When the Second Task Force received the news, it was already early in the morning of the 7th, when the fleet was preparing to return to the warring seas, and the person in charge of the fleet's night duty was Brigadier General Zheng Guanhua, that is, the new chief of staff of the Second Task Force. After receiving the news, Zheng Guanhua immediately asked people to call the fleet commander, which is extremely important information.

Like those who came from the navy such as Hao Dongjue and Huang Xiaotian, Zheng Guanhua was not taken seriously in the navy, and he had little hope of becoming a general, at least until the outbreak of the war. Unlike Hao Dongjue's orthodox background in aviation troops, Zheng Guanhua studied aviation communications at aviation school, not aviation combat theory. When he was in the military academy, aviation operations were just emerging, and in the last war, the aviation was beginning to emerge, and the aviation industry also flourished after the war, and aviation communications was a relatively difficult problem to solve at that time. After Zheng Guanhua entered the aviation school, he was not able to become an aviation combat cadet, but was assigned to the aviation communication major.

When he left the aviation school, Zheng Guanhua served as a second lieutenant officer in the naval aviation for several years, but he was never promoted. He was also awarded this second lieutenant officer for graduating from a regular aviation school.

In the two years before the outbreak of the war, Zheng Guanhua's only job was to perfect aviation communication technology in the air force, and during this time, he also taught himself many courses in aviation warfare. Until the outbreak of the war, the Japanese aviation quickly destroyed the most powerful fleet in the world, and for a while, the Tang Empire was in an uproar, and aviation operations immediately became a hot topic. It was at this time that Zheng Guanhua left the HNA and was assigned to the newly established First Task Force, which was specially responsible for the communication between the fleet and the air force. And at that time, he was still a second lieutenant officer.

When Tan Renhao commanded the operation of the First Task Force, Zheng Guanhua was just an extremely ordinary junior officer in the headquarters of the First Task Force. He wasn't even a formal staff officer (in the Imperial Navy, a staff officer was of great status. There are several main departments in a command, and each department has a maximum of two staff officers, and the others are not part of the staff establishment, but are just ordinary officers under the staff officers), he is only a very inconspicuous role. Therefore, Tan Renhao never noticed this second lieutenant officer, and even Hao Dongjue, who was in charge of aviation operations at that time, did not notice him.

After the establishment of the Second Task Force, Zheng Guanhua followed Lei Shaoqing and them to the Second Task Force, and was promoted to lieutenant, and also continued to do his aeronautical communications work. It wasn't until 24 years ago that Zheng Guanhua got the opportunity to go to further study, and he chose to major in aviation operations. Because of his excellent performance in the training course, he was the best student in the training course. At that time, the Imperial Navy was seriously short of officers proficient in aviation operations, and the number of officers itself was extremely insufficient, after Zheng Guanhua graduated. He was immediately promoted to major in aviation. When he returned to the Second Task Force, Huang Xiaotian was already the fleet's chief of aviation operations staff, and he became the aviation operations staff officer under Huang Xiaotian.

At this time, Zheng Guanhua was just an unknown staff officer. It can be said that he is conscientious and conscientious at work, and he is also very down-to-earth, and he does not have such an eye-catching performance as Huang Xiaotian. When Huang Xiaotian left the Second Task Force, he recommended him to serve as chief of staff of aviation operations. Since then, Zheng Guanhua has been promoted rapidly, and by the time Chang Zhixin left the Second Task Force, he was already a colonel officer. At that time, Lei Shaoqing needed a fleet chief of staff who was proficient in aviation operations, and Zheng Guanhua was the best choice. After being recommended to the Chief of the Naval Staff, Zheng Guanhua was promoted for the second time in a month, becoming Chief of Staff of the Second Task Force, Commodore of the Navy (rather than Commodore of the Naval Aviation, this is different).

Judging from Zheng Guanhua's performance in the army and promotion. If the war had not broken out, then it is very likely that he would have been an extremely ordinary member of the hundreds of thousands of officers and men of the Imperial Navy, and it would have been possible that he would eventually become a major officer and be successfully discharged from the army with a naval pension. It is the war that creates talents, in the war, Zheng Guanhua's performance is decent, there are no amazing works, and there are no outstanding acts, but he is very loyal to fulfill the obligations and responsibilities of a soldier. In the war, he became extraordinary, and it was also in the war that he gained an honor and status that he had never imagined before.

Lei Shaoqing still attaches great importance to this chief of staff, and the reason why Lei Shaoqing chose Zheng Guanhua is also very simple, he needs a chief of staff who is proficient in aviation operations, and Lei Shaoqing himself is an expert in navigation operations. As a result, his new partner with Chang Recommended is actually not ideal, both are talented in navigation, and neither is very proficient in aviation combat. As a result, Task Force 2 could not have kept up with Task Force 1 in terms of performance up to that point. It is precisely because of this that Lei Shaoqing will reuse Huang Xiaotian and promote Zheng Guanhua.

"This is from the Navy Command?" Lei Shaoqing entered the command cabin without even buttoning his clothes.

"Yes, it was sent by the Chief of the General Staff, and in addition, there is a payment at the back, which should be a warning issued by General Tan Renhao."

Lei Shaoqing nodded, called a staff officer to make him a cup of coffee, and then carefully read the contents of the telegram.

He put down the telegram as the staff officer brought him coffee.

"I've sent the fleet westward." Zheng Guanhua has not fully adapted to the position of chief of staff, and when the fleet commander is resting, if there is an emergency, he can directly command the fleet without asking for instructions in advance, so he has no need to worry about anything.

"Is there a telegram from General Han Shaofeng?" Lei Shaoqing was also about to turn the fleet, but when he saw that Zheng Guanhua had already given an order, he didn't go to supplement the order.

"Not yet, the fleet is still in radio silence for now, and I think it's better to keep the fleet hidden for now."

"That's right, Xiao Zheng, you should understand that as the chief of staff of the fleet, in an emergency, you should make decisions quickly." Lei Shaoqing nodded at Zheng Guanhua and walked to the chart table with a coffee cup. "General Tan Renhao's warning is certainly justified. Judging by our initial intelligence, the U.S. military has at least several small aircraft carriers operating in the Central Pacific, and judging by this cable, it may be more than that. ”

"I roughly analyzed it. If the US military wants to succeed in a sneak attack, it will not be able to do it with only three small aircraft carriers, they must have at least six. And if you want to ensure the success of the sneak attack, then you should leave a few fleet aircraft carriers. And not small aircraft carriers. Zheng Guanhua also walked over, "Spruance is very adventurous when fighting, but he is very cautious in the campaign planning section. Even if he thinks that we only have two fleet carriers, he will try to fight us with twice as many troops, rather than with equal forces. Other than that.

If Spruance had known that we had been reinforced with two small carriers, he would have to give himself a little more leverage. ”

Lei Shaoqing smiled and nodded. "If I were Spruance, I would definitely use a couple of fleet carriers, not just small ones. When did the U.S. fleet leave Pearl Harbor? ”

"Seven days ago, and now we are continuing to move south, and we will reach the Southwest Pacific Theater in about five days."

"It is very likely that Spruance, then, left Pearl Harbor with the main fleet at this time, and then broke away from the main fleet." Lei Shaoqing looked at the chart for a while, "In other words, it is possible for him to appear in any sea area around us now." Perhaps, he has already arranged for a reconnaissance plane to search for our traces in the past few days. ”

"We have also been arranging for reconnaissance planes to monitor the surrounding waters, and the more than 20 reconnaissance planes on Midway are also carrying out search missions.

Zheng Guanhua hesitated. I don't think Spruance is here in our neighborhood yet, and he's coming over now. ”

"Why?" Lei Shaoqing glanced at his new chief of staff.

"This is the approximate location of our fleets right now." Zheng Guanhua marked the location of the other three task forces on the chart, "The news that the main fleet of the US army is heading south should be reliable." The question is on the specific composition of this fleet. The battleships left by Nimitz will not be in the majority. On the Southwest Pacific side, the battle may start as soon as the 15th, and before that, our attention was focused on the Southwest Pacific. If Spruance is to ensure that the sneak attack is successful, he will have to choose a good timing. ”

Lei Shaoqing nodded slightly, this is for sure, the key to the sneak attack is the time chosen.

"And the best time is that our other three task forces have already encountered the U.S. military in the southwest Pacific." Zheng Guanhua threw away the pencil in his hand, "And while searching for each other, Spruance suddenly attacked and killed us." When the time comes, General Tan Renhao will definitely be distracted, and then, Halsey will launch an attack in the southwest Pacific, taking advantage of General Tan Renhao's distraction, to annihilate the First Task Force and even the Fourth Task Force in one fell swoop. In this way, the counterattack of the US military will receive the best effect. ”

Lei Shaoqing nodded again and motioned for Zheng Guanhua to continue.

"If Spruance sneaks up on us in the next few days, even if his sneak attack is successful, the First Task Force can be quickly transferred, and at that time, General Huang Xiaotian and General Chang Jianxin will definitely adopt a strategic defensive posture in the southwest Pacific, withdraw the fleet to the Solomon Sea, and even the northern waters of the Solomon Islands, and use the cover of shore-based aviation to maneuver with the US military and avoid a decisive battle with the US army. The First Task Force rushed to reinforce Midway, but as a result, the U.S. counterattack won only half of the victory, and the next battle will depend on the outcome of the decisive battle between the First Task Force and the Fifth Fleet. ”

"You mean, Spruance will attack us around the fifteenth at most?"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, or maybe it's fifteen days ago." Zheng Guanhua smiled shyly, "This is just my judgment, and this sneak attack time will also be related to the actions of the Third Fleet." The Third Fleet will be able to reach the Southwest Pacific Theater in about 10 days, and by then, the First Task Force has already reached the Coral Sea, and General Tan Renhao will definitely enter the Coral Sea first to standby.

Therefore, it is possible that Spruance will attack us at the earliest around the tenth day. ”

Lei Shaoqing nodded slightly. "This analysis makes a lot of sense, and it looks like we're going to have to find a way to find the Fifth Fleet in a few days."

"I think now we should be on the defensive, not on the offensive." Zheng Guanhua said his thoughts again, "If Spruance has a few fleet aircraft carriers in his hands, he will definitely use small aircraft carriers as bait, and then launch a sneak attack while we are attacking the small aircraft carrier fleet." The loss of several small aircraft carriers is bearable for the US military. Spruance won't even let us eat the bait. ”

Lei Shaoqing frowned, there must be this possibility, Spruance wants an absolute victory this time.

"The advice of the Chief of the General Staff is very reasonable, our task is to delay the counterattack of the US military in the Central Pacific." Zheng Guanhua saw that Lei Shaoqing was silent, so he continued, "Therefore, we should retreat to the west now." As long as we are still operating in the waters west of Midway, then the US military will not dare to bomb our Marines on Midway in a big way. And with the current forces in the hands of General Han Shaofeng, as long as we can delay the time until the 12th, then the Marines have a good chance of capturing the entire Midway. At that time, HNA will immediately deploy a large number of reconnaissance planes to Midway Island to monitor the waters within several hundred nautical miles of the island. And we can also operate within the cover of shore-based aviation, in which case, if Spruance wants to sneak up on us, then he will have to use his brains a little more. ”

"That's it, and the fleet continues to sail west." Lei Shaoqing also made a decision at this time, "The closest island to us now is Wake Island?" ”

Zheng Guanhua nodded, the fleet was about 1,000 nautical miles away from Wake Island.

"Send a plane to Wake Island tomorrow to report our actions to General Liao Hanxiang, and ask him to contact Han Shaofeng so that the marines can speed up the attack, and in addition, the reconnaissance planes of the Hainan Airlines will also be fully dispatched to find the US fleet." Lei Shaoqing hesitated for a moment, "After the fleet completes its supply tomorrow, it will immediately switch to sea operations, Xiao Zheng, you have to arrange more carrier-based reconnaissance planes, no matter where Spruance is now, he must be fighting our idea." ”

The fleet made a turn every two hours during its rapid westward voyage to avoid a surprise attack by American submarines. By the afternoon of the 7th, when the fleet was about 750 nautical miles from Wake Island, a reconnaissance plane departed from the aircraft carrier and sent the news out.