After being busy providing assistance to the Allies at sea, a new task was arranged. After Tan Renhao accompanied his wife to the civil affairs department in Zhoushan City to complete the registration procedures for his son, he just returned to the Navy Headquarters when he ran into an officer sent by Gan Yongxing, and he came to pick up Tan Renhao to go to the headquarters building.

"Ren Hao, you go to the headquarters first, I'll just take the child home."

"Okay, I'll let Duchenne send you back." Tan Renhao didn't wait for his wife to say more, so he called Du Xing over, "Xiao Du, send your sister-in-law home, and then come to the headquarters, drive slower on the road, you know?" ”

Du Xing hurriedly agreed, and then drove Liao Yingyu's mother and son home. After seeing the sedan disappear behind the bend of the road, Tan Renhao got into the sedan sent by Gan Yongxing.

"Did the chief of staff say anything?" Tan Renhao's mood was not very good, every time he returned to the naval headquarters, there was always something to do, which also made him decide to find a way to stay in the fleet.

"No, the chief of staff just asked me to pick you up and take you to the headquarters building, and nothing else said."

Tan Renhao didn't ask much, it was just a captain officer who came to pick him up, and an ordinary captain officer must know very limited things.

If there is no important matter, Gan Yongxing will not let Tan Renhao go back to report immediately, and if there is something important, he will not tell the captain officer.

Not long after, the car stopped outside the Navy Headquarters building, and Tan Renhao did not go back to his office, but went directly to Gan Yongxing.

"Renhao, I heard that you went to the Civil Affairs Bureau today to register your child?"

"yes, I went in the morning. I just came back, and before I got home, I stopped you. Tan Renhao hung his hat on the coat rack by the door. Chief of Staff, it seems that my vacation plans can only be delayed. ”

"I'm sorry too. To be honest, I don't want to bother you, but ......"

"Well, what's the matter?" Tan Renhao sighed and went to make himself a cup of tea.

"I only received the message in the morning. The Prime Minister has given the go-ahead for our combat operations against the Australian continent. ”

Tan Renhao frowned slightly, and then sat down on the chair opposite Gan Yongxing.

"In other words, we can officially carry out the combat operation to attack the Australian continent?"

"To be precise, it is the beginning of a combat operation that is officially preparing to attack the Australian mainland." Gan Yongxing handed a document to Tan Renhao, "This is what the principal gave me in the morning, and I have already called Yan Guozhong and Liao Hanxiang." The two of them will rush back in the next few days to discuss specific combat operations. ”

Tan Renhao immediately flipped through the documents, and then read them seriously.

In fact, preparations for the attack on the Australian mainland have already begun, and previously they were mainly carried out within the purview of the navy. For example, the arrangement of the landing fleet, the movement of the transport fleet, the hoarding of war materiel at the front. More barracks to accommodate more ground troops, temporary flotillary anchorages, and the deployment of marines, among other things. These efforts began after the "Battle of the Solomon Islands".

At that time, Tan Renhao participated in related actions. He also has a relatively in-depth understanding of the campaign preparations for the attack on the Australian continent. In terms of input, this must have been the largest campaign of the Imperial Navy in this war. The total number of officers and men participating in the combat will exceed 1 million, the number of ships will be more than 1,500, the number of combat planes will be more than 3,500, and there will be at least 2,500 auxiliary aircraft, and more than 4 million tons of materials to be hoarded and transported, including more than 1.5 million tons of fuel alone.

A campaign operation of such a scale requires at least half a year of preparation, which is the fundamental reason why the Imperial Navy has been actively preparing for it since the middle of 25. It can be said that the "Battle of the Coral Sea" is the preparatory work for attacking the Australian mainland, and now Yan Guozhong's offensive operations in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia can be regarded as one of the preparations for attacking the Australian mainland.

At present, the formal preparatory work mentioned by Gan Yongxing can actually only be regarded as the preparatory work in the later stage, and the specific content is to set up a command system, determine the combat plan, complete the mobilization and assembly of troops on the front line, and launch a series of combat operations in a targeted manner. Among the many generals in the Navy Command, Tan Renhao has the best understanding of the situation in the Southwest Pacific Theater, and has carried out combat missions in the Southwest Pacific Theater on many occasions, and he also has a relatively good understanding of the situation of the US military.

After reading the document, Tan Renhao let out a sigh and said, "Chief of Staff, what is my specific job?" ”

"This time, you don't have a specific task, you are actually responsible for assisting me in the preparation of the battle." Gan Yongxing took out a cigarette, "Now, we still have a lot of things to do, all the work will be carried out gradually, and the principal has entrusted this task to me to complete." However, I don't know much about the situation in the Southwest Pacific, and General Yan Guozhong will rush back as soon as possible, and he will make a detailed report. Of course, you know the situation over there better than I do, so I need your help. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "Okay, so what exactly am I going to do now?"

"The first is to determine the command authority." Gan Yongxing took out another document, "The army has determined the number of troops to be sent to the Pacific theater, and this is the specific situation of the army units." ”

Tan Renhao flipped through the documents, and he only glanced at them roughly. "It's best to get in touch with Gu Xunlei, he knows more about the situation of the various units of the army."

"He's back, you have time to talk to him."

"I know, I'll talk to him tomorrow." Tan Renhao closed the document, "It seems that the army wants to intervene on our side?" ”

"That's for sure, but Prime Minister Xue Xiyue did not agree to Yan Dingyu's request." Gan Yongxing laughed, "I heard from the principal, Yan Dingyu has repeatedly proposed to the Prime Minister that the army generals be responsible for commanding the combat operations of the ground forces, while the navy is only responsible for logistics support, sea support, and command of the landing operation stage. The Chancellor has repeatedly pointed out to the Prime Minister that this is not feasible. After all, the number of troops invested by the army is quite limited, and the battlefield on the Australian mainland is relatively special, and the difference between landing operations and ground operations is not very large. If the command of ground operations is handed over to the Army. It will inevitably lead to the problem of unbalanced coordination among the various units in the operation, and the navy will be under unified command. It will be more able to give full play to the combat effectiveness of the troops and avoid unnecessary troubles. ”

"So, did the Prime Minister agree to the chancellor's proposal?"

"It can only be said that we have accepted our opinion temporarily, but not completely agreed. At the stage of the landing operation, according to the will of the Prime Minister. The Navy has unified command over all participating units, including combat units provided by the Army. After entering the stage of ground operations, it is decided who will command future combat operations according to the actual situation. ”

Tan Renhao immediately frowned, the prime minister's meaning is very clear, if the navy fought well in the previous stage, then the navy will definitely continue to be responsible for the campaign operations, if something goes wrong, it will give the army a chance to compete for command. This command is not important or light, but in the end, it determines who will dominate the Pacific theater. And here, the Navy will never budge.

"You should talk to Gu Xunlei about this matter." Gan Yongxing found Tan Renhao to assist him for another purpose, that is, to talk about Renhao's personal relationship with Gu Xunlei.

"Now. The army has already determined that Gu Xunlei will be the commander-in-chief of the army's participating units, at least until the Germans forget what Gu Xunlei did on the battlefield in Western Europe, he can only stay in the Pacific theater. If we want the full support of the Army, then we must let Gu Xunlei understand the importance of this battle. It is even more important for him to understand that the interests of the empire are higher than the interests of the military. ”

"I know, I'll talk to him about it." Tan Renhao sighed secretly, "So, are there any other questions?" ”

"Of course, there are still a lot of problems." Gan Yongxing shrugged his shoulders, "In addition to determining the command, we also have to come up with a relevant combat plan as soon as possible, and this will be the overall plan of the campaign, not involving the detailed actions of the campaign." Therefore, this battle plan will be divided into several parts. ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head, he had participated in the overall design of large-scale battles before, so he had a certain understanding of this kind of planning work for combat operations that required the participation of many arms and the dispatch of hundreds of thousands, or even millions of troops.

"I will be mainly responsible for the logistics of the campaign, which is the most important part and the most troublesome part." Gan Yongxing hesitated for a moment, "In addition, I will entrust Yan Guozhong to plan specific combat operations, he knows the most about landing operations, and this is also his specialty." The coordination of the two theaters will be negotiated by the principal with Yan Guozhong and Liao Hanxiang, and I will arrange personnel to be responsible for the specific work. ”

"Chief of Staff, be more direct, what's my job?" Tan Renhao asked directly.

"Your task is to determine the combat operations of the fleet." Gan Yongxing didn't go around the bend anymore, he handed the third document to Tan Renhao, "In the early stage of the campaign, the main combat mode was the landing operation, and you have already commanded the landing operation before, although the scale is a little smaller, but you should be very clear about the specific details of the landing operation, and you should be more aware of the importance of the fleet in the landing operation.

So, this time, it's up to you to plan the fleet's operations. ”

Tan Renhao flipped through the documents, which was a report on the situation of the Imperial Navy's fleet.

"It's a familiar task for you." Gan Yongxing tried to make things as simple as possible, "I also believe that you have the ability to complete this work." ”

"Well, I'll do my best." Tan Renhao nodded, "Are there any other arrangements besides these two things?" ”

"Maybe there's more, I haven't thought of it yet." Gan Yongxing stood up with a smile, "When I think about it, I'll look for you." ”

"Alright, Chief of Staff, I'll take my leave." Tan Renhao also stood up, "I will hand over the report to you as soon as possible, by the way, when does the principal want us to hand in the report?" ”

"There's plenty of time, and I'm giving you advance notice now." Gan Yongxing sent Tan Renhao to the door, "After Yan Guozhong and Liao Hanxiang come back, we will officially start the relevant work, so in the next few days, you can collect some information first and make preparations." Once the relevant meetings have been held, it is never too late to do so. ”

"Then I won't bother much."

It can be imagined that Tan Renhao's mood at this time, troublesome things one after another, it has been almost two months since he returned to Zhoushan, he has not lived at home for a few days, and there are things that give him headaches almost every day. Originally, he also planned to accompany his wife to Songjiang or Hangzhou for a few days before his wife returned to the hospital to report, but now it seems that this plan has completely failed.

After returning to the office, Tan Renhao couldn't lift his spirits at all. He could understand the purpose of the chief of staff and the principal in arranging so many things for him, but at the same time, he also knew that if he wanted to become the leader of the navy, it was by no means a simple matter, and at the same time, he was more aware of the pressure on Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng at this time. Tan Renhao is still doing some specific work, not involving major decisions, just these work to deal with the details of the problem makes him almost tired to climb down, you can imagine how difficult it will be for Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng to make major decisions.

It's a hard road, but it's also a necessary path to move up the ladder. Four years ago, Tan Renhao never imagined that he would become an Admiral of the Imperial Navy before he was 30 years old, and he would be the premier fleet commander of the Imperial Navy. Two years ago, Tan Renhao did not expect that he would have the hope of reaching a higher level in the future. And now, he didn't think about how much training he would have to go through on this road, and in addition to the setbacks on the battlefield, he would have to undergo a lot of training in some non-combat matters!

All afternoon, Tan Renhao looked a little listless, he went to the data room to find some of the latest information of the naval fleet, and then forced himself to read it. But he couldn't look at it, and even he was very surprised. In the past, he was most interested in the materials of the fleet, but now, it is difficult for him to read the words inside. He even developed a feeling of boredom, as if it was a completely unfamiliar job.

"General, my sister-in-law called and asked if you want to go back for dinner in the evening."

Tan Renhao was taken aback, and immediately glanced at his watch, it was almost half past six. "Yes, of course I have to go back and prepare the car."

Du Xing glanced at Tan Renhao, and then left the office, he also knew that over this time, Tan Renhao had changed a lot.