The First Fleet did not immediately rush to the Caribbean Theater, and there was no need for Tan Renhao to lead the First Fleet across the Atlantic before receiving a clearing. After the official surrender of the British, the attack on the Greater Andrés Islands was temporarily stopped, and the Third Fleet returned to the Gulf of Limon. Tan Renhao could almost imagine what Huang Xiaotian's mood would be, but in any case, with the surrender of Britain, the attack on the Greater Andrés Islands would sooner or later, which was a crucial step in marching into the United States and defeating the last enemy.

On 19 April, just as Britain was largely under the control of the Imperial Marines and the Expeditionary Force, and the Germans had not taken any drastic action, and the First Fleet had left the Bay of Biscay and was about to return to the fortress of Gibraltar, Tan Renhao received a telegram from the naval command that a new order had been delivered. He immediately summoned Dong Jue and Chang Jianxin over to discuss new combat operations.

"Let's go intercept the fleet?" Hao Dongjue was puzzled, "We are the main fleet, not the 'pirate fleet' that performs the task of breaking diplomatic relations, let's intercept the fleet, isn't this overkill?" ”

"What are you doing so much?" Tan Renhao was a little dissatisfied with his brother-in-law's reaction.

"Dongjue, you just don't say a word." Chang Jianxin didn't help Hao Dongjue this time. "The order is very clear that we are to intercept this fleet and try to avoid sinking the ships, while also preventing the enemy crew from sinking the ships themselves. It seems that there is something very important in this fleet, otherwise the command of the Navy would not have given such an order. ”

"What could be important? Could it be a few hundred tons of gold? Or did British scientists want to follow the example of the Japanese and go into mass exile in the United States? Hao Dongjue sneered, "The British government took the initiative to announce its surrender, their scientists will not betray their country, and in addition, the British government will not send its valuables to the United States." Besides, after so many years of war, I am afraid that Britain's gold reserves have long been exhausted. The technical exchanges between Britain and the United States are also very deep, and there will be no new technologies that will interest the Americans, right? ”

"Who knows? Maybe it's something else. Chang Jianxin took out a cigarette, "In addition, there is no attack fleet in the Atlantic Ocean now, except for the Fifth Task Force and the Third Fleet, which operates on the other side of the ocean. And this time the navy did not ask the Germans for help, obviously because they did not want the Germans to meddle in this matter. ”

"One more point." Tan Renhao brought the brewed tea, "We sent this order when we sent a telegram to return to the fortress of Gibraltar. The telegram was sent in a new cipher, that is, the command of the Navy did not want our actions to be known to more people, and therefore to the Germans, so there must have been some in that fleet that both we and the Germans wanted. But at the same time, you don't want others to get valuable goods, or heavyweights. The order is very clear. We're going to try to capture those ships, not sink them. This is all the more proof of the importance of this fleet, otherwise the command of the Navy would not have entrusted us with this task. ”

"Alright, then we'll go on this mission." Hao Dongjue also lit a cigarette, "But the problem is that we are a fleet, and it is not difficult to sink ships, and we don't even need to send bombers." Just send a few destroyers and cruisers. If the crew of the fleet had been prepared for the burning of jade, then. It will be very difficult for us to send people on board these ships, and it will be even more difficult to get the goods on the ships. ”

"Hey!" Chang recommended Xintan to breathe a sigh and didn't say anything anymore. Hao Dongjue's question is the most important and the most difficult to solve. If this fleet is really carrying valuable cargo, or if there are super heavyweight people, then the crew of the fleet will definitely not let the fleet approach easily, let alone let the officers and men of the fleet board the ship for inspection.

Tan Renhao touched the corner of his forehead and fell silent. Having received a new order, he was thinking about it. It was not difficult to intercept a fleet, the fastest merchant ships would not be faster than battleships, and the First Fleet had several hundred combat aircraft. The question was how to quickly approach the flotilla without being detected by the enemy, and quickly board the ship, control the situation, and avoid the crew scuttling the ship.

"Another point is that the fleet left the port after the British government announced its surrender, and now that three days have passed, it will take at least four days for us to catch up with the nearest route as fast as we can." "That is, in the seven days before and after, the fleet has reached the western waters of the Atlantic, which is not far from the continental United States. If this fleet really carries a large number of valuable cargo, then the US Navy will not remain indifferent, and when the time comes, if the US Navy sends the Atlantic Fleet to meet it, what will we do? Will it be against the Atlantic Fleet first, or will it intercept the convoy first? ”

"This shouldn't be a problem, if the Atlantic Fleet is dispatched, we will also solve the Atlantic Fleet by the way, and we have enough troops to complete these two tasks at the same time." Chang Jianxin immediately answered Hao Dongjuexin's question.

"Well, even if we can deal with the Atlantic Fleet at the same time, don't forget that there are still 200 German submarines active in the Atlantic." Dong Jue shook his head, "The Germans will definitely take action, although it is impossible for their submarines to intercept a large fleet on the surface of the sea, let alone board the ship for inspection, but if the Germans can't get the cargo on board, then will they let us get it?" Perhaps, before we arrived, the submarines of the Germans ambushed the flotilla in the first place, so what was the use of us going? ”

This time, Chang Jianxin did not refute Hao Dongjue. This possibility certainly exists. Since the cargo in the fleet was so valuable that the First Fleet needed to intercept it, the Germans would not hesitate, and Dönitz must have deployed submarines in the Atlantic to intercept the fleet. Seven days was enough time for German submarines to organize several ambushes, and perhaps by the time the First Fleet rushed over, the fleet had already been sent to the bottom of the sea.

"It's possible, but if we don't do anything, then it's not possible." Tan Renhao did not argue with Dong Jue. "Anyway, we have to do something. In addition, the current information is still very detailed, and the command of the Navy will send us more and more detailed information as soon as possible, when the time comes

We then draw up a detailed action plan. Now the fleet turns as soon as possible, ▋ team. ”

In the evening of the same day, two hours after Tan Renhao received the order, the First Fleet turned northwest to catch up with the last fleet bound for the United States from Great Britain. In the evening of the same day, a second telegram came from the command of the Navy, with more detailed information.

The fleet consisted of 23 merchant ships, including 12 "Liberty ships" and 11 "Victory ships". The 23 ships flew the American flag, so after the British surrendered, the fleet left the port and set out on the journey home. In addition, the fleet was covered by at least 20 destroyers and frigates, all of which were U.S. Navy warships that had previously carried out escort missions in the North Atlantic and had long traveled back and forth between the United States and the United Kingdom. Prior to the surrender of the British, these warships were stationed in British ports, ready to escort the convoy back to the United States. As a result, immediately after the British government announced its surrender, the ships were ordered to either surrender or leave British ports.

On the night of the 16th, a few hours after Britain officially announced its surrender, the flotilla, replenished with supplies, sailed for the United States on the other side of the Atlantic, under the cover of escort warships. Before departure, the ships carried the last cargo and guests, including a group of senior U.S. military advisers in the United Kingdom, as well as senior officers from U.S. military bases in the United Kingdom. In addition, among the cargo loaded onto the transport ship, there is an extremely important batch. The command of the Navy did not specify in the telegram what kind of cargo it was. A list of the ships carrying the cargo was sent to him, and in the telegram he explicitly ordered the First Fleet to capture the ships, not sink them, and to prevent the American crews from scuttling them.

The approximate route of this fleet was also mentioned in the second telegram from the naval command, but the flotilla would not necessarily follow the original route after leaving the British ports, so a full search by the First Fleet was required. As for what actions the German Navy took. and whether the U.S. Navy would send the Atlantic Fleet, which had been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, to meet it, the telegram did not mention it.

After receiving this telegram, Tan Renhao had to make more preparations. If the fleet had already been intercepted by German submarines, then he would have to rush over as soon as possible and take over the transports that had not been sunk by German submarines. Because the fleet had more than 20 escort warships, the German submarine-to-ground interception should not be of much effect. At least in the Atlantic, few German submarines were able to successfully attack a convoy covered by numerous escort warships. The most important thing is whether the US Navy will come forward to respond, and if the Atlantic Fleet is dispatched, then the problem will be even more troublesome.

The next day, that is, on the morning of the 20th, Tan Renhao sent the combat operation to Hao Dongjue and Chang Jianxin. The key to the operation is to be able to find the fleeing fleet quickly and in time. The second is the ability to stealthily approach without the enemy detecting it, and to board the most important ships before the enemy can react, so as to control the sailors on the ships. Prevent enemy sailors from sinking themselves.

In order to achieve this goal, Tan Renhao focused on making use of the "reconnaissance eagles" of the Second Task Force. The operation was scheduled for night, with Task Force 3 dealing with the American warships escorting the convoy. Task Force 2 would then send cruisers and destroyer formations to quickly approach the fleet and eventually take control of the fleet, while Task Force 1 would be on guard on the periphery against the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, which might be possible.

The core of the whole plan was whether the Task Force 2 "Reconnaissance Eagle" could detect the fleet from a long distance and not be detected by the fleet. In addition, the "Scout Eagle", having spotted the flotilla, had to track the flotilla and guide the battleship closer at night. Arguably. If the Second Task Force had not been equipped with the "Reconnaissance Eagle" at that time, or had not proved the "Reconnaissance Eagle's" powerful search and tracking capabilities through exercises. It is impossible for Tan Renhao to make such a plan, and there is no way to even go to intercept this fleet.

Having determined the plan of action, the fleet moved at full speed. At noon that day, when Tan Renhao was about to go to lunch, a long-range seaplane caught up with the No. 1 Task Force, and the plane landed on the sea next to the "Longganhu" aircraft carrier, and then quickly approached. By the time Tan Renhao learned from the staff officer that it was a long-range seaplane coming from the Gibraltar fortress, a colonel officer had already boarded the aircraft carrier and was immediately brought to Tan Renhao.

"Forget it, help me get a boxed lunch, and I'll eat here later." Tan Renhao sighed secretly, "By the way, who is that colonel?" ”

"It seems that the surname is Pan, what is the specific name, we haven't asked yet, and the telegram sent by General Lei Shaoqing has not mentioned it."

Tan Renhao was slightly stunned, he only knew a naval officer surnamed Pan, and he was also a technical officer, if they were going to intercept important cargo in the convoy this time, the naval command should send a technical officer to assist them, could this really be Pan Zekang? Tan Renhao's conjecture was soon formalized, and it was Major Pan Zekang who wrote to him many times and finally participated in the secret development program on the recommendation of Tan Renhao, and now he is a colonel, not a major officer.

"General Tan, long time no see!" Pan Zekang was also excited, it seemed that he had been in the secret research institute in the rear for a long time, and I am afraid it would be rare to go out, and it would be even more difficult to get the Atlantic Ocean tens of thousands of miles away.

"yes, almost two years, or three years?" Tan Renhao greeted him warmly, "I guess, which surname Pan was sent, it turned out to be you." How's it going, okay along the way? ”

"It's not bad, after two days on the plane, it didn't stop, and the last few hours were tortured to me, I didn't expect the seaplane to be so bumpy, I almost vomited all the bile."

"It's just so happening, I'm going to have lunch too, you're hungry too, aren't you? We ate together, and we talked about what was going on. ”

Pan Zekang did not refuse, a few hours ago, he vomited the last bit of stuff in his stomach, although his mind is still a little dizzy now, but he is already hungry, and he is looking for something to fill his stomach.