After returning to the First Task Force, Tan Renhao immediately told Zheng Guanhua about the relevant arrangements, and asked Zheng Guanhua to formulate the combat operations of the First Task Force in accordance with the new plan, and immediately let the artillery formation go to the Third Task Force to report. In this operation, the task force 1 was mainly to cover and support the 3rd task force and, if given the opportunity, to strike at the joint Anglo-French expeditionary fleet. Of course, unless Cunningham made a low-level mistake, the chances were slim.

When Tan Renhao arranged the operation of the First Task Force, Chang Jianxin was also deploying the operations of the Third Task Force. According to the plan, Tan Renhao will send the artillery formation subordinate to the First Task Force to the Third Task Force to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Third Task Force. Tan Renhao even proposed to send several heavy cruisers from the two aircraft carrier battle groups, but Chang Zhixin refused, after all, those two aircraft carriers were the most valuable assets. Even if the air threat is not great in this combat operation, after all, there are still three British aircraft carriers, so it is necessary to ensure that the first task force has enough escort warships.

"Chang, I think this operation is very risky." Gu Zhenyun is not as sure as Chang Zhixin. When Tan Renhao was there, he didn't raise any objections, this was mainly to take care of Chang Renhao's new face, and now that Tan Renhao is gone, he said his thoughts.

"It's a bit risky, however, with the First Task Force behind us, and if we can't beat it, we can escape, and our main purpose is not to go to the enemy for a decisive battle, but to make sure that the enemy is not to the south of us, if any. Then we're going to have to push Cunningham back and make his trap useless. ”

"But I don't see it that way." Gu Zhenyun hesitated for a moment, he still had the right to suggest.

"The first is that the climatic conditions have not improved. At that time, it is difficult to determine whether Task Force 1 will be able to provide us with support and cover. Secondly. Our speed is not much faster than the enemy's battleships, and it is a question of whether we can withdraw when the battle starts, and it is even more dangerous if it is carried out at night. At last. If the information we had received was correct, the enemy could have appeared in either direction, not necessarily to our south. And if we widen the distance between us and Task Force 1, it will not only be detrimental to ourselves, but it will also isolate Task Force 1, and when the time comes, if Task Force 1 is attacked suddenly......"

Chang Jianxin pressed his hand and stopped Gu Zhenyun's words. "I have considered this issue with General Tan. With at least a 200-nautical-mile warning range around Task Force 1, it was almost impossible for an enemy fleet to suddenly approach Task Force 1. And. So far, there is no indication that our exact location has been revealed. In addition, Task Force 1 will be there to support us, and they will always be operating outside of the storm. Definitely able to get the bomber to take off. In the end, as you said, if fighting breaks out at night, we have the advantage in terms of radar. When the time comes, it is up to us to decide whether to fight or not, not the opponent. ”

"But......" Gu Zhenyun hesitated and didn't continue.

Chang Jianxin looked at his partner and waited for Gu Zhenyun to continue. He and Gu Zhenyun have not been partnered for a long time, but after the "Battle of the Coral Sea", Chang Jianxin discovered a flaw in Gu Zhenyun, that is, he was too cautious. There is nothing wrong with being cautious, especially in the past, when most admirals were cautious, and even if a few were adventurous, they would only act aggressively with complete certainty. The problem is that being too cautious is definitely a flaw.

This is also destined that Gu Zhenyun can only be a good chief of staff, not a good commander.

"Actually, it's just my concern." Gu Zhenyun smiled reluctantly and didn't insist on his opinion anymore.

This is Gu Zhenyun's second flaw, that is, he will not insist on his own judgment. In fact, it is not difficult to understand that Gu Zhenyun has partnered with Yan Shiqi for so long, and Yan Shiqi has always been a commander who is more arbitrary and rarely listens to other people's advice, which is very clear when he was the commander of the third task force. It is precisely because of this, under the influence of Yan Shiqi, Gu Zhenyun will not insist too much on his own judgment. In other words, there is a lack of initiative.

"I'll take your opinion seriously." Chang Jianxin didn't say much, Gu Zhenyun's personality has been finalized, and it is difficult to change. "Actually, there's nothing to worry about, after all, we've been very cautious in our actions this time, and there are a few backup plans, at most it's just to escape back, isn't it?"

Gu Zhenyun didn't speak, and he began to arrange specific work.

Chang Jianxin stayed in the command cabin for a while, and when it was time for dinner, he went back to his cabin and asked the adjutant to bring him dinner.

When discussing the specific action plan with Tan Renhao, the two had a consensus, that is, the battle situation in front of them was very vague, and this was only for their own side, and perhaps on the enemy's side, the battle situation was very clear. That is, the battlefield is now one-way transparent to the enemy. This is obviously very detrimental to the operation of the fleet, and to change this situation, it is necessary to either find out the enemy's actions, or let the enemy not be able to find out his own actions. It is very difficult to accurately judge the actions of the enemy fleet in a short period of time, especially until the weather improves, and there is little possibility. Therefore, the only way is to make it impossible for the enemy to accurately judge the actions of the Imperial fleet.

This is what Chang recommended Xin and Tan Renhao to achieve, to completely disrupt the situation of the war, so that Cunningham could not make an accurate judgment. Perhaps, this will not be able to fundamentally defeat the enemy, but it can change the current situation and bring the two sides back to a balanced position, instead of being one-way transparent and passively beaten! It can be said that there is no way to do it.

In fact, Chang Jianxin and Tan Renhao both knew very well in their hearts that before the First Task Force could exert its combat effectiveness, they would not have any advantages, and with the strength of the Third Task Force alone, they would not be able to defeat the British and French joint expeditionary fleet. But the problem is that it is the weather, not the decisions of the fleet commander, that determine the combat effectiveness of Task Force 1. And the weather factor is beyond the control of manpower!

In the best case of previous years, at the end of March. Or at the beginning of April, when the weather in the southern Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic gradually improves, and it will not be until the end of April. Or at the beginning of May, the weather conditions will reach a level suitable for the operation of Task Force 1. And it's only late February. In such a situation, in addition to actively looking for ways to defeat the enemy, the most important thing is to preserve the strength of the fleet itself, not to make any mistakes, and to make sure that the enemy fleet does not dare to go north easily. In other words.

Now the action taken by Tan Renhao and Chang Jianxin is exactly what they have been avoiding before, that is, delaying time with the enemy!

It can be said that this is also the passivity on the battlefield. Chang Zhixin was well aware of this, and he never thought of relying on the strength of the Third Task Force to defeat the powerful Anglo-French Combined Expeditionary Fleet alone. When Tan Renhao was trying to find a fighter, Chang Zhixin made a simple wargame deduction by himself. He did not choose the Anglo-French Combined Expeditionary Fleet, but the British Expeditionary Fleet. As a result, even against the British Expeditionary Fleet alone, the 3rd Task Force had only about 60% of the chance of victory, and it would definitely pay huge losses, and perhaps it would be lucky to sink one or two battleships. And after the 3rd Task Force was routed. With the capabilities of Task Force 1 alone, is it possible to deal with the French expeditionary fleet in bad weather conditions? The answer is no. That is, even to defeat the British expeditionary fleet through losses.

This will not achieve the purpose of the campaign, they must defeat the British and French expeditionary fleet, and they must also fight the British and French expeditionary fleet on the premise of preserving themselves, then they must rely on the aviation strike capability of the first task force!

You can see it. The way of thinking of Chang Jianxin and Tan Renhao is different, and this is precisely the different characteristics of different fleet commanders. Tan Renhao's usual idea is to first look for fighters, and only after seizing the opportunity will he consider the specific combat operation and how much it will cost in the combat operation. Therefore, most of the combat operations commanded by Tan Renhao are adventurous in nature, and this also determines that he is a person who is very good at seizing opportunities. But at the same time, this also made Tan Renhao's victories almost all based on his own huge losses.

On the contrary, the new way of thinking is not to look for opportunities first, but to first judge the comparison of forces between the enemy and the enemy, and make inferences about the outcome of various combat situations, and roughly judge the battle loss ratio. He will only take further action after he is sure that he has enough ability to outmaneuver his opponent and that the cost is completely bearable. This also determines that Chang Jianxin is the kind of general who never likes to take risks and is extremely stable. But in the same way, Chang Zhixin's ability to grasp opportunities on the battlefield, especially key opportunities, is not strong.

In the army, what kind of general leads what kind of soldiers. In the navy, it is different, the characteristics of the generals can be transformed into the characteristics of the fleet, but at the same time, the generals must also be suitable for the nature of the fleet, for example, it is obviously not possible to let Chang Jianxin command the aircraft carrier task force that focuses on attack, but to let Tan Renhao command the third task force, this will obviously not have good results. To put it more bluntly, it is the characteristics of a general himself, which is the main factor that determines his specific position in the navy.

That night, the 3rd Task Force, which had been newly commanded, headed south. He did not let the radar on the battleship start, but organized three separate small formations. Each of the three squadrons consisted of one cruiser and two destroyers, and was 60 degrees west-south, due south, and 60 degrees east-south, about 40 nautical miles from the fleet. In this way, if the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet appeared in the south of the fleet, then these reconnaissance formations that went out could detect the enemy fleet in advance and provide sufficient time for the main formation in the rear to prepare for battle.

There is no way to do it. In the past, these tasks were carried out by reconnaissance aircraft, as well as seaplanes. However, the fleet would enter the storm zone before dawn, and the seaplanes of the Third Task Force would not be able to take off at all, and the reconnaissance planes of the First Task Force would not be able to completely cover the waters south of the fleet. It can be said that this is almost a return to the most old-fashioned naval tactics, and if radar is not used, then both sides will have to rely on lookouts on the mast of battleships to search the surrounding sea.

Chang Jianxin returned to his post after dawn the next day, and he first dealt with some of the situation during the night, and then ordered the fleet to be put into a state of readiness. At this time, the wind and waves on the sea were already strong, and even though the speed of the battleship was only 16 knots, there was still a continuous rush of sea water on the first deck of the battleship. A battleship of tens of thousands of tons is like a leaf in a pond, one will be lifted to the top of the wave, and the other will fall to the bottom. Many staff officers in the command cabin wore seat belts, and Chang Jianxin also sat on chairs and "tied" himself.

The day was not peaceful, the reconnaissance formations ahead did not find anything, but the fleet itself had a lot of problems. In the morning, a temporary destroyer was forced to leave the fleet and return to the ship alone due to a problem with the power system. By the afternoon, two destroyers, as well as a heavy cruiser that had belonged to Task Force 5, broke down and had to leave the fleet and embark on the journey home.

Wind and waves can damage the battleship even more than the enemy, and in peacetime, the fleet will not enter the storm zone at all, and will have to avoid it. This is the time of year when the sea conditions in the southern hemisphere's southerly wind belt are at their worst, many shipping routes are closed, and most ships should enter the harbor for shelter. But now, the fleet cannot return to the port and must continue to hold on.

For the officers and men on the battleship, this bit of wind and waves is nothing, after all, those who are seasick will not join the navy. But Chang Jianxin is a little worried, the current sea state has reached level six, and according to the regulations, the destroyer should be avoided at this time. In addition, even if you encounter the enemy fleet now, you will not be able to fight at all, because with the constant ups and downs of the battleship, it will not be possible to hit the enemy's battleship with shells! What's even more annoying is that after separating from the 1st Task Force, Chang Jiexin has been unable to grasp the changes in the weather, and unless the weather suddenly improves, the 1st Task Force will not contact the 3rd Task Force!

These problems were not solved at the time of the plan, and now, Chang Jiexin must find a way to solve them, and more importantly, he must drive the British out of their hiding places!