced aircraft carrier of the Imperial Navy. Four ships were built in each of the first two batches. And from the third batch, it is a one-time construction of six ships. There are many benefits of mass production of aircraft carriers, such as the construction period can be shortened to one and a half years, and mass production can also reduce the purchase price of parts and control the cost of aircraft carriers. In addition, damaged aircraft carriers can be repaired in a timely manner and their combat effectiveness can be restored quickly. At the same time, this has also simplified the training of officers and men of the fleet, improved the efficiency of logistical support, and so on.

Along the way, Hao Dongjue was talking excitedly about the two aircraft carriers. And when the jeep drove to the dock, Tan Renhao was also an eye-opener. Just from the appearance of the "Xingkaihu" is much larger than the "Xuanzong", and much larger than the "Yangtze River". In addition, the island with the chimney is also particularly eye-catching, which is much larger than the island building of the previous aircraft carrier. The area of the flight deck has been increased by at least 30%, which improves the efficiency of the aircraft's take-off and landing, and also increases the flexibility of the bomber before it goes out.

"Well, I promise you'll be surprised!"

"Yes, it looks like we'll have to command the fleet here from now on."

Tan Renhao smiled and nodded, "Let's use this aircraft carrier as our new flagship!" ”

"I know you're going to do it, it's been arranged a long time ago, and now the staff has been transferred to the 'Xingkai Lake'."

Hao Dongjue leaned on the jeep, "When are we going to come out?" ”

"Go and get a few telegrams first, when will the fleet be released?"

Tan Renhao said as he jumped into the jeep.

"As soon as this evening."

Hao Dongjue also immediately got into the car.

"Then come out tonight."

Tan Renhao looked back at the huge aircraft carrier again, "Help me contact the Second Task Force and ask them when they will be out." Although the difficulty of this mission is not great, the scale is large, and the two task forces will have to act together. ”

Hao Dongjue nodded and didn't say anything more. Before Tan Renhao returned, he received a telegram that the fleet had a new mission, and he immediately ordered the fleet to prepare for departure.

In the afternoon, Tan Renhao received a mission letter from Chief of Staff Gan Yongxinglai at the base headquarters, and then returned to the new flagship, the "Xingkaihu" aircraft carrier. At eight o'clock in the evening of the same day, Task Force 1, escorted by several harbor patrol boats, left the port of Naha and sailed out into the open sea.

"The fleet assigns work according to combat readiness, and arranges air defense fighters before dawn."

Tan Renhao gave a few brief orders, "In addition, let the escorting destroyers all lift their spirits at night, the Yankee submarines have been rampant on this side recently, can't they get in and send us a few torpedoes!" ”

Hao Dongjue immediately conveyed the order to the relevant staff officers.

Tan Renhao glanced at the officers in the command cabin, then nodded to Hao Dongjue and walked out of the command cabin. Hao Dongjue did not rush out in a hurry, but only walked out a few minutes after Tan Renhao went out.

"Have you read the order book?"

Hao Dongjue nodded, and then leaned against the railing next to him. Armored steel plates were installed on the outside of the island of the "Lake" class aircraft carriers, and even the railings on the gangways were welded with steel plates.

"This mission is not difficult, but it is a lot of trouble."

Tan Renhao sighed, "There are many troops participating in the operation, and it is very difficult to coordinate between the various troops. The specific command is in charge of Liao Hanxiang's theater command, which can be regarded as the first test for the new Pacific theater command. ”

"Then we can't mess it up, I don't want to disgrace your father-in-law!"

Hao Dongjue immediately laughed.

Tan Renhao smiled and kicked over. "Who was kidding you? Is there any news of Shaoqing? ”

"I got in touch in the afternoon, they had already left the port of Qingdao yesterday and are now heading towards Jeju Island, arriving at the rendezvous sea area about a few hours earlier than us."

"Actually, this operation is also very important to Shaoqing and them."

Tan Renhao leaned on the railing and looked at the sea in front of him.

Hao Dongjue sighed secretly and stopped joking. After the "Second Battle of the Marianas", the Second Task Force received a lot of criticism, although it is now Nie Renfeng under pressure, but if Lei Shaoqing and Chang Jianxin do not have any good performance, I am afraid that the position of the two will not be able to be kept.