The battleship was speeding on the black sea like ink, and the stars were shining on the steel whale on the sea, and Tan Renhao was walking around arrogantly in the command cabin of the "Taizu", and now this place has become his headquarters. The cabin was quiet, except for the "ticking" sound of the radio receiver channel. Ever since the fleet left the port of Naha two days ago, it has been silent, only receiving signals, but not signals.

Tan Renhao listened to the footsteps and looked at the navigation clock, and there were still two and a half hours before dawn. At this time, the steel door of the cabin was pushed open, and Deng Zi walked in quickly.

"The general's troops are ready!"

Tan Renhao nodded and brought Deng Zi to the chart table. "In an hour and a half, the fleet will arrive at the predetermined sea area, and if there is no other trouble, you will immediately lead the group out."

Deng Zi laughed. "No problem, I'll go and prepare right away!"

Tan Renhao patted Deng Zi on the shoulder. "Do a good job, I'll prepare a celebration feast for you in Naha!"

Deng Zi didn't say anything, the only thing he was thinking about now was not the celebration banquet, nor whether he could come back alive, but how to complete this task that would have great historical and political significance.

Just as Deng Zi was about to leave, there was a sudden burst of cannonballs.

"What's wrong?" Tan Renhao immediately rushed to the porthole in a big start.

The heavy cruiser "Lichun", which was located in the left front of the "Li Jing", was violently shelling a small black spot on the sea, several main guns, and the 12o mm anti-aircraft guns in front were firing, and then the 4o mm guns also fired a series of shells.

"Damn, who gave the order to fire?" Tan Renhao was furious, and although the sound of the cannon could not spread far, this was an act that was never allowed.

"General. It was a Japanese fishing boat, and it must have been a Japanese reconnaissance ship! A staff officer replied quickly.

Tan Renhao was taken aback and immediately asked, "Did the enemy ship send out a radio signal?" ”

It took two minutes for the staff officer in charge of radio surveillance to answer, and the small fishing boat had already emitted a radio signal before it was sunk. Obviously, it was not a fishing boat, but a reconnaissance ship that patrolled the waters off Japan, that is. The location of Task Force 1 has been revealed.

"General, I will immediately lead the group out of ......"

Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment, and then said to Deng Zi: "Okay, you go and prepare immediately, and the plane will take off in fifteen minutes." ”

After Deng Zi went out, Tan Renhao immediately gave the order for the fleet to turn, and the three aircraft carriers all sailed against the wind, and then began to add, and the escort warships also began to increase, and each entered the predetermined position in the fleet.

Deng Zi spent only five minutes to greet the other eleven pilots on the aircraft carrier "Taizu" who were participating in the combat operation. and twelve navigators gave combat briefings. Then. He was the first to rush out of the aviation operations center. His Osprey, numbered OO1, was parked at the front of the take-off area on the flight deck, and when he came to deck, the aviation crew was towing the plane to the catapult. When Deng Zi and his navigator boarded the plane. The other eleven groups of pilots also boarded their planes in succession.

The huge roar of the aviation engine sounded, Deng Zi was the first to leave the flight deck of the "Taizu" in a "Osprey" loaded with fuel and ammunition, and behind him, the other eleven "Ospreys" also took off one after another. At the same time, twelve "Ospreys" were also released on the other two aircraft carriers. The bombers did not fly in formation over the fleet, nor did they symbolically circle the fleet, but flew directly to the north. On the sea, the fleet began to move all south.

After seeing the group take off, Tan Renhao sat down and took out a cigarette. His hands were shaking slightly. Several times I didn't strike a match. When he took out the fourth matchfield, a lit match was handed over. Tan Renhao was surprised, and when he looked up, he saw Lei Shaoqing standing next to him. The sound of the plane taking off woke up Lei Shaoqing, who was supposed to come to replace Tan Renhao in an hour and a half.

"We've been revealed?" Lei Shaoqing sat down, and he also lit a cigarette for himself.

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, and then sighed. "A Japanese fishing boat,, why don't we have this fishing boat?"

"Renhao, it's not our fault. It's not your fault either. Lei Shaoqing grabbed Tan Renhao's shoulder: "This combat mission is already very dangerous, and after the Ryukyu Island was recovered by us, the Japanese side has also strengthened the vigilance force in the coastal waters of the mainland. In my opinion, if we don't show up, then it's not normal! ”

Tan Renhao looked at the floor in front of him and didn't speak for a long time. This combat operation was indeed too risky, not only those pilots who carried out bombing missions, but also tens of thousands of officers and men in the adventurous fleet. Now Tan Renhao also had doubts about this operation, but he immediately broke this idea. The empire needs a stimulus, it needs some stimulation after Xue Xiyue meets the assassination, and the people of the empire must know that the emperor ** team has the confidence and strength to defeat the enemy and win. Then this task is essential, and it is worth the risk.

"Renhao, go rest, I'll change shifts!" Lei Shaoqing stood up and threw the cigarette butt on the ground: "You haven't slept for two days and two nights." ”

Tan Renhao also stood up, but he didn't want to rest.

Lei Shaoqing glanced at him. "Go to sleep, I know what to do with it. The fleet is now all in the south, and the first air defense fighters will be lifted up in the next hour, and the air defense alert to the north and south will be strengthened, and then ......"

Tan Renhao laughed. "Okay, okay, I'm not your teacher, I'll go to sleep first, and then call me if I have something."

Lei Shaoqing smiled and sent Tan Renhao to the hatch.

Tan Renhao suddenly stopped. "By the way, pay attention to the telegram from the command. Our whereabouts have revealed that there is a good chance that the Japanese Combined Fleet will go all north. Therefore, we must always be vigilant against the actions of the Japanese side. ”

"Okay, I know." Lei Shaoqing pushed Tan Renhao out: "If there is something, I will send someone to come early, you can sleep well, maybe when you wake up." We're back to Naha Port. ”

Tan Renhao shook his head, left the headquarters without saying anything more.

When Tan Renhao woke up, the fleet did not reach the port of Naha, and it was not awakened by itself, but by Duchenne. He didn't even bother to put on his clothes before rushing into the command cabin.

"Received a message from the command of the Navy?"

The officers in the command cabin all turned their heads and glanced at the disheveled commander. Lei Shaoqing immediately greeted him. Said: "I just received a telegram that the Japanese Combined Fleet has left Truk and is heading all north. It was one of our submarines, and now the Navy Command is deploying nearby submarines, hoping to find the Japanese Combined Fleet again, so that it can roughly judge the course of the enemy fleet. ”

Tan Renhao took the telegram, glanced at it quickly, and then glanced at Lei Shaoqing suspiciously, and then his gaze fell on the telegram again. This time he looked very closely.

"General Gan Yongxing let us decide for ourselves." Lei Shaoqing leaned on the chart table next to him. "Fight or flee, the Navy Command will not interfere with our decision, and they will send new information in a timely manner. According to the meaning of General Gan. This was a good opportunity to annihilate the Japanese Combined Fleet. ”

Tan Renhao didn't rush to speak, he also knew that this was an opportunity, but it also meant that they had to start a decisive battle with the Japanese Combined Fleet when their strength was insufficient, and this decision was in the hands of him, the commander of the fleet. When he was a fleet staff officer, he would not be so embarrassed, he would make an objective analysis and then make recommendations to the fleet commander, and ultimately the power to make decisions on the fleet was in the hands of the commander. Staff officers are not responsible. Now it's different, he has to be responsible for tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, and the only fleet in the empire!

The officers in the cabin were all quiet, and the staff officers of the First Task Force were basically former Fifth Fleet officers, and they knew the commander very well. Tan Renhao walked around the cabin a few times, then sat down, and then lit a cigarette.

"Deng Zi, do you have any news over there?"

Lei Shaoqing shook his head and said, "According to the plan, Deng Zi and they will return to the empire after completing the bombing mission. Or the airfield to the DPRK landing, and between their landings will not be in contact with the fleet. ”

Tan Renhao let out a sigh, he forgot about this. The maximum range of the radio station on the "Osprey" is only 300 nautical miles, and the best effect is in the range of 250 nautical miles. Now the distance between the fleet and the fleet has passed this range, so it is impossible to receive the radio signal from the fleet.

The sudden all-north movement of the Japanese Combined Fleet must have been towards the 1st Task Force. The Japanese fishing boat that broke into the fleet in the *night* (**please redact) had already had a radio signal before it was sunk by the heavy cruiser "Rikharu". It was normal for the Japanese Navy to spend several hours processing this piece of information and handing it over to Yamamoto Sixty-Five, who commanded the Combined Fleet. But the problem is that now Tan Renhao is not absolutely sure that he will be able to defeat the Japanese Combined Fleet!

Japan's Combined Fleet also has three large fleet aircraft carriers, two of which are newly commissioned "Shozuru" and "Rui Raccoon" plus "Flying Dragon", and the combat strength of these three aircraft carriers is not below the three aircraft carriers of the First Task Force. What is even more serious is that Deng Zi has now taken away 36 "Osprey" aircraft, and the torpedo bombing capability of the fleet air force has been sharply reduced by one-third, and the 36 groups of pilots are all the best. In addition, in order to ensure the safety of the fleet, 36 more fighters were brought with the operation and 36 dive bombers were reduced. That is, the fleet has only seventy-two torpedo bombers and seventy-two dive bombers, and if it fights with the Japanese Combined Fleet, it will only be able to organize two waves of attacks at most, and will this be able to destroy the Japanese Combined Fleet? If you don't die but get bitten by a snake......

Tan Renhao stood up suddenly, his gaze was already unusually firm, and after glancing at everyone, he said decisively: "The fleet turns 195 degrees and sails at the fastest degree." ”

Lei Shaoqing breathed a sigh of relief, and the other staff officers were also relieved, and the commander had already made a decision. The meaning of this order is very clear, Tan Renhao has decided to compete with the Japanese Combined Fleet.

When the staff officers were all busy, Lei Shaoqing followed Tan Renhao to the porthole. "Shall we transfer a batch of planes from Naha?"

Tan Renhao shook his head and said, "Now we are about 1,100 kilometers away from Naha, even if we send planes over now, the strength of the fleet will not increase much, and it will also expose the position of the fleet." Relatively speaking, I petition to choose to continue the covert voyage. Shaoqing ......"

Lei Shaoqing smiled and looked at Tan Renhao.

"Tomorrow, an hour and a half before dawn, the first batch of reconnaissance planes will be dispatched to focus on searching the southern seas, and the fleet will increase the number of air defense fighters to two squadrons before dawn." Tan Renhao also turned his head: "If the Japanese Combined Fleet goes north, we will probably encounter it early tomorrow morning, and we must attack in front." If we lose the opportunity, we will fail. ”

"I'll go and make a detailed reconnaissance plan later." Lei Shaoqing is also very clear about the importance of preemptively attacking in the decisive battle of the aircraft carrier: "This time we have enough fighters, and the new 'Vulture' is not at all behind Japan's 'Zero Battle' in terms of performance, and we should be very sure." ”

"Let Hao Dongjue be in charge of planning the attack. I'll talk to you again in the evening about the specific combat operations. Tan Renhao touched his forehead: "Okay, I'll go back and continue sleeping, don't call me if it's okay." ”

Lei Shaoqing glanced at Tan Renhao in surprise, and then sent him to the door of the cabin. In terms of mental quality, Lei Shaoqing is far worse than Tan Renhao, and Lei Shaoqing is also now, since General Ji Xiaobin was martyred, Tan Renhao has changed a lot, especially in terms of combat, and has become more sophisticated. This made Lei Shaoqing feel that Tan Renhao seemed to be a lot stranger, unlike the friend he had known for more than ten years.

The fleet is still on full sail, because this time the combat distance is relatively short, so there is no need to save fuel. In the afternoon, Lei Shaoqing received a bombing report from the Navy Headquarters, and he did not immediately go to Tan Renhao, but decided to leave the good news for the evening announcement.